Welcome to my movie recommendation pages! I was fortunate to grow up with a dad who took me to see samurai movies and art films, and with broadcast TV that showed old movies every day. Doomed to be a lifelong cinephile, I created these pages for fun years ago, then learned my friends were using them as viewing lists. 

We live in an age when there’s so much information available online, it seems like everything is there for us all the time. But most of these movies won’t show up in your Netflix feed, and some you'll have to track down. I’m here to tell you they’re worth it.

With so much available, how do I decide what movie to watch? I start with a particular genre, like crime or comedy, then narrow it down from there.

Many of my picks are flix made in the U.S. during the 20th century. At heart I'm a classic Hollywood movie buff.  Enjoy!

• THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) Peter Bogdanovich
• THE APARTMENT (1960) Billy Wilder
• THE ROAD (1954-Italy) Federico Fellini
  
• WANDA (1970) Barbara Loden
  
• THE LAST DETAIL (1973) Hal Ashby
  
• EASY RIDER (1969) Dennis Hopper
• THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019) Robert Eggers

• THE SEVEN SAMURAI (1954-Japan) Akira Kurosawa
• TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948) John Huston
• BODYGUARD (1961-Japan) Akira Kurosawa
• LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962-England) David Lean
• YOU ONLY LIVE TWICE (1967) Lewis Gilbert
• THE ROAD WARRIOR (1981) George Miller

• WAGES OF FEAR (1952-France) Henri Clouzot
• THE AMERICAN FRIEND (1977-Germany) Wim Wenders
• SECONDS (1966) John Frankenheimer
• THE CONVERSATION (1974) Francis Ford Coppola
• THE BIRDS (1963) Alfred Hitchcock
• DON'T LOOK NOW (1973-England) Nicolas Roeg

• DR. STRANGELOVE (1964-England) Stanley Kubrick
• BEDAZZLED (1967-England) Stanley Donen
• SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959) Billy Wilder
• DUCK SOUP (1933) Leo McCarey
• MONTY PYTHON AND THE HOLY GRAIL (1975-England) Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones \
• CABIN BOY (1994) Adam Resnik
• WILL SUCCESS SPOIL ROCK HUNTER? (1957) Frank Tashlin

• BALL OF FIRE (1941) Howard Hawks
• BOY MEETS GIRL (1938) Lloyd Bacon
• BRINGING UP BABY (1938) Howard Hawks
• YOU CAN’T TAKE IT WITH YOU (1938) Frank Capra
• NOTHING SACRED (1937) William Wellman

• ROBIN AND MARIAN (1976-England) Richard Lester
• MIDNIGHT (1939) Mitchell Leisen
• FAR FROM THE MADDING CROWD (1967-England) John Schlesinger
• TIME AFTER TIME (1979) Nicholas Meyer
• RAFIKI (2018-Kenya) Wanuri Kahiu
• THE MODERNS (1988) Alan Rudolph
• PRINCESS O'ROURKE (1943) Norman Krasna

• MR SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939) Frank Capra
• THE CANDIDATE (1972) Michael Ritchie
• ALL THE KING'S MEN (1949) Robert Rossen
• THE BEST MAN (1964) Franklin J. Schaffner
• THE GREAT MCGINTY (1940) Preston Sturges

• ACE IN THE HOLE (1951) Billy Wilder
• HIS GIRL FRIDAY (1940) Howard Hawks
• PARK ROW (1952) Sam Fuller
• ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976) Alan Pakula
• FIVE STAR FINAL (1931) Mervin LeRoy
• PICTURE SNATCHER (1933) Lloyd Bacon

• KILLER OF SHEEP (1978) Charles Burnett
• THE HARDER THEY COME (1972) Perry Henzell
• COOLEY HIGH (1975) Michael Schultz
• DAUGHTERS OF THE DUST (1991) Julie Dash
• AIR CONDITIONER (2020-Angola) Fradique
• BLACK GIRL (1966-France) Ousmane Sembène
• SWEET SWEETBACK'S BADASSSSS SONG (1971) Melvin Van Peebles
• PUBLIC TOILET AFRICA (2021-Ghana) Kofi Ofusu-Yeboah

