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Some movies aren't just meant to be watched - they're meant to be experienced! Join us as we count down our picks for beloved film classics that deserve to be seen on the biggest screen possible. From shark-infested waters to galaxies far, far away, these cinematic masterpieces were designed to immerse you in their worlds.
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00:00I've still got the greatest enthusiasm and confidence in the mission.
00:05Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we're counting down our picks for beloved American productions from before 2005 that remain a
00:12first-rate theatrical experience.
00:14And they should have regular enough re-releases for there to be a good chance of seeing them the way
00:18they should be seen.
00:19Truly, for some men, nothing is written unless they write it.
00:25Number 10. The Wizard of Oz
00:35Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer revolutionized the cinematic experience with their adaptation of L. Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz.
00:41The musical adventure of a young Kansas girl in a whimsical, dangerous world of magic is a simple story.
00:53But there was nothing simple about the groundbreaking and difficult production.
00:57Which didn't see a profit until a re-release years later.
01:00This was secured by a glowing reception for the film's heartfelt world-building, design, and music.
01:05Captured in one of the finest examples of Technicolor.
01:08Lions!
01:09And tigers!
01:09And bears!
01:12Lions!
01:13And tigers!
01:14And bears!
01:14Oh my!
01:15The Wizard of Oz would be beautifully remastered and welcomed into homes for generations.
01:20Of course, if you want to truly understand the pinnacle of old Hollywood magic,
01:24there's no place like the movie theater.
01:26And tap your heels together three times.
01:31And think to yourself, there's no place like home.
01:37Number 9.
01:37The Rocky Horror Picture Show
01:39I would like, if I may, to take you on a strange journey.
01:48Audiences weren't exactly floored by this independent British-American adaptation of the Richard O'Brien musical.
01:54The Rocky Horror Picture Show is a shamelessly campy and excessive homage to classic B-horror,
01:59electrified by rock and roll anthems.
02:01I'm just a sweet transvestite
02:08From transsexual
02:11Transylvania
02:12Despite its initial failure,
02:14the subversive spectacle in Dr. Frankenfurter's colorful castle was embraced by the LGBTQIA plus community.
02:20A new tradition was kicked off a year later,
02:23following a successful midnight re-release at the Waverly Theater in New York City.
02:27Rocky Horror is a place for people who never had a place growing up.
02:32How about that?
02:33Didn't really fit in into certain social groups.
02:36It's only me, Janet.
02:37Find a community and, you know, find people like them.
02:40Since then, Rocky Horror has inspired a community of fans
02:43whose cosplay and audience participation
02:45are precisely what make the frequent late-night screening so special.
02:49You haven't lived until you're part of a crowd jamming out with the undead.
02:52Give yourself over to absolute pleasure
02:58Swim the warm waters of sins of the flesh
03:06Jack, I want you to draw me like one of your French girls.
03:12Wearing this.
03:14Alright.
03:17Wearing only this.
03:19James Cameron's massive magnum opus was unlike anything anyone had seen by 1997,
03:25artistically or commercially.
03:26Open your eyes.
03:34I'm flying!
03:36Jack!
03:37Sprawling past three hours,
03:39Titanic unfolds a tragic romance aboard the ill-fated ocean liner in 1912.
03:44The nuanced epic and its technically groundbreaking set pieces
03:47went on to tie for the most Academy Award wins ever.
03:50No less incredible was its 15 consecutive weeks at the top of the domestic box office,
03:55earning it the record for all-time highest gross revenue for over a decade.
03:59And yet, it wasn't until the 2012 3D remastering
04:03that distributors recognized Titanic as a theatrical mainstay.
04:06When she's searching for him through the flooded corridors,
04:09and you feel the claustrophobia of this big dark maze that she's going through,
04:14that in 3D is a white knuckler in and of itself.
04:17Though it doesn't sail back to the big screen very often,
04:20it's kept up with state-of-the-art formats to give each generation a unique experience.
04:24Number 7.
04:25Apocalypse Now
04:35Francis Ford Coppola set a new cinematic standard with The Godfather and its sequels.
04:39They're still fairly intimate affairs compared to the surreal height of war filmmaking.
04:51Loosely based on Joseph Conrad's Heart of Darkness,
04:54Apocalypse Now follows a U.S. Army operation
04:57to assassinate an officer-turned-cult-leader across the Vietnam War.
05:01Are my methods unsound?
05:08I don't see any method at all.
05:15Along the way,
05:16the unimaginable horrors of humanity itself are showcased with immense psychedelic suspense.
05:21It was a notoriously grueling production.
05:24But the final product is considered the pinnacle of its bleak genre.
05:27Coppola commissioned several re-edits of the film,
05:30each promoted with a theatrical release.
