Some professors of Film Studies at Harvard University did a great job in making a seriously impressive list of the most essential and remarkable films ever made, all of which have had a strongly impact on the world of cinematography. They say it is impossible to become a movie expert without watching these films. In fact, students who wish to become Harvard-trained film experts are expected to know these movies nearly frame by frame. Even if you have no desire to become a Harvard film guru, though, watching the movies listed below will give you a new appreciation of cinema.
Bright Side decided to share the list with you, which consists of two parts: landmark films in the history of cinema and the best Hollywood movies.
Part 1. The most essential films in the history of world cinema
Cinematography in its early years: 1895-1910
Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat / L’Arrivee d’un train en gare de la Ciotat, 1895. Auguste Lumière and Louis Lumière.
Employees Leaving the Lumière Factory / La Sortie de l’usine Lumiere a Lyon, 1895. Louis Lumière.
The Waterer Watered / L’Arroseur arrose, 1895. Louis Lumière.
Baby’s Dinner / Le Repas de beb, 1895. Louis Lumière.
The Vanishing Lady / Escamotage d’une Dame chez Robert-Houdin, 1896. Georges Méliès.
A Trip to the Moon / Le Voyage dans la lune, 1902. Georges Méliès.
The Kingdom of the Fairies / Le Royaume des fees, 1903. Georges Méliès.
The Magic Lantern / La Lanterne magiquе, 1903. Georges Méliès.
The Impossible Voyage / Le Voyage a travers l’impossible, 1904. Georges Méliès.
Annabelle Serpentine Dance, 1895. William K.L. Dickson, William Heise.
The Kiss, 1896. William Heise.
Mr. Edison at Work in His Chemical Laboratory, 1897. James H. White.
Electrocuting an Elephant, 1903.
The Patchwork Girl of Oz, 1914. J. Farrell MacDonald.
Terrible Teddy, the Grizzly King, 1901. Edwin S. Porter.
Circular Panorama of Electric Tower, 1901. Edwin S. Porter.
Pan-American Exposition by Night, 1901. Edwin S. Porter.
Life of an American Fireman, 1902. Edwin S. Porter.
Uncle Josh at the Moving Picture Show, 1902. Edwin S. Porter.
Uncle Tom’s Cabin, 1903. Thomas A. Edison.
The Gay Shoe Clerk, 1903. Edwin S. Porter.
Romance of the Rails, 1903. Edwin S. Porter.
The Great Train Robbery, 1903. Edwin S. Porter.
The Teddy Bears, 1907. Edwin S. Porter.
The Lonely Villa, 1909. David W. Griffith.
Corner in Wheat, 1909. David W. Griffith.
The golden age of «great silent films»: 1910-1930
His Trust, 1911. David W. Griffith.
The Lonedale Operator, 1911. David W. Griffith.
The New York Hat, 1912. David W. Griffith.
The Musketeers of Pig Alley, 1912. David W. Griffith.
The Battle of Elderbush Gulch, 1913. David W. Griffith.
The Cabbage Fairy / La Fee aux choux, 1896. Alice Guy.
A House Divided, 1913. Alice Guy.
Cabiria, 1914, Italy. Giovanni Pastrone.
Fantomas, 1914, France. Louis Feuillade.
The Birth of a Nation, 1915, USA. David W. Griffith.
Les Vampires, 1915, France. Louis Feuillade.
Intolerance, 1916, USA. David W. Griffith.
The Cheat, 1916, USA. Cecil B. DeMille.
The Immigrant, 1917, USA. Charles Chaplin.
The Outlaw and His Wife / Berg-Ejvind och hans hustru, 1917, Sweden. Victor Sjöström.
Broken Blossoms, 1919, USA. David W. Griffith.
Sunnyside, 1919, USA. Charles Chaplin.
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari / Das Cabinet Des Dr. Caligari, 1920, Germany. Robert Wiene.
The Phantom Carriage / Korkarlen, 1920, Sweden. Victor Sjöström.
The Blot, 1921, USA. Lois Weber.
