Here we are at the end of our odyssey, picking up the pieces and tackling a few remaining masterpieces with a savage abandon. Together we’ve conquered all the fears of genre, era, and nationality and can measure each film by equal criteria. This is what’s left of your initial tutelage in film history if you will.
Now because this is the all of the above list, I don’t necessarily want to make the point that these films are less than their predecessors, somehow not as important as the films populating the first three tiers. True enough not all films are created equal and even amongst the greatest some just tower over others. That isn’t my way of belittling the films left for the final installment. Nor am I necessarily saving the best for last and assuming that only with the most refined cultural palette can you successfully navigate through this last treacherous path (that was reserved for the third tier). I may even be a bit guilty of being arbitrary at least with this post. Maybe some of these films could have fit into one of the other tiers, but perhaps I was trying too hard to make the above groups easier to digest, so that said there are a lot more films in this list than the others. If you want to do the math, simply add up all the first tier films and subtract that by 100.
Since I have a whole lot of mini-capsule reviews to do I’ll try to make the exposition short and make a few summary points. First off, this is a list of inclusion not seclusion. This list should not be defined by what is left off, but rather by what is on it. I know that there are a few films that might make you scratch your head or throw up your hands in disgust, but try to resist the urge in defaming the whole project because one of your sacred cinematic treasures is absent. Perhaps someday I may revisit the concept and add something of a supplemental or further viewing list. There are a lot more great films where these come from and in many cases one film is standing in for many others. This should be a gateway to those other worlds. All of these films are available in some capacity (might have to search a little harder for some and even dust off your old VCR on one or two occasions) and well since I’ve seen them all you should be able to as well. I didn’t write one of those 1001 Movies to See Before You Die lists that would take a large majority of you decades to finish, this is simply 100, so it can be done.
With all that said, feel free to let me hear it if I dropped the ball in dramatic fashion with this list. There are a lot of films that I’m kicking myself for leaving off and a few that I can’t honestly say I have a 100% confidence in their selection. It’s not an exact science, but I feel I’ve done as good a job as anyone could have, what say you?
Fourth Tier
Annie Hall (1977) - Dir. Woody Allen
Where to put Woody Allen has been a topic I’ve debated for awhile. First tier status seemed a bit high, and well this film isn’t terribly esoteric or even depressing, so well here he is. Woody Allen is a household name, often times for the wrong reason, but when staring at his never ending filmography you may wonder just where the hell to start. So I say start with Annie Hall, it’s hilarious, it’s genius, and it’s well liked by just about everyone whose seen a Woody Allen film. Diane Keaton was never better and this helped set up the second and most successful phase of Allen’s career that took him from comedian to full fledged auteur.
Ashes and Diamonds (1958) - Dir. Andrzej Wajda
I’ll come out and say it, this is the best Polish movie ever made. In fact this might be the best foreign film of the 50s, a decade that saw the emergence of Kurosawa, Ray, and Bergman. Wajda’s film was the final part in a trilogy that shares a common theme but isn’t one in terms of plot and character. It tells of the final 24 hours of WWII where two people find themselves exchanging Nazis for communists and wondering what the point of it all was. Shot with intricate staging and tons of deep focus compositions it has a very distinct look and feel to it and helped establish a major Polish national cinema.
Bonnie and Clyde (1967) - Dir. Arthur Penn
Bridging the gap between the French New Wave and America’s re-emergence in the 70s was Bonnie and Clyde. Ignored and largely dismissed when it was first released, in the following months it gained enough steam to get 10 Oscar nominations. The film broke new ground in cinematic violence and it’s style helped usher in a new wave for American filmmakers who were now asserting themselves as distinctive cinematic voices like their much lauded European counterparts. Even though the story of Bonnie and Clyde had been told several times already this version would prove to be the most iconic and enduring of all lovers on the run movies.
Children of Paradise (1945) - Dir. Marcel Carne
Considered by many to be the “Gone with the Wind of French Cinema” this film was one of the wonders of creation. How a picture of this magnitude and scale was filmed under Nazi occupation is still baffling today. It is the final culmination in a very prosperous collaboration between filmmaker Carne and screenwriter Jacques Prevert who helped define the poetic realism movement in the previous decade. It tells of an epic period love triangle that is well so much more about life and art and everything under the sun. Like a good epic this moves at a very brisk pace and finds a way to still leave you full and simultaneously wanting more. One of the greatest triumphs of all French cinema.
Chinatown (1974) - Dir. Roman Polanski
The best known director to emerge from the new and improved Polish film industry wound up not being Wajda but Roman Polanski. His notoriety is the stuff of legend but before all that he found himself directing a string of astonishing films on the other side of the Atlantic. One of the high points of Robert Evans tenure as head or production at Paramount, Chinatown was a period piece that helped define and set the bar for what was to be called neo-noir. It was intense, violent, and sordid in all the best ways, perhaps the best of all detective films and featuring iconic performances from Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, and even a very memorable scene with Polanski himself. The film helps explain at least one theory as to how LA got to be where it is today.
Do the Right Thing (1989) - Dir. Spike Lee
In the late 80s Spike Lee led something of a revolution in black cinema. Mixing the personal projects of Charles Burnett with the action of Gordon Parks, Lee crafted a cinema that was truly unique and inspired a wave of contemporaries to follow in his footsteps. Do the Right Thing is in all honesty a little dated when it comes to the fashion and music, but it’s message is as powerful as ever. Taking place over a very hot and tumultuous summer day in Brooklyn it is a parable for all the racial tension facing the nation and looks ahead to some of the riots that would happen in LA in particular a few years later. Malcolm X might be a better film, but hard to say this one wasn’t more important.
