Best/Essential Drama's to Own?

[BigDogg]

Hey All,

I just signed up and am a relatively new collector and am wondering if some of you vets can help me out and name some of the essential drama's that one should own on dvd as I am only 21 and don't know any of the older films that might be worth owning.

I am a big WWE/WWF fan so if any of you are wrestling dvd collectors, I'm the guy to direct questions to

[Forum Troll]

some to start with:

Gone With the Wind
Casablanca

and the most important Sports Drama movie ever made..

No Holds Barred

[BigDogg]

Thanks,

How could I forget No Holds Barred lol, thats the first movie i ever watched in the theatre as a kid

[ckolchak]

some of my favorites (besides GWTW and Casablanca):

The Best Years Of Our Lives
From Here To Eternity
The Ghost & Mrs Muir (found in the drama section but its more like romantic fantasy)

drama is such a broad heading-
there are romantic dramas, comedy dramas, crime dramas, war themed dramas.

you're gonna get a flood of suggestions unless you narrow it down to your particular mood at the time.

[BigDogg]

thanks for the response,

I like war dramas a lot and own many

so maybe

war dramas and just straight up emotional drama's that leave a mark on ya (ya i guess im a sap sometimes lol)

[BigDogg]

also,

I dont mind having a bunch of suggestions to sort through, so keep em comin, thanks

[Muah'dib]

One of the best ways to get ideas is to look at other people's collections. There's a link to my collection in my signature. Just check out my drama list. I heartily recommend any that I have.

[BigDogg]

thanks

[Big Quasimodo]

Heres a handful that I like:

Marty
Suddenly Last Summer
Hud (Western - transcends the genre though)
Cape Fear (Noir)
To Kill A Mockingbird
How Green Is My Valley
Psycho (Thriller) - Many Hitchcocks
Citizen Kane
Sunset Boulevard (Noir)
*************
Agree with Best Years of Our Lives


Could go on and on.....

[Static Cling]

Welcome to the forum! Since you're asking about movies, and not any features specific to DVDs, I'm moving this to the appropriate forum, Movie Talk.

[DVD Josh]

Originally posted by BigDogg
thanks for the response,

I like war dramas a lot and own many

so maybe

war dramas and just straight up emotional drama's that leave a mark on ya (ya i guess im a sap sometimes lol)

Great War Dramas:

Das Boot
Patton
From Here to Eternity
Saving Private Ryan
Thin Red Line
Lawrence of Arabia
Glory
Bridge on the River Kwai
Schindler's List
Casablanca
Braveheart

[NaturalMystic79]

To add those war movies:

Platoon
Band of Brothers (miniseries)

About No Holds Barred, there is no DVD out on that movie, but I do have a good VHS copy. :)

[talemyn]

Originally posted by DVD Josh
Great War Dramas:
.
.
.
Josh, I'm ashamed of you for not listing Band Of Brothers in there. <scold> ;)


Hey BigDogg . . . :wave:

Welcome to the forum!

I'll give you a little bit of a spectrum of dramas i naddition to the ones already listed (which are all very good):

One of my all time favorites:
- The Power Of One

If you like Saving Private Ryan:
- Band Of Brothers (as mentioned above)

Looking for a "chick flick" drama:
- Steel Magnolias
- Little Women

If you're a card player:
- Rounders

A classic drama:
- To Kill A Mockingbird
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

If you're into "adult films":
- Boogie Nights

Football Fan:
- Remember The Titans
- Rudy
- The Program

Artisic drama:
- All The Real Girls

"Guy Movie" drama:
- Fight Club

If you are historically oriented:
- Malcolm X
- Amadeus

Other random good ones:
- Good Will Hunting
- Patch Adams
- 8 Mile
- American History X


Edit: Dang it! NaturalMystic beat me on Band Of Brothers. http://www.mindspring.com/~boycekb/images/Smilies/Grumpy.gif Okay . . . then I'll add in Full Metal Jacket as well. :up:

[mookiemeister]

Some good ones that haven't been mentioned yet:

Bicycle Thief
Fritz Lang's Metropolis
Wild Strawberries
Seven Samurai
Taxi Driver

[BigDogg]

wow thanx for all the responses everyone...i have some of the ones mentioned above but theres many there that i've never even heard of...once again, thanks

[dvd_talker]

I'm not a big Drama fan, but my fave that is filed under that genre is

<b>Almost Famous</b> great music movie.

