For the record, André and I haven't even seen half of these movies - guess we are not fully culturally educated Americans!
Note for list: some did list action adventure despite our request so I put it in anyhow! I also left in comments when people had them there. Some even said they'd be willing to tell why they would recommend each movie - so if you are interested, let me know! Stars mean it was recommended by multiple people... They are in no particular order.
Casablanca*
Star Wars
16 Candles*
Holes
Mary Poppins***
Princess Bride**
American Beauty
Bowling for Columbine**
Sicko
Rocky Horror Picture Show
Shawshank Redemption
Hudsucker Proxy
Stardust
Indiana Jones
Superman
It's a Wonderful Life***
Grapes of Wrath
Citizen Kane
The Great Dictator*
Any Preston Sturges film
To Kill a Mockingbird***
Gold Diggers of 1933
The Best Years of Our Lives
Double Indemnity
The Fog of War
Good Night and Good Luck
Murderball
The Station Agent
Adaptation
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Schindler's List**
African Queen
Laurence of Arabia
Lion in Winter
Under the Tuscan Sun
Wizard of Oz**
Gone with the Wind
King Kong (the original)
Dances with Wolves*
Psycho*
Jesus The Christ
A Christmas Story***
White Christmas
Singing in the Rain
I think it's called Top Hat with Fred Astaire
Sound of Music**
Lord of the Flies
Welcome to the Dollhouse
Capote (Philip Seymour Hoffman did an amazing job)
Frailty (an interesting look at religious belief - not really horror, but some violence)
Airheads (a very funny glimpse of rock culture)
The Breakfast Club** (a classic portrait of American teens in the 80s)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off **(same as above - but funny, too)
Accepted (a more modern, silly, look at American teens)
Ghostbusters **(a blockbuster, but it's older)
Little Miss Sunshine** (barely-functional American family experiences beauty-pageant culture)Elizabeth & Elizabeth: The Golden Age (not about America, but wonderful historical portraits)Erin Brokovich (here's a slice of American culture: lawsuits and boobs)
The Green Mile (a very moving and human story with a supernatural twist)
Martian Child (John Cusack is wonderful & it's a great portrait of alienation)
North Country (guaranteed to make you angry about sex discrimination)
Fargo **(don't you love the Cohen brothers?!)
The Big White (interesting, wacky, the kind of movie that's funny and not funny)
Runaway Jury (I love courtroom drama)
Red Dawn (a very patriotic American story)
Enemy Mine** (a sci-fi take on racism)
Charlotte's Web* (this animated classic features some very human animals)
The Secret of Nimh *(one of my all-time favorite animated films)
The Last Unicorn* (same as above)
Lady in The Water (there are some excellent character portraits in this fantasy)
The Last Mimzy (a very cool story - might be too intense for very young kids)
Meet The Robinsons (this under-recognized Disney movie features very engaging characters)Miracle On 34th Street (what could be more American or Christmasey?)
Dr Seuss' Horton Hears A Who (the new one with Jim Carey - very faithful to Seuss)
Dr. Strangelove (a classic comedic portrait of the international war machine)
She Devil (revenge and feminine empowerment)
The First Wives Club (same as above)
The War Of The Roses (black comedy about divorce and stubborness)
Wigstock The Movie (now THIS is America! LOL)
Tremors (classic horror-comedy)
Galaxy Quest (sci-fi comedy and a portrait of Trekkie nerd culture)
Undercover Blues (this "stupid" comedy just hits the right notes for me)
Blast From The Past* (hilarious!)
9 to 5* (classic comedy with strong women)
Serial Mom (black comedy portrait of tabloid culture)
Raising Arizona (some will love it, others will hate it)
The Dream Team (totally funny! and a good picture of NYC)
The In-Laws (the original with Peter Falk - not the weak re-make with Michael Douglas)
Best In Show ("mock-umentary" comedy)
Spaceballs - the movie
The Incredible True Adventures Of 2 Girls In Love (teen lesbians & first love)
Animal Farm (a classic animated interpretation of Orwell's indictment of Communism)
Bells Of St. Mary's (a classic with Bing Crosby and Isabella Rosselini)
Matilda (a wonderful story about a smart, brave girl with some very cool powers)
Candleshoe (possibly Jodie Fosters first film - classic Disney)
Robin Hood (with Eroll Flynn - not at all about American culture, one of my all-time favorites)
The Music Box (courtroom Drama relating to Nazi war crimes)
Down Periscope (funny, zany, stupid)
Inner Space (same as above, but an older movie)
The Russians Are Coming! (portrait of cold war tensions)
Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar (comedy about Drag Queens - Patrick Swayze is terrific!) Swimming (an independent film - portrait of life on the Boardwalk)
American Psycho (80's yuppie culture - warning: VERY violent)
Taxi Driver (DeNiro's big breakout role - portrait of the seamy side of 70's New York)
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (classic Jimmy Stewart)
The China Syndrome (portrait of nuclear tension)
If anyone wants to add more, feel free to comment here....
Happy viewing!
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