My Top 100 Directors: 80-61

80. Raoul Ruiz (Manoel on the Island of Marvels; The Three Crowns of the Sailor)
Chilean exile turned extremely prolific filmmaker, Raoul Ruiz made upwards of 100 films over the course of his career.  I’ve seen about a fifth of them, and that’s enough to put him on this list.  Like many of my favorite filmmakers Ruiz likes to make films in an often surreal fashion.  His early work especially is politically motivated, but Ruiz found a way to lend his style to every type of project he took on.  Some where glamorous, others were simply ways to fill his obsessive need to keep working.  I wrote about him during his passing, and I’m sure that eulogy did better justice than this paragraph.

79. Preston Sturges (Sullivan’s Travels; Unfaithfully Yours)
Like Billy Wilder, Preston Sturges rose up the ranks at Paramount from screenwriter to director in the early 40s.  Whereas Wilder turned that into a long prolific career complete with numerous Oscars, Sturges had a star that burned incredibly bright before ultimately fading into obscurity.  One of the earliest writer-directors in the studio system to have creative control, he set the bar for film comedy in the 40s and his work still holds up remarkably well.  After his lucrative career at Paramount ended he bounced around and made a series of disastrous pictures that were either outright flops, or re-edited and buried.  However from Christmas in July through Hail the Conquering Hero, few in Hollywood were ever better.

78. William Wyler (Ben-Hur; The Best Years of Our Lives)
Another master of classic Hollywood cinema, William Wyler became a sticking point in the old auteur debate.  Some argued that his technical skill and excellent filmmaking skills were irrelevant because he didn’t put his own signature on his pictures.  A silly idea to me, Wyler falls between the two great schools of directors, he was great because of his great films, and those films were great because of him.  Wyler was using deep focus photography probably earlier than anyone in Hollywood, and it was his frequent collaborations with Gregg Toland that led to Toland working with Ford and eventually Orson Welles.  A great fan of staging in depth, Wyler was the ultimate Hollywood professional, taking home three best director Oscars, and making great movies in the 30s, 40s, 50s, and 60s. 

77. Bernardo Bertolucci (The Conformist; Last Tango in Paris)
There are a number of directors who seem charmed at the start.  A run of impeccable films that seem to get better with each release.  For Bernardo Bertolucci he was one of these filmmakers.  He got his start writing for Passolini, then almost at the same time directed his first film The Grim Reaper.  He steadily improved until the one-two punch of The Conformist and Last Tango in Paris, then came the downswing.  He followed those two masterpieces up with the overly long hot mess of 1900, then the bafflingly uncomfortable Luna, and the largely forgettable Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man.  He rebounded tremendously with The Last Emperor which wound up being his greatest success.  The years since have seen some hits and misses, but for a brief period in the early 70s Bertolucci seemed destined to be Europe’s finest filmmaker.

76. Terry Gilliam (Monty Python and the Quest for the Holy Grail; Brazil)
Terry Gilliam has made a long and interesting career out of being one hell of an oddball.  The only American in Monty Python, he was best known for those incredibly bizarre animated interludes in their Flying Circus.  In the post-Python era though Gilliam found himself making some truly bizarre and occasionally brilliant movies.  Nearly all of his films have a surreal angle to them, and like many of my favorites Gilliam was no stranger to wide angle distortions.  Recently he seems to have hit a wall with many of his projects falling apart in mid-production or outright failing.  However I challenge you to find another filmmaker with the same warped point of view on the world as Gilliam, whose visual sense has always been superb.  Not to mention the fact that he directed the funniest movie in the history of film.

75. Michael Powell (A Matter of Life and Death; Peeping Tom)
Along with his screenwriting/producing partner Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell absolutely dominated British cinema throughout the 40s and early 50s.  His eye for color was unmatched, and throughout the decade they just seemed to keep getting better.  Eventually the partnership fell apart and Powell made one spectacular movie that got him into enough hot water to earn a lengthy ban from filmmaking with Peeping Tom.  Considered a British answer to Psycho, the film was far ahead of it’s time in examining the psycho-sexual horror relationship.  Powell settled into something of an elder statesman after Peeping Tom, directing a few films but his legacy was firmly established in those multiple collaborations with Pressburger.

74. Lewis Milestone (All Quiet on the Western Front; Of Mice and Men)
It’s a pretty safe bet that if you directed my second favorite film of all time you’ll probably wind up on a list of my top 100 directors.  Milestone actually got his start as a first rate comedic director, and helmed arguably Harold Lloyd’s best feature, The Kid Brother.  However with All Quiet on the Western Front Milestone was truly without peer in American cinema.  Milestone didn’t let the limitations of the new sound equipment get in his way and freely moved his camera all over the place.  Staging elaborate scenes in depth, constantly tracking all over the place, and perhaps best of all not using a note of a musical score for what’s damn near the greatest movie ever.  His career carried into the 60s, but arguably his last great masterpiece was 1939’s Of Mice and Men, a film so damn good and heart breaking I’ve been a little scared to watch it again.

73. Nagisa Oshima (In the Realm of the Senses; Death by Hanging)
Every damn country had a new wave of some kind in the 50s and 60s.  Japan was arguably the closest to France in terms of overall innovation and impact.  Of the new school of Japanese directors, none were as interesting or enigmatic as Nagisa Oshima.  Oshima made plenty of auteur proponents scratch their heads because he simply refused to develop a signature style.  If he made one film exclusively in long takes, he’s follow it up with enough edits to make Sergei Eisenstein jealous.  Shoot a film in deep focus with a wide angle lens, next up would be a film with flat depth shot entirely with telephoto lenses.  His themes seemed to center on the morally depraved and like Shohei Immamura or Yasuzo Masumara he liked to deal with obsessed and often despicable people.  His greatest commercial and artistic success was In the Realm of the Senses and it’s still a film that’ll make you wonder how the hell it ever got made. 

72. David Fincher (Fight Club; Zodiac)
Arguably the best of all the filmmakers who got their start making music videos, David Fincher is an American stylist without peer.  It took quite some time for people to realize how damn good of a filmmaker he was, and believe it or not Fight Club was largely overlooked upon it’s original release.  By the time he made Zodiac however people were paying attention.  Fincher seems like a lock to get an Oscar nomination with each release now and he hasn’t really disappointed.  His work on House of Cards as well was simply outstanding.  Fincher might be the only director on my list with impressive cinema, TV, and music video credits on his resume. 

71. Peter Jackson (Lord of the Rings; Dead Alive)
New Zealand’s best known director was a cult favorite of mine for years.  One of the first directors I decided I needed to pay attention to.  I tracked down old bootleg copies of Bad Taste, Meet the Feebles, and the version of Dead Alive called Brain Dead long before Jackson went to the Shire.  The tremendous success of the Lord Of the Rings trilogy earned Jackson damn near all the money and put him on a short list of the best known directors working today.  His post LOTR work has been spotty, although I did love King Kong, I’m holding out hope that when he finishes the begrudging Hobbit films he’ll get back to doing something amazing, preferably with a lawnmower and some drug dealing muppets. 

70. Charlie Chaplin (Modern Times; The Gold Rush)
I know this might seem criminally low for Chaplin, but my list, I make the rules.  Chaplin had a truly unique career, one that enabled him creative control for 50 solid years.  It didn’t take long for Chaplin to grow out of the idiotic nonsense of Keystone, his first company.  He stumbled onto the formula of comedy + pathos = gold.  Chaplin was notoriously insecure in his private life and found himself quite the womanizer, leading to multiple marriages and enough children to fill a baseball team.  Chaplin was also never in any rush to get his work out.  He took his sweet time between projects, and often filmed without a script, just allowing for hours of improvisation where he’d hone his bits to perfection.  His stretch from The Gold Rush to The Great Dictator are among the finest films anyone will ever make.  Even his later sound career had a few outstanding films, notably Monsieur Verdoux and my favorite A King in New York.

69. Luchino Visconti (Rocco and His Brothers; Vaghe Stelle dell’Orsa)
The first of my “big 4” Italian directors, Luchino Visconti had undoubtedly the easiest upbringing.  Part of the aristocracy he found himself like many spoiled rich kids thinking about Marxism and fighting for leftist causes.  Not bad to take the left when living in a fascist state, Visconti’s earliest films, Ossessione, La Terra Trema, and Bellissima all focused on people far below the Count’s social status.  Great as some of these films were Visconti found himself hitting his stride when he started to tackle his own personal reflections, most famously The Leopard.  For my money though Rocco and His Brothers is about as great of an Italian film as you’ll ever see.  Whether dealing with luxury or poverty, Visconti always made his films compelling.
 

68. Andrzej Wajda (Ashes and Diamonds; Kanal)
In the 50s, Poland was one of many Soviet satellites to open state funded film schools.  Of that first crop of Polish filmmakers none have had quite the impact as Andrzej Wajda.  Wajda has consistently turned a skeptical mirror up at communism and the myth of the state.  His earliest films, particularly Ashes and Diamonds are masterpieces of deep focus claustrophobia and self loathing and doubting would-be patriots.  With Man of Marble and it’s sequel Man of Iron, Wajda got even more critical of the cult of heroism often manufactured by the party.  Still active at 88, he’s received damn near every award you can name and has remained Poland’s greatest filmmaker.

67. Josef Von Sternberg (The Blue Angel; Anatahan)
One of the original auteurs, Josef Von Sternberg has long been the subject of many meticulous study and over-analyzation.  Von Sternberg was a world class master of light and shadow and frequently worked as his own un-credited cinematographer.  A temperamental director he fought with every producer he came in contact with.  When his collaborations with Marlene Dietrich began losing money for Paramount the director found himself struggling to find projects afterwards.  He did manage to direct a few worthwhile films, notably the Shanghai Gesture (1941) and arguably the best film of his career Anatahan (1953).  Von Sternberg’s best work though probably runs from 1927’s Underworld through The Scarlet Empress (1934).  The man was a walking textbook on movie lighting, and no matter how absurd some of his stories might have been, there was no comparison for the visuals.

66. Wes Anderson (Rushmore; The Darjeeling Limited)
The king of the hipster directors, Wes Anderson has been making variations on the same movie for the last 18 or so years.  Never one to get too serious or melodramatic his work is often hilarious without reverting to below the belt slapstick.  I can only say, seeing any of his movies is probably all you need to know about how the man operates.  We might also have him to thank for reminding the world how awesome Bill Murray is.  Not sure the man has a bad movie under his belt, and I can’t wait to see what he’ll release next.  When it comes to directors who make their movies great, I’d say Anderson is doing that as well as anyone these days.

65. James Whale (Bride of Frankenstein; The Invisible Man)
British born James Whale was one of the few standouts in fledgling Universal studios back in the early sound era.  He found himself a bit of a golden boy when Frankenstein forever linked the studio with movie monsters, and followed it up with some of the best films of his era.  Never one to take things too seriously, Whale made the sequel a slightly campy horror film with more than a touch of humor.  His rendition of The Invisible Man is still surprisingly dark, but Whale wasn’t just capable of making iconic monster movies.  He directed probably the best version of Show Boat (1936) and helmed one of the era’s best romantic melodramas with Waterloo Bridge (1931).  His film career ended far too early, but not before leaving a legacy of great, varied movies, all with a sense of incredible design and a little humor.