Some Like it Hot (1959) - Dir. Billy Wilder
Yeah I wanted to put this in the first tier. Considered by many to be the funniest film of all time this is undoubtedly the greatest film Marilyn Monroe was ever associated with (that means you All About Eve) and the comedic high point of arguably the 20th century’s greatest screen director of comedies, Billy Wilder. Wilder got his start in Germany and when he came to the US became one of the top writers of screwball comedies at Paramount. Once he became a director in his own right he went to great lengths to establish his abilities as a dramatic filmmaker (Double Indemnity, The Lost Weekend, Sunset Boulevard) but when he played a film just for laughs he proved that he was still better at it than anyone.
Duck Soup (1933) - Dir. Leo McCarey
There are still a few people who claim A Night at the Opera is the best Marx Brothers movie. To them I say to hell with that. Duck Soup was the brothers at the end of their stint at Paramount where they had made the successful transition from stage to screen and in the process becoming Hollywood’s top comedians. Duck Soup however was a bit of a departure in that there was no musical interlude featuring Chico on piano and Harpo on harp. Perhaps because of this the film seems to fly by all the quicker and even after a few viewings its hard to catch all the jokes. It’s said that director McCarey simply sat back and let the brothers do their thing, and in that case he knew just what he was doing. Archaic and insane comedy has never been funnier than in the hands of these brothers.
Frankenstein/The Bride of Frankenstein (1931/1935) Dir. James Whale
There are only two absolutes in the world, every horror film will be remade and every horror film will get a sequel. This has been the way of the world since the 1930s when Universal established itself as the leaders in screen horror. At the hands of James Whale (who also directed The Old Dark House and Invisible Man) the genre achieved it’s greatest early success with Frankenstein. Made before synchronized scores were added to films it is a masterpiece of gothic horror. Bride for my money is even better and will easily top all lists as the best horror movie sequel ever. By 1935 Whale decided to up the camp factor a little and there are some scenes that are downright hilarious. Universal would start to scale back the budgets on these monster movies after Bride so it’s also a relic to see one of the last horror films treated as an A-picture for several decades. Indispensable and must-see’s every Halloween.
The General (1927) Dir. Clyde Bruckman and Buster Keaton
Chaplin vs. Keaton is a debate that will never fully be decided one way or the other, and don’t think that Chaplin being in the first tier and Keaton in the fourth means that I’m playing favorites. Buster Keaton’s brand of humor has aged better than perhaps any silent performer, the great stoneface was as devoid of emotion as you can be, a far cry from the usual outrageous pantomime associated with silent cinema. The General was one of his most ambitious and best films before sound and a bad deal with MGM took away his creative freedom. It is also the last of the Civil War films on our list and certainly the funniest of those, as if there was any competition. Keaton plays a train conductor determined to enlist in the confederacy who is turned down for his obvious lack of physical size, but he does more than his share to save the day. Keaton was a master of building an entire feature film around a set as he did with the boat in The Navigator and here with a train. This is largely considered his best film and is a must see and a perfect place for anyone to start with Keaton.
The Graduate (1967) - Dir. Mike Nichols
This film really goes along with Bonnie and Clyde as being a seminal turning point in American cinema. An inexplicable hit (to movie execs anyways) that told the story of a recent college graduate who didn’t really want to do anything who happens to have a fling with an older woman, and inadvertently falls for her daughter. With a soundtrack almost as well known from Simon and Garfunkel it is a film that helped define a generation and was the breakthrough for Dustin Hoffman who went on to a pretty noteworthy career if you do recall. Mike Nichols, and unlikely auteur to be sure, was fresh off his first directorial assignment Whose Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, and helped employ all the tricks of the trade he used there and then some to tell his tale. Like Penn he helped established a new cinematic language borrowing heavily from the French but with a unique southern California flair.
The Maltese Falcon (1941) - Dir. John Huston
There is some debate as to where the film noir got it’s start. An infamous style of American cinema based around the detective film but with a dark overtone that was readily embraced by French critics in the postwar era. John Huston, whose father was already Hollywood royalty got his start as a screenwriter before being given his first assignment as a director. Huston joined Orson Welles in 1941 as a director who arguably started at the top. He would certainly make some more great films, but well few films are ever as good as The Maltese Falcon, based on the book of the same name by Dashiell Hammett. It had already been adapted twice before with less than memorable results, but once Humphrey Bogart assumed the role of Sam Spade he became the screen's most iconic private eye. All the trappings of noir were here with the murders, double crosses, the femme fatale, and enough twists and turns to make your head spin. Compulsively re-watchable this has always been one of my absolute favorites.
Nashville (1975) - Dir. Robert Altman
If you’ve ever wondered what is meant by the term “Altman-esque” then see Nashville. The ultimate film from Robert Altman who helped establish his own free flowing improvisational cinematic language, preferably with a massive interweaving cast. This tells the tale of roughly two dozen people converging in Nashville who intermingle and interact without any discernible plot but everything does tie together with a quaint and somewhat radical political candidate whose slogans and messages pop up throughout the city and around all kinds of characters. It is an epic of Americana, like the best novels it lets us into the lives however briefly of a number of seemingly unrelated people. Altman at his best.
Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead (1968/1978) - Dir. George A. Romero
Zombies have been a cultural mainstay for so many years now that it might seem odd to realize that there was a lot of ambiguity as to what they actually were. The term used to mean sort of brain dead, then the living dead, but it wasn’t until Romero shot his landmark low budget film that the flesh eating zombie earned its proper place in the lexicon of horror. Over the next decade various filmmakers offered their own take on zombies, some rather faithful others varying dramatically, but when Romero returned to the source for his Dawn of the Dead a decade later he forever cemented the modern screen zombie. Even more important however was the generation of filmmakers Romero inspired who emerged from their own do it yourself film school. For years Roger Corman was the apprenticeship for future filmmakers with his low budget often cheesy horror films. Romero circumvented this and in the meantime helped open the door for directors like Wes Craven, John Carpenter, Tobe Hooper, and countless others. These are still arguably the most important independent horror films ever made, and you can make the argument that Romero’s original Dead film is the ultimate independent movie period regardless of genre. Undoubtedly a landmark, go ask somebody.
The Bicycle Thief (1948) - Dir. Vittorio De Seca
It can be said that De Seca was a bit of a sentimentalist. Better known as an actor in Italy he turned to directing in 1944 when he made the seminal The Children are Watching Us, then followed it up with the neo-realist landmark Shoehine. The Bicycle Thief continued his theme of child protagonists but focused more on a powerful father/son dynamic as the pair search the city for a stolen bicycle necessary for their very livelihood. Shot on location with non-professional actors for many this would be the crowning achievement in Italy’s most famous film movement and the film for which De Seca would always be known. It’s impossible not to feel something watching this and its one of those great life affirming films that make you glad to have whatever you have, particularly family.
Los Olvidados (1950) - Dir. Luis Bunuel
I put this film right after The Bicycle Thief for a reason. Bunuel rejected the notion of the “noble poor”. He believed that the people dwelling in the lower rungs of society deserved to be their for whatever reason and just when redemption was in sight they’d more often than not spit in it’s face. This was something of an international comeback for Bunuel, who after making the landmark avant-garde films Un Chien Andalou and L’Age D’Or found himself bouncing around in exile and settling eventually in Mexico where he directed a few forgettable films. This firmly re-established him as the cinema’s foremost surrealist but also served as the most potent antidote to the over sentimentalized Italian cinema that was garnering so much critical attention. His kids here are horrible people, and even when they victimize others, the people victimized seem to deserve it. No one is good in this world and they all deserve one another.
Sullivan’s Travels (1941) - Dir. Preston Sturges
When it comes to screen comedy few directors ever had a role quite like Preston Sturges. Like Billy Wilder he got his start as a Paramount scriptwriter before finally getting a chance to direct in 1940. Over the next five years he made 8 films and with the exception of The Great Moment all can be considered comic masterpieces. Sullivan’s Travels is about a filmmaker who makes comedies that wants to tell a serious picture about the common man called O Brother, Where Art Thou? Along the way the film which is a thinly disguised allegory for Sturges’ own career he discovers that the common man really wants to laugh more than anything else. Touching and hilarious this is probably the best all around film Sturges made with a few self deprecating jabs at Hollywood movie execs thrown in for good measure and an iconic Veronica Lake who was very much pregnant while filming.
Rebel Without a Cause (1955) - Dir. Nicholas Ray
Few stars ever burned brighter and shorter than James Dean. Featured in only three major feature films, this was released right after his untimely death and would be the picture he would always be most associated with. It’s director Nicholas Ray was nothing short of a god to the French New Wave and he would never come close to having a critical and commercial success like this. The film is iconic as much to cinephiles for Ray’s sake as Dean's. I may lean more towards East of Eden as the best film featuring James Dean, but this is certainly the most essential. It also contains probably everything you’ll ever need to know about troubled 50s teens. Simply put movies weren’t made like this before. Never before had films shown teenagers simply being lost without having any real reason. It was the best of a number of styles and one that would forever cement it’s star’s status as a cinematic legend and icon.
E. T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982) - Dir. Steven Spielberg
From the time Jaws redefined the Hollywood blockbuster Steven Spielberg’s reputation as a master entertainer was solid. After monstrous successes with Close Encounters and Raiders of the Lost Ark further added to this it was a valid point to wonder where he would go next. He scored his biggest hit with E. T. which became Hollywood’s top grossing film for a good 15 years and was his ultimate triumph. Another of those films that everyone should have seen by now it is his most accessible film and captures all the wide eyed wonder of his love of science fiction and ever eager kids. There are moments where you might think it’s corny (and I say stay away from the 20th anniversary "special" edition), but there’s an honest to goodness sincerity that just wins you over the same way Frank Capra’s films did in the 30s.
Top Hat (1935) - Dir. Mark Sandrich
It’s been awhile since we had a musical on here and I apologize for that. The dynamic duo of Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers have comfortably assumed their roles as the screen musicals most famous pair. Admittedly the plots of their films somewhat blended together, but none of their films were funnier or better remembered than Top Hat (with Swing Time running a close second). This represented a style of musicals in the 30s of pure escapism, even real locations seem slightly surreal with their highly stylized settings. The songs are as iconic as any musical would have, highlighted by “Cheek to Cheek”, and well it’s just damn funny. Definitely the first film I would recommend for someone wanting to know what Fred and Ginger were all about.
