I have already created a list of the Most Important Novels in My Life (which is up for occasional editing and review). Now comes my list of must-see movies.
As with the most important novels, for a film to make the list it must meet one or more of the following criteria:
- It was so profound and meaningful to me that I’ve seen the movie multiple times.
- It significantly influenced me as a writer, in terms of storytelling, structure, or character.
- Seeing the movie is inexorably linked to and illuminates a moment or period of time in my life.
Here’s the initial list, in no particular order. I’m sure I’ve missed some, and may regret including others. As I re-watch some of these, I will add comments, and also remove from or add movies to this list:
- The Godfather
- Body Heat
- The Wizard of Oz
- Michael Clayton
- The Graduate
- Take Shelter
- Pulp Fiction
- Choose Me
- Casablanca
- Nocturnal Animals
- Ordinary People
- The Big Chill
- The Fugitive
- Jaws
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Traffic
- Crash (sorry)
- Lantana
- Martha, Marcy, May, Marlene
- Mystic River
- American Beauty (despite Kevin Spacey being canceled)
- Goodbye, Columbus
- A History of Violence
- The Manchurian Candidate
- Saving Private Ryan