64. Glauber Rocha (Black God White Devil; The Lion Has Seven Heads)
Although he only lived for 42 years, Glauber Rocha had one of the most incredible careers in all of South American cinema.  I won’t even begin to make sense of some of his politics, the man was the loudest and most defiant voice in third world revolutionary cinema.  He was extremely anti-capitalist and even advocated abolishing money entirely.  Following a political change in Brazil in 1971, Rocha went into voluntary exile where he bounced around before ultimately dying of a lung infection.  His early films reflect an angry, enthusiastic, and often violent advocacy for change.  A fan of using mythology and folklore in his films, Rocha was truly one of a kind and the leading figure of the Cinema Novo movement.  His films are an experience unlike anything else.

63. Zhang Yimou (To Live; Raise the Red Lantern)
Yimou was once among my absolute favorite directors period.  The best known member of China’s 5th Generation of filmmakers, Yimou rose to international acclaim with a serious of beautiful, yet highly critical films in the late 80s and early 90s.  Following a sense of mellowed out politics following the domestic banning of To Live, he went low key and still produced some interesting films.  Starting with 2002’s Hero though, Yimou went full on sell out and ventured into the world of large scale martial arts films.  I happen to love Hero, as well as House of Flying Daggers, and Curse of the Golden Flower but I do miss the old Zhang.  His films seem to get bigger and more polished with each effort leaving almost no semblance of the man who shook things up with Red Sourghum. 

62. Paul Thomas Anderson (Magnolia; Boogie Nights)
The other Anderson to emerge in the mid 90s, Paul Thomas is light years away stylistically and thematically from Wes.  The protagonists of PTA’s films are usually obsessive, often self destructive people who find themselves just barely surviving the wreckage of themselves.  Not always a pleasant watch, the handful of features PTA has made over the last 20 years have all been must see cinema.  For nearly all of his films though they seem to get better with each viewing, and several of his films particularly Magnolia are so full of clues, puzzles, and Easter eggs that every viewing reveals more to the overall mystery.  He has certainly earned the right to take his sweet ass time between projects, especially when the end result is as good as it’s been.

61. Sergio Leone (The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly; Once Upon a Time in America)
When it comes to the Western I don’t think there is any equal to Sergio Leone, and that includes John Ford.  Leone’s vision was unlike any other, and no one in all of cinema history exploited the full potential of the wide screen format quite like he did.  His trilogy of Westerns with Clint Eastwood are still arguably the three best films of the genre, and many people would say Once Upon a Time in the West was even better.  Although he wasn’t the most prolific of directors he did prove with his final film, Once Upon a Time in America that he was capable of making great cinema in another format.  A true master of space, composition, and how to get the most nail biting showdowns in all of cinema. 

My Top 100 Directors (100-81)

This list has been an idea of mine for quite awhile.  I last updated this sometime around 2005-06, so needless to say it was in need of some tweaking.  Awhile back I started a preliminary list, and found myself with some 140 names.  Even when I started numbering this I still left some 120 people on the list and figured whoever didn’t get numbered got cut.  That said, oh my goodness there are some serious omissions here.  Even some directors that you should think I love are missing.  Which goes to show there are no shortage of great filmmakers around.
You may know by now that I prefer the term top to favorite or greatest.  Simply my personal ranking of the people I think are awesome.  The only requirement I set for this list is that I had to have seen at least 5 films from each director.  This requirement wound up being insanely easy, because well I’ve seen a lot of damn movies.  A great director is usually what motivates me above anything else to see a movie.  I’ve sat through a few stinkers simply because I loved the filmmaker.  The way some folks are drawn to movie stars and actors, I feel that way about a director. 

So about my numbering system.  I look at each director based on a few criteria.  First of all how many great films they made, whether or not they have a distinct personal style, influence, and the overall scope of their work.  For some directors they may have had a tremendous period of success followed by several decades of forgettable work.  Others have produced mostly good to great work over many decades without necessarily hitting the same highs as others.  Some simply make movies like no other and I tip my cap to them.  There are no measurable metrics just my personal feelings about each person involved.  I apologize in advance for all the names left off, the numbering of the people on there and everything else sure to offend. 

A topic for another blog, but essentially there seem to be two kinds of “great” directors.  The first are directors who are great because they make great movies.  These are the few who don’t necessarily mark each film with some personal stamp, but nevertheless have a track record of amazing movies (Michael Curtiz, Frank Capra, George Cukor).  Then there are the directors who make their films great.  This second group includes people like David Lynch, Alfred Hitchcock, Andrei Tarkovsky.  You can make your own bets now which group I admire more, either way they’re all great for their own reasons.

In the case of some people I find them overrated and they’re not on my list, some others might have been #101 if I just extended the list a bit.  A good look at my top 100 and film canon would probably give you fewer surprises reading this.  I also decided to list my two favorite films from each director as a way for you the reader to go out and explore their work.   

100. Mikio Naruse (Floating Clouds; When a Woman Ascends the Stairs)
Whereas many of you might say “who” I know of at least a few people who are angrily shaking their fists and vowing that the rest of my list is null and void.  Perhaps it’s the fact that Naruse doesn’t have a style that draws attention to itself that puts him a bit below some of his more renowned countrymen, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t well worth checking out.  His post-war masterpiece Floating Clouds in particular is a must-see.  Perhaps his greatest strength might be his one weakness, the fact that his style doesn’t draw attention to itself.

99. George Cukor (The Philadelphia Story; Adam’s Rib)
George Cukor got his start as Ernst Lubitsch’s assistant and went on to one of the longest and most well respected careers in Hollywood.  Known by many to be a woman’s director, not unlike Naruse, his best work came during his frequent collaborations with Katherine Hepburn.  Hepburn owned the rights to The Philadelphia Story and insisted Cukor direct, and well the rest is history as they say.  Cukor’s work with Judy Holliday as well is also not to be overlooked.

98. Dusan Makavajev (Love Affair: or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator; W.R. Mysteries of the Organism)
Arguably the strangest director to come out of Eastern Europe in the 60s (and that’s saying something) Makavajev gained some notoriety in the US for his graphic sexual films of the early 70s.  For my money Love Affair, a surreal murder mystery in reverse is still his finest achievement.  He pushed the boundaries of what cinema could be and naturally found himself in frequent hot water with the powers that be in Yugoslavia.  So many future Eastern Europeans owe the man a debt of gratitude for expanding just what cinema could be.

97. Krzysztof Kieslowski (The Decalogue; Three Colors: Red)
I’ll admit it now, Kieslowski is too low.  I’m sorry, I don’t know what happened.  The leading Polish filmmaker in the post-Wajda 70s, Kieslowski achieved his greatest success at the end of his life, breaking through in a big way with his Three Colors trilogy made in exile in France.  The ten part Decalogue is soul damaging stuff, based loosely on the ten commandments, it is still his finest hour, and certainly worth the massive running time.   

96. Paul Verhoeven (Robocop; Turkish Delight)
Despite being familiar with Verhoeven’s work throughout most of my life (I first saw Robocop when I was about 6), I still look at him as a relatively new discovery for me.  Like Makavajev he pushed sex on film ahead sometimes in disturbing and unsettling ways, and the man never shied away from anything.  The death of Murphy in Robocop is still one of the most brutal and unsettling scenes in all of movies.  The man was even great at making bad movies, I dare you not to be entertained by Showgirls.  Although he’s slowed down his pace substantially of late, there are no shortage of brilliant films from one of the Netherlands best exports.  Hopefully Hollywood will stop remaking his movies, because lets face it, it takes a special kind of vision to make Total Recall coherent.

95. Lars Von Trier (Dogville; Dancer in the Dark)
Lars Von Trier is probably the most polarizing filmmaker to emerge in the last 25 years.  Even his fans can’t help but scratch their heads in confusion after every other film.  Never a dull moment some of his films are just supremely hot messes, others are a hot mess in a good way.  A huge fan of melodrama he’s the extreme continuation of Rainer Werner Fassbinder and Douglas Sirk.  An eccentric who seems to get off on pushing people’s buttons and making them uncomfortable he’s been must watch cinema for years now.

94. Hayao Miyazaki (Spirited Away; Princess Mononoke)
My love of anime pretty much begins and ends with Hayao Miyazaki.  Japan’s best animated feature director, he might very well hold the title of best animated director in all of cinema.  Although his 80s work is extraordinary, he really hit his stride with Princess Mononoke and Spirited Away which helped earn the man some Oscar gold and set the bar so high for animated film no one has come close to reaching it since.

93. Claire Denis (White Material; Friday Night) 
Hey maybe I’m not sexist, an honest to god woman on my list.  Denis is of that post New Wave generation who first made her mark in international cinema with 1988’s Chocolat, not to be confused with the god awful 2000 movie.  In the meantime she’s delved into some strange human depravity, and examined a lot of by-products of French colonialism.  There’s a certain mesmerizing quality to all of her films that is not unlike Leos Carax, but perhaps not as strange.  White Material might just be her finest hour, but most people would probably point to Beau Travail. 

92. Wim Wenders (Paris, Texas; False Movement)
Of the new wave of West-German filmmakers to emerge in the late 70s and early 80s, none seemed as American obsessed as Wim Wenders.  His films take a foreigners look at the great American road trip, rock and roll, and a lifelong obsession with finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.  Like a lot of filmmakers his recent work has dropped off a bit, but for a time in the 70s (Alice in the Cities, False Movement, Kings of the Road) and into his first couple of International co-productions (Wings of Desire, Paris, Texas) he seemingly could do no wrong.  He’s something of an existential Jack Kerouac.

91. Michael Curtiz (Casablanca; Yankee Doodle Dandy)
Another in a long series of great American filmmakers who got their start in the German film industry.  Curtiz was Hungarian and when he found himself in Hollywood’s studio system, he would produce an average of about three films per year.  In that time he made some of the greatest American classics we know (Adventures of Robin Hood, Mildred Pierce) and arguably the greatest of all Hollywood movies, Casablanca.  His style was so seamless and perfect that it never drew attention to itself.  Only after watching and re-watching his films do you start to get a sense of how brilliant the man was. 

90. Maurice Pialat (A Nos Amours; Van Gogh)
Although Pialat began his career at the same time of his better known new wave contemporaries, he didn‘t make his first feature until 1968‘s L‘Enfance Nue.  Not sure that France had any filmmaker better than Pialat during the 80s when he really hit his stride.  An occasional actor he was never a fan of sentimentality, as is evident in A Nos Amours.  Sadly his filmography only includes about 10 features and a handful of shorts, but you’d do well to check them out, there really wasn’t a contemporary like him in world cinema.