Nosferatu / Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens, 1922, Germany. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau.
Po zakonu, 1926, USSR. Lev Kuleshov.
The Witches / Haxan, 1922, Denmark. Benjamin Christensen.
Foolish Wives, 1922, USA. Erich Oswald Stroheim.
Safety Last, 1923, USA. Fred C. Newmeyer, Sam Taylor.
Kino Eye / Kinoglaz, 1924, USSR. Dziga Vertov.
The Last Laugh / Der Letzte Mann, 1924, Germany. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau.
Greed, 1924, USA. Erich von Stroheim.
Sherlock Junior, 1924, USA. Buster Keaton.
The Saga of Gosta Berling / Gosta Berlings saga, 1924, Sweden. Mauritz Stiller.
The Inhuman Woman / L’Inhumaine, 1924, France. Marcel L’Herbier.
The Iron Horse, 1924, USA. John Ford.
Battleship Potemkin / Bronenosets Potyomkin, 1925, USSR. Sergei Eisenstein.
The Gold Rush, 1925, USA. Charles Chaplin.
Body and Soul, 1925, USA. Oscar Micheaux.
The Joyless Street / Die freudlose Gasse, 1925, Germany. Georg Wilhelm Pabst.
The General, 1926, USA. Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton.
The Lodger, 1926, Great Britain. Alfred Hitchcock.
Mother / Mat, 1926, USSR. Vsevolod Pudovkin.
A Page of Madness / Kurutta ippeji, 1926, Japan. Teinosuke Kinugasa.
Metropolis, 1927, Germany. Fritz Lang.
The End of St. Petersburg / Konets Sankt-Peterburga, 1927, USSR. Vsevolod Pudovkin.
Napoleon, 1927, France. Abel Gance.
Sunrise, 1927, USA. Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau.
October / Oktyabr, 1927, USSR. Sergei Eisenstein.
Money / L’Argent, 1928, France. Marcel L’Herbier.
The Crowd, 1928, USA. King Vidor.
Storm Over Asia / Potomok Chingiskhana, 1928, USSR. Vsevolod Pudovkin.
The Passion of Joan of Arc / La passion de Jeanne d’Arc, 1928, France. Carl Theodor Dreyer.
Earth / Zemlya, 1930, USSR. Alexander Dovzhenko.
The late 1920s-1940: The first movies with sound
The Jazz Singer, 1927, USA. Alan Crosland.
Under the Roofs of Paris / Sous les toits de Paris, 1929, France. René Clair.
The Blue Angel, 1930, Germany. Josef von Sternberg.
The Golden Age / L’Age d’Or, 1930, France. Luis Buñuel.
Borderline, 1930, Great Britain. Kenneth MacPherson.
M, 1931, Germany. Fritz Lang.
The Exile, 1931, USA. Oscar Micheaux, Leonard Harper.
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang, 1932, USA. Mervyn LeRoy.
Zero for Conduct / Zero de conduite: Jeunes diables au college, 1933, France. Jean Vigo.
Christopher Strong, 1933, USA. Dorothy Arzner.
El Compadre Mendoza, 1933, Mexico. Fernando de Fuentes.
L’Atalante, 1934, France. Jean Vigo.
The Crime of Monsieur Lange / Le crime de monsieur Lange, 1935, France. Jean Renoir.
The 39 Steps, 1935, Great Britain. Alfred Hitchcock.
Modern Times, 1935, USA. Charles Chaplin.
Sisters of the Gion / Gion no shimai, 1936, Japan. Kenji Mizoguchi.
Grand Illusion / La Grande Illusion, 1937, France. Jean Renoir.
Alexander Nevsky, 1938, USSR. Sergei Eisenstein.
Daybreak / Le Jour se leve, 1939, France. Marcel Carné.
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939, USA. Frank Capra.
The Rules of the Game / La Regle du jeu, 1939, France. Jean Renoir.
Thief of Bagdad, 1940, Great Britain. Michael Powell et al.
Süss the Jew / Jud Suss, 1940, Germany. Veit Harlan.
