Summary

• Some movies are considered classics for a reason. Select iconic and revolutionary films to understand different genres and styles.
• "Alien," "Dr. Strangelove," and "Pulp Fiction" offer a shortcut to grasping filmmaking techniques and genre elements.
• "The Lion King," "Jaws," and "Casablanca" reinvent classic stories with originality, grand spectacle, and unforgettable characters.

Everyone has their favorite movies, but anyone interested in learning more about filmmaking needs to watch a few movies that are considered cinema classics. Trying to develop a greater cultural palate for cinema can be intimidating. With over a century of movies to choose from, it seems difficult to know where to begin. Luckily, some movies can provide a shortcut to understanding the art form, thanks to their exemplary use of genre or vital filmmaking techniques, and this is the case in just about every genre in every decade of film history.

It's difficult to quantify which films rank as the best movies of all time. Cinema is an extremely varied medium, encoming everything from animated children's musicals to disturbing horror movies. However, developing a greater appreciation of film doesn't require watching hundreds and hundreds of movies. By carefully selecting a handful of iconic and revolutionary works, it becomes easier to get to grips with different genres, movements, and styles. These are some of the best movies ever made.

15 Alien (1979)

Dir. Ridley Scott

1979's Alien is a classic movie in two genres. Ridley Scott took the conventions of a haunted house tale and placed them in a spaceship cruising far from Earth, resulting in an extremely claustrophobic thriller with no escape. Horror stories tap into public anxieties, and Alien was the first major movie in the age of space exploration that questioned what might be waiting for us far out in the cosmos. It also created one of the most recognizable monsters in pop culture history in a haunted house setting.

The sci-fi horror foundations laid out by Alien morphed as the franchise continued, with James Cameron turning it into more of a sci-fi action movie. David Fincher and Jean-Pierre Jeunet took it in a more cerebral direction. Scott returned in 2012 with a prequel in Prometheus, but nothing compares to the horror elements of the original Alien movie. The movie won the Oscar for Visual Effects and then the Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2002.

The Alien franchise is still going strong over 40 years later. Alien: Romulus has a release date set for 2024.

14 Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964)

Dir. Stanley Kubrick

Stanley Kubrick has a lot of movies that film lovers should seek out, from his horror masterpiece The Shining to his war movie Paths of Glory. However, the one movie everyone needs to see to appreciate black comedy and satire movies better is his funny nuclear war movie, Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb. The movie showcases the director's taut camerawork and unparalleled eye for dramatic blocking, but the dialogue shines above all else.

Peter Sellers makes a strong claim for the title of the greatest comedic performance of all time, as he plays three different roles with cartoonish zeal

Dr. Strangelove still holds up today despite the plot being firmly guided by the tensions of the Cold War. The movie sees Russia and the United States on the verge of a nuclear war, while the men in the war rooms are mostly bumbling fools. Peter Sellers makes a strong claim for the title of the greatest comedic performance of all time, as he plays three different roles with cartoonish zeal, lampooning the foibles of a polite Brit, a cocksure American, and a wildcard German. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 1989.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb on Fire is available to watch on Max.

13 Portrait Of A Lady On Fire (2019)

Dir. Céline Sciamma

While not technically a "classic movie," Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a modern-day classic. A modern masterpiece, Céline Sciamma's period drama pulses with forbidden desire and the distant promise of freedom, all encased in the gorgeous surroundings of eighteenth-century . Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a neatly packaged character study, focusing sharply on the relationship between a painter and her subject. It juggles meditations on love, art, and sexual liberation without ever losing its vitality.

Céline Sciamma's period drama pulses with forbidden desire and the distant promise of freedom

Sciamma's use of music is revolutionary, sparse, and fleeting, but the crescendo of Portrait of a Lady on Fire's ending is unforgettable. The movie goes a long way into helping introduce movie fans to the world of French cinema, a country that has produced amazing classic movies like Breathless, The 400 Blows, and Army of Shadows. Portrait of a Lady on Fire received a nomination at the Indipendent Spirit Awards and the Golden Globe Awards.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire is available to watch on Prime Video.

12 Pulp Fiction (1994)

Dir. Quentin Tarantino

Quentin Tarantino's movies can be best understood as shared experiences. Pulp Fiction borrowed from almost a century of American cinema to delight its audience with violence, wit, and raw emotion. The non-linear storytelling and the interlocking plot structure elevated Pulp Fiction above mere mimicry, and it became a cinematic touchstone in its own right. Pulp Fiction's characters are so richly drawn that they transcend their own genre boundaries. They're now imitated just as often as Tarantino's own inspirations.

It is the dialogue and script that makes it a masterpiece, and that is what elevates the movie above its imitators.

The seminal Tarantino movie celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2024 and remains one of his most beloved releases. The film follows two hitmen, but only part of the story is about their role as enforcers, as it is more about the inner workings of the people who live in this area of darkness. It is the dialogue and script that makes it a masterpiece, and that is what elevates the movie above its imitators. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2013.

Pulp Fiction is available to watch on Netflix

11 The Lion King (1994)

Dir. Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers

its gorgeous 2D animation retells the stories with incredible originality

The Lion King emphasizes cinema's capacity to reinvent classic stories. Based primarily on William Shakespeare's "Hamlet," the plot also borrows elements from the Biblical tales of Jesus and Moses. However, its gorgeous 2D animation retells the stories with incredible originality. The movie tells the story of Simba, the son of King Mufasa, and his terrifying life after he goes on the run following his father's tragic death — believing himself responsible. He has to find himself before he can return and claim his role as King.

