Some excellent films and TV series I've appreciated. My wife and I are in some ways unusual as Americans (especially among our peers). One is that we've never owned a TV. Curiously, our daughter majored in Media Studies in college.
I've read quite a few books on excellent films. When our town still had a Blockbuster store, the clerks there often called me "the guy with the book." (I'd often go there with a thick Richard Maltin book to help me find a movie worth watching.) I was thankful when Netflix emerged as I had a better chance of spending less time looking for a movie to watch (especially on DVD) than actually watching it.
Over the years, I discovered and kept bumping up against Netflix's limit on films in my Queue: 500. ;-)
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13 Assassins
13th (excellent documentary, 2016)
1971 (documentary, 2014)
20 Feet From Stardom (2013)
3-Iron
51 Birch St.
9/11 (11 films by different directors, each 9 min., 11 sec. long, about 9/11)
39 Steps, The (directed by Hitchcock, 1935)
’71 (2015)
A Better Tomorrow (John Woo film, 1986)
A Better Tomorrow II (John Woo film)
Ace in the Hole (1951)
A Chef In Love
Accountant, The (2016)
Adam’s Rib
A Face In The Crowd
Afghan Star
African Queen
After Hours (comedy by Martin Scorsese)
A Hijacking (Danish, 2012)
All About Eve
All The King’s Men (1949)
All the President's Men
All The Real Girls
Almost Famous
A Man Escaped
Amazing Grace (with Aretha Franklin, 2018)
Amelie
Amen. (2002)
American Graffiti
American Splendor (R for language)
American Sniper (2014)
Americans, The (TV series)
A Most Violent Year (2014)
Angel Face (1952)
An Honest Liar (documentary 2014)
A Night at the Opera
Anthropoid (2016)
An Unlikely Weapon: The Eddie Adams Story
Animal Kingdom
Annie Hall
Anthony Zimmer
Arbitrage
Argo
Army of Crime
Army of Shadows
Armour of God II: Operation Condor (w/ Jackie Chan)
A Prophet (2009)
A Royal Affair (Danish, 2012)
A Separation
Assassination Tango
A Simple Plan
A Streetcar Called Desire
A Touch Of Sin (Chinese, 2013)
Audrie & Daisy
Au Revoir L'Enfants
A Woman in Berlin
Awful Truth, The
Babette's Feast
Baby Driver (2017)
Bambi Meets Godzilla
Bandits (note all the stars in it, 2001)
Barney’s Version (stunning, award-winning acting by Paul Giamatti; beware: language)
Battle for Haditha (2007)
Battle of Algiers, The
Beasts of No Nation (2015)
Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead (beware: it earned its R rating; very powerful)
Behind Enemy Lines
Being John Malkovich
Belle (2014)
Bend It Like Beckam
Best in Show
Best Offer, The (2013)
Best of Youth, The - excellent Italian mini-series movie (6 hrs.)
Best Years of Our Lives
Bethlehem (Israeli?, 2013)
Better Off Dead (very funny comedy)
Beyond Silence
Bicycle Thief, The
Big Heat, The (1953)
Birdman (quite bad language, 2014)
Blackhat (2015)
Blacklist, The (series, 2013)
Black Sea (2015)
Black Mirror (2011 - )
Blazing Saddles
Bletchley Circle, The (3 part series, 2012)
Blood (2012)
Blood Simple (1st film by the Coen brothers, including Frances McDormand in her 1st film with them)
Blood and Wine (1996, for the acting)
Blue Thunder (for helicopter dog fight in city streets only)
Blue, White, and Red (trilogy by Kieslowski (“White” is best, I think)
Bon Voyage (French, 2004)
Boot, Das (a.k.a. “The Boat”), director's cut is best, but 4 hrs. or so
Bosch (TV series)
Bourne Identity, The (2002)
Bourne Legacy, The
Bourne Supremacy, The
Bourne Ultimatum, The
Boyhood
Brazil (one of the funniest comedies I've ever seen, watch for details)
Breach (one of the best films I've ever seen)
Brighton Rock (2010)
Bringing Up Baby (crewball comedy at its best)
Broadcast News
Bronx Tale, A
Brothers (Danish film)
Bullitt (only for the car chase in San Francisco hills)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Calvary (2014)
Candidate, The (w/ Robert Redford)
Captive, The (2014)
Capernaum
Cartel Land (2012)
Casablanca
Casino Royale (2006 version only with Daniel Craig!)
