Movies that Make It to the Hall of Fame

Movies that Make It to the Hall of Fame

Listed below are the feature films in the National Film Registry, organized by category, along with a brief description of the entries and any Oscars they may have won. Most of these films are available:

Comedy:

Adam's Rib: George Cukor, black and white, 1949, 101m. Spencer Tracy and Katharine Hepburn are at their best as a husband-and-wife legal team on opposite sides of a case.

Annie Hall: Woody Allen, color, 1977, 94m. One of the best romantic comedies ever made. Woody Allen stars and directs himself, Diane Keaton, and Tony Roberts through the minefield of relationships in New York and Los Angeles. Oscar: Best Actress, Director, Screenplay, Picture.

The Apartment: Billy Wilder, 1960, 125m. Jack Lemmon stars in this fantastic satire as an insurance clerk who loans his apartment to his superiors for their extramarital affairs. All's well until he falls for one of the women. Shirley MacLaine and Fred Mac-Murray co-star. Oscar: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Director, Editing, Screenplay.

The Bank Dick: Eddie Cline, 1940, 73m. W.C.Field's classic comedy about a reluctant drunk-turned-hero.

Big Business: James Horne, 1929, 30m. A Laurel and Hardy short in which they try to sell Christmas trees in July.

Bringing Up Baby: Howard Hawks, 1938, 102m. Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant star in the kind of great slapstick comedy that doesn't get made anymore.

David Holzman's Diary: Jim McBride, 1967, 71m.  Clever satire on the pretensions of cinema verité. A filmmaker explores the truth in his life by making a film about himself.

Dr. Strangelove (Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb). Stanley Kubrick, 1964, 93m. Peter Sellers plays three roles in this brilliant black comedy about nuclear bombs. George C.Scott, Slim Pickens, and James Earl Jones contribute great comic performances, too. Nominated for Best Picture.

Duck Soup: Leo McCarey, 1933, 70m. The best of the Marx Brothers films. Strangely, it was a box-office disaster when first released.

The Freshman: Sam Taylor and Fredn Newmeyer, 1925, 70m. Harold Lloyd stars as a college nerd who'll do anything to be popular. Little does he know that people aren't laughing with him, but at him.

Angelina Jolie as seen by the Grevin Museum of Montreal. Photo by Elena.

The General: Buster Keaton, 1927, 74m. Keaton stars as an engineer trying to retake his stolen locomotive during the Civil War. His silent magnetism dominates the whole film.

The Gold Rush: Charlie Chaplin, 1925, 100m. Chaplin stars as well as directs this historical comedy. Includes the brilliantly inventive “dance of the dinner rolls.”

His Girl Friday: Howard Hawks, 1940, 92m. A newspaper comedy based on the oft-filmed Ben Hecht and Charles MacArthur book, The Front Page. Cary Grant and Rosalind Russell have combustible chemistry as a battling reporter and her editor.

Happened One Night: Frank Capra, 1934, 105m. Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert fall in love one night. Frank Capra directs in the patent “feel-good” style he invented. Oscar: Best Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Director, Picture.

Modern Times: Charlie Chaplin, 1936, 87m. Chaplin's classic industrial satire features the Little Tramp stuck in an automated nightmare. It probably means more to today's technology-flooded viewers than it did in the moviegoers of 1936. 

A Night At the Opera: Sam Wood, 1935, 92m. A Marx Brothers musical comedy with a love story tacked on for good measure. Fortunately, the romance doesn't spoil the Brothers' weird band of antic fun.

Ninotchka: Ernst Lubitsch, 1939, 110m. A comedy starring Grea Garbo? The lady with the scowl plays a Soviet commissar checking up on some comrades in Paris. It's still good lightweight entertainment.

Safety Last: Fred Newmeyer and Sam Taylor. 1923, 78m. A Harold Lloyd picture about an up-and-comer in the big city. His famous building-climbing scene (Lloyd did his own stunts) stunned early audiences ans still keeps viewers on the edge of their seats.