89. Vincente Minnelli (An American in Paris; The Bandwagon)
Vincente Minnelli got his start as a costume and set designer before getting a chance to direct the all-black musical Cabin in the Sky in 1943.  Although capable of handling any number of genres, he found his greatest success in musicals.  Minnelli was also a pioneer in bringing avant-garde art styles into film, particularly his musicals.  Beginning with the Pirate (1948) and continuing in An American in Paris (1951) and The Bandwagon (1953) Minnelli shot some of the most abstract and surreal dance numbers in movies.  His dramatic work is not to be overlooked and he received ample praise for The Bad and the Beautiful as well as my favorites Some Came Running and Home from the Hill. 

88. Olivier Assayas (Carlos; Irma Vep) 
Like the generation before him Assayas got his start in cinema originally as a film critic.  A direct descendent of the new wave school of personal filmmaking, he included tons of references to film history throughout his work, most notably in Irma Vep, the film within a film remake of Louis Feuillade’s 1915 serial.  Over the last two decades he’s been one of the most consistently great filmmakers in Europe, but to me he really hit his stride with Carlos, the epic three part film which if you’ve been reading my blog at all know that you should have already seen by now.

87. Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight; Inception)
You may start to notice that I tend to rank contemporary directors a little lower than their long since dead counterparts.  Christopher Nolan however has done the truly extraordinary, making probably the only truly great super hero movie.  I’m not bad mouthing the numerous good to great Marvel movies, but The Dark Knight is on a separate level altogether.  In the process he’s managed to have nearly James Cameron-esque levels of control + budget, and when the result is Inception, I can’t wait to see what he’ll do next.  Nolan is still capable of making good films on limited finances, as was evident in his first two features The Following and Memento. 

86. Sam Peckinpah (The Wild Bunch; The Getaway)
Sam Peckinpah is one of my favorite people to ever make a movie.  A lifelong alcoholic who fought with every producer he ever had regardless of how accommodating they tried to be.  He rarely if ever got to release a film his way, and in the years since his death we’ve seen nearly all of his films re-released in “director’s cuts”.  Perhaps the first director to truly romanticize and even fetishize violence, his work would be copied by so many over the years, and with the exception of possibly John Woo, few would ever do him justice.  My favorite Peckinpah story though is about how later in life he was told he needed to quit drinking or he’d die.  So he decided he’d start drinking Sake, because in his mind that didn’t count.

85. Michael Haneke (71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance; Cache)
An idiosyncratic auteur for today’s cinephiles, Michael Haneke has been a one man Austrian wrecking crew at making unnerving and occasionally profound cinema.  His films are often disturbing, but rewarding.  If you could pinpoint a central theme to his work it would probably be how quickly polite society can unravel.  Always a fan of letting the audience think for itself many of his films have completely conflicting messages depending on who you ask.  I’ve seen enough written about the credit sequence in Cache to fill several encyclopedia’s. 

84. David O. Russell (Three Kings, The Fighter)
David O. Russell might find himself jumping far higher on this list in year’s to come.  Barely on my radar some 8 years ago, he has made a name for himself, particularly of late with a string of great American movies.  Hell O. Russell got the first decent performance out of Robert De Nero in nearly two decades with Silver Lining’s Playbook.  However from Three Kings on, the man hasn’t made a bad movie, and yes I love I Heart Huckabees.  I’ve seen some people complain that his films are predictable and crowd pleasing, but well forgive me if I like a filmmaker who doesn’t make me brutally depressed.  His last film, American Hustle might very well be his best.  I can’t wait to see what this guy has in store for us.

83. Clint Eastwood (Unforgiven; Million Dollar Baby)
Despite making some of the best movies of the last several generations, Clint Eastwood has had a bit of an uneven directorial career.  His highs (two best picture/director Oscars) can more than make up for some of the forgettable films like Absolute Power or True Crime.  Even into his 80s he seems to be showing no signs of slowing down, and admittedly I’m yet to check out his recent Jersey Boys.  No one since John Wayne has been so iconic to the American Western as Eastwood, and I highly doubt anyone will make a Western better than Unforgiven again. 

82. Alain Resnais (Night and Fog; Private Fears in Public Places)
Alain Resnais is another filmmaker who has continued to produce incredible work into his 80s.  Although he didn’t get his start as a critic, Resnais was part of the original French New Wave with such landmark head-scratchers as Last Year at Marienbad and Hiroshima Mon Amour.  Unlike most of his contemporaries though he found himself producing some of his best work in the 2000s, with Private Fears and Wild Grass being arguably his two best films.  The man has never come close to making a straightforward movie and if it weren’t for I Want to Go Home I’d say he never made a bad one either.  Don’t ever see that movie, seriously don’t.

81. Robert Altman (Nashville; The Long Goodbye)
Rounding out my geriatric portion of the list is the great Robert Altman.  A Kansas City man who became the unquestioned master of the ensemble piece.  A loose, often haphazard style, Altman thrived in chaos.  Frequently filming with multiple cameras and letting his actors do their thing.  Altman was far from one dimensional though, check out his largely forgotten one-man film Secret Honor.  Perhaps my favorite thing about Altman is he wrote the screenplay for Corn’s-a-Poppin’ but he has all but completely disowned it, for shame.  During his long career Altman found a way do deconstruct the war film, western, musical, mystery, and even Hollywood itself.  There is a certain level of charming anarchy to his work.

Robin Williams and the Nostalgia Effect

I’d like to start by saying this is not a eulogy for Robin Williams, I won’t be sharing my fondest memories of his work, or summarizing his career in film.  What I want to talk about is a psychological phenomenon called the Nostalgia Effect. 

Ever find yourself missing an ex, even if you know they’re psychotic/abusive/mean/listen to Nickelback, etc.?  You quickly come to your senses, remember why you’re no longer together, and wonder what the hell you were thinking for a second.  This is one example of the nostalgia effect.  The human brain has a tendency to remember things fondly, even bad memories.

We’ve all heard some stories, sometimes by now famous artists about the times when they stole napkins from restaurants because they couldn’t afford toilet paper, or ate nothing but ramen noodles for months on end.  Rather than recalling the horror of these times they almost sound like they miss that sort of poverty.  Perhaps it’s a “life was simpler then” mentality where little problems didn’t matter so much because basic questions of food, shelter, and survival were much more pressing issues.  The tendency to sugarcoat even tough times is another example of the NE. 

How does this apply to movies?  Well it should seem pretty obvious to a certain extent.  Film criticism and study is filled with hundreds of examples.  A personal favorite you grew up watching, a film panned upon it’s release that was rediscovered and reevaluated by a new generation with a fresh take on it.  Sometimes it was an example of a film being buried amidst bad marketing, or the cliché “ahead of it’s time” moniker.  In other situations it’s simply one very persuasive critic or historian pointing out that some slightly stupid movie they grew up with isn’t as bad as other people made it out to be.

I know I’m guilty of this on a number of occasions, and browsing through my list(s) of favorite movies you’ll see evidence all over the place of films I love that artistically speaking were train wrecks.  This isn’t pointing out the “so bad it’s great” syndrome where even someone watching a film like Can’t Stop the Music for the first time in 2014 would still recognize how amazingly bad it is.  This is more of a by-product of your particular childhood.

Say you were one of those people who grew up with maybe 20 VHS tapes at home.  Those long lazy summer days you might spend watching those same 20 movies every damn week.  For years I thought Indian Jones and the Temple of Doom was the best movie in the series simply because it was the only one we owned.  Watching it now I can’t help but shake my head at how awful parts of it are, and how infinitely superior Raiders and Last Crusade are.  Although a certain part of me still appreciates the movie for that same nostalgic reason all Indy films are just dumb fun.

This can be true of other films.  Sometimes there is a beloved classic of a generation that doesn’t mean anything to you because you didn’t grow up with it.  I saw the Wizard of Oz once when I was 6 and then again when I was about 16.  I thought it was decent, and understood the fascination people had, but I didn’t have that unquestioned love of the film the way so very many people do.  This wasn’t an annual tradition for me, there was no nostalgic love of the film that brought back memories of my seemingly happier youth. 

Another friend who shall remain nameless swears that Rocky IV is the worst movie in the series.  Having never seen the Rocky movies as a kid, sure a giant robot, and Rocky seemingly punching America to a Cold War victory might seem horribly dated and corny.  Growing up with that movie I can see the exact same thing on screen and cheer like an enthusiastic 8 year old.  Any friends who’ve seen me watch Rocky IV know that I will get drunk and yell at the screen like I bet money on the final fight.  The nostalgia effect is strong for me with that film.  I don’t just watch Rocky IV, or even in the context of the overall Rocky saga, I watch my memories, that “where was I in my life when I saw this first” nostalgia. 

Pictured above: My Childhood

Sure sometimes we grow out of stupid movies from our childhood.  I found myself getting into tons of arguments/debates with co-workers because often times we have different nostalgic feelings towards 80s and 90s movies.  I’m sure I’ll catch hell from many of my millennial readers, but I don’t like The Goonies.  It’s a stupid movie, with a bunch of plot holes and I stand by that. I had the same opinion of Hook, which was a movie even 8 year old me thought was too long and stupid when I saw it in the theater.  Quite a few professional critics would back me up but you tell a 28 year old that you don’t care for The Goonies, never liked Mrs. Doubtfire, or thought Space Jam was forgettable and suddenly you’re Hitler.  I’m shitting on your childhood and everything you hold dear. 

Maybe it’s because I didn’t grow up loving those movies.  I grew up obsessed with Big Trouble in Little China, I’m Gonna Git You Sucka, Predator, Golden Child, and Flash Gordon.  You may think those movies are dumb too, and sometimes I’m inclined to agree, but they’re each bumped up a star or two simply because of my childhood.  Except for Predator, if you don’t like that movie, you suck and shouldn’t be allowed to watch movies ever again. 

So this brings me to Robin Williams.  A great many people in my age group took his death pretty hard.  For some it was like losing a great childhood friend, some part of their youth that they held sacred.  This makes sense, because during the peak of his box office power, Robin Williams made a bunch of movies aimed at kids.  Whether it was Aladdin, Mrs. Doubtfire, Hook, Toys, or Jumanji, his target audience was definitely the under-13 crowd.  So if those five movies I just mentioned were part of your childhood, and movies you have a nostalgic affection for, then my condolences.

Without sounding too horrible, I will point out that I was never a fan of his.  Even as a kid I thought he was annoying and exhausting.  The man made some great movies, and delivered a few amazing performances, but the films targeted at me in my youth were lost on me.  I thought of him in the same annoying conversation as Pauly Shore.  That might sound extremely harsh, but some of those same people obsessed with Jumanji, Hook, and Mrs. Doubtfire also defend movies like Encino Man or Bio-Dome. 

Before you start typing up death threats let me backtrack a bit.  Looking at Williams’ filmography, there are a number of really good movies and performances.  Most of his best work was dramatic, the guy could act.  Whether it be Dead Poet’s Society, The Fisher King, Awakenings, Good Will Hunting, etc. there are certainly some gems on there.  The reason I didn’t feel that personal loss the way so many others is that those are all films I saw as an adult.  I don’t reminisce about the first time I saw Good Will Hunting, and I didn’t grow up with a VHS of Good Morning, Vietnam on constant rotation.  To me Robin Williams was a damn good actor who made some damn good movies.  I think of him as an actor first, comedian second because that’s the Williams I prefer.  He wasn’t a part of my childhood like so many of you.  

