Movies have always been the greatest option for entertainment. There isn’t a better pastime than having the family together to watch a string of funny movies, along with some yummy snacks.
Movies have a way of transporting you into an unknown time frame and making you believe in the impossible. Strong characters, enthralling storylines and hypnotic performances keep you glued to the screen till the movie ends. Apart from being a way of escaping from reality, a plethora of movies make up for a way of spending time with family too. Order in DVDs on a rainy Sunday afternoon, make a bowl of popcorn, and cuddle up with your kids in front of the TV couch for uninterrupted hours of fun. Great family movies are the ones that invoke and invigorate feelings of love and respect towards one another. Subconsciously, these movies do impart in us a lot of things that are missed out on, in the race of life.
Must See Movies of All Time
Annie Hall
Annie Hall is a quintessential Woody Allen movie, full of memorable quotes and one liners that touch your nerve. This romantic comedy is about Alvy Singer (Woody Allen) and Annie (Diane Keaton) and their understanding of each others’ backgrounds. The movies chronicles stories of their past. However, they both go their separate ways in an endeavor to make new lives after they realize they cannot be together. At this juncture Alvy realizes that he still in love with Annie and persuades her to come back. When she refuses, he returns to New York to script a play about their tragic love story, leaving the viewer with a thought of how love is important even though it can be painful at times.
French Connection
Directed by William Friedkin, French Connection tells a story about smuggling of narcotics between USA and France. Popeye Doyle (Gene Hackman) and Russo (Roy Scheider) are tracking a major drug delivery, which has the power to destroy the marijuana trade between New York and Paris. The action packed crime thriller is a classic, that puts many of the same genre to shame.
The Kid
This was the first comedy feature film and ironically, also the movie which brings a tear to the eye. The movie opens with a line ‘A picture with a smile, and perhaps a tear…’. It shows a relationship between Charlie Chaplin and the Kid (Jackie Coogan) grow and foster into a father and son relationship. The most famous scene from the movie, where Chaplin fights with the agents from the orphanage to get the Kid back, is an extremely poignant scene. Many believe that the on screen chemistry between the two is Chaplin’s reflection of the untimely death of his first born.
The Shawshank Redemption
Andrew Dufresne, called Andy (Tim Robbins) is convicted for murdering his wife and her lover and is sentenced to two life sentences. He meets Ellis Boyd, called Red (Morgan Freeman), who is also serving a life sentence. With Red’s help Andy procures a contraband hammer and a poster of Rita Hayowrth, which is followed by a poster of Marilyn Manroe and Racheal Welch. His intelligence guides him to bring about several reforms in the prison, which makes him an icon amongst his inmates. In one of the casual conversations with Red, Andy tells him his dream to live in Zihuatanejo, a town alongside Mexican-Pacific coastal line. He asks Red to retrieve a parcel he’s left there, when Red is freed. The next day, Samuel Norton (Bob Gunton) finds Andy’s cell empty. In the moment of anger, he throws a rock at the poster, revealing a tunnel Andy had dug up in 20 years. When Red is freed, he follows Andy’s advice and travels to Texas, where the two friends are reunited.
Sound of Music
The legendary musical by Richard Rodgers, is based on a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. The film captures the family drama of the Trapps. The movies brings forth the fallouts within a family, their trails and tribulations and their love for each other. The Sound of Music, Edelweiss, My Favorite Things, Climb Ev’ry Mountain, and Do-Re-Mi are some of incredible compositions of this musical.
Best Family Movies To Watch with Kids
- Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- The African Queen
- Apollo 13
- Babe
- Back to the Future
- The Bad News Bears
- The Bear
- Beauty and the Beast
- Beetlejuice
- Big
- The Black Stallion
- Bound for Glory
- Breaking Away
- Bringing Up Baby
- The Buddy Holly Story
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- Cat Ballou
- Chariots of Fire
- Chicken Run
- Close Encounters of the Third Kind
- The Day the Earth Stood Still
- Dick Tracy
- Dr. Strangelove
- Duck Soup
- Edward Scissorhands
- Emma
- E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
- Fiddler on the Roof
- Field of Dreams
- Fly Away Home
- Gandhi
- Ghostbusters
- The Gold Rush
- The Great Escape
- Great Expectations
- Groundhog Day
- A Hard Day’s Night
- Harry Potter Series
- High Noon
- The Iron Giant
- It Happened One Night
- James and the Giant Peach
- Jurassic Park
- The King and I
- King Kong
- Lawrence of Arabia
- A League of Their Own
- Lilo & Stitch
- The Lion King
- Little Fugitive
- Little Man Tate
- The Little Mermaid
- A Little Princess
- Little Women
- The Longest Day
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- Lost Horizon
- The Magnificent Seven
- Mary Poppins
- Monsters, Inc.
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- Mrs. Doubtfire
- The Music Man
- My Fair Lady
- National Velvet
- Never Cry Wolf
- North by Northwest
- Peter Pan
- Pinocchio
- The Princess Bride
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Rear Window
- Rocky
- The Rookie
- The Secret Garden
- The Secret of Roan Inish
- Shane
- Shrek
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Some Like It Hot
- Spirited Away
- Star Wars
- Steamboat Bill, Jr.
- Sullivan’s Travels
- Superman
- Swiss Family Robinson
- The Three Musketeers
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Toy Story and Toy Story 2
- 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
- Walkabout
- West Side Story
- Who Framed Roger Rabbit
- The Winslow Boy
- The Wizard of Oz
- Yellow Submarine
Kids get bored easily and providing them with constant entertainment seems like a Herculean task. But, with such a huge list you can always pick your favorites and revisit the happiest moments of your childhood with your children!