These movies remind us how powerful movies can be (2025)

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Titanic (1997)

There are some cynical people out there who believe thatTitanic‘s over-sentimentality is its biggest weakness. The movie was a juggernaut upon its release, but does it still work almost 30 years later? Yes. Yes it does. The film’s story of a tragic love set aboard the ill-fated ship is brilliant precisely because it is heartbreaking in all the ways you might expect, but it manages to combine that heartbreak with a genuinely awe-inspiring hour in which the ship is slowly sinking. Every time you watch it, you’ll want to believe that the outcome can change, which is the hallmark of all great tragedy. Nobody does it like James Cameron.

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Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

One of the great epics ever made, Lawrence of Arabiatells the story of T.E. Lawrence, a British lieutenant who is sent to retreat with an Arab prince during a war against the Turks. Although it details Lawrence’s exploits, Lawrence of Arabiatruly works because of its incredible desert vistas and because the movie is so fascinated with Lawrence the man. Few movies have the kind of grandeur and sweep that this one contains, and even fewer have stood the test of time as well as this one has.

The Social Network (2010)

Although it’s not a new movie, The Social Networkstill feels like one of the best artifacts about living your life online. Telling the story of Facebook’s founding, the film follows a young Mark Zuckerberg as he comes up with the idea for the company and then eventually betrays his best friend in order to ensure that it continues to grow. Featuring startlingly great performances from Jesse Eisenberg and Andrew Garfield, one of the best scripts of Aaron Sorkin’s career, and David Fincher’s cold, calculated direction, The Social Networkis profound and endlessly rewatchable.

Rear Window (1954)

Alfred Hitchcock made a number of all-time classics during his run of Hollywood dominance, but Rear Windowmight be the very best of the bunch. The movie follows a photographer who is recovering from a broken leg, and is therefore trapped in his apartment. When he begins to take an interest in looking through his neighbors’ windows, he starts to suspect that one of them murdered his wife. A movie about the act of watching, featuring career-best work from Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly, Rear Windowis thrilling and meditative.

Do the Right Thing (1989)

Spike Lee’s primal scream about America’s foundational sins,Do the Right Thingis maybe the single best meditation on race in America that has ever been put to screen. The film is set on the hottest day of the year on a single block in Brooklyn. The block’s residents are primarily Black and Latino, and they frequent a pizza joint owned by a proud Italian and his bigoted kids. As tensions rise inside the community, we come to understand the way racism infuses everything that has happened in the film, and we appreciate just how long this problem has been around.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

One of the great action movies ever made, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragontells the story of the theft of a warrior’s sword, and the quest to get it back. While those plot mechanics may sound simple,Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon is anything but. The movie’s fight choreography is an extension of its characters, and its storytelling structure clearly conveys the complexity of the film’s central characters. Michelle Yeoh may only have won an Oscar recently, butCrouching Tiger, Hidden Dragonwas all the proof we needed that she was deserving of one.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Few movies live up to the hype when you actually see them for the first time, butCitizen Kanemanages to do exactly that. The movie, which is widely regarded as one of the best films ever made, tells the story of the fictional Charles Foster Kane, a newspaper magnate who becomes one of the most powerful men in the world. Based on William Randolph Hearst’s actual story,Citizen Kaneis really a movie about a man who has everything that money can be, but is still totally isolated from the world around him. It’s a brilliant, tragic, beautiful story anchored by Orson Welles’s impressive performance and his even better direction.

The Godfather (1972)

Another movie that you probably expected to find on this list, it’s hard to find new things to say aboutThe Godfather. This quintessential gangster movie tells the story of the Corleone family as power passes from the family’s patriarch to the son who never wanted that responsibility. Featuring outstanding performances from its entire ensemble, innumerable iconic scenes and sequences, and some of the best work of Francis Ford Coppola’s career,The Godfatheris a journey into the heart of darkness, but it’s also a movie that has earned its reputation.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

One of the foundational sci-fi texts, 2001: A Space Odysseyis widely regarded as a masterpiece for a reason. The movie is split into four parts, and primarily tells the story of a mission to investigate an obelisk that has been discovered in our solar system. The structure has a number of strange properties, and the ship’s crew is also forced to deal with a rogue artificial intelligence system that seems to be malfunctioning. Directed by Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odysseyis the kind of great sci-fi movie that can be hard to wrap your head around, but that’s precisely the reason it needs to be on this list.

The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Telling the story of a serial killer who finds out about $10,000 in loot from his cellmate in prison,The Night of the Hunterchronicles this man as he ingratiates himself in his cellmate’s family in order to find the money. Those specifics anchor the movie’s plot, butNight of the Hunteris worth watching largely because of the atmosphere of dread that it manages to create from its very first moment. This is a fable about children being chased by the devil, and it feels as weighty as that description makes it sound.

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