Sansho the Bailiff (1954) - Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi
Although Mizoguchi has long been known and respected in his native Japan since the silent era, he didn’t really break out in the US until the 50s when Ugetsu earned a few Oscar nominations. Sansho the Bailiff made a year later is his most devastating film and arguably his best. Mizoguchi didn’t really make cheerful films and forewarning should be told, but compositionally he had no equal in all of cinema history, and you can make the argument that this was his finest hour. The majority of Mizoguchi’s later work were period pictures and this is no exception but those expecting an action packed samurai film will be highly let down. It is perhaps the cinema’s greatest indictment of slavery ever depicted and a must see for any serious movie fanatic.
The Wild Bunch (1969) - Dir. Sam Peckinpah
As American filmmaking was changing at the end of the 60s Sam Peckinpah let out one last extremely violent outburst with a cast of old timers. The Wild Bunch starts and ends with two bravura sequences that establish this west not as a land of charismatic outlaws defending the honor of ladies and fighting Indians but a pack of thieves who don’t think twice about shooting someone in their way. The men do decide to make a rather foolish stand to help save what’s left of their soul, which is probably too late to do any good but what a finish. It is fitting that the film takes place near the start of WWI, which says more about the end of an era both for these characters and the American western in general.
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) - Dir. Sergio Leone
Even before The Wild Bunch helped put the nail in the Western coffin, Sergio Leone was deconstructing and reinventing the genre, in his wake inspiring a host of imitators for what is now referred to as the spaghetti western. The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly was the third of an unrelated trilogy and the crowning achievement for Leone and his star Clint Eastwood who had been drifting around in TV shows before hooking up with Leone. This film was an epic that deals in part with a trio of people who simultaneously inhabit all three of the title characters during the Civil War (ok I lied there was another film on this list). There is no end to how far one person would go to screw over the other or what alliances could be made when gold is involved. It’s score is still the stuff of legend and it’s possible that no director knew how to fill a widescreen frame quite like Leone. Hell this might be the best western film ever made.
The Battle of Algiers (1966) - Dir. Gillo Pontecorvo
Sometimes a decade will reveal a gem that is anything but new. Following a restoration of this monumental film, The Battle of Algiers got a re-release in theaters and a grand deluxe Criterion treatment. Some people who had only seen the film in a horribly worn out VHS tape were amazed at the film they found. The film’s politics are very much relevant as the similarities between France and Algeria not only matched the US’s own involvement in Vietnam, but our current situation in the Middle East. It opened the door for what would later be called guerilla filmmaking. It’s as powerful now as ever and it remains a masterpiece of politically charged cinema.
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) - Dir. Robert Bresson
Robert Bresson has been a unique and singular treasure to French cinema for decades. An austere filmmaker who shares more in common with Carl Theodor Dreyer and even Yasujiro Ozu than his own countrymen cinematically. Balthazar like The Battle of Algiers was largely forgotten about for quite a while. Most of Bresson’s films were released on VHS at some point in time, this however was one of the exceptions. Then by the grace of god it was brought back to theaters and finally put out on DVD. I’m not lying when I say I was completely spellbound and couldn’t move from my seat in the theater after the first time I saw it, I believe the word for it is transcendental. You can make a case for Diary of a Country Priest, A Man Escaped, or Pickpocket, but to me there is no Bresson film better than Balthazar.
The Conformist (1970) - Dir. Bernardo Bertolucci
Bridging the gap between the French new wave and the new school of Italian cinema was Bernardo Bertolucci. After a few flashes of greatness in the 60s he made The Conformist, about a man in Fascist Italy that wants nothing more than to go with the flow and not draw attention to himself. Amazing how decades of war films about the extraordinary and the unique figures of the war seem to pale in comparison to this film about a faceless cog in the machine. It would be Bertolucci’s big breakthrough. He would achieve greater notoriety with Last Tango in Paris, and eventually get an Oscar for The Last Emperor, but The Conformist is to me his best film and without it those other films most likely would have never happened. Shot brilliantly by Vittorio Storaro (who would later shoot Apocalypse Now) and featuring one of cinema’s greatest female on female dance scenes it is as good as it gets.
The Mother and the Whore (1973) - Dir. Jean Eustache
In the wake of the French new wave there emerged a new group of filmmakers. Post-new wavers if you will and none of these director's stars burned brighter and shorter than Jean Eustache. The Mother and the Whore is a powerful epic of a love triangle and the reasons so many relationships fail. A reality check for the “love generation” and a uniquely personal film that opened the door for many to follow. Eustache was in unique company here and if I may be so presumptuous I don’t think there has been another French film made since that’s better.
Double Indemnity (1944) - Dir. Billy Wilder
The Maltese Falcon may have gotten the ball rolling, but like Open City, Breathless, and The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari no film defined a movement quite like Double Indemnity. It is the ultimate template and blueprint for the film noir. Based on a James M. Cain book of the same name, it tells of an insurance man who gets mixed up with a cool and extremely manipulative woman that finds himself committing murder on her behalf. In the wake of Citizen Kane Hollywood developed a vogue for darker films, and this is one of the darkest, with entire scenes shot in shadow. It has an ongoing narration, a framing device, and everything you’d expect from the seedier side of life, this is noir 101 people.
Goodfellas (1990) - Dir. Martin Scorsese
After directing what was almost unanimously considered the best film of the 80s it was a wonder where Scorsese could go from there. He simply directed what is arguably the best film of the 90s and the best known and respected gangster film since The Godfather. Scorsese’s film never has a dull moment and is as compulsively re-watchable as anything he has made. Joe Pesci’s performance earned him an Oscar, in which he delivered the Academy’s shortest speech ever given. Unfortunately it has influenced a lot of lesser films in it’s wake, but for anyone wanting to know what a great film about the mob is like, look no further than here.
