John August

Movies We Haven’t Seen

Film Industry

I’ve seen 54 out of the 100 films on AFI’s list of [all-time greatest American films](https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movies-10th-anniversary-edition/). Of the ones I’ve missed, there are a few I do genuinely want to see. But will my life or career be negatively impacted if I never see Intolerance (1916)? I doubt it.

In episode 637 of Scriptnotes, Craig and I discuss which movies screenwriters “should” see. That is, of all the movies out there, which ones are most likely to come up in meetings, or be relevant to projects we’re writing in the 2020s?

Inevitably, one’s viewing is going to be greatly affected by when you were born. Craig and I were both born in the 1970s. Is it realistic or necessary for a screenwriter born in 2000 to have the same breadth of 1980s cinematic knowledge?

Preparing for the segment, Scriptnotes producer Drew Marquardt and I went through online lists of the 100 best movies for past four decades. Some of the lists were from Rolling Stone, others from IMDb. ((IMDb lists reflect an individual user’s preferences, which is why there’s occasionally a film you’ve never heard of. Still, this is probably better than just looking at the Oscar-nominated films from each year, which can include entries that don’t hold up.)) Drew and I marked which films we’ve never seen.

Key: John hasn’t seen | Drew hasn’t seen

Movies of the 1980s

  1. Do the Right Thing
  2. Videodrome
  3. Raging Bull
  4. Blue Velvet
  5. Ran
  6. Shoah
  7. Blade Runner
  8. Stranger Than Paradise
  9. The Thin Blue Line
  10. Raiders of the Lost Ark
  11. Sex, Lies, and Videotape
  12. Come and See
  13. The Thing
  14. Brazil
  15. Die Hard
  16. The Shining
  17. Raising Arizona
  18. Say Anything
  19. Something Wild
  20. Blow Out
  21. Stop Making Sense
  22. An American Werewolf in London
  23. The Right Stuff
  24. Paris, Texas
  25. RoboCop
  26. The King of Comedy
  27. E.T.
  28. The Terminator
  29. This Is Spinal Tap
  30. Elephant
  31. Repo Man
  32. Fast Times at Ridgemont High
  33. They Live
  34. Wings of Desire
  35. Risky Business
  36. Fanny and Alexander
  37. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
  38. The Elephant Man
  39. My Neighbor Totoro
  40. Reds
  41. The Decalogue
  42. Pee-wee’s Big Adventure
  43. The Times of Harvey Milk
  44. Mad Max 2
  45. After Hours
  46. Once Upon a Time in America
  47. The Blues Brothers
  48. She’s Gotta Have It
  49. Koyaanisqatsi
  50. Fitzcarraldo
  51. Aliens
  52. Thief
  53. Sophie’s Choice
  54. Roger & Me
  55. My Beautiful Laundrette
  56. Big
  57. Modern Romance
  58. Purple Rain
  59. My Dinner with Andre
  60. Bull Durham
  61. Cutter’s Way
  62. Evil Dead II
  63. Broadcast News
  64. Akira
  65. Back to the Future
  66. The Long Good Friday
  67. Desperately Seeking Susan
  68. Blood Simple
  69. Caddyshack
  70. The Killer
  71. Possession
  72. 48 Hrs.
  73. Ghostbusters
  74. Drugstore Cowboy
  75. Vagabond
  76. Heathers
  77. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown
  78. Police Story
  79. Full Metal Jacket
  80. Sweetie
  81. River’s Edge
  82. Hollywood Shuffle
  83. The Little Mermaid
  84. Midnight Run
  85. Bill & Ted’s Excellent Adventure
  86. Withnail & I
  87. Atlantic City
  88. The Brother from Another Planet
  89. Amadeus
  90. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover
  91. The Vanishing
  92. Airplane!
  93. Near Dark
  94. Who Framed Roger Rabbit
  95. Matewan
  96. Scarface
  97. Miracle Mile
  98. The Decline of Western Civilization
  99. Gregory’s Girl
  100. Testament

