Oh! Good post! I'm gonna sit this one out and let the "movie guys" take over on suggestions, then hurridly copy it down for my own personal use!!!

Is there a particular era you're looking for, or don't really care for? Do you enjoy subtitled films?

There are so many that are just obvious

Jaws
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
The first Star Wars trilogy
The Hustler
Halloween
Plan 9 From Outer Space

Of Hitchcock films, you should see at least three of the following:
Psycho
North By Northwest
Vertigo
The Birds
Rear Window

Just to start. I'll be back...

...which reminds me: Terminator 2.

The Universal Monster movies:
Dracula
Frankenstein
The Wolf Man
Creature from the Black Lagoon
The Mummy

At least 3 Coens Bros. films:
Blood Simple
Raising Arizona
Fargo
The Big Lebowski
Barton Fink
Miller's Crossing
No Country For Old Men
The Hudsucker Proxy
The Ladykillers

From Kubrick:
The Shining
Full Metal Jacket
A Clockwork Orange

Any and all from Pixar also, though you can wait until you have kids if you want to.

I have lots more.

I'd (for the 1,000th time overall) also recommend looking at my personal list of movies to see. The include a lot of classics (some good, some bad) and films I've missed over my lifetime that I'm trying to fit in.

Tarantino:
Reservoir Dogs
Pulp Fiction (which would have to be Top 5 for any Must-see movies list)
Jackie Brown (probably THE most underrated film of the 90s).
Kill Bill and Grindhouse are both excellent as well, but maybe not to the level of those three, though close.

Boys Don't Cry
L.A. Confidential

Geez...I haven't mentioned the first two "Godfather" films, or GoodFellas.

I'm going to shut up now and let other people fill in some blanks, and there are lots still.

Anyone seen The Lost Skeleton of Cadavera?? Purposely made as a parody of 1950's-1960's B Horror Movies. So bad and so funny :D

Jackie Brown was just horrible. The only purpose of that movie was for Quentin to show everybody that he wasn't just another Scorsese wannabe.

It was practically a slap in the face to Scorcese with Tarantino's main guy (Sam Jackson) offing Scorcese's main man (De Niro)

True Romance is much better

Goodfellas The Godfather Saga Dogma There Will Be Blood

for a comedy there is none better than Raising Arizona

I must respectfully disagree. I thought it was brilliant. Complex story, juggled a lot of characters and situations well, all of which were well developed and had real motivations (even Chris Tucker's character, who is onscreen for about 4 minutes, had weight), it was funny and tense at the end. It was complex but not convoluted. Tarantino working from Elmore Leonard source material is just outstanding all around.

I won't argue your nugget about his guy killing Scorsese's guy, though. That's a nice bit.

"You ain't gonna need no 3rd set, 'cuz you gonna get your mind right."

Cool Hand Luke

Grapes of Wrath

To Kill a Mockingbird

Once Upon a Time in the West

Once Upon a Time in America

hey joe, I wasn't really looking for a particular era. But for a movie person I know it's an incredibly large question to ask in general what the movie classics are. I would feel the same way if someone asked me about books. Everything you've suggested so far is going on the list, and I'll check out your personal list too. Thanks so much! I have a lot of movie renting/checking out to do.

We should probably have threads on the movies page for the essentials in every genre/category. I'll get started on those and work in individual genres and even subgenres.

When I was in college, the AFI compiled a list of the 100 Greatest American Movies: http://www.filmsite.org/afi100filmsA.html

I remember watching most of them in film classes.