Perhaps my point in all this is to recognize the nostalgic effect and how it relates to you personally.  This is the wonderful part about film.  We remember different things about movies and experience them all in our own unique way.  Maybe you spent an entire summer watching all five Planet of the Apes movies (I’m not counting reboots/remakes) over and over again like I did.  Perhaps you rewatched Tim Burton’s Batman so many times you memorized every sound effect like my brother.  You could have been one of the many who insisted on renting Mrs. Doubtfire or Aladdin every single time you went to the video store, prompting your parents to finally buy the thing and admit defeat.  Whatever the movie is, half of what makes it great is what you contribute to it.

This is why certain movies will probably never achieve that status of beloved.  On an episode of the League, a recently divorced married couple wanted to retrieve a home made porno.  Where did they hide it?  In a DVD case of The Curious Case of Benjamin Button.  Even someone else comments on what a good movie it is, but let’s face it, that DVD case is probably never going to be opened.  Few critics would put a movie like Jumanji or Toys above that Fincher film, but the legacy of Robin Williams is such that he could elevate an otherwise bland movie into a cherished childhood memory. 

Rest easy good sir, you will be missed.

Dear Cinema, I'm Sorry

This is an open letter to cinema to say hey how’ve you been?  We used to be so close, mean so much to each other and although I never stopped caring I’ve been a neglectful lover.  I’ve taken you for granted.  I’ve put you on the backburner, made you less of a priority to me assuming that at some point in time you’d still be there, waiting for me like you always were.  Well before I ask you to take me back, I’d like to say some things.

A few days ago I was taking a nap when I had this dream.  I’ll cut out the “crazy shit happens in dreams” parts to get to the point.  I was in a book store/library and saw a few books on the film Cinema Paradiso.  I pointed out to two employees/librarians/customers how overrated the film was.  I went on to say it was one of many films that was mediocre at best that somehow got considered as great art because of the Miramax hype machine.  I then went into a tirade of all the other films of it’s kind that the brothers Weinstein helped garner award recognition for.  While heating up, I got a phone call that woke me up.

I was back in the real world, ready to meet a friend out to watch the NBA draft and have a few beers, but a fire was lit.  My subconscious mind was screaming at me, reminding me just how much fun I used to have bitching about Oscar winners, singing the praises of films and attacking crowd pleasing hogwash given a fresh painted coat of hype.  I knew I needed to watch some movies.  I needed to write about them, I had neglected my one true love for far too long.

This isn’t the first time I’ve tried to get back on the horse or whatever euphemism you want to use.  Sometimes I went so far as to write a rough draft never completed, or merely went to bed thinking about a topic of film I wanted to blog about.  So I’m keeping this one somewhat short.  Finish something, end the silence that has turned my once lovingly attended to blog into a ghost town full of tumbleweeds and the memories of a once passionate man writing (occasionally) eloquently about the subject most important to me.  So alas let me write another run-on sentence meandering through countless subplots, as I fail to yield to a period.  Allow me a chance to remind you cinema that you mean more to me than all others.

The wayward lover has returned, just as I returned when I became infatuated or obsessed with so many things from, critic rock, the great English language novels, comic books, baseball, culinary arts, and most recently beer.  Being a beer snob has been fun, and I still am one.  The spoils of my cellar have not been dispatched with.  My liver is cursing me perhaps more than my forlorn heart for choosing such an occasionally self destructive obsession.

Yesterday I watched Roberto Rossellini’s avant-garde mini-opera Joan at the Stake (1954) and Rainer Werner Fassbinder’s Lili Marleen (1981) and thought about all the mutual friends we used to have.  I started to wonder what the Coen brothers have been up to, have you heard anything from David Lynch?  Didn’t I hear Scorsese just made a movie, and wasn’t there a new Terence Mallick film floating around somewhere?  There are so many things and people I want to catch up with and the beauty of cinema is that they’re always there.  Sometimes they get discarded, ignored, or put on the shelf, but when you’re ready, when I’m ready, it’s just a push of the play button.

So I write to you, the closest thing to a high school sweetheart and the only true love of my life I’ve ever had that I’m sorry.  Sorry I forgot how amazing Corn’s-a-Poppin’ could be in theaters, sorry I forgot how amazing Citizen Kane was, sorry I forgot how many hours, days, weeks, months, and years of loving entertainment you’ve given me.  All you ever asked in return is that I just spend some time with you.

Well cinema, I’m all your’s if you’ll still have me.

…and for all the friends I’ve made since my last blog entry, welcome to My World of Film, hope you take a minute to see the old me.

David Holland

My Definitive Film Canon

Did you miss me?  I missed you so allow me to give you a bit of a fun whopper of a return blog.  I make a lot of lists.  I post about a lot of "greatest" this and "best" that and well I always seem to imply that each of these rankings are merely the tip of the iceberg.  For every Top 100 films list I put together it always seems like there are hundreds of films lying on the cutting room floor.  Well in case you were wondering here is all of it.  All of my favorite/best/greatest films.  All the movies that I've handed out a five-star rating to from the dawn of cinema to the present day.  This has been a continuously updated list that I tweak as necessary so I will most likely come back to this very blog post to update it.  So if you're going to bookmark my blog (and I seriously hope you all have by now) this is a pretty good post to do so on.

Hey Dave, What the hell is a Film Canon?
Allow me to quote directly from the almighty Wikipedia: "Film canon is the limited group of movies that serve as the measuring stick for the highest quality in the film genre, based on criteria that look past personal and popular taste, to encompass only those that "artistically defined film history."  Now that last bit of writing was from Paul Schraeder, who wrote Taxi Driver, Raging Bull, and directed some pretty nifty films in his own right when he put together his own list in 2006.  I didn't bother to break mine down into Gold-Silver-Bronze status like him and although he made his list the top tier super-best films ever variety, mine is more of a "all my favorites in one convenient list" form.

So there is no limit, nor quota for this list.  Simply put if I gave it a five star review, it's here.  I have not included the various Merry Melodies/Tom and Jerry/Droopy/Tex Avery cartoons that some would consider short films because if I did this list would be overwhelmed by them.  I know Jonathan Rosenbaum included these films amongst his top 1000 canon, but I am not him, my rules so to hell with it.  So anyways next time you're wondering what movies to watch consult this as your master list.

Oh you know how I always say "don't get mad if you're personal favorite film/director/movement/country isn't represented"?  Well get mad, this is all of the films I love.  There are many films I "like" that aren't on here, but these are what I consider the top dogs.  So if I left something off, go ahead and cry heresy.  Just to point out in advance, I intentionally didn't include Vertigo, not to be a dick or to seem "different" I just really don't get what the fuss is all about.

How to read the list:
Films are listed chronologically based on international premiere.  The movies by year are then listed alphabetically with the country and director following). 

So less talking more movie ranking.

*Is a movie included in my recent top 100 list

1902

A Trip to the Moon (France - Georges Méliès)

1905

The White Caps (US - Edwin S. Porter)

1906

Dream of a Rarebit Fiend (US - Edwin S. Porter)

1911

The Automatic Moving Company (France - Romeo Bosetti)

The Trust:  Or the Battles for Money (France - Louis Feuillade)

1915

The Birth of a Nation (US - D. W. Griffith)

The Cheat (US - Cecil B. DeMille)

Les Vampires (France - Louis Feuillade)

1916

*Intolerance (US - D. W. Griffith)

Judex (France - Louis Feuillade)

1919

The Doll (Germany - Ernst Lubitsch)

Rowdy Ann (US - Al Christie)

1920

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Germany - Robert Wiene)

1921

The Playhouse (US - Buster Keaton and Edward F. Cline)

1922

Haxaan (Sweden - Benjamin Christensen)

Nanook of the North (US - Robert Flaherty)

1923

Au Secours! (France - Able Gance)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (US - William Worsley Sr.)

*Our Hospitality (US - Buster Keaton and John G. Blystone)

Raskolnikov/Crime and Punishment (Germany - Robert Wiene)

1924

Die Nibelungen (Germany - Fritz Lang)

The Navigator (US - Buster Keaton/Donald Crisp)

Paris Qui Dort (France - Rene Clair)

Sherlock Jr. (US - Buster Keaton)

The Thief of Bagdad (US - Raoul Walsh)

1925

Battleship Potemkin (USSR - Sergei Eisenstein)

The Big Parade (US - King Vidor)

The Freshman (US - Fred Newmeyer, Sam Taylor)

The Gold Rush (US - Charlie Chaplin)

The Phantom of the Opera (US - Rupert Julian)

Variety (Germany - E. A. Dupont)

1926

Faust (Germany - F. W. Murnau)

For Heaven's Sake (US - Sam Taylor)

A Page of Madness (Japan - Teinosuke Kinugasa)

So This is Paris? (US - Ernst Lubitsch)

1927

The General (US - Buster Keaton/Clyde Bruckman)

The Kid Brother (US - Lewis Milestone, J.A. Howe, Ted Wilde)

Metropolis (Germany - Fritz Lang)

*Napoleon (France - Abel Gance)

*Sunrise (US - F. W. Murnau)

Underworld (US - Josef Von Sternberg)

The Unknown (US - Tod Browning)

1928

The Circus (US - Charlie Chaplin)

The Fall of the House of Usher (US - James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber)

*The Passion of Joan of Arc (France - Carl Theodor Dryer)

Show People (US - King Vidor)

Steamboat Bill Jr. (US - Buster Keaton/Charles Reisner)

Un Chien Andalou (France - Luis Bunuel/Salvador Dali)

The Wedding March (US - Erich Von Stroheim)

Zvenigora (USSR/Ukraine - Alexander Dovzhenko)

1929

Applause (US - Rouben Mamoulian)

The Coconuts (US - Robert Florey, Joseph Santley)

Fragment of an Empire (USSR - Fridrikh Ermler)

The General Line/Old and New (USSR - Sergei Eisenstein)

The Love Parade (US - Ernst Lubitsch)

*The Man With a Movie Camera (USSR - Dziga Vertov)

1930

L'Age D'Or (France - Luis Bunuel)

*All Quiet on the Western Front (US - Lewis Milestone)

The Blue Angel (US/Germany - Josef Von Sternberg)

Dogway Melody (US - Zion Myers)

Westfront 1918 (Germany - G. W. Pabst)

1931

Blonde Crazy (US - Roy Del Ruth)

La Chienne (France - Jean Renoir)

City Lights (US - Charlie Chaplin)

Dracula (US - Tod Browning)

Five Star Final (US - Mervyn LeRoy)

Frankenstein (US - James Whale)

*M (Germany - Fritz Lang)

Marius (France - Alexander Korda)

The Public Enemy (US - William Wellman)

Waterloo Bridge (US - James Whale)

1932

Boudu Saved From Drowning (France - Jean Renoir)

Fanny (France - Marc Allégret, Marcel Pagnol)

The Grand Hotel (US - Edmund Goulding)