The Thin Blue Line (1988) - Dir. Errol Morris
From his quaint debut about fanatic pet owners and the afterlife Gates of Heaven it was clear Errol Morris was a different kind of documentary filmmaker. His subjects though were typically on the slightly lighter side, dealing with more eccentric types and marginal members of society. When he made The Thin Blue Line in 1988 though he investigated a crime that he felt was overlooked. In the process he got an innocent man released from jail and forever demonstrated the power of film. His use of highly stylized re-enactments would be copied time and time again throughout crime shows and other films but believe it or not it was quite innovative at the time. He has proven himself time and again as the most important documentary filmmaker of his generation (sorry Michael Moore).
Syndromes and a Century (2006) - Dir. Apichatpong Weerasethakul
While looking back on the last decade one filmmaker stands out more than any other and that’s Apichatpong Weerasethakul. Now don’t worry too much on how to pronounce his name, but do yourself a favor and check out his films. Like a few Asian filmmakers he was trained in the US and when he went back to Thailand he single-handedly put his country on the cinematic map with his first film The Mysterious Object at Noon. With Blissfully Yours and Tropical Malady he only cemented his status as a major figure in world cinema. Syndromes was a next step forward and was arguably his best and most perfectly realized film. His cinema is one of patience and don’t be too alarmed if you find yourself comfortably lulled to sleep (particularly at the end of Blissfully Yours which is almost too peaceful for it’s own good). There’s a method to his madness here and he has proven himself as international cinema’s most important director to emerge from the past decade.
Fargo (1996) - Dir. Joel and Ethan Coen
Everyone has a favorite Coen brothers film. For some it’s the Big Lebowski, others Blood Simple, Raising Arizona, Miller’s Crossing, Barton Fink, etc. In 1996 though you had to be living under a rock to not know about Fargo. An instant classic that was about as acclaimed as any film in it’s day it forever cemented the Coens as masters of the modern serio-comic noir. Capturing all the idiosyncrasies of life in North Dakota, it is at turns bleak and hilarious, a duality that they would perfect throughout their careers. It seems to me a fitting a place as any to start with the brother’s filmography.
The Piano (1993) - Dir. Jane Campion
Alright so I’m sexist. One film out of 100 was directed by a woman. You can also say I’m prejudiced as this is the only film from the Australian continent. For those two reasons The Piano can seem to take on extra significance and importance. Following Sweetie and An Angel at My Table though The Piano was the high water mark for Campion. It was powerful, popular, and acclaimed earning Oscars for both Holly Hunter and a very young Anna Paquin. It is essential for more reasons than “it was directed by a woman”. Still it was something a breakthrough at the time, and only recently with Kathryn Biegelow’s Oscar for The Hurt Locker has that wall started to come down a bit. So before you start mentioning The Lord of the Rings to me, I suggest watching this film that put New Zealand on the cinematic map a decade before.
Toy Story/Toy Story 2 (1995/1999) - Dir. John Lassetter
Ok so maybe I could include the third and complete the trilogy but what of it? Replacing Disney’s regular animation department was Pixar whose Toy Story set a new standard in animation. It was hinted at the time that this would be the new way for animated features to go, but few could have predicted what an impact the film would have and the quite impressive credits it’s studio would put out. Toy Story remains their greatest legacy and the one that got it all started. Amazing to think that Disney wanted to make the sequel straight to video (as was their style with all sequels) but opted instead to go all in and in some people’s minds surpassed the original. You can consider this a collective spot for Pixar but few animated films have ever carried as much weight as the first two Toy Story films.
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - Dir. Various
Speaking of important animated features, hard to argue any were as vital as Snow White. Now truth be told Lotte Reiner’s The Adventures of Prince Achmed was made a decade earlier, but at the time it seemed quite a gamble. After all Disney was well known for producing short films and he already had a memorable cast of characters. A feature length cartoon however seemed like a preposterous concept. Not only was it a success though but helped open the door for other (and ultimately better) films like Fantasia, Pinocchio, Dumbo, and Bambi. For better or worse the Disney empire is what it is, but this film is absolutely indispensable, and probably the most iconic in all of American animation.
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) - Dir. Lewis Milestone
Alright, objectivity aside I had to include this film. All Quiet on the Western Front is more than just the best film about World War I ever made, it’s the best war film ever, and damn near the best film period. Lewis Milestone freed the camera from early sound restrictions and got it moving again. His tracking shots were intricate, his camera movements ambitious, the editing dynamic everything about this film showed no signs of being hampered by technological restrictions. Perhaps the films best quality though is the fact that in 1930 there was no synchronized music score. Knowing film music of the day it’s quite possible that a score could have ruined a few scenes, but the ending is positively devastating without an extra sound to be heard. Perhaps my reason for saying this is essential is because simply put everyone should see this film, particularly anyone with a mind to invade another country.
The Cremator (1968) - Dir. Juraj Herz
Of all the Eastern European nations to have their own film movements in the 50s and 60s Czechoslovakia was the most interesting one. Lasting really less than 5 years it produced some of the best films of the decade, culminating in back to back best foreign language film Academy Awards. Banned instantly and neglected for decades, The Cremator has since been rediscovered as one of the best films of the era, if not the best. It employs all the trademarks of the movement including that distinct sense of morbid humor. The film is dark yet at times comical it was the most criminally overlooked film of the era and one that is now getting it’s proper respect.
Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (1932) - Dir. Howard Hawks
Well of the three main gangster films of the early 30s, the most notorious was Howard Hawks’ Scarface. It’s violence trumped Little Caesar and The Public Enemy, it’s lead was anything but sympathetic, and it’s banned status following enforcement of the production code only helped add to it’s legend. I may also point out this is the only Howard Hawks film on this list, one of America’s greatest directors who wasn’t readily associated with gangster pictures. His direction is incredible from opening shot to the last final dark shootout. It would be the most notorious of the early gangster pictures and not surprisingly many people’s favorite.
Floating Clouds (1955) - Dir. Mikio Naruse
Perhaps greatest on the list of rediscoveries made in the past decade was of Mikio Naruse. Largely forgotten and neglected Japan’s golden age was known for it’s big three (Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, and Ozu). Naruse had a grand total of three films released on VHS and was considered an also ran at best. Then following a massive restoration of his surviving films, a traveling retrospective, and some pristine DVD prints (most of which were admittedly released overseas) the film loving public had to make that trio a foursome. Since Naruse’s rediscovery is still something rather recent it’s still open for debate which of his films is his defining masterpiece, but even after several decades the same debate can rage with the other three. For my money (and other people for that matter) his best film is Floating Clouds, a powerful post war drama that came during the golden age and is easily among Japan’s greatest films.
Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail (1974) - Dir. Terry Gilliam and Terry Jones
British film seems to get neglected a lot in lists like this. Don’t worry there’s more to come, but comedies also seem to get relegated to supporting status at best. Call it a bit of personal preference but I will submit Holy Grail as the funniest film ever made. There are so many jokes in this film that even after 30 viewings I still find myself catching new stuff. Borrowing a lot from the style of their groundbreaking Flying Circus show this is also one of if not the most avant-garde comedy ever made. They made a point of making every moment of the film hilarious from the opening credits to the end rarely is their a break for anything serious. I’ll never be able to say enough great things about this film.
Aguirre, The Wrath of God (1972) - Dir. Werner Herzog
For several decades German film didn’t amount to much internationally. A few films earned some local honors but to the outside world no one really paid any attention. Then in the mid-sixties a new movement started to arise, led by Alexander Kluge and quickly following were Volker Schlondorff, Jean-Marie Straub and Daniele Huillet, Wim Wenders, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, and Werner Herzog. Not too surprisingly the films found themselves more popular abroad than at home and the directors themselves became as distinct characters as the people in their films. Perhaps none more so than Werner Herzog whose life in film seems to be a cinematic equivalent of Teddy Roosevelt. Aguirre is not only one of his most notorious films which included frequent temper tantrums from the volatile Klaus Kinski, it is easily his best. Visually it is a key influence on Apocalypse Now, and is probably the most enduring film from the memorable West German film movement.
City of God (2002) - Dir. Fernando Meirelles and Katia Lund
For my hardcore Cinema Novo fans, I apologize for picking this film to represent Brazil. For the rest of you you’re welcome. Consider it an effort to include more contemporary (ie the last decade) films on this list, but in terms of acclaim and impact it’s hard to argue if any foreign film made in the last decade was as well received. It recalls thematically a lot of the films of Brazil’s best known film movement, particularly Hector Babenco’s Pixote, with a modern aesthetic which serves as a undeniable contemporary classic. Violent, fast paced, colorful, and powerful this is more like a modern Los Olvidados. Perhaps some people prefer the more overtly political Brazilian films of Glauber Rocha or Nelson Pereira dos Santos but this is as good a place as any to dig into Brazilian cinema.
A Brighter Summer Day (1991) - Dir. Edward Yang
Some people have pointed out that there were too many “new waves” in film. I agree and virtually any country that had a minor film movement can constitute as their new wave. Taiwan was no exception and in the early 80s two directors emerged as the nation’s best, Hou Hsiao-Hsien and Edward Yang. Yang was trained in the US and returned to his native Taiwan where he made a string of great films in the 80s. After Hou’s City of Sadness in 1989, Yang perhaps felt a bit of a challenge to craft his own national epic. Taking place in the early sixties the nearly four hour film is about the displacement of the people of Taiwan who were very much a new nation following the revolution on mainland China and a good dose of classic troubled teens.
The Hour of the Furnaces (1968) - Dir. Fernando Solanas and Octavio Getino
As far as Latin American political cinema is concerned few films are as legendary or as good as The Hour of the Furnaces. After the resumption of military rule in Argentina in 1976 the film was no longer screened in Argentina or attempted to be smuggled out, leaving a few surviving prints scattered about and only adding to it’s legendary status. The film tackles the contemporary history of Argentina and filmed over three parts helps draw attention to the rampant exploitation of the natives of Argentina. Solanas was the principle organizer of the Cine Liberacion movement and this was their most important work, and on the shortlist of the most important documentaries ever made.
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) - Dir. Victor Erice
For decades after the Civil War in Spain cinema was highly censored. Beginning in the late 60s, principally with Carlos Saura’s The Hunt previously off limits subjects could now be the subject of films. Victor Erice, who only made three films over a twenty year span made perhaps Spain’s greatest film in 1973 with Spirit of the Beehive. It evokes a dream world seen through the eyes of two young sisters telling a contemporary parable for post war Spain. It is very clandestinely political and is far more allegorical and slightly surreal, it remains a must see for any fan of Spanish film, and arguably it’s nation’s most important work.