Movies of the 1990s

  1. Pulp Fiction
  2. Goodfellas
  3. Fargo
  4. L.A. Confidential
  5. The Big Lebowski
  6. Saving Private Ryan
  7. Fight Club
  8. The Silence of the Lambs
  9. Magnolia
  10. American Beauty
  11. Unforgiven
  12. Se7en
  13. The Shawshank Redemption
  14. Forrest Gump
  15. Heat
  16. Sling Blade
  17. Out of Sight
  18. Dazed and Confused
  19. American History X
  20. Election
  21. Miller’s Crossing
  22. Boogie Nights
  23. Groundhog Day
  24. Schindler’s List
  25. Good Will Hunting
  26. True Romance
  27. The Usual Suspects
  28. Being John Malkovich
  29. Rushmore
  30. Reservoir Dogs
  31. Braveheart
  32. JFK
  33. Ed Wood
  34. Waiting for Guffman
  35. Dances with Wolves
  36. Kingpin
  37. Dumb and Dumber
  38. Clerks
  39. Mallrats
  40. Jackie Brown
  41. Boyz n the Hood
  42. Get Shorty
  43. Jerry Maguire
  44. Bottle Rocket
  45. Rounders
  46. The Matrix
  47. Malcolm X
  48. Quiz Show
  49. Titanic
  50. The Rainmaker
  51. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
  52. As Good as It Gets
  53. Barton Fink
  54. Toy Story
  55. Dead Man Walking
  56. Jurassic Park
  57. Dead Man
  58. Toy Story 2
  59. The Sixth Sense
  60. The English Patient
  61. Edward Scissorhands
  62. The Fugitive
  63. Donnie Brasco
  64. Three Kings
  65. The Thin Red Line
  66. Glengarry Glen Ross
  67. South Park: Bigger, Longer & Uncut
  68. The Green Mile
  69. Trainspotting
  70. Scent of a Woman
  71. In the Name of the Father
  72. Scream
  73. The Last of the Mohicans
  74. Leaving Las Vegas
  75. The Lion King
  76. Apollo 13
  77. Short Cuts
  78. Aladdin
  79. The Grifters
  80. Beauty and the Beast
  81. Philadelphia
  82. Wag the Dog
  83. Wayne’s World
  84. The Player
  85. My Cousin Vinny
  86. The Truman Show
  87. There’s Something About Mary
  88. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
  89. Léon: The Professional
  90. Office Space
  91. Thelma & Louise
  92. The Insider
  93. Nobody’s Fool
  94. Swingers
  95. A Few Good Men
  96. The People vs. Larry Flynt
  97. Chasing Amy
  98. Lone Star
  99. The Fisher King
  100. 12 Monkeys