Arguably the most outstanding product of Disney's 1990s renaissance, The Lion King exhibits the grand spectacle of a stage musical, assisted in no small part by one of the best movie soundtracks of all time. The movie won two Oscars and four Grammy Awards and made almost $1 billion worldwide at the box office. The Library of Congress added The Lion King to the National Film Registry in 2016. The movie also spawned several sequels and a CGI remake in 2016.

The Lion King is available to watch on Disney+

10 Jaws (1975)

Dir. Steven Spielberg

Before child-friendly movies like Jurassic Park and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Steven Spielberg created a blood-soaked thriller about a killer shark on a rampage. Jaws features all the requisite gore and suspense to be recognized as a horror classic, but the interplay between the characters is far more polished than most monster movies would ever have room for. Despite its looming presence, the great white has very little screen time. That is for the best as the creation of the shark was one of the troubled aspects of the shoot.

Jaws features all the requisite gore and suspense to be recognized as a horror classic, but the interplay between the characters is far more polished than most monster movies would ever have room for.

The movie instead relies on the conflict between a police chief, an oceanographer, and a grizzled shark hunter as they wait for the beast to appear. The summer blockbuster is something that is normal in the movie industry today, and it was Jaws that created that phenomenon, with Spielberg ushering in a new era of big-budget blockbusters that have arrived every summer since 1975. The Library of Congress added it to the National Film Registry in 2001.

Jaws is available to watch on Prime Video

9 Casablanca (1942)

Dir. Michael Curtiz

Set against the backdrop of World War II, Casablanca tells the story of a doomed romance. Humphrey Bogart is on top form as Rick, the cynical American expatriate whose past returns to haunt him. Ingrid Bergman stars as his love interest Ilsa, and the pair's unrivaled chemistry easily carries the plot. Casablanca's endlessly quotable script and brooding style build to a bittersweet finale when Rick and Ilsa must sacrifice their love for a greater cause.

Ultimately, Casablanca is as much about redemption and change as it is about romance. Even more than that, it is also a movie ing a distinctive setting to set up a masterclass of acting and storytelling, as the World War II backdrop in the small Casablanca is as important as the characters and their love story. The movie won Best Picture at the Oscars and the Library of Congress added this masterpiece to the National Film Registry in 1989 — the very first year the inductions began.

Casablanca is available to watch on Max

8 Spirited Away (2001)

Dir. Hayao Miyazaki

Due to its high cost, animation mostly relies on pragmatism and efficiency, but Spirited Away luxuriates in its complexity. Hayao Miyazaki's expansive canvas hides loving touches in every corner, and his world of fantastical creatures and obscure magic requires multiple viewings. There are so many generous details that are not strictly necessary for the continuation of the plot, but the movie's style is as vital as its substance. Miyazaki's boundless creativity renders an impossible landscape with staggering clarity.

Spirited Away was the first Japanese anime to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and it took Miyazaki 22 years before he won his second

The movie is also a perfect introduction to Japanese animation, and more specifically, the work of Hayao Miyazaki. Spirited Away was the first Japanese anime to win the Oscar for Best Animated Feature, and it took Miyazaki 22 years before he won his second, with The Boy and the Heron in 2023. The movie is also a gateway movie, and there are so many more to explore after this, from How's Moving Castle and Kiki's Delivery Service to My Neighbor Totoro.

Spirited Away is available to watch on Netflix

7 The Godfather (1972)

Dir. Francis Ford Coppola

With The Godfather, Francis Ford Coppola garnered sympathy and understanding for a family of brutal criminals. The Corleone family have a peculiar business, but they value honesty, loyalty, and respect, just like anyone else. The dark, expressive style of The Godfather envelops the audience with confidence. In the end, the extreme specificity of the characters gives them a broad appeal. The Godfather is a violent and thrilling movie, but it shows that expert characterization can garner sympathy for even the most cold-blooded survivalists.

The sequel is, in some ways, even better than the first movie. Both movies won several Oscars, including Best Picture for both of them and Best Director for The Godfather Part II. Marlon Brando won Best Actor for the first movie and Robert De Niro won Best ing Actor for the second — both men playing the same character. Both films also won for Best Adapted Screenplay. The gangster genre has been around since the silent era, but these movies remain the best of the best.

The Godfather Part II continues the saga of the Corleone family, and it deserves a place in the canon of essential cinema on its own merits.

The Godfather is available to watch on Netflix and Star+

6 It's A Wonderful Life (1947)

Dir. Frank Capra

Over 70 years after its production, It's a Wonderful Life remains the quintessential Christmas movie. Some movies, even some excellent movies, lose their appeal with repeat viewings, but It's a Wonderful Life's warm embrace could be enjoyed at least once every December if not more. The movie is realistically a tragic drama about a man who decides he wants to die by suicide but then he learns what his town and the people he loves would be like if he had never existed, learning his importance in the world.

The earnest emotion of It's a Wonderful Life is an irresistible tonic to modern cynicism, and irrefutable proof of the intangible magic of cinema.

It's a moralistic fable in the vein of Dickens or the great Greek tragedies, celebrating the ordinary lives that can us by every day. The earnest emotion of It's a Wonderful Life is an irresistible tonic to modern cynicism, and irrefutable proof of the intangible magic of cinema. The movie earned five Oscar nominations, and then through a lack of renewal, it fell into the public domain in 1974, which is why it plays on several different networks every holiday season.

It's a Wonderful Life is available to watch on Looke