There's a special thrill in seeing your reality reflected back to you on a giant screen, as The Fugitive, The Blues Brothers, A League of Their Own, and so many other Chicago movies have done for me as a lifelong Chicagoan.

Chicago is second to none for welcoming the most colorful movie characters, including the fugitive doctors, future presidents, and truant teenagers that fill out our list.

With its pure youthful exuberance and uninhibited joy, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off just feels like a summer movie.

Movies have captured these important years as well as any art form, offering plenty to connect with across generations.

In a genre stacked with iconic, nostalgic, and unforgettable films, we did our best to pick from the heart and speak to why our Top 10 High School Movies are so important to us and the culture at large.