14 must-watch classics that are coming to HBO Max in September

In the same year Tom Cruise wowed audiences in "Risky Business," he also showed a different side of his acting ability in this drama where he delivers an emotionally-charged performance.

Playing a hard-headed high school football player who clashes with his coach (Craig T. Nelson), Cruise proves he's a standout actor of his generation.

Terrance Malick's beautiful feature directing debut stars Martin Sheen and Sissy Spacek as a couple who go on a killing spree in South Dakota.

The movie would showcase what would become trademarks in the Malick filmography for years to come: lush photography and a beautiful score that pulls in the audience.

Michael Jai White delivers a performance that is both explosive and hilarious as he celebrates the blaxploitation genre with the character Black Dynamite.

As we follow his quest to take down The Man, we watch the storytelling by director Scott Sanders that is so authentic of the era you would think this movie wasn't released in 2009 but in the late 1970s.

Kevin Costner plays a by-the-book bodyguard who is hired to stand guard over R&B star Rachel Marron (Whitney Houston) who has a deadly stalker. What transpires is a unique love story that's elevated thanks to the talents and chemistry of Costner and Houston.

Regardless if you are a Kevin Smith fan or not, you have to tip your cap to what he does here in his debut feature. Smith captures what it was like to be a 20-something in the 1990s, which was an era filled with indecision even though everything was handed to you.

Though Francis Ford Coppola is praised for his "The Godfather" movies and "Apocalypse Now," you could make the argument that this is his most perfect movie.

From the grounded performance by Gene Hackman to the cinematography, score, and editing, every aspect of this movie about a surveillance expert who grows a conscience while spying on a couple is done to perfection.

Sidney Lumet's classic stars Al Pacino and John Cazale as two men who decide to rob a bank, but things get out of hand when it becomes a hostage situation that draws the attention of the media.

Suddenly Pacino's character, Sonny, becomes the face of resistance in an era where authority figures were thought of as the enemy by many.

Matthew Broderick and Reese Witherspoon shine in this different kind of high school movie.

Broderick plays a high school teacher whose personal life is spiraling out of control and it spreads into his work when he becomes obsessed with taking down the overachieving Tracy Flick (Witherspoon) who is running for student body president.

In one of the best thrillers ever made — thanks to its mix of erotica and terror — Michael Douglas plays a man who has a one-night stand with Glenn Close that leads to horrific repercussions when she begins to stalk him.

Marking the only movie in which Eddie Murphy has a directing credit, he creates a hilarious period comedy that stars Richard Pryor as the owner of an illegal gambling house. Murphy stars as his right-hand-man who must go up against gangsters and corrupt cops to stay in business.

One of Oliver Stone's essential movies, Kevin Costner plays New Orleans DA Jim Garrison who charges a businessman in a conspiracy to assassinate President John F. Kennedy.

Though based on a true event, Stone weaves a fantastic tale that mixes in many of the theories behind the death of JFK.

Morgan Freeman plays Joe Clark, the new principal of a school in New Jersey that has been overtaken by gang violence and unmotivated teachers.

Freeman delivers a powerful performance as a man driven to prove to kids who feel worthless that they have a purpose in the world.

Kathryn Bigelow's thriller about a group of surfers who rob banks and the FBI agent who tries to take them down is still an essential watch.

What makes the movie such a classic are the performances by Patrick Swayze as the ring leader of the robbers and Keanu Reeves as the FBI agent who goes undercover to infiltrate the gang. The evolution of the characters' friendship and eventual respect — despite being on opposite sides of the law — is a combo that is hard to capture in a movie like this.

In this Adam Sandler classic, we are thrust back to the 1980s. Sandler plays the top wedding singer in New Jersey, Robbie Hart, but things get complicated when he falls for Julia (Drew Barrymore), who is about to get married though she also has feelings for Robbie, too.

It leads to a hilarious journey for true love, done Sandler style.

These movies are available to watch as part of an HBO Max subscription when you sign up for $14.99 per month. (When you subscribe to a service through our links, we may earn money from our affiliate partners.)