50 Classic Movies Everyone Should Watch in Their Lifetime

By Caroline Rogers
Tetra Images/Getty Images
Here it is: A by-no-means-exhaustive list of 50 movies everyone should watch at least once. Before you dive in, I should offer a disclaimer. Whittling this list was nearly impossible. (Admittedly, it should probably be 200 entries long.) These great films range in genre and critical acclaim, but all are notable in distinct ways and all hold some significance to the history of film. So, while this list can never be long enough (and there are some great films, directors, screenwriters, cinematographers, and actors absent from this compilation), think of it as a beginning, a primer in film history stretching from 1922 to 2008.Add these films to your lineup and plan a movie marathon or two—you’ll soon be launched into the luminous, silver-screen world of classic movies. I’ve bookended the list and have halted the most recently released films with those premiering in 2008. Why? Because I think a decade is long enough for these films to begin building their status as future classics. A decade has allowed some of these newer releases to begin to prove their lasting power—I'm looking at you, There Will Be Blood. (Also, for more recs, check out this list of fantastic films from the past ten years.)
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Nosferatu (1922)

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To buy: $7.99, amazon.com

It’s the silent film that launched a thousand vampire stories—all of which owe a debt to this classic.

More essential 1920s films: Metropolis (1927), Un chien andalou (1929), The Fall of the House of Usher (1928), Man with a Movie Camera (1929)

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City Lights (1931)

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To buy: $29.95, amazon.com

This striking and silent Charlie Chaplin film immortalizes a love story that’s impossible to forget.

Also with Charlie Chaplin: Modern Times (1936), The Great Dictator (1940), The Gold Rush (1925)

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Dracula (1931)

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This is Bela Lugosi’s timeless interpretation of the archetypal vampire.

Also with Bela Lugosi: The Wolf Man (1941), Murders in the Rue Morgue (1932), The Black Cat (1934)

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M (1931)

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This German thriller directed by Fritz Lang sees a serial killer targeted by police and criminals alike.

Also directed by Fritz Lang: Metropolis (1927), Fury (1936), You Only Live Once (1937)

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Gone with the Wind (1939)

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To buy: $17.17, amazon.com

Margaret Mitchell’s novel of the Civil War-era South was adapted into this memorable film starring Vivien Leigh and Clark Gable.

Also with Vivien Leigh: A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), Anna Karenina (1948), The Roman Spring of Mrs. Stone (1961)

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The Wizard of Oz (1939)

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Dorothy, Toto, and their friends embark on a journey to L. Frank Baum’s Emerald City in this vibrant fantasy.

Also with Judy Garland: Meet Me in St. Louis (1944), Babes in Arms (1939), A Star Is Born (1954), Summer Stock (1950), Easter Parade (1948)

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Citizen Kane (1941)

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To buy: $9.99, amazon.com

Orson Welles’ masterpiece is a portrait of newspaper tycoon Charles Foster Kane, played by Welles, who also directed and co-wrote the film.

Also directed by Orson Welles: Chimes at Midnight (1965), Othello (1951), Touch of Evil (1958), The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)

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Casablanca (1943)

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World War II-era Casablanca is the setting for this unforgettable tale starring Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Also with Humphrey Bogart: The Maltese Falcon (1941), The African Queen (1951), The Big Sleep (1946), The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Also with Ingrid Bergman: Spellbound (1945), Autumn Sonata (1978), For Whom the Bell Tolls (1943), The Bells of St. Mary’s (1945), Anastasia (1956)

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The African Queen (1951)

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Katharine Hepburn and Humphrey Bogart star in this John Huston-directed classic about a missionary and a steamboat captain in World War I-era central Africa.

Also with Katharine Hepburn: The Philadelphia Story (1940), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), Bringing Up Baby (1938), The Lion in Winter (1968), On Golden Pond (1981)

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Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

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To buy: $16.12, amazon.com

Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, and Debbie Reynolds sing and dance their way through this 1950s musical smash about the advent of talking pictures.

