Certain of my friends (who shall remain nameless, but you know who you are) are of the philosophy that if a movie is worth watching, it is worth buying, preferably on DVD. I disagree; I'd only consider owning a movie if I hoped to eventually watch it enough times to commit most of it to memory. Then again, I'm still clinging to the VHS format, so what do I know?
Anyway, these are the handful that I would actually choose for my personal library. (Starred items, predictably, are the ones I have yet to acquire.)
Amadeus
*Batman. Only the first one (which I saw approximately five times in the theater, due to its stunning cinematography -- not to mention Michael Keaton in jeans and black turtleneck...). Forget Batman Returns or anything else thereafter.
The Blues Brothers. "It's 106 miles to Chicago; we've got a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark, and we're wearing sunglasses. Hit it."
Blues L'Chofesh HaGadol (Hebrew: "Late Summer Blues")
Casablanca
Cocktail. The best slumber party movie ever.
Dead Poets Society. "O captain, my captain!"
Footloose
*Four Weddings and a Funeral. "Stop all the clocks, cut off the telephone..."
*The Frisco Kid
Grease
Ground Hog Day
Much Ado About Nothing. Not even the ludicrous presence of Keanu Reeves could spoil this one.
Pretty Woman. Yes, I know it's cheesy and demeaning to women, but you've gotta love the real star of this movie: Julia Roberts' hair. And the boots.
The Princess Bride. "You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means."
A Room with a View
*Sliding Doors
*Star Wars (Episodes IV, V, and VI)
Wayne's World. "Let's just say I have an extensive collection of name tags and hair nets."
The X-Files: Fight The Future. Feeding my secret fascination with the paranormal ... okay, and with David Duchovny.
*Young Sherlock Holmes. The movie that got me hooked for years on all things Holmesian.