Recommended Movies

Posted by Elliot

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Sure, there are lots of movie review sites. And if you’re looking up something particular, they’re a great help. But if you don’t know what to watch, you need trustworthy advice to heighten the signal/noise ratio. Welcome to etg Design’s database of worthwhile movies.

The few hundred films included focus mostly on classic movies, which today probably need a little extra help getting the attention of younger viewers. These recommendations are brought to you by Elliot and Steve Grant, longtime movie buffs who are relatively open-minded about what constitutes a good movie.

To get second opinions, you can choose to display only movies that made the AFI’s 400 nominations for Top 100 movies (62K PDF) or FilmSite.org’s 200 Greatest Films. NB: Both these lists exclude foreign films; the AFI 400 was finalized in 1996.

Steve’s list includes roughly 100 movies and also excludes foreign films. To continue the pattern of 50% greater exclusivity, Elliot’s list attempts to capture the approximately 50 most important films. Within those 50, I’ve tried to cover as many genres, cultures, eras, and themes as possible. Don’t write to me complaining about the choices—it’s subjective, it’s an impossible task, and it’ll probably change over time. Finally, the intersection of all four lists is approximately 30 movies.

(If you want a larger list, take a look at the New York Times’ Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made.)

To display films, simply select the appropriate search criteria below. You can filter the search by genre, rating, or inclusion on the various lists mentioned above.

Movie Ratings

Movies are rated on a system devised by my movie-watching cabal based on the simple question: How much worth your time and/or money is seeing this film?

There are six levels of ratings. They’re easy to remember, and they even proceed in alphabetical order:

  1. A (Advance Showing): Some films are such must-sees that they’re worth paying extra and going out of your way to catch—as you might do for an advance (a.k.a. special sneak preview) showing.
  2. F (Full Price): A film rated Full is worth seeing on its intital run in the theaters, even though you’ll have to pay the full ticket price. It’ll be worth it.
  3. M (Matinee): Matinee movies are worth seeing in the theaters, but only if you can get a discount on the ticket price. They’re good—usually a lot of fun—but probably not worth seeing more than once.
  4. R (Rental): Rental flicks have redeeming qualities, but they’re ones you definitely won’t mind catching on video. The screen may be small, but you don’t want to pay even a matinee ticket price for this kind of film.
  5. TV: A movie that gets a TV rating isn’t worth spending any money on. If it comes on TV, you probably wouldn’t mind spending a few hours to catch it, but otherwise you can avoid it with a clear conscience.
  6. W (Worthless): This bottom category is exactly what it says. A Worthless film is one that you should skip even if it comes on TV and you have nothing better to do.

Recommended Movies

Movie Genre Rating Lists
Kiss Me Kate

Cole Porter songs are the real star; Howard Keel and Kathryn Grayson are ex-spouses headlining a musical version of The Taming of the Shrew.
Musical
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Lady Eve, The

One comedy writer-director of the 1940s stands out from all the rest. With a unique take on almost everything conventional, Preston Sturges brilliantly and almost singlehandedly continued the screwball comedy tradition of the 1930s, producing some of the funniest films ever made in a nearly unparalleled burst of creative energy—then just as quickly faded away….

Comedy
A
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Lady Vanishes, The

Classic Hitchcock stars Margaret Lockwood and Michael Redgrave as sparring travelers seeking a fellow passenger who may have disappeared.
Mystery
F
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Ladyhawke

Fun fantasy of doomed lovers Rutger Hauer and Michelle Pfeiffer and their attempt to escape an evil bishop’s curse with the help of thief Gaston the Mouse (Matthew Broderick).
SciFi
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Ladykillers, The

Alec Guinness, Peter Sellers, and other inept crooks decide they must murder their landlady to keep her silent. Is one little old lady a match for five hardened criminals?
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Laura

Dana Andrews begins to fall in love with the woman whose death he’s investigating. Clifton Webb is a terrifically snobbish critic, and Vincent Price adds to the noir.
Mystery
F
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Lavender Hill Mob, The

Another winning Alec Guinness/Ealing Studios combination. This time Guinness is a bank clerk with a seemingly foolfproof plan to rob a fortune in gold. (Audrey Hepburn’s film debut, as Chiquita.)
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Lawrence of Arabia

See the director’s cut in widescreen for the full effect of stupendous cinematography. Peter O’Toole’s breakthrough role as the British agent who becomes an Arab to muster support in WW I.
Drama
F
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Letter to Three Wives, A

The letter announces that their friend and sometime rival has run off with one of their husbands… but doesn’t say which. Stranded on a daylong boat ride, the wives replay their marriages and wonder who has been abandoned.
Drama
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Life Is Beautiful

Roberto Benigni’s masterpiece of a Jewish-Italian waiter who deftly employs his wit and humor to court a Catholic schoolteacher and protect his family during WWII.
Comedy
A
AFI400