And by collection I mean what I own and what I have netflix'd in the past year since I don't buy very many dvds anymore. I haven't watched many good dramas in a good long while it seems. For some reason I've been in the mood lately.

So anyway, I need recommendations please. Good DVD presentation (great anamorphic transfer and great sound) is a big Plus. Not a big fan of black and white era movies (don't hate me).



I own only a handful but here's the list. There might be a couple that I'm forgetting.

Shawshank redemption
The Green Mile
American Beauty
Good Will Hunting
Braveheart

That's about it. The only one I recall renting recently is House of Sand and Fog. Saw Mystic River in the theater.

Have you seen Once Were Warriors?

I've enjoyed Dangerous Beauty, Casino, The Life of David Gale, Road to Perdition, Salton Sea, Traffic and Wonderland.
These were the most memorable dvds that stick out in my mind that Guzzlefish considers them dramas.

Forgot to mention Big Fish as a very good drama.

A Beautiful Mind
The Pianist
Men of Honor

Different people can have different definitions of "drama," so this is hard to say. For that reason, I don't know if I would have called Big Fish a "drama," but that's just me.

I will say that A Few Good Men is an excellent courtroom drama...IMHO.

what about Jerry Maguire?
Godfather...1/2/3. That's a must have drama.

12 Angry Men
Anna and the King
Catch Me If You Can
The Commitments
Donnie Brasco
The Madness of King George
Mother Night

here's my list of dramas from guzzlefish:

8 Mile (Widescreen; Uncensored Bonus Materials) DVD 2002
Air Force One DVD 1997
Antitrust DVD 2001
A Beautiful Mind (Limited Edition Packaging; Full ... DVD 2001
Black Hawk Down DVD 2001
Braveheart DVD 1995
Cast Away (Special Edition 2-Disc Set) DVD 2000
Catch Me If You Can DVD 2002
The Doors (Special Edition) DVD 1991
Field of Dreams (Anniversary Edition - Widescreen ... DVD 1989
Fight Club DVD 1999
Finding Forrester DVD 2000
Forrest Gump (Collector's Edition- ) DVD 1994
Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick Collection) DVD 1987
Hackers DVD 1995
The Last Castle DVD 2001
October Sky (Widescreen) DVD 1999
Panic Room (The Superbit Collection) DVD 2002
Patch Adams (Collector's Edition) DVD 1998
The Patriot (Special Edition) DVD 2000
Patton (Fox War Classic; Single Disc) DVD 1970
Pearl Harbor (Widescreen; 60th Anniversary Commemo... DVD 2001
Radio DVD 2003
Rain Man (Special Edition) DVD 1988
Reservoir Dogs (10th Anniversary Edition - Generic... DVD 1992
Saving Private Ryan (DTS Surround) DVD 1998
Scarface (Widescreen; Anniversary Edition) DVD 1983
The Shawshank Redemption DVD 1994
Wall Street DVD 1987

Check these out . . .

THE RED VIOLIN - This should be the first drama you add to you collection. BUT IT NOW, gread sound, phenomenal movie.

Elizabeth

Infernal Affairs

In the Name of the Father - I don't think this has the greatest transfer but the movie makes up for it.

Try these:

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Dangerous Beauty
Dangerous Liaisons
Elizabeth
The Hours
The Joy Luck Club
The Last of the Mohicans
Master and Commander
Quills
Road to Perdition
Unfaithful

I own all of these and like them all very much.

The Power Of One . . . one of my all-time favorite dramas.

Great movie, and a very underrated one at that. It has Morgan Freeman, too!

Seems like some good stuff in here so far. Thanks everybody.

Which Wonderland are you recommending? Netflix has two. One made in 2000 and the other in 2003.

Almost Famous
Amadeus
Apollo 13
Beautiful Mind
Catch Me if You Can
Donnie Brasco
Erin Brockovich
Gettysburg
Glory
Good Will Hunting
October Sky
Pump up the Volume
The Right Stuff
Stand By Me
Count of Monte Cristo
WarGames

Here's a few....there's some dreaded black and white ones, but don't let that stop you....please. Of course, the entire genre of "drama" is pretty flexible, but these all pretty much fit the bill....

