Movies You Must Watch Once In Your Life Time

Posted on 20 Feb 01:00

Introduction

Iconic movies are not commonly created, it requires the best of everything and nothing less. The following are some of the movies that should be watched at least once in life because of their execution and most importantly, their storyline.

1) The Godfather (1972)

If not the greatest then certainly one of the greatest and most influential movies of all time. The Godfather is a series of three movies portraying a crime/mafia family of New York. It is an adaptation from the novel of the same name. It is directed by Francis Ford Coppola and it features some of the greatest actors like Marlon Brando and Al Pacino. It received all the deserving high praise and success critically and commercially and won the Oscar for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay; as well as these awards it received seven other nominations. It depicts the iconic gangster genre and portrays the chronicles of a family in which Brando is passing on the legacy and empire of the family to Pacino, who is in a phase of transformation and accidentally puts the lives of loved ones in danger. The movie list cannot be completed without The Godfather that is for sure. Movie buffs won’t regret watching this classic movie about gangsters.


2) The Godfather II (1974)

The gangster genre can never be explored like it was in The Godfather series. This second part is directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay as well. Initially, upon release, the critics gave it mixed reviews but the response from audiences was similar to the first part and it was acknowledged highly. It got nominated for eleven Academy Awards and won seven of them becoming the first sequel to win the Best Film and others included Best Director for, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Adapted Screenplay. Both parts are considered to be the most influential movies of this genre to this day. The cast of the movie comprises of Al Pacino as Michael, Robert Duvall as Tom Hagen, Diane Keaton as Kay, Robert De Niro as Vito Corleone, Talia Shire as Connie Corleone, and John Cazale as Fredo Corleone. The plot of the movie explored the sequel and prequel of The Godfather parallel. While Michael is expanding the family business, a deal gets him and the family in danger and simultaneously, the journey of Vito covers the incidents and life events from his childhood to becoming the founder of a mafia. Undoubtedly, one of the iconic movies of all time and it has to be seen at least once in a lifetime by movie buffs.


3) The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

A classic American drama movie with an unconventional storyline and cast, it is considered to be one of the greatest movies. It is directed by Frank Darabont and the screenplay is based on the novel. The release, surprisingly, was not commercially successful but critics praised it greatly and it did receive seven nominations at the Academy Awards. However, its DVD copies were sold in immense amounts making it the most rented movie of the year 1995. The cast of the movie includes Tim Robbins as Andy Dufresne, Morgan Freeman as Ellis Boyd, Bob Gunton as Samuel Norton, William Sadler as Heywood, and Clancy Brown as Byron Hadley. The plot of the movie is quite enticing and based on a long period of time. Andy is convicted of murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced for life imprisonment where he finds Ellis, who is also serving a life sentence. Andy uses his banking knowledge helps the guards, prison staff, and warden to launder their money. Andy hopes to relive his life again once he is out and shares a dream with Ellis, which Ellis could not believe and in turn, begins to worry about his well-being. After 19 years of struggle, Andy is able to make a tunnel and is successful in escaping with proof of laundering and murders that happened at the prison which he discloses to the newspapers. Ellis is released on parole and meets Andy as they both reunite at a beach. Movie buffs should not miss this one.


4) Rear Window (1954)

It is a classical Hollywood thriller and mystery movie directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on a short story. The concept and direction made it one of the greatest movies ever and besides, it received all the due high praise including four nominations at the Academy Awards. In the cast, it has James Stewart as L. B. "Jeff" J, Grace Kelly as Lisa Carol, Wendell Corey as Det. Lt. Thomas, Thelma Ritter as Stella, and Raymond Burr as Lars Thorwald. The plot of the movie follows a professional photojournalist, Jeff, who is recovering from his leg injury and starts to spy on his neighbors, Thorwald. Jeff notices strange activities and informs the police about a murder conducted by Mr. Thorwald of his wife but police did not find anything. Lisa is Jeff’s girlfriend and Stella his nurse and they both take care of him during this time and also help him in cracking this murder mystery which they got to disclose eventually with the help of Jeff’s detective friend Thomas. It amazes the viewer with its storyline and movie buffs are given a treat to watch this classic.


