The 100 ‘Guy Movies’ Everyone Should See

It’s good to be a guy. Too good, if we’re being honest. Practically every aspect of the pop culture landscape seems to be geared directly toward the masculine mindset, appealing to men, boys and the awkward, nebulous, pubescent y-chromosome people in between. That’s a problem, of course. And most of these so-called “guy movies” are just trying to take our money by catering to men’s prurient mindsets, offering sexiness and explosions and ignoring little things like substance. Or at least, failing to use those macho preoccupations to say anything meaningful.

That’s why, here at CraveOnline, we have put our heads together to come up with The 100 Guy Movies Everyone Should See. These are the guy movies that don’t just placate men’s desires to see their supposed interests captured on camera, but also say something about men for enjoying them. They say something about men’s place in this screwy world of ours, for better and very often for worse. Even the cheesier films that made our list of the Top 100 Guy Movies are so outlandish that they – perhaps accidentally – become statements in and of themselves.

(Please note that this is simply a list comprised of films made about men that are typically considered “guy movies.” Everyone of all genders is encouraged to watch and enjoy them as well. We are merely discussing motion pictures that appear to intentionally cater to a perceived demographic, for better or worse, and highlighting the films that do so effectively, meaningfully or at least with particular aplomb.)

We invited our four film critics to come up with their individual lists of the Top 50 Guy Movies Ever Made, then assigned point values to their choices (50 points for the top film, 1 point for the film at the bottom of their list, and so on), and created the following aggregate list. Each of the finalists for The Top 50 Guy Movies come with commentary from one of the film critics who championed its inclusion. The bottom 50 are listed underneath the slideshow in order. You should see all of those movies too.

The list itself ranges from action movies to comedies, dramas to horror movies, and even a single, solitary documentary sitting pretty at #47. The oldest film, from 1941, is ranked #42 on our list of The 100 Guy Movies Everyone Should See. The newest film, from 2012, is ranked #55.

Robert De Niro and Arnold Schwarzenegger both own this list, each of them starring or co-starring in six films a piece. (De Niro even has two films in the Top 10.) Coming in second are Lee Marvin, Robert Duvall and Al Pacino, each of whom starred or co-starred in four films on the list.

The directors are more spread out. Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, John Woo, James Cameron, Quentin Tarantino and Paul Verhoeven each came in with three films on the list. Tony Scott, Edgar Wright, John Sturges, John Carpenter and Oliver Stone each had two films making appearances throughout the rankings. 

So… how many have you seen?

Slideshow: The Top 50 Guy Movies

The 50 Runners-Up:

51. Top Gun (dir. Tony Scott, 1996)
52. Badlands (dir. Terrence Malick, 1976)
53. Pulp Fiction (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
54. Reservoir Dogs (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
55. The Master (dir. Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
56. Platoon (dir. Oliver Stone, 1986)
57. Boyz n the Hood (dir. John Singleton, 1991)
58. Brokeback Mountain (dir. Ang Lee, 2005)
59. The Fast and the Furious (dir. Rob Cohen, 2001)
60. Two-Lane Blacktop (dir. Monte Hellman, 1971)

61. The Rock (dir. Michael Bay, 1996)
62. Revenge of the Nerds (dir. Jeff Kanew, 1984)
63. Unforgiven (dir. Clint Eastwood, 1992)
64. Scarface (dir. Brian De Palma, 1983)
65. Big (dir. Penny Marshall, 1988)
66. Straw Dogs (dir. Sam Peckinpah, 1971)
67. Enter the Dragon (dir. Robert Clouse, 1973)
68. On Her Majesty’s Secret Service (dir. Peter R. Hunt, 1969)
69. Wall Street (dir. Oliver Stone, 1987)
70. Caddyshack (dir. Harold Ramis, 1980)

71. Dirty Harry (dir. Don Siegel, 1971)
72. Hot Fuzz (dir. Edgar Wright, 2007)
73. Inglourious Basterds (dir. Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
74. Road House (dir. Rowdy Herrington, 1989)
75. Animal House (dir. Ivan Reitman, 1978)
76. The Wages of Fear (dir. Henri Georges-Clouzot, 1953)
77. The Warriors (dir. Walter Hill, 1979)
78. The Big Lebowski (dirs. The Coen Brothers, 1998)
79. The Deer Hunter (dir. Michael Cimino, 1978)
80. Happy Gilmore (dir. Dennis Dugan, 1996)

81. The Samurai Trilogy (dir. Hiroshi Inagaki, 1954-1956)
82. 
Y tu mamá también (dir. Alfonso Cuarón, 2001)
83. Crimson Tide (dir. Tony Scott, 1995)
84. In the Company of Men (dir. Neil LaBute, 1997)
85. The Magnificent Seven (dir. John Sturges, 1960)
86. Midnight Cowboy (dir. John Schlesinger, 1969)
87. Big Trouble in Little China (dir. John Carpenter, 1986)
88. The Big Red One (dir. Sam Fuller, 1980)
89. The Graduate (dir. Mike Nichols, 1987)
90. Casino Royale (dir. Martin Campbell, 2006)

91. The Matrix (dirs. Wachowski Starship, 1999)
92. The Right Stuff (dir. Philip Kaufman, 1983)
93. Con Air (dir. Simon West, 1997)
94. Basic Instinct (dir. Paul Verhoeven, 1992)
95. The Bad News Bears (dir. Michael Ritchie, 1976)
96. The Blues Brothers (dir. John Landis, 1980)
97. Face/Off (dir. John Woo, 1997)
98. MASH (dir. Robert Altman, 1970)
99. Smokey and the Bandit (dir. Hal Needham, 1971)
100. Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (dir. Adam McKay, 2004)

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