Hollywood movies have captivated audiences around the world for decades. From the Golden Age of cinema to the modern day, countless classic films and timeless blockbusters continue to inspire and entertain.
In this article, we'll journey through movie history and explore some of the most Essential Hollywood Films to Revisit.
Whether you're a film buff or just looking for something to re-watch, these Hollywood movies are sure to impress.
Join us as we revisit some of the must-see films from the Golden Age of cinema and beyond, and discover why they continue to captivate audiences to this day.
Top 50 Best Essential Hollywood Films To Revisit
1 – Casablanca (1942)
In World War II Casablanca, Rick Blaine, an exiled American and former freedom fighter, runs the most popular nightspot in town.
When Nazi Major Strasser arrives in Casablanca, Rick's former lover, Ilsa, unexpectedly reappears, and Rick must make a difficult choice.
2 – Citizen Kane (1941)
Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.
3 – The Godfather (1972)
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
4 – Gone with the Wind (1939)
A manipulative woman and a roguish man conduct a turbulent romance during the American Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
5 – Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
6 – Singin' in the Rain (1952)
A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.
7 – Psycho (1960)
In this Alfred Hitchcock classic, a Phoenix secretary embezzles forty thousand dollars from her employer's client, goes on the run, and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
8 – Sunset Boulevard (1950)
A hack screenwriter writes a screenplay for a former silent film star who has faded into Hollywood obscurity.
9 – The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Dorothy Gale is swept away from a farm in Kansas to the magical land of Oz in a tornado and embarks on a quest with her new friends to see the Wizard, who can help her return home to Kansas.
10 – Some Like It Hot (1959)
When two musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.
11 – On the Waterfront (1954)
An ex-prize fighter turned longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses.
12 – All About Eve (1950)
An ingenue insinuates herself into the company of an established but aging stage actress and her circle of theater friends.
13 – The Maltese Falcon (1941)
A private detective takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar, and their quest for a priceless statuette.
14 – High Noon (1952)
A town marshal, despite the disagreements between his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at high noon when the gang leader, an outlaw he sent up years ago, arrives on the noon train.
15 – From Here to Eternity (1953)
In Hawaii in 1941, a private is cruelly punished for not boxing on his unit's team while his captain's wife and second-in-command are falling in love.
16 – The Searchers (1956)
An American Civil War veteran embarks on a journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches.
17 – The African Queen (1951)
In WWI Africa, a gin-swilling riverboat captain is persuaded by a strait-laced missionary to use his boat to attack an enemy warship.
18 – A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
19 – The Philadelphia Story (1940)
A wealthy socialite divorces her husband after he has an affair and finds herself attracted to a down-to-earth journalist.
20 – It Happened One Night (1934)
A spoiled heiress runs away from her father and falls in love with a reporter during a bus ride.
21 – The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
British prisoners of war in WWII are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors, unaware of the Allies' plans to destroy it.
22 – Ben-Hur (1959)
After a wealthy Jewish prince is betrayed and enslaved by a Roman friend, he regains his freedom and vows revenge against the Romans while trying to find his family.
23 – An American in Paris (1951)
Jerry Mulligan, a struggling American painter in Paris, is “discovered” by an influential heiress and falls in love with her.
24 – Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
A rebellious young man with a troubled past comes to a new town, finding friends and enemies.
25 – East of Eden (1955)
A young man with a troubled past seeks his father's love and approval but ends up falling in love with his brother's girlfriend.
26 – Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
The story of notorious bank robbers Bonnie Parker and Clyde Barrow, who were chased by the law and became folk heroes.
27 – Cool Hand Luke (1967)
A free-spirited man becomes a legend in a Florida prison after refusing to conform to the system.
28 – The Graduate (1967)
A recent college graduate finds himself stuck in a love triangle with an older woman and her daughter.
29 – The French Connection (1971)
A pair of NYC detectives investigate a French drug smuggling operation.
30 – Jaws (1975)
A giant great white shark terrorizes a New England beach town, and the local police chief teams up with a marine biologist and a fisherman to hunt it down.
31 – One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
A charming rogue who fakes insanity to avoid prison is admitted to a mental institution, where he rebels against the oppressive nurse and becomes a hero to the other patients.
32 – Rocky (1976)
A small-time boxer gets a shot at the heavyweight championship and goes the distance against all odds.
33 – Taxi Driver (1976)
A lonely and unstable taxi driver in New York City becomes increasingly obsessed with saving a young prostitute from her pimp.
34 – Star Wars (1977)
A young farm boy joins a group of rebels to rescue a princess from an evil empire and discovers he is destined to become a Jedi Knight and save the galaxy.
35 – The Deer Hunter (1978)
A group of friends from a small steel town in Pennsylvania go to fight in the Vietnam War, and their experiences there haunt them for the rest of their lives.
36 – Apocalypse Now (1979)
During the Vietnam War, a US Army captain is sent on a mission to assassinate a renegade colonel who has gone insane and is waging his own war in the jungle.
37 – Raging Bull (1980)
The story of Jake LaMotta, a middleweight boxer whose rage and jealousy wreck his relationships inside and outside the ring.
38 – ET the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
A lonely boy befriends an extraterrestrial who is stranded on Earth and tries to help him return home while avoiding government agents who are pursuing them.
39 – The Terminator (1984)
A cyborg assassin from the future is sent back in time to kill the mother of the future leader of the human resistance, but a soldier from that future is also sent back to protect her.
40 – The Breakfast Club (1985)
Five high school students from different cliques are forced to spend a Saturday together in detention, and they discover they have more in common than they thought.
41 – Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
A high school slacker skips school with his girlfriend and best friend, and they spend the day exploring Chicago while avoiding the school principal who is determined to catch them.
42 – Platoon (1986)
A young recruit in the Vietnam War discovers the true horrors of war as he serves under two sergeants with contrasting personalities.
43 – Die Hard (1988)
A New York City cop becomes trapped in a Los Angeles skyscraper during a Christmas party when terrorists take over the building, and he must single-handedly take them down and save his wife.
44 – Goodfellas (1990)
The rise and fall of Henry Hill, a mobster in the Italian-American crime syndicate, as he navigates life in the Mafia and the FBI's attempts to bring him down.
45 – The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
A young FBI trainee seeks the help of a cannibalistic serial killer to catch another serial killer who is targeting women.
46 – Forrest Gump (1994)
The story of Forrest Gump, a simple man with a low IQ who becomes involved in some of the most historic events of the 20th century while trying to win the heart of his childhood sweetheart.
47 – Pulp Fiction (1994)
The lives of several criminals and other characters in the Los Angeles underworld intertwine in a series of interrelated stories of violence and redemption.
