Night and Fog is a brilliant suggestion, that film still haunts me.
I’d say anything really that can be related back to the class. Book adaptations in English, or historical films in History class, something like that.
I f I was a teacher I’d show the kids Bicycle Thieves regardless of any other factor… that is a film that should be seen by every single human being on earth.
When I was in high school a few years ago Kubrick seemed to be pretty high on the list, Spartacus, and Dr. Strangelove were always being shown, but they didn’t seem to get it. It was really awkward to be the only one laughing at Peter Sellers saying “Dmitri I’m just as capable of being upset as you are.”
In my school they opened a Japanese language class the year after I left… God how I would loved to have spent an entire year watching Mizoguchi, Kurosawa, and Ozu films in the name of learning the language. I could have done it too, because I knew the teacher, and she hated teaching. That would have been wonderful.
I saw Requiem for a Dream when I was fourteen. I’ve never done a drug.
Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill! Kill! Foxy ladies, wicked cars and Karata chop action. Its wild, funny and has women drinking Paps Blue Ribbon while they plot a murder. But on the side of more positive messages I also think Juno, Harold and Maud and Rushmore are film that are easy to identify with and give a younger audience some unconventional young heros to rally behind. Also the soundtracks are really amazing in all of these films.
Should start with the basics:
Seven Samurai
Wild Strawberries
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Third Man
An Autumn Afternoon
La Dolce Vita
8 1/2
The 400 Blows
All the Heaven Allows
Black Narcissus
Yojimbo
Sanjuro
Godfather I and II
Gone with the Wind
Rebecca
Psycho
Vertigo
Jaws
Halloween
Schindler’s List
blah blah blah
KIDS
Over The Edge
Joysticks
Hot Dog: The Movie
Hollywood Hot Tubs
Pinball Summer
Massacre At Central High
The Stoned Age
Jocks
Just One Of The Guys
H.O.T.S.
Private Lessons
Hamburger: The Motion Picture
The Party Animal
Zapped!
Wacko
Getting It On
Teen Wolf
Fast Times At Ridgemont High
Encino Man
Class Of 1984
OVER THE EDGE
as a 17 year-old who loves movies I’ll just rattle off my top six, Tears of the Black Tiger (it’s a nice segway into serious film), Vertigo(Every teen needs a little Hitchcock), Rebel Without a Cause(one of the first “teen” movies), Juliet of the Spirits(Technicolor is a must, and the great symbolism), Mishima: A Life In Four Chapters (Just the idea of passion and the amazing alternating between stories), and Breathless (There is before breathless in the film world and then there is after breathless).
I think Night and Fog should be shown in history classes. That’s where I saw it, and it will never leave me.
Some posts reminded me that An American Werewolf in London is a must-see for teenagers, too.
—PolarisDiB
Battle Royale
I think that Paul Morrisey’s “Trash” would be a much better film than “Requiem” for being against drugs. It’s just as disturbing (a woman masturbating with a broken beer bottle?) and a lot more boring/torturous to sit through, thus better illustrating the banality of drugs.
Tim Hunter’s “River’s Edge”
Speaking from personal experience as a teenager, 8 1/2 is what really got me interested in foreign film. But years before, I had seen The 400 Blows and Seven Samurai, which I think would be good choices to start with. Both are extraordinary films, and I think they would be very accessible to most teenagers.
Pink Flamingos, Eraserhead, Evil Dead II, Bunuel films – anything that will warp their minds just enough to allow them to think uniquely, inclusively, and supplely for a lifetime.
Elephant
Dazed and Confused
Can’t Hardly Wait
Welcome to the Dollhouse
sex, lies & videotape
Elephant
Dazed and Confused
Can’t Hardly Wait
Welcome to the Dollhouse
sex, lies & videotape
“A Woman Under the Influence” was probably what got me seriously into film, though strangely, I can’t even sit through it today. It makes me cringe a bit. Still, young people interested in film should probably see some Cassavetes, just to see a completely different kind of filmmaking. AWUTI is probably his most accessible and gut wrenching. I agree that “400 Blows” is another good one; although for some reason I have no compulsion to ever see it again (not really big into Truffaut). Two different sorts of films that would be all around great in terms of both art and educational value = “M” + “Once Upon a Time in the West”. Most films by Kurosawa, Mizoguchi and Ozu would also be terrific.
I want to say “L’Eclisse” but it might be a bit dense; not even most adults seem to be able to figure that one, considering the issues brought up in that film are nowhere near “resolved” (as a society we’ve regressed, if anything).
