re: 3 movies to capture the thrill of cinema?

Cinema Paradisio
Jurassic Park
Alien

I have thought a lot about this since last night, and I haven't picked 3 movies, yet. I have thought about the different types of movies you should show.

1. Spielberg. You're going to have to pick one of his movies because he basically created the summer blockbuster and had such a feel for the zeitgeist from the 70s through the 90s. He is a master technical director without relying on being too artsy fartsy, while having that ability to project Americana. I'm leaning Jurassic Park, but Jaws, Close Encounters, ET, Raiders, etc. are all valid picks in their own way.

2. I think a thriller or a comedy should be picked. These 2 genres really show the guttural reactions that movies can create. I lean thriller over comedy because comedies work better in theaters due to the effects of the group creating the thrill more than the movie. A thriller can be quite introverted in its effects and relies on nothing more than the content itself. You have a wide range from more horror films like Silence of the Lambs, Seven, Zodiac (You can insert a lot of Fincher here), The Thing...to political thrillers like The Conversation, All the President's Men, JFK, Zero Dark Thirty, The Hunt for Red October, Sicario, etc. to spy thrillers like Three Days of the Condor, Tinker Tailer Soldier Spy, North by Northwest, The Lives of Others, etc.

3. I think a lighter-subversive movie (up to and including dark comedies) should be picked. I think you can replace the comedy from 2 here pretty well. You don't need to go all Crying Game or Happiness or anything. Something more light-hearted and funny like I Heart Huckabees, Dr. Strangelove, Starship Troopers, Rushmore, Dazed and Confused, Princess Bride, Hudsucker Proxy, etc. If you want, you can go a little darker with a Scream, Brazil, or In Bruges, etc.

Limiting it to 3 really does take away options. You have to kind of combine genres to cover the most ground. You're going to likely have to cull certain genres (like pure horror or foreign) and movies that are great but unenjoyable to watch (like a Stalker). I'm still thinking of the 3 best movies to capture cinema.

You have to have something from the greatest director of all time. You cover the horror, thriller, and classic all in one:



You need something fun (Jurassic Park was a great choice). You get an all time popcorn flick as well as lighthearted/fun, and science fiction:



This movie (along with pt. 2) changed the way I viewed movies. Watched it for the first time when I was 18 and afterwards seriously thought to myself "wow, so that's what a great movie is". For me , it has to be shown:



*Hopefully they'd like BTTF and Godfather enough to watch at least the sequels.

quote:

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Apocalypse Now

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This is a great movie but the movie unveils a darkness which may cause a self valuation of your station in life/ society than wanting to jump back into the movie theater.

Jurassic Park

Master and Commander
Bladerunner 2049
The Return of the King

Goodbye Dragon Inn > Cinema Paradiso

Alien
Jurassic Park
Pirates of the Caribbean