This is a fun Plinky prompt! And a hard one to answer.  Here are a few that pop into my head:

1. Vertigo. One of the best films ever made. Seriously.

2. Rear Window. Another one of the best films ever made. Actually anything by Hitchcock is the best film ever made.

3. Smoke. This one might not appeal to everyone. I watched it in a Literature class at UCSC and there was one scene that completely blew me away. It is the main character telling a story. And that’s it. But it is incredibly compelling. Then during the credits that story is played out to music and it’s just so fantastic. Here is some of the scene (you really do need to see the whole thing though):

and this

4. Last Night. A really great Canadian film about the last night on earth and how the main characters choose to spend it.

5. Any film by John Carpenter is full of win. They Live, BTILC, Halloween. LOVE.

6. Casablanca. Everyone should see it. For reals.

7. Wavelength. You might think I’m nuts for choosing this one and this isn’t for everyone.  I saw it in a film class I took in college. Many of the people in class hated it. But I thought it was brilliant.  It is 45 minutes of a camera panning to a picture on the wall of a NYC loft. Yep.

8. Gray Gardens. You MUST see this if you have never seen it. Seriously.

9. Cast Away. I love this film and think about it all the time. The scene in which the plane crashes is harrowing.

10. The Red Violin. One of the best films ever made and I never tire of watching it. It is the story of a violin through the centuries.