I enjoy movies that reflect life from the mid-50s to the early 60s (not necessarily filmed in that time period). For example, I love the movies "The Outsiders" and "Rebel Without a Cause." I have recently started a collection of such movies as a hobby. I would be interested in movies you have enjoyed that reflect the culture of those years, even when baptized in extreme nostalgia (like American Graffiti). Thanks for the help.

One movie which well describes the '50s is James Bridges' September 30, 1955 starring Richard Thomas and detailing the effect the death of James Dean has on a young man and his friends. It's interesting to look at the 1950s from a 1970s perspective, especially since the film is basically autobiographical.

Others I enjoy about the '50s include all the music biographies of the time, including The Buddy Holly Story, La Bamba, Coal Miner's Daughter, Great Balls of Fire!, American Hot Wax, etc. You've also got cool movies like Diner, which shows the transition of boys to men and the '50s to the '60s, and Blackboard Jungle, which even if hokey in some ways, still seems pertinent to today's school and youth.

This topic is extremely huge, so I'll wait for you to comment before I go into other things such as the Cold War, McCarthyism, Space Exploration and Aliens from Outer Space, Foreign Films, etc.

Without thinking too hard(it is Friday after all, and I was born in 1977), two that come to mind are Far from Heaven and Back to the Future.