Vertigo
Year Released: 1958 Alfred Hitchcock is the man behind this classic psychological thriller film, Vertigo, based on a 1954 novel from Boileau-Narcejac. When it was first released, the movie received both positive and negative reviews. But, as is the case with so many classics, as the years went by, it gained more recognition and started to land on more “top films” lists.
The American Film Institute has recognized Hitchcock’s thriller several times, including on a number of “100 Years of 100 Movies” lists. Famed director Martin Scorsese (among many others) has said that Vertigo is one of his favorite films.
12 Years a Slave
Year Released: 2013 This historical drama tells the tale of a free black man living in New York the 1800s that finds himself kidnapped and sold into slavery in the South. The film grossed nearly $188 million at the box office against a budget of $22 million.
The film won a number of prestigious awards, including both the 2014 Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Motion Picture, and the BAFTA for Best Film.
Alien
Year Released: 1979 Of course, we have to include the original Alien on our list. After all, it’s the film that started it all. There aren’t many people who haven’t seen this movie, or at the very least, know about it.
Alien won the 1980 Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, which shouldn’t come as any surprise to those who’ve seen it! The 94% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes goes to show just how popular and well-received the classic sci-fi is.
2001: A Space Odyssey
Year Released: 1968 Hollywood legend Stanley Kubrick wrote, directed, and produced this 1968 epic sci-fi film, which is commonly referred to as one of the best and most influential movies of all time. In fact, The Moving Arts Film journal called it the single best film in movie history in 2010. In the early 90’s, it was selected for preservation by the Library of Congress.
Upon its initial release, the film kind of flopped at the box office, leaving the production company in the red by around $800,000. But it was re-released a number of times over the years, including in 1977, 2001, and 2017, which were all much more profitable than the original. 2001: A Space Odyssey was nominated for four Academy Awards and won one, in the category of Best Special Visual Effects.
The Wages of Fear
Year Released: 1953 This French-Italian film is based on the French Novel Le salaire de la peur, which roughly translates to “the salary of fear.” It was hailed by critics everywhere when it debuted in the 1950’s and became the 4th highest earning film of the year in France.
The Wages of Fear earned a number of awards around the time of its release, including the Golden Bear Award at the 1953 Berlin Film Festival, and the 1954 BAFTA Award for Best Film.