1940-1960
Citizen Kane, 1941, USA. Orson Welles.
Day of Wrath / Vredens dag, 1943, Denmark. Carl T. Dreyer.
The Raven / Le Corbeau, 1943, France. Henri-Georges Clouzot.
Ivan the Terrible / Ivan Grozniy, Part 1, 1944, USSR. Sergei Eisenstein.
Children of Paradise / Les Enfants du Paradis, 1945, France. Marcel Carné.
Rome, Open City / Roma, citta aperta, 1945, Italy. Roberto Rossellini.
Brief Encounter, 1945, Great Britain. David Lean.
Paisan / Paisa, 1946, Italy. Roberto Rossellini.
Murderers Among Us / Die Morder sind unter uns, 1946, Germany. Wolfgang Staudte.
The Earth Trembles / La Terra Trema, 1948, Italy. Luchino Visconti.
The Red Shoes, 1948, Great Britain. Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger.
Bicycle Thieves / Ladri di biciclette, 1948, Italy. Vittorio De Sica.
Diary of a Country Priest / Journal d’un cure de campagne, 1950, France. Robert Bresson.
The Third Man, 1950, Great Britain. Carol Reed.
The Young and the Damned / Los Olvidados, 1950, Mexico. Luis Buñuel.
Sunset Boulevard, 1950, USA. Billy Wilder.
Rashomon, 1950, Japan. Akira Kurosawa.
The River, 1951, France-Italy. Jean Renoir.
Forbidden Games / Les Jeux interdits, 1952, France. René Clément.
The Earrings of Madame de… / Madame De…, 1953, France. Max Ophüls.
Tokyo Story / Tokyo monogatari, 1953, Japan. Yasujirō Ozu.
The Wages of Fear / Le Salaire de la peur, 1953, France. Henri-Georges Clouzot.
Ugetsu Monogatari, 1953, Japan. Kenji Mizoguchi.
Mr. Hulot’s Holiday / Les Vacances de M. Hulot, 1953, France. Jacques Tati.
Salt of the Earth, 1953, USA. Herbert J. Biberman.
Journey to Italy / Viaggio in Italia, 1953, Italy. Roberto Rossellini.
The Little Fugitive, 1953, USA. Ray Ashley et al.
Seven Samurai / Shichinin no samurai, 1954, Japan. Akira Kurosawa.
Sansho the Bailiff / Sansho dayu, 1954, Japan. Kenji Mizoguchi.
On the Waterfront, 1954, USA. Elia Kazan.
The Word / Ordet, 1954, Denmark. Carl T. Dreyer.
The Road / La Strada, 1954, Italy. Federico Fellini.
Song of the Little Road / Pather Panchali, 1955, India. Satyajit Ray.
Bob the Gambler / Bob le Flambeur, 1955, France. Jean-Pierre Melville.
Death of a Cyclist / Muerte de un ciclista, 1955, Spain. Juan Antonio Bardem.
Kanał, 1956, Poland. Andrzej Wajda.
The Red Balloon / Le Ballon rouge, 1956, France. Albert Lamorisse.
The Burmese Harp / Biruma no tategoto, 1956, Japan. Kon Ichikawa.
Wild Strawberries / Smultronstallet, 1957, Sweden. Ingmar Bergman.
The Cranes Are Flying / Letyat zhuravli, 1957, USSR. Mikhail Kalatozov.
Nights of Cabiria / Le notti di Cabiria, 1957, Italy. Federico Fellini.
Ashes and Diamonds / Popiol i diament, 1958, Poland. Andrzej Wajda.
Vertigo, 1958, USA. Alfred Hitchcock.
Ballad of a Soldier / Ballada o soldate, 1959, USSR. Grigori Chukhrai.
Breathless / A Bout de souffle, 1959, France. Jean-Luc Godard.
Hiroshima My Love / Hiroshima mon Amour, 1959, France. Alain Resnais.
The 400 Blows / Les quatre cents coups, 1959, France. François Truffaut.
Pickpocket, 1959, France. Robert Bresson.
