DVD's everyone should own?

must-have comedies: Raising Arizona & Oh Brother, Where Art Thou

over the last few years i digitized and sold off a huge chunk of my dvd collection, stuff i kept, the complete monty python series, the complete thin man movie collection, season 1 & 2 of the original twilight zone, the harry potter films to date, the entire lost series

This is a hard question - lots of personal bias from me, and changes over time in my viewing.

I watched Great Escape five times because I was crazy about Steve McQueen that year.

But, some movies I'd like to see once more -

Kurawawa's Ikiru. That's hard to recommend, others might not like it.

I crave to see Bertolucci's Besieged again.

I used to like every movie Phillipe Noiret was in, like the Clockmaker. (L'horloger de Saint-Paul). Wonder if I'd still like it.

Oh! I just remembered Big Night. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0115678/ Loved it, could easily see it again.

I've seen Night of the Shooting Stars (La Notte di San Lorenzo) twice. Bit of a strong movie.. so, not for everyone.


Not sure my list is composed of stocking fillers - maybe Big Night and Bertolucci's Besieged.
A movie I couldn't sit and watch that everyone else on earth loved was Princess Bride.

It's hard as well to figure out whether to link. So many times I prefer to know nothing when opening a book or putting a dvd into my Imac, while back covers of books and film websites can be quite the spoilers.

There have been some great movie threads on a2k. I wish now I could find where fbaezer listed his favorite films..

Region you've lost your tan!

Oooh - Coen Brothers - nice thought! Oh Brother was quite good - I kind of like that style of movie - reminded me of O Lucky Man.

Thanks Deej - I've only ever seen bits of the Thin Man movies - cool kitsch I gather. Harry doesn't do it for me - Python are on constant rotation on cable (and I have all the records), and I never got into Lost either - how weird that our musical tastes are so similar.

Heh - have to admit to having watched the Great Escape quite a few times too! I think I've only seen the Princess Bride once - but I get why that stands repeated watchings - I have a few guilty secret movies that I've watched a few times and could stand to watch again - The Rock and Parenthood spring immediately to mind, I don't know why.

With the foreign stuff you've listed maybe it would make more sense for me to find an arthouse dvd lending service (Netflix isn't an option here). I've always wanted to catch some Wim Wenders and the one's everyone name drops like Rashomon.

Ooh just found IMDBs top 250 and working my way through!
http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?

The Princess Bride is one of the few movies I can watch over and over again.

One can't go wrong with Pixar. Especially if one is considering the gift towards a family centric recipient.

Pixar when it includes them have the most interesting and informative director commentaries that's why I was disappointed that Up and Toy Story 3 don't include one in their present day deluxe editions ... at least not yet.

Keep in mind that movies are subjective and to best tailor this stocking stuffer ideals one needs to know to roughly whom you are aiming these smart suggestions at. Age groups, etc....

Plus they have to be relatively new to avoid the chance that the stocking stuffee doesn't have the DVD yet.

Give me a minute to calculate a few suggestions.

The Princess Bride is an excellent suggestion Boomerang. Incredibly funny, charming, and nearly impossible to offend ones sensibilities.

Here are some lesser known family films that should make the grade:
Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009);
Howl's Moving Castle (2004) ~ Japanese animated film that comes in both dubbed and subtitled versions;
The Iron Giant (1999);
The Triplets of Belleville (2003) ~ if the recipient doesn't mind a few subtitles;
Millions (2004) ~ by the director of Slumdog Millionaire;
Spirited Away (2001) ~ Japanese animated film that comes in both dubbed and subtitled versions;

You can't go wrong with Charlie Chaplin - timeless.
Some other easy viewing DVD's in my collection that you can watch over and over are Amelie, Tampopo, Baghdad Cafe...and if you're going for mainsteam rom coms I love Love Actually.

Hi Stepan - as I mentioned the target audience is me and Mrs Hinge - so Pixar isn't always a hit (though I really liked Monsters Inc.)

Hi Mona - yep, love Amelie but having seen it three times I'm not sure want to own it. Is Tampopo the Japanese noodle movie? I'm sure I've seen it and liked it. Ditto Bagdad Cafe - not sure if Mrs Hinge will like. Love Actually is one we both have watched a few times though - great stuff - even Hugh is adorable (Liam, sigh!)

I've just realised that I've watched the Marx Brothers 'Go West' countless times too!

And freaking gladiator too!

And Peter Sellers in 'The Party'. Why makes some movies so repeatable? They don't even have to be particularly good. When I was a kid a sunday afternoon fave was 'The Bamboo Saucer'; definitively B.

Here are 10 random choices from the 2000 years from a mixture of genres and all of them quite accessible on DVD or Bluray:

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007)
The Ghost Writer (2010)
Gosford Park (2001)
High Fidelity (2000)
In Bruges (2008)
The Lives of Others (2006)
Persepolis (2007)
The Prestige (2006)
The Station Agent (2003)
Water (2005)

Oooh. Thanks Stepan, there's a couple on their I don't know and I really liked Gosford Park. High Fidelity I liked too - my mother recommended it saying 'I've just seen a movie - it's about you.'

So you are a tragic figure with really good taste in music?