Mr. Harrison, former history teacher and current major gifts officer at Middlesex, compiled this list of “must see” films from the last century for one of his advisees, who was interested in improving her cultural literacy. Dramas, love stories, comedies, action films, thrillers – there is something for everyone on his list. Enjoy!
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
I was a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
The Call of the Wild (1935)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
Modern Times (1936)
The Grand Illusion (1937)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
They Died with Their Boots On (1941)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Meet John Doe (1941)
Casablanca (1942)
Pride of the Yankees (1942)
The Bicycle Thief (1949)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Treasure Island (1950)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The African Queen (1951)
High Noon (1952)
Stalag 17 (1953)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Rear Window (1956)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Moby Dick (1956)
Twelve Angry Men (1957)
The Bridge over the River Kwai (1957)
The Old Man and the Sea (1958)
Ben Hur (1959)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)
400 Blows (1959)
Two Women (1960)
Breathless (1960)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Loneliness of a Long Distance Runner (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
Fail Safe (1964)
Seven Days in May (1964)
Dr. Strangelove or How I learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb! (1964)
Small Change (1966)
Battle of Algiers (1966)
The King of Hearts (1966)
The Graduate (1967)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Take the Money and Run (1969)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Harold and Maude (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
Rocky (1976)
Star Wars (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Shining (1980)
Airplane (1980)
Reds (1981)
Das Boot (1981)
Blade Runner (1982)
Tootsie (1982)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Aliens (1986)
Full metal Jacket (1987)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Schindler’s List (1993)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
Forest Gump (1994)
Toy Story (1995)
Fargo (1996)
Waking Ned Devine (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
photo courtesy of popturf.com