Films to see before you die.

[delling]

I'm going to start this list off with a few films, and explain why, and people can add 1 or 2 films each, with a short reason why we MUST see them.

Not just 'this film is cool', but something deeper and more meaningful -- a real reason of WHY we should see it.

#1 - Big Fish
A weird, wonderful and magical film. One of those films that keeps you wondering for 2 hours about what is, and isn't, real. Belongs in a similar vein to Kpax, but slightly more light-hearted. Fantasy/comedy at its best!

#2 - Amelie (or A Very Long Engagement, if you want something slightly more deep). Might be available under the name 'Fabuleux destin d'Amelie Poulain' on torrent sites.

This is another fantastical film -- but romance-oriented this time. If you want a heart-warming film, this is it. It's filmed perfectly, and way too much cutesie stuff. Probably the finest love/romance comedy you will ever see. A Very Long Engagement is similar, but has elements of WWII in it -- deeper, and perhaps more meaningful, and slightly less magical -- but just as satisfying.

#3 - The Silence of the Lambs
I was trying to find some kind of action/thriller for my third spot, but I think most people have seen most modern action/thrillers. So, I'll pick probably the best thriller of the last two decades. Anthony Hopkins is beyond awesome in this film. It won 5 oscars for a reason. The suspense, the script... All top-notch. It is really an engrossing film. If you haven't seen it before, make sure you watch it without outside distractions, in a dark room, with good sound. Hopefully it'll have the same effect on you as it did on me!

And! You can find out where my favourite line 'A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti.' comes from. And the more people that can do the 'ssstssttsssst' noise on vent, the better!

---

I have some other non-English films that I should probably add, but I'll wait a bit, and see what else pops up

[Guanoape]

#4 - Der Untergang
This was the first film that came to mind. It might not be the best film ever, but the way Bruno Ganz plays Hitler is just amazing. In short the film is about Hitler and his high-ranked nazi officers hiding in bunkers beneath Berlin in the final period of World War II. The city is under heavy fire, but Hitler is still focused on victory. Eventually he commits suicide, but that doesn't stop his followers from pursuing their goals. Amazing film.

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

I'd definately name "The Matrix" on this list, (Forget about the sequels).

I think I'd go for "American Beauty" and "Moulin Rouge" too(IM NOT GAY! and yes that is how they spell "red" in french, and not those stabby guys in wow).

We should probably have warfilms too. I think "Stalingrad" would be my suggestion for WW2 and "Apocalypse now" for Vietnam.

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

Lol yes bomb there is a quite a few that would fit that description

[Comrade Nox]

All quiet on the west front: War movie.

In the name of the father: Need to watch.

Forest Gump: Speaks for itself.

Of mice and men: Guy has to take care of his mentally retarded brother back in the early 1900's, very good movie.

"Elling". Norwegian movie, dubbed to endless of languages, deep and touching yada yada.

[Daekesh]

I'm going to have to add Space Balls here.  One of the best comedies of all time, imo.

[Gaeios(Graxlos)]

Hahahaha space balls. Rick moranis looking up in the script to see what happens in the next scene Meta ftw.

[Grishnag]

Theres a very good warfilm about Vietnam..

Bunch of american soldiers in battle in some valley in vietnam.. very very good

might be we were soldiers from mel gibson which is a pretty good movie

[Starbrow]

Well, of the cliches there's of course Lord of The Rings and Star Wars, simply because overall they're very good stories by very talented writes and have (imo) very nice actors.

The Departed - As Nociouz pointed out I can't really spoil the plot or reason for you needing to see it here, but you just have to, and you will understand what I mean. It's a very interesting plot to follow and the acting here is also quite good and interesting.

A Beautiful Mind - Something about this movie just grabbed and touched me. The movie has Russel Crowe playing a gifted but "odd" mathematics expert who develops schitzophrenia and the rest of the plot revolves around how hard a struggle it is to live with the illness and to actually realize that he's ill and the people around him are imaginary. One of the few movies I've cried over.

Jurrasic Park - Just because they're one of the very few movie that actually have dinosaurs in them and are somewhat "ok". Not my favourite movies though.

King Kong or Godzilla (or Cloverfield?) - Simply because you have to see at least one of the "Zomg, that is a fucking huge monsterlulz"-movies at some point.

[delling]

Just, re: The Departed -- See the JAPANESE VERSION first.

http://imdb.com/title/tt0338564/

It's what The Departed is based on, and possibly better, depending on whether you can handle subtitles or not.

But the US version is very, very similar, so I guess it doesn't matter all that much

Guys -- try to give fairly good reasons for watching films, rather than 'it was cool', or 'lots of shit gets blown up'. I want some films to watch, and I'm probably not gonna watcha Vietnam film just because it's 'cool' I need PROPER REASONS why I should see them before I die!

[Daekesh]

A Beautiful Mind - Something about this movie just grabbed and touched me.

Agree totally here.  There are very few films that really move me.  This was one of them.

[falfizzle]

American Psycho: Christian Bale (New Batman) A weird movie but tottally fuckin awesome!

[delling]

GOOD REASONS. Before I start moderating like a Nazi.

We can start another thread for trashy 'yarrr, cool film with lots of chicks and fast cars 'n shit' recommendations.

[Daekesh]

Some films are good because they have fast cars, hot chicks and explosions in every scene.  Can't all be deeply emotional scriptalicious stuff

[legintown]

Woah! There are so many good movies out there that i really like, so it would be a wall of text if I should suggest every single one of them, but I picked out a few movies from various categories:

Martial arts: Fist of legend(Jet li) The acting is HORRIBLE(what you need in a real kung-fu movie for it to be cool hehe) but the choreography is superb! You can't but admire the amount of skill and precision Jet Li possesses. Story is nothing special, but like any martial arts movie, its the fight scenes that matter :-)

Western: The trinity trilogy(Bud Spencer and Terrance Hill) Speghetti western classics that have it all; funny bar fights, shootouts with hats flying off in mass and the typical italian humor. Plus, who cant help loving Bud Spencers legendary bonk on the head!

Epic/action: The last samurai(Tom cruise and Ken Watanabe)Although I could suggest Braveheart or Gladiator, I think this one tops them both. I'm not a fan of Tom Cruise, but in this film he really shows his talents. An epic telling of the last group of Japans samurais' struggle against oppression. The story is intense, the scenery is convincing and samurais are fucking awesome man :-)

Horror: The thing(Kurt russel) An extremely chilling horror movie about an arctic expedition that finds something unusual, and are trapped in the research facility. As most movie fans know, old horror movies > new horror movies :-)

Historical/documentary: Zeitgeist. Not an actual movie release or televised program, the movie explores our past and present from a different perspective. History is written by the victors, but sometimes the vanquished have another story to tell. The movie can be watched for free online at www.zeitgeistmovie.com with various subtitles.

Foreign language: Zatoichi(Takeshi Kitano) A blind samurai finds himself entangled in a struggle between rival merchants and their gang of thugs. A unique Kurosawa-style movie with some special scenery and alot of asian humor. Highly recommended!

Among other movies I would suggest a few that have alot of subliminal and/or in your face messages: From hell, The ninth gate, They live, Eyes wide shut, 1984 and Equilibrium.

Enjoy!