Tuesday, June 10, 2008

Coming soon..

Coming soon...
A list of movies that a high school student MUST see in order to be culturally educated for college...

SO what movies would YOU include?
Categories include:

  1. Recent Classics
  2. Older Classics
  3. Quality Comedy
  4. Films about High School
  5. Films about College
  6. Horror
  7. Family
  8. Musicals
  9. Documentary
  10. Television Series
Let me know in the comments. I'll publish the list given to The Harpist by her AP Language teacher later this week.

I was stunned at what made the list (and what didn't...)

Deb

10 comments:

Princess of Everything (and then some) said...

Citizen Kane is a must. I did not see it until college but I loved it. I would include The Rocky Horror Picture Show, To Kill a Mockingbird and something by Stephan King.

1-4 Grace said...

Some of the early episodes of M*A*S*H, they were the best. Although, one of the later ones shows Father Mulchay facing a spiritual crisis of his own and in the end finds peace. And, at the end he leads camp in singing, Dona Nobis Parcem. Tear jerker.
Also movie wise, Schindler's List, Sound of Music, Frakenstein (the original), Patch Adams, and Blues Brothers. Oh, and how about some Hitchcock? Any of them will be great(Psycho and Birds are great).

1-4 Grace said...

Oh, I just re-read the categories, so I must now add: Saved, Juno, Animal House and Homeless to Harvard

Mary Beth said...

I'm sorry, I'm just hopeless at movies. Mindy's list sounds great to me.

Sarah said...

Oh dear...how do you pick just a few? I am a movie lover...this is the hardest thing ever, especially considering they are supposed to be for high schoolers. But here goes...

Recent Classics - Everything I can think of is rated R...Schindler's List, BBC's Pride and Prejudice, Lord of the Rings

Older Classics - Sophie's Choice, The Way We Were, It's a Wonderful Life, Casablanca

Quality Comedy - Tootsie (hands down), The Princess Bride

Films about High School - Juno, Saved

Films about College - Patch Adams, Good Will Hunting, Animal House

Horror - Rear Window (not a big horror fan)

Family - Dan in Real Life, Father of the Bride

Musicals (how do I choose???) - The Sound of Music, Mary Poppins, My Fair Lady

Documentary - Inconvenient Truth

Television Series - I Love Lucy, Andy Griffith, 24, Law and Order (a little bit of everything here)

Ok, I think I'm done...obviously I hate watching movies and TV. :)

leah said...

like mary beth, i'd describe myself as 'hopeless at movies,' but i came over here to educate myself. one of our local churches holds a monthly or so theological [film] theater and people are always astonished that i've never attended. i have immense difficulty tracking a narrative or story line in print or on-screen and surprisingly, this close-to-compulsive theologian also misses the messages, symbols and plain basic meanings. looks as if i need to return and maybe even get interested enough to try again?!

Anonymous said...

I'd go with these:
To Kill a Mockingbird
Shakespeare in Love
Saved
Juno
Beauty & The Beast
Hoop Dreams

Sisterfilms said...

As a college student studying film making, I had to respond! The following list is pretty rough. I purposely didn’t read other’s comments, but I did notice Citizen Kane. While I agree that everyone should see it, I am not sure most high school seniors would be able to fully appreciate it without taking a film theory class, but maybe that’s just me being conceited! I can’t wait to see what the teacher said!

1.Recent Classics : The Killing Fields and High Fidelity
2.Older Classics : His Girl Friday and Gone with the Wind (but only if you’re willing to watch it seriously)
3.Quality Comedy : It Happened One Night and Clue
4.Films about High School: Heathers and Sixteen Candles (or the Breakfast Club)
5.Films about College: Accepted and School Daze
6.Horror : Susperia and any Alfred Hitchcock, but specifically The 39 Steps
7.Family: My Neighbor Totoro (by the way, I think it is astonishing that a language teacher would not have Foreign on this list!!) and The Never Ending Story
8.Musicals: Parapluies de Cherbourg (Umbrellas of Cherbourg) and Carousel (I would say Rent so you will have an in with the theatre crowd, but the movie sucks, see the real show instead)
9.Documentary: Angels in the Dust and King of Kong (I haven’t seen this one yet, but everybody is talking about it)
10.Television Series: My So Called Life, Slings and Arrows and 21 Jump Street (this will just make you look really cool among Johnny Depp fans, plus it’s a decent show)

Auntie Knickers said...

This will show both my age and the fact I haven't seen as many movies as my much-younger daughter Sisterfilms:

1. Recent Classics: Oh Brother, Where Art Thou?

2. Older Classics: Sullivan’s Travels

3. Quality Comedy: Born Yesterday

4. Films about High School: Can’t think of any offhand..
5. Films about College: Well, what about law school? THE PAPER CHASE

6. Horror: I don’t do horror.

7. Family: If you mean “About a Family,” then, A Raisin in the Sun. Or, both about a family and suitable for the whole family, The Secret of Roan Inish.

8. Musicals: THE MUSIC MAN or YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (biopic of George M. Cohan that I saw on TV frequently as a child)
9. Documentary: Point of Order (1964)(About the Army-McCarthy hearings)

10. Television Series: MASH or Northern Exposure

Diane M. Roth said...

oh dear, I can't remember the categories. I am a Hitchcock lover, and think that The Thirtynine Steps is a must-see, for classics. For classic comedies I would include Some Like it Hot. This is not really "about" college, but The Graduate is pretty essential too. For musicals, of course Singin' in the Rain!!!

more later...