Some Like it Hot: Billy Wilder, 1959, 120m. A comedy classic. Jack Lemmon and Tony Curtis witness a mob hit and flee to the safe haven of an all-girl band – as girls. Marilyn Monroe is the lead singer of the band in her best performance. Oscar: Best Costume Design.

Sullivan's Travels: Preston Sturges, 1941, 90m. Sturges sends a jaded Hollywood director out in the real world with nothing but a dime in his pocket. Clever satire featuring Veronica Lake.

Trouble in Paradise: Ernst Lubitsch, 1932, 83m. The story of two jewel thieves who fall in and out of love.

Drama

The African Queen: John Huston, 1951. 105m. Bogart and Hepburn travel downriver through Africa. Scripted by James Agee, this is a near-perfect film. Oscar: Best Actor.

All about Eve: Joseph L. Mankiewicz. 1950, 138m. This look at the New York theater scene features a great leading performance from Bette Davis. Also stars Marilyn Monroe and George Sanders. Oscar: Best Director, Best Picture, Sound, Supporting Actor.

The Birth of a Nation: D.W. Griffith, 1915. 175m. Director John Singleton nominated it for preservation in hopes that the disturbing glorification of the KKK would serve as a lesson for younger Americans and a reminder for older ones.

The Black Pirate: Albert Parker, 1926, 122m. Silent buccaneer film written by and starring Douglas Fairbans, Sr. It's silly mindless fun.

The Blood of Jesus. Spencer Williams, Jr. 1941, 50m. Williams wrote, directed and starred in this well-told story of a husband who accidentally shoots his wife. 

Bonnie and Clyde. Arthur Penn, 1967, 111m. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway reinvented the gangster picture as the infamous crime duo. The final shoot-out in slow motion is one of the most memorable scenes in American films. Also stars Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons. Oscar: Best Cinematography, Supporting Actress.

Casablanca: Michael Curtiz, 1942, 102m. The standard by which every movie romance will forever be judged. Bogart and Bergam are magic at every turn. Oscar: Best Director, Picture, Screenplay.

The Cheat: Cecil B. DeMille, 1915, 60m. A silent melodrama about a high-society woman who loses her shirt and her honor a Japanese lender.

Citizen Kane: Orson Welles, 1941, 119m. The single most influential American film. The story of newspaper tycoon Charles foster Kane still tops many lists of the greatest films of all time, and it established Orson Welles as the premier talent of his generation. Oscar: Best Original Screenplay.

City Lights: Charlie Chaplin, 1931, 81m. Considered Chaplin's masterpiece, the actor's little tramp befriends a blind woman and does all he can to help her. The finale will bring tears to your eyes.

The Cool World: Shirley Clarke, 1963, 125m. A disturbing, early look at ghetto life. Clarke follows a gang leader on his symbolic pursuit of a gun through the mean streets of Harlem. Every urban film since owes something to this one.

A Corner in Wheat : D.W.Griffith, 1909. 1 reel. Griffith contrasts the lives of the rich and poor by examining a wheat farmer and a Wall Street broker. The starling ending culminates in the death of the farmer. Based on the writingf of Frank Norris.

The Crowd: King Vidor. 1928, 90m. An examination of a working-class family in a wealthy world. Vidor's best work.

Dodsworth: William Wyler, 1936, 101m. From the Sinclair Lewis novel of the same name. The finally crafted story follows Walter Huston as Dodsworth, a self-made millionaire and automobile mogul. Oscar: Best Interior Decoration.

The Godfather: Francis Ford Coppola, 1972, 175m. The unforgettable first chapter in the Corleone family saga. Marlon Brando stars as the title character, with Al Pacino, James Caan, Talia Shire, Diane Keaton, and Robert Duvall. A great film. Oscar: Best Actor, Best Adapted Screenplay Picture.

