50 best movies that no one should die without having seen
We all like to watch movies from time to time, whether it’s at the movies when they’re released, on TV or online on pages that allow us to choose the movie we want instantly.
There are many good films, and also many film genres to choose from: comedy, action, science fiction, horror, suspense…
Best Movies of All Time
Admittedly, not all films are excellent. However, there are some feature films that are worth remembering, that have marked an era or that are simply great for a variety of reasons.
If you want to know some of the best films in the history of cinema, below you can find a list that can help you choose a film to watch tonight .
1. Star Wars (1977)
Few sagas have been as successful as Star Wars . Directed by George Lucas. its first edition was already revolutionary. Star Wars is an interplanetary war full of magical moments. It is still going on today, as the next edition will be released soon. So far, this is the order of the collection:
- Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
- Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983)
- Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
- Episode II: The Attack of the Clones (2002)
- Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005)
- Episode VII: The Awakening of Strength (2015)
2. The Class (2008)
It is a French film based on the autobiographical novel of the experiences of François Bégaudeau as a literature teacher in a secondary school in the 20th district of Paris. An exquisite film that you can’t miss.
3. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
A classic of the cinema. It is based on a book of children’s literature written by Lyman Frank Baum with the same name . The film tells the story of a girl named Dorothy Gale in the land of Oz.
4. Memento (2000)
Memento is a film directed by Christopher Nolan , which deals with an envelope of a character who loses his memory after an accident in which his wife is raped and killed. Despite his limitations, he tries to investigate who killed his wife.
5. Terminator 2: The Last Judgment (1991)
Terminator is one of those movies that went down in history. Starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, it is the sequel to Terminator 1 . This film is about the story of the rebellion of the machines that are supposed to dominate the world in the future if a good Terminator, Sarah Connor and John Connor do not prevent it.
6. Gladiator (2000)
A great film that propelled Russell Crowe as a Hollywood star, as he won an Oscar . But this film will also be remembered for the death of Oliver Reed, who suffered a heart attack during filming.
7. The Pianist (2002)
The Pianist is a feature film directed by Roman Polansk i . It is about the story of a brilliant Polish Jewish pianist, who witnesses the restrictions that the Germans impose on the Jews in the Polish capital. When his family is about to be transferred to the Nazi labor camps, he flees to live in the ruins of Warsaw.
8. The Green Mile (1999)
Paul Edgecomb is a veteran prison security guard, and has been on death row since the 1930s , where he sees men live and die. A curious and gigantic character is imprisoned, supposedly for having killed two children, but he is even afraid to sleep with the light off. He does not look like a murderer. The story is about the innocence of this character.
9. Psychosis (1960)
A classic of American cinema terrero, which was directed by Alfred Hitchcock . It all begins in the life of Marion Crane, who has lived an eventful day that day. After stealing $40,000 from her boss’ client, she packs her bags to meet her lover. She stops at a remote motel, where Norman Bates, a shy young man, accompanies her to her room. That’s where he meets Mrs. Bates (just listening), who is Norman’s mother. As he takes a shower, a female figure surprises him and stabs him several times. Could it be Mrs. Bates? This is one of the most notorious murders in the film world.
10. Indiana Jones: In Search of the Lost Ark (1981)
If you like adventure movies, there is one that has gone down in history and you can’t miss it. Harrison Ford is the protagonist of this true classic of modern adventure cinema . A great work by Steven Spielberg.
11. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Starring Tom Hanks, this is a great war movie , in which a group of US soldiers go behind enemy lines to recover a paratrooper whose brothers have fallen in battle.
12. The Godfather (1972)
Directed by Francis Coppola, it is the story of an aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty who transfers control of his underground empire to his son.
13. Schindler’s List (1993)
A true story about the enigmatic and opportunistic businessman Oskar Schindler , who saved the lives of more than 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust. Schindler’s List recounts the exploits of an exemplary man and the lives of those who survived one of the darkest chapters in human history.
14. Casablanca (1942)
Casablanca won three Oscars in 1942: best film, best director and best script . A masterpiece in every respect. It tells a wonderful love story in troubled times.
15. Gone with the Wind (1939)
The epic tale of a woman’s life during one of the most difficult periods in the history of the United States . This film, taken from the 1936 novel by Margaret Mitchell, narrates the experiences of Scarlet O’Hara.
16. Someone flew over the cuckoo’s nest (1975)
The film revolves around the life of McMurphy, an individual who is imprisoned again after several criminal acts . He tries to make people think that he is crazy to avoid prison work, but the shot backfired and he is taken to a psychiatric hospital.
17. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Because of his knowledge of the Bedouin tribes, British Lieutenant T.E. Lawrence is assigned to Arabia to find Prince Faisal and become the connection between the Arabs and the British in their fight against the Turks. In his adventure a multitude of anecdotes occur .
18. Forrest Gump (1994)
Another of the classics of cinema, starring Tom Hanks . Forrest Gump is a story that everyone knows because it sends a message of self-improvement. It is about a boy who suffers from mental retardation.
19. The Sound of Music (1965)
One of the most famous musicals of all times, which is set in Austria in the time of the Nazis , when Mary is sent to the house of Captain Von Trapp to look after his children.
20. Clockwork Orange
This controversial work was directed by Stanley Kubrick . The protagonist, with possible antisocial disorder, is imprisoned for his criminal acts. He is then used to try a behavioural method to suppress his impulses.
