Communication Professors Shares 161 Must-Watch Movies

Posted: July 12, 2017 | Author: Southern Utah University | Read Time: 3 minutes

Thor plush watching a movie on a laptopKevin Stein, communication studies professor and best known for his qualitative and pop culture classes, shares his personal list of favorite movies.

“I’m careful to define ‘favorite’ as simply movies that are important or resonate with me for some reason or another. I cannot, nor will I, defend all of these movies as great works of art (even though I believe many of them are such as Back to the Future). They simply occupy a space in my own personal pop culture universe. I hope it's fun for you to look at the list and see where our universes might overlap.”

Comedies, tearjerkers, musicals, horrors, dramas and more make up this list of must-watch movies.

How many have you seen?

  • The Edge (1997)(R)
  • Clear and Present Danger (1994)(PG-13)
  • Parenthood (1989)(PG-13)
  • Fugitive (1993)(PG-13)
  • Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)(PG-13)
  • Mother (1996)(PG-13)
  • School of Rock (2003)(PG-13)
  • Grease (1978)(PG-13)
  • Billy Elliot (2001)(PG-13)
  • Hoosiers (1986)(PG)
  • Training Day (2001)(R)
  • Signs (2002)(PG-13)
  • The 6th Sense (1999)(PG-13)
  • Inherit the Wind (1960)(PG)
  • In the Heat of the Night (1967)(PG)
  • Tombstone (1993)(R)
  • Shane (1953)(PG)
  • Dark City (1998)(R)
  • Glory (1989)(R)
  • Braveheart (1995)(R)
  • Band of Brothers (2001)(R)
  • Saving Private Ryan (1998)(R)
  • The Shawshank Redemption (1994)(R)
  • Pulp Fiction (1994)(R)
  • Edward Scissorhands (1990)(PG-13)
  • The Karate Kid (1984)(PG)
  • Goonies (1985)(PG)
  • Groundhog Day (1993)(PG)
  • What About Bob? (1991)(PG)
  • Ghostbusters (1984)(PG)
  • Three O’Clock High (1987)(PG-13)
  • WarGames (1983)(PG)
  • Duel (1971)(PG)
  • Mr. Mom (1983)(PG)
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)(PG)
  • Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (1984)(PG)
  • Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)(PG-13)
  • Alien (1979)(R)
  • Aliens (1986)(R)
  • Terminator (1984)(R)
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)(R)
  • A Christmas Story (1983)(PG)
  • Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)(PG)
  • Jaws (1975)(PG)
  • E.T. (1982)(PG)
  • Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)(PG)
  • Rain Man (1988)(R)
  • Rocky (1976)(PG)
  • Wall Street (1987)(R)
  • Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)(R)
  • Goodfellas (1990)(R)
  • Dances with Wolves (1990)(PG-13)
  • The American President (1995)(PG-13)
  • Stand By Me (1986)(R)
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)(Unrated)
  • Good Will Hunting (1997)(R)
  • Jerry Maguire (1996)(R)
  • Ocean’s 11 (2001)(PG-13)
  • To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)(PG)
  • 12 Angry Men (1957)(PG)
  • Vertigo (1958)(PG)
  • Rear Window (1954)(PG)
  • The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)(PG)
  • Silence of the Lambs (1991)(R)
  • Se7en (1995)(R)
  • A Few Good Men (1992)(R)
  • Fight Club (1999)(R)
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)(PG-13)
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)(PG-13)
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)(PG-13)
  • Inception (2010)(PG-13)
  • Heat (1995)(R)
  • Unforgiven (1992)(R)
  • The Dirty Dozen (1967)(Unrated)
  • My Cousin Vinny (1992)(R)
  • Primal Fear (1996)(R)
  • The Usual Suspects (1995)(R)
  • American History X (1998)(R)
  • L.A. Confidential (1997)(R)
  • The Matrix (1999)(R)
  • Memento (2000)(R)
  • Lethal Weapon (1987)(R)
  • Hard-Boiled (1992)(R)
  • First Blood (1982)(R)
  • The Bourne Identity (2002)(PG-13)
  • Point Break (1991)(R)
  • Big Trouble in Little China (1986)(PG-13)
  • Breakdown (1997)(R)
  • Payback (1999)(R)
  • Meet the Parents (2000)(PG-13)
  • Bottle Rocket (1996)(R)
  • Tommy Boy (1995)(PG-13)
  • Happy Gilmore (1996)(PG-13)
  • The Princess Bride (1987)(PG)
  • Airplane (1980)(PG)
  • The Naked Gun (1988)(PG-13)
  • Roxanne (1987)(PG)
  • Planes, Trains, and Automobiles (1987)(R)
  • Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)(PG-13)
  • National Lampoon’s Vacation (1983)(R)
  • Young Frankenstein (1974)(PG)
  • West Side Story (1961)(PG)
  • Sound of Music (1965)(PG)
  • Fiddler on the Roof (1971)(PG)
  • About a Boy (2002)(PG-13)
  • Say Anything (1989)(PG-13)
  • Pretty Woman (1990)(R)
  • When Harry Met Sally (1989)(R)
  • Notting Hill (1999)(PG-13)
  • Some Kind of Wonderful (1987)(PG-13)
  • Big (1988)(PG)
  • Cast Away (2000)(PG-13)
  • Catch Me If You Can (2002)(PG-13)
  • Fargo (1996)(R)
  • Honeymoon in Vegas (1992)(PG‐13)
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)(PG)
  • Punch Drunk Love (2002)(R)
  • The Sting (1973)(PG)
  • The Godfather (1972)(R)
  • The Godfather Part II (1974)(R)
  • The Godfather Part III (1990)(R)
  • Casablanca (1942)(PG)
  • The Untouchables (1987)(R)
  • The Great Escape (1963)(PG)
  • All the President’s Men (1976)(R)
  • Die Hard (1988)(R)
  • Die Hard 2 (1990)(R)
  • Die Hard with a Vengeance (1995)(R)
  • Predator (1987)(R)
  • Poltergeist (1982)(PG)
  • Rudy (1993)(PG)
  • Back to the Future (1985)(PG)
  • Schindler’s List (1993)(R)
  • It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)(G)
  • Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)(PG)
  • Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)(PG)
  • Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)(PG)
  • Amadeus (1984)(PG-13)
  • Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)(G)
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (2001)(PG)
  • Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002)(PG)
  • Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban (2004)(PG)
  • Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire (2005)(PG-13)
  • Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix (2007)(PG-13)
  • Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince (2009)(PG)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 1 (2010)(PG-13)
  • Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows - Part 2 (2011)(PG-13)
  • Footloose (1984)(PG-13)
  • Top Gun (1986)(PG-13)
  • The River Wild (1994)(PG-13)
  • Clueless (1995)(PG-13)
  • Cold Mountain (2003)(R)
  • Rob Roy (1995)(R)
  • Goldfinger (1964)(PG)
  • The Dark Knight (2008)(PG-13)
  • Hot Fuzz (2007)(R)
  • Dr. Strangelove (1964)(PG)
  • Dirty, Rotten, Scoundrels (1988)(PG-13)
  • Silver Linings Playbook (2012)(R)
  • As Good as it Gets (1997)(PG-13)
  • The Producers (1968)(PG)

This article was published more than 5 years ago and might contain outdated information or broken links. As a result, its accuracy cannot be guaranteed.

Tags: Blog College of Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty

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