The Godfather, Part II: Francis Ford Coppola, color, 1974, 200m. Robert de Niro joins the star-studded cast as the young Don Corleaone, but it's Al Pacino as Michael who eclipses everyone with a skillful, complicated performance. In a break from tradition, the sequel is just as good as the original. Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction/Set Decoration, Director, Picture, Supporting Actor, Screenplay.

Gone With the Wind: Victor Fleming, 1939, 222m. Clark Gable and Vivian Leigh star in the epic telling of the last days of the Civil War. Politically incorrect? Sure. But it remains a beautiful, compelling, and thoroughly entertaining film. Oscar: Color Cinematography, Interior Decoration, Screenplay, Editing, Supporting Actress, Actress, Director, Picture.

The Grapes of Wrath: John Ford, 1940, 129m. Henry Fonda is brilliant and Ford is at his best. Adapted from the Steinbeck classic about Okies fleeing the Dust Bowl. Oscar: Best Supporting Actress, Director.

Greed: Erich Von Stronheim, 1924, 133m. Von Stroheim's tale of corruption must have been a wonder in its original nine-hour length. Even in the TV-friendly two-hour version, it's a magnificent remnant from the silent era.

How Green Was My Valley: John Ford, 1941, 118m. The story of a Welsh mining family told by 13-year-old Roddy McDowall. Oscar: Best Interior Decoration, Black and White Cinematography, Supporting Actor, Director, Picture.

I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang: Mervyn Leroy, 1932, 90m. The story of an honest man convicted of a crime he didn't commit. This was one of the first films to explore this subject, and Paul Muni's performance pulls it all together.

Intolerance: D.W. Griffith, 1916, 175m. An ironic title, considering the controversy surrounding Griffith's work. This story is an amalgam of four tales of intolerance: two historical, two modern.

Al Pacino. Photo by Elena.

It's a Wonderful Life: Frank Capra. 1946, 129m. Jimmy Stewart finds out what the world would be like if he had never been born. A Christmas classic with an ending as sweet as Santa himself.

The Italian: Reginald Barker, 1915, 78m. The tragic turn-of-the-century tale of an immigrant Italian family in New York.

Killer of Sheep: Charles Burnett, 1977, 83m. Set in South Central L.A., Burnett follows Stan, an aging man struggling to keep his values while the world falls around him. It's a complex tale, beautifully told.

The Lady Eve: Preston Sturgies, 1941, 94m. Barbara Stanwyck stars as a con making the moves on the wealthy but nerdy Henry Fonda. Subtle humor pervades the script and the lead performances are first-rate.

Laissie come home: Fred Wilcox, 1943, 90m. Elizabeth Taylor and Roddy McDowall star, but Lassie steals the show. Perfect family viewing, even many years later.

Lawrence of Arabia: David Lean, 1962, 221m. Peter O'Toole gives one of the greatest debut performances in film history as T.E.Lawrence, and David Lean tells the lengthy story with remarkable ease. See it on a large screen if possible. Oscar: Best Arti Direction/Set Decoration, Color Cinematography, Sound, Score, Editing, Director, Picture.

The Learning Tree: Gordon Parks, 1969, 107m. Gordon Parks became the first black director of a major studio film with this autobiographical project. The former Life photographer directed, pruduced, wrote the script, and scored the film himself.

Letter from an Unknown Woman: Max Ophuls. 1948, 90m. Romance starring Joan Fontaine and Louis Jourdan, Director Ophuls gives the film a European feel and stylized look.

The Magnificent Ambersons: Orson Welles, 1942, 88m. Orson Welles's dark portrait of a mid-western family in decline, from the Booth Tarkington novel. Was nominated for Best Picture, but is still overshadowed by by the classic Citizen Kane, don't miss it.

Marty: Delbert Mann, 1955, 91m. The tiny but touching story of a Bronx butcher (Ernest Borgnine) who finds love unexpectedly. Paddy Chayefsky's script keeps this from being an ordinary love tale, and Borgnine gives (by far) his best performance. Oscar: Best Screenplay, Actor, Director, Picture.

