Each one of these films is iconic in some way.  It isn’t because of star power, or because the story packs a clever twist, but because the story being told is important, God damn it!

Action/Adventure

Overcoming the odds isn’t just a plot device.  Sometimes it’s the whole story.

  • Die Hard
  • Gladiator
  • Indiana Jones and the Lost Ark
  • Star Wars (The 1st Trilogy)
  • Lethal Weapon
  • Terminator II

Car

Nothing symbolizes freedom like a man in his car.  Preferably at high speed.

  • American Grafitti
  • C’etait un Rendezvous
  • Gone in Sixty Seconds (1974)
  • Gone in Sixty Seconds (2000)
  • Grand Prix
  • LeMans
  • Mad Max
  • The Blues Brothers
  • The Gumball Rally
  • Two Lane Blacktop
  • Vanishing Point

Sci Fi

  • 2001: A Space Odyssey
  • Alien
  • Bladerunner

War

Men at their worst.  And their best.

  • Apocalypse Now
  • Band of Brothers
  • Black Hawk Down
  • Cross of Iron
  • Dr. Strangelove
  • Full Metal Jacket
  • Hamburger Hill
  • Platoon
  • Saving Private Ryan
  • The Thin Red Line

Western

The Western is a classic genre.  Westerns are allegories of technological, social, and political change.  They are morality tales.  Like an errant knight or a ronin samurai, the lone gunman is a dark twist on the archetypal epic hero.