*I am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (US - Mervyn LeRoy)

Love Me Tonight (US - Rouben Mamoulian)

Me and My Gal (US - Raoul Walsh)

One Hour With You (US - Ernst Lubitsch/George Cukor)

Scarface:  The Shame of a Nation (US - Howard Hawks)

Sign of the Cross (US - Cecil B. DeMille)

Trouble in Paradise (US - Ernst Lubitsch)

Vampyr (France/Germany - Carl Theodor Dreyer)

Where are the Dreams of Youth? (Japan - Yasujiro Ozu)

1933

Design for Living (US - Ernst Lubitsch)

*Duck Soup (US - Leo McCarey)

42nd Street (US -Lloyd Bacon)

The Invisible Man (US - James Whale)

King Kong (US - Merian C. Cooper/Ernest B. Schoedsack)

Man’s Castle (US - Frank Borzage)

The Mystery of the Wax Museum (US - Michael Curtiz)

State Fair (US - Henry King)

The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Germany - Fritz Lang)

1934

L’Atalante (France - Jean Vigo)

It Happened One Night (US - Frank Capra)

Man of Aran (UK - Robert Flaherty)

Our Daily Bread (US - King Vidor)

1935

*Bride of Frankenstein (US - James Whale)

Crime and Punishment (France - Pierre Chenal)

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (US - Henry Hathaway)

A Night at the Opera (US - Sam Wood)

The Raven (US - Louis Friedlander)

Ruggles of Red Cap (US - Leo McCarey)

The Thirty-Nine Steps (UK - Alfred Hitchcock)

Top Hat (US - Robert Sandrich)

1936

Cesar (France - Marcel Pagnol)

Fury (US - Fritz Lang)

Libeled Lady (US - Jack Conway)

Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (US - Frank Capra)

*Modern Times (US - Charles Chaplin)

My Man Godfrey (US - Gregory La Cava)

Osaka Elegy (Japan - Kenji Mizoguchi)

San Francisco (US - W. S. Van Dyke)

The Story of a Cheat (France - Sacha Guitry)

1937

*The Grand Illusion (France - Jean Renoir)

J'Accuse (France - Abel Gance)

Make Way For Tomorrow (US - Leo McCarey)

A Star is Born (US - William Wellman)

1938

Bluebeard’s Eighth Wife (US - Ernst Lubitsch)

Bringing Up Baby (US - Howard Hawks)

Holiday (US - George Cukor)

Olympia (Germany - Leni Riefenstahl)

Test Pilot (US - Victor Fleming)

You Can’t Take it With You (US - Frank Capra)

1939

*Gone With the Wind (US - Victor Fleming/Sam Wood/George Cukor)

Midnight (US - Mitchell Liesen)

*Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (US - Frank Capra)

Of Mice and Men (US - Lewis Milestone)

Rules of the Game (France - Jean Renoir)

The Wizard of Oz (US - Victor Fleming/King Vidor)

1940

Fantasia (US - James Algar/Samuel Armstrong/Ford I. Beebe/Walt Disney/Graham Heid/Wilfred Jackson/Hamilton Luske/Bill Roberts/Paul Satterfield/Ben Sharpsteen/Norman Wright/Sylvia Moberly-Holland/Albert Heath/Bianca Majolie/Jim Handley/T. Hee)

*The Grapes of Wrath (US - John Ford)

The Great Dictator (US - Charles Chaplin)

The Philadelphia Story (US - George Cukor)

Rebecca (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

Sans Lendemain/There’s No Tomorrow (France - Max Ophuls)

1941

*Citizen Kane (US - Orson Welles)

Dumbo (US - Samuel Armstrong/Norman Ferguson/Wilfred Jackson/Jack Kinney/Bill Roberts/Ben Sharpsteen)

Hellzapoppin (US - H. C. Potter)

Hold Back the Dawn (US - Mitchell Liesen)

The Lady Eve (US - Preston Sturges)

The Little Foxes (US - William Wyler)

*The Maltese Falcon (US - John Huston)

Meet John Doe (US - Frank Capra)

1942

The Magnificent Ambersons (US - Orson Welles)

The Palm Beach Story (US - Preston Sturges)

Sullivan’s Travels (US - Preston Sturges)

Yankee Doodle Dandy (US - Michael Curtiz)

1943

*Casablanca (US - Michael Curtiz)

Heaven Can Wait (US - Ernst Lubitsch)
La Main du Diable (France - Maurice Tourneur)

Meshes in the Afternoon (US - Maya Daren)

1944

Double Indemnity (US - Billy Wilder)

Laura (US - Otto Preminger)

Lifeboat (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

Meet Me In St. Louis (US - Vincente Minnelli)

To Have and Have Not (US - Howard Hawks)

1945

Brief Encounter (UK - David Lean)

*Children of Paradise (France - Marcel Carne)

Fallen Angel (US - Otto Preminger)

Mildred Pierce (US - Michael Curtiz)

Open City (Italy - Roberto Rossellini)

Scarlet Street (US - Fritz Lang)

Way to the Stars (UK - Anthony Asquith)

1946

Beauty and the Beast (France - Jean Cocteau)

*The Best Years of Our Lives (US - William Wyler)

Great Expectations (UK - David Lean)

A Matter of Life and Death/Stairway to Heaven (UK - Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger)

My Darling Clementine (US - John Ford)

Somewhere in the Night (US - Joseph Mankiewicz)

1947

A Gentleman’s Agreement (US - Elia Kazan)

Miracle on 34th Street (US - George Seaton)

Out of the Past (US - Jacques Tourneur)

1948

Force of Evil (US - Abraham Polansky)
Good Sam (US - Leo McCarey)

Hamlet (UK - Laurence Olivier)

The Louisiana Story (US - Robert Flaherty)

Oliver Twist (UK - David Lean)

The Three Godfathers (US - John Ford)

Treasure of the Sierra Madre (US - John Huston)

Unfaithfully Yours (US - Preston Sturges)

1949

*The Bicycle Thief (Italy - Vittorio De Seca)

The Devils Wanton (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Late Spring (Japan - Yasujiro Ozu)

On the Town (US - Gene Kelly/Stanley Donen)

*They Live By Night (US - Nicholas Ray)

*The Third Man (UK - Carol Reed)

Twelve O’Clock High (US - Henry King)

White Heat (US - Raoul Walsh)

1950

Adam's Rib (US - George Cukor)

All About Eve (US - Joseph Mankiewicz)

Diary of a Country Priest (France - Robert Bresson)

Les Enfants Terribles (France - Jean Pierre Melville)

Father of the Bride (US - Vincente Minelli)

The Gunfighter (US - Henry King)

In a Lonely Place (US - Nicholas Ray)

*Los Olvidados (Mexico - Luis Bunuel)

Orpheus (France - Jean Cocteau)

Rashomon (Japan - Akira Kurosawa)

La Ronde (France - Max Ophuls)

*Sunset Boulevard (US - Billy Wilder)

1951

*Ace in the Hole (US - Billy Wilder)

An American in Paris (US - Vincente Minelli)

A Christmas Carol (UK - Brian Desmond Hurst)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (US - Robert Wise)

Detective Story (US - William Wyler)

*Early Summer (Japan - Yasujiro Ozu)

The Forbidden Christ (Italy - Curzio Malaparte)

Miracle in Milan (Italy - Vittorio De Seca)

A Place in the Sun (US - George Stevens)

Strangers on a Train (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

A Streetcar Named Desire (US - Elia Kazan)

1952

Bienvenido Mister Marshall (Spain - Luis Garcia Berlanga)

High Noon (US - Fred Zinnemann)

Ikiru (Japan - Akira Kurosawa)

*Life of Oharu (Japan - Kenji Mizoguchi)

The Narrow Margin (US - Richard Fliescher)

Othello (France/Italy/Morocco - Orson Welles)

*Singin' in the Rain (US - Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly)

1953

Anatahan (Japan - Josef Von Sternberg)

The Bandwagon (US - Vincente Minnelli)

The Big Heat (US - Fritz Lang)

From Here to Eternity (US - Fred Zinnemann)

*Glen or Glenda? (US - Edward D. Wood Jr.)

99 River Street (US - Phil Karlson)

Tokyo Story (Japan - Yasujiro Ozu)

Ugetsu (Japan - Kenji Mizoguchi)

Voyage in Italy (Italy - Roberto Rosellini)

1954

The Crucified Lovers (Japan - Kenji Mizoguchi)

A Generation (Poland - Andrzej Wajda)

*On the Waterfront (US - Elia Kazan)

Rear Window (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

Sansho the Bailiff (Japan - Kenji Mizoguchi)

Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (US - Stanley Donen)

*Seven Samurai (Japan - Akira Kurosawa)

La Strada (Italy - Federico Fellini)

1955

Diabolique (France - Henri Georges Clouzot)

East of Eden (US - Elia Kazan)

The Far Country (US - Anthony Mann)

Floating Clouds (Japan - Mikio Naruse)

Kiss Me Deadly (US - Robert Aldrich)

Lola Montes (France - Max Ophuls)

The Man From Laramie (US - Anthony Mann)

Marty (US - Delbert Mann)

Night and Fog (France - Alain Resnais)

Night of the Hunter (US - Charles Laughton)

*Ordet (Denmark - Carl Theodor Dreyer)

Pather Panchali (India - Satyajit Ray)

Rebel Without a Cause (US - Nicholas Ray)

1956

Aparajito (India - Satyajit Ray)

Bigger than Life (US - Nicholas Ray)

*Corns-a-Poppin' (US - Robert Woodburn)

Invasion of the Body Snatchers (US - Don Spiegel)

The Killing (US - Stanley Kubrick)

A Man Escaped (France - Robert Bresson)

*The Searchers (US - John Ford)

Street of Shame (US - Kenji Mizoguchi)

The Ten Commandments (US - Cecile B. DeMille)

Written on the Wind (US - Douglas Sirk)

1957

Bridge on the River Kwai (US/UK - David Lean)

The Cranes are Flying (USSR - Mikhail Kalatozov)

Funny Face (US - Stanley Donen)

The Incredible Shrinking Man (US - Jack Arnold)

Kanal (Poland - Andrzej Wajda)

A King in New York (UK - Charlie Chaplin)

Letter From Siberia (France - Chris Marker)

Nights of Cabiria (Italy - Federico Fellini)

Paths of Glory (US - Stanley Kubrick)

*The Seventh Seal (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Throne of Blood (Japan - Akira Kurosawa)

Tokyo Twilight (Japan - Yasujiro Ozu)

12 Angry Men (US - Sydney Lumet)

Wild Strawberries (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Witness for the Prosecution (US - Billy Wilder)

1958-1961

The Human Condition (Japan - Masaki Kobayashi)

1958

*Ashes and Diamonds (Poland - Andrzej Wajda)

Lights of Night (Japan - Shohei Imamura)

The Magician (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Man of the West (US - Anthony Mann)
Moi, Un Noir (France/Ivory Coast - Jean Rouch)

A Movie (US - Bruce Conner)

Some Came Running (US - Vincente Minelli)

*Touch of Evil (US - Orson Welles)