Cat Ballou (very funny Western, listed by AFI in top 10 Westerns ever)
Central Park Five, The (documentary from Ken Burns, 2012)
Central Station
Charlie Chaplin films (nearly anything by him)
Chasing Ice (excellent doc, 2012)
Children of Men (2006)
Children of Heaven (Iranian film)
Chinatown
Chop Shop
Cinema Paradiso (Italian, original, not new director's cut)
Cirque de Soleil: Dralion (best of all of theirs I've seen so far, simply amazing)
CITIZENFOUR (2014)
Citizen Kane
City Island
City Lights (by Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
City of Life and Death (you’ll need a strong stomach to watch this strong film...)
Civil War series (by Ken Burns for PBS)
Client 9: the Rise and Fall of Eliot Spitzer
Closed Circuit (2013)
Clue
Cold Mountain
Cold Souls
Comet (2014)
Commitment (2013)
Commitments, The (1991) lots of humor, but more cursing than almost any movie I’ve ever seen) :-(
Company You Keep, The (2012)
Constant Gardener, The
Control Room
Conversation, The (w/ Gene Hackman)
Counterfeiters, The
Crash
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Criss Cross (1949)
Cuckoo, The (Finnish)
Dancer Upstairs, The
Dangal (2016)
Dark Angel (series with Jessica Alba, very early in her career)
Day After Trinity, The
Day of the Condor
Day of the Jackal (original version only!)
Days of Glory
Day the Earth Stood Still, The (the original, classic, 1951)
Dear White People (incl. very funny extras on DVD)
Debt, The (2007, original from Israel)
Debt, The (remake, 2010)
Decalogue (ten 1 hr. films by Kieslowski, loosely based on the 10
Commandments)
Deceptive Practice
Defiance
Defiant Ones, The
Denial (2016)
Descendants, The
Detective Dee and the Mystery of the Phantom Flame
Disorder (French, 2015)
Film Noir Collection: Detour (1945)
Dirty Dozen, The
Dirty Wars (2013)
Divided We Fall
Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The (very gripping, moving)
Don’t Stop Believin’: Everyman’s Journey (one of the best docs I’ve ever seen)
Double Indemnity
Downfall (one of the most powerful films I’ve ever seen)
Dr. Strangelove
Dr. Zhivago
Drop, The (2014)
Drug War (Du zhan," 2012)
Drunken Master (w/ Jackie Chan, 1974)
Drunken Master II (w/ Jackie Chan, probably his best film ever)
Eagle Eye (2008)
East, The (2013)
Earth Girls Are Easy (a number of stars got their start in this film)
Edge of Tomorrow a.k.a. Elevator to the Gallows
Elizabeth (1998)
Elite Squad (Brazil, 2007)
Escape From New York (1981)
Everlasting Moments
Evil (Swedish, 2003)
Ex Machina (2015)
Fall, The (superb, done without CGI in about 28 countries over several years, 2006)
Fall, The (British TV series, 2013)
Fahrenheit 491
Farewell (2009)
Far North (2007)
Fauda (excellent Israeli TV series)
Fellowship of the Rings (part 1 of Lord of the Rings)
Fences
50 Dead Men Walking
Firefly (TV series, led to movie “Serenity”)
Firestorm (2013)
Five Came Back (3 part documentary series, U.S. directors film while in WWII)
Flame and Citron (Danish, 2008)
Fog of War, The
Footloose (just for the music)
Force Majeure
For My Father (2008)
Fort Bliss
Fosse/Verdon (TV mini-series with 8 parts, Michelle Williams earned an Emmy)
Four Little Girls
Free State of Jones
French Connection (for the chase scene in subway)
Frenzy
Fresh (lots of bad language, but an award-winning film, watch with subtitles)
From Here to Eternity
Frontera (2014)
Frozen River
Fruitvale Station
Fugitive, The
Gangster’s Paradise: Jerusalema
Garbo the Spy (2009)
Garry Winogrand: All Things Are Photographable
Gattaca
General, The (w/ Buster Keaton)
Generation War (TV series from German, excellent, very powerful, 2013)
George Lucas In Love
Ghost World
Gilda (a classic, 1946)
Girl In A Café, The
Girl on the Bridge, The
Girl With A Pearl Earring
Godfather I and II
Gods Must Be Crazy, The
Gomorrah (Italian TV series, 2014 - ?)
Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, The
Gosford Park
Graceland (TV series, 3 seasons)
Graduate, The
Gravity (see only in in 3D in a theater, not on DVD!, 2013)
Great Escape, The
Grosse Pointe Blank
Hacksaw Ridge
Hamlet (4 hr. version)
Hang 'Em High
Hanna (movie, 2011)
Hanna (TV series based on movie)
Hard Boiled (directed by John Woo)
Hard Day's Night, A (w/ the Beatles)
Hard Eight
Heart Machine, The (2014)
Heat (note: very graphic violence, but very gripping film)
Hell or High Water
Help! (w/ the Beatles)
Hero (the Chinese film, not the Dustin Hoffman one, which was merely o.k.)
Heroes of Telemark, The
Hidden Figures
Hidden Fortress, The (directed by Kurosawa, basis of "Star Wars")
High and Low (directed by Kurosawa, 1963)
High Fidelity
High Noon
Hitchcock films (nearly anything by him)
Holes (very funny, very clean, lots of extras on the DVD)
Home of the Brave (2006)
Homefront (2013)
Honorable Woman, The (2014)
Hope and Glory
Horsemen on the Roof
Hostage (2005)
Hotel Rwanda
Hour, The (excellent BBC mini-series, 2011)
House of Cards (U.S. TV series on Netflix only)
House of Sand and Fog
Hugo (2011)
Human Condition, The (Japanese classic from 1959, about 9 hours long(!)
Hundred-Foot Journey, The
Hunger Games, The
Hunt, The (Danish, 2012)
Hustler, The
I Am A Fugitive From A Chain Gang (1932)
I Am Not Your Negro
Illusionist, The
Il Postino ("The Postman," Italian)
Imitation Game, The (2014)
Impossible, The (very intense!)
Imposters, The (very, very funny, 1998)
In A Better World
In A Lonely Place In America
In Bruges (very bad language, but it’s really worth watching, incl. the canal extra)
Incendies
Inception
Inequality For All (2013)
Infernal Affairs
Inside Man
Internet’s Own Boy: The Story of Aaron Swartz, The
Interstellar
In the Heat of the Night
Intouchables, The (quite funny, 2011)
Ip Man 2
The Invention of Lying
Invisible War, The
I.O.U.S.A. (documentary, a real horror story about the U.S.’ national debt and how we got it)
Iraq for Sale: The War Profiteers (documentary)
It Happened One Night
James Bond movies (the early ones, especially, w/ Sean Connery, not the original Casino Royale!)
Jason Bourne
Jean de Florette/Manon of the Spring (two linked movies)
Jezebel (1938)
JFK (special edition, longer than theatrical version)
Johnny Stecchino (very funny Italian comedy)
Ju Dou
Justified (TV series)
Just Visiting (extremely funny!)
Kagemusha (directed by Kurosawa, 1980)
Ken Burns: The Vietnam War (2017)
Key Largo
Kidnapped (TV series)
Killing, The (early Kubrick)
Killing Fields, The
Kind Hearts and Coronets (Alec Guiness playing 8 different parts!)
King of Masks, The (Chinese)
Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
Kiss of Death (1947)
Kokora (2009)
L.A. Story
Labor Day
Ladron Que Roba a Ladron (2007, mostly Spanish caper/comedy)
Lady from Shanghai
Lady Vanishes
Lantana, The
Last Days, The (1998 documentary about Jews who survived the Holocaust)
Last Days In Vietnam (2014)
Last Waltz, The (classic concert footage, shot from a storyboard in live settting(!)
Last Emperor, The
Last of the Mohicans
Layer Cake (if you can get past the bad language; plus having the English subtitles on can help!)