I actually am a high school student so I’d love to shed some light on this.
I’d say that the first auteur that truly struck me on a gut level was Stanley Kubrick. You can be quite young and enjoy his films, even if its simply for the grandiose, eye-popping cinematography. There is a general air of uniqueness in his work that is quite undeniable and that certainly tipped me in the right direction, even I did not necessarily understand the films deeply upon first viewings.
Another director I engaged with in my primitive days of cinephilia was Richard Linklater. “Slacker” is a film that is loaded with thought-provoking conversations and impressively choreographed camerawork. In fact, I was eager to make some films of my own in the same style and did. At the same time, “Dazed and Confused” taps right into teenage culture with great accuracy and is a deftly paced and enjoyable independent film.
Those are my personal gateways to my love for cinema. And Sean Keeley, I indeed was blown away by “400 Blows” soon after.
2001 a space oddesey
8 1/2
Dr. Strangelove
And when they’re not at school, Requiem for a Dream and Pulp Fiction
Ah- really as a teenager myself I would just highly recommend the best films- which are great for all ages.. Andrei Rublev, 8 1/2, The 400 Blows, Stalker, The Seventh Seal, Citizen Kane, Rashomon, The Faith Trilogy by Bergman, etc. etc. others by Bresson, Renoir, Antonioni, Truffaut, Godard, Ozu etc. as well. for most teenagers though (with the exception of myself) it wouldn’t be a bad idea to start with films such as City of God (cidade de deus), Oldboy, Y Tu Mama Tambien, Pan’s Labyrinth, etc.
I grew up on Y tu mama tambien, alot of Takeshi Kitano movies, and Dodeska den. Along with Kids, Bully. If any movie will keep you from making really stupid decisions, that one might.
Teenagers are no different from other human beings, though their libidos & obnoxious behavior may be significantly higher than those of different ages.
Believe it or not, they’ve all actually possess different personalities so the selection of films to be shown to them should be in accordance with their individual personalities.
Personally, I say slay them with artistically-manipulated sex, drugs, & violence violence violence. Desensitize them while they’re unaware.
Perchance they won’t end up growing up to be impossible, prude pricks that halt phenomenal projects because, gee, they might be a touch too CoNtRoVeRsIaL. OoOoOoOoOoh.
I don’t know … Scenes From A Marriage.
they should watch what Alex was forced to watch in “A Clockwork Orange”
movies with large breasted bouncy cheerleaders. (good list, btw, Arturo. Stole my thunder)
Toxic Avenger
Decline Of Western Civilization II: The Heavy Metal Years
The Last Waltz (this is how to play great music)
Spinal Tap (this is how to play mediocre music and still be so ragingly funny it hurts)
The Night of the Hunter
Zero de Conduite
Paranoid Park
If. . .
The World of Henry Orient
i would stick to Y Tu Mama Tambien and probably Requiem for a Dream, maybe some Lary Clark films…
Thumbsucker is fine movie for teenagers…
Great suggestion on River’s Edge for this topic, Cineaste, one of my all time favourites.
When I was a teenager I would watch JFK, The Insider and Your Friends and Neighbors over and over again, but I was also nuts, and a bit of a dull wit.
Actually, JFK and the Insider are still pretty awesome.
PolarisDiB
SiriusDan said in “Movies to Get Somemone into Films.” [sic]:
“i think every teenager should watch Y Tu Mama Tambien. The film is fun and very engaging. This would be perfect for someone who wants to be introduced in world cinema.”
I think this makes a good topic: imagine you’re a teacher in high school of 17 and 18 year olds, who somehow is allowed to show whatever movie you want without getting into trouble with any estranged PTA or public school nonsense or whatever (all things being equal, so to speak). What should your high school students watch?
I know in high school I got to see quite a few of Akira Kurosawa’s Shakespeare adaptations. But I also think that every teenager should be sat down, Clockwork Orange style, to watch Requiem for a Dream. Actually, I also think that every teenager should be sat down, Clockwork Orange style, to watch Clockwork Orange, but that movie isn’t quite as high on my list of “every TEENAGER should see it.” EveryBODY should see it, TEENAGER is a little more questionable.
Anyway, what do you show your classroom full of sarcastic, confused, impressionable kids?
Also think about what the class might be. Night and Fog would be brilliant for a World History class. Olivier’s work would be good for a theatre class. I saw Au Revoir, Les Enfants for the first time in a French class.
—PolarisDiB