A Taste of Cherry (1997) - Dir. Abbas Kiarostami
Thanks to a bit of a lessening in censorship restraints Iranian cinema began to emerge in the 80s as cinemas newest and arguably best film movement. Two principle filmmakers towered over the rest of their countrymen, Mohsen Makhmalbaf and Abbas Kiarostami. Their films occasionally intersected with each other, particularly Makhmalbaf’s The Cyclist and Kiarostami’s Close-Up but each director strived to show a unique side of their country. Often times their films were banned domestically, and the subject of Kiarostami’s greatest international hit, A Taste of Cherry was of the taboo subject of assisted suicide. A man offers money to anyone willing to help bury him after he tries to kill himself and no one seems willing to take him up on this offer. It is simple yet beautiful and moving helps shine a light on a very misunderstood culture.
The Red Shoes (1948) - Dir. Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
In the 1940s the dynamic duo of Powell and Pressburger dominated British cinema. Their Production of the Archers produced nearly a film a year and for a nice stretch of time appeared to be able to do no wrong. In 1948 they made The Red Shoes their longest lasting contribution to cinema. One of the best looking color films of it’s day it is also the definitive film about ballet, so take that for what it’s worth. It is primarily of the obsession the artist gives to a role and the all consuming nature, with a slight bit of traditional fairy tale mixed in for good measure.
The Third Man (1949) - Dir. Carol Reed
Speaking of British film, this is considered at least by the British Film Institute to be the greatest British film ever made. It was the second of three collaborations between director Carol Reed and writer Grahame Greene and by far the most enduring. Starring Americans Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles with a very unique zither score it is the ultimate in post war black market filmmaking. Welles is as charismatic a villain as the screen had scene and he dominates the film even though he doesn’t appear for the first half of it. Due to the cast and setting it seems more international than distinctly British but this is easily Reed’s best film
La Roue (1923) - Dir. Abel Gance
Before the Soviets experimented with telling a story purely through cutting, Abel Gance made this epic. The high point of what has been named the French Impressionist movement it was Gance’s first real internaitonal success, even though like many other silent films of the day it’s length varied dramatically. The film has been restored recently to it’s best available sources, and there are some sequences where single shots last only one frame (keep in mind that a typical film has 24 frames per second). Gance would continue to push the cinematic language with Napoleon and even into the sound era, but in terms of immediate impact no other French film of the era carried as much weight.
A History of Violence (2005) - Dir. David Cronenberg
Here I am with another of those blasted contemporary films. You can argue whether this is Cronenberg’s best, certainly there are plenty of options from Shivers to Dead Ringers, but don’t think one received more positive reviews. Often times I can only select one film to represent an entire national cinema, and for that Cronenberg is standing in for all of Canadian cinema and despite the film’s American settings it was shot in Ontario same as all of Cronenberg’s films. The film is quiet and almost feels fake in it’s small town sincerity until brief flashes of violence start to erupt. Few people in film have ever been better than Cronenberg at shooting brutal violence and gore. Due to the pacing and rhythm of the film it makes the outbursts all the more startling. After a second or third viewing I would probably have to say this is his best work.
The Terminator/Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1984/1991) - Dir. James Cameron
Following Star Wars and Alien came a host of science fiction/action films in the 80s. No star of the genre was as big as Arnold Schwarzenegger (literally), and his most enduring franchise is still The Terminator. It might be because Arnold refused to make sequels, but well enough money was thrown in his lap for James Cameron’s follow up that he couldn’t refuse. Terminator 2’s effects were groundbreaking and still look a lot better than most of what’s come up since then. Linda Hamilton joined the rank of tough bad ass female action heroes that have populated Cameron’s films throughout his career (even Kate Winslet brandished and axe in Titanic). As a story the Terimantor franchise has seen what happens when Cameron isn’t involved, but these first two set the bar so high for action and science fiction that I wonder if it will ever be reached again. I mean seriously if I saw Arnold circa-1984 coming to kill me, I’d probably just defecate myself and the franchise would have been over, thankfully the people in this film were a little stronger.
A Trip to the Moon (1902) - Dir. Georges Melies
Clocking in at about 14 minutes I admit this falls far shorter than every other film on this list. However this could very well be the most important film ever made. Before Melies, films often didn’t have plots and were pretty much just shots of things. A little editing came about and Melies decided that cinema could be a great place for him to film some of his magic tricks. His most ambitious project at the time was A Trip to the Moon, complete with some narration considering title cards were yet to be used. Since the DVD version featuring narration is mind bogglingly awful to listen to I recommend trying to find a version without it or even watching it silent, the plot explains itself. You have to put on your 1902 glasses to really appreciate this film and it is still a marvel how the film was made.
The Killer (1989) Dir. John Woo
With the possible exception of India and musicals no country is more associated with a genre than Hong Kong and action films. John Woo started same as any director making kung-fu films in the 70s. After teaming up with director/producer Tsui Hark to make A Better Tomorrow in 1986 the rest was as they say history. The Killer was probably his best known or at least his most widely scene Hong Kong film. He helped set a new standard in action and one that was readily adopted by American counterparts, and like the great European filmmakers of the silent era, Hollywood figured if they can’t beat ‘em buy him, and brought Woo over following his 1992 film Hard Boiled.
