Critics Consensus Top 1000 Films

Photo: John Cassavetes' Husbands

This is a poll of polls, taking many lists into account, around 1800, and putting all that on a computer and letting it rank all those mentioned, with additional weighting given to some more important lists. This list is from They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? Great film site, check it out!

1. Citizen Kane, Dir: Welles, Orson


2. Vertigo, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


3. Rules of the Game, The, Dir: Renoir, Jean


4. 2001: A Space Odyssey, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


5. 8½, Dir: Fellini, Federico


6. Godfather, The, Dir: Coppola, Francis


7. Searchers, The, Dir: Ford, John


8. Battleship Potemkin, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


9. Seven Samurai, The, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


10. Tokyo Story, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


11. Singin' in the Rain, Dir: Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly


12. Sunrise, Dir: Murnau, F.W.


13. Lawrence of Arabia, Dir: Lean, David


14. Bicycle Thieves, Dir: De Sica, Vittorio


15. Casablanca, Dir: Curtiz, Michael


16. Atalante, L', Dir: Vigo, Jean


17. Passion of Joan of Arc, The, Dir: Dreyer, Carl


18. Raging Bull, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


19. Rashomon, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


20. Godfather Part II, The, Dir: Coppola, Francis


21. Touch of Evil, Dir: Welles, Orson


22. Some Like it Hot, Dir: Wilder, Billy


23. City Lights, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


24. Third Man, The, Dir: Reed, Carol


25. Grande illusion, La, Dir: Renoir, Jean


26. Dolce vita, La, Dir: Fellini, Federico


27. Gold Rush, The, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


28. Taxi Driver, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


29. Sunset Blvd., Dir: Wilder, Billy


30. General, The, Dir: Keaton, Buster/Clyde Bruckman


31. Enfants du paradis, Les, Dir: Carné, Marcel


32. Psycho, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


33. Breathless, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


34. Ordet, Dir: Dreyer, Carl


35. Apocalypse Now, Dir: Coppola, Francis


36. Chinatown, Dir: Polanski, Roman


37. Night of the Hunter, The, Dir: Laughton, Charles


38. Avventura, L', Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo


39. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


40. Persona, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


41. Andrei Rublev, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


42. Jules et Jim, Dir: Truffaut, François


43. Magnificent Ambersons, The, Dir: Welles, Orson


44. 400 Blows, The, Dir: Truffaut, François


45. It's a Wonderful Life, Dir: Capra, Frank


46. Blade Runner, Dir: Scott, Ridley


47. Rear Window, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


48. Modern Times, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


49. North by Northwest, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


50. Strada, La, Dir: Fellini, Federico


51. Intolerance, Dir: Griffith, D.W.


52. Seventh Seal, The, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


53. M, Dir: Lang, Fritz


54. Ugetsu monogatari, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


55. Apartment, The, Dir: Wilder, Billy


56. Contempt, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


57. Wild Strawberries, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


58. Wild Bunch, The, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


59. Pather Panchali, Dir: Ray, Satyajit


60. Gone with the Wind, Dir: Fleming, Victor


61. Au hasard Balthazar, Dir: Bresson, Robert


62. Wizard of Oz, The, Dir: Fleming, Victor


63. Rio Bravo, Dir: Hawks, Howard


64. Greed, Dir: von Stroheim, Erich


65. Conformist, The, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


66. Leopard, The, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


67. Nashville, Dir: Altman, Robert


68. Viridiana, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


69. Mirror, The, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


70. Metropolis, Dir: Lang, Fritz


71. To Be or Not to Be, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


72. All About Eve, Dir: Mankiewicz, Joseph L.


73. Once Upon a Time in the West, Dir: Leone, Sergio


74. Fanny and Alexander, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


75. Notorious, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


76. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The, Dir: Ford, John


77. Letter from an Unknown Woman, Dir: Ophüls, Max


78. Madame de..., Dir: Ophüls, Max


79. Bringing Up Baby, Dir: Hawks, Howard


80. Pickpocket, Dir: Bresson, Robert


81. Ikiru, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


82. Amarcord, Dir: Fellini, Federico


83. Stagecoach, Dir: Ford, John


84. Pierrot le fou, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


85. My Darling Clementine, Dir: Ford, John


86. Voyage in Italy, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


87. Playtime, Dir: Tati, Jacques


88. Sansho the Bailiff, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


89. Last Year at Marienbad, Dir: Resnais, Alain


90. Âge d'or, L', Dir: Buñuel, Luis


91. Aguirre: The Wrath of God, Dir: Herzog, Werner


92. Barry Lyndon, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


93. Clockwork Orange, A, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


94. Double Indemnity, Dir: Wilder, Billy


95. Battle of Algiers, The, Dir: Pontecorvo, Gillo


96. Hiroshima mon amour, Dir: Resnais, Alain


97. Man with a Movie Camera, The, Dir: Vertov, Dziga


98. Rome, Open City, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


99. GoodFellas, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


100. Sherlock Jr., Dir: Keaton, Buster


101. Napoléon, Dir: Gance, Abel


102. His Girl Friday, Dir: Hawks, Howard


103. Duck Soup, Dir: McCarey, Leo


104. On the Waterfront, Dir: Kazan, Elia


105. Nosferatu, Dir: Murnau, F.W.


106. Jaws, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


107. Blue Velvet, Dir: Lynch, David


108. Gertrud, Dir: Dreyer, Carl


109. Olvidados, Los, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


110. Star Wars, Dir: Lucas, George


111. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The, Dir: Huston, John


112. Broken Blossoms, Dir: Griffith, D.W.


113. Manhattan, Dir: Allen, Woody


114. Lady Eve, The, Dir: Sturges, Preston


115. King Kong, Dir: Cooper, Merian C./Ernest B. Schoedsack


116. Annie Hall, Dir: Allen, Woody


117. Out of the Past, Dir: Tourneur, Jacques


118. Ashes and Diamonds, Dir: Wajda, Andrzej


119. Vivre sa vie, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


120. Exterminating Angel, The, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


121. Ran, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


122. Best Years of Our Lives, The, Dir: Wyler, William


123. Birth of a Nation, The, Dir: Griffith, D.W.


124. Chimes at Midnight, Dir: Welles, Orson


125. Stalker, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


126. Matter of Life and Death, A, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


127. Grapes of Wrath, The, Dir: Ford, John


128. Red Shoes, The, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


129. Umberto D., Dir: De Sica, Vittorio


130. Man Escaped, A, Dir: Bresson, Robert


131. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, Dir: Forman, Milos


132. Dekalog, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


133. Paisan, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


134. Earth, Dir: Dovzhenko, Alexander


135. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


136. Don't Look Now, Dir: Roeg, Nicolas


137. Bonnie and Clyde, Dir: Penn, Arthur


138. Black Narcissus, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


139. Red River, Dir: Hawks, Howard


140. Belle de jour, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


141. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Dir: Akerman, Chantal


142. Philadelphia Story, The, Dir: Cukor, George


143. Once Upon a Time in America, Dir: Leone, Sergio


144. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The, Dir: Wiene, Robert


145. Brief Encounter, Dir: Lean, David


146. Mean Streets, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


147. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


148. Shining, The, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


149. Ivan the Terrible, Part One, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


150. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


151. Pulp Fiction, Dir: Tarantino, Quentin


152. Shoah, Dir: Lanzmann, Claude


153. Partie de campagne, Dir: Renoir, Jean


154. Cries and Whispers, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


155. Travelling Players, The, Dir: Angelopoulos, Theo


156. Woman Under the Influence, A, Dir: Cassavetes, John


157. Band Wagon, The, Dir: Minnelli, Vincente


158. Jetée, La, Dir: Marker, Chris


159. Gospel According to St. Matthew, The, Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo


160. Quiet Man, The, Dir: Ford, John


161. Maltese Falcon, The, Dir: Huston, John


162. Trouble in Paradise, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


163. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


164. Days of Heaven, Dir: Malick, Terrence


165. World of Apu, The, Dir: Ray, Satyajit


166. Badlands, Dir: Malick, Terrence


167. Chien andalou, Un, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


168. Palm Beach Story, The, Dir: Sturges, Preston


169. McCabe & Mrs. Miller, Dir: Altman, Robert


170. Monsieur Verdoux, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


171. Sullivan's Travels, Dir: Sturges, Preston


172. Mother and the Whore, The, Dir: Eustache, Jean


173. Last Laugh, The, Dir: Murnau, F.W.


174. Sweet Smell of Success, Dir: Mackendrick, Alexander


175. Kind Hearts and Coronets, Dir: Hamer, Robert


176. Brazil, Dir: Gilliam, Terry


177. Conversation, The, Dir: Coppola, Francis


178. Crowd, The, Dir: Vidor, King


179. Raiders of the Lost Ark, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


180. Nights of Cabiria, Dir: Fellini, Federico


181. Celine and Julie Go Boating, Dir: Rivette, Jacques


182. Eclisse, L', Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo


183. Vampyr, Dir: Dreyer, Carl


184. Death in Venice, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


185. Rocco and His Brothers, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


186. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul, Dir: Fassbinder, Rainer Werner


187. Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The, Dir: Leone, Sergio


188. Performance, Dir: Roeg, Nicolas/Donald Cammell


189. Pandora's Box, Dir: Pabst, G.W.


190. Late Spring, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


191. Close-Up, Dir: Kiarostami, Abbas


192. Music Room, The, Dir: Ray, Satyajit


193. Exorcist, The, Dir: Friedkin, William


194. Spirit of the Beehive, The, Dir: Erice, Victor


195. Paths of Glory, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


196. Belle et la bête, La, Dir: Cocteau, Jean


197. Blow-Up, Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo


198. It Happened One Night, Dir: Capra, Frank


199. Written on the Wind, Dir: Sirk, Douglas


200. Deer Hunter, The, Dir: Cimino, Michael


201. Argent, L', Dir: Bresson, Robert


202. Night at the Opera, A, Dir: Wood, Sam


203. Imitation of Life, Dir: Sirk, Douglas


204. Notte, La, Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo


205. Do the Right Thing, Dir: Lee, Spike


206. Wages of Fear, The, Dir: Clouzot, Henri-Georges


207. Freaks, Dir: Browning, Tod


208. Orpheus, Dir: Cocteau, Jean


209. Unforgiven, Dir: Eastwood, Clint


210. Nanook of the North, Dir: Flaherty, Robert


211. Birds, The, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


212. Schindler's List, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


213. Berlin Alexanderplatz, Dir: Fassbinder, Rainer Werner


214. Star is Born, A, Dir: Cukor, George


215. Graduate, The, Dir: Nichols, Mike


216. Tabu, Dir: Murnau, F.W.


217. Alexander Nevsky, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


218. Only Angels Have Wings, Dir: Hawks, Howard


219. River, The, Dir: Renoir, Jean


220. Meet Me in St. Louis, Dir: Minnelli, Vincente


221. Peeping Tom, Dir: Powell, Michael


222. Last Tango in Paris, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


223. Bride of Frankenstein, Dir: Whale, James


224. Two or Three Things I Know About Her, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


225. Solaris, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


226. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


227. Throne of Blood, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


228. Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, The, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


229. Week-End, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


230. Alien, Dir: Scott, Ridley


231. Bridge on the River Kwai, The, Dir: Lean, David


232. Rosemary's Baby, Dir: Polanski, Roman


233. Sans soleil, Dir: Marker, Chris


234. Great Dictator, The, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


235. Diary of a Country Priest, Dir: Bresson, Robert


236. Germany, Year Zero, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


237. Shop Around the Corner, The, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


238. Crime of Monsieur Lange, The, Dir: Renoir, Jean


239. Zero for Conduct, Dir: Vigo, Jean


240. Samouraï, Le, Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre


241. Johnny Guitar, Dir: Ray, Nicholas


242. Mr. Hulot's Holiday, Dir: Tati, Jacques


243. Passenger, The, Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo


244. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom, Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo


245. Shoot the Piano Player, Dir: Truffaut, François


246. Tree of Wooden Clogs, The, Dir: Olmi, Ermanno


247. Wings of Desire, Dir: Wenders, Wim


248. Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The, Dir: Demy, Jacques


249. Shane, Dir: Stevens, George


250. West Side Story, Dir: Wise, Robert/Jerome Robbins


251. Miracle in Milan, Dir: De Sica, Vittorio


252. To Kill a Mockingbird, Dir: Mulligan, Robert


253. Strangers on a Train, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


254. Meshes of the Afternoon, Dir: Deren, Maya


255. Blue Angel, The, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


256. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Dir: Hand, David


257. In the Realm of the Senses, Dir: Oshima, Nagisa


258. Life of Oharu, The, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


259. Floating Clouds, Dir: Naruse, Mikio


260. Night of the Living Dead, Dir: Romero, George A.


261. Piano, The, Dir: Campion, Jane


262. Senso, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


263. Big Sleep, The, Dir: Hawks, Howard


264. Last Picture Show, The, Dir: Bogdanovich, Peter


265. Kiss Me Deadly, Dir: Aldrich, Robert


266. Day of Wrath, Dir: Dreyer, Carl


267. 1900, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


268. Kings of the Road, Dir: Wenders, Wim


269. Mouchette, Dir: Bresson, Robert


270. Cabaret, Dir: Fosse, Bob


271. High Noon, Dir: Zinnemann, Fred


272. Crimes and Misdemeanors, Dir: Allen, Woody


273. Salvatore Giuliano, Dir: Rosi, Francesco


274. Day for Night, Dir: Truffaut, François


275. Million, Le, Dir: Clair, René


276. Lola Montès, Dir: Ophüls, Max


277. Verdugo, El, Dir: Berlanga, Luis García


278. My Night at Maud's, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


279. Fantasia, Dir: Sharpsteen, Ben


280. Make Way for Tomorrow, Dir: McCarey, Leo


281. All That Heaven Allows, Dir: Sirk, Douglas


282. Ninotchka, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


283. Network, Dir: Lumet, Sidney


284. Strike, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


285. Midnight Cowboy, Dir: Schlesinger, John


286. In a Lonely Place, Dir: Ray, Nicholas


287. Time to Live and the Time to Die, The, Dir: Hou Hsiao-Hsien


288. Fargo, Dir: Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen


289. Aparajito, Dir: Ray, Satyajit


290. White Heat, Dir: Walsh, Raoul


291. Kid, The, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


292. October, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


293. Rebel Without a Cause, Dir: Ray, Nicholas


294. Terminator, The, Dir: Cameron, James


295. Deliverance, Dir: Boorman, John


296. All Quiet on the Western Front, Dir: Milestone, Lewis


297. Awful Truth, The, Dir: McCarey, Leo


298. Scarlet Empress, The, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


299. Paris, Texas, Dir: Wenders, Wim


300. To Have and Have Not, Dir: Hawks, Howard


301. Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The, Dir: Hooper, Tobe


302. Shadows, Dir: Cassavetes, John


303. African Queen, The, Dir: Huston, John


304. Laura, Dir: Preminger, Otto


305. City of Sadness, A, Dir: Hou Hsiao-Hsien


306. Empire Strikes Back, The, Dir: Kershner, Irvin


307. Top Hat, Dir: Sandrich, Mark


308. Wind, The, Dir: Sjöström, Victor


309. 39 Steps, The, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


310. High and Low, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


311. Man of Aran, Dir: Flaherty, Robert


312. Rebecca, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


313. Five Easy Pieces, Dir: Rafelson, Bob


314. Asphalt Jungle, The, Dir: Huston, John


315. El, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


316. Carrie, Dir: De Palma, Brian


317. Navigator, The, Dir: Keaton, Buster/Donald Crisp


318. F for Fake, Dir: Welles, Orson


319. Aliens, Dir: Cameron, James


320. Thief of Bagdad, The, Dir: Powell, Michael/Ludwig Berger/Tim Whelan


321. Ben-Hur, Dir: Wyler, William


322. Wedding March, The, Dir: von Stroheim, Erich


323. Black God, White Devil, Dir: Rocha, Glauber


324. Charulata, Dir: Ray, Satyajit


325. Repulsion, Dir: Polanski, Roman


326. Spartacus, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


327. Steamboat Bill, Jr., Dir: Keaton, Buster/Charles F. Reisner


328. Chungking Express, Dir: Wong Kar-Wai


329. Manchurian Candidate, The, Dir: Frankenheimer, John


330. Shadow of a Doubt, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


331. Easy Rider, Dir: Hopper, Dennis


332. Local Hero, Dir: Forsyth, Bill


333. Mon oncle, Dir: Tati, Jacques


334. Canterbury Tale, A, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


335. In a Year with 13 Moons, Dir: Fassbinder, Rainer Werner


336. Hustler, The, Dir: Rossen, Robert


337. Marnie, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


338. Cameraman, The, Dir: Keaton, Buster/Edward Sedgwick


339. Wavelength, Dir: Snow, Michael


340. Casque d'or, Dir: Becker, Jacques


341. Amadeus, Dir: Forman, Milos


342. Don't Look Back, Dir: Pennebaker, D.A.


343. Sátántangó, Dir: Tarr, Béla


344. In the Mood for Love, Dir: Wong Kar-Wai


345. Providence, Dir: Resnais, Alain


346. Pinocchio, Dir: Sharpsteen, Ben & Hamilton Luske


347. Triumph of the Will, Dir: Riefenstahl, Leni


348. Accattone, Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo


349. Tristana, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


350. Killer of Sheep, Dir: Burnett, Charles


351. Closely Watched Trains, Dir: Menzel, Jirí


352. Loves of a Blonde, Dir: Forman, Milos


353. Dawn of the Dead, Dir: Romero, George A.


354. Eyes Without a Face, Dir: Franju, Georges


355. How Green Was My Valley, Dir: Ford, John


356. Streetcar Named Desire, A, Dir: Kazan, Elia


357. Come and See, Dir: Klimov, Elem


358. Red Desert, Dir: Antonioni, Michelangelo


359. Servant, The, Dir: Losey, Joseph


360. Great Expectations, Dir: Lean, David


361. Pyaasa, Dir: Dutt, Guru


362. Listen to Britain, Dir: Jennings, Humphrey


363. Yojimbo, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


364. Chelsea Girls, Dir: Warhol, Andy


365. Frankenstein, Dir: Whale, James


366. Scorpio Rising, Dir: Anger, Kenneth


367. Forbidden Games, Dir: Clément, René


368. Killing of a Chinese Bookie, The, Dir: Cassavetes, John


369. Our Hospitality, Dir: Keaton, Buster/John Blystone


370. Limelight, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


371. Fellini Satyricon, Dir: Fellini, Federico


372. Night and Fog, Dir: Resnais, Alain


373. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Dir: Capra, Frank


374. Cinema Paradiso, Dir: Tornatore, Giuseppe


375. Plaisir, Le, Dir: Ophüls, Max


376. Memories of Underdevelopment, Dir: Alea, Tomás Gutiérrez


377. Full Metal Jacket, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


378. Silence of the Lambs, The, Dir: Demme, Jonathan


379. Big Heat, The, Dir: Lang, Fritz


380. Point Blank, Dir: Boorman, John


381. Heat, Dir: Mann, Michael


382. Colour of Pomegranate, The, Dir: Parajanov, Sergei


383. Breaking the Waves, Dir: von Trier, Lars


384. Alice in the Cities, Dir: Wenders, Wim


385. Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


386. Groundhog Day, Dir: Ramis, Harold


387. Faust, Dir: Murnau, F.W.


388. Sacrifice, The, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


389. She Wore a Yellow Ribbon, Dir: Ford, John


390. Detour, Dir: Ulmer, Edgar G.


391. Mad Max 2, Dir: Miller, George


392. Back to the Future, Dir: Zemeckis, Robert


393. Vampires, Les, Dir: Feuillade, Louis


394. My Neighbour Totoro, Dir: Miyazaki, Hayao


395. Henry V, Dir: Olivier, Laurence


396. Autumn Afternoon, An, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


397. Hard Day's Night, A, Dir: Lester, Richard


398. Reservoir Dogs, Dir: Tarantino, Quentin


399. Vitelloni, I, Dir: Fellini, Federico


400. Cloud-Capped Star, The, Dir: Ghatak, Ritwik


401. Breakfast at Tiffany's, Dir: Edwards, Blake


402. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Dir: Hill, George Roy


403. They Were Expendable, Dir: Ford, John


404. Masculin Feminin, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


405. Love Me Tonight, Dir: Mamoulian, Rouben


406. Eraserhead, Dir: Lynch, David


407. Affair to Remember, An, Dir: McCarey, Leo


408. Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Dir: Siegel, Don


409. Terra trema, La, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


410. Raise the Red Lantern, Dir: Zhang Yimou


411. Lola, Dir: Demy, Jacques


412. Moment of Innocence, A, Dir: Makhmalbaf, Mohsen


413. I Know Where I'm Going!, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


414. Some Came Running, Dir: Minnelli, Vincente


415. King of Comedy, The, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


416. Dead, The, Dir: Huston, John


417. Young Girls of Rochefort, The, Dir: Demy, Jacques


418. Lady from Shanghai, The, Dir: Welles, Orson


419. Love Streams, Dir: Cassavetes, John


420. Terra em Transe, Dir: Rocha, Glauber


421. My Life as a Dog, Dir: Hallström, Lasse


422. Kes, Dir: Loach, Ken


423. It's a Gift, Dir: McLeod, Norman Z.


424. Muriel, Dir: Resnais, Alain


425. Nostalghia, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


426. French Cancan, Dir: Renoir, Jean


427. Sound of Music, The, Dir: Wise, Robert


428. American Graffiti, Dir: Lucas, George


429. I Was Born, But…, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


430. That Obscure Object of Desire, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


431. Lady Vanishes, The, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


432. Place in the Sun, A, Dir: Stevens, George


433. Stranger Than Paradise, Dir: Jarmusch, Jim


434. Seven Chances, Dir: Keaton, Buster


435. Two-Lane Blacktop, Dir: Hellman, Monte


436. Tootsie, Dir: Pollack, Sydney


437. Lancelot du Lac, Dir: Bresson, Robert


438. 42nd Street, Dir: Bacon, Lloyd


439. Dead Ringers, Dir: Cronenberg, David


440. Age of Innocence, The, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


441. Foolish Wives, Dir: von Stroheim, Erich


442. Fellini's Casanova, Dir: Fellini, Federico


443. Olympia, Dir: Riefenstahl, Leni


444. Thelma & Louise, Dir: Scott, Ridley


445. Dead Man, Dir: Jarmusch, Jim


446. I Am Cuba, Dir: Kalatozishvili, Mikheil


447. Faces, Dir: Cassavetes, John


448. Evil Dead II, Dir: Raimi, Sam


449. India Song, Dir: Duras, Marguerite


450. Claire's Knee, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


451. Dersu Uzala, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


452. Blow Out, Dir: De Palma, Brian


453. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning, Dir: Reisz, Karel


454. All That Jazz, Dir: Fosse, Bob


455. Long Goodbye, The, Dir: Altman, Robert


456. Distant Voices, Still Lives, Dir: Davies, Terence


457. Marriage of Maria Braun, The, Dir: Fassbinder, Rainer Werner


458. This is Spinal Tap, Dir: Reiner, Rob


459. Silence, The, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


460. Lolita, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


461. Young Mr. Lincoln, Dir: Ford, John


462. Three Colours: Blue, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


463. Three Colours: Red, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


464. Adventures of Robin Hood, The, Dir: Curtiz, Michael/William Keighley


465. Halloween, Dir: Carpenter, John


466. Teorema, Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo


467. Devil is a Woman, The, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


468. Touch of Zen, A, Dir: Hu, King


469. Odd Man Out, Dir: Reed, Carol


470. On the Town, Dir: Donen, Stanley/Gene Kelly


471. Cat People, Dir: Tourneur, Jacques


472. Dog Day Afternoon, Dir: Lumet, Sidney


473. Que viva Mexico!, Dir: Eisenstein, Sergei


474. Circus, The, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


475. Beyond the Valley of the Dolls, Dir: Meyer, Russ


476. Doctor Zhivago, Dir: Lean, David


477. Antonio das Mortes, Dir: Rocha, Glauber


478. Wild Child, The, Dir: Truffaut, François


479. Winter Light, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


480. Spring in a Small Town, Dir: Fei Mu


481. Monty Python's Life of Brian, Dir: Jones, Terry


482. Man Who Fell to Earth, The, Dir: Roeg, Nicolas


483. Toy Story, Dir: Lasseter, John


484. Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, The, Dir: Herzog, Werner


485. Chant d'amour, Un, Dir: Genet, Jean


486. L.A. Confidential, Dir: Hanson, Curtis


487. Devils, The, Dir: Russell, Ken


488. I Walked with a Zombie, Dir: Tourneur, Jacques


489. Suspiria, Dir: Argento, Dario


490. Scarface, Dir: Hawks, Howard


491. There's Always Tomorrow, Dir: Sirk, Douglas


492. JFK, Dir: Stone, Oliver


493. Harold and Maude, Dir: Ashby, Hal


494. Blood of a Poet, The, Dir: Cocteau, Jean


495. Mildred Pierce, Dir: Curtiz, Michael


496. Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


497. Ossessione, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


498. Monty Python and the Holy Grail, Dir: Gilliam, Terry/Terry Jones


499. Bigger Than Life, Dir: Ray, Nicholas


500. And Life Goes On, Dir: Kiarostami, Abbas


501. Where is the Friend's Home?, Dir: Kiarostami, Abbas


502. Dames du Bois de Boulogne, Les, Dir: Bresson, Robert


503. Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The, Dir: Fassbinder, Rainer Werner


