10 Vintage Movies Every Millennial Should Watch

Are you part of the younger demographic, a millennial, who’s looking for vintage movie recommendations to watch? Here are ten great vintage movies that hit the big screen before the year 2000, not in any particular order, every person of the younger generation should watch.

1. Die Hard

This vintage movie, released in 1988, features a young and daring cop in New York, John McClane, played by a young Bruce Willis, who wants to reconcile with his long-time wife at her companies holiday party. The plot takes a turn for the worst when McClane has to save the day when a group of German terrorists, who take the entire party hostage, try to ruin the holidays. John has to scratch, claw, and out-think a group of intelligent German terrorists to save the one he loves. If you’re a millennial, love action thrillers, witty one-liners, then you need to watch Die Hard.

2. The Shawshank Redemption

This vintage movie barely made the deadline, released in 1994, and it is one of the greatest films to hit the big screen with a whopping rating of 9.3 out of ten on IMBD’s top 100 movies of all time. Two unlikely protagonists, a successful accountant, a small-town southern criminal, become lifelong friends over a bond they form while serving sentences in Shawshank Penitentiary. If the plot doesn’t capture your interest, then the acting will. With a star-studded acting cast of actors, featuring a young Morgan Freeman and the brilliant acting of Tim Robbins, The Shawshank Redemption is an American cinematic masterpiece.

3. Apocalypse Now

If you love the classic war movie focusing on historical events that you can gain knowledge and perspective by watching, Apocalypse Now is the perfect vintage movie for you. This vintage movie, released in 1979, shows an American army official overseas in Vietnam assigned the tall task of assassinating a rogue special forces colonel who deems himself as a deity. This vintage movie, directed by Francis Ford Coppola, features a super start cast of Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, and Robert Duvall. If you’re a millennial and love vintage movies, then you’ll love Apocalypse Now.

4. Goodfellas

This classic vintage movie, released in 1990, is an all-time great mobster and gangster film. Goodfellas, a Martin Scorsese masterpiece, focuses on the life of Henry Hill. We see the life stories and experiences of Hill, played by a young Ray Liotta, and Hill’s up-and-coming motives trying to make his way up the ladder of the Italian-American Mob. If you love old-school, vintage mob flicks, then you will love Goodfellas. Featuring a star-studded cast of Hollywood superstars, Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, and Joe Pesci, it is no surprise to critics and fans that this vintage movie is one of the top 100 movies of all time.

5. Pulp Fiction

This classic vintage movie, released in 1994, is the movie that put legendary filmmaker Quentin Tarantino on the map. Pulp Fiction, a wild, strange, yet compelling story, is a trip to watch. Viewers, young and old, dive into the lives of a boxer, two unique hitmen, a gangster and his wife, two discount diner robbers. Viewers get to see the cinematic beauty of how these character’s lives are all intertwined throughout the film. This vintage movie leaves fans and critics of cinema both in awe of the cinematic greatness they just witnessed. From the unorthodox style of storytelling, the compelling and thrilling plot, a star-studded cast of Hollywood icons in their younger days, Willis, Jackson, Thurman, and Travolta, this classic vintage movie will always be relevant and praised all across the globe by any generation.

6. Good Will Hunting

Released in 1997, Good Will Hunting focuses on a story about a young janitor at M.I.T, played by a young Matt Damon, who has a gift and knack for mathematics. He requires help and guidance from a psychologist to help him with finding his niche in life. Like most of these classic vintage movies, Good Will Hunting has an intriguing plot paired with a star-studded cast. From cinema superstars and icons like Damon and Affleck to the late great Robin Williams, Good Will Hunting made a killing in the box office in the late ’90s. This vintage movie will make you laugh, think, want to call your parents, grandparents along with bringing your emotions to tears. If you are of the younger generation who loves vintage movies, you need to watch Good Will Hunting.

7. The GodFather

Out of all the movies ever made, no matter the generation, this all-time classic vintage move is argued by millions of people as the best movie ever made in cinematic history. Once this film hit the big screen in 1972, people across the world knew the film director, Francis Ford Coppola. This film is the quintessential gangster and mob movie, but it’s also so much more than your typical monster movie. The GodFather, having an iconic Hollywood cast, Pacino, Brando, Caan, Diane Keaton, many thrilling plot twists and turns, this vintage movie is beloved by millions of people. The Godfather, one of my favorite films, is not only a classic vintage film but the best movie ever made.

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8. Reservoir Dogs

A deep cut from the legendary filmmaker Tarantino, Reservoir Dogs was one of the first big-time heists stories to hit the big screen. Released in 1992, Reservoir Dogs, this vintage movie has everything for the drama, crime, and thriller fanatic. When an easy jewelry heist goes wrong, the remaining criminals start to speculate and ponder the idea that one of them is an undercover cop. Reservoir Dogs, one of Tarantino’s most underrated films, is arguably one of the most creative and artistic films of all time.

9. Trading Places

Trading Places, one of the most critically acclaimed comedies in the history of American cinema, was released in 1983. This vintage movie pairs the most unlikely people together, a snobby New York stock exchange investor and a witty street con artist. Their lives are flipped upside down and reversed by a wager of two diabolical millionaires who have nothing better to do with their lives. This film, starring Eddie Murphy and Dan Aykroyd, two icons in the comedy genre, is still relevant today. If you love comedy, then you need to watch Trading Places. You won’t regret it.

10. Coming To America

Coming to America, deemed by critics as a classic masterpiece of American cinema, is a great vintage movie that the whole family will love. A coddled and spoiled African prince, played by the legendary Eddie Murphy, travels to Queens, New York, and goes undercover to try to find himself a worthy wife that he can love and respect for her strong wit, passion, will, and intelligence. This vintage movie, released in 1988, features some of the most well-known people in Hollywood in the younger years, Samuel L. Jackson, Arsenio Hall, James Earl Jones, and can go toe for toe with any comedy film regarding cast, plot, and big-time laughs. If you’re part of the younger generation and demographic, love to laugh, then you need to watch Coming to America.