5 Unforgettable Movies That Literally Will Alter Your Life.

Ever seen a movie that changed your life? Not just in a superficial way, like “wow, I just saw a movie that I like more than all others!” No, I mean one that really changes the way you see the world.

Sometimes people make a list of movies that aren’t all that watchable. Not these — you can see these 5 ones thousands of times, and they are really, really powerful films.

#5: Triumph of the Will.

Leni Riefenstahl’s chilling tribute to Hitler and the Nazi party will change the way you think about art that glorifies war and violence. When you realize that great film spectacle can be put into the service of something so terrible as Nazism, it changes the way you look at all heavily aestheticized works.

#4: Neo-Realism At Its Best — Bicycle Thieves.

If you want a little bit of proof that a simplistic story with the vaguest of outlines — man gets bike and job, bike is stolen, man loses job and steals another bike — can say universal things about humanity and sadness, then this is your film.

#3: Chinatown.

If you don’t feel like going through all the old film noir movies of the 30s and 40s, watch Chinatown instead. Not only is it a ridiculously good homage to all of those, but it arguably does 40s Hollywood better than 40s Hollywood did itself. This is one of those movies you can come back to, literally hundreds of times over.

#2: Hitchcock Never Got Better Than Vertigo.

A wonderful thriller that also happens to be all about falling in love, idealizing women (or men), wanting other people to conform to our expectations, and an examination of the director’s role in shaping how a movie is made. No other film is so good both on its surface and in its multiple layers of meaning at the same time.

#1: The Godfather.

The fact that this movie is about the mafia is really just besides the point — there is no other movie that explains power, family, and the dark side of the American dream so well, while also happening to be a compulsively entertaining piece of cinema.

Christmas is coming, but you haven’t had time to go shopping? Why not pick a set from our dvd collection? Buy them online and enjoy your favorite tv series on dvd with your friend and family!