504. Passion, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


505. Videodrome, Dir: Cronenberg, David


506. À nous la liberté, Dir: Clair, René


507. Scarface, Dir: De Palma, Brian


508. Killer, The, Dir: Woo, John


509. Rocky, Dir: Avildsen, John G.


510. 12 Angry Men, Dir: Lumet, Sidney


511. Hart of London, The, Dir: Chambers, Jack


512. Voyage dans la lune, Le, Dir: Méliès, Georges


513. Now, Voyager, Dir: Rapper, Irving


514. Double Life of Veronique, The, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


515. Sawdust and Tinsel, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


516. Sauve qui peut (la vie), Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


517. Pépé le Moko, Dir: Duvivier, Julien


518. Angel, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


519. Hour of the Furnaces, The, Dir: Getino, Octavio & Fernando E. Solanas


520. Brighter Summer Day, A, Dir: Yang, Edward


521. Party, The, Dir: Edwards, Blake


522. Région centrale, La, Dir: Snow, Michael


523. Alphaville, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


524. Damned, The, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


525. Reds, Dir: Beatty, Warren


526. Picnic at Hanging Rock, Dir: Weir, Peter


527. Rise to Power of Louis XIV, The, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


528. Funny Face, Dir: Donen, Stanley


529. Barton Fink, Dir: Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen


530. Splendor in the Grass, Dir: Kazan, Elia


531. Misfits, The, Dir: Huston, John


532. Angel at My Table, An, Dir: Campion, Jane


533. Golden Coach, The, Dir: Renoir, Jean


534. Through the Olive Trees, Dir: Kiarostami, Abbas


535. Stromboli, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


536. Tiger of Eschnapur, The, Dir: Lang, Fritz


537. Innocents, The, Dir: Clayton, Jack


538. Ivan's Childhood, Dir: Tarkovsky, Andrei


539. Dirty Harry, Dir: Siegel, Don


540. Duel in the Sun, Dir: Vidor, King


541. Swing Time, Dir: Stevens, George


542. Ludwig, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


543. Maîtres fous, Les, Dir: Rouch, Jean


544. Elephant Man, The, Dir: Lynch, David


545. Barren Lives, Dir: Dos Santos, Nelson Pereira


546. Storm Over Asia, Dir: Pudovkin, Vsevolod


547. Kagemusha, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


548. Daisies, Dir: Chytilová, Vera


549. Underground, Dir: Kusturica, Emir


550. Diner, Dir: Levinson, Barry


551. Farewell, My Concubine, Dir: Chen Kaige


552. Hôtel Terminus, Dir: Ophüls, Marcel


553. Producers, The, Dir: Brooks, Mel


554. Xala, Dir: Sembene, Ousmane


555. Diaboliques, Les, Dir: Clouzot, Henri-Georges


556. Tarnished Angels, The, Dir: Sirk, Douglas


557. Gun Crazy, Dir: Lewis, Joseph H.


558. Ferris Bueller's Day Off, Dir: Hughes, John


559. Bob le flambeur, Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre


560. Van Gogh, Dir: Pialat, Maurice


561. Time of the Gypsies, Dir: Kusturica, Emir


562. Die Hard, Dir: McTiernan, John


563. Shawshank Redemption, The, Dir: Darabont, Frank


564. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes, Dir: Hawks, Howard


565. Terminator 2: Judgment Day, Dir: Cameron, James


566. Woman in the Window, The, Dir: Lang, Fritz


567. Shadows of Our Forgotten Ancestors, Dir: Parajanov, Sergei


568. Jour se lève, Le, Dir: Carné, Marcel


569. Hallelujah!, Dir: Vidor, King


570. Get Carter, Dir: Hodges, Mike


571. Ride the High Country, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


572. Hellzapoppin', Dir: Potter, H.C.


573. Army of Shadows, Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre


574. Juliet of the Spirits, Dir: Fellini, Federico


575. Fitzcarraldo, Dir: Herzog, Werner


576. M*A*S*H, Dir: Altman, Robert


577. They Live by Night, Dir: Ray, Nicholas


578. Gilda, Dir: Vidor, Charles


579. Salesman, Dir: Maysles, Albert/David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin


580. Ace in the Hole, Dir: Wilder, Billy


581. Thing from Another World, The, Dir: Nyby, Christian/Howard Hawks


582. Bande à part, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


583. East of Eden, Dir: Kazan, Elia


584. Boogie Nights, Dir: Anderson, Paul Thomas


585. Design for Living, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


586. Land Without Bread, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


587. Man Who Would Be King, The, Dir: Huston, John


588. Othello, Dir: Welles, Orson


589. Man of the West, Dir: Mann, Anthony


590. Fires Were Started, Dir: Jennings, Humphrey


591. Outskirts, Dir: Barnet, Boris


592. Firemen's Ball, The, Dir: Forman, Milos


593. Miracle of Morgan's Creek, The, Dir: Sturges, Preston


594. Right Stuff, The, Dir: Kaufman, Philip


595. Anatahan, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


596. Killing, The, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


597. Yi yi, Dir: Yang, Edward


598. Barefoot Contessa, The, Dir: Mankiewicz, Joseph L.


599. If..., Dir: Anderson, Lindsay


600. Heaven's Gate, Dir: Cimino, Michael


601. American in Paris, An, Dir: Minnelli, Vincente


602. Raising Arizona, Dir: Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen


603. Mon oncle d'Amérique, Dir: Resnais, Alain


604. Cleo from 5 to 7, Dir: Varda, Agnès


605. Puppetmaster, The, Dir: Hou Hsiao-Hsien


606. Fat City, Dir: Huston, John


607. Forrest Gump, Dir: Zemeckis, Robert


608. Hana-Bi, Dir: Kitano, Takeshi


609. Holiday, Dir: Cukor, George


610. Heimat, Dir: Reitz, Edgar


611. Taste of Cherry, A, Dir: Kiarostami, Abbas


612. Ronde, La, Dir: Ophüls, Max


613. Day the Earth Stood Still, The, Dir: Wise, Robert


614. Dead Poets Society, Dir: Weir, Peter


615. Midnight Run, Dir: Brest, Martin


616. Godfather Part III, The, Dir: Coppola, Francis


617. Princess Yang Kwei Fei, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


618. Morocco, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


619. Tom, Tom the Piper's Son, Dir: Jacobs, Ken


620. Outlaw Josey Wales, The, Dir: Eastwood, Clint


621. Ceddo, Dir: Sembene, Ousmane


622. Phantom of Liberty, The, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


623. Wagon Master, Dir: Ford, John


624. All the President's Men, Dir: Pakula, Alan J.


625. Edward Scissorhands, Dir: Burton, Tim


626. Unfaithfully Yours, Dir: Sturges, Preston


627. Short Cuts, Dir: Altman, Robert


628. Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler, Dir: Lang, Fritz


629. Under the Roofs of Paris, Dir: Clair, René


630. Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, The, Dir: Straub, Jean-Marie


631. Short Film About Killing, A, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


632. Moonfleet, Dir: Lang, Fritz


633. Kaagaz Ke Phool, Dir: Dutt, Guru


634. Verdict, The, Dir: Lumet, Sidney


635. All About My Mother, Dir: Almodóvar, Pedro


636. Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!, Dir: Meyer, Russ


637. Boudu Saved from Drowning, Dir: Renoir, Jean


638. Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les, Dir: Carax, Lèos


639. Roman Holiday, Dir: Wyler, William


640. Heiress, The, Dir: Wyler, William


641. Tin Drum, The, Dir: Schlöndorff, Volker


642. Yellow Earth, Dir: Chen Kaige


643. Mother, Dir: Pudovkin, Vsevolod


644. Usual Suspects, The, Dir: Singer, Bryan


645. Hatari!, Dir: Hawks, Howard


646. Hitler: A Film from Germany, Dir: Syberberg, Hans-Jürgen


647. Zelig, Dir: Allen, Woody


648. Walkabout, Dir: Roeg, Nicolas


649. Fellini's Roma, Dir: Fellini, Federico


650. Hidden Fortress, The, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


651. Arabian Nights, Dir: Pasolini, Pier Paolo


652. Flowers of St. Francis, The, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


653. Liebelei, Dir: Ophüls, Max


654. Mulholland Dr., Dir: Lynch, David


655. 47 Ronin, The, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


656. You Only Live Once, Dir: Lang, Fritz


657. Actor's Revenge, An, Dir: Ichikawa, Kon


658. Naked, Dir: Leigh, Mike


659. Spirited Away, Dir: Miyazaki, Hayao


660. My Fair Lady, Dir: Cukor, George


661. Phantom Carriage, The, Dir: Sjöström, Victor


662. When Harry Met Sally..., Dir: Reiner, Rob


663. Cranes Are Flying, The, Dir: Kalatozishvili, Mikheil


664. Magnificent Seven, The, Dir: Sturges, John


665. Indian Tomb, The, Dir: Lang, Fritz


666. Threepenny Opera, The, Dir: Pabst, G.W.


667. Lacombe, Lucien, Dir: Malle, Louis


668. America, America, Dir: Kazan, Elia


669. Safe, Dir: Haynes, Todd


670. Pakeezah, Dir: Amrohi, Kamal


671. Fallen Idol, The, Dir: Reed, Carol


672. Law of Desire, Dir: Almodóvar, Pedro


673. Round-Up, The, Dir: Jancsó, Miklós


674. Vagabond, Dir: Varda, Agnès


675. Trainspotting, Dir: Boyle, Danny


676. Gandhi, Dir: Attenborough, Richard


677. French Connection, The, Dir: Friedkin, William


678. Sugar Cane Alley, Dir: Palcy, Euzhan


679. Player, The, Dir: Altman, Robert


680. Seven Women, Dir: Ford, John


681. Flowers of Shanghai, Dir: Hou Hsiao-Hsien


682. Not Reconciled, Dir: Straub, Jean-Marie


683. Limite, Dir: Peixoto, Mario


684. Husbands, Dir: Cassavetes, John


685. Bambi, Dir: Hand, David


686. Straw Dogs, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


687. Witness, Dir: Weir, Peter


688. Woman Next Door, The, Dir: Truffaut, François


689. Gregory's Girl, Dir: Forsyth, Bill


690. Orlando, Dir: Potter, Sally


691. Hannah and Her Sisters, Dir: Allen, Woody


692. Big Deal on Madonna Street, Dir: Monicelli, Mario


693. Last Temptation of Christ, The, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


694. Shoeshine, Dir: De Sica, Vittorio


695. Peter Ibbetson, Dir: Hathaway, Henry


696. Informer, The, Dir: Ford, John


697. Art of Vision, The, Dir: Brakhage, Stan


698. Casino, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


699. Belle noiseuse, La, Dir: Rivette, Jacques


700. Night of the Demon, Dir: Tourneur, Jacques


701. Princess Bride, The, Dir: Reiner, Rob


702. Red Sorghum, Dir: Zhang Yimou


703. Red Beard, Dir: Kurosawa, Akira


704. Smiles of a Summer Night, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


705. Kameradschaft, Dir: Pabst, G.W.


706. Dumbo, Dir: Sharpsteen, Ben


707. Ghost and Mrs. Muir, The, Dir: Mankiewicz, Joseph L.


708. Sun Shines Bright, The, Dir: Ford, John


709. Man for All Seasons, A, Dir: Zinnemann, Fred


710. Landscape in the Mist, Dir: Angelopoulos, Theo


711. Pursued, Dir: Walsh, Raoul


712. Down by Law, Dir: Jarmusch, Jim


713. Europa, Dir: von Trier, Lars


714. Bad and the Beautiful, The, Dir: Minnelli, Vincente


715. Europa '51, Dir: Rossellini, Roberto


716. Histoire(s) du cinéma, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


717. Branded to Kill, Dir: Suzuki, Seijun


718. Of a Thousand Delights, Dir: Visconti, Luchino


719. Sweet Hereafter, The, Dir: Egoyan, Atom


720. Port of Shadows, Dir: Carné, Marcel


721. Trou, Le, Dir: Becker, Jacques


722. Queen Kelly, Dir: von Stroheim, Erich


723. Naked Spur, The, Dir: Mann, Anthony


724. Big Parade, The, Dir: Vidor, King


725. Yeelen, Dir: Cissé, Souleymane


726. Murder by Contract, Dir: Lerner, Irving


727. Assault on Precinct 13, Dir: Carpenter, John


728. Femme est une femme, Une, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc


729. Black Sunday, Dir: Bava, Mario


730. While the City Sleeps, Dir: Lang, Fritz


731. Reckless Moment, The, Dir: Ophüls, Max


732. Bidone, Il, Dir: Fellini, Federico


733. Matrix, The, Dir: Wachowski, Andy & Larry Wachowski


734. Red Circle, The, Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre


735. Ju Dou, Dir: Zhang Yimou


736. Three Colours: White, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


737. Pickup on South Street, Dir: Fuller, Sam


738. Scenes from a Marriage, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


739. Fight Club, Dir: Fincher, David


740. Lusty Men, The, Dir: Ray, Nicholas


741. Purple Rose of Cairo, The, Dir: Allen, Woody


742. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown, Dir: Almodóvar, Pedro


