If you had to make a list of American movies that are not only good movies, but movies that capture and express American–the culture, people, history, etc.–which films would you choose? Off the top of my head, here are some of my candidates:
- The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Dir. John Ford
- Citizen Kane (1941) Dir. Orson Welles
- Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) Dir. Vincente Minelli
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) Dir. Frank Capra
- Singin’ in the Rain (1952) Dir. Stanley Donen
- The Searchers (1956) Dir. John Ford
- 12 Angry Men (1957) Dir. Otto Preminger
- Woodstock (1970) Dir. Michael Wadleigh
- Two Lane Blacktop (1971) Dir. Monte Hellman
- Godfather (1972) and II (1974) Dir. Francis Ford Coppola
- American Graffiti (1973) Dir. George Lucas
- A Woman Under the Influence (1974) Dir. John Cassavetes
- Nashville (1975) Dir. Robert Altman
- Rocky (1976) Dir. John Avildsen
- Taxi Driver (1976) Dir. Martin Scorsese
- Network (1976) Dir. Sidney Lumet
- Annie Hall (1977) Dir. Woody Allen
- Killer of Sheep (1977) Dir. Charles Burnett
- Real Life (1979) Dir. Albert Brooks
- Chan is Missing (1982) Dir. Wayne Wang
- The Breakfast Club (1985) Dir. John Hughes
- City of Hope (1991) Dir. John Sayles
- Pulp Fiction (1992) Dir. Quentin Tarantino
- Hoop Dreams (1994) Dir. Steven James
- Lone Star (1996) Dir. John Sayles
- The Apostle (1997) Dir. Robert Duvall
- Gummo (1997) Dir. Harmony Korine
American Graffiti was the first title that came to mind, so I was glad to see you included it.
I would add something like Boyz n’ the Hood or Do the Right Thing (which I have not seen), plus something exploring the history and culture — or at least the culture — of indigenous populations.
Woodstock is a great idea. I wonder if we can pair it with something a little more recent. That was 54 years ago, and there must be a relevant, non-ancient music-youth-culture film of some magnitude that we can include.
I feel like Killer of Sheep is better than those two films.
I definitely wanted to choose a film featuring indigenous characters/stories–especially Native Americans–but I also wanted to choose a good film that went beyond stereotypes.
None really came to my mind so far. Maybe Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) by Zacharias Kunuk, although I don’t know if that would count. There’s another film called The Exiles (1961) directed by Kent McKenzie that would fit, but I don’t really think it’s a great film.
The first thing that came to mind is Edgar Wright’s Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010), but I’m not sure that’s what you had in mind.
Maybe Woodstock isn’t a great pick because it mostly represents the 60s. If I include this film, I probably should choose films that represent other time periods in America as well, which is not necessarily a bad idea.
On another note, here are some alternates to some of my choices:
Justin Lin’s Better Luck Tomorrow (2002) instead of Chan is Missing
Amy Heckerling’s Fast Times at Ridgemount High (1982) instead of The Breakfast Club