Le Cercle Rouge
Le Doulos
La La Land (2016)
Le Miserables (French, starring Jean Paul Belmondo in 3 different roles, directed by C.LeLouche, a superb movie, 1995)
Le Samourai
Last Sentence, The (Swedish, 2012)
Le Trou (1960)
Let The Fire Burn (2013)
Letters from Iwo Jima
Life, Above All
Lifeboat Lifeline (short film, 2016)
Lincoln Lawyer, The
Live Die Repeat (a.k.a. “Edge of Tomorrow," 2014)
Live Free or Die Hard (for the dialogue and stunts)
Lives of Others, The
Little Big Man
Locke (2014)
Lone Survivor (2013)
Longest Day, The
Look Both Ways
Lookout, The
Lord of the Rings: Return of the King
Los Angeles Plays Itself
Lost in Translation
Lovely and Amazing
Luther (very intense BBC detective series, starring Idris Elba)
M (w / Peter Lorre, directed by Fritz Lang)
Mad Max
Magnificent Seven, The
Malena (2000)
Maltese Falcon, The
Mandela: Long Walk To Freedom
Making A Murderer (TV series, 1st season)
Man From Nowhere, The (2010)
Man From Reno (2014)
Man In The High Castle, The (1st season, series from Amazon)
Man Push Cart
Man Who Knew Too Much
Man Who Wasn't There
Man Who Would Be King, The (very cross-cultural!)
Manchurian Candidate, The (original from the '60s)
March of the Penguins
Margin Call (beware: some very bad language)
Marseille (TV series, 1st season, 2016)
Marvel’s Jessica Jones (TV series)
Marvel’s Luke Cage (TV series)
Maryam
M.A.S.H
Maxed Out
Max Manus
Medium Cool
'Meet The Patels (documentary, 2014)
Memento
Men In Black
Memory of a Killer (Belgian made, in Flemish)
Men With Guns (and nearly every other film directed by John Sayles :-)
Miami Vice
Michael Clayton
Middle of Nowhere (2012)
Mill and the Cross, The
Millions
Miller's Crossing
Miracle of Morgan's Creek (be sure to watch the extras on DVD to understand its importance)
Missing (from the director of “Z”)
Modern Times
Monsieur Hire
Monsters (2010)
Monterey Pop
Monty Python and the Holy Grail
Moon (2009)
More The Merrier, The (excellent ’40’s screwball romantic comedy)
Most Dangerous Man in America, The (one of best documentaries I’ve ever seen)
Most Hated Woman in America, The (documentary, 2017)
Mother (Korean)
Mother and Child (2009)
Mr. Warmth: The Don Rickles Project (documentary, 2007)
Mud (2012)
Munich
Music Man, The
My Best Friend (2007)
My Fair Lady
My Man Godfrey
Mystery Science Theater 3000 ("MST3K" series, especially "Gunslinger")
Narco Cultura (documentary)
Narcos (series from Netflix, started 2015)
nearly anything w/ Buster Keaton
Nebraska (very sly, dark humor)
Never Look Away (German)
New World, The (very good on cross-cultural issues, see "making of..." extra)
Next Stop Wonderland (1998)
Night Crossing
Night Moves
Nine Queens (excellent Argentinian mystery, superior to David Mamet's "House of Games")
Nine Lives (each segment filmed all in one take, no editing)
Nobel (Norwegian TV series, 1 season, 2016)
No End In Sight
No Man's Land
North by Northwest
Notorious (directed by Hitchcock)
Nowhere in Africa (cross-cultural!)
O.J.: Made In America (series from ESPN)
Omar (2013)
Once Once Upon A Time in America (excellent, but it really earned its R rating)
Once Upon a Time When We Were Colored
Once Were Warriors (beware: extreme violence, esp. domestic violence, and language)
On the Basis of Sex (re. Ruth Bader Ginsburg)
Open Your Eyes (Spanish film from which the "Vanilla Sky" was remade; beware sexual content)
Oranges and Sunshine
Orphan Black (British TV series, one actress playing many roles)
Osama
Outfoxed: Rupert Murdoch's War on Journalism (documentary)
Outlaw Josey Wales, The (1976)
Outside the Law (2010)
Outsourced
Overlord (1975)
Pablo Escobar, el patron del mal (TV series from S. American makers with many episodes, 2012)
Painted Veil, The (2006)
Panic (w/ William Macy, many other stars)
Panic in the Streets (1950)
Paradise Now
Parallax View, The
Paranoia (2013)
Paris Je T’aime
Passenger, The (with Jack Nicholson, directed by Antonioni, 1975)
Paths of Glory (one of the most powerful films I've ever seen)
Patriots Day (2016)
Persepolis
Pianist, The
ickup On South Street
Pink Panther series (all, but the last one they cobbled together after Sellers died (!)
