Recommended Movies

Posted by Elliot

Tags:

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
Rio Bravo

Howard Hawks’ second-best western (after Red River) features an aging sheriff (John Wayne), a drunken ex-deputy (Dean Martin), a cool young gunslinger (teen idol Ricky Nelson), a gimpy old deputy (Walter Brennan), and a saloon girl (Angie Dickinson) trying to bring a cold-blooded killer to justice while his brother lays siege to the town. All…

Western
M
SAG100
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Roberta

Third time’s no charm for Astaire and Rogers, who are forced to play second fiddle to Irene Dunne and Randolph Scott.
Musical
TV
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Robin and Marian

Underappreciated film about the aftermath of legend. Twenty years have passed since the Merry Men fought Prince John. His crusade with King Richard now over, Robin returns to an England where Marian and the Sheriff of Nottingham await.
Drama
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Room with a View, A

A typically repressed young Englishwoman learns to live and love a little on an Italian vacation.
Comedy
F
FilmSite200
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Russians Are Coming The Russians Are Coming, the

Curious about America, a Soviet submarine commander accidentally runs aground near a sleepy New England town. Sweet film about hysteria, paranoia, and friendship.
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Sabotage

Hitchcock’s take on the Joseph Conrad novel of a suburban movie theater owner and terrorist.
Mystery
A
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Sabrina

Audrey Hepburn as the chauffeur’s daughter with a crush on playboy William Holden. Humphrey Bogart is the corporate exec who wants his brother’s marriage to form a business alliance.
Comedy
M
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Samurai Trilogy

Three films exploring the development of Musashi Miyamoto from wild farm boy to epitome of the Shogunate samurai. American audiences may have trouble accepting Musashi’s notions of honor and duty, but the characterizations and cinematography make these truly memorable.
Drama
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Say Anything

Genial slacker John Cusack sets his sights on valedictorian Ione Skye in Cameron Crowe’s very human romance.
Comedy
F
AFI400
Movie Genre Rating Lists
Scarlet Pimpernel, The

Leslie Howard as the English noble who risks his life to rescue French aristocrats from the guillotine.
Action
F
AFI400