I am not a movie buff. Still, I don’t want to miss out on the shows and films that even today, inform our shared cultural conversation. There’s a lot to learn here about love, hope and coming of age–and about writing an awesome screenplay, too.

Essential Classic Children’s Films, Shows and Musicals

• The Wizard of Oz (1930s)
• Snow White (1930s)
• Bambi (1940s)
• Pinocchio (1940s)
• Dumbo (1940s)
• Old Yeller (1950s)
• Sleeping Beauty (1950s)
• Cinderella (1950s)
• Alice in Wonderland (1950s)
• Winnie the Pooh and the Honey Tree (1960s)
• The Jungle Book (1960s)
• Charlotte’s Web (1970s)
• The Muppet Movie (1970s)
• Benji (1970s)
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory (1970s)
• The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1970s)
• Star Wars: A New Hope (George Lucas, 1970s)
• Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (George Lucas, 1980s)
• Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (George Lucas, 1980s)
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielburg, 1980s)
• Labyrinth (Jim Henson, 1980s)
• The Neverending Story (1980s)
• Goonies (1980s)
• The Karate Kid (1980s)
• Ghostbusters (1980s)
• The Scarlet Pimpernell (1980s)
• Anne of Green Gables (series) (1980s)
• Anne of Avonlea (series) (1980s)
• Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielburg, 1980s)
• Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Steven Spielburg, 1980s)
• Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (Steven Spielburg, 1980s)
• My Neighbor Totoro (1980s)
• Return to Oz (1980s)
• Beauty and the Beast (1990s)
• The Little Mermaid (1990s)
• The Lion King (1990s)
• Aladdin (1990s)
• Home Alone (1990s)
• Home Alone 2: Lost in New York (1990s)
• The Sandlot (1990s)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2000s)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2000s)
• The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2000s)
• Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2000s)
• Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2000s)
• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2000s)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2000s)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian (2000s)
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Voyage of the Dawn Treader (2010s)
• Frozen (2010s)
• Tangled (2010s)

Essential Musicals

• An American in Paris (1920s)
• Singin’ in the Rain (1950s)
• Oklahoma! (1950s)
• White Christmas (1950s)
• Annie Get Your Gun (1950s)
• Guys and Dolls (1950s)
• South Pacific (1950s)
• Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1950s)
• The King and I (1950s)
• Calamity Jane (1950s)
• West Side Story (1960s)
• Pollyanna (1960s)
• Oliver! (1960s)
• The Unsinkable Molly Brown (1960s)
• Cabaret (1960s)
• Dr. Dolittle (1960s)
• The Sound of Music (1960s)
• Babes in Toyland (1960s)
• The Music Man (1960s)
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1960s)
• My Fair Lady (1960s)
• Fiddler on the Roof (1970s)
• Grease (1970s)
• Godspell (1970s)
• Jesus Christ, Superstar (1970s)
• Hair (1970s)
• The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1970s)
• Annie (1980s)
• Footloose (1980s)
• Little Shop of Horrors (1980s)
• Cats (1990s)

Essential Classic Christmas Films

• It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1940s)
• Miracle on 34th Street (1940s)
• A Christmas Carol (1950s)
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1960s)
• Frosty the Snowman (1960s)
• How the Grinch Stole Christmas (1960s)
• A Charlie Brown Christmas (1960s)
• A Christmas Story (1980s)
• National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation (1980s)
• The Muppet Christmas Carol (1990s)

