Turner Classic Movies: “The Essentials: 104 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter”

Turner Classic Movies: The Essentials: 104 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter

Turner Classic Movies published two books – The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter (2016) and The Essentials Vol. 2: 52 More Must-See Movies and Why They Matter (2020) with content written by Jeremy Arnold. He writes an essay for each movie explaining why it is essential. The two books present movies in chronological order. The list below consolidates the two lists into one with a 1 or 2 following the title to indicate which volume the movie appeared in. 1. Metropolis (1927) 1 2. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) 2 3. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928) 2 4. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) 1 5. City Lights (1931) 1 6. Grand Hotel (1932) 1 7. Freaks (1932) 2 8. King Kong (1933) 1 9. Duck Soup (1933) 1 10. Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933) 2 11. It Happened One Night (1934) 1 12. The Thin Man (1934) 1 13. Twentieth Century (1934) 2 14. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 1 15. Top Hat (1935) 2 16. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) 2 17. Swing Time (1936) 1 18. Dodsworth (1936) 2 19. The Awful Truth (1937) 2 20. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 2 21. Gone with the Wind (1939) 1 22. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 1 23. Stagecoach (1939) 2 24. The Women (1939) 2 25. The Philadelphia Story (1940) 2 26. The Great Dictator (1940) 2 27. Citizen Kane (1941) 1 28. The Lady Eve (1941) 1 29. The Maltese Falcon (1941) 2 30. Sullivan’s Travels (1941) 2 31. Ball of Fire (1941) 2 32. Casablanca (1942) 1 33. Now, Voyager (1942) 1 34. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) 2 35. Cat People (1942) 2 36. Double Indemnity (1944) 1 37. Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) 1 38. Laura (1944) 2 39. Leave Her to Heaven (1945) 1 40. Mildred Pierce (1945) 2 41. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) 1 42. Notorious (1946) 2 43. Brief Encounter (1946) 2 44. Out of the Past (1947) 1 45. The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947) 2 46. Bicycle Thieves (Ladri di Biciclette) (1948) 1 47. The Red Shoes (1948) 1 48. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 2 49. The Third Man (1949) 1 50. White Heat (1949) 1 51. Adam’s Rib (1949) 1 52. All About Eve (1950) 1 53. Sunset Boulevard (1950) 1 54. Gun Crazy (1950) 1 55. Winchester ‘73 (1950) 1 56. Rashômon (1950) 2 57. The Asphalt Jungle (1950) 2 58. An American in Paris (1951) 2 59. A Place in the Sun (1951) 2 60. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) 1 61. High Noon (1952) 2 62. The Quiet Man (1952) 2 63. Roman Holiday (1953) 1 64. Rear Window (1954) 1 65. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954) 1 66. On the Waterfront (1954) 1 67. The Night of the Hunter (1955) 2 68. The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955) 2 69. Rebel Without a Cause (1955) 2 70. Kiss Me Deadly (1955) 2 71. The Searchers (1956) 1 72. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956) 1 73. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) 2 74. Sweet Smell of Success (1957) 2 75. A Face in the Crowd (1957) 2 76. Vertigo (1958) 2 77. Some Like It Hot (1959) 1 78. North by Northwest (1959) 1 79. Ben-Hur (1959) 1 80. Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) (1959) 1 81. Pillow Talk (1959) 2 82. Psycho (1960) 2 83. The Apartment (1960) 2 84. Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 1 85. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 1 86. Ride the High Country (1962) 2 87. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 1 88. The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeria) (1966) 2 89. The Graduate (1967) 1 90. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 1 91. In the Heat of the Night (1967) 1 92. The Producers (1967) 2 93. Once Upon a Time in the West (C’era Una Volta il West) (1968) 1 94. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 2 95. The Sting (1973) 2 96. Jaws (1975) 1 97. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 2 98. Rocky (1976) 1 99. Network (1976) 2 100. Harlan County U.S.A. (1976) 2 101. Annie Hall (1977) 1 102. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 1 103. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986) 2 104. Field of Dreams (1989) 2 Resources: Jeremy Arnold (5/3/2016). The Essentials: 52 Must-See Movies and Why They Matter Running Press: Philadelphia, PA. Jeremy Arnold (10/20/2020). The Essentials Vol. 2: 52 More Must-See Movies and Why They Matter Running Press: Philadelphia, PA. Originally posted 5/18/2025.

