Hollywood’s been cranking out guy movies long before Bruce Willis, Ah-nold, and Stallone came along. With reissues at an all-time high, there are literally thousands of titles, but five of them stand far above the rest. If you haven’t picked up any of these, your man room is painfully incomplete:

1. Bullitt

Steve McQueen is the original take-no-prisoners hardass cop, but never mind all the plot details. The reason to watch this one is the Mustang vs. Charger car chase through the streets of San Francisco. Exactly as in Quentin Tarantino’s Death Proof, there are no special effects of any kind, just stunt driving, and a hell of a lot of it.

Order the Bullitt (Two-Disc Special Edition) from Amazon now for $23.99, or add it to your Netflix queue.

2. The Dirty Dozen

Any movie with Lee Marvin in it is automatically a guy movie. In this he’s the straight-and-narrow commander of a group of WW2-era military convicts who are given a chance to clear their records by going on a suicide mission behind enemy lines. For extra man-room-movie cred, Charles Bronson and ex-NFL pro Jim Brown round out the cast of tough guys. This one is a bit slow to get started, but once it does, look out. Check out chrome-dome Telly Savalas as the religious nutcase with a chip on his shoulder-definitely one his better roles.

Order the The Dirty Dozen (Two-Disc Special Edition) from Amazon now for $19.49, or add it to your Netflix queue.

3. Hang ‘Em High

No manly movie list would be complete without at least one Clint Eastwood picture. This movie start off with Clint behing hanged! Any cowboy who lives to tell stories about that one has got to be a badass, right? Clint winds up as a lawman charged with bringing back the dudes who strung him up. Bruce Dern, who always manages to play nutcases and oddballs shows up in this in an excellent role as one of the bad guys. You probably overlooked this movie in favor of A Fistful Of Dollars or Dirty Harry, but you owe it to yourself to check this one too.

Order the Hang ‘em High from Amazon now for $9.99, or add it to your Netflix queue.

4. The Wild Bunch

The ultimate cowboy movie. William Holden is the leader of a truly desperate gang of outlaws who are on one last run through the country. Holden knows his days are numbered and tries to cash in before the boom comes down. Any movie that begins with the opening line, “If they move, kill ‘em!” is a tough-guy flick of the highest order. There are no good guys, it’s all mean, shootin’ and cussin’ bad guys wall to wall. Who NEEDS a good guy? Every gun battle ever filmed after this one came out is a throwback to The Wild Bunch. This caused quite a stir when it was first released, thanks in part to director Sam Peckinpah’s use of slow motion, really big bloody bullet hits, and bit of the old ultraviolence.

Order the The Wild Bunch - The Original Director’s Cut (Two-Disc Special Edition) from amazon now for $14.99, or add it to your Netflix queue.

5. Dawn Of The Dead

We’re talking about the original here, not the recent remake. Sure, this one looks 70s as hell and the zombies look cheesy now compared to modern-day special effects, but this movie kicks ass. It’s funny, it’s grotty, and it has a great climactic bikers-versus-zombies orgy of special effects. What other movie gives you bikers versus zombies? Watch these so-called tough guys scream like little girls when the zombies are tearing them limb from limb! In spite of some cheesy moments, the special effects in this one still make people cringe. Rent this back to back with 28 Days Later and you’ll have a great time.

Order the Dawn of the Dead (Divimax Edition) from Amazon now for $12.49, or add it to your Netflix queue.

Thanks to CinemaMasterpieces.com for the poster images.

Did we miss a great film? Add yours in the comments!