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Culture > Entertainment

Old movies you have to watch at least once in your life

Dani Stevens
This article is written by a student writer from the Her Campus at SAU chapter.

Since I began college, I have made it an activity to watch iconic old movies that hold a dear place in the older generations’ hearts. Of course, I still have a while to go since it can be difficult to find some of these movies on popular streaming sites. I have occasionally watched some of them on the free movies site, but they can be dangerous to your computer. Anyways, here’s a list of movies that you need to watch before you die

  1. Psycho (1960): This movie is about a secretary named Marion Crane who is on the run from her boyfriend. After driving for a long time, a big rainstorm exhausts Crane. Stopping at the Bates Motel, she meets Norman Bates (played by Anthony Perkins) who runs the hotel. Bates is eccentric and Crane begins to pick up on the mysterious secrets of Bates Motel. There was also a TV show named Bates Motel (ran from 2013-2017) which was based on Psycho. It was a weird film, but I did enjoy it.
    1. Where to watch it: Amazon Prime Video (might have to pay for it)
  2. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975): This iconic musical is about a couple named Brad (played by Barry Bostwick) and Janet (Susan Sarandon) that become stuck with a flat tire. Trying to find help, they come across an eerie mansion. This mansion belongs to Dr. Frankfurter (played by the iconic Tim Curry), a transvestite scientist. Brad and Janet meet an abundance of eccentric characters. Some iconic ones include a rocking biker (played by Meatloaf) and a butler (played by Richard O’Brien). It is a very well put-together movie and the soundtrack is amazing. 
    1.  Prime Video (might have to pay for it).
  3. Carrie (1976): Based on Stephen King’s book, this is about a high school girl named Carrie (played by Sissy Spacek)  who is bullied relentlessly and abused by her mother. When strange occurrences are active around her, she realizes she has supernatural powers. When she is asked out by Tommy Ross (played by William Katt) to let her guard down, which takes a violent and gory turn. There have been many remakes of the movies and a musical was also created based on this movie. It was a very eventful movie and I could not turn it off. It was so good.
    1. Where to watch it: Amazon Prime (will have to pay for it)
  4. The Shining (1980): Based on Stephen King’s book, this is about a family who becomes the caretakers at the Overlook Hotel for the winter. Jack Torrance (played by Jack Nicholson) takes this job to help his writer’s block, bringing along his wife Wendy (played by Shelley Duvall) and his son Danny (played by Danny Lloyd). Danny has psychic powers, and his visions show the dark secrets of the hotel. Jack sees these as well and he is slowly going insane, his main objective is to terrorize Danny. This movie is very slow (much like Stephen King’s book), but it has you at the edge of your seat. The sequel Doctor Sleep (released in 2019) is very good as well. 
    1. Where to watch it: HBO Max
  5. Silence Of The Lambs (1991): This movie is about a woman named Clarice Starling (played by Jodie Foster) who is currently at the FBI training academy. The head person of the academy assigns Starling to interview Dr. Hannibal Lecter (played by Anthony Hopkins) as he may have information on a case the FBI is solving. This is a brilliant movie and everytime you watch it, you always notice something different. This is my number one favorite movie of all time; I have watched it about a million times.
    1. Where to watch it: Amazon Prime 
  6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994): Based on yet another Stephen King book, this movie is about a man named Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins) who is wrongly sentenced to two consecutive life terms in prison for the murders of his wife and her lover at a very tough prison. He forms a friendship with a man named Red (played by Morgan Freeman) as the two face the experiences of horrible prison conditions, adapting to prison life, helping the warden which takes the span of 19 years. As a woman, I did enjoy this movie and I have watched it many times since. 
    1. Where to watch it: HBO Max, Amazon Prime (will have to pay for it)
  7. American Psycho (2000): Based on the Bret Easton Ellis book, this movie is about a handsome businessman named Patrick Bateman (played by Christian Bale) who lives a secret murderous second life. When these murders begin occurring, a detective (played by Willem Dafoe) becomes suspicious. This movie is beyond confusing, and it does take some brain power to understand. Once you watch it more than once, it begins to piece together more easily.
    1. Where to watch it: Amazon Prime, Cinemax
Dani Stevens is an editor at the HC chapter at SAU. She oversees article editing. Beyond HC, Dani is involved on campus in SAAT and symphonic band. She also works in the music department as a work study. Dani is majoring in Early Childhood Education with an endorsement in Special Education. In her free time, Dani plays clarinet and saxophone. She also is a mom to six plants. In the summer, she works as a camp coordinator. For this year, Dani is working in Adaptive and Inclusion through Davenport Parks and Recreation. She also runs her own podcast called Pop Culture Blast.