Movies of the 2000s

  1. Gladiator
  2. The Dark Knight
  3. Slumdog Millionaire
  4. The Departed
  5. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
  6. Pan’s Labyrinth
  7. Blood Diamond
  8. City of God
  9. Finding Nemo
  10. No Country for Old Men
  11. Cinderella Man
  12. V for Vendetta
  13. There Will Be Blood
  14. Donnie Darko
  15. Sin City
  16. Mystic River
  17. 300
  18. Let the Right One In
  19. A Beautiful Mind
  20. Munich
  21. Up
  22. Memento
  23. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
  24. The Prestige
  25. WALL·E
  26. Requiem for a Dream
  27. Into the Wild
  28. The Pianist
  29. Inglourious Basterds
  30. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
  31. Lost in Translation
  32. The Hurt Locker
  33. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
  34. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
  35. American Psycho
  36. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
  37. Road to Perdition
  38. Walk the Line
  39. The Last Samurai
  40. Million Dollar Baby
  41. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
  42. Downfall
  43. Black Hawk Down
  44. Hotel Rwanda
  45. The Curious Case of Benjamin Button
  46. Eastern Promises
  47. Little Miss Sunshine
  48. The Incredibles
  49. American Gangster
  50. Gran Torino
  51. Zombieland
  52. The Wrestler
  53. Big Fish
  54. Crazy Heart
  55. Doubt
  56. 28 Days Later
  57. Thank You for Smoking
  58. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford
  59. The Bourne Identity
  60. Taken
  61. Snatch
  62. Casino Royale
  63. The Bourne Ultimatum
  64. Almost Famous
  65. Letters from Iwo Jima
  66. Gangs of New York
  67. Children of Men
  68. The Pursuit of Happyness
  69. Tears of the Sun
  70. Avatar
  71. Collateral
  72. Batman Begins
  73. Kill Bill: Vol. 2
  74. The Aviator
  75. Saw
  76. Kung Fu Panda
  77. Ocean’s Eleven
  78. Superbad
  79. Man on Fire
  80. Minority Report
  81. Seven Pounds
  82. Traffic
  83. United 93
  84. The Bourne Supremacy
  85. Monsters, Inc.
  86. Shrek
  87. The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
  88. Catch Me If You Can
  89. Iron Man
  90. Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs
  91. Training Day
  92. Sunshine
  93. 21 Grams
  94. 3:10 to Yuma
  95. District 9
  96. The Others
  97. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy
  98. In Bruges
  99. Crash
  100. Shaun of the Dead

Movies of the 2010s

  1. Parasite
  2. Mad Max: Fury Road
  3. Django Unchained
  4. Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri
  5. La La Land
  6. Dunkirk
  7. Whiplash
  8. The Irishman
  9. Your Name.
  10. Avengers: Endgame
  11. Inception
  12. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
  13. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)
  14. Blade Runner 2049
  15. 1917
  16. Avengers: Infinity War
  17. Locke
  18. Calvary
  19. The Hunt
  20. Interstellar
  21. Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
  22. Guardians of the Galaxy
  23. The Hateful Eight
  24. Logan
  25. X-Men: Days of Future Past
  26. Captain America: Civil War
  27. Captain America: The Winter Soldier
  28. Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
  29. Inside Llewyn Davis
  30. Baby Driver
  31. Marriage Story
  32. The Social Network
  33. The Dark Knight Rises
  34. Her
  35. Manchester by the Sea
  36. Knives Out
  37. Confessions
  38. Arrival
  39. Gone Girl
  40. A Silent Voice: The Movie
  41. Ford v Ferrari
  42. A Quiet Place
  43. Nightcrawler
  44. Fruitvale Station
  45. Prisoners
  46. Skyfall
  47. Warrior
  48. Thor: Ragnarok
  49. The Avengers
  50. Joker
  51. Wind River
  52. Frank
  53. Green Book
  54. Deadpool
  55. Spider-Man: Far from Home
  56. Jojo Rabbit
  57. Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2
  58. Deadpool 2
  59. Nocturnal Animals
  60. Kick-Ass
  61. The Grand Budapest Hotel
  62. Gravity
  63. Room
  64. 12 Years a Slave
  65. Inside Out
  66. Toy Story 3
  67. Argo
  68. Moonrise Kingdom
  69. Moonlight
  70. Burning
  71. A Star Is Born
  72. The Great Beauty
  73. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2
  74. 13 Assassins
  75. Coco
  76. Hell or High Water
  77. The Farewell
  78. The Wind Rises
  79. The Martian
  80. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
  81. Star Wars: Episode VII – The Force Awakens
  82. Get Out
  83. Toy Story 4
  84. Black Swan
  85. Sound of Metal
  86. Dallas Buyers Club
  87. Black Panther
  88. Midnight in Paris
  89. 127 Hours
  90. The Big Short
  91. Sicario
  92. True Grit
  93. The Revenant
  94. Drive
  95. Zootopia
  96. The Wolf of Wall Street
  97. Bridge of Spies
  98. Masquerade
  99. Rush
  100. Weathering with You

Related Posts

  1. Blunt notes and Blade Runner
  2. Big Fish opens at #1
  3. Making Christian movies