Film School

I personally don't like this movie, but it was highly influential and it will be discussed at some point in film school, most likely in your first class.

Akira Kurosawa is one of the "Big Three" non Hollywood directors you will hear about in film school, the other two being Ingmar Bergman and Frederico Fellini. Kurosawa has had a great influence on Hollywood movies, including westerns and the original Star Wars films. Rashomon will likely come up in film school due to it's storytelling structure, which will feel familiar since it has been referenced in many places including cartoons.

David Lynch is a director worth knowing if you're going to be a director or film student. This is arguably his most surreal movie.

Here's another Lynch film worth watching. College students will enjoy Frank Booth's line about Pabst Blue Ribbon.

The movie that started the summer Blockbuster. There are also many great camera techniques that you might be lucky enough to study in some classes.

One of the first movies that truly shocked audiences because of it's bloody violence. You'll likely hear about this movie at some point in film school.

Between a tedious homework assignment and a long analytical lecture, teachers suck the fun out of this movie before many of the students have even had a chance to watch it. When you're done with the long assignments, take a break and enjoy the whole movie without hearing or writing an analysis of each shot. It's a fun movie on it's own.

A great achievement in film making, but most film majors will admit they didn't enjoy this movie. Be prepared to hear at least 4 lectures in your first year that analyze each shot of the "Odessa steps" sequence. Also be prepared to be burnt out on Sergei Eisenstein in the first year. Despite that, it is still good to be familiar with him and this film as a film major.

See above.

I had a bit of a backlash against Wes Anderson when I started film school because I hated the elitist following his movies have. Despite that, he is a good director and if you're a film major it's worth seeing at least one of his movies. If you only want to see one movie, this would be the one I'd recommend.

You will probably hear about Lars Von Trier during a few lectures. I really don't care for his movies but if you wanted to see at least one film of his during film school, I'd recommend this one the most. If you want to see a more recent and controversial one then I would recommend Antichrist.

If you're unfamiliar with John Wayne, John Ford, or westerns in general, look no further than this one to get started with.

Another classic Hitchcock movie you will probably discuss at some point in film school. If not, it's still a great movie to enjoy, especially when Halloween comes around.

You will likely discuss Italian Neo-realism in a film class. This is my favorite one and I actually found it enjoyable unlike the others I saw.

When the teachers discuss early German cinema, this will come up.

German Expressionism is another huge topic in the early days of film school. This is one of the most famous expressionist films. It also had a clear influence on Tim Burton.

This and Full Metal Jacket are a lot of people's first Kubrick films they ever watch.

The opening, 5 minute long tracking shot is still intense and iconic.

A classic sci-fi movie from another great German Filmmaker Fritz Lang.

One of Fritz Lang's sound films. This was highly influential and still holds up well as an entertaining thriller. Peter Lorre is very creepy in one of his best performances.

One of the great and iconic "Golden Age" films that remains a must see.

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As a user pointed out, it's worth including at least one early Disney film on here. Fantasia is a masterpiece of music and visual storytelling.

An iconic musical that is also a great history lesson in the emergence of sound in film.

Yes I included a bad movie on here, the same list with Citizen Kane and The Godfather. This movie was made by a film crew who knew how to physically make a movie, but failed so horribly that it's become a cult classic. You will also hear a lot of film major in-jokes referring to this movie and there will likely be a midnight screening on your campus at some point.

Another bad one to watch. This and Troll 2 are examples of how not to make a movie and you can learn a lot about bad film making mistakes from watching them. There will also be a lot of jokes, references, and screenings of this movie on campus.