11 Classic Movies Everybody Should Watch (At Least Once)

There is a reason why Orson Welles’s Citizen Kane consistently tops the "Best of all Time” film lists. It’s not just a film for cinema nerds—the storytelling, revolutionary camera work, and exceptional performances combine to create an immersive experience that keeps you captivated from start to finish. The film is both epic and intimate, and watching it is like experiencing the birth of modern cinema in real time.

Citizen Kane follows the rise and fall of Charles Foster Kane, a powerful newspaperman loosely based on media mogul William Randolph Hearst. In fact, the film was so close to Hearst’s own life story—and if you’ve seen Citizen Kane, you’ll recognise his temperament, too—he made it his business to ruin Orson Welles. Welles was only 24 at the time, which makes his directorial debut and performance all the more impressive, but also meant he was no match for the vengeful Hearst.

By the time awards season rolled around, the studio and those involved in the project had been so roundly defamed that although Citizen Kane still received nominations for Best Picture, Best Actor, and several other categories, the film only won Best Screenplay. However, in 1956 the film was rediscovered and released in cinemas in the US, finally solidifying its reputation as the best film ever made.

Casablanca captures Old Hollywood at its most enchanting. It’s a story about love, sacrifice, and principle set against the backdrop of World War II. But what really makes it endure is its effortless cool. Humphrey Bogart’s Rick Blaine is the prototype of the reluctant hero, while Ingrid Bergman’s Ilsa gives heartbreak a beautifully defiant grace. Every glance and line in this film feels timeless in its intimacy, despite the World War II setting.

The film’s troubled production—rewriting scenes right up to the final day of shooting—somehow resulted in one of the tightest and most quotable scripts ever; from “Here’s looking at you, kid” to “This may be the start of a beautiful friendship”, Casablanca’s lines remain some of the most iconic of all time. Casablanca is proof that a great story requires both softness and complexity in equal measure.

Stanley Kubrick’s Dr Strangelove is a laugh in the face of annihilation. The film is a razor-sharp satire that turns Cold War paranoia into biting comedy, and Peter Sellers’s multiple roles—each more absurd than the last—highlight the insanity of being at the brink of nuclear war and still experiencing bureaucratic incompetence.

Though filmed at a time of genuine global tension between the USSR and the West during the Cold War, it’s striking how relevant the humour still remains. Kubrick’s knack for finding absurdity in apocalypse makes Dr Strangelove one of the smartest comedies ever made. It’s proof that sometimes, the only way to face existential dread is to laugh in its face.

Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey isn’t a film you simply watch—it’s a journey that bends time, space, and your brain’s outermost recesses. Before Star Wars, before Interstellar, 2001 had already defined itself as the ultimate cinematic voyage—and still remains untouchable to this day. With minimal dialogue and an operatic score, Kubrick was able to evoke awe and dread in equal measure, turning outer space into a mirror for human evolution itself.

The collaboration between Kubrick and sci-fi author Arthur C Clarke produced a profound story about technology, consciousness, and human destiny. Its visual effects, still dazzling decades later, redefined the look of sci-fi, and revolutionised filmmaking. Whether you get its deeper meaning or not, 2001 invites you to simply sit back and be humbled by the void.

Told through the eyes of a child, Robert Mulligan’s To Kill a Mockingbird explores a world where innocence collides with prejudice. The movie is an adaptation of Harper Lee’s beloved novel of the same name, in which Scout Finch grows up in the segregated American South as she watches her father, lawyer Atticus Finch, defend a Black man falsely accused of a crime.

Gregory Peck’s Oscar-winning performance as Atticus is the heart of the film, bringing the character whose quiet moral conviction proves more powerful than any courtroom theatrics to life. It’s as tender and thoughtful as it is devastating, making the movie a must-see even today.

The adaptation turns a child’s coming-of-age into a meditation on empathy and injustice, while showing the importance of being courageous in standing up against wrongdoings. More than six decades on, its message remains as clear as ever.

In Benjamin Christensen’s part documentary, part historical nightmare, Häxan takes us deep into the dark world of witchcraft and superstition. Blending reconstructed scenes with nightmarish imagery, the film explores how fear and ignorance can turn people into supposed witches, and how easily superstition can lead to persecution.

Benjamin Christensen spared no expense when it came to conjuring the supernatural in Häxan. It’s full of demons, witches, torture chambers and visions of hell. But beneath the spectacle of it all is a surprisingly modern critique of religious hysteria, focusing on the treatment of women accused of witchcraft. Equal parts scholarly investigation and fever dream, Häxan remains one of silent cinema’s strangest and most audacious creations.

Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather isn’t simply a gangster film, it’s a majestic, operatic story of power, legacy, and the slow rot that comes with too much of both. Every frame feels deliberate, every line iconic, and the film’s quiet intensity makes you forget you’re watching criminals at work. Instead, you’re watching a family negotiate the cost of survival in a world where loyalty is everything.

Adapted from Mario Puzo’s novel, The Godfather revolutionised crime dramas, elevating it beyond anything that had previously been done in the genre. Marlon Brando’s unforgettable performance as Don Corleone and Al Pacino’s transformation from innocent son to cold-blooded mob boss defined the modern antihero. The Godfather is not just a masterpiece, it’s American cinematic mythology at its finest.

Milos Forman’s One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a triumph of rebellion and humanity. Jack Nicholson’s performance as Randle McMurphy—a nonconformist who shakes up life at a mental institution—simultaneously radiates chaotic energy and empathy. What begins as mischief for the sake of undermining the rules becomes a wrenching story about individuality crushed by authority.

Adapted from Ken Kesey’s novel, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest swept the Oscars that year, winning the Big Five (Best Picture, Director, Actor, Actress, and Screenplay). The contrast between McMurphy’s free spirit and Nurse Ratched’s cold control remains ever relevant. It’s a film that’s about more than madness, it’s about what happens when the majority of society fears freedom more than a cage.

Before “gaslighting” became part of our everyday vocabulary, George Cukor’s Gaslight turned this (now well-known) psychological manipulation into a deeply unsettling thriller. Ingrid Bergman stars as Paula, a young woman whose husband gradually convinces her that she is losing her grip on reality, while strange occurrences around their Victorian home suggest that something far more sinister is at work.

What makes the film so effective is its creeping sense of uncertainty. Cukor lets the tension build through dimly lit rooms and whispered conversations, leading to a growing suspicion that Paula can’t trust herself. Bergman’s Oscar-winning performance gives the story emotional weight, while her husband’s calculated cruelty will give you chills.

There’s a reason why the film coined such a popular term: Even today, Gaslight is the definitive portrait of psychological manipulation in movies.

Few films capture the chaos of war like Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now. Loosely inspired by Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness, the film drags us deep into the jungles of Vietnam—and the human psyche—on a hallucinatory descent drowning in mud, sweat, and moral ambiguity. “The horror”, indeed!

Made under notoriously gruelling conditions, Apocalypse Now’s infamous production (which is wonderfully documented in the documentary, Heart of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse) became the stuff of legend in Hollywood. But the result was worth it. With towering performances from Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, and Rovert Duvall, it’s both a powerful antiwar statement and a portrait of deep obsession. Few films have captured insanity with such operatic, devastating beauty.