Shadows, 1959, USA. John Cassavetes.
The World of Apu / Apur Sansar, 1959, India. Satyajit Ray.
The Adventure / L’Avventura, 1960, Italy. Michelangelo Antonioni.
The Housemaid / Hanyeo, 1960, South Korea. Kim Ki-young.
Mother Joan of the Angels / Matka Joanna od aniolow, 1960, Poland. Jerzy Kawalerowicz.
Rocco and His Brothers / Rocco e i suoi fratelli, 1960, Italy. Luchino Visconti.
The Cloud-Capped Star / Meghe Dhaka Tara, 1960, India. Ritwik Ghatak.
Peeping Tom, 1960, Great Britain. Michael Powell
1960-1980
Accattone, 1961, Italy. Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Last Year at Marienbad / L’annee derniere a Marienbad, 1961, France. Alain Resnais.
The Naked Island / Hadaka no shima, 1960, Japan. Kaneto Shindo.
The Exiles, 1961, USA. Kent MacKenzie.
Viridiana, 1961, Mexico. Luis Buñuel.
Cléo from 5 to 7 / Cleo a 5 de 7, 1961, France. Agnès Varda.
The Connection, 1961, USA. Shirley Clarke.
An Autumn Afternoon / Sanma no aji, 1962, Japan. Yasujirō Ozu.
Eclipse / L’eclisse, 1962, Italy. Michelangelo Antonioni.
The Jetty / La Jetée, 1962, France. Chris Marker.
8 1/2, 1963, Italy. Federico Fellini.
The Leopard / Il gattopardo, 1963, Italy. Luchino Visconti.
Barren lives / Vidas Secas, 1963, Brazil. Nelson Pereira dos Santos.
Red Desert / Il deserto rosso, 1964, Italy. Michelangelo Antonioni.
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors / Tini zabutykh predkiv, 1964, USSR. Sergei Parajanov.
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, 1964, Great Britain. Stanley Kubrick.
A Hard Day’s Night, 1964, Great Britain. Richard Lester.
The Gospel According to St. Matthew / Il vangelo secondo Matteo, 1964, Italy. Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Black Girl / La noire de…, 1965, Senegal. Ousmane Sembène.
Pierrot the Madman / Pierrot le Fou, 1965, France-Italy. Jean-Luc Godard.
The Round-Up / Szegenylegenyek, 1965, Hungary. Miklós Jancsó.
The Shop on Main Street / Obchod na korze, 1965, Czechoslovakia. Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos.
Not Reconciled / Nicht versohnt, 1965, Germany. Jean-Marie Straub, Danièle Huillet.
Happiness / Le Bonheur, 1965, France. Agnès Varda.
The Battle of Algiers / La battaglia di Algeri, 1966, Italy. Gillo Pontecorvo.
The Young Girls of Rochefort / Les demoiselles de Rochefort, 1966, France. Jacques Demy.
Father / Apa, 1966, Hungary. István Szabó.
Blow-up, 1966, Great Britain. Michelangelo Antonioni.
Daisies / Sedmikrasky, 1966, Czechoslovakia. Věra Chytilová.
A Report on the Party and the Guests / O slavnosti a hostech, 1966, Czechoslovakia. Jan Němec.
Loves of a Blonde / Lasky jedne plavovlasky, 1965, Czechoslovakia. Miloš Forman.
Balthazar / Au Hasard, Balthazar, 1966, France-Sweden. Robert Bresson.
Andrei Rublev, 1966, USSR. Andrei Tarkovsky.
Persona, 1966, Sweden. Ingmar Bergman.
The Hawks and the Sparrows / Uccellacci e uccellini, 1966, Italy. Pier Paolo Pasolini.
David Holzman’s Diary, 1967, USA. Jim McBride.
Two or Three Things I Know About Her / 2 ou 3 choses que je sais d’elle, 1967, France. Jean-Luc Godard.
Playtime, 1967, France. Jacques Tati.
Weekend, 1967, France. Jean-Luc Godard.