Midnight Cowboy: John Schelsinger, 1969, 113m. The only X-rated film to win Best Picture, Cowboy is hardly as shocking today as it was then. Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight star as small-time hustlers who become friends. New York never looked seamier than through director Schlesinger's lens. Oscar: Best Adapted Screenplay, Director, Picture.

Morocco: Joseph von Sternberg, 1930, 92m. Marlene Dietrich's first Hollywood film casts her as a cabaret singer stuck in Morocco. Gary Cooper goes along for the ride.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington : Frank Capra, 1939, 129m. Capra and Jimmy Stewart (as Jefferson Smith) team up to tell the story of a scoutmaster turned senator who brings old-fashioned values back to Capitol Hill. It's very politician's dream role. Oscar: Best Screenplay.

Nashville: Robert Altman, 1975, 159m. Altman at his best. With a large ensemble cast at his disposal, the director examines American life and the way it was lived in the 1970s with acute wit and style. Oscar: Best Song.

Nothing but a Man: Michael Roemer, 1964, 95m. A quiet look at racial prejudice in the South. Melodrama is kept to a minimum, as director Roemer examines the complexities of black life.

On the Waterfront: Elia Kazan, 1954, 108m. Marlon Brando stars as Terry Malloy, a boxer-turned-longshoreman. Disgusted by the mob corruption that his older brother (Rod Steiger) has introduced him to, Brando sums himself up with one of the most desperate lines in the movies: “I coulda been a contender.” Oscar: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Black and White Cinematography, Editing, Screenplay, Supporting Actress, Actor, Director, Picture.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest: Milos Forman, 1975, 129m. Cuckoo's Nest and It Happened One Night are the only two films to have swept the five major Oscar categories. Jack Nicholson is an inmate at a mental institution who brings the other patients back to life. Based on Ken Kesey's novel. Look for a great early-career performance from Danny DeVito. Oscar: Best Screenplay, Actor, Actress, Director, Picture.

Paths of Glory: Stanley Kubrick, 1957, 86m. Kubrick's specialty, an anti-war movie. Kirk Douglas stars as a World War I sergeant forced to defend three of his troops against charges of cowardice.

A Place in the Sun: George Stevens, 1951, 120m. Elizabeth Taylor, Montgomery Clift, Shelly Winters star as the three points of a love triangle. Oscar: Best Black and White Cinematography, Costume Design, Score, Editing, Screenplay, Director.

The Poor Little Rich Gire: Maurice Torneur, 1917, 64m. Mary Pichford gives an extraordinary performance as a girl with everything but her family's love.

The Prisoner of Zenda: John Cromwell, 1937, 101m. From the Anthony Hope novel about a power struggle in a small European kingdom, Ronald Colman stars, and Mary Astor, Douglas Fairbanks, Jr., and David Niven also put in appearances.

Raging Bull: Martin Scorsese, 1980, 128m. Many critics hailed this drama about boxer Jake LaMotta as the best film of the 1980s. Robert De Niro gives a fantastic performance as LaMotta, portraying the character from his 20s as a fighting machine to his dissolute later years. Oscar: Best Editing, Actor.

Rebel Weithout a Cause: Nicholas Ray, 1955, 111m. The classic tale of teen angst and alienation. James Dean stars in the role that made him an American legend.

Salt of the Earth: Herbert Biberman, 1954, 94m. Deals with a miners' strike in New Mexico from a staunchly pro-union perspective. During the McCarthy ear, it was attached as Communist propaganda.

Scarface: Howard Hawks, 1932, 93m. Like the remake, it was censored at first because of its violent content. Hawks's film was the best gangster film until The Godfather. Paul Muni plays a Capone-like mob man with deep affection for his sister.

Shadows: John Cassavetes, 1959, 87m. Cassavetes's first directorial effort. The picture follows a light-skinned black girl through life in New York City. Lelia Goldoni turns in a strong lead performance.