743. El Dorado, Dir: Hawks, Howard


744. New York, New York, Dir: Scorsese, Martin


745. Midnight, Dir: Leisen, Mitchell


746. Being There, Dir: Ashby, Hal


747. Thin Red Line, The, Dir: Malick, Terrence


748. Carnival in Flanders, Dir: Feyder, Jacques


749. Atlantic City, Dir: Malle, Louis


750. Fish Called Wanda, A, Dir: Crichton, Charles


751. Spider's Stratagem, The, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


752. Lucky Man!, Dir: Anderson, Lindsay


753. Out 1: Spectre, Dir: Rivette, Jacques


754. Early Summer, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


755. Thin Blue Line, The, Dir: Morris, Errol


756. Flaming Creatures, Dir: Smith, Jack


757. Great Escape, The, Dir: Sturges, John


758. Dazed and Confused, Dir: Linklater, Richard


759. Rio Grande, Dir: Ford, John


760. Collectionneuse, La, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


761. Crash, Dir: Cronenberg, David


762. Bête humaine, La, Dir: Renoir, Jean


763. Opening Night, Dir: Cassavetes, John


764. Miller's Crossing, Dir: Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen


765. Tenant, The, Dir: Polanski, Roman


766. Coeur en hiver, Un, Dir: Sautet, Claude


767. Shanghai Express, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


768. Mephisto, Dir: Szabó, István


769. Gimme Shelter, Dir: Maysles, Albert/David Maysles/Charlotte Zwerin


770. Wind Will Carry Us, The, Dir: Kiarostami, Abbas


771. Quadrophenia, Dir: Roddam, Franc


772. Beyond a Reasonable Doubt, Dir: Lang, Fritz


773. I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, Dir: LeRoy, Mervyn


774. Mädchen in Uniform, Dir: Sagan, Leontine


775. Pilgrim, The, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


776. Anatomy of a Murder, Dir: Preminger, Otto


777. Big Lebowski, The, Dir: Coen, Joel and Ethan Coen


778. City of God, Dir: Meirelles, Fernando


779. Tom Jones, Dir: Richardson, Tony


780. Cul-de-sac, Dir: Polanski, Roman


781. Nibelungen, Die, Dir: Lang, Fritz


782. Woman in the Dunes, Dir: Teshigahara, Hiroshi


783. Diary of a Lost Girl, Dir: Pabst, G.W.


784. Rushmore, Dir: Anderson, Wes


785. End of St. Petersburg, The, Dir: Pudovkin, Vsevolod


786. Enfants terribles, Les, Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre


787. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City, Dir: Ruttmann, Walter


788. Johnny Got His Gun, Dir: Trumbo, Dalton


789. Beau travail, Dir: Denis, Claire


790. Shanghai Gesture, The, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


791. Wrong Man, The, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


792. Woman of Paris, A, Dir: Chaplin, Charles


793. Duel, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


794. Mother India, Dir: Khan, Mehboob


795. Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The, Dir: Richardson, Tony


796. Private Life of Sherlock Holmes, The, Dir: Wilder, Billy


797. Klute, Dir: Pakula, Alan J.


798. Plácido, Dir: Berlanga, Luis García


799. Destiny, Dir: Lang, Fritz


800. In the Heat of the Night, Dir: Jewison, Norman


801. Nutty Professor, The, Dir: Lewis, Jerry


802. Scenes from Under Childhood, Dir: Brakhage, Stan


803. Moana, Dir: Flaherty, Robert


804. Hamlet, Dir: Olivier, Laurence


805. Night Porter, The, Dir: Cavani, Liliana


806. Eyes Wide Shut, Dir: Kubrick, Stanley


807. Avanti!, Dir: Wilder, Billy


808. Early Autumn, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


809. Léolo, Dir: Lauzon, Jean-Claude


810. Trial, The, Dir: Welles, Orson


811. Tales of Hoffmann, The, Dir: Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger


812. Happiness, Dir: Medvedkin, Aleksandr


813. Chronicle of a Summer, Dir: Rouch, Jean & Edgar Morin


814. Fountainhead, The, Dir: Vidor, King


815. American Gigolo, Dir: Schrader, Paul


816. Oldboy, Dir: Park Chan-Wook


817. Days and Nights in the Forest, Dir: Ray, Satyajit


818. Vive L'Amour, Dir: Tsai Ming-Liang


819. Sonatine, Dir: Kitano, Takeshi


820. Tale of the Wind, A, Dir: Ivens, Joris


821. Our Daily Bread, Dir: Vidor, King


822. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Dir: Lee, Ang


823. Diary for Timothy, A, Dir: Jennings, Humphrey


824. Lone Star, Dir: Sayles, John


825. Happiness, Dir: Solondz, Todd


826. Hour of the Wolf, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


827. Broadway Danny Rose, Dir: Allen, Woody


828. Sorpasso, Il, Dir: Risi, Dino


829. Under the Bridges, Dir: Kaütner, Helmut


830. War and Peace, Dir: Bondarchuk, Sergei


831. Nazarín, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


832. Veronika Voss, Dir: Fassbinder, Rainer Werner


833. Marquise of O, The, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


834. Happy Together, Dir: Wong Kar-Wai


835. Portrait of Jennie, Dir: Dieterle, William


836. Charade, Dir: Donen, Stanley


837. They Died with Their Boots On, Dir: Walsh, Raoul


838. Zorn's Lemma, Dir: Frampton, Hollis


839. Land of Silence and Darkness, Dir: Herzog, Werner


840. Docks of New York, The, Dir: von Sternberg, Josef


841. Missing, Dir: Costa-Gavras, Constantin


842. Green Ray, The, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


843. Tobacco Road, Dir: Ford, John


844. World According to Garp, The, Dir: Hill, George Roy


845. Two for the Road, Dir: Donen, Stanley


846. Feu follet, Le, Dir: Malle, Louis


847. Chienne, La, Dir: Renoir, Jean


848. Out of Africa, Dir: Pollack, Sydney


849. Pink Flamingos, Dir: Waters, John


850. Utamaro and His Five Women, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


851. Ballad of Narayama, Dir: Imamura, Shohei


852. Lost Highway, Dir: Lynch, David


853. Boucher, Le, Dir: Chabrol, Claude


854. Go-Between, The, Dir: Losey, Joseph


855. Plein soleil, Dir: Clément, René


856. Days of Being Wild, Dir: Wong Kar-Wai


857. Femme infidèle, La, Dir: Chabrol, Claude


858. Childhood of Maxim Gorky, The, Dir: Donskoi, Mark


859. Touki Bouki, Dir: Mambéty, Djibril Diop


860. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The, Dir: Jackson, Peter


861. Man in the White Suit, The, Dir: Mackendrick, Alexander


862. Judex, Dir: Franju, Georges


863. Black Orpheus, Dir: Camus, Marcel


864. Eternity and a Day, Dir: Angelopoulos, Theo


865. Getaway, The, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


866. Rocker, Dir: Lemke, Klaus


867. Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The, Dir: Greenaway, Peter


868. Arsenic and Old Lace, Dir: Capra, Frank


869. 3 Women, Dir: Altman, Robert


870. Rope, Dir: Hitchcock, Alfred


871. Festen, Dir: Vinterberg, Thomas


872. Royal Tenenbaums, The, Dir: Anderson, Wes


873. Caro diario, Dir: Moretti, Nanni


874. Night Moves, Dir: Penn, Arthur


875. By the Bluest of Seas, Dir: Barnet, Boris


876. Year of Living Dangerously, The, Dir: Weir, Peter


877. Harakiri, Dir: Kobayashi, Masaki


878. From Here to Eternity, Dir: Zinnemann, Fred


879. Dangerous Liaisons, Dir: Frears, Stephen


880. Radio Days, Dir: Allen, Woody


881. Gold Diggers of 1933, Dir: LeRoy, Mervyn


882. Too Early, Too Late, Dir: Straub, Jean-Marie & Danièle Huillet


883. Grey Gardens, Dir: Maysles, David/Albert Maysles/Ellen Hovde/Muffie Meyer


884. Saga of Gosta Berling, The, Dir: Stiller, Mauritz


885. Burnt by the Sun, Dir: Mikhalkov, Nikita


886. Fallen Angels, Dir: Wong Kar-Wai


887. Rose Hobart, Dir: Cornell, Joseph


888. Ben-Hur, Dir: Niblo, Fred


889. Ceremony, The, Dir: Oshima, Nagisa


890. Amour fou, L', Dir: Rivette, Jacques


891. Virgin Spring, The, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


892. Kwaidan, Dir: Kobayashi, Masaki


893. Posto, Il, Dir: Olmi, Ermanno


894. Bend of the River, Dir: Mann, Anthony


895. Excalibur, Dir: Boorman, John


896. Wild River, Dir: Kazan, Elia


897. Yesterday Girl, Dir: Kluge, Alexander


898. Starship Troopers, Dir: Verhoeven, Paul


899. Leave Her to Heaven, Dir: Stahl, John M.


900. Lucifer Rising, Dir: Anger, Kenneth


901. City Girl, Dir: Murnau, F.W.


902. Slave of Love, A, Dir: Mikhalkov, Nikita


903. Devil in the Flesh, Dir: Autant-Lara, Claude


904. Way Down East, Dir: Griffith, D.W.


905. Shin heike monogatari, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


906. Night of the Shooting Stars, The, Dir: Taviani, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani


907. Sur, El, Dir: Erice, Victor


908. Wings of Eagles, The, Dir: Ford, John


909. Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz, The, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