05:44But whatever the version,
05:46Apocalypse Now can regularly be found as the ultimate visceral and sensory experience
05:50in a pitch-black theater.
05:52Number 6.
05:53Jurassic Park
06:03From the director of Jaws came another blockbuster to make history,
06:07and remake prehistory.
06:09Based on the Michael Crichton novel,
06:11Jurassic Park depicts the escape of dinosaurs cloned in the modern age for a theme park.
06:15Dinosaurs and man,
06:17two species separated by 65 million years of evolution,
06:21have just been suddenly thrown back into the mix together.
06:24How can we possibly have the slightest idea of what to expect?
06:29The ethical implications and other themes hold nothing for the huge harrowing action sequences
06:34and revolutionary CGI.
06:36That was especially the case for the many polarizing sequels.
06:39At least the original Jurassic Park is still championed as peak entertainment
06:43with perfectly crafted tension.
06:45Boy, do I hate being right all the time.
06:47Seeing it in 1993 really was such a thrilling rollercoaster ride
06:51that the film broke the record for box office gross.
06:54And anniversary and special releases continue to show
06:56that these timeless terrors deserve the biggest screen possible.
07:00What do you call a blind dinosaur?
07:05I don't know.
07:05What do you call a blind dinosaur?
07:07Do you think you saw us?
07:09Number 5.
07:10Star Wars Episode 4, A New Hope.
07:13Hey, Luke.
07:17May the force be with you.
07:19The modern tentpole movie was defined by George Lucas' Star Wars,
07:22as it was titled in 1977.
07:24Sequels and prequels have since placed it as the fourth main installment
07:28in a mega franchise set long ago in a galaxy far, far away.
07:32I was once a Jedi knight, the same as your father.
07:38I wish I'd known him.
07:40He was the best star pilot in the galaxy.
07:43A New Hope nonetheless epitomizes the adventurous spirit of the saga and cinema itself.
07:47It was an unprecedented success for immersive technical achievements that still largely hold up.
07:52Granted, there have been extensive remasters and retouches that have divided fans.
07:57Nobody worries about upsetting a droid.
07:59It's because a droid don't pull people's arms out of their sockets when they lose.
08:04Wookies are known to do that.
08:05It's hard to find someone who hasn't seen some version of A New Hope,
08:09and to say if it's any more cinematic than its successors.
08:12But in terms of respecting an exhilarating piece of theatrical history,
08:15it is still an incomparable big-screen journey.
08:18I knew you'd come back. I just knew it.
08:20Well, I was going to let you get all the credit and take all the rewards.
08:23Hey, I knew that was more to you than money.
08:27Director David Lean pushed the boundaries of the British film industry
08:30and epic storytelling in general.
08:32If we've told lies, you've told half-lies.
08:35And a man who tells lies, like me, merely hides the truth.
08:40But a man who tells half-lies has forgotten where he put it.
08:45But few films have ever touched the majesty of Lawrence of Arabia.
08:49The bio-epic follows British diplomat T.E. Lawrence's journey
08:52in the war-torn Middle East in the early 20th century.
08:55And our pleasure is to serve the Turks.
08:58Serve?
08:59I serve?
09:01It is the servant who takes money.
09:04Across almost four hours, the film overwhelms in its world-building,
09:08complex characterization, and bold deconstruction of colonialism and war.
09:12The rich drama is punctuated by sensational action,
09:16but never fails to captivate with Freddie Young's cinematography
09:18and Maurice Jarre's score.
09:30Lawrence of Arabia was a phenomenal international hit
09:33that went on to win 10 Oscars.
09:35Now regarded as one of the definitive film epics,
09:38it is as thematically and theatrically relevant as ever.
09:41The best of them won't come for money.
09:46They'll come for me.
09:48Number 3.
09:482001 A Space Odyssey
09:50Stanley Kubrick's surreal sci-fi masterpiece
09:53wasn't just a revolution in elaborate special effects.
09:562001 A Space Odyssey is an ethereal epic,
09:58matching heady philosophy and character drama with awe and suspense.
10:03Eighteen months ago,
10:05the first evidence of intelligent life off the earth was discovered.
10:11From the dawn of man to 1968's vision of a high-tech future,
10:15then the furthest reaches of the universe,
10:17nearly every shot is sweeping and iconic.
10:20The monumental scope and multi-sensory stimulation
10:22transcended initially mixed reviews to become a pop culture phenomenon.
10:26What's the problem?
10:28I think you know what the problem is just as well as I do.
10:32What are you talking about, Hal?
10:35This mission is too important for me to allow you to jeopardize it.
10:39Now, it's regarded as one of cinema's highest achievements,
10:42painstakingly designed for the big screen.