Belle de Jour, 1967, France. Luis Buñuel.
War and Peace / Voyna i mir, 1967, USSR. Sergei Bondarchuk.
Entranced Earth / Terra em Transe, 1967, Brazil. Glauber Rocha.
Innocence Unprotected / Nevinost bez zastite, 1968, Yugoslavia. Dušan Makavejev.
If, 1968, Great Britain. Lindsey Anderson.
My Night at Maud’s / Ma Nuit chez Maude, 1968, France. Éric Rohmer.
Death by Hanging / Koshikei, 1968, Japan. Nagisa Oshima.
Once Upon a Time in the West / C’era una volta il West, 1968, Italy. Sergio Leone.
Petulia, 1968, USA. Richard Lester.
Memories of Underdevelopment / Memorias del subdesarrollo, 1968, Cuba. Tomás Gutiérrez Alea.
The Conformist / Il conformista, 1969, Italy. Bernardo Bertolucci.
Four Nights of a Dreamer / Quatre nuits d’un reveur, 1971, France. Robert Bresson.
The Night of Counting the Years / Al-mummia, 1969, Egypt. Shadi Abdel Salam.
The Color of Pomegranates / Tsvet granata, 1969, USSR. Sergei Parajanov.
Easy Rider, 1969, USA. Dennis Hopper.
Blood of the Condor / Yawar mallku, 1969, Bolivia. Jorge Sanjinés.
Antonio das Mortes / O Dragao da Maldade contra o Santo Guerreiro, 1969, Brazil. Glauber Rocha.
Lucia, 1969, Cuba. Humberto Solás.
King Lear, 1970, USSR. Grigori Kozintsev.
Performance, 1970, Great Britain. Donald Cammell, Nicolas Roeg.
Sweet Sweetback’s Badasssss Song, 1971, USA. Melvin Van Peebles.
Mon Oncle Antoine, 1971, Canada. Claude Jutra.
Shaft, 1971, USA. Gordon Parks.
The Last Picture Show, 1971, USA. Peter Bogdanovich.
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism / W.R. — Misterije organizma, 1971, Yugoslavia. Dušan Makavejev.
How Tasty Was My Little Frenchman / Como Era Gostoso o Meu Frances, 1971, Brazil. Nelson Pereira dos Santos.
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie / Le Charme discret de la Bourgeoisie, 1972, France. Luis Buñuel.
Aguirre, the Wrath of God / Aguirre, der Zorn Gottes, 1972, Germany. Werner Herzog.
Last Tango in Paris / Ultimo tango a Parigi, 1972, Italy-France. Bernardo Bertolucci.
The Spirit of the Beehive / El espiritu de la colmena, 1973, Spain. Víctor Erice.
Day for Night / La Nuit americaine, 1973, France. François Truffaut.
Mean Streets, 1973, USA. Martin Scorsese.
Badlands, 1973, USA. Terrence Malick.
The Mother and the Whore / La Maman et la putain, 1973, France. Jean Eustache.
India Song, 1974, France. Marguerite Duras.
Xala, 1974, Senegal. Ousmane Sembène.
Picnic at Hanging Rock, 1975, Australia. Peter Weir.
Raise Ravens / Cria Cuervos, 1975, Spain. Carlos Saura.
Just Great / Tout va bien, 1975, France. Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, 1975, Belgium. Chantal Akerman.
The Travelling Players / O thiasos, 1975, Greece. Theodoros Angelopoulos.
Kings of the Road / Im Lauf der Zeit, 1976, Germany. Wim Wenders.
Nashville, 1976, USA. Robert Altman.
Taxi Driver, 1976, USA. Martin Scorsese.
All the President’s Men, 1976, USA. Alan Pakula.
Man of Marble / Czlowiek z marmuru, 1976, Poland. Andrzej Wajda.
The Ascent / Voskhozhdeniye, 1976, USSR. Larisa Shepitko.
In the Realm of the Senses / Ai no korida, 1976, Japan. Nagisa Oshima.