910. My Apprenticeship, Dir: Donskoi, Mark


911. Unbearable Lightness of Being, The, Dir: Kaufman, Philip


912. And the Ship Sails On, Dir: Fellini, Federico


913. Seventh Heaven, Dir: Borzage, Frank


914. Magnolia, Dir: Anderson, Paul Thomas


915. King of the Children, Dir: Chen Kaige


916. Late Autumn, Dir: Ozu, Yasujiro


917. Donnie Darko, Dir: Kelly, Richard


918. Variety, Dir: Dupont, E.A.


919. Bienvenido Mister Marshall, Dir: Berlanga, Luis García


920. Luna, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


921. Little Foxes, The, Dir: Wyler, William


922. Cutter's Way, Dir: Passer, Ivan


923. Lessons of Darkness, Dir: Herzog, Werner


924. Ryan's Daughter, Dir: Lean, David


925. Female Trouble, Dir: Waters, John


926. Bad Timing, Dir: Roeg, Nicolas


927. Wild at Heart, Dir: Lynch, David


928. Second Breath, Dir: Melville, Jean-Pierre


929. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman, Dir: Lewin, Albert


930. Song of Ceylon, Dir: Wright, Basil


931. Pillow Book, The, Dir: Greenaway, Peter


932. Italian Straw Hat, The, Dir: Clair, René


933. Punch-Drunk Love, Dir: Anderson, Paul Thomas


934. My Friend Ivan Lapshin, Dir: Gherman, Alexei


935. Camille, Dir: Cukor, George


936. Talk to Her, Dir: Almodóvar, Pedro


937. Last of the Mohicans, The, Dir: Mann, Michael


938. Arsenal, Dir: Dovzhenko, Alexander


939. Sign of Leo, The, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


940. Spione, Dir: Lang, Fritz


941. Samson and Delilah, Dir: DeMille, Cecil B.


942. True Heart Susie, Dir: Griffith, D.W.


943. Bellboy, The, Dir: Lewis, Jerry


944. Heaven Can Wait, Dir: Lubitsch, Ernst


945. Moonrise, Dir: Borzage, Frank


946. Simon of the Desert, Dir: Buñuel, Luis


947. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers, Dir: Donen, Stanley


948. Tout va bien, Dir: Godard, Jean-Luc & Jean-Pierre Gorin


949. Two English Girls, Dir: Truffaut, François


950. Passion of Anna, The, Dir: Bergman, Ingmar


951. Big Chill, The, Dir: Kasdan, Lawrence


952. Scarlet Street, Dir: Lang, Fritz


953. Lost in Translation, Dir: Coppola, Sofia


954. Leaving Las Vegas, Dir: Figgis, Mike


955. Maskerade, Dir: Forst, Willi


956. Memento, Dir: Nolan, Christopher


957. Letter to Three Wives, A, Dir: Mankiewicz, Joseph L.


958. Far Country, The, Dir: Mann, Anthony


959. Accident, Dir: Losey, Joseph


960. Louisiana Story, Dir: Flaherty, Robert


961. Z, Dir: Costa-Gavras, Constantin


962. Lost Horizon, Dir: Capra, Frank


963. Empire of the Sun, Dir: Spielberg, Steven


964. Dark Eyes, Dir: Mikhalkov, Nikita


965. Blast of Silence, Dir: Baron, Allen


966. Central Station, Dir: Salles, Walter


967. Short Film About Love, A, Dir: Kieslowski, Krszystof


968. California Split, Dir: Altman, Robert


969. Chikamatsu monogatari, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


970. Ladies' Man, The, Dir: Lewis, Jerry


971. One, Two, Three, Dir: Wilder, Billy


972. Man of Marble, Dir: Wajda, Andrzej


973. Koyaanisqatsi, Dir: Reggio, Godfrey


974. Strangers When We Meet, Dir: Quine, Richard


975. Toute une nuit, Dir: Akerman, Chantal


976. Bridges of Madison County, The, Dir: Eastwood, Clint


977. Angel Face, Dir: Preminger, Otto


978. Bells of St. Mary's, The, Dir: McCarey, Leo


979. American Beauty, Dir: Mendes, Sam


980. Ballad of Cable Hogue, The, Dir: Peckinpah, Sam


981. Fort Apache, Dir: Ford, John


982. Duellists, The, Dir: Scott, Ridley


983. Four Friends, Dir: Penn, Arthur


984. Straight Story, The, Dir: Lynch, David


985. Sheltering Sky, The, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


986. White Shadows in the South Seas, Dir: Van Dyke II, W.S.


987. Fury, Dir: Lang, Fritz


988. Before the Revolution, Dir: Bertolucci, Bernardo


989. Kanal, Dir: Wajda, Andrzej


990. Chloe in the Afternoon, Dir: Rohmer, Eric


991. People on Sunday, Dir: Siodmak, Robert & Edgar G. Ulmer


992. You Can't Take it with You, Dir: Capra, Frank


993. Bay of Angels, Dir: Demy, Jacques


994. Time to Love and a Time to Die, A, Dir: Sirk, Douglas


995. Dracula, Dir: Fisher, Terence


996. Testament of Orpheus, Dir: Cocteau, Jean


997. Toni, Dir: Renoir, Jean


998. Forty Guns, Dir: Fuller, Sam


999. My Love Has Been Burning, Dir: Mizoguchi, Kenji


1000. Unknown, The, Dir: Browning, Tod

Moving This Blog!

This blog was an interface test for 1000 DVDs to See. We've decided to go with the ProBlogger template and converted that blog.

We're going to only post reviews there from now on, which includes movies, tv miniseries and shows, and live concerts - in short, anything available on dvd.

We will move some of these reviews, like the best 100, to our most popular site, Worlds Best Films, which is list-oriented, such as awards (US, British, Cannes, Venice, Hong Kong, Australia, Golden Globes) and genres (war, romance, comedy, westerns, etc.)

Please continue to visit those two and change any links from this site to 1000 Dvds. We may add a few more odd posts here but will discontinue posting the film reviews in two locations.

Thanks for the feedback on the templates! -- José Sinclair "El Presidenté"

The Virgin Suicides

Sofia Coppola, 1999 (7*)

I watched this film without knowing anything in advance, and was pleasantly surprised to find it was Sofia Coppola's first film as director, and she co-wrote the screenplay.

This starts like most other teen infatuation films, a group of male high school friends ogles a group of five sisters, each born a year apart, each with her own charms. Kirsten Dunst will be the most recognizable actress and of course has the pivotal point in the plot. The parents are the strictly religious Kathleen Turner and her whipped-into-submission husband James Woods. For awhile, you think this will be a Peggie Sue Got Married sequel, which was directed by Francis, then it abrubtly grabs you by the throat when the youngest sister hurls herself onto a fence spike rather than face her first party.

Then you know Kathleen is not Peggy Sue, but more like Carrie's mother, and from that point on, the film is decidedly a drama about actions and consequences. In a way, it's like a modern Jane Austen family gone totally dysfunctional. The story by Jeffrey Eugenides from his novel has been filmed by Coppola in a non-preachy, low key style that leaves much to the audience, it will appear as deep or as shallow as the viewer's interpretation. Coppola co-wrote the screenplay, and father Francis Ford produced, but I think her direction here showed a lot of promise, and she won a few awards, mostly for first film or new filmmaker.

The Assassination of Jesse James

By the Coward Robert Ford
Andrew Dominik, 2007 (8*)
This is an account of the last days of Jesse James, from a novel by Ron Hansen. A bit slow, the film nevertheless has a leisurely grace and almost epic length, and with some stunning cinematography by Roger Deakins, becomes another in the line of recent elegaic westerns (The Claim, Open Range, Unforgiven).

Casey Affleck shines as the Ford brother who ultimatey shot Jesse James, and this film is really all about his life, as it continues after the incident. Brad Pitt is good as James, but Affleck is really the better actor in this, and garnered an Oscar® nomination, and several smaller awards as best supporting actor.

Director Dominik, in only his second film, evokes Terence Malick's Days of Heaven for style and pace. For me, down a star for length, 2 hrs would have been enough, and since his first film was Chopper, maybe next time he can find the middle ground with the title's length.

Night of the Hunter

Charles Laughton, 1955, bw (9*)
This is one of the creepiest, most spine-tingling films ever made, and the best from actor Robert Mitchum. Oscar-winning actor Charles Laughton directed his one and only film and it's a film noir masterpiece. Mitchum plays a convict who finds out about a woman alone with her kids who may have money stashed from another criminal's robbery. When Mitchum gets out of prison, he poses as the most evil preacher in history, with 'love' and 'hate' tatooed on his hands, one letter per finger, and he tells the kids they go hand in hand. Mitchum actually seems semi-passionate about something in a film for once - money in this case.

A young Shelly Winters plays the mother, and Mitchum stops at nothing to terrorize her and the kids just to get the money, especially the kids (this is not for the squeamish!) This is full of eerie and unforgettable shots: a victim gently floating underwater in the current, an interior lit like to appear like a church (see above), and some dreamy yet nightmarish images of shadows creeping in the night. The only negative here is that Laughton didn't make any more films as director! One of the best black-and-white films made as well, nearly every shot is a work of art.

