I could list 100, but I'll keep it simple. These aren't necessarily my "favorite" movies, but stuff I've seen recently:
2001: A Space Odyssey - An extremely arty sci-fi movie that is incredibly interesting to watch. How difficult is that? Clarke and Kubrick pulled off the impossible.
Citizen Kane - Lighting, camera angles, dialogue... This changed movie-making forever.
Star Wars - For good or bad, it changed the way we think about movies. Lucas truly achieved his vision of modern mythology with this film.
Apocolypse Now - Every single moment of this film is incredible. It works on so many levels that every time I watch it, I catch something new and it amazes me all over again.
Magnolia - It turned Tom Cruise into an actor. Well, at least for the second half of the film. Overall, a stunning example of how to make an ensemble cast movie work.
Dr. Strangelove - Simply put, one of the smartest comedies ever put on celluloid.
Blazing Saddles - I dare you to watch the first half hour of this movie without bursting into hysterical laughter. A perfect example of lightning striking at the right time. There is no way this movie ever gets made today and that's a damned shame. Richard Pryor and Mel Brooks deserve sainthood for that script.
Rear Window - Filmed in one room, creepy as fuck. I heart Hitchcock.
That's just off the top of my head. I could keep going all day and I know the moment I click "Post", I'm going to kick myself for forgetting something. These are just some of the higher profile films that came to mind, there is plenty of low profile stuff I respect as much if not more than these movies.
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