Every decade or a little more, the inevitable question arises about which are the most significant films in the history of the film industry. Especially, those that have marked a milestone in the seventh art. At least, those that have allowed its evolution and growth as an artistic discipline. The answer usually changes not only from year to year, but also as a result of the cultural and social concerns of different times.
All in all, it is a journey that allows you to explore the cinematographic world and the way in which it built, over the course of a century and a little more existence, its own history and impact. However, the importance of some works persists above the debate, either due to their preeminence or their outstanding contribution to Hollywood and cinema in general. As far-reaching works, they all demonstrate that from the section of arguments and stories to tell to the vision of cinema as spectacle, each one provided a new air to genres and points of view. Especially, at key moments when Hollywood and other large production regions have needed it.
Thanks to the catalogs of streaming platforms, these unique pieces are more accessible to the public than ever. To prove it, we leave you ten feature films that every film lover should see (and where to see them), whether you live in Spain or Latin America. This is a selection that ranges from foundational cinema films to new classics. Everything for the lover of the seventh art, looking to enjoy the films, that in one way or another, are an essential part of understanding current pop culture.
Citizen Kane (Prime Video in Spain, Max in Latin America)
This work by Orson Welles is considered fundamental to understanding modern cinema. Much more so, thanks to the fact that the director and screenwriter transformed the story of a cruel businessman — suspiciously similar to William Randolph Hearst — into an exploration of greed. In particular, by exploring the darkest places of capitalism, political manipulation and abuse of economic privilege.
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But beyond that, Citizen Kane It is a controversial production by necessity. Grandiloquent, opulent and provocative, it made its director the center of attention in a Hollywood that was just beginning to understand the extent of his influence. In the midst of controversy — from the writing of its script to the director’s conditions for filming it — the film went down in history. And now you can enjoy it thanks to Prime Video and Max, respectively.
The Cabinet of Doctor Caligari (Filmin in Spain, Prime Video in Latin America)
Cinema, as we know it, would not be the same without this work by Robert Wiene released in 1920. Not only is it one of the main representatives of German expressionism, fundamental to understanding the current horror genre.
The script by Hans Janowitz and Carl Mayer delved into abstract and violent dilemmas, which turned this story, with Gothic overtones, into a story with several interpretations. But specifically, in a cutting-edge milestone, in the way of narrating fear, as a human emotion.
The plot, which follows Cesare (Conrad Veidt), a sleepwalking assassin under the power of Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss), is dark, dense and uncomfortable. Much more so, when he expresses Janowitz and Meyer’s fears about the use of medicine and its consequences. The most interesting point of this indispensable film for film lovers.
King Kong (Prime Video Spain, Max in Latin America)
He monsterverse He’s having a great time right now. But, if you want to see the origin of everything — at least, of the story of King Kong — now you have the opportunity to do so, by revisiting this essential work. The 1933 film, directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack, is the source of the mythology that surrounds the famous Kong throughout the different films. But much more, it was a work that innovated in spectacle cinema and changed it forever.
The plot tells how a group of explorers trap the gigantic gorilla on Skull Island to take it to New York. But what begins as an adventurous expedition ends up becoming a full-scale tragedy. The premise, with greater or lesser detail, has been repeated ad nauseam in all versions of the film. What makes it more interesting is delving into the story that provided a first step to everything else.
Singing under the rain
(Max in Spain and Latin America)
In 1952, Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen directed one of the most emblematic films of the musical genre. Singing under the rain It is the quintessence of optimistic cinema with a hopeful subtext of the seventh art during its golden age. However, at the same time, it is an exploration that shows the way in which the arrival of talkies was experienced and everything it caused among studios and actors.
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But beyond that, it is also a film that demonstrates the possibilities of the show, brought to the big screen as a total experience. With an extraordinary soundtrack and several of Hollywood’s most iconic scenes, it is still a feature film that can make you cry and laugh at the same time. And now you can enjoy it in the Max catalog.
