Year Released: 1947 Around the same time as Notorious was released, Black Narcissus came out, as well. The film dives into the story of a small group of nuns on a goodwill mission on top of a mountain in the Himalayas. But the natives aren’t thrilled to have them there trying to mess with their way of life, and conflict between the groups (and within them) ensues.
The film has great reviews across the board and comes very highly recommended from several critics and publications. Although it’s been on the market for seven decades, it continues to impress new generations to this day.
The Searchers
Year Released: 1956 Another Western, The Searchers came out in the mid 1950’s, starring John Wayne. The film has high ratings on nearly every movie critic website, including Rotten Tomatoes, Roger Ebert, and IMDb. Directed by John Ford, it follows Wayne, playing a Civil War veteran on the hunt for his abducted niece. Of course, he’s actually hunting her, not trying to rescue her like one may assume.
Of all of the Western films that Wayne starred in, this one is known for being one of, if not his absolute best. It’s both influenced and made an appearance in several other films and television shows, including Martin Scorsese’s 1967 film, Who’s That Knocking at My Door, in which two of the characters have a conversation about it.
Notorious
Year Released: 1946 Well, we’re slipping back in time as we progress down the list, and right now, we’ve landed in the 1940s. In Alfred Hitchcock’s heyday, he released plenty of films that would be remembered as classics, and Notorious is one of them.
The film stars Carey Grant, Ingrid Bergman, and Claude Raines, and falls into the spy film noir category. The film was chosen to be preserved by the Library of Congress in 2006.
Unforgiven
Year Released: 1992 Clint Eastwood stars in this 1992 film that he also produces and directs. He ended up winning the Academy Award for Best Director and being nominated for Best Actor. Aside from Eastwood, the cast was full of big names including Morgan Freeman and Gene Hackman.
The film saw four Academy Award wins in total, including Best Picture and Best Film Editing. It was the third Western to ever win the Oscar for Best Picture and spent three weeks as the Number one film in North America upon its release.
Strangers on a Train
Year Released: 1951 Another one of Alfred Hitchcock’s films, Strangers on a Train has a near perfect rating on every major review platform, with a 4/4 on Roger Ebert and a 98% on Rotten Tomatoes. The film follows two men who meet on a train and hatch a deadly plan to murder someone in each of their lives.
Aside from the suspense that Hitchcock is famous for, the film is also full of his unique camera angles. The film’s cinematographer, Robert Burks, was nominated for the Oscar for Best Cinematography, while Hitchcock was nominated for an award from the Directors Guild of America and the National Board of Review.