Jonah Who Will Be 25 in the Year 2000 / Jonas qui aura 25 ans en l’an 2000, 1976, Switzerland. Alain Tanner.
Killer of Sheep, 1977, USA. Charles Burnett.
Suspiria, 1977. Dario Argento.
The Hypothesis of the Stolen Painting / L’hypothese du tableau vole, 1978, France. Raúl Ruiz.
The Marriage of Maria Braun / Die Ehe der Maria Braun, 1978, Germany. Rainer Werner Fassbinder.
Apocalypse Now, 1979, USA. Francis Ford Coppola.
The Patriot / Die Patriotin, 1979, Germany. Alexander Kluge.
Vengeance Is Mine / Fukushu suru wa ware ni ari, 1979, Japan. Shōhei Imamura.
Raging Bull, 1980, USA. Martin Scorsese.
1980-2000
Marianne and Juliane / Die bleierne Zeit, 1981, West Germany. Margarethe von Trotta.
The Draftsman’s Contract, 1982, Great Britain. Peter Greenaway.
Boat People / Tau ban no hoi, 1982, Hong Kong. Ann Hui.
A Question of Silence / De stilte rond Christine M., 1981, The Netherlands. Marleen Gorris.
The Wind / Finye, 1982, Mali. Souleymane Cissé.
Yol, 1982, Turkey. Yılmaz Güney.
Videodrome, 1982, Canada. David Cronenberg.
The Ballad of Narayama / Narayama-bushi ko, 1983, Japan. Shōhei Imamura.
Fanny and Alexander / Fanny och Alexander, 19832, Sweden. Ingmar Bergman.
Carmen, 1983, Spain. Carlos Saura.
Nostalghia, 1983, Italy-USSR. Andrei Tarkovsky.
Yellow Earth / Huang tudi, 1984, China. Chen Kaige.
Illusions, 1982, USA. Julie Dash.
Paris, Texas, 1984, USA. Wim Wenders.
The Home and the World / Ghare-Baire, 1984, India. Satyajit Ray.
Camila, 1984, Argentina. María Luisa Bemberg.
Ran, 1985, Japan. Akira Kurosawa.
Blue Velvet, 1986, USA. David Lynch.
Caravaggio, 1986, Great Britain. Derek Jarman.
Yeelen, 1987, Mali. Souleymane Cissé.
Red Sorghum / Hong gao liang, 1987, China. Zhang Yimou.
Wedding in Galilee / Urs al-jalil, 1987, Belgium-Israel-France. Michel Khleifi.
Wings of Desire / Der Himmel uber Berlin, 1987, Germany. Wim Wenders.
Greetings Bombay / Salaam Bombay!, 1988, India. Mira Nair.
The Decalogue / Dekalog, 1988, Poland. Krzysztof Kieślowski.
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown / Mujeres al borde de un ataque de nervios, 1988, Spain. Pedro Almodóvar.
Do the Right Thing, 1989, USA. Spike Lee.
Yaaba, 1989, Burkina Faso-France-Switzerland. Idrissa Ouedraogo.
The Killer / Dip huet seung hung, 1989, Hong Kong. John Woo.
The Puppetmaster / Xi meng ren sheng, 1989, Taiwan. Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
The Match Factory Girl / Tulitikkutehtaan tytto, 1989, Finland. Aki Kaurismäki.
Crimes and Misdemeanors, 1989, USA. Woody Allen.
Looking for Langston, 1989, Great Britain. Isaac Julien.
Speaking Parts, 1989, Canada. Atom Egoyan.
Sex, lies, and videtape, 1989, USA. Steven Soderbergh.
An Angel at My Table, 1990, New Zealand. Jane Campion.
I Hired a Contract Killer, 1990, Finland. Aki Kaurismäki.
Time of the Gypsies / Dom za vesanje, 1990, Yugoslavia. Emir Kusturica.
The Law / Tilai, 1990, Burkina Faso. Idrissa Ouedraogo.
Ju Dou, 1990, China. Zhang Yimou, Yang Fengliang.
La belle noiseuse, 1991, France. Jacques Rivette.
