Classics
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Battle Royale
With the popularity of The Hunger Games, there's been some talk that it's just a rip-off of Battle Royale. In The Hunger Games, a draconian law forces 24 randomly selected kids to fight to the death on national TV. In Battle Royale, a draconian law forces 42 randomly selected kids to fight to the death on national TV. But while their plots are virtually identical, the overall effect is very different. For example, Battle has a dark sense of humor about the whole thing: "Please," prays a dying girl in intertitle, "give me just one more moment," then with her last breath says to her until-then secret crush, "I always thought you had cool hair." Tikeshi Kitano and Tatsuya Fujiwara star.
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Gosford Park
Just in case you haven't already heard, Gosford Park was written by the same guy as Downton Abbey. Oh, and it was directed by some guy named Altman.
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Grave of the Fireflies
Roger Ebert says Isao Takahata's Grave of the Fireflies "belongs on any list of the greatest war films ever made." This story of 14-year old orphan Seita's attempt to take care of his 4-year-old sister in the ruins of Japan during the waning days of WWII is so finely nuanced, and so profoundly moving that you may forget you're watching anime.
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Harold and Maude
The most beloved of Hal Ashby's many beloved films, Harold and Maude's affecting, if unconventional love story features great performances by Bud Cort and Ruth Gordon, a great soundtrack by Cat Stevens and too many memorable scenes to count.
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Matador
Art-house superstar Pedro Almodovar's warped sensibilities have netted the director of Talk to Her and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown a sizeable following. 1986's Matador presents those sensibilities at their most extreme (garnering an NC-17 from the MPAA), in a strange love story centered on a retired matador who may or may not be a serial killer. A young Antonio Banderas, one of the director's favorites, co-stars.
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This Film is Not Yet Rated
It may be premature to call This Film Is Not Yet Rated a "Classic", but Kirby Dick's exposé of the MPAA and their film ratings system is every bit as hilarious and infuriating as Michael Moore's best work, even if the stakes are lower. If you love movies, you will find This Film entertaining and deeply eye-opening. Featuring interviews with Darren Aronofsky, Atom Egoyan, Matt Stone, Kevin Smith and John Waters among others.
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Wicker Man
Enticed by a review calling it "The Citizen Kane of horror movies" (Cinefantastique) I first watched The Wicker Man years ago and was sorely disappointed: It was slow, nothing scary happened until the end, the soundtrack was distractingly awful and all-in-all it was just too 1970s for it's own good. Then a funny thing happened. I re-watched it a few months ago and was bowled over by how good it was. It's just not a horror movie. Never was. The story of devoutly religious cop Edward Woodward's search for a missing girl on Christopher Lee's island of pagan hippies is a wonderful mystery, though. And you know what? The soundtrack is pretty good... aside from a few songs that are still distractingly awful. And it could still probably do to tune down the '70s a little.
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Wings
Clara Bow stars in this 1927 WWI melodrama about fighter pilots and the girls who love them, which won the very first Best Picture Oscar. The only other silent movie to win Best Picture? The Artist in 2012.