The Reader

Stephen Daldry, 2008 (9*)
This is Kate Winslett's finest performance in a stellar career, and was rewarded with her first Oscar® for best actress. She plays a woman, Hannah, whose spontaneous act of kindness to a sick teenager, Micheal, leads to his first love affair. Her favorite pastime when they are alone is to have Michael read classic literary works to her. Michael's life is changed by this women old enough to be his mother, yet she remains an enigma to him.

Later, at law school, he again crosses paths with Hannah, a defendant in an important legal case relating to the Holocaust, and certain facts are now obvious to him that only he knows. The film eventually includes Michael as an adult lawyer, played by Ralph Feinnes in a small but effective part. Kate Winslett shines throughout, making us understand this complex character, even if we cannot justify certain actions taken during wartime. The original novel by Bernhard Schlink was a favorite of mine, and director Stephen Daldry has done the novel justice, creating an intelligent and restrained of a deeply drawn female character, and her effect on the development of a young lawyer.

Unfortunately both producers Anthony Minghella and later Sydney Pollack passed away during the making of this film and never saw its completed form.

[Note: definitely an R for nude sex scenes]

For Kate Winslett's other best performances, check out: Heavenly Creatures, her first (directed by Peter Jackson), Finding Neverland (her favorite film of hers), and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind.

The Wrestler

Darren Aronofsky, 2008 (8*)
Golden Lion, Venice
This gritty film from Darren Aronofsky deservedly won Mickey Rourke many awards for actor in 2008, including the Golden Globe, but unfortunately not the Oscar. Its hard to imagine that he'll ever be better than this, and more than carries this powerful Aronofsky film about an over-the-hill wrestler now running into health problems from a career of drug abuse. Marisa Tomei also won many awards as supporting actress, but also not her second Oscar, as an aging exotic dancer in a bar, now being passed by for the younger girls. She and Randy (the Ram) strike up a believable friendship as both see some of themselves in the other.

This is another intimately personal film by Darren Aronofsky, which are usually about a character trying to make it through a tough life situation, and who are usually obsessed with one thing: drugs in Requiem for a Dream, math in Pi, brain research in The Fountain. In this case, Randy cannot see a life past the ring, it's all he's known for 20 years, and has no one in his life really but his fans. Not a pleasant story, but a realistic story on all counts, and you'll like it even if you aren't a wrestling fan, it's really about personal communication and character development. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Mickey Rourke won 14 awards for actor for this, Marisa Tomei won 7.
Awards Page at IMDB: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1125849/awards

Throne of Blood

aka Spider's Web Castle
Akira Kurosawa, 1957, Japan, bw (8*)
This is actually another of the great Japanese director's early masterworks, it's not really a horror film in spite of the lurid title. Based on Shakespeare's Macbeth, Kurosawa made it entirely Japanese, building his castle on Mt. Fuji, and mixing elements of Japanese theater into the film. Kurosawa even trucked in the black volcanic soil of Fuji into the studio lot to film the castle interiors.

The story involves the castle of the title, surrounded by a maze-like forest that adds to its protection. One day while lost in this forest, two military leaders who are lifetime friends receive a prophecy from a ghost that leads them into their own web of power seeking and mistrust, as they are each to become castle lords themselves. No medieval Japanese film can avoid war, and this has some beautifully filmed battle sequences, once again using stark black-and-white cinematography to show the power of horses and soldiers in battle, much like his earlier classic The Seven Samurai.

His new favorite actor of the time, Toshiro Mifune, is featured in this one as well, though this film is not quite as artistic as Seven Samurai, it adheres to the Shakespearean story, so it's a bit more melodramatic and staged looking in comparison, though that's an honest cinematic interpretation of the play. With some haunting and huge-scale images, it's still a great example of the early Kurosawa style, and a worthy entry into the pantheon of Shakespeare transformed to film.

Sleeping Dogs Lie

Aka Stay
Bobcat Goldthwait, 2006 (7*)
Sometimes we do something we immediately regret, like Melinda Page Hamilton in this film, while alone at college with her dog. Later the question comes up, how honest and revealing do we need to be with those we love? This is such an outrageous premise, with some appropriately funny dialogue that when the final credits roll and you see written and directed by Bobcat Goldthwait, then it all makes perfect sense.

A Sundance grand jury prize award nominee (for drama), this film works first as a comedy, then as a romance-drama, mostly due to the engaging and believable performance of Hamilton, and Geoff Piersen as her father. A surprisingly original comedy in the days of the normal Hollywood tedium when dealing with romance, and also poignant in the right places. It was also a San Sebastian Film Festival nominee, and Hamilton was nominated for a Gotham award for breakthrough performance.

Original title was Stay, for all the festivals, now it’s Sleeping Dogs Lie on cable and dvd, but there are other films with that title. Stay, the link at Imdb

The Kingdom

Peter Berg, 2007 (7*)
This is a surprisingly good and timely action-adventure from actor-turned-director Peter Berg as it involves anti-US terrorism in the middle east. There are several gripping action sequences that will stand out from standard car chase fare. The film begins with a horrifying terrorist attack on a U.S. residents kids softball game in Saudi Arabia. After all the carnage, an FBI investigator stationed there is among the dead. The FBI in Washington wants to send its own team in to investigate, but it’s against US policy, inflaming an already tense situation.

Well, of course the team gets there or we’d have no story. Jamie Foxx is the leader, Chris Cooper the bomb expert (there's two Oscar® winners), Jennifer Garner the eye candy, a friend of the dead agent, and Jason Bateman the comic actor here misappropriately used for a serious and violent role. Richard Jenkins is his usual pro self in a small role as their FBI superior, Jeremy Piven is miscast as the US ambassador to Saudi Arabia – I kept expecting an agent style rant about growing balls from Ari on Entourage.

There’s an exciting freeway sequence, and an urban shootout that are both terrific, riveting and involving. They also had access to shoot in the royal palace of Dubai (or was it U.A.E.?), so all locations look very authentic. Of course the plot is a predictable, down a star for that, but the Arab acting of Ashraf Barhom, best in the film [Supporting Actor nomination maybe!], more than makes up for the John Wayne style of the Americans. Berg best to me is still Friday Night Lights.

Valkyrie

Bryan Singer, 2008 (9*)
Even if you know this story from high school history or reading William Shirer's Rise and Fall of the Third Reich (excellent if you like WW2 history), director Bryan Singer and screenplay authors Christopher McQuarrie and Nathan Alexander have made an excellent suspense film with a tightly woven story of an attempt to assassinate Hitler just after the D-Day invasion, July of 1944. You find yourself actually wondering what the outcome will be, as if perhaps plunged into an alternate history story.

The film begins with chief plotter Col. Claus von Stauffenberg (Tom Cruise) in North Africa, receiving battle injuries that would relegate him to a bureaucratic role for the remainder of the war. Along with many other Germans who could see Hitler destroying both Germany and all of Europe, they felt they owed it to humanity to forge a truce with the Allies immediately. These included men within the German army and the government, who began to covertly plot together, and it was no small conspiracy. Von Stauffenberg is brought into the group by superiors. The cast is excellent overall, especially Bill Nighy as General Friedrich Olbricht; other recognizable talents include Kenneth Branagh and Tom Wilkinson. Cruise is good enough, though a German actor may have been a better choice, he's just a little too American, better suited for Born on the Fourth of July, still his best role to date, receiving a best actor nomination.

Overall, an excellent suspense film, well-made, very authentic looking with just enough mix of plot development and action, while remaining pretty accurate to history. Singer is better at this type of film, like his The Usual Suspects, than the action films he's recently tackled; he's in his element again here.

The Fountain

Darren Aronofsky, 2006 (8*)
This is such a unique personal vision that it's really hard to describe, in a line: yet another mind-bending film from the talented vision of young director Darren Aronofsky. This, just his third feature film, followed Pi (1998), Requiem for a Dream (2000), and preceded The Wrestler (2008). Aronofsky's films are intensely involved in each subject, usually involving a personal obsession, and The Fountain is no different. This ambitious story takes place in three distinctly different time periods: a 16th century knight’s quest for immortality for his queen, a modern day doctor searching for a cure for brain tumors (or cancer?) to save his wife, and a futuristic space traveler taking the Tree of Life to a dying star, in a mythical quest that is rarely seen in any genre.

Hugh Jackman plays the man on a mission is in each story, while the lady he lives for is Rachel Weisz. As his present-time wife, Izzi writes the story called The Fountain, which relates the story of the renaissance knight searching for a legendary tree of Mayan mythology, the tree of life that gives immortality to one who drinks its sap. These two stars make the film believable with their acting, but it’s Aronofky’s unrelenting vision that makes the movie both a science fiction-fantasy and a spiritual journey, perhaps the best such combination since 2001: A Space Odyssey in 1968.

This unique and artistic film won’t be for all tastes, as no Aronofsky film to date has been, as he never compromises his personal vision for commerciality. I think this will make him one of the few current young directors that will rise above the crowd over time.

In the Valley of Elah

Paul Haggis, 2007 (8*)
This surprising mystery is a terrific small film that got absolutely no PR at all. It quietly slipped past most people apparently. Tommy Lee Jones turns in perhaps his finest performance, garnering a well-deserved Oscar nomination for best actor as a dad hunting for his AWOL son who's returned from Iraq and immediately disappeared. Charlize Theron is also excellent, in little makeup, brown hair pulled back in a bun, as a no nonsense police detective - also one of her best performances. Susan Sarandon doesn't have a lot to do in this, as the mother of the missing, Tommy Lee's wife, but still, an excellent cast of three Oscar winners!

This is a story that slowly unfolds yet remains engrossing. It's also a real mystery, the kind you don't often see anymore, as we normally know who the killer is, and when there's no mystery it becomes a crime/suspense story, such as The Silence of the Lambs. This one is not only very well made, but is based on a true story as well.