1959

*Ben-Hur (US - William Wyler)

The 400 Blows (France - Francois Truffaut)

General Della Rovere (France/Italy - Roberto Rossellini)

Good Morning (Japan - Yasujiro Ozu)

North by Northwest (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

Pickpocket (France - Robert Bresson)

Pillow Talk (US - Michael Gordon)

Rio Bravo (US - Howard Hawks)

Some Like it Hot (US - Billy Wilder)

The World of Apu (India - Satyajit Ray)

1960

L'Avventura (Italy - Michelangelo Antonioni)

The Bellboy (US - Jerry Lewis)

Breathless (France - Jean Luc Godard)

*La Dolce Vita (Italy - Federico Fellini)

Inherit the Wind (US - Stanley Kramer)

Home From the Hill (US - Vincente Minnelli)

*Psycho (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

*Rocco and His Brothers (Italy - Luchino Visconti)

1961

The Hustler (US - Robert Rossen)

Judgment at Nuremberg (US - Stanley Kramer)

Splendor in the Grass (US - Elia Kazan)

Yojimbo (Japan - Akira Kurosawa)

1962

Antoine and Colette (France - Francois Truffaut)

Cosmic Ray (US - Bruce Conner)

Days of Wine and Roses (US - Blake Edwards)

The Exterminating Angel (Mexico - Luis Bunuel)

Hara-kiri (Japan - Masaki Kobayashi)

Jules and Jim (France - Francois Truffaut)

*Lawrence of Arabia (US/UK - David Lean)

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (US - John Ford)

*The Manchurian Candidate (US - John Frankenheimmer)

1963

America, America (US - Elia Kazan)

The Cardinal (US - Otto Preminger)

*8 1/2 (Italy - Federico Fellini)

The Servant (UK - Joseph Losey)

The Trial (France/West Germany/Italy - Orson Welles)

1964

Battle of Culloden (UK - Peter Watkins)

Black God White Devil (Brazil - Glauber Rocha)

Diamonds of the Night (Czechoslovakia - Jan Nemec)

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (UK/US - Stanley Kubrick)

A Fistful of Dollars (Italy - Sergio Leone)

Gate of Flesh (Japan - Seijun Suzuki)

A Hard Days Night (UK - Richard Lester)

The Killers (US - Don Siegel)

Masque of the Red Death (UK/US - Roger Corman)

The Pawnbroker (US - The Pawnbroker)

Point of Order (US - Emile de Antonio)

1965

Alphaville (France/Italy - Jean Luc Godard)
Brick and Mirror (Iran - Ebrahim Golestan)

Dr. Zhivago (UK/US - David Lean)

For a Few Dollars More (Italy - Sergio Leone)

Help! (UK - Richard Lester)

The Hill (UK/US - Sydney Lumet)

Juliet of the Spirits (Italy - Federico Fellini)

Not Reconciled (Germany - Jean-Marie Straub/Danielle Hulliet)

*Pierrot le Fou (France - Jean Luc Godard)

The Round Up (Hungary - Miklós Jancsó)

Sandra of a Thousand Delights (Italy - Luchino Visconti)

Subarnarekha (India - Ritwik Ghatak)

Sword of the Beast (Japan - Hideo Gosha)

The War Game (UK - Peter Watkins)

1966

*Andrei Rublev (USSR - Andrei Tarkovsky)

*Au Hasard Balthazar (France - Robert Bresson)

*The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria - Gillo Pontecorvo)

Blow-Up (Italy/UK/US - Michelangelo Antonioni)

Death of a Bureaucrat (Cuba/Spain - Toms Gutirrez Alea)

*The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (Italy - Sergio Leone)

Marat/Sade (UK - Peter Brook)

*Persona (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Red Angel (Japan - Yasuzo Masumara)

La Religieuse (France - Jacques Rivette)

Seconds (US - John Frankenheimmer)

Unsere Afrikareise (Austria - Peter Kubelka)

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (US - Mike Nichols)

1967

Belle de Jour (France/Italy - Luis Bunuel)

Bonnie and Clyde (US - Arthur Penn)

La Chinoise (France/Italy - Jean Luc Godard)

Cool Hand Luke (US - Stuart Rosenberg)

The Graduate (US - Mike Nichols)

In Cold Blood (US - Peter Brooks)

Love Affair: or the Case of the Missing Switchboard Operator (Yugoslavia - Dusan Makajevek)

Mouchette (France - Robert Bresson)

Point Blank (US - John Boorman)

The Red and the White (Hungary - Miklós Jancsó)

Titicut Follies (US - Frederick Wiseman)

Two for the Road (UK/US - Stanley Donen)

*Weekend (France/Italy - Jean Luc Godard)

1968

*The Cremator (Czechosolvakia - Juraj Hurz)

High School (US - Frederick Wiseman)

The Hour of the Furnaces (Argentina - Fernando E. Solanas)

Night of the Living Dead (US - George Romero)

Once Upon a Time in the West (Italy - Sergio Leone)

Planet of the Apes (US - Franklin J. Schaffner)

*Romeo and Juliet (US/Italy - Franco Zefferelli)

Rosemary's Baby (US - Roman Polanski)

The Shame (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Teorema (Italy - Pier Paolo Passolini)

*2001: A Space Odyssey (US/UK - Stanley Kubrick)

1969

Bhuvan Shome (India - Mrinal Sen)

The Bride and I (Taiwan - Ching-jui Pai)

Color of Pomegranates (USSR/Ukraine - Sergei Paradjanov)

Easy Rider (US - Dennis Hopper)

Law and Order (US - Frederick Wiseman)

Macunaima (Brazil - Joaquim Pedro de Andrade)

Medium Cool (US - Haskell Wexler)

The Midnight Cowboy (US - John Schlessinger)

Model Shop (US - Jacques Demy)
79 Primaveras (Cuba - Santiago Alvarez)

The Wild Bunch (US - Sam Peckinpah)

Z (France/Algeria - Costa-Gavras)

1970

Catch-22 (US - Mike Nichols)

*The Conformist (France/Italy/West Germany - Bernardo Bertolucci)
Five Easy Pieces (US - Bob Raefelson)

Gimme Shelter (US - Albert Maysles/David Maysles/Charlotte Mitchell Zwerin)

Hospital (US - Frederick Wiseman)

*Husbands (US - John Cassavetes)

Joe (US - John G. Avildsen)

The Lion Has Seven Heads (Brazil/France/Italy - Glauber Rocha)

Little Big Man (US - Arthur Penn)

Patton (US - Franklin Schaffner)

Valerie and Her Week of Wonders (Czechoslovakia - Jaromil Jires)

Variations on a Cellophane Wrapper (US - David Rimmer)

Woodstock (US - Michael Wadleigh)

1971

*A Clockwork Orange (UK - Stanley Kubrick)

Harold and Maude (US - Hal Ashby)

Johnny Got His Gun (US - Dalton Trumbo)

Macbeth (UK - Roman Polanski)

Punishment Park (US - Peter Watkins)

The Sorrow and the Pity (West Germany/France/Switzerland - Marcel Ophuls)

Szerelem aka Love (Hungary - Karoly Makk)

Walkabout (Australia/UK - Nicolas Roeg)

1972

*Aguirre the Wrath of God (West Germany/Peru - Werner Herzog)

Avanti! (US/Italy - Billy Wilder)

The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (West Germany - Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Conquest of the Planet of the Apes (US - J. Lee Thompson)

The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France - Luis Bunuel)

The Getaway (US - Sam Peckinpah)

*The Godfather (US - Francis Ford Coppola)

Horror Rises From the Tomb (Spain - Paul Naschy)

*Last Tango in Paris (Italy/France - Bernardo Bertolucci)

The Mattei Affair (Italy - Francesco Rosi)

Red Psalm (Hungary - Miklós Jancsó)

Solaris (USSR - Andrei Tarkovsky)

Whats Up Doc? (US - Peter Bogdanovich)

The Winter Soldier (US - Winterfilm Collective)

1973

The Crazies (US - George A. Romero)

Distant Thunder (India - Satyajit Ray)

Enter the Dragon (US - Robert Clouse)

The Exorcist (US - William Friedkin)

Juvenile Court (US - Frederick Wiseman)

The Long Goodbye (US - Robert Altman)

Mean Streets (US - Martin Scorsese)

Messiah of Evil (US - Willard Huyck, Gloria Katz)

*The Mother and the Whore (France - Jean Eustache)

O Lucky Man! (UK - Lindsay Anderson)

Paper Moon (US - Peter Bogdanovich)

Scenes From a Marriage (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Spirit of the Beehive (Spain - Victor Erice)

Turkish Delight (Netherlands - Paul Verhoeven)

1974

Blazing Saddles (US - Mel Brooks)

Celine and Julie Go Boating (France - Jacques Rivette)

*Chinatown (US - Roman Polanski)

*The Godfather Part II (US - Francis Ford Coppola)

Hearts and Minds (US - Peter Davies)

The Mirror (USSR - Andrei Tarkovsky)

*Monty Python and the Holy Grail (UK - Terry Gilliam/Terry Jones)

The Phantom of Liberty (France/Italy - Luis Bunuel)

Young Frankenstein (US - Mel Brooks)

A Woman Under the Influence (US - John Cassavettes)

1975

Falsche Bewegung aka False Movement (West Germany - Wim Wenders)

The Great Ecstasy of the Sculptor Steiner (West Germany - Werner Herzog)

I Claudius (UK - Herbert Wise)

The Middleman (India - Satyajit Ray)

Nashville (US - Robert Altman)

Numero Deux (France - Jean-Luc Godard/Anne-Marie Miville)

The Passenger (Italy/Spain - Michelangelo Antonioni)

Shivers (Canada - David Cronenberg)
Sholay (India - Ramesh Sippy)

The Traveling Players (Greece - Theo Angelopoulos)

Xala (Senegal - Ousmane Sembene)

1976

All the Presidents Men (US - Alan J. Pakula)

Family Plot (US - Alfred Hitchcock)

Harlan County USA (US - Barbara Kopple)

In the Realm of the Senses (France/Japan - Nagisa Oshima)

Kings of the Road (West Germany - Wim Wenders)

The Last Supper (Cuba - Toms Gutirrez Alea)

The Man Who Fell to Earth (UK - Nicholas Roeg)

Meat (US - Frederick Wiseman)

Network (US - Sydney Lumet)

*Rocky (US - John G. Avilsden)

*Taxi Driver (US - Martin Scorsese)

The Tenant (France/US - Roman Polanski)

1977

*Annie Hall (US - Woody Allen)

Ceddo (Nigeria/Senegal - Ousmane Sembene)

Eraserhead (US - David Lynch)

Hitler, a Film From Germany (West Germany/France/UK - Hans-Jrgen Syberberg)

Killer of Sheep (US - Charles Burnett)

Roots (US - Marvin J. Chomsky, David Greene, Gilbert Moses, John Erman)

Saturday Night Fever (US - John Badham)

*Star Wars (US - George Lucas)

1978

Autumn Sonata (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (Australia - Fred Schepisi)