Sherlock, Jr.: Buster Keaton, 1924, 45m. Keaton plays a projectionist with Walter Mitty – like dreams of being a great detective. He walks from the booth onto the screen and enters a fantasy drama. Besides being Keaton's greatest display of skill as a director, the “fourth-wall” fusion of reality and fantasy has been copied by everyone from Woody Allen to Schwarzenegger.

Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, 1950, 100m. A cavalcade of Hollywood's greats appear in this black comedy about Norma Desmond, played by Gloria Swanson in her defining role, a silent film star who's got nothing left. As a Broadway musical starring Glenn Close, it was a hit in 1994. Oscar: Best Art Direction/Set Decoration, Screenplay, Score.

Sweet Smell of Success: Alexander Mackendrick. 1957, 96m. Burt Lancaster and Tony Curtis star in a story about a newspaper gossip columnist (Lancaster) and the press agent who'll do anything for him (Curtis). An excellent musical score by Elmer Bernstein of Magnificent Seven fame.

Tabu: F.W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty, 1931, 81m. Equal parts ethnography and drama. The story follows a young diver and his unrequited love for a woman declared “taboo” by the gods. Oscar: Best Cinematography.

Taxi Driver: Martin Scorsese, 1976, 112m. Robert De Niro plays Travis Bickle, a disturbed taxi driver who can't stand New York and goes berserk. Scorses's portrait of vigilantism proved strangely prophetic when John Hinckley cited the film as one reason for his assassination attempt on Ronald Reagan. Co-stars Jodie Foster, Cyblill Shepherd, and Harvey Keitel.

Tevye: Maurice Schwartz, 1929, 96m. Later known as Fiddler on the Roof, this is the original story of a Jewish dairyman whose lifestyle is changed by his daughter's wishes to marry outside the faith. From the Sholom Aleichem story.

Where Are My Children: Lois Webber and Phillips Stanley, 1916, 72m. A silent “social” film from woman director Lois Webber, starring Tyrone Power, Sr. Daring, in that it takes a pro-birth control, anti-abortion stand in the early 20th century.

The Wind : Bud Greenspan, 1928, 74m. Lilian Gish stars as a girl who marries a farmer to escape her family. One of the last great silent films.

Within Our Gates : Oscar Micheaux, 1920, 79m. The earliest surviving film by an African American director. A mixed cast explores racial issues that didn't bubble to the cultural surface for decades.

A Woman Under the Influence: John Cassavetes. 1974, 147m. Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk star in the story of a woman who is cracking up.

Horror

Cat People: Jacques Torneur, 1942, 73m. Simone Simon is a dressmaker who believes she's infected with a panther curse in this creepy, well-directed thriller.

Frankenstein: James Whale, 1931, 71m. Boris Karloff's performance as Mary Shelley's monster is still the best, Robert De Niro's friendly monster in the Kenneth Branagh version included.

Freaks: Tod Browning, 1932, 64m. Director Browning explores relationships between sideshow freaks in this stranger horror film. The real story is the n=humanity of the freak characters, many of whom are real-life sideshow performers.

King Kong: Melan Cooper and Ernest Shoedsack, 1933, 105m. Big ape rampages through New York until he reaches the Empire State Building. A camp classic.

Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock, 1960, 109m. Anthony Perkins stars as Norman Bates, motel proprietor and neighborhood psychotic. Thirty years and several hundred slasher imitators later, Psycho still provides some terrifyingly good screams.

Musicals

An American in Paris: Vincent Minnelli, 1951, 113m. Gene Kelly stars in this entertaining musical as a GI-turned-painter. Features a stunning 17-minutes ballet sequence with classic Kelly dancing. Oscar: Best Art Decoration/Set Decoration, Color Cinematography, Score, Screenplay, Picture.

Carmen Jones: Otto Preminger, 1954, 105m. Oscar Hammerstein II adapted the film from Bizet's opera. Harry Belafonte and Dorothy Dandridge turn in good performances.