10:44One thing we can be sure of about the future
10:47is that theater-goers will immerse themselves
10:49into 2001's profound imagery and atmosphere for ages to come.
10:54Are you coming to my party tomorrow?
10:56I'm sorry, sweetheart, but I can't.
10:59Why not?
11:00Well, you know, daddy's traveling.
11:03Number 2.
11:04The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
11:06Almost 50 years in the making,
11:08Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkien's trilogy of novels
11:11defied the word unfilmable.
11:13You shall not pass!
11:18The Lord of the Rings consists of three films
11:21that were released annually,
11:22with escalating critical and commercial success.
11:25Audiences were blown away by the passionate storytelling
11:27and unthinkable production values
11:29in the quest to destroy an enchanted ring
11:31that threatens the stability of Middle Earth.
11:34My precious!
11:38The trilogy accumulated 17 Oscars
11:41and grossed almost $3 billion worldwide.
11:44But Jackson wasn't done telling the story.
11:46His drastically extended director's cuts
11:48earned such high acclaim on home media
11:50that they became the favored versions
11:52for theatrical re-releases.
11:53My master, Sauron the Great,
11:56bids thee welcome.
11:58Fans continue to make pilgrimages
12:00to see all 12 hours in that setting
12:03and say it's worth every minute.
12:05I think I'm quite ready
12:08for another adventure.
12:10Before we unveil our top pick,
12:12here are some honorable mentions.
12:14Gone with the Wind
12:15Though daunting in length
12:16and dated in subject,
12:18the epic is truly classical spectacle.
12:20As God is my witness.
12:23As God is my witness,
12:25they're not going to lick me.
12:26I'm going to live through this
12:28and when it's all over,
12:29I'll never be hungry again.
12:32No, not any of my own.
12:34Halloween.
12:35John Carpenter's seminal slasher
12:36is still the atmospheric viewing
12:38for spooky season.
12:39I'm scared.
12:40There's nothing to be scared of.
12:42Are you sure?
12:45How?
12:46I killed him.
12:48You can't kill the boogeyman.
12:51The Harry Potter series.
12:53The fantasy franchise matures over time
12:55as an epic saga
12:56and nostalgic gem for the family.
12:58If you two don't mind,
13:00I'm going to bed
13:00before either of you
13:01come up with another clever idea
13:03to get us killed
13:04or worse, expelled.
13:10She needs to sort out her priorities.
13:14Mulholland Drive.
13:15David Lynch's surreal masterpiece
13:17is an arthouse mainstay
13:18and unmissable sensory experience.
13:22I can see him through the wall.
13:25I can see his face.
13:33I hope that I never see that face
13:35ever outside of a dream.
13:38The Princess Bride.
13:39The hilarious fairy tale
13:40continues to enchant fans
13:42and families
13:42after generations in theaters.
13:44I will go up to the six-fingered man
13:47and say,
13:48Hello.
13:50My name is Inigo Montoya.
13:53You killed my father.
13:56Prepare to die.
13:58Before we continue,
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14:14Number 1.
14:15Jaws.
14:16Steven Spielberg made people
14:17afraid to go in the water
14:18in 1975,
14:19but they kept coming back
14:21to the theater.
14:22Well, I'm not a water lover anyway.
14:24As far as the beach is concerned,
14:25I definitely won't be going in now.
14:27Ever again?
14:28Never.
14:29I won't even paddle
14:30in the water anymore.
14:31Jaws rose from a difficult production
14:33to become the highest-grossing movie
14:35ever at the time,
14:36establishing Summer
14:37as the ideal release window
14:38for major studio genre fare.
14:40Of course,
14:41a small beach community's crusade
14:42against a giant shark
14:43is more than just
14:44lofty special effects and action.
14:46The ocean turns red.
14:48In spite of all the pounding
14:50and the hollering,
14:51they all come in,
14:52they rip you to pieces.
14:56It is so steeped in character drama
14:58and masterful suspense
14:59as to leave audiences
15:00in stunned silence
15:02between screams.
15:03Since then,
15:04tracking down screenings
15:05of this biting thriller
15:06has become a tradition,
15:07especially during summer.
15:08Back home!
15:09We got a taxidermy man!
15:11He's gonna have a heart attack
15:12when he sees what I frug him!
15:14As far as quality,
15:15spectacle,
15:16and a shared visceral experience,
15:17Jaws was the defining blockbuster then
15:19and may still be
15:20the definitive now.
15:22What are your best theatrical experiences
15:24and most anticipated showings
15:26with cinematic classics?
15:27Hype it up in the comments!
15:28All in the comments!
15:28kami
15:29who
15:30You
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