Dawn of the Dead (US - George A. Romero)

The Deer Hunter (US - Michael Cimeno)

Halloween (US - John Carpenter)

Interiors (US - Woody Allen)

Pennies From Heaven (UK - Piers Haggard)

Perceval (France - Eric Rohmer)

1979

Alien (US - Ridley Scott) 

*All That Jazz (US - Bob Fosse)

*Apocalypse Now (US - Francis Ford Coppola)
Manhattan (US - Woody Allen)

The Marriage of Maria Braun (West Germany - Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

Monty Pythons Life of Brian (UK - Terry Jones)

Quadrophenia (UK - Franc Roddam)

Real Life (US - Albert Brooks)

*Rocky II (US - Sylvester Stallone)

1980

Airplane (US - Jim Abraham/David Zucker/Jerry Zucker)

*Berlin Alexanderplatz (West Germany/Italy - Rainer Werner Fassbinder)

The Blues Brothers (US - John Landis)

Caddyshack (US - Harold Ramis)

*The Empire Strikes Back (US - Irvin Kirshner)

*Ordinary People (US - Robert Redford)

*Raging Bull (US - Martin Scorsese)

*The Shining (US/UK - Stanley Kubrick)

1981

Das Boot (West Germany - Wolfgang Petersen)

Escape From New York (US - John Carpenter)

Gallipoli (Australia - Peter Weir)

Possession (France/West Germany - Andrzej Żuławski)

Reds (US - Warren Beatty)

Thief (US - Michael Mann)

1982

Blade Runner (US - Ridley Scott)

Diner (US - Barry Levinson)

E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (US - Steven Spielberg)

The Executioner's Song (US - Lawrence Schiller)

Fanny and Alexander (Sweden - Ingmar Bergman)

Fast Times at Ridgemont High (US - Amy Heckerling)

Koyaanisqatsi (US - Godfrey Reggio)

One From the Heart (US - Francis Ford Coppola)

Pink Floyd The Wall (US/UK - Alan Parker)

*Rocky III (US - Sylvester Stallone)

Sophie's Choice (US - Alan J. Pakula)

The Thing (US - John Carpenter)

White Dog (US - Samuel Fuller)

1983

A Christmas Story (Canada - Bob Clark)

Cracking Up (US - Jerry Lewis)

Delirious (US - Bruce Gowers)

My Brother's Wedding (US - Charles Burnett)

À Nos Amours (France - Maurice Pialat)

Paris, Texas (France/UK/US/West Germany - Wim Wenders)

*Return of the Jedi (US - Richard Marquand)

The Right Stuff (US - Phillip Kauffman)

Sans Soleil (France - Chris Marker)

Three Crowns of the Sailor (France - Raúl Ruiz)

Trading Places (US - John Landis)

Videodrome (Canada - David Cronenberg)

1984

Blood Simple (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

Ghostbusters (US - Ivan Reitman)

Manoel on the Island of Marvels (France/Portugal - Raúl Ruiz)

Once Upon a Time in America (US/Italy - Sergio Leone)

Stop Making Sense (US - Jonathan Demme)

The Terminator (US - James Cameron)

This is Spinal Tap (US - Rob Reiner)

The Times of Harvey Milk (US - Robert Epstein)

1985

Boycott (Iran - Mohsehn Makhmalbaf)

Brazil (US - Terry Gilliam)

The Breakfast Club (US - John Hughes)

Clue (US - Jonathan Lynn)

Come and See (USSR - Elem Klimov)

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (US - Tim Burton)

The Purple Rose of Cairo (US - Woody Allen)

Ran (Japan/France - Akira Kurosawa)

Return of the Living Dead (US - Dan O’Bannon)

*Rocky IV (US - Sylvester Stallone)

Shoah (France/Switzerland - Claude Lanzmann)

1986

Big Trouble in Little China (US - John Carpenter)

*Blue Velvet (US - David Lynch)

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (US - John Hughes)

The Fly (US/Canada - David Cronenberg)

Platoon (US - Oliver Stone)

A Room With a View (UK - James Ivory)

Salvador (US - Oliver Stone)

The Singing Detective (UK - Jon Amiel)

1987

Akira (Japan - Katsuhiro Otomo)
Boyfriends and Girlfriends (France - Eric Rohmer)

Camp de Thiaroye (Senegal/Tunisia/Algeria - Ousmane Sembene/Thiermo Faty Sow)

Cobra Verde (West Germany - Werner Herzog)

The Cyclist (Iran - Mohsen Makhmalbaf)

Full Metal Jacket (US/UK - Stanley Kubrick)

Hollywood Shuffle (US - Robert Townsend)

The Last Emperor (US/China/Italy - Bernardo Bertolucci)

*Predator (US - John McTiernan)

Princess Bride (US - Rob Reiner)

Raising Arizona (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

Raw (US - Robert Townsend)

Robocop (US - Paul Verhoeven)

Spaceballs (US - Mel Brooks)

Superstar:  The Karen Carpenter Story (US - Todd Haynes)

Under the Sun of Satan (France - Maurice Pialat)

Wings of Desire (West Germany/France - Wim Wenders)

1988

Bull Durham (US - Ron Shelton)

Coming to America (US - John Landis)

Dead Ringers (Canada - David Cronenberg)

The Decalogue (Poland - Krzysztof Kieslowski)

Die Hard (US - John McTiernan)

Drowning by Numbers (Netherlands - Peter Greenaway)

A Fish Called Wanda (UK - Charles Crichton)

I'm Gonna Git You Sucka (US - Keenan Ivory Wayans)

Landscape in the Mist (Greece/West Germany - Theo Angeloupoulos)

The Last Temptation of Christ (US - Martin Scorsese)

Who Framed Roger Rabbit? (US - Robert Zemeckis)

1989

Always (US - Steven Spielberg)

Born on the Fourth of July (US - Oliver Stone)

Do the Right Thing (US - Spike Lee)

Drugstore Cowboy (US - Gus Van Sant)

Heathers (US - Michael Lehmann)

Isle of Flowers (Brazil - Jorge Furtado)

The Little Mermaid (US - Ron Clements)

*Major League (US - David S. Ward)

*Marriage of the Blessed (Iran - Mohsen Makhmalbaf)

*Tango and Cash (US - Andrei Konchalovsky)

When Harry Met Sally (US - Rob Reiner)

1990

Bullet in the Head (Hong Kong - John Woo)

Dances With Wolves (US - Kevin Costner)

Ghost (US - Jerry Zucker)

*Goodfellas (US - Martin Scorsese)

Ju Dou (China/Japan - Zhang Yimou)

Mo' Better Blues (US - Spike Lee)

Twin Peaks: Pilot Episode (US - David Lynch)

The Unbelievable Truth (US - Hal Hartley)

1991

Barton Fink (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

A Brighter Summer Day (Taiwan - Edward Yang)

Defending Your Life (US - Albert Brooks)

Europa Europa (France/Germany/Poland - Agnieszka Holland)

The Fisher King (US - Terry Gilliam)

JFK (US - Oliver Stone)

Poison (US - Todd Haynes)

Raise the Red Lantern (China/Hong Kong/Taiwan - Zhang Yimou)

Silence of the Lambs (US - Jonathan Demme)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (US - James Cameron)

Van Gogh (France - Maurice Pialat)

1992

Bad Lieutenant (US - Abel Ferara)

Bram Stoker's Dracula (US - Francis Ford Copola)

Dead Alive (New Zealand - Peter Jackson)

Deep Cover (US - Bill Duke)

Hard Boiled (Hong Kong - John Woo)

Malcolm X (US - Spike Lee)

Man Bites Dog (Belgium/France - Remy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde)

Orlando (UK - Sally Potter)

Rebels of the Neon God (Taiwan - Tsai Ming Liang)

Reservoir Dogs (US - Quintin Tarantino)

Unforgiven (US - Clint Eastwood)

Wayne's World (US - Penelope Spheeris)

1993

The Blue Kite (China/Hong Kong - Tian Zhuangzhuang)

Carlito's Way (US - Brian De Palma)

Dazed and Confused (US - Richard Linklater)

Groundhog Day (US - Harold Ramis)

Matinee (US - Joe Dante)

*Schindler's List (US - Steven Spielberg)

Thirty-Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (Canada - Francois Girard)

Visions of Light: The Art of Cinematography (US/Japan - Stuart Samuels, Arnold Glassman, Todd McCarthy, Andrew Glassman)

1994

Baseball (US - Ken Burns)

Burnt by the Sun (France/Russia - Nikita Mikhaltov)

Chungking Express (Hong Kong - Wong Kar Wai)

Forrest Gump (US - Robert Zemeckis)

Heavenly Creatures (New Zealand - Peter Jackson)

*Natural Born Killers (US - Oliver Stone)

*Pulp Fiction (US - Quintin Tarantino)

Quiz Show (US - Robert Redford)

Satantango (Germany/Hungary/Austria - Béla Tarr)

*71 Fragments of a Chronology of Chance (Austria/Germany - Michael Haneke)

Through the Olive Trees (Iran - Abbas Kiarostami)

To Live (China - Zhang Yimou)

Wild Reeds (France - Andre Techine)

1995

The Beatles Anthology (UK - Bob Smeaton)

*Before Sunrise (US - Richard Linklater)

Casino (US - Martin Scorsese)

Clockers (US - Spike Lee)

Fallen Angels (Hong Kong - Wong Kar Wai)

Kids (US - Larry Clark)

Toy Story (US - John Lasseter)

*Ulysses Gaze (Greece/France/Italy - Theo Angelopoulos)

Underground (France/Germany/Hungary - Emir Kustirica) 

Up, Down, Fragile (France - Jacques Rivette)

1996

The Celluloid Closet (US - Robert Epstein, Jeffrey Friedman)
Comrades: Almost a Love Story (Hong Kong - Peter Chan)

Fargo (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

Forgotten Silver (New Zealand - Peter Jackson, Costa Botes)

Gabbeh (Iran - Mohsen Makhmalbaf)

Irma Vep (France - Olivier Assayas)

Lone Star (US - John Sayles)

The Pillow Book (UK/France/Netherlands - Peter Greenaway)

Les Voleurs/Thieves (France - Andre Techine)

When We Were Kings (US - Leon Gast)

1997

Boogie Nights (US - Paul Thomas Anderson)

Deconstructing Harry (US - Woody Allen)

Funny Games (Austria - Micheal Haneke)

Happy Together (Hong Kong - Wong Kar Wai)

Jackie Brown (US - Quentin Tarantino)

*LA Confidential (US - Curtis Hansen)

Lost Highway (US/France - David Lynch)

Open Your Eyes (Spain/Italy/France - Alejandro Amenabar)

Princess Mononoke (Japan - Hayao Miyazaki)

Public Housing (US - Frederick Wiseman)

Titanic (US - James Cameron)

The Wonderful Years That Sucked (Czech Republic - Petr Nikolaev)

1998

After Life (Japan - Hirokazu Kore-eda)

*The Big Lebowski (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

Flowers of Shanghai (Japan/Taiwan - Hou Hsaio-Hsien)

