12 Must-Watch Movies For Every Film Buff

Movie fans looking for movies with catchy stories, gorgeous actors, or eye-catching scenes. Yet for movie buffs, movies containing decent pictures and also skillful filming pack quite a punch. Although movies released a long time ago may not sparkle the interest of audiences today, they tend to be great sources of filming materials that stun anyone who is interested in filming techniques rather than stories or actors starring in movies.
Many classic movies not only convey good stories and eye-catching scenes but also demonstrate the highest level of filmmaking. They gain a plethora of praise from movie experts and critics for their top-notch filming techniques. Then students who are pursuing a film certification, or viewers who are fond of movie techniques can rely on them. Check out these Must-See Movies for movie buffs.
In this post, we highlight 12must-watch movies that are ideal for film buffs. From “2001: A Space Odyssey” released in 1968 to the 1994 blockbuster “Pulp Fiction”, they earned raves for ultimate filmmaking that directors put a lot of effort and talent in. Scroll down to check them out.

#1 2001: A Space Odyssey

Source: IMDb

Since released in 1968, “2001: A Space Odyssey” has been a perfect epitome of an excellent science fiction movie specimen. Kubrick skillfully transformed the well-known Arthur C. Clarke book into a work of beautiful cinematic poetry by applying several special effects that still work to hold up visually today. Despite having a lengthy runtime of 161 minutes and only 20 minutes of conversation, the film 2001 manages to raise significant philosophical issues regarding the past and the destiny of humanity.
The movie explores some of the significant technical advancements made by humans and their potential effects on the future as it explores issues of human growth and purpose. A bone being thrown into the air and a satellite image are juxtaposed in a dramatic match cut at the beginning of the movie. This stunning image sums up human evolution in a matter of seconds. And throughout the entire film, there are hundreds of dynamic shots with a similar style that are both visually stunning and thematically intriguing.
In this movie, Stanley Kubrick repeatedly pushed viewers to consider the purpose of life and the nature of humanity. As a result, 2001: A Space Odyssey is among the purest representations of cinematic art that you will ever find.

#2 Spirited Away

Source: IMDb

It may surprise you that an animated movie is on this list, yet movie connoisseurs will understand that. The aesthetic excellence required to create a top-tier animated feature can frequently outperform that of a live-action film. Nowhere is this more evident than in the works of Hayao Miyazaki and his film business, Studio Ghibli.
Over the years, Studio Ghibli has produced a lot of films that are both beautifully told and visually stunning, but Spirited Away was the one that ultimately broke through to popular audiences in the West. The film portrays the wonderful narrative of a little girl who works in a magical bathhouse to undo a spell that has turned her parents into gluttonous pigs. Everything in the film is a unique concept that was meticulously hand-drawn and brought to life by Ghibli's skilled artists. Miyazaki is such a master of minute detail that you could watch this film a hundred times and still notice small subtleties and features you hadn't noticed before.
Spirited Away became the first film of any genre to gross more than $200 million before its debut in the United States, showcasing the huge potential that animation can offer to the world of storytelling. It received the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature in 2003.

#3 Apocalypse Now

Source: IMDb

The Vietnam War film by Francis Ford Coppola is largely regarded as one of the best films of all time. That praise is all the more merited when you consider the film's now-legendary production difficulties: Marlon Brando was overweight and temperamental, huge storms devastated sets, and Martin Sheen suffered a heart attack.
Apocalypse Now won the London Film Critics' Circle Awards' 30th-anniversary vote in 2009. The critics said there had not been a better picture in the previous 30 years, putting it ahead of Steven Spielberg's Holocaust epic Schindler's List. "Coppola's towering film is a worthy winner," said Jason Solomons, Chairman of the Film Critics' Circle, and clearly its anti-war message, monumental performances, and dazzling film-making technique have stood the test of time, making it as relevant to critics today as it was when it won the best film at our first awards ceremony 30 years ago.”

#4 Pulp Fiction

Source: IMDb

Quentin Tarantino's films aren't for everyone, but even if you think Pulp Fiction is overrated, the film is indisputably well-crafted. Despite breaking nearly every guideline in the screenwriter's playbook, it brilliantly ties together numerous stories given in non-chronological sequence and manages to have them all join together properly at the conclusion. Roger Ebert praised the film in the Chicago Sun-Times as “so well-written in a scruffy, fanzine way that you want to rub noses in it—the noses of those zombie writers who take ‘screenwriting’ classes that teach them the formulas for ‘hit films.'”

#5 Alien

Source: IMDb

Everyone considers Star Wars to be the breakthrough science fiction film of the 1970s since it pioneered so many groundbreaking special effects methods. But, if you really want to learn how to make a cinematic masterpiece set in space, you should watch Ridley Scott's 1979 science fiction horror, Alien.
Instead of hyperdrives and colorful dream planets, Scott and screenwriter Dan O'Bannon developed a harsh dystopian picture of future space travel that felt much more based in reality. And, while most people wouldn't anticipate a horror film to be so dense with subtext and symbolism, Alien is positively brimming with ideas that demand greater analysis, from sexually charged Freudian imagery to feminism and gender stereotypes.
Most films dealing with such subjects aren't nearly as enjoyable as Alien. The alien creature itself, courtesy of some fantastic design work by H.R. Giger, has now become one of the most famous and horrifying creations in all of cinema, highlighting Scott's exceptional method of building tension throughout the entire film.
Sigourney Weaver's portrayal of Ellen Ripley also deserves our praise for demonstrating that women don't always have to play shrieking murder victims in horror films.