Also with Gene Kelly: An American in Paris (1951), Brigadoon (1954), Anchors Aweigh (1945)

Also with Debbie Reynolds: The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1964), The Tender Trap (1955)

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Roman Holiday (1953)

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To buy: $9.99, amazon.com

Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck star as a princess and a reporter, respectively, in this Rome-set love story.

Also with Audrey Hepburn: Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961), Sabrina (1954), Funny Face (1957), My Fair Lady (1964)

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Rear Window (1954)

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To buy: $7.88, amazon.com

This Alfred Hitchcock classic is a suspenseful tale of surveillance starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly.

Also directed by Alfred Hitchcock: Vertigo (1958), Psycho (1960), The Birds (1963), The 39 Steps (1935)

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Seven Samurai (1954)

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To buy: $29.77, amazon.com

Akira Kurosawa’s epic adventure begins when seven samurai are enlisted to help protect a Japanese village from thieves.

Also directed by Akira Kurosawa: Rashomon (1950), Throne of Blood (1957), Yojimbo (1961)

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The Seventh Seal (1957)

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This Ingmar Bergman film follows a knight who, after ten years spent fighting in the Crusades, meets Death on a beach and challenges him to a game of chess.

Also directed by Ingmar Bergman: Fanny and Alexander (1982), Wild Strawberries (1957), Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Cries and Whispers (1972)

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North by Northwest (1959)

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To buy: $19.49, amazon.com

You’ll know this Hitchcock film by the iconic Mount Rushmore-set climax. It stars Cary Grant and Eva Marie Saint as two people caught up in a suspenseful case of mistaken identity.

Also with Cary Grant: To Catch a Thief (1955), Bringing Up Baby (1938), His Girl Friday (1940), An Affair to Remember (1957)

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Some Like It Hot (1959)

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Two jazz musicians (Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon) hit the road in disguise in this Billy Wilder-directed comedy.

Also directed by Billy Wilder: Sunset Boulevard (1950), Double Indemnity (1960), The Apartment (1944)

Also with Marilyn Monroe: The Seven Year Itch (1955), Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953), The Misfits (1961)

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Breathless (1960)

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Drop into the work of Jean-Luc Godard and start with Breathless (A bout de soufflé), a film starring Jean-Paul Belmondo as a criminal hiding out with the help of his American girlfriend, played by Jean Seberg.

More essential French New Wave films: The 400 Blows (1959), Jules et Jim (1962), Band of Outsiders (1964), Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962), My Life to Live (1962)

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To Kill a Mockingbird (1961)

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To buy: $9.99, amazon.com

The classic film adaptation of Harper Lee’s novel about racial injustice in rural, Depression-era Maycomb, Alabama, stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch.

Also with Gregory Peck: Roman Holiday (1953), Spellbound (1945), The Big Country (1958)

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West Side Story (1961)

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To buy: $9.99, amazon.com

This 1961 movie musical about a love story amid rival gangs in New York City is a classic that you can re-watch again and again. (And there’s a remake on the horizon!)

Also with Natalie Wood: Rebel Without a Cause (1955), Splendor in the Grass (1961), Gypsy (1962)

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

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To buy: $14.47, amazon.com

This storied and visually stunning World War II-era biopic of T.E. Lawrence stars Peter O’Toole.

Also with Peter O’Toole: The Lion in Winter (1968), Becket (1964), The Ruling Class (1972)

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8 1/2 (1963)

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To buy: $29.97, amazon.com

While many Federico Fellini films are must-sees, this one (about an Italian filmmaker and the women in his life) continues to have a major influence on the world of cinema.

Also directed by Federico Fellini: La Dolce Vita (1960), Fellini Satyricon (1969), La Strada (1954)

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Lilies of the Field (1963)

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To buy: $12.69, amazon.com

Sidney Poitier earned a history-making Academy Award for Best Actor for his performance in this film about a traveling laborer and former G.I. who happens upon an Arizona farm populated by Catholic nuns.

Also with Sidney Poitier: In the Heat of the Night (1967), Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner (1967), To Sir, With Love (1967), A Raisin in the Sun (1961)

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2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

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To buy: $15.83, amazon.com

Stanley Kubrick’s science-fiction epic is an adaptation of a short story by Arthur C. Clark.