- You can learn more about this film in our article: “‘Clockwork Orange’ and its psychological teachings”
21. My Fair Lady (1964)
This film is inspired by the play of the Irish writer G. B. Shaw (1856-1950), “The Myth of Pygmalion”. It is about how a linguist, amazed by the vulgar language of a flower girl, tries to teach her to speak and pass her off as a lady of high society in six months. All for a bet.
22. Rambo
One of the great films of Sylvester Stallone, who plays John Rambo , a veteran green beret who remembers the tortures he suffered in Vietnam. The collection includes 4 feature films.
23. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
It is based on the 1961 Pulitzer Prize winning book written by Harper Lee , and is about the life of Atticus Finch, a lawyer in the fictional city of Maycomb. Set in the 1930s, Finch vows to defend a young black man accused of raping a white woman.
24. Rocky (1976)
Another of the great classics of cinema and one of the films that led Sylvester Stallone to stardom . The film tells the story of Rocky Balboa’s search for the American dream, a boxer.
25. West Side Story (1961)
A musical that revolves around a modern version of Romeo and Juliet , in which the protagonists are involved in the street bands of New York. In the streets of the New York city, a series of battles take place between bands in search of territorial domination and respect.
26. Unforgiven (1992)
A film directed and starring Clint Eastwood, about a retired gunman from the Wild West , William Munny, who reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner.
27. Titanic (1997)
Titanic has been one of the great movies of all time . Based on real events and starring Leonardo Di Caprio, it was a real box office success.
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Another of the most successful sagas of all times , which are based on the novel of the same name by the South African writer J. R. R. Tolkien. It includes epic films that everyone should see.
29. With skirts and crazy (1959)
A 1959 comedy that has gone down in history , largely because of its protagonist: the great Marilyn Monroe. Billy Wilder is the director of this formidable feature film.
30. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
A film starring Anthony Hopkins who plays Dr. Hannibal “the cannibal” Lecter . A brilliant and renowned psychiatrist turned psychopath. A macabre but intriguing film.
31. E.T. The Alien (1982)
E.T. is a myth in science fiction cinema . It is about a troubled boy who helps his alien friend to return home.
32. Modern Times (1936)
A film directed and starring Charles Chaplin, and which is one of the great classics of silent films that only includes a sung sequence which, curiously, is the funniest part of the film. This work is a satirical vision of industrial mechanicism.
33. American History X (1998)
A film that shows racial violence and the laws that apply in the slums . An exquisite film that shows how prejudice turns people into soulless individuals.
34. Life is Beautiful (1997)
Roberto Benigni directs a great film that he plays himself . He plays a Jewish librarian who is a victim of the Holocaust together with his son. He uses a perfect mixture of will, humour and imagination to protect his descendant from the dangers surrounding his camp.
35. Seven (1995)
A film directed by David Fincher with a great cast: Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, Gwyneth Paltrow , among others. An abstract film with implausible and incoherent moments, but which simply must be seen.
36. Usual suspects (1995)
Director Bryan Singer’s second film is simply exquisite . A great thriller that has excellent actors. A film to be applauded.
37. Matrix (1999)
Keanu Reeves is one of the great successes of recent years . His special effects combined with touches of oriental action movies, all within an extreme technological environment. A peculiar film, in the purest cybernetic style.
38. One of ours (1990)
A great film by Martin Scorsese , with the participation of actors as well known as Joe Pesci or Robert De Niro. Scorsese verges on mastery with this work, set in the Mafia environment.
39. The Seven Samurai (1954)
One of the films that reminds its director, Akira Kurosawa . The story focuses on a village attacked by bandits, in which it is necessary to recruit seven unemployed samurai to help them defend themselves.
40. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
This film by Stanley Kubrick marks a before and after in the world of cinema for its visual communication and its special effects. An epic science fiction film that represents man’s eternal quest for knowledge.
41. Vertigo (1958)
A great film by Alfred Hitchcock about a detective who must follow a woman possessed by her past . A thriller, in the purest Hitchcock style.
42. Citizen Kane (1941)
It’s about a group of journalists trying to find the meaning of the last word a well-known tycoon said before he died.
43. City of God (2002)
It tells the story of a group of children raised in one of the violent neighborhoods of Rio de Janeiro , and many of them carry out criminal behavior as adults. Instead, one of them becomes a photographer and then tells what happened in that neighborhood and how this kind of marginal life leads individuals down the path of crime despite the fact that they were once innocent children.
44. Pulp Fiction (1994)
The director and co-scriptwriter Quentin Tarantino is the creator of this great film , one of the most influential of the nineties. A feature film about gangsters and policemen, with the participation of John Travolta and Samuel L. Jackson, among others. Nominated for seven Oscars.
45. The Fighting Club (1999)
An action movie with actors like Brad Pitt or Edward Norton . It is about a person who, bored with his life, decides to create an “underground” fight club.
46. The Good, the Ugly and the Bad (1966)
Three different men with different tastes and personalities engage in a long battle and full of adventures to find a fortune in gold.
47. Life imprisonment (1994)
A film that tells the experience of a former banker who ends up as a prisoner in jail for a crime he did not commit . Throughout the film many things happen, like I know that he becomes friends with some of his fellow prisoners.
48. Ghost (1995)
Ghost is a film that is somewhere between romantic and fantasy , in which Patrick Swayze plays a character who, after his death, continues to be in contact with his beloved.
49. Pretty Woman
Julia Roberts and Richard Gere star in one of the biggest box office hits of all time and one of the great classics of the cinema. Gere is a rich man and she is a prostitute. Together they live a love story.
50. Dirty Dancing
The now deceased Patrick Swayze will always be remembered for this film, full of incredible moments and sensual dances.