[Mondo Kane]

One flew over the cuckoo's nest

[theneobez]

High and Low.

[ckolchak]

some more of the favorites on my shelf:

The Swimmer
Black Robe
Tucker: The Man & His Dream
Who'll Stop The Rain
Days Of Heaven
My Darling Clementine
The Ox-Bow Incident
The Front
Manhattan
The Goodbye Girl
The Accidental Tourist
Seperate Tables
12 Angry Men
Seven Days In May
Barry Lyndon
Paths Of Glory
Jean De Florette
Manon Of The Spring

to me, these are all 4 star films

[NaturalMystic79]

Shawshank Redemption

[talemyn]

Originally posted by NaturalMystic79
Shawshank Redemption A definite must, but you might want to hold off for a little while as the long awaited SE is rumored to be coming out later this year.

[abintra]

If you want suggestions and they don't have to come from DVDTalk users, check the two sites in my sig and sort by drama.

[BigDogg]

thanks for the reply guys

abintra: ill check those out right now

talemyn: thanks, ill hold out for the se of shawshank redemption

I liked Enemy at the Gates as a good war drama that showed a lesser side of the war that being the desperate and corrupt nature of Russia. The only thing that I didnt like about it was the forced love sub-plot

[BigDogg]

Hey guys, i'm new to dvd collecting and havent seen some of the old flicks so i was wondering if

Seven Samurai: Criterion Collection

is a good blind buy?

[Amator]

Seven Samurai is wonderful, as are all Kurosawa films. Check out Ran as well.

Others:
The Third Man (post WWII noir set in Vienna)
The Mission (still my favourite DeNiro performance)
Magnolia (three hours of beautiful pain)

[TCG]

click my link below, and go to the drama section.

[tdirgins]

Giant
Lawrence of Arabia (get the Superbit)
The longest Day
The Manchurian Candidate
The natural
Night of the Hunter
The Right Stuff

[BigDogg]

thanks for the replies guys

im gonna check out the right stuff for sure

any recommendations on good psychological dramas/thrillers

I own: Memento LE, Jacob's Ladder, Fight Club,

[tdirgins]

You can't get more psychological than The Manchurian Candidate :lol:

[balancer]

Vanilla Sky, really good psychological drama

[chente]

Originally posted by BigDogg
Hey guys, i'm new to dvd collecting and havent seen some of the old flicks so i was wondering if

Seven Samurai: Criterion Collection

is a good blind buy?


Seven Samurai, while certainly dramatic, is more of an action flick than a drama. I recently watched Kurosawa's Thone of Blood, his adaption of Hamlet, and was blown away by it. I also consider Red Beard to be a masterpeice but some find it a bit slow as it runs over 3 hours. Be sure to listen to the commentary track on the Criterion DVD of Red Beard. It is one of the best I've ever heard.

[drjay]

I resurrect thee....

While it's not directly about sports, I think Raging Bull is one of the greatest movies ever, and shows very well the kinds of strain a career in sports will put on you and the way the aggressive lifestyle affects you and those around you.

[Mysteryfan]

War Dramas:

Dirty Dozen
Great Escape
Sayonara

Sentimental Tearjerkers:

Imitation of Life
Terms of Endearment
Beaches
Philadelphia


Other Dramas:

In the Heat of the Night
The Rose
Color Purple
The Apartment
The Verdict

[zooiiks]

None of these are "dramas," but all are dramatic films:

Requiem for a Dream
The Silence of the Lambs
Rear Window
Vertigo
The Usual Suspects

[QuiGonJosh]

Red Beard by Akira Kurosawa


I win! thread is over...

[scott1598]

if you choose to see it, not only is this movie an incredible drama, but also an amazing romance...

"Leaving Las Vegas" <a href='http://www.smileycentral.com/?partner=ZSzeb008' target='_blank'><img src='http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/4/4_9_7.gif' alt='Crying Into Tissue' border=0></a>

[B.A.]

Empire of the Sun
Cool Hand Luke
The Hustler
Heat
Miller's Crossing
The Limey
Bloody Sunday
In America

[conscience]

The Conversation
High Noon
Henry V (Branagh version)
The Devil's Backbone
Donnie Brasco/Darko
L.I.E. (not for everyone, but a great film)
In the Bedroom
Sexy Beast
Requiem For A Dream
Cries and Whispers