Casablanca (Max in Spain and Latin America)
The famous tragic romance that marked an era in Hollywood, directed by Michael Curtiz, has all the elements to be a classic. On the one hand, the sober and elegant performance of Humphrey Bogart, as Rick. On the other, the incarnation of the mysterious lady par excellence played by Ingrid Bergman as Ilsa. Together, they hold a story ranging from the tensions in neutral Morocco in the middle of World War II, to the sorrows of hopelessness.
But also, White House, is an exciting plot, due to its small details. From Rick’s bar filling with French voices singing the Marseillaise at the top of their lungs in rebellion to the Nazi occupation, to the now classic final sequence. Everything in the film is very much a pop culture legend. Now, available to a wider audience.
Gone with the wind (Max in Spain and Latin America)
Another classic romance for the list and one that is essential to understanding the changes in cinema, especially in our time. Gone With the Wind, by Victor Fleming (and other directors), is the apotheosis of a type of monumental and expensive cinema that would become classic in the mecca of cinema. But much more, it is a love story between two unforgettable characters, who have served as an inspiration to many others over the decades.
Scarlett O’Hara (Vivien Leigh) is an impulsive heiress from the American South who doesn’t imagine that everything in her life is about to change due to the civil war. On the other side, Rhett Butler (Clark Gable) He is a womanizer with no other concern than the great dinners and dances he enjoys.
Both will see their hopes collapse in the midst of a violent and bloody conflict. One that will also destroy the peaceful life they had enjoyed until then. Criticized for its version of slavery and the center of an uncomfortable debate about racism, the film is still controversial today. An achievement that underpins its relevance in pop culture.
The Exorcist (Prime Video in Spain, Max in Latin America)
William Friedkin’s film that changed the horror genre forever is a tough look at the dilemmas of faith and a very unusual approach to theology. But also, It is an uncomfortable, brutal and transgressive plot, which broke all kinds of limits to tell its story.
From touching on child abuse when showing his portrait of little Reagan (Linda Blair), to exploring evil from a perspective that is more human than supernatural. The truth is The Exorcistis a mature and well-made work, which carefully analyzes diabolical possession with a form of physical, spiritual and moral violence. Reference to all the stories that came later, you can see both its original version and the one that contains never-before-seen scenes, in streaming.
The Godfather (Netflix in Spain and Latin America)
In 1972, Francis Ford Coppola took the work of Mario Puzo and turned it into a reflection on violence, brutality and modern evil. All, through the mythical Vito Corleone (Marlon Brando, in a performance that would make him a legend), head of a criminal organization that he also calls a family. The nuance transformed the film — the first of a trilogy — into a look at a saga of perverse men, who, at the same time, were antiheroes.
But much more, in a journey through the pain of poverty, the loneliness of power and the horror of the tragedy of an unattainable man. Elegant, with the air of an auteur film and with one of the cruelest and best filmed endings in cinema, It is the ideal work for any film lover.
Pulp Fiction (Netflix in Spain and Latin America)
Quentin Tarantino marked a before and after in the history of cinema, with this ensemble film, in which he fully explores his obsessions. But also, he demonstrates his gifts and abilities to narrate a complex story, which ends up coming together in the same scenario. That, among dozens of references to pop culture, film classics and even books of your choice.
The result is a film that surprises with its richness in language and ambition. With three arcs intertwined with each other in different chronological order, the film is brilliant in its look at violence, perversion and human nature. Much more, as it becomes more twisted and bloody. For the story, too, its magnificent soundtrack. Unmissable and collectible.
The Silence of the Lambs (Filmin in Spain and Prime in Latin America)
In 1991, Jonathan Demme adapted Thomas Harris’s novel of the same name and created a modern classic. The disturbing story of Hannibal Lecter (Anthony Hopkins, in an Oscar-winning performance) and his parasitic relationship with agent Clarice Starling (Jodie Foster), is disturbing. But also, uncomfortable and brutal, in the shadow of what their close collaboration means. With a serial killer skinning women in a dark compulsion, Clarice needs to find clues that will lead her to discover his identity.
But first, he will have to face the sharp and dark mind of Lecter, who has only time to waste and a lot to give to his need to understand the young agent’s secrets. A macabre work that opened the door to similar suspense dramas, The silence of the lambs It is a rare work that always deserves a second review.
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