Some already mentioned, but I will gladly get on the bandwagon:
Hamburger Hill
We Were Soldiers Once
(No need for any other "'Nam" movies. Apocalypse Now and Platoon make me want to vomit when put in the same category. Full Metal Jacket was saved by Lee Ermey...)
Blade Runner (agree: Director's\Final cut)
Saving Private Ryan-(if not for anything else...the Normandy landing scene. Spielberg accomplished the "impossible" by putting us as close to the beach as we could get without having lived it. I start to lose it every time I see the soldier whose arm is blown off turn around to instinctively pick it up. Kinda went downhill somewhat from there, but still a "perfect movie").
Some not seen as of the time I typed this, with an unapologetic nod to years past-
Das Boat Director's cut\subtitled (nothing will make you as sympathetic to the plight of the "common" WWII German sailor, soldier, airman, like this one)
Easy Rider (As bad as it is...it's a great film-perfect in spite of it's imperfections)
Cool Hand Luke (Paul Newman, George Kennedy. Nuff' said)
Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (blows other simlar type films-Streetcar Named Desire for instance, away. Sure it's got Elizabeth Taylor and Paul Newman, but BURL IVES kills it).
Moby Dick-1956 with Gregory Peck. NO CGI lol still manages to catch the spirit of the book.
Frankenstein\Dracula\Wolfman-the Horror "hat trick" of the 1930s. Again-NO CGI just hours of makeup and suffering for the actors, classic stories told in a classy way.
Speaking of the 1930s...
King Kong 1933-ok...it's an 18" gorilla doll...and miniature sets painstakingly built over several months. But you got to give these guys credit, they pulled it off. And don't tell me you're not (eagerly) waiting for that ape to pull off Fay Wray's nightgown...lol.
The African Queen-Bogart and Hepburn, at their finest in my opinion. Extra points to Bogart for getting out of the boat...lol.
From Here to Eternity-forget Lancaster, Kerr, and Clift. Sinatra and Borgnine are why we watch it. Oh, and kissing in the surf SUCKS.
Night of the Living Dead (1968). The BEST. So campy and amateurish it could be real. Hard to take any other "zombie" movie seriously.
Bonnie and Clyde-1967 Beatty and Dunaway. Ok, I hesitated on this one. But for 1967, even with it's historic 'flaws' (read: complete fabrications and inaccuracies), one helluva movie. I was captivated by the cut down TV versions as a kid-even to the point of dressing as Clyde Barrow for Halloween lol. Great performances by Gene Hackman and Estelle Parsons as Buck and Blanche Barrow. And who can forget that soundtrack? Damn fine pickin' by Flatt and Scruggs.
The Benny Goodman Story-sure it's a little sappy at times. But those performances... Gene Krupa on matchsticks? Need I say more?
Just for Fun:
The Grinch (Can't stand Jim Carrey, but he nailed this one. Just a great fun film that captures Seuss perfectly and presents it in a modern format that just plain works...)
I need to break for a short recess...lol...I could go on, but I'll let someone else have a turn.
Great idea for a thread!