Inside Out
Year Released: 2015 This adorable animated tale from Pixar and Disney tells the story of a young Midwestern girl who’s forced to deal with a cross-country move when her parents uproot her life and move out to California. Her emotions, Joy, Fear, Disgust, Sadness, and Anger come to life and try and help her cope.
The film has a 98% rating out of a whopping 362 reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and grossed nearly $858 million at the box office.
The Last Picture Show
Year Released: 1971 You know a film is good when it has a perfect 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes out of over 55 votes. Roger Ebert also gave the film a 4/4 in his review, saying that the movie “felt new and old at the same time.”
The Last Picture Show won two Academy Awards and two BAFTA Awards in 1972, for both Best Actor and Actress in a Supporting Role.
It’s a Wonderful Life
Year Released: 1946 This 1946 fantasy drama film is an American Christmastime classic. Produced and directed by Frank Capra, it’s based on a short story called The Greatest Gift by Phillip Van Doren Stern.
The film, and its director, won the Golden Globe Award for Best Director of a Motion Picture, and that was one of many other accolades the production received. It’s a Wonderful Life is widely hailed as being one of the best movies of all time.
Sunrise
Year Released: 1927 This 1927 film, which is also known by its longer title, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, is a romantic silent drama. The picture was directed by German director F.W Murnau, who was also the man behind the famous silent vampire film, Nosferatu. Sunrise was the director’s American debut.
Like most of the films on our list, Sunrise has glowing reviews from critics on every major platform, including a 4/4 from Roger Ebert and a 98% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film won three Academy Awards in 1929, including the Oscar for Best Actress, awarded to Janet Gaynor. This made her the first actress in history to receive that honor multiple times.
Apocalypse Now
Year Released: 1979 Martin Sheen plays a war captain in 1970’s Vietnam who leads a team upriver on the hunt for an officer (played by Marlon Brando) who’d completely lost his mind. The film was directed, produced, and co-written by Francis Ford Coppola, and somewhat based on the 1899 novella Heart of Darkness, written by Joseph Conrad.
Critics around the world praised the film, and it is constantly named one of the best films in history by publications left and right. At the 52nd Academy Awards, it was nominated for eight different accolades, winning for Best Cinematography and Best Sound, and just missing out on Best Picture and Best Director.