Footlight Parade: Lloyd Bacon, 1933, 100m. James Cagney plays a struggling stage director trying to out-do himself (and sound movies) with every musical number.

Gigi: Vincente Minnelli, 1958, 116m. Leslie Caron is Gigi, a harlot-in-training with Louis Jourdan on her mind. One of the last great movie musicals. Oscar: Best Art Direction, Color Cinematography, Costume Design, Score, Song, Screenplay, Director, Picture.

Love Me Tonight: Rouben Marmoulian, 1932, 104m. The Rodgers & Hart musical that introduced “Isn't It Romantic” (sung by Maurice Chevalier) to the film world.

Meet Me in St.Louis: Vincente Minnelli, 1944, 133m. Set at the 1903 World's Fair in St.Louis, Director Minnelli's musical tracks a family through their expectant, turn-of-the-century lives. Judy Garland carries the picture, although child-star Margaret O'Brian was given a special Oscar for her performance.

Singin' in the Rain: Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, 1952, 103m. The greatest movie musical ever. Kelly's performance of the title song is dervedly one of the most famous scenes in film. Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Cyd Charisse, Rita Moreno give great performances, too.

Top Hat: Mark Sandrich, 1935, 97m. Ginger Rogers and Fred Astair in their best form “Cheek to Cheek: and “Top Hat, White Tie, and Tails” are just two of the great songs performed. Look for Lucille Ball in a small early role.

The Wizard of Oz: Victor Fleming, 1939, 101m. An American classic based on L.Frank Baum's novel of the same name. Judy Garland stars as Dorothy in the role of a lifetime. The music is instantly hummable, the performances unforgettable. A perfect film. Oscar: Best Song, score.

Yankee Doodle Dandy: Mickael Curtiz, 1942, 126m. James Cagney stars in the story of composer George M. Cohan. Cagney proved he could play something other than a gangster in this sweet musical. Oscar: Best Score, Sound, Actor.

Mystery and Suspense

Badlands: Terence Malick, 1974, 94m. Before Oliver Stone's Natural Born Killers, there was Badlands. Director Malick's creepy thriller stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as a murderer and his companion. Loosely inspired by a Nebraska killing spree in 1958.

Chinatown: Roman Polanski, 1974, 131m. Jack Nickolson and Faye Dunaway in one of Hollywood's greatest executions of film-noir. Hohn Huston, Dianne Ladd, Burt Young co-star. Oscar: Best original screenplay.

Detour: Edgar Ulmer., 1948, 69m. Ulmer was one of the first low-budget independent filmmakers. His craft is at its sharpest in that film-noir about a drifter, who is played superbly by Tin Neal,

Double Indemnity: Billy Wilder, 1944, 106m. Fred MacMurray stars as an insurance salesman who joins Barbara Stanwyck in a plot to kill her husband for his insurance. Suspense films don't get any better than this.

Force of Evel : Abraham Polonsky, 1948, 100m. Noir classic starring John Garfield as a mob lawyer caught between crime and brotherly love. A tremendous performance by Garfield, a too-often underrated actor.

The Maltese Falcon: John Huston, 1941, 101m. Bogart is Sam Spade, a P.I. Investigating the web of deceit and murder spun around a priceless statue. With a supporting cast featuring Peter Lorre, Mary Astor and Sydney Greenstreet, this is the best of P.I. Flicks.

The Manchurian Candidate: John Frankenheimer, 1962, 126m. Frank Sinatra gives his best performance as an Army man who knows more than he thinks he does in Frankenheimer's thrilling adaptation of the Richard Condon novel. The plot revolves around conspiracy and brainwashing at the highest levels of American  government.

The Night of the Hunter: Charles Laughton, 1955, 93m. Robert Mitchum plays a terrifying preacher trying to kill his step-kids. This is one scare flick, and Mitchum turns in a creepy, career defining performance.

Out of the Past: Jacques Torneur, 1947, 97m. A small film-noir starring Robert Mitchum and Kirk Douglas. Mitchum plays a P.I. Who gets involved with a gangster;s girl. Douglas plays the formidable gangster.