Histoire(s) du Cinema (France/Switzerland - Jean Luc Godard)

John Leguizamo's Freak (US - Spike Lee)

The Mirror (Iran - Jafar Panahi)

Run Lola Run (Germany - Tom Tykwer)

Rushmore (US - Wes Anderson)

Saving Private Ryan (US - Steven Spielberg)

Thin Red Line (US - Terence Malick)

1999

All About My Mother (France/Spain - Pedro Almodovar)

American Beauty (US - Sam Mendes)

Bringing Out the Dead (US - Martin Scorsese)

Election (US - Alexander Payne)

The Emperor and the Assassin (China/Japan/France - Chen Kaige)

eXistenZ (Canada/UK - David Cronenberg)

*Fight Club (US - David Fincher)

The Hurricane (US - Norman Jewison)

The Iron Giant (US - Brad Bird)

*Magnolia (US - Paul Thomas Anderson)

The Matrix (US - Andy and Larry Wachowski)

South Park: Bigger, Longer, and Uncut (US - Trey Parker)

Three Kings (US - David O'Russell)

Toy Story 2 (US - John Lasseter, Lee Unkrich, Ash Brannon)

2000

Almost Famous (US - Cameron Crowe)

The American Nightmare (US - Adam Simon)

Bamboozled (US - Spike Lee)

La Commune, Paris 1871 (France - Peter Watkins)

Dancer in the Dark (Denmark/France/Sweden - Lars Von Trier)

Eureka (Japan - Shinji Aoyama)

Hamlet (US - Michael Almereyda)

The Heart of the World (Canada - Guy Maddin)

Love's Labours Lost (US/UK - Kenneth Branagh)

Memento (US - Christopher Nolan)

O Brother Where Art Thou? (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

Requiem for a Dream (US - Darren Aronosky)

The State I Am In (Germany - Christian Petzold)

Timecode (US - Michael Figgis)

Traffic (US - Steven Soderbergh) 

Werckmeister Harmonies (Hungary - Béla Tarr)

Yi-Yi (Taiwan - Edward Yang)

2001

Apocalypse Now Redux (US - Francis Ford Coppola)

Baran (Iran - Majid Majidi)

The Day I Became a Woman (Iran - Marzieh Meshkini)

The Hidden Half (Iran - Mohammad Nikbin/Tahmineh Milani)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (US/New Zealand - Peter Jackson)

The Lost Skeleton of Cadavra (US - Larry Blamire)

Moulin Rouge (US/Australia - Baz Luhrmann)

*Mulholland Drive (US - David Lynch)

The Royal Tenenbaums (US - Wes Anderson)

Stanley Kubrick: A Life in Pictures (US - Jan Harlan)

Vanilla Sky (US - Cameron Crowe)

Y Tu Mamá También (Mexico - Alfonso Cuarón)

2002

Adaptation (US - Spike Jonze)

All or Nothing (UK - Michael Leigh)

Ararat (Canada - Atom Egoyan)

Bloody Sunday (UK/Ireland - Paul Greengrass)

Bowling for Columbine (US - Michael Moore)

Catch Me If You Can (US - Steven Spielberg)

*City of God (Brazil - Katia Lund, Fernando Meirelles)

Friday Night (France - Claire Denis)

Gangs of New York (US - Martin Scorsese)

Hero (China/Hong Kong - Zhang Yimou)

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (US/New Zealand - Peter Jackson)

Minority Report (US - Steven Spielberg)

The Pianist (Poland/UK/France/Germany - Roman Polanski)

Spirited Away (Japan - Hayao Miyazaki)

*Talk to Her (Spain - Pedro Almodovar)

25th Hour (US - Spike Lee)

2003

Angels in America (US - Mike Nichols)

Bad Santa (US - Terry Zwigoff)

The Best of Youth (Italy - Marco Tullio Giordana)

Big Fish (US - Tim Burton)

Dogville (Denmark - Lars Von Trier)

Elephant (US - Gus Van Sant)

Finding Nemo (US - Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich)

*Kill Bill Vol. 1 (US - Quintin Tarantino)

Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (US/New Zealand - Peter Jackson)

Memories of Murder (South Korea - Bong Joon-Ho)

The Saddest Music in the World (Canada - Guy Maddin)

Tarnation (US - Jonathan Caouette)

21 Grams (US - Alejandro Gonzlez Irritu)

2004

*Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US - Michel Gondry)

The Garden of Earthly Delights (Italy/UK/Poland - Lech Majewski)

House of Flying Daggers (China/Hong Kong - Zhang Yimou)

I Heart Huckabees (US - David O'Russell)

*The Incredibles (US - Brad Bird)

*Kill Bill Vol. 2 (US - Quintin Tarantino)

Kings and Queen (France - Arnaud Desplechin)

Kung Fu Hustle (China/Hong Kong - Stephen Chow)

Million Dollar Baby (US - Clint Eastwood)

Moolaade (Senegal - Ousmane Sembene)

Sideways (US - Alexander Payne)

Team America: World Police (US - Trey Parker)

Vera Drake (UK - Mike Leigh)

The Weeping Meadow (Greece/France - Theo Angelopoulos)

The World (Japan/France/China - Jia Zhang Ke)

2005

Broken Flowers (US - Jim Jarmusch)

Caché (Austria/France - Michael Haneke)

Crash (US - Paul Haggis)

The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (Romania - Cristi Puiu)

Fever Pitch (US - Peter and Bobby Farrelly)

A History of Violence (Canada/Germany/US - David Cronenberg)

Last Days (US - Gus Van Sant)

Munich (US - Steven Spielberg)

Pride and Prejudice (US/UK - Joe Wright)

Regular Lovers (France - Philippe Garrel)

Serenity (US - Joss Whedon)

Sin City (US - Frank Miller/Robert Rodriguez/Quintin Tarantino)

The Squid and the Whale (US - Noah Baumbach)

2006

Black Book (Belgium/UK/Germany/Netherlands - Paul Verhoeven)

Bobby (US - Emilio Estevez)

Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (US - Larry Charles)

Children of Men (US/UK - Alfonso Cauron)

Curse of the Golden Flower (China/Hong Kong - Zhang Yimou)

The Departed (US - Martin Scorsese)

Hana (Japan - Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Idiocracy (US - Mike Judge)

Inland Empire (Poland/France/US - David Lynch)

Letters From Iwo Jima (US - Clint Eastwood)

Private Fears in Public Places (France/Italy - Alain Resnais)

The Pursuit of Happyness (US - Gabrielle Muccino)

A Scanner Darkly (US - Richard Linklater)

Syndromes and a Century (Thailand - Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

The Wedding Director (Italy/France - Marco Bellocchio)

2007

Brand Upon the Brain! (Canada/US - Guy Maddin)

Darjeeling Limited (US - Wes Anderson)

The Edge of Heaven (Turkey/Germany - Faith Akin)

4 Months, 3 Weeks, and 2 Days (Romania - Cristian Mungiu)

No Country for Old Men (US - Joel and Ethan Coen)

Paranormal Activity (US - Oren Peli)

Planet Terror (US - Robert Rodriguez)

There Will Be Blood (US - Paul Thomas Anderson)

Zodiac (US - David Fincher)

2008

Be Kind Rewind (US- Michel Gondry)

The Class (France - Laurent Cantet)

*The Dark Knight (US - Christopher Nolan)

Gran Torino (US - Clint Eastwood)

The Hunger (UK/Ireland - Steve McQueen)

In the Loop (UK - Armando Iannucci)

Rambo (US - Sylvester Stallone)

Standard Operating Procedure (US - Errol Morris)

Synecdoche New York (US - Charlie Kauffman)

Two Lovers (US - James Gray)

2009

Air Doll (Japan - Hirokazu Kore-eda)

Antichrist (Poland/Germany/France/Sweden/Italy/Denmark - Lars Von Trier)

District 9 (South Africa/US - Neill Blomkamp)

Dogtooth (Greece - Yorgos Lanthimos)

Fantastic Mr. Fox (US/UK - Wes Anderson)

The Girlfriend Experience (US - Steven Soderbergh)

Mother (South Korea - Bong Joon-Ho)

Police, Adjective (Romania - Corneliu Porumboiu)

Up (US - Pete Docter)

White Material (France - Claire Denis)

Wild Grass (France - Alain Resnais)

The Young Victoria (US/UK - Jean-Marc Vallee)

2010

Aurora (Romania - Cristi Puiu)

*Carlos (France/Germany - Olivier Assayas)

The Fighter (US - David O’Russell)

The Ghost Writer (France/Germany/UK - Roman Polanski)

Inception (US - Christopher Nolan)

Please Give (US - Nicole Holofcener)

The Robber (Austria/Germany - Benjamin Heisenberg)

Toy Story 3 (US - Lee Unkrich)

Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Thailand - Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

2011

The Artist (France - Michael Hazanavicius)

A Dangerous Method (Canada/Germany - David Cronenberg)

The Descendants (US - Alexander Payne)

Kill List (UK - Ben Wheatley)

Martha Marcy May Marlene (US - Sean Durkin)
Restless (US - Gus Van Sant)

A Separation (Iran Asghar Farhadi)

*Tree of Life (US - Terrence Malick)

X-Men:  First Class (US - Mathew Vaughn)

2012

The Act of Killing (Denmark/Norway/UK - Joshua Oppenheimer)
The Dark Knight Rises (US - Christopher Nolan)

Django Unchained (US - Quentin Tarantino)

Silver Linings Playbook (US - David O. Russell)

Tabu (Portugal/Germany/Brazil/France - Miguel Gomes)

Zero Dark Thirty (US - Kathryn Biegelow)

2013
American Hustle (US - David O. Russell)
Before Midnight (US - Richard Linklater)
Blue Jasmine (US - Woody Allen)
The Great Beauty (France/Italy - Paolo Sorrentino)
A Touch of Sin (China - Jia Zhang Ke)
12 Years a Slave (US - Steve McQueen)

2014
Birdman or the Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance (US - Alejandro González Iñárritu) 
The Immigrant (US - James Gray)
Timbuktu (France/Mauritania - Abderrahmane Sissako)

2015
The Big Short (US - Adam McKay)
Carol (UK/US - Todd Haynes)
The Look of Silence (Denmark/Finland/France/Germany/Indonesia/Israel/Netherlands/Norway/Taiwan/United Kingdom/United States - Joshua Oppenheimer)

The Revenant (US - Alejandro González Iñárritu)
What We Do in the Shadows (New Zealand/US - Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi)

2016

Captain Fantastic (US - Matt Ross)

Deadpool (US - Tim Miller)

Elle (France/Germany - Paul Verhoeven)

La La Land (US - Damien Chazelle)

Manchester By the Sea (US - Kenneth Lonergan)

Moonlight (US - Barry Jenkins)

Neruda (Argentina/Chile/France/Spain - Pablo Larrain)

2017

The Florida Project (US - Sean Baker)

Lady Macbeth (UK - William Oldroyd)

Logan (US - James Mangold)

Three Billboards Outside of Ebbing, Missouri (UK/US - Martin McDonagh)