5) Kill Bill 1 & 2 (2003 & 2004)

A thrilling plot with deadly martial-arts action sequences made Kill Bill a classic movie of its time. It is written and directed by Quentin Tarantino and initially, the series was set to release as a single movie but the run-time was too long resulting in the second part, Kill Bill 2. The movie was commercially successful as the first part became the highest-grossing movie of Tarantino at that time. The cast includes Uma Thurman as the Bride, Lucy Liu as O-Ren Ishi, David Carradine as Bill, Vivica A. Fox as Vernita Green, Michael Madsen as Budd, and Daryl Hannah as Elle Driver. The plot of the movie depicts the journey of vengeance when the Bride is assassinated by a highly-skilled assassin squad. Surprisingly, the bride survived the attack and she is not pregnant anymore. She is alive after being in a coma for four years and right away, she kills a man who tries to rape her and a hospital worker in order to escape. She picked her first target, O-Ren Ishi, who is now the leader of Yakuza. The Bride obtains the sword from a swordsmith and kills the whole squad and bodyguards of O-Ren Ishi. As the bride was about to kill her assistant, she left her alive as a threat to Bill. Then later she kills Vernita in a knife fight in front of her daughter. In the second part, the quest of finding Bill continues with a twist that Bill is the former lover of the Bride and father of her child. She executes Budd and Elle in the trailer with the help of Black Mamba. And with the help of a pimp, Bride finds Bill in Mexico with their daughter and kills Bill, and leaves with her daughter. It cannot get any better than this for a movie to be so enticing and movie buffs should watch it once in their life if they have not.


6) The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Horror and thriller are the most difficult genres to pull-off and Silence of the Lambs surely created history with its direction, story, and screenplay. It is directed by Jonathan Demme and based on a novel of the same name. It received tremendous response critically and commercially worldwide and won all the top five Academy Awards. It is considered to be one of the most influential and greatest movies of all time. The movie stars Jodie Foster as Clarice Starling, Anthony Hopkins as Dr. Hannibal Lecter, Scott Glenn as Jack Crawford, Ted Levine as Jame "Buffalo Bill" Gumb, and Anthony Heald as Dr. Frederick Chilton. The story centers around an FBI agent, Clarice, who seeks help from an imprisoned psycho serial killer, Hannibal who is a former psychiatrist, in capturing another serial killer, Buffalo Bill who only claims female victims. The gripping plot and execution of the storyline are not found commonly and movie buffs must watch this epic horror movie.


7) Citizen Kane (1941)

It is a pure classic movie made in the drama/mystery genre. It is directed, produced, and the screenplay is co-written by Orson Welles. The movie was applauded commendably by the critics for its narrative and storyline. It was nominated in nine categories at the Academy Awards and won Best Writing. In various polls, it was regarded as one of the greatest movies. The cast of the movie consists of Orson Welles as Charles Kane, Joseph Cotten as Jedediah Leland, Dorothy Comingore as Susan Alexander Kane, Agnes Moorehead as Mary Kane, and Ruth Warrick as Emily Kane. The plot of the movie depicts the events and scandalous life of newspaper publishing tycoon, Charles Kane, when on his deathbed he whispers the word rosebud while holding a snow globe. It made a newsreel producer curious and he sent his reporter in order to find the meaning of this word. But, after interviewing Kane’s associates and family members the word remains a mystery until his childhood sled begins to burn and a trademark of rosebud is seen. Movie buffs should give it a watch.


Conclusion

Temporary success is easily achieved but staying relevant for a lifetime is what it takes to be considered the greatest of all time and the mentioned movies are parallel to it. These movies must be in the watch-list of movie buffs.


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