Pitch Perfect (for the music and dancing)
Planet Earth (BBC series, only get version with David Attenborough narrating; the best filming of nature I've ever seen)
Play It Again, Sam
Point Blank (2010)
Police Squad (TV series that was the basis for the “Naked Gun” movies)
Poverty, Inc. (documentary, 2014)
Premium Rush
Prestige, The
Prime Suspect (British TV series starring Helen Mirren)
Prisoner, the (British TV series from the '60s, way ahead of its time for filming)
Prisoners of War (Israeli TV series, 2 seasons, 2009)
Prize Winner of Defiance, Ohio
Producers, The (original only!)
Professional, The
Professionals, The (1966)
Prohibition (documentary series by Ken Burns)
Purple Rose of Cairo, The
Queen of the South, The (TV series)
Quiet American, The
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Rage (2009)
Raise the Red Lantern
Ran (directed by Kurosawa, 1985)
Rashomon (directed by Kurosawa, 1950)
Rat Race
Read My Lips
Rear Window
Rectify (TV series. 2013)
Red Cliff (by John Woo with 100,000 extras, “International” version with subtitles only, 6 hrs. long?, not dubbed, when filmed was the most expensive Chinese movie)
Redemption (2013)
Red Riding trilogy (very well done set of 3 made-for-TV BBC movies, but also very brutal and depressing)
Remember (2015)
Restrepo (one of the best documentaries I’ve ever seen)
Return of the Secaucus 7 (from John Sayles)
Richard III (set in England in the '30's)
Riverdance (I've only seen the first one, but am told the 2nd version of this is even better w/o Michael Flatley)
Road Games (French, 2016)
Robber, The (2010)
Robin Hood (1991 version with Uma Thurman, not with Kevin Costner)
Rogue One (2016)
Rolling Thunder Revue
Rome Open City (only the Criterion-restored version, though!)
Rumble in the Bronx (w/ Jackie Chan, just for the stunts, filmed in Canada)
Run Lola Run
Saboteur (by Hitchcock)
Saints and Soldiers (2003)
Salaam Bombay
Salesman, The (Iranian, 2016)
Santana: Supernatural Live (some great music in a concert film)
Scandal (U.S. TV series)
Scarface (original version)
Schindler's List
Sea of Love
Seconds
Secret In Their Eyes, The (excellent, but note bad language, very brief nudity)
Secret Lives of Dentists, The
Selma (2014)
Senna
Serenity
Serpico (superb acting by Al Pacino, but lots of bad language)
Seven Chances (with Buster Keaton. 1925)
Seven Samurai (directed by Kurosawa, 1954)
Seventy Five, The (documentary, 2014)
Shadow Dancer (2012)
Shaft (original only, for the music and dialog)
Shakespeare in Love
Shall We Dance? (Japanese, 1996, not the American remake with Richard Gere!)