3 Women
About Schmidt
All the President's Men
Almost Famous
American Beauty
American History X
Andrei Rublev
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner
Badlands
Band of Brothers
Barfly
Barry Lyndon
Barton Fink
The Beguiled
Being John Malkovich
Big Sleep
Black Narcissus
Black Robe
Blood Simple
Blue Velvet
Boys Don't Cry
Boyz N the Hood
Buffalo '66
The Business of Fancydancing
Carnal Knowledge
Casablanca
China Syndrome
Chinatown
Citizen Kane
The Claim
Cool Hand Luke
Cooler
Dangerous Beauty
The Deer Hunter
Do the Right Thing
Donnie Brasco
The Duellists
Elizabeth
Fargo
Five Easy Pieces
Forrest Gump
Full Metal Jacket
Gangs of New York
Ghost World
The Godfather
Gosford Park
The Graduate
Grand Canyon
Grapes of Wrath
Grifters
Happiness
Harold and Maude
High Fidelity
Hombre
Hud
The Hustler
In the Bedroom
Inherit the Wind
Jackie Brown
Killing Fields
King of Comedy
Klute
The Last Samurai
Last Temptation of Christ
Limbo
Little Big Man
Longest Yard
Lone Star
The Long Good Friday
Lost in Translation
Man Called Horse
Marnie
Master and Commander - The Far Side of the World
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
Midnight Cowboy
Miller's Crossing
Mona Lisa
Mulholland Drive
My Bodyguard
Network
The Night of the Hunter
North Dallas Forty
Of Mice and Men
Once Upon a Time in America
Once Were Warriors
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Patriot
Persuasion
Platoon
The Portrait of a Lady
Pride and Prejudice
Pulp Fiction
Rabbit-Proof Fence
Rear Window
The Red Violin
Remains of the Day
River's Edge
Road to Perdition
Romeo Is Bleeding
Rope
Saturday Night Fever
Saving Private Ryan
Say Anything
The Score
Secretary
Sense and Sensibility
Sex & Lucia
Sexy Beast
The Silence of the Lambs
Skins
Smoke Signals
Some Kind of Wonderful
Spitfire Grill
Stranger than Paradise
Straw Dogs
Summer of Sam
Sunshine State
Talk To Her
Taxi Driver
Three Kings
Tigerland
To Kill a Mockingbird
Touch of Evil
Waking Ned Devine
Walkabout
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Whale Rider
What's Eating Gilbert Grape?
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Witness
Wonder Boys
You Can Count on Me

Some of my favorites:

Apocalypse Now*
Being John Malkovich
Bloody Sunday
Fight Club
Lawrence of Arabia
Memento
Princess Mononoke
Pulp Fiction
Rain Man
Ran
The Royal Tenenbaums
Rushmore
Straw Dogs
Taxi Driver
Trainspotting

*IMO the Redux cut is better, if you skip past the bloated and unnecessary French plantation scene.

Most of these have particularly good DVDs, though it might be pushing it to call some of them dramas. Fight Club SE, Memento LE, Pulp Fiction SE, The Royal Tenenbaums, Rushmore Criterion, and Straw Dogs Criterion all have extensive DVD extras.

i dont know how you all left out my favorite... I Am Sam

Personally, I would definitely NOT consider, Being John Malkovich, Memento, Pulp Fiction & especially Rushmore & Royal Tenenbaums dramas, the latter 2 are dark comedies.

I don't know if Glengarry Glen Ross is considered drama, but if so then you should own it.

RS

Beckett
Lion In Winter
Bridge on the Kwai
Anne of a Thousand Days
Inherit the Wind
Bad Day at Black Rock
A Man for All Seasons
Austin

If you like classics, you have to get The Ghost and Mrs. Muir - come would say it is a romantic comedy, but it is really more dramatic in tone. One of the best movies on DVD I have seen this year - and a steal at around $10.

A few more
Chinatown
Pleasantville
The Right Stuff
To Have and to have not
A place in the sun
Austin

Do The Right Thing

I second both The Painist and Glengary Glen Ross.

Pianist is simply fantastic

and Glengary is great if for nothing else: Alec Baldwin's pep talk.