Shadow of a Doubt: Alfred Hitchcock, 1943, 108m. Joseph Cotten stars as Uncle Charlie, a loving relative who may have a murderous secret to hide. Hitchcock's personal favorite.

Sunrise: F.W. Murnau, 1927, 110m. The story of a farmer who plots to murder his wife. The silent film featured innovative camera-work for the times. Oscar: Best actress.

Touch of Evil: Orson Wellees, 1958, 108m. Director Welles also stars as the corrupt sheriff of a seedy Mexican border town. Charlton Heston, Janet Leigh, and a host of other stars also appear.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre: John Huston, 1948, 126m. Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, and Tim Holt go prospecting for gold and discover the worst in human nature. Oscar: Best Screenplay, Supporting Actor, Director.

Verting: Alfred Hitchock, 1958, 126m. Jimmy Stewart is an ex-cop hired to shadow Kim Novak. He has vertigo. To reveal anything more would be criminal,

Science Fiction

Blade Runner: Ridley Scott, 1982, 122m. An art-house favorite starring Harrison Ford as an everyday cop in a nightmarish future that resembles L.A. Cast features Darryl Hannah, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos, and Ruger Hauer. The production design is superb.

E.T. The Extraterrestrial: Steven Spielberg, 1982, 115m. This touching adventure of a boy and his alien could only come from the imagination of Steven Spielberg. Henry Thomas as Eliot gives the best-child-performance ever in a film, and the superior cast (including Debra Winger as the voice of E.T.) makes this the classic of 1980s pop-cinema. Oscar: Best Sound, Visual Effects, Score.

Invasion of the Body Snatchers: Don Siegel, 1956, 80m. One of the most influential sci-fi horror movies. Aliens replace people with duplicates hatched from pods. Don't watch it alone.

Star Wars: George Lucas, 1977, 121m. “A long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away,” sci-fi fantasies were drive-in-jokes. Then director George Lucas came along and made outer space into a world populated by heroes and monsters drawn from Greek mythology. The special effects set a new standard for film technology. Oscar: Best Art/Direction/Set Decoration, Costume Design, Editing, Sound, Visual Effects, Score.

2001: A Space Odyssey. Stanley Kubrick, 1968, 139m. The groundbreaking film that took viewers into a future where machine and man are equals. Besides being a visual feast, the philosophical and theological issues raised within make it one of the touchstone films of a generation. Oscar: Best Visual Effects.

Westerns

Hell's Hinges: William S.Hart and Charles Swickard, 1916, 65m. Director Hart was the first master of the western and this fine film had more to do with shaping the formula of the genre than any other.

High Noon: Fred Zinnerman, 1952, 85m. The clock ticks down on sheriff Gary Cooper as an old nemesis turns his wedding day into a nightmare. Great suspense and good acting; Cooper won his second Oscar for the rôle. Oscar : Best Editing, Song, Score, Actor.

My Darling Clementine : John Ford, 1946, 97m. Henry Fonda plays Wyatt Earp in the best version of the oft-filmed shoout-out at the O.K. Corral.

Red River : Howard Hawks, 1948, 133m. One of the most frequently underrated westerns. John Wayne plays a leathery rancher with surprising skill. Montgomery Clift co-stars in his first film rôle.

Ride the High Century : Sam Peckinpah, 1962, 93m. Two gunmen are hired to guard a stash og gold. One honorable intentions, one doesn't. Starring Randolph Scott and Joel McCrea in their final screen roles.

The Searchers : John Ford, 1956, 119m. John Wayne plays a racist old Confederate in search of his niece (Natalhie Wood) who was abducted by Indians. Both Wayne and director Ford are in peak form.

Shane : George Syevens, 1953, 117mé A great drama from the Jack Schaeffer novel of the same name. Alan Ladd as the lonesome gunfighter is fantastic. Oscar: Best Color Cinematography.