• THE BATTLE OF ALGIERS (1966) Gillo Pontecorvo
• BURN (1969) Gillo Pontecorvo
• WALKER (1987) Alex Cox
• THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING (1975) John Huston
• THE EXILES (1961) Kent Mackenzie
• WAITING FOR THE BARBARIANS (2019) Ciro Guerra

• THE VAGABOND (1951) Raj Kapoor
• SONG OF THE ROAD (1955) Satyajit Ray
  
• THE MUSIC ROOM (1958) Satyajit Ray
• STAY ALERT (1956) Amit Mitra
• RRR (2022) S. S. Rajamouli

• LUST FOR LIFE (1956) Vincente Minnelli
• COAL MINER’S DAUGHTER (1980) Michael Apted
• DOLOMITE IS MY NAME (2019) Craig Brewer
• MR. TURNER (2014) Mike Leigh
• A MILLION MILES AWAY (2023) Alejandra Marquez 
• MILK (2008) Gus Van Sant

• BE NATURAL: THE UNTOLD STORY OF ALICE GUY-BLACHE (2018) Pamela Green
• GET BACK (2021) Peter Jackson
• HARLAN COUNTY, USA (1976) Barbara Kopple
• FOG OF WAR (2003) Errol Morris
  
• DADDY AND THE WARLORD (2019) Shamira Raphaela
• I AM NOT YOUR NEGRO (2016) Raoul Peck 
• THE FARMER'S WIFE (1998) David Sutherland

• TOPSY-TURVY (1999-England) Mike Leigh
• MIDWAY (2019) Roland Emmerich
• A NIGHT TO REMEMBER (1958-England) Roy Ward Baker
• DOWNFALL (2004) Oliver Hirschbiegel
• EIGHT MEN OUT (1988) John Sayles

• SUNRISE (1927) F.W. Murnau
• NAPOLEON (1927-France) Abel Gance
• BEGGARS FOR LIFE (1928) William Wellman
• GREED (1925) Eric Von Stroheim
• PANDORA’S BOX (1929-Germany) G.W. Pabst
• MADAM DuBARRY (1919-Germany) Ernst Lubitsch
• WEST OF ZANZIBAR (1928) Tod Browning
• FAUST (1926-Germany) F.W. Murnau
• CABIRIA (1914) Giovanni Pastrone

• DETOUR (1945) Edgar G. Ulmer
• TOUCH OF EVIL (1958) Orson Welles
• LADY FROM SHANGHAI (1948) Orson Welles
• KISS ME DEADLY (1955) Robert Aldrich
• THE FINGER MAN (1962-France) Jean-Pierre Melville
• THE SET-UP (1949) Robert Wise
• MURDER MY SWEET (1944) Edward Dmytryk 
• NIGHTMARE ALLEY (1947) Edmund Goulding
• I AM WAITING (1957-Japan) Koreyoshi Kurahara

• THE THIRD MAN (1949-England) Carol Reed
• VERTIGO (1958) Alfred Hitchcock
• REAR WINDOW (1954) Alfred Hitchcock
• STRANGER ON THE THIRD FLOOR (1940) Boris Ingster
• THE LONG GOODBYE (1973) Robert Altman
• THE LATE SHOW (1977) Robert Benton

• THE KILLING (1956) Stanley Kubrick
• THE ANDERSON TAPES (1972) Sidney Lumet
• THE TAKING OF PELHAM 1-2-3 (1974) Joseph Sargent
• TOPKAPI (1964) Jules Dassin
• RIFIFI ()1955 Jules Dassin
• THUNDERBOLT AND LIGHTFOOT (1974) Michael Cimino

• THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931) William Wellman
• THE ROARING TWENTIES (1939) Raoul Walsh
• POINT BLANK (1967) John Boorman
• WHITE HEAT (1949) Raoul Walsh
• THE DRIVER (1978) Walter Hill
• THE BURGLAR (1957) Paul Wendkos
• THE SAMURAI (1967-France) Jean-Pierre Melville
• A COLT IS MY PASSPORT (1967-Japan) Takashi Nomura
• THE GOLDEN GLOVE (2019-Germany) Fatih Akin

• REPO MAN (1984) Alex Cox
• HEAD (1968) Bob Rafelson 
• LAIR OF THE WHITE WORM (1988-England) Ken Russell
• VELVET BUZZSAW (2019) Dan Gilroy
• LITZOMANIA (1975-England) Ken Russell
• FREAKS (1932) Tod Browning
• THE FACE OF ANOTHER (1966-Japan) Hiroshi Teshigahara

• TAXI DRIVER (1976) Martin Scorsese
• MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969) John Schlesinger
• THE LANDLORD (1970) Hal Ashby
• MEAN STREETS (1974) Martin Scorsese
• AFTER HOURS (1985) Martin Scorsese
• THE WANDERERS (1979) Philip Kaufman
• THE WARRIORS (1979) Walter Hill

• BARRY LYNDON (1975) Stanley Kubrick
• AGUIRRE: THE WRATH OF GOD (1972-Germany) Werner Herzog
• THE RIGHT STUFF (1983) Phillip Kaufman
• THE DUELISTS (1977-England) Ridley Scott
• WAR AND PEACE (1967-Russia) Sergei Bondarchuk 

• BARDO (2022) Alejandro G. Inarritu
• DESIRED (1951) Roberto Gavaldón
• SIMON OF THE DESERT (1965) Luis Bunuel
• RETURN TO AZTLAN (1990) Juan Mora Catlett
• I AM NO LONGER HERE (2019) Fernando Frías de la Parra
• THE EXTRA (1962) Miguel Delgado 

• THE SEA HAWK (1940) Michael Curtiz
• MASTER AND COMMANDER (2003) Peter Weir
• BILLY BUDD (1962-England) Peter Ustinov
• CAPTAIN BLOOD (1935) Michael Curtiz
• CAPTAIN HORATIO HORNBLOWER (1951-England) Raoul Walsh
  
• GREYHOUND (2020) Aaron Schnieder
  
• DAMN THE DEFIANT! (1962-England) Lewis Gilbert

• STAGECOACH (1939) John Ford
• THE GREAT NORTHFIELD MINNESOTA RAID (1972) Philip Kaufman
• DIRTY LITTLE BILLY (1972) Stan Dragoti
• WESTWORLD (1973) Michael Crichton

• SAHARA (1943) Zoltan Korda
• THE BIG RED ONE (1980/2005 reconstruction) Sam Fuller
• PATHS OF GLORY (1957) Stanley Kubrick
  
• FULL METAL JACKET (1987-England) Stanley Kubrick
• FIRES ON THE PLAIN (1959-Japan) Kon Ichikawa
• ACES HIGH (1977-England) Jack Gold
• CATCH-22 (1970) Mike Nichols
• THE BEAST (1988) Kevin Reynolds

• THE CRAZIES (2010) Breck Eisner
• THE FLU (2013-South Korea) Kim Sung-su
• CONTAGION (2011) Steven Soderbergh
• YEAR OF THE PLAGUE (1979-Mexico) Felipe Cazals
• PANIC IN THE STREETS (1950) Elia Kazan
• THE ANDROMEDA STRAIN (1969) Robert Wise

• LEAVING LAS VEGAS (1995) Mike Figgis
• THE LOST WEEKEND (1945) Billy Wilder
• DAYS OF WINE AND ROSES (1962) Blake Edwards
• BARFLY (1987) Barbet Schroeder 
• I'LL CRY TOMORROW (1955) Daniel Mann