Note: in the same year, Jones was also up for best supporting actor in the best picture winner, No Country for Old Men

The Memory Loss Tapes

Shari Cookson and Nick Doob, 2009, HBO (10*)

The Memory Loss Tapes is the first part of four films in the HBO series The Alzheimer’s Project, and it’s an extremely powerful documentary that touches on the most basic human emotions, those that flow naturally from love, caring, and mortality. The film was brilliantly constructed by producer-directors Shari Cookson and Nick Doob to slowly reveal the progressive stages of Alzheimer’s in seven different patients, and just as importantly, to show the families of each having to cope with different aspects of the disease.

The first patient, Bessie, has only mild symptoms, so we get to see her as a lively, outgoing, and funny person. She knows what’s coming eventually but is still enjoying every day to its fullest. Another patient, Fannie, is losing her ability to drive her car, and with it her independence. Joe keeps a blog of his decline and can feel his mind slipping away. Yolanda thinks her reflection is a new best friend. Woody can’t remember his wife but can still remember song lyrics and sing with his old group.
Josephine’s daughter has had to fence in her property to keep her mom from wandering away. The patients shown exemplify the progression of the disease by revealing their everyday reality.

The most gripping part of this film deals with someone in the final stages of life, and the devastating effect it has on his family. In a heart wrenching revelation, the man’s wife admits feeling selfish for wanting to keep her husband with her as long as she can, despite the fact that he has "no life."

I don’t think I’ve ever seen mortality treated so realistically or with as much impact in any film. For parents, I would warn you to either pre-screen this for your children, especially those under ten, or counsel them before viewing. It’s something we’ll all face, but it may be distressing for young viewers to actually see in reality.

The saddest part of this illness to me is that it robs its victims of their memories at a stage in life when these are likely their most cherished possession. As a child, we would visit my great-grandmother in her nursing home, but she never remembered who we were, and she lived to be ninety-nine. I would have loved to have heard her stories that began around 1870, and just imagine the century she was able to witness.

Hopefully this film will instill a desire in many to become healers or medical researchers, and bring an understanding of the heavy cost of all terminal illnesses on the families and friends of the patients. We should all be aware now that new biotech research is necessary to cure this and similarly debilitating illnesses, and that money wasted on destructive goals is being diverted from these more humane purposes.

Many elderly patients don’t have any remaining family, as I found out when my mom was in a nursing home with Parkinson’s. Many eat alone and never have visitors, something we should never allow to happen. Visit as many of these people as you can, their smiles will be the best reward you’ll ever receive.

The Memory Loss Tapes should receive a handful of well-deserved Emmy nominations, and some awards. It's technically superb, emotionally powerful, and for me is one of the best TV documentaries ever made.

Producer-director Shari Cookson at IMDB
Producer-director Nick Doob at IMDB

[Though not yet on DVD, I'm reviewing this here in the hope that people will watch it on HBO or from their website: Click here for the HBO Link, and all episodes can be streamed from here as well.]

The Alzheimer's Organization is at http://www.alz.org/

Patients and families affected by Alzheimer’s can visit Icara Study to see if they might be eligible to enroll. [Thanks to Tracy for this]

Close-Up

aka Nema-ye Nazdik
Abbas Kiarostami, 1990, Iran (7*)
This is a small, sub low-budget pseudo-documentary that has much of the story re-enacted by the original participants. It involves the true story of an unemployed Iranian family man, Ali Sabzian, who impersonates a director he idolizes, Mohsen Makhmalbaf (director of "The Cyclist", the film he admires). Meeting another fan on a bus, he gains entrance to a middle-class family's home, eventually asking for money. Becoming suspicious, the family patriarch arranges to have him arrested when he returns to their house.

We join the story there, following a journalist, then later the director of this film, Abbas Hiarostami, as they interview the accused, then Iranian court officials, who decide to let them film the trial. (or was it re-enacted?) Iran, opening up its primitive legal system to journalists with cameras - what's wrong with this story?

It would be a touching story otherwise, but I can't separate myself from the locale and the Iranian regime. This is not an earth-moving case either, mere hero worship and impersonation, perhaps for financial game, as the man has a family to feed. Just about anyone would perpetrate a minor scam if it could feed their kids at the expense of those apparently well-off, and who would blame him. You feel for the criminal in this (his real crime is just poverty), who appears remorseful, as they all do when caught. I don't buy his self-proclaimed innocence in court myself, but then I'm from the nation with the most laws, most prisoners, most lawyers, most time spent in court in the world!

I wasn't as moved as most critics: the film quality is very poor, the sound perfectly awful, the worst I've ever heard. At times it vibrates into unrecognition, in one scene with director Makhmalbaf, it cuts on and off from his remote microphone, some dialogue being lost entirely. (see El Mariachi for a great example of low-budget excellence, so it can be done, and all in single takes)

I'm convinced this movie was Iranian propaganda. They let Kiarostami film in court because this case meant nothing - were any journalists allowed in Roxanne Saberi's so-called trial? I don't buy the veracity of this film, so it loses it's power without the viewer buying the premise. It's an interesting window into a closed regime, even if a cloudy, poorly made one, so in that regard it's worth seeing, just don't expect any decent production values, but the positive is some openly displayed emotions in a raw and human docudrama.

In Bruges

Martin McDonagh, 2008 (9*)
This is a thoroughly enjoyable and creative black crime 'dramedy' (more drama than humor), about two affable hit men hiding out in Bruges, Belgium, the best preserved medieval city in Europe. Rookie director Martin McDonagh got the idea for this film while visiting the city once, and the two characters represent his own split feelings about the town: beautiful and historic on one hand, then boring when that becomes the everyday routine. In two terrific performances, Brendan Gleeson is the older, wiser hit man who enjoys touring the historic town, while Colin Farrell, new to the profession, is bored, anxious, and needs more excitement, more booze, more anything.

The pair quickly discover a film being shot in the streets and befriend both a dwarf actor, who's a funny character, and a crew member, the sensual Clemence Poesy, who offers Farrell just the escape he needs. The film begins slowly but escalates into violence, especially after boss Ralph Fiennes shows up, it's a dark comedy until then. In Bruges is really a film noir with some humor, and lots of swearing. The supporting cast from the hotel owner (Thekla Reuten) to a rude Canadian (Zeljko Ivanek, Emmy-winner for Damages) are all excellent.

The film has some artistic and even surreal moments, magically filmed. When you consider all the elements involved: a town as co-star, a dwarf in a surrealist film, drug-dealing con-artists, a hit on a priest, a kid-loving mobster - this turns out to be quite a unique script from McDonagh. Farrell won the Golden Globe for actor in a comedy (I think his most versatile performance to date, tho' Home at the End of the World was probably more difficult), and Gleeson (brilliant!) was nominated, as their onscreen chemistry was hilarious. Gleeson's performance is actually the more polished and professional, he's done this often. McDonagh's Oscar-nominated screenplay won several international awards, including the BAFTA®, for which the movie was nominated for Best British film.

Be sure to watch all the bonus shorts on the dvd, especially one with all the F-word outtakes from the whole movie, there's certainly over a hundred!

Ugetsu

Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953, Japan, bw (9*)
This is one of the greatest Japanese cinema classics, in spite of some exaggerated acting. Moody, atmospheric, bewitching, with music to match, you'll be mesmerized by the beautiful visuals and the camera of director Kenji Mizoguchi which seems to always be in motion. The story is about some village peasants in war-torn 16th century Japan. A farmer who also is a potter (Machiko Kyo) for extra income must flee an army with his wares to sell them in a nearby city, accompanied by another couple from the village. This begins an excursion into ambition, desire, and delusion with unforeseen consequences.

The story's plot has some unexpected twists, so it is hard to describe without spoilers; suffice to say that this is perhaps the best Japanese film after Kurosawa's The Seven Samurai. Many consider Mizoguchi's Sansho the Bailiff his masterpiece, but I much prefer this one. It reminds me of the German expressionists, like Murnau and Lang, with perhaps less surrealism and a more modern camera technique, which appears to be often on a moving crane. Fans of classic cinema should love this one, which is a masterwork of modern fables. Winner of the Golden Lion at the Venice Film Festival.

Man on Wire

James Marsh, 2008 (7*)
Best Documentary (AA)
[Note: it's hard to be a spoiler here, it's on the dvd cover and the film description.. plus it's well documented history by this point]

This was an amazing event in 1974, and James Marsh has done an admirable job in assembling the story from the present day to re-create a documentary looking backwards. He's used the technique of interspersing interviews with the participants with documentary footage, similar to the style Warren Beatty perfected in Reds, and taken to its extreme by Ken Burns, best used in his Civil War, Jazz, and Baseball series for PBS. All that said, this may have had more impact if released either in 1975, or in 2002.

Philippe Petit is a French tightrope walker who liked to dazzle crowds and thumb his nose at authority by doing things like walking between the two towers of Notre Dame. He has to prepare these events at night when no one can see, then perform in the daylight to the delight of people below, then go to his expected arrest and public scolding. When he saw the plans of the twin towers of the World Trade Center, he became obsessed with walking between them when they were near completion.

Marsh carefully re-constructs the story leading up to the final event and tries to add as much drama as possible, but such an event is hardly earth-shattering in light of the events of 9/11, which oddly are never mentioned here. This is more in the realm of Cirque de Soleil, which is dazzling and athletic entertainment, this performance carrying a bit more risk of death than usual but as Philippe begins the film being interviewed from the present day, we already know the outcome from the beginning. However, this is a well-crafted film by Marsh and won the Oscar® for best documentary of 2008.