Xala (1975) - Dir. Ousmane Sembene
Ousmane Sembene is the father of African cinema. Before him well there doesn’t appear to be any African cinema. Sembene was from Senegal which was a French colony so not surprisingly he learned his craft in France. After a breakthrough with Black Girl he made a few more films before eventually directing Xala, the film I consider to be his masterpiece. It is something of a black comedy as a man who is attempting to marry his third wife is afflicted with the Xala, or a curse of impotence and has to go around trying to find a cure. Most of Sembene’s films are politically motivated in some capacity, and Xala is no exception as the film deals with Senegal’s recent independence but has to come to grips that although they are no longer under French rule, they are still very much controlled by white money.
L’atalante (1934) - Dir. Jean Vigo
I’d wager to say there is no cult deity in the history of cinema as revered as Jean Vigo. Vigo who died at the age of 26 left only one full length feature film to his credit, a near feature length film called Zero for Conduct, and a few short films. L’atalante was butchered in it’s day and left to obscurity for decades before being rediscovered and restored. For many this is the greatest romantic film ever made, and others think it’s not only the best French film ever, but arguably the greatest thing to ever happen to the universe in all of history. Now that praise might seem a bit much, and perhaps you should lessen your expectations accordingly but Vigo’s film is still a curiosity to behold. Was he a tad bit overrated, certainly, does that mean this film shouldn’t be watched, certainly not.
The Decalogue (1988) - Dir. Krzysztof Kieslowski
A monumental 10 part Polish film based on each of the ten commandments this is Krzysztof Kieslowski’s most enduring contribution to world cinema. Identifying which part is on which commandment might be a little tricky but the entire project is set in one Polish apartment complex, and various characters cross paths with others in individual episodes (similar in part to his Three Colors trilogy several years later). Taken individually they are a bit bleak, but collectively they are positively devastating. It might be a bit much to tell someone to sit through a near 10 hour film, but think of it more as 10 short films and it seems a lot easier to digest, I believe it took me two days. Two of the episodes were later expanded into feature length films, A Short Film About Killing, and A Short Film About Love. It remains one of the high points of Eastern European cinema, and the last film on my list.
Now for the entire list in alphabetical order (tier listed on the right):
100 Essential Films
All Quiet on the Western Front - 4th
Aguirre the Wrath of God - 4th
Andrei Rublev - 3rd
Annie Hall - 4th
Apocalypse Now - 3rd
The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali, Aparajito, The World of Apu - 3rd
Ashes and Diamonds - 4th
L’atalante - 4th
L’Avventura - 3rd
Au Hasard Balthazar - 4th
The Battle of Algiers - 4th
The Battleship Potemkin - 3rd
The Bicycle Thief - 4th
The Birth of a Nation/Intolerance - 2nd
Blue Velvet/Mulholland Drive - 3rd
Bonnie and Clyde - 4th
Breathless - 2nd
A Brighter Summer Day - 4th
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - 3rd
Casablanca - 1st
Children of Paradise - 4th
Chinatown - 4th
Chungking Express - 3rd
Citizen Kane - 2nd
City of God - 4th
The Conformist - 4th
The Cremator - 4th
The Decalogue - 4th
Do the Right Thing - 4th
La Dolce Vita - 2nd
Double Indemnity - 4th
Duck Soup - 4th
8 ½ - 3rd
E. T. The Extra-Terrestrial - 4th
Fargo - 4th
Floating Clouds - 4th
The 400 Blows - 2nd
Frankenstein, The Bride of Frankenstein - 4th
The General - 4th
The Godfather, The Godfather Part 2 - 1st
The Gold Rush - 1st
Gone With the Wind - 1st
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly - 4th
Goodfellas - 4th
The Graduate - 4th
A History of Violence - 4th
Hour of the Furnaces - 4th
It’s a Wonderful Life - 2nd
The Killer - 4th
Lawrence of Arabia - 3rd
M - 3rd
The Maltese Falcon - 4th
The Man with a Movie Camera - 3rd
Metropolis - 3rd
Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail - 4th
The Mother and the Whore - 4th
Nanook of the North - 3rd
Nashville - 4th
Night of the Living Dead/Dawn of the Dead - 4th
Los Olvidados - 4th
On the Waterfront - 2nd
Open City - 2nd
The Passion of Joan of Arc - 3rd
Persona - 3rd
The Piano - 4th
Psycho - 1st
Pulp Fiction - 3rd
Raging Bull - 2nd
Rashomon - 3rd
Rebel Without a Cause - 4th
The Red Shoes - 4th
La Roue - 4th
The Rules of the Game - 3rd
Sansho the Bailiff - 4th
Scarface: The Shame of a Nation - 4th
Schindler’s List - 2nd
The Searchers - 2nd
Seven Samurai - 2nd
Singin’ in the Rain - 1st
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - 4th
Some Like it Hot - 4th
The Spirit of the Beehive - 4th
Star Wars - 1st
Sunrise - 3rd
Sullivan’s Travels - 4th
Syndromes and a Century - 4th
Talk to Her - 3rd
A Taste of Cherry - 4th
Terminator/Terminator 2 - 4th
The Thin Blue Line - 4th
The Third Man - 4th
Tokyo Story - 3rd
Top Hat - 4th
Toy Story, Toy Story 2 - 4th
A Trip to the Moon - 4th
2001: A Space Odyssey - 3rd
Vertigo - 3rd
The Wild Bunch - 4th
The Wizard of Oz - 1st
Xala - 4th