• THE BRIDE OF FRANKENSTEIN (1935) James Whale
• DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) George Romero
• GODZILLA (1954-Japanese version)
• KWAIDAN (1965-Japan) Masaki Kobayashi
• ONIBABA (1964-Japan) Kaneto Shindo
• THE EXORCIST (1971) William Friedkin
• CANDYMAN (2021) Nia DaCosta

• BARON MUNCHAUSEN (1989) Terry Gilliam
• THE 5000 FINGERS OF DR. T (1953) Roy Rowland
• BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1946-France) Jean Cocteau
• RETURN TO OZ (1985) Walter Murch
• JASON AND THE ARGONAUTS (1963) Don Chaffe
• TROLL (2022) Roar Uthaug

• THE MAN WHO FELL TO EARTH (1976-England) Nicolas Roeg
• A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971) Stanley Kubrick
• FORBIDDEN PLANET (1956) Fred Wilcox
• PLANET OF THE APES (1968) Franklin J. Schaffner
• SOYLENT GREEN (1972) Richard Fleischer
• FAHRENHEIT 451 (1967-England) Francois Truffaut
• BUCKAROO BANZAI (1984) W.D. Richter
• THE TIME MACHINE (1960) George Pal

• GULLIVER’S TRAVELS (1935) Dave Fleischer
• PINOCCHIO (1940) Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske
• AKIRA (1988-Japan) Katsuhiro Otomo
• CASTLE IN THE SKY (1986-Japan) Hayao Miyazaki
• WHO FRAMED ROGER RABBIT? (1988) Robert Zemeckis
• CORALINE (2009) Henry Selick

• STORMY WEATHER (1943) Andrew Stone
• WEST SIDE STORY (1961) Robert Wise
• HARD DAY’S NIGHT (1964-England) Richard Lester
• COTTON CLUB (1984) Francis Ford Coppola
• YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942) Michael Curtiz
• ROCK ’N’ ROLL HIGH SCHOOL (1979) Alan Arkush

• THE ROCKETEER (1991) Joe Johnston
• CAPTAIN AMERICA (2011) Joe Johnston
• WONDER WOMAN (2017) Patty Jenkins
• THE INCREDIBLES (2004) Brad Bird
• THE PHANTOM (1996) Simon Wincer

• THE PRIVATE LIFE OF SHERLOCK HOLMES (1970) Billy Wilder
• TIME AFTER TIME (1979) Nicholas Meyer
• MYSTERIOUS ISLAND (1961-England) Cy Endfield
• THE TIME MACHINE (1960) George Pal
• CHITTY CHITTY BANG BANG (1968-England) Ken Hughes
• 20,000 LEAGUES UNDER THE SEA (1954) Richard Fleischer

• NETWORK (1976) Sidney Lumet
• SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950) Billy Wilder
• A FACE IN THE CROWD (1957) Elia Kazan
• THE PLAYER (1996) Robert Altman
• NIGHTCRAWLER (2014) Dan Gilroy

• MASTER AND COMMANDER (2003) Peter Weir
• THE NEW WORLD (2005) Terrence Malick
• CITY OF GOD (2002-Brazil) Fernando Meirelles
• FURY ROAD (2015) George Miller
• DOLOMITE IS MY NAME (2019) Craig Brewer
• 24 HOUR PARTY PEOPLE (2002-England) Michael Winterbottom
• THE LIGHTHOUSE (2019) Robert Eggers
• RAFIKI (2019-Kenya) Wanuri Kahiu
• NOPE (2022) Jordan Peele

• GLADIATOR (2000)
• THE MUMMY (1999)
  
• GALAXY QUEST (1999)
  
• INDEPENDENCE DAY (1996)
  
• THE A-TEAM (2010)
• GHOSTBUSTERS (2016)
• THE MASK OF ZORRO (1998)

Devastating satire of the fine art world, down to the smallest detail. My dad was a fine art painter, I'm too familiar with this mis-en scene, so I couldn't stop laughing. Truly informed script. Also, it was marketed as a horror movie, then criticized for not delivering on the horror. Fine with me.
Here's the trailer.