Being one of those aspiring filmmakers who hasn't seen many of the things that anybody totally into film would highly recommend, I was wondering what anyone on this site would say is a must-see for anyone venturing into the film industry.

Up until recently I had the mindset that watching too much work done by others was a bad thing and would create an inability to be creative and original, rather than making it an opportunity to learn.

Any suggestions are greatly appreciated. Thanks!

That depends on what you're looking for...

I would suggest watching "Overnight". It's the documentary about Troy Duffy (The Boondock Saints) and how he screwed himself royally.

Those "anatomy of a scene" featurettes are great. I would say watch the stuff by Robert Rodriguez. Listen to the commentaries and watch his 15 minute film schools. That reminds me of another post I'll be making shortly.
Some movies and why I think they are good watches.
28 days later - XL1 can do this... cinematography is great composition superb!
11:14 - On hell of a story and this guy has a good ability to work with actors. The special features on this disk and commentary are great.

Those are two. There are several more I'm sure. I have over 200 DVDs just for resource material... mmm... just bought "The Island" and I'm about to enjoy it with some twizzlers and a lunchable... have fun guys.

Venturing into the film industry? Maybe "The Player"...? As far as venturing into actual filmmaking, try reading "Rebel Without a Crew" and any of the Faber & Faber "_____ on _____" books (insert Cassavetes, Kieslowski, etc).

Hmm... Cool. Thanks guys.

hmm, the film industry? id watch American History X. especially the scene where all of Ed Nortons friends in jail leave him alone to get raped in the shower by all the mexicans, yup, thats the film industry alright.

Wedding Crashers

fellini's 8 1/2

I strongly recommend watching "Goodfellas", and not just once either...it is basically an encyclopedia of effective modern filmmaking techniques, which although have been done to death by now, can still be made original again by truly skilled filmmakers.

Also, just so you can discourage yourself from wanting to be in television instead, I recommend watching Sidney Lumet's masterpiece "Network".

I also saw a few obscure films in my college film class that were very well-made and inspirational; if you can, try looking for Ermanno Olmi's "Il Posto", and a 1920s Russian film titled "The Man With The Movie Camera". They're well worth searching for, trust me. Also, try looking for some D.W. Griffith films, the early 1900s shorts that arguably set the entire art of film in motion.

Nosferatu
Citizen Kane
Vertigo
Rumblefish
The Cabiniet of Dr. Caligari
The Trial (a.k.a. Le Proces)
The Godfather
Se7en
and... hmmm.... The Toxic Avenger

That shows you both sides of the filmmaking coin. Enjoy.

8 1/2, The Seventh Seal, City of God, Trainspotting, Fargo...

A good documentary on making a film is Lost In La Mancha, originally meant to document the pre-production process, but the film never got made because of all the problems it had. It's really interesting and entertaining..

I'd say the best movies

I start with 1970-2005

-star wars
-indiana jones (u wont find a better script out there)
-a clockwork orange
-terminator 2 (if u wanna make action flicks, it wont get better than this)
-Terence malick stuff (if u wanna be a DP too)
-Fight club
-The Matrix
_lord of the rings

and last but not least, everything by miyazaki to learn how to tell a story


voila, all the stuff u need and highly entertaining as well, just as a bonus on the top

wont get better than that

mentioning lost in La mancha

before my thesis film at NYU..a DAY before...I watched that bewitched piece....guess what. 7 days outdoor shoot? 7 days rain...not regular rain, no, the biggest rain in upstate NY in 100 years...waterfalls, highways closed, equipment damaged, days canceled...

haha every day I cursed that film (its great though)

Films to watch:

Raging Bull
Knife in the Water
Straw Dogs
Ashes and Diamonds
Shichinin no samurai
Trois Couleurs
Kaze no tani no Nausicäa

You're right that Miyazaki is perhaps one of the best pure storytellers in film history. His intuitive grasp of pacing and plot development is remarkable to watch because it's so compelling and seemingly effortless.

All of the films I listed are narratively well-constructed; films with no 'dead space' (except where thematically appropriate) and cohesive, well-developed narratives. That kind of tautness and brevity is worth aspiring to in any medium.

Evil Dead 2
Wuthering Heights (1970 version)
Ichi the killer
Gozu
Deadly outlaw Rekka
Dead or alive
Ed and his dead mother
Dellamorte Dellamore(Cemetery man)
Gone with the wind
Freddy Got Fingered

also read If Chins Could Kill Confessions of a B Movie Actor by Bruce Campbell

you GOTTA SEE THESE:

American Movie (go to http://www.americanmovie.com)
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apacolypse (hard to find documentary of the making of Apocalypse now. Coppola lost 100 pounds and was put in the hospital many times from exhaustion. He didn't make another film again for 10 years I think.

LAST BUT NOT LEAST, THIS IS THE MOST VALUABLE INFO YOU MIGHT EVER GET: read Robert McKee's screenwriting book "story". the biggest mistakes of most filmmakers is to not realize that story is everything. they try to copy fancy shots and whatnot, but if you can't get a story across, what's the point. As for stifling your creativity--only people who aren't creative are afraid of that. watch what other people do and learn. you're only afraid that you'll copy people. you don't have to copy, just learn from them, see what's good and bad.