Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
Year Released: 1977 With Star Wars being the immensely popular film franchise that it is, it shouldn’t come as any surprise that they would make an appearance on the list. This film stars the original cast, including Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, and Carrie Fisher, and hit theaters in 1977. It was met with nearly $776 million – and it was filmed for just $11 million.
Star Wars: Episode IV won a whopping six Academy Awards, including Best Film Editing and Best Visual Effects, along with the Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score in 1978.
Witness for the Prosecution
Year Released: 1957 This 1957 crime drama holds a perfect 100% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes out of 31 reviews. On IMDb, nearly 100,000 votes have been cast to rate it an 8.5/10. Based on an Agatha Christie novel, it follows a screenwriter accused of murdering a wealthy older woman.
Witness for the Prosecution never actually won any Oscars, but it was nominated for six, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, and Best Supporting Actress.
Once Upon a Time in America
Year Released: 1984 This epic crime drama is based on a novel by Harry Grey. It stars Robert De Niro and James Woods and tells the tale of two best friends and Jewish gangsters living in New York City. The film was directed by Italian filmmaker Sergio Leone, and it would be his last before he passed away five years later.
When Once Upon a Time in America premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, it received a standing ovation that lasted for around fifteen minutes. Unfortunately, it flopped at the box office, bringing in just over $5 million with a budget of $30 million. But that doesn’t mean it isn’t a great movie!
The Silence of the Lambs
Year Released: 1991 You probably won’t run into many people who haven’t at least heard of The Silence of the Lambs. Or, even if they’ve never heard the title, who don’t know about Hannibal Lecter. Anthony Hopkins stars as the deranged cannibal who gets inside the head of the young detective played by Jodie Foster.
The film won several awards, including four Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Actress. Jodie Foster then won a Golden Globe for Best Actress for her role in the film.
To Be or Not to Be
Year Released: 1942 This film came out in the middle of World War II and uses comedy to shine a light on some very real things that were happening in those days. The movie tells the story of a Polish theater company that’s threatened by the invading Nazis, so they turn into spies to support themselves.
The reviews for To Be or Not to Be were mainly positive, with Rob McShane of Time Out saying, “It’s certainly one of the finest comedies to come out of Paramount.”