Essential Classic Films for Older Kids and Adults

• The Arrival of a Train (1890s)
• Nanook of the North (1920s)
• Man with a Movie Camera (1920s)
• Night Mail (1930s)
• Frankenstein (1930s)
• M (Fritz Lang, 1930s)
• Triumph of the Will (1930s)
• You Can’t Take It With You (Frank Capra, 1930s)
• It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1930s)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (Frank Lloyd, 1930s)
• The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, 1930s)
• The Thirty-Nine Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, 1930s)
• The Bells of St. Mary’s (1940s)
• How Green is My Valley (1940s)
• Casablanca (1940s)
• National Velvet (1940s)
• From Here to Eternity (1950s)
• Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1950s)
• Love is a Many-Splendored Thing (1950s)
• Rebel Without a Cause (1950s)
• Roman Holiday (1950s)
• The African Queen (1950s)
• The Silent World (1950s)
• The Three Faces of Eve (1950s)
• Ben-Hur (1950s)
• Night and Fog (1950s)
• The Train (1960s)
• Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1940s)
• A Face in the Crowd (Elia Kazan, 1950s)
• East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1950s)
• On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1950s)
• Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1950s)
• North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s)
• Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s)
• Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s)
• Suspicion! (Alfred Hitchcock, 1940s)
• The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s)
• To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s)
• Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1950s)
• The Lord of the Flies (1960s)
• Those Magnificent Men in Their Flying Machines (1960s)
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1960s)
• The Sorrow and the Pity (1960s)
• Titicut Follies (1960s)
• Salesman (1960s)
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Vallance (1960s)
• 8 ½ (Federico Fellini, 1960s)
• Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1960s)
• How the West Was Won (1960s)
• Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1960s)
• Doctor Zhivago (1960s)
• Night of the Living Dead (1960s)
• Planet of the Apes (1960s)
• The Graduate (1960s)
• Splendor in the Grass (Elia Kazan, 1960s)
• The Absent-Minded Professor (1960s)
• Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allan, 1960s)
• Il Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960s)
• Lolita (Stanley Kubrick, 1960s)
• The Birds (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960s)
• Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
• Roots (series) (1970s)
• Saturday Night Fever (1970s)
• The Exorcist (1970s)
• Summer of My German Soldier (1970s)
• Saturday Night Fever (1970s)
• Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1970s)
• Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1970s)
• Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1970s)
• Orchestra Rehearsal (Federico Fellini, 1970s)
• Freaky Friday (1970s)
• Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1970s)
• A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1970s)
• Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1970s)
• Big (1980s)
• Airplane! (1980s)
• The Princess Bride (1980s)
• Babette’s Feast (1980s)
• Sophie’s Choice (1980s)
• Das Boot/The Boat (1980s)
• Zelig (Woody Allen, 1980s)
• The Atomic Cafe (1980s)
• The Times of Harvey Milk (1980s)
• Clue (1980s)
• Parenthood (1980s)
• Field of Dreams (1980s)
• Moonstruck (1980s)
• Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1980s)
• Radio Days (Woody Allen, 1980s)
• Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1980s)
• Eat, Drink, Man, Woman (1990s)
• Fight Club (1990s)
• Life Is Beautiful (1990s)
• What’s Eating Gilbert Grape? (1990s)
• Edward Scissorhands (1990s)
• American Beauty (1990s)
• Raise the Red Lantern (1990s)
• Following (1990s)
• To Live (1990s)
• True Romance (1990s)
• The Last Days of Disco (1990s)
• Pleasantville (1990s)
• The Truman Show (1990s)
• Naked Lunch (1990s)
• Gummo (1990s)
• High Art (1990s)
• Run Lola Run (1990s)
• Man on the Moon (1990s)
• Pi (1990s)
• Hoop Dreams (1990s)
• Being John Malcovich (Spike Jonze, 1990s)
• Barton Fink (Joes and Ethan Coen, 1990s)
• Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990s)
• Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1990s)
• Four Rooms (Quentin Terantino, 1990s)
• Jackie Brown (Quentin Terantino, 1990s)
• Pulp Fiction (Quentin Terantino, 1990s)
• Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Terantino, 1990s)
• Primer (2000s)
• Memento (2000s)
• Requiem for a Dream (2000s)
• A Scanner Darkly (2000s)
• American Psycho (2000s)
• American Splendour (2000s)
• Secretary (2000s)
• Swimming Pool (2000s)
• The Princess and the Warrior (2000s)
• Igby Goes Down (2000s)
• The Lives of Others (2000s)
• Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2000s)
• Kill Bill Volume I & II (Quentin Terantino, 2000s)
• Don’t Look Up (2020s)

Additional Recommended Films: Documentaries

While the main criteria for the films on these lists is cultural and artistic significance, I also wanted to include movies that aren’t important as such, but that contain interesting, relevant information; little-understood niches; and unique perspectives–which is where the following documentaries come in. Some are socially relevant; most are disturbing; and all are in some way educational.

• 13th
• A Lego Brickumentary
• Amanda Knox
• Being Elmo
• Bowling for Columbine
• Chernobyl (series)
• Cosmos: A Space-Time Odyssey
• Exit Through the Gift Shop
• Food Matters
• Food, Inc.
• King Corn
• Sicko
• Free Solo
• Going Clear
• Herb and Dorothy
• How to Survive a Plague
• Icarus
• Jesus Camp
• Jiro Dreams of Sushi
• March of the Penguins
• The Planet Earth series
• Shirkers
• Sour Grapes
• Spellbound
• The Barkley Marathons
• The Rachel Divide
• Three Identical Strangers
• Through the Wormhole with Morgan Freeman
• Trekkies
• Waiting for Superman
• Pepsi, Where’s My Jet?
• Our Father (series)
• The Real Bling Ring
• Trainwreck
• Bad Vegan (series)
• The Puppetmaster
• The Tinder Swindler
• Seaspiracy
• What the Health
• Athlete A
• Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee (series)
• The Game Changers
• Cowspiracy
• Hope Frozen
• Capturing the Friedmans
• Keep This Between Us (series)
• My Scientology Movie
• The Deep End (series)
• Drunk History (series)
• Intervention (series)
• Catfish
• I Shouldn’t Be Alive (series)
• I Survived (series)

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