Also directed by Stanley Kubrick: Dr. Strangelove, Or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964), The Shining (1980), A Clockwork Orange (1971), Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Full Metal Jacket (1987)

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The Godfather (1972)

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To buy: $9.69, amazon.com

The first installment in Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Trilogy is based on Mario Puzo’s popular books and features a score by Nino Rota.

Also directed by Francis Ford Coppola: Apocalypse Now (1979), Bram Stoker’s Dracula (1992), The Godfather Part II (1974), Rumble Fish (1983), The Outsiders (1983)

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Jaws (1975)

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To buy: $8.26, amazon.com

The film that launched a thousand shark phobias, Steven Spielberg’s Jaws is an undeniable classic.

Also directed by Steven Spielberg: E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), Jurassic Park (1993), Lincoln (2012), Saving Private Ryan (1998)

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Nashville (1975)

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To buy: $25.97, amazon.com

Robert Altman’s Tennessee-set musical satire stars Keith Carradine and Shelley Duvall.

Also directed by Robert Altman: MASH (1970), Gosford Park (2001), McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971), The Long Goodbye (1973)

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Star Wars (1977)

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To buy: $17.99, amazon.com

The film that started it all. George Lucas’ sci-fi epic introduced audiences to Luke, Leia, and Han and unfurled a saga that’s still going strong.

Also directed by George Lucas: American Graffiti (1973), Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace (1999)

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Days of Heaven (1978)

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To buy: $12.99, amazon.com

Every shot a painting, Terence Malick’s stunning Days of Heaven stars Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, and Sam Shepard in a drama set in the Texas Panhandle.

Also with Sam Shepard: Paris, Texas (1984), The Right Stuff (1983) Black Hawk Down (2001), August: Osage County (2013)

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The Deer Hunter (1978)

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To buy: $9.99, amazon.com

This dramatic examination of the Vietnam War was directed by Michael Cimino and stars Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, and John Savage, with memorable appearances by Meryl Streep and John Cazale.

Also with Robert De Niro: Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) The Godfather Part II (1974), The Untouchables (1987), Mean Streets (1973)

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Amadeus (1984)

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To buy: $19.97, amazon.com

Dive into the world of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart in this enthralling and visually stunning epic starring F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce.

Also with F. Murray Abraham: The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014), The Name of the Rose (1986), Scarface (1983), All the President’s Men (1976)

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Out of Africa (1985)

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To buy: $9.99, amazon.com

Sydney Pollack brings to vivid life Danish writer Karen Blixen’s life in Kenya in this memorable film starring Meryl Streep and Robert Redford, accompanied by a luminous score by John Berry.

Also directed by Sydney Pollack: Tootsie (1982), The Way We Were (1973), Jeremiah Johnson (1972), Sabrina (1995)

Also with Meryl Streep: Kramer vs. Kramer (1979), The Bridges of Madison County (1995), Sophie’s Choice (1982), The Iron Lady (2011), August: Osage County (2013)

Also with Robert Redford: All the President’s Men (1976), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969), All Is Lost (2013)

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The Color Purple (1985)

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To buy: $7.99, amazon.com

Whoopi Goldberg and Danny Glover star in this moving adaptation of Alice Walker’s beloved, Pulitzer Prize-winning novel.

Also with Whoopi Goldberg: Sister Act (1992), Ghost (1990), Jumpin’ Jack Flash (1986)

Also with Danny Glover: Lethal Weapon (1987), Places in the Heart (1984), Beloved (1998)

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A Room with a View (1986)

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To buy: $29.95, amazon.com

The team at Merchant Ivory realized this wonderful adaptation of E.M. Forster’s beloved novel, framing it with a stellar screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala and filling it with the lush visuals that are their signature.

Also directed by James Ivory and with a screenplay by Ruth Prawer Jhabvala: Howards End (1992), The Remains of the Day (1993), Heat and Dust (1983)

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