#6 Memento

Source: IMDb

Christopher Nolan has established himself as one of the most successful directors working today due to the exceptional quality of his work. While his recent blockbusters like Interstellar, The Dark Knight, and Inception have earned him a lot of attention, it was one of his earlier films that really established him as a master storyteller.
The protagonist of the film Memento, Leonard Shelby, is unable to recall any fresh information due to a condition called anterograde amnesia. Nolan uses two distinct sequences and their juxtaposition to deliver the story in order to visually depict the dysfunction. While one of the sequences is in black and white and plays in reverse order, the other is in color and plays in chronological order.
The nonlinear narrative of the movie is masterfully written and seems to push the limits of what is possible in storytelling. Memento demonstrated more than any other film in recent memory that cutting-edge filmmaking is still capable of coming up with inventive methods for us to enjoy movies without having to rely on high-end special effects.

#7 Vertigo

Source: IMDb

As the "Master of Suspense," Alfred Hitchcock created a vast body of work that has profoundly influenced both the movie industry and popular culture. Although North by Northwest and Psycho are likely his two most well-known films, Vertigo is frequently recognized by critics as the director's best film.
Vertigo is frequently taught in film school curricula despite being a commercial and critical failure when it was first released. This is because it has many of Hitchcock's recognizable themes, such as staircases, passionless blondes, and the ideal murder. While it's true that some of his earlier movies, such as Birds and Dial M for Murder, might be more entertaining for casual moviegoers, Vertigo demands more in-depth examination and repeated viewings than any other Hitchcock production.

#8 Citizen Kane

Source: IMDb

It's no coincidence that Citizen Kane ranks at the top of practically every ranking of the "Greatest Movies of All Time." Orson Welles' directorial debut was the first to truly demonstrate what was possible with the cinematic tools of the period. Overlapping speech, flashbacks, and deep-focus imagery were all initially employed in older films, but they had never been used as successfully or constructed as beautifully as they were in Citizen Kane.
Surprisingly, the film was not an economic success at its initial release and swiftly faded from the box office. It wasn't until years later, when many French critics began to recognize its quality, that the picture became the classic it is today.

#9 This Is Spinal Tap

Source: IMDb

Almost every scene in This Is Spinal Tap, a mockumentary following a fictional British rock band, is simply funny, since the crazy musicians are obviously clueless about how silly they continue on through every preposterous predicament. Even those who haven't watched the film can surely recall the scene in which Tufnell enthusiastically recommends an amplifier that goes up to 11 rather than 10, or the scene in which the band performs at a gig that involves a lot of midgets dancing around a miniature replica of Stonehenge.
Although This Is Spinal Tap had mixed reviews at first, it quickly became a cult favorite once viewers caught on to the hilarious satire.

#10 Lawrence of Arabia

Source: IMDb

Much like Citizen Kane, many critics and cinephiles rank Lawrence of Arabia near the top of their "Greatest Movies of All Time" list. Lawrence of Arabia, like Citizen Kane, appears to have an inexplicable air of perfection surrounding it, which makes it a topic of study in many film schools. It covers a wide range of topics, from philosophy and theology to World War I and foreign politics. Many historians see T.E. Lawrence as a fairly obscure individual.
Rather than providing any form of explanation, David Lean and other filmmakers chose to leave people guessing. Producer Sam Spiegel previously stated that the movie's primary goal was not to solve the mystery of who Lawrence of Arabia was, but rather to perpetuate it.
If you still need convincing to see the picture, you should know that Steven Spielberg considers it his favorite film of all time, and the one that inspired him to become a filmmaker.

#11 Seven Samurai

Source: IMDb

Seven Samurai is a legendary and immensely influential film directed by Akira Kurosawa. The plot revolves around a group of peasants who, after learning of a bandit's heinous plan, decide to preserve their crops and land by employing a gang of mercenary samurai. However, due to extreme poverty and food shortages, the locals' hiring options are limited. They only find seven samurai to support their cause through sheer luck (or possibly destiny).
Seven Samurai is an epic story of class and cultural conflict, full of heart-pounding action sequences and heartbreaking twists.

#12 The Godfather

Source: IMDb

The Godfather, at the peak of mafia films, became so popular that moments from the film have been referenced and parodied numerous times in other films and TV shows. The film was adapted by Francis Ford Coppola from the novel of the same name, which chronicles the narrative of a family set in the vicious world of the Italian mafia in America. His compassionate portrayal of the principal characters enthralled viewers who had hitherto received little insight into the inner workings of the criminal underground.