Shock and Awe (documentary)
Short Term
Siege, The (very timely)
Silent Running
Silver LInings Playbook
Simpsons Movie, The
Sng Street (2016)
Sin Nombre
Sleeper
Sleepless Night (2011)
Sleuth
Small Change (by Francois Truffaut)
Snowden (2016)
Social Network, The
Some Like It Hot
Sometimes in April (one of the most powerful films I've ever seen)
Sophie Scholl: The Final Days
Sorcerer (actually the faded name painted on a truck, no CGI action film)
Source Code
Spanish Prisoner, The
Spiral (French TV series)
Square, The (2008, Australian)
Stagecoach
Stalingrad
Standing in the Shadows of Motown (documentary, superb music)
State and Main
State of Play (BBC 6 hr. mini-series. Superbly done TV)
Station Agent, The
Step Up 3 (it’s in 3D, but I saw it in 2D on Netflix)
Stolen
Stormy Monday
Stranger Than Fiction
Strictly Ballroom
Sullivan's Travels
Sunset Boulevard
Super Cop (w/ Jackie Chan, for the stunts)
Super-Size Me (documentary)
Suspect, The (2013)
Suspicion (1941)
Sweet Hereafter, The
Sweet Smell of Success, The (1957)
Swept From The Sea (1997)
Swing Time
Taal (some of the best Bollywood, especially the music)
Take Shelter (2011)
Taking of Pelham One Two Three, The (original, not remake, 1974)
Tales By Light (excellent documentary series about photographers)
Taxi To The Dark Side (2007)
Ten Little Indians
Terribly Happy (Danish film)
(T)error (documentary, 2015)
Terrorist, The (top award-winning Indian film)
The Beatles: Eight Days A Week - The Touring Years
Theory of Everything, The (2014)
Thin Blue Line, The (one of the most powerful documentaries I’ve ever seen)
Thin Man, The (1949)
Third Man, The
Thirteen Conversations About One Thing
Thomas Crowne Affair, The (original version only!)
Three Ages, The (w/ Buster Keaton)
Three Musketeers, The (only the version w/ Raquel Welch, Faye Dunaway)
Throne of Blood (directed by Kurosawa, 1957)
Through A Lens Darkly: Black Photographers and the Emergence of a People (documentary)
THX 1138 (George Lucas's first film)
Timbuktu (2015)
To Have and Have Not
Tokyo Story (1953)
To Sir With Love
Tootsie
Top Secret!
Topkapi
Torchwood: Children of the Earth (BBC mini-series)
To The Wonder (2012)
Touching the Void
Town, The (language, violence - but very good film)
Tracks (2014)
Traffik (British original,1989, later remade in U.S.)
Transporter, The (great stunts done by the lead guy!)
Treasure of Sierra Madre
Tree of LIfe, The (I found it very valuable to watch with closed captioning on! )
Trials of Muhammad Ali, The (documentary, 2013)
Triumph of the Will (possibly the strongest propaganda film ever made; by the Hitler's photographer, Leni Riefenstahl)
Trouble in Paradise (a classic, 1932)
Troubled Water (Norwegian, 2008)
Trust (2010, with Clive Owen)
Tully
Tunnel, The, (one of the most gripping films I’ve ever seen, 2001)
Tunnel, The (TV series, 2013, two seasons?)
Tuskegee Airmen
Two Women (Iranian film)
UHF (w/ Weird Al Yankovic, esp. on DVD with lots of extras)
Under Fire (with Nick Nolte, 1983)
Undivided (documentary)
United 93
Up
Usual Suspects, The
Vanaja
Vanya on 42nd Street
Vatel
Vertigo
Vice (about Vice President Dick Cheny)
Victory at Sea (whole series)
Vikings (TV series)
W.C. Fields (nearly anything he was in)
Wages of Fear, The
Walkabout (Australian)
WALL-E
Wallendar (Swedish series, 2005-2012, the version starring Krister Henriksson)
Walmart: The High Cost of Low Prices (documentary)
Wargames
Wartime in Winter
War Witch (2012)
Way Back, The
West Side Story
We Steal Secrets: The Story of WikiLeaks (documenary)
Westworld (TV series, 1st season, 2016)
Whale Rider
What Happened, Miss Simone? (documentary, 2015)
What’s Cooking (4 families’ Thanksgiving, very cross-cultural)
When the Levees Broke (documentary)
Whiplash (bad language, 2014)
Whistleblower, The (2010)
White Heat
White Helmets (documentary)
Whitey: United States of America v. James J. Bulger (excellent documentary)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit?
Why We Fight (documentary, 2005)
Wild Tales (2014, Argentinian)
Wings of Desire
Winged Migration (excellent nature documentary)
Winter’s Bone (I’d advise turning on captioning to follow the dialogue)
Witness, The (documentary, 2015)
Witness (1985)
Woman in the Window, The (1944)
Woodstock (music documentary)
Woody Allen: A Documentary
Wrecking Crew, The (documentary, 2015)
Wrong Man, The (1956)
Yard, The (2000)
Yes
You Kill Me
Z (1969, a classic)
Z for Zachariah
Zelary
Zelig
Zodiac