A list of films to make someone Hollywood literate?

September 10, 2007 10:50 AM

Help me find a list of films to give someone a Hollywood education.

My girlfriend is preparing to move from theater design to production design in Hollywood. While this is going to lead to a slew of questions over the next year, first thing first: my beloved really hasn't seen very many movies (she's never seen Star Wars, for God's sake). I'm looking for a list of films that will allow her to be conversant when dealing with the Hollywood crowd. I'm not looking for a list of "important" or "great" films, but instead an overview of the big films from Hollywood over the last 30 years or so, or maybe one that focuses on the big directors of the past few decades. I'm not looking for individual film suggestions (I have plenty of those), but something with a larger framework to give the list some structure.

posted by Bookhouse to media & arts (11 answers total)

Not cheap, but I hear good things about this: Flashback, a Brief History of Film
posted by filmgeek at 11:13 AM on September 10, 2007

She should definitely familiarize herself with this list of films, at the very least.
posted by SassHat at 11:23 AM on September 10, 2007

I would recommend searching for a list of important production designers and watching all their work. Richard Sylbert is among my favorites, especially his work from '61 to '81. Nominated for 6 oscars for art direction, he won twice and also received a lifetime achievment award for Art Direction from the Art Directors' Guild.

The ADG also has a wiki which may be useful.
posted by dobbs at 11:27 AM on September 10, 2007

She should watch all the films that have won Best Picture Oscars.
posted by ThePinkSuperhero at 11:50 AM on September 10, 2007 [1 favorite]

a personal journey with martin scorsese through american movies is fantastic.
posted by mrunderhill at 2:29 PM on September 10, 2007

Looking at the highest-grossing films of all time may be a good start.
posted by Smallpox at 2:58 PM on September 10, 2007

The list of the highest-grossing films of all time doesn't correlate to the best films of all time; neither does the list of Best Picture winners. (Dances with Wolves beat Goodfellas. Titanic beat L.A. Confidential. QED.) AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (MetaFilter thread with all the requisite caveating) or the New York Times Best 1,000 Movies Ever Made would be closer.

Also, the list of highest-grossing films isn't adjusted for inflation, so it's artificially skewed towards more recent movies with higher ticket prices.
posted by kirkaracha at 3:30 PM on September 10, 2007

I know you said "big films from Hollywood over the last 30 years", but that seems a bit misguided if the aim is to get your girlfriend to be pop culturally competent. Besides the fact that a lot of those films aren't good, the films that those people are going to talk about aren't necessarily going to be Hollywood films. Plus, seeing how Hollywood and indie cinema has become more incestuous, cutting out the smaller productions will leave her with major holes in her film education.

I'd take your suggestion of getting a list of big directors, actors, or writers of the past few decades and run with it. Since they tend to jump between big and small budget productions, she'll get a more complete education without deviating too far outside of mainstream cinema.

I mean, if she gets into a conversation about Peter Jackson (which she is sure to do if she's going into production design), she'd be better off knowing about not just Jackson's big budget productions like King Kong and Lord of the Rings, but his smaller ones like Heavenly Creatures.
posted by Weebot at 4:31 PM on September 10, 2007

To clarify, I'm not looking to educate her on "great" films, but instead give her an introduction to the movies and directors she's going to meet and perhaps work with. She's seen a lot of the movies on the AFI list, especially the older ones. But she's barely seen any on that highest-grossing movies list.

In other words, I'm more concerned about her not knowing who Brian Singer is than her having not seen All Quiet on the Western Front. She's already getting job offers, and I really just want to give her an introduction to Hollywood.
posted by Bookhouse at 4:42 PM on September 10, 2007

It's amazing how often Star Wars comes up in meetings. Generally, though, execs and creatives will refer to more recent films. Try Netflix's Local Favorites to see what people in Los Angeles are renting. Also, even if she hasn't seen the films, watching trailers can help her fake it.
posted by roger ackroyd at 7:53 PM on September 10, 2007

Already been said, but the AFI list would be a good place to start (even if they do like Citizen Kane way too much).
posted by doppleradar at 8:23 PM on September 11, 2007