Whether a person is looking to broaden their cinematic horizons totally or simply want a taste of some hidden treasures they might have missed, here is a list of the best films for all types of viewers.
The following are the top Oscar-winning films on record and ones deemed a must-watch.
Parasite
Bong Joon-ho’s movie Parasite is the movie that everyone is talking about when it comes to the 2020 Oscars. It’s a dark, dramedy thriller that many people thought was unique in that year’s Oscar race because of its unique storytelling. In this film, a lower-income family in South Korea moves into a wealthy family’s home through household jobs. This is an example of an ideological look at capitalism.
12 Years a Slave
12 Years a Slave is based on Solomon Northup’s 1853 memoir and covers his journey from his life as a free Black man in New York to his capture and enslavement in 1841. With this period drama, director Steve McQueen became the first Black filmmaker to win Best Picture.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, directed by Milo Forman of Czech New Wave fame, depicts the story of a guilty man’s effort to evade jail by intentionally transferring to a mental facility.
The Godfather
The Godfather is the first episode of the American crime trilogy based on Mario Puzo’s novel. It is arguably the most celebrated title from the godfather of film himself, Francis Ford Coppolla. The film’s star-studded cast portrays mafia lord Vito Corleone’s family, whose “family enterprise” is passed down to his estranged son.
Silence of the Lambs
Jodie Foster plays a young FBI trainee sent to investigate a serial murderer who kills women in horrific ways. To thoroughly comprehend her suspect, she must seek an unusual mentor in the imprisoned, cannibalistic serial murderer Hannibal Lecter.
West Side Story
The Broadway adaptation West Side Story is the pinnacle of musical film, with a score by Leonard Bernstein and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim. The musical depicts Maria, a Puerto Rican immigrant, and Tony, a white American in Maria’s family and friends’ rival gang, in a modern-day take on Romeo and Juliet. Maria and Tony fight for their right to love while the Sharks and Jets battle it out on the streets.