<p>My son has seen a diverse range of movies. His dad has kept him introduced to all the sci-fi classics as well as EVERY movie based on any comic book figure. Since he was involved in choir and drama throughout junior and senior high I made sure he saw a range of musicals. When he was younger he saw all the (animated and live action) Disney classics.</p>
<p>But as for high school/college movies, with the emphasis on competitive admissions in this forum, no one has yet mentioned ‘How I Got into College’. Perhaps not the best movie ever made, but provides a humorous look at the meaning of holistic admissions. That along with Risky Business were movies I watched with my younger siblings when they started their college admissions process and then again with my son when he was begining his.</p>
<p>The criminal has an abusive father. The other two guys have a lot of pressure on them for various things. Claire definitely needed a reality check, and she got one. The other girl has some issues, but I don’t remember the specifics. If anything, the movies pretty accurate at portraying many high schoolers’ problems.</p>
<p>If you’re looking for movies with teens/teen angst themes, I recommend “The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner” (British, 1962).</p>
<p>A lot of my favorite classics (not necessarily teen-themed, old/new) have already been mentioned–except for my ultimate favorite: Pee Wee’s Big Adventure.</p>
<p>The Shawshank Redemption is my favorite movie, the highest-rated movie on IMDB, and an emotional experience that has stayed with me ever since I watched it at 16. It is more than “well written” or “culturally significant”; it has the power to change the viewer’s perspective on life and death, justice, freedom, hope, and redemption. For such heavy themes, it is remarkably accessible, being relatively recent and starring actors today’s youth are familiar with (Morgan Freeman, 'nuff said).</p>
<p>Continuing the theme of “not only high quality or culturally significant, but also personally transformative”:</p>
<p>Fight Club, It’s A Wonderful Life, Life Is Beautiful, the Toy Story series, Princess Mononoke, Up</p>
<p>Short list, I know; to be honest, I have not seen many movies in my lifetime. But these are the ones that have made teenage-me laugh and cry and rethink my own outlook. And if you could only watch one movie before you die, you owe it to yourself to watch a movie that provides that kind of experience.</p>
<p>I flipped through these pages and a few iconic movies I don’t believe I saw mentioned that I would add:</p>
<p>The Grapes of Wrath
Planet of the Apes (original)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (original)
War of the Worlds (original)
My Fair Lady</p>
<p>And a few more that might not be at the level of iconic, but memorable:</p>
<p>Grand Hotel (with Greta Garbo and John Barrymore)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (with Jack Nicholson)
Love and Death (my favorite Woody Allen movie, teen S likes it too)
Trading Places (with Eddie Murphy and Dan Akyroid)
Terms of Endearment (with Shirley McClain and Jack Nicholson)
The Good Earth (with Paul Muni, Pearl S. Buck novel, set in China)
The Seven Faces of Dr. Lao (with Tony Randall)
The World of Suzie Wong (with William Holden in Hong Kong)</p>
<p>A couple more that have not yet been mentioned:</p>
<p>The Mirror has Two Faces (Kind of a chick-flick, but I know some men that have really enjoyed it)
In Cold Blood (The original may be the most disturbing movie I’ve ever seen)
Helter Skelter (almost as disturbing)
Black Hawk Down (although recent, my son was still a little young for it when it was out)</p>
<p>And my just for fun would be When Harry Met Sally</p>
<p>^ Agree. Anything with Johnny Depp really. I’m biased. Don Juan DeMarco. Pirates. Blow. Sweeney Todd. Even that cartoon Rango. Except The Tourist.</p>
<p>I just saw Sunset Boulevard tonight. Iconic and really a great movie, but not sure our teens would relate to an aging silent movie star. “I AM big. It’s the pictures that got small.”</p>
<p>Hitchcock movies Rear Window, Psycho, The Birds.
12 Angry Men, It’s a Wonderful Life, Ben Hur, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, On the Waterfront, Shawshank Redemption, An Officer and a Gentleman, A Few Good Men, The Bad Seed, Cape Fear, Goodfellas, Taxi Driver, The Searchers, Gunfight at OK Corral, Shane, High Noon, Cool Hand Luke, And Justice for All, Network, Rocky, Back to the Future, Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Rocky Horror Show, Glory, Alien, Ferris Bueller, just to name a few, lol! Love me some movies:)</p>
<p>So many great movie suggestions. Didn’t see a mention of The Magnificent Seven, Atlantic City, or Horsefeathers (and the rest of the Marx Brothers classics).</p>