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
Notting Hill

Bright romantic comedy about a movie star who may or may not be falling for an ordinary bloke. While Hugh Grant and Julia Roberts are good, the one you’ll remember is Rhys Ifans as Hugh’s uninhibited and totally winning housemate. Warm story handled deftly by all, with a great soundtrack.
Comedy
M
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
On the Waterfront

Strong dramatic fare about the mob-controlled union of dockworkers. Brando stars as Terry, the man who finally stands up to the crooked union boss (played brilliantly by Lee J. Cobb). Rod Steiger is Terry’s brother, a crony of Cobb to whom Brando utters one of the most famous lines of all time: I coulda been…

Drama
F
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Once Upon a Time in the West

Landmark production from spaghetti western director Sergio Leone features Henry Fonda playing against type as a rotten killer.
Western
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest

First film since It Happened One Night (1935) to win all five top Oscars (best picture, best director, best actor, best actress, and best screenplay—from Ken Kesey’s novel). Jack Nicholson plays a man who voluntarily enters an insane asylum and then begins to undermine the repressive and dehumanizing discipline. Louise Fletcher is the controlling, iron-willed…

Drama
A
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
One, Two, Three

Lightning-fast screwball comedy of Berlin-based Coca-Cola executive Jimmy Cagney frantically trying to cover up his daughter’s marriage to a Communist.
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Palm Beach Story, The

Though not as perfect as Sturges’s Sullivan’s Travels or The Lady Eve, this effort comes close. Joel McCrea and Claudette Colbert are wonderful as the faltering marrieds, but you’ll never forget the Ale and Quail Club, the Wienie King, Rudy Vallee, and Mary Astor.
Comedy
F
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Paper Moon

Ryan O’Neal is a traveling con man saddled with a young girl (Tatum O’Neal) who may or may not be his daughter.
Comedy
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Paths of Glory

One of the two most powerful antiwar films ever made (the other being Renoir’s Grand Illusion—interesting that both deal with WW I). Kirk Douglas is understated and most effective as the officer assigned to determine whether three soldiers named by a general as cowards for failing to fulfill his idiotic battle orders should be court-martialed and…

Drama
A
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Persuasion

Beautifully rendered short version of one of Jane Austen’s gems. The acting is superb in this tale of patience and the enduring power of love.
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Philadelphia Story, The

Katharine Hepburn (in a role written for her), Cary Grant, Jimmy Stewart—the delightful script is just an added bonus.
Comedy
A
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