Title Creator Date Era City Country Emotional Sum (Sense of Life or emotional World View) Theme
Dangerous Beauty Director: Herskovitz, Marshall 1998 pre-1910 United States The world is a horrible split of conventional marital morality vs. honest but promiscuous morality. The way to live requires one sacrifice one's body for one's soul.

1. The importance of accepting your own rules for living, your own morality.
2. The grim metaphysical conflict for a Venetian woman of being a slave to a husband or a free woman requiring sexual work.
Die Hard Director: McTiernan, John 1988 July 15 The way to beat evil is to give no quarter, no compromise. Life is hard, but fighting for the right is rewarded.

Giving up in life is not an option.
Dirty Dancing Director: Ardolino, Emile 1987 Life is passionate and meaningful.

The joy and passion of love and life and dancing, while learning integrity and independence.
Black Stallion Director: Ballard, Carroll 1979 Everything is possible between boy and beast, between an innocent human and mother nature.

Man and nature in harmony.
At least this is the theme of the first half of the movie. See "Description" and "Context" info below for more on this comment.
Vitus Director: Murer, Fredi 2006 If you have the will, you can find the way to live the way you want.

Living your life your own way is the only right way.
Romeo + Juliet Director: Luhrmann, Baz 1996 1991-2010 Tragedy is central to life.

Romantic Love is doomed and we don't control our own lives.
Chocolat Director: Hallstrom, Lasse 2000 Pleasure is good; religion and conventional thinking is bad.

Follow your dream and disregard convention.
Wall-E Director: Stanton, Andrew 2008 1991-2010 The world is garbage, and more garbage and humans have destroyed the earth, because of their wanton consumerism.

Mankind is a blight on the universe, and only cute robots (as opposed to evil robots) can save the earth from human degradation.
Fame Director: Parker, Alan 1980 1971-1990 Life is hard, but you can succeed, and it is worth it and exhilarating.

Go after your heart's desire.
Rashomon Director: Kurosawa, Akira 1950 1931-1950 The world is terrible and full of disasters and mankind is awful and pathetic.

Objectivity is a myth -- everyone sees a different reality, a different "story".
Billy Elliot Director: Daldry, Stephen 2000 1991-2010 Life is dirty but one can clean up.

Go after what you love.
Ruggles of Red Gap Director: McCarey, Leo 1935 1931-1950 Happiness and fulfillment is in yourself.

Personal declaration of independence from servitude
Chariots of Fire Director: Hudson, Hugh 1981 1971-1990 A complete feeling of openness of the world to greatness of your own choosing.

Life is achievement.
Rob Roy Director: Caton-Jones, Michael 1995 1991-2010 Life is a struggle. The life you make for yourself can be difficult, but living it with strength and morality is the way to live. Happiness is possible in romance.

Heroism in everyday life leads to heroism writ large. A man works hard to lead his life and those of his extended clan in an honorable, productive, honest way. This is the everyday heroism. But dishonorable, evil men seek to steal from him and ruin him. This leads to a life of larger-than-life heroism to vanquish his mortal, and stronger enemies.
Love Actually Director and Screenwriter: Curtis, Richard 2003 1991-2010 Romantic love, family love, filial love, and the love of friendship are of central importance to human existence, and are possible to achieve.

Wonderful experiences of love are found in many forms and places.
Owl and the Sparrow Director: Gauger, Stephane 2007 1991-2010 A child shows sweetness and strength and determination.

Searching for family, for soulmates.
Much Ado About Nothing Playwright: Shakespeare, William 1993 1991-2010 United States Sweetness and light and beauty are what the world is made of.
High Noon Director: Zinnemann, Fred 1952 1951-1970 There is palpable evil in the world. There is heroism in the face of evil in the world. The movie is full of fear and foreboding and betrayal.

Civil Society is the ideal, and worth fighting for. Doing what is right is the right way to live. Don't let the evil bastards win. The theme is expressed repeatedly in the movie via the contrast of the Marshall who grimly faces the need to do what he lives for, despite the death facing him, vs. the mealy mouthed town folk, many of which who won't fight for their civil society, and vs. the deputy marshall who portrays the sellout who will give into evil force in order to "get along".
Godfather Director: Coppola Francis Ford 1972 1971-1990 United States Life demands death; life is a horror of killing and retribution. Life is tragedy and malevolence

Behind beauty and success lies corruption and death.
3 Idiots Screenwriter: Chopra Vidhu Vinod 2009 1991-2010 United States Life can be fun and productive and exciting. As is true in some other Bollywood features, this story and the ideas behind it about pursuing the good life, has an honesty and clarity and benevolence that is not part of the U.S. movie scene.

Be what you want to be; follow your passion in life
A Few Good Men Director: Reiner, Rob 1992 1991-2010 United States Justice should be fought for, needs to be fought for and can be fragile.

Commitment to a moral code is central to a good man's life.
Two Family House Director: De Felitta, Raymond 2000 1991-2010 United States Feelings of benevolence and optimism about life. Happiness comes from making choices for your own good.

Going after what you want in life; Don't be stopped by conventional standards of the people around you. It takes courage to be selfish.
City Island De Felitta, Raymond 2009 1991-2010 United States Anxiety and pain from all the lies and mistaken motives. Catharsis from the climax, leading to feelings of wanting to be truthful in life!

Lying is not the way to live.
Greystoke Director: Hudson, Hugh 1984 1971-1990 United States Life is Loss -- life is grim and culture is grim and the jungle is grim. All is grim.

The other important feature of the film emotionally is that Tarzan has been crippled by his circumstances of being brought up in the jungle -- he cannot live as a man, so the great tragedy of the story is that he has to return to the jungle, which is below primitive -- it is an isolated hell in which death is at every corner, and at best the companionship of apes. Given that the story partly portrays civilized men as brutes who relish killing animals, perhaps the emotional intent is to make the choice to return to the jungle as positive, but for this reviewer it is unutterably tragic and ugly.

Loss, Loss, Loss. Man as metaphysically alien from human culture.
Wall Street Director: Stone, Oliver 1987 1971-1990 United States

There are bad people in power who use ordinary people as pawns in their endless pursuit of money.  Those who are not ruthless are sheep to be slaughtered by the rich and powerful.  Greed is bad.