Nomadland, the eventual Best Picture Oscar winner, released

Nomadland Released: September 11, 2020 Studio: Highwayman, Hear/Say Productions, Cor Cordium Productions, Searchlight Pictures Genre: drama Box Office (numbers in millions): Domestic: 3.70 Worldwide: 39.46 Adjusted for Inflation: Domestic: -- Worldwide: --

Directing: Chloé Zhao Screenwriting: Chloé Zhao Starring: Frances McDormand Review: Frances McDormand stars “as a widow who leaves her life in Nevada to travel around the United States in her van as a nomad” WK in this “docu-fictional hybrid” GN based on Jessica Bruder’s 2017 non-fiction book Nomadland: Surviving America in the Twenty-First Century. The movie captures a sad “a new phenomenon: America’s 60- and 70-something generation whose economic future was shattered by the 2008 crash. They are grey-haired middle-class strivers reduced to poverty who can’t afford to retire but can’t afford to work while maintaining a home. So they have become nomads, a new American tribe roaming the country in camper vans in which they sleep, looking for seasonal work.” GN However, the movie also shows “that, along with the hardship and the heartache, there is also serenity in this way of life, even a kind of euphoria – without the burdens of a house and possessions you can have a glorious and very American freedom in the lost tradition of Emerson and Twain.” GN The movie was written, produced, directed, and edited by Chloé Zhao. She became only the second woman to win an Oscar for Best Director and the first Asian woman. She was also the first to be nominated in four categories in a single year. Sources: GN The Guardian movie review by Peter Bradshaw WK Wikipedia

Awards/Honors/Lists: Dave’s Movie Database Lists: Awards: Oscars: Wins: 3. Best Picture, Best Director (Chloé Zhao), Best Actress (McDormand) Nominations: 6. Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Editing, Best Cinematography First posted 3/1/2025.

Dave’s Faves: My Top 100 Movies

Dave’s Faves: My Top 100 Favorite Movies

I’ve seen many of the classics which predated me (I was born in 1967), but my affection for the movies I grew up with becomes readily apparent. I mean, is anyone going to ever make an argument that Can’t Buy Me Love is a better movie than Citizen Kane? The thing about favorites, though, is that it doesn’t matter if a movie can withstand the scrutiny of Film Analysis 101. It matters if the film, well, matters to you. Note: I have included several trilogies (the original Star Wars movies, The Lord of the Rings, etc.) as separate entries, but I grouped them together since they work to tell a larger story. Anyway, without further ado, here are my top 100 personal favorite movies: 1. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977) 2. Star Wars – Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 3. Star Wars – Episode VI: Return of the Jedi (1983) 4. Some Kind of Wonderful (1987) 5. The World According to Garp (1982) 6. All That Jazz (1979) 7. When Harry Met Sally (1989) 8. The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (1977) 9. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 10. Raising Arizona (1987) 11. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 12. Dead Poets Society (1989) 13. The Princess Bride (1987) 14. The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 15. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 16. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 17. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 18. Star Wars – Episode VII: The Force Awakens (2015) 19. Star Wars – Episode VIII: The Last Jedi (2017) 20. Star Wars – Episode IX: The Rise of Skywalker (2019) 21. Fast Time at Ridgemont High (1982) 22. Can’t Buy Me Love (1987) 23. The Wizard of Oz (1939) 24. Grease (1978) 25. This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 26. Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979) 27. Fried Green Tomatoes (1991) 28. Angel Heart (1987) 29. The Fisher King (1991) 30. Before Sunrise (1995) 31. And Justice for All (1979) 32. The Breakfast Club (1985) 33. Back to the Future (1985) 34. The Lords of Discipline (1983) 35. A Christmas Story (1983) 36. A Few Good Men (1992) 37. The Untouchables (1987) 38. The Karate Kid (1984) 39. Hook (1991) 40. Ghostbusters (1984) 41. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 42. She’s Having a Baby (1988) 43. The Wall (1982) 44. The Music Never Stopped (2011) 45. The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey (2012) 46. The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug (2013) 47. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies (2014) 48. Star Wars – Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) 49. Star Wars – Episode II: Attack of the Clones (2002) 50. Star Wars – Episode III: Revenge of the Sith (2005) 51. Roxanne (1987) 52. Memento (2001) 53. The Sixth Sense (1999) 54. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986) 55. Unbreakable (2000) 56. Hugo (2011) 57. Joker (2019) 58. Mystic Pizza (1988) 59. No Way Out (1987) 60. Ocean’s Eleven (2001) 61. Joe vs. the Volcano (1990) 62. The Usual Suspects (1995) 63. Fearless (1993) 64. Aladdin (1992) 65. Forrest Gump (1994) 66. Cars (2006) 67. Dirty Rotten Scoundrels (1988) 68. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 69. The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 70. Toy Story (1995) 71. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 72. Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory (1971) 73. The Jerk (1979) 74. Excalibur (1981) 75. Peter Pan (2003) 76. The Bad News Bears (1976) 77. The Dark Knight (2008) 78. Split (2017) 79. Pinocchio (1940) 80. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 81. Groundhog Day (1993) 82. Big (1988) 83. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 84. Blade Runner (1982) 85. High Fidelity (2000) 86. After Hours (1985) 87. The Firm (1993) 88. Good Morning, Vietnam (1987) 89. Dune (1984) 90. Inception (2010) 91. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story (2016) 92. The Player (1992) 93. Grand Canyon (1992) 94. Diner (1982) 95. Office Space (1999) 96. Pulp Fiction (1994) 97. The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part II (1974) 98. Donnie Darko (2001) 99. Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) 100. Glengarry Glen Ross (1992) Resources: Dave’s Movie Database: Movie Lists Name of publication (date). “Name of Article” Originally posted 7/29/2019; last updated 1/9/2020.