100 Movies Every Man Should Watch

Brett & Kate McKay of our pal The Art of Manliness blog have just put together a mega post of 100 movies every man should see (100! Makes our Top 10 posts look downright puny).

For better and for worse, these 100 movies have had a huge impact on our ideas of masculinity, be it the archetypal manliness or the perception of what constitutes "a man's man" change over time:

To view how male characters of cinema have been portrayed over the decades, is to see clearly the ways in which our perception of masculinity has changed and continues to change. Thus it seemed only proper that The Art of Manliness take a stab at creating a list of essential movies every man should see.

We didn’t want to make a list of movies that consisted solely of violence and gratuitous T and A that make up most guy movie lists. Nor did we want to create a list of just independent avant-garde movies that while culturally or cinematically significant, aren’t very entertaining. We wanted to create a well rounded list of films that have something to say about manliness. Some of the movies speak poignantly about what it means to be a man. Others give examples of true manliness in action. Some are lessons in how not to be a man. And others are simply entertaining movies that are just plain manly. But the common thread that runs through all of them is that they’re great movies that have stood the test of time.

I'm glad to see picks like The Iron Giant, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, and The Seven Samurai made the list. What's your favorites?

Link - Thanks Mu!


I like seeing 'Cinderella Man' included in this list. It's a really under appreciated movie that a lot of people seemed to miss.

You want to feel better about doing your job tomorrow? Check out 'Cinderella Man'. You won't complain for a couple of months.

The scene where Jim Braddock goes back to the welfare office to pay back the money he received in aid while unemployed makes me tear up, I swear. And the great thing is that it's a fact. Russel Crowe bought the very receipt the government gave Braddock.
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Agree with Cinderella Man. And yeah these are all good, but if a guy is ever presented with a choice of any of these and Seven Samurai, he should always choose Kurosawa. Even if the other choice is Mag 7.
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Even my girlfriend was surprised by some of the omissions.

I can't remember them all, but I know Army of Darkness puts her to sleep every time. But she brought of Scarface and I brought up Taxi Driver. And then we both talked about it and realized having the operative phrase we both disliked was the title of the whole piece. It's really presumptuous about the gender as a whole.

I'd have included Harvey, Key Largo, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, and just about anything by John Carpenter. Especially They Live and Big Trouble in Little China. She brought up Blade Runner.

And she did say that if there was a chick flick list, she wouldn't have seen anywhere near the number I had off this one.

(although actually including whole series for stuff like Indiana Jones and Star Wars and then wimping out on Eastwood's Man with No Name trilogy leaves me speechless)
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I was glad to see "Last of the Mohicans" on the list--it's one of my favorites. My boyfriend thinks it is a chick flick because of Daniel Day-Lewis--glad I have some back-up on this one--it's a man's movie, too. Maybe now we can watch my DVD : )
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Last of the Mohicans IS a chick flick. Doesn't belong on this list...at all. "No matter how long it takes, no matter how far; I will find you." Blech.
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