The Suspended Step of the Stork / To meteoro vima tou pelargou, 1991, Greece. Theo Angelopoulos.
Raise the Red Lantern / Da hong deng long gao gao gua, 1991, China. Zhang Yimou.
Daughters of the Dust, 1992, USA. Julie Dash.
Dream of Light / El sol del membrillo, 1992, Spain. Víctor Erice.
Life According to Agfa / Ha-Chayim Al-Pi Agfa, 1992, Israel. Assi Dayan.
Sankofa, 1993, Burkina Faso. Haile Gerima.
Dear Diary / Caro diario, 1993, Italy. Nanni Moretti.
Chungking Express / Chung Hing sam lam, 1994, Hong Kong. Wong Kar-wai.
Vive L’Amour / Ai qing wan sui, 1994, China-Taiwan. Tsai Ming-liang.
Three Colors / Trois couleurs, 1993-1994, France-Poland. Krzysztof Kieślowski.
Dead Man, 1995, USA. Jim Jarmusch.
Breaking the Waves, 1996, Denmark. Lars von Trier.
The Pillow Book, 1996, Great Britain. Peter Greenaway.
The Sweet Hereafter, 1997, Canada. Atom Egoyan.
Taste of Cherry / Ta’m e guilass, 1997, Iran. Abbas Kiarostami.
The River / He liu, 1997, Taiwan. Tsai Ming-liang.
The Celebration / Festen, 1998, Denmark. Thomas Vinterberg.
Flowers of Shanghai / Hai shang hua, 1998, Taiwan. Hou Hsiao-Hsien.
Run Lola Run / Lola rennt, 1998, Germany. Tom Tykwer.
Beau Travail, 1999, France. Claire Denis.
Eyes Wide Shut, 1999, Great Britain. Stanley Kubrick.
A One and a Two / Yi yi, 2000, Taiwan.Edward Yang.
Platform / Zhantai, 2000, China. Jia Zhangke.
Amores Perros, 2000, Mexico. Alejandro González Iñárritu.
In the Mood for Love / Fa yeung nin wa, 2000, Hong Kong. Wong Kar-Wai.
The Man Without a Past / Mies vailla menneisyytta, 2000, Finland. Aki Kaurismäki.
Songs from the Second Floor / Sanger fran andra vaningen, 2000, Sweden. Roy Andersson.
From 2000
In Praise of Love/ Eloge de l’amour, 2001, France. Jean-Luc Godard.
Talk to Her / Hable con ella, 2002, Spain. Pedro Almodóvar.
City of God / Cidade de Deus, 2002, Brazil. Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund.
Waiting for Happiness / Heremakono, 2002, France-Mauritania. Abderrahmane Sissako.
Ten / 10, 2002, Iran. Abbas Kiarostami.
Russian Ark / Russkij Kovcheg, 2002, Russia. Alexander Sokurov.
The Son / Le Fils, 2002, Belgium. Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne.
Distant / Uzak, 2003, Turkey. Nuri Bilge Ceylan.
The Five Obstructions / De fem benspaend, 2003, Denmark. Lars von Trier, Jørgen Leth.
Hidden / Cache, 2004, France. Michael Haneke.
Tropical Malady / Sud pralad, 2004, Thailand. Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
The Holy Girl / La nina santa, 2004, Argentina. Lucrecia Martel.
The Death of Mr. Lazarescu / Moartea domnului Lazarescu, 2005, Romania. Cristi Puiu.
Still Life / Sanxia haoren, 2006, China. Jia Zhangke.
Colossal Youth / Juventude Em Marcha, 2006, Portugal. Pedro Costa.
Pan’s Labyrinth / El laberinto del fauno, 2006, Mexico. Guillermo del Toro.
4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days / 4 luni, 3 saptamani si 2 zile, 2007, Romania. Cristian Mungiu.
United Red Army / Jitsuroku Rengo Sekigun: Asama sanso e no michi, 2008, Japan. Kōji Wakamatsu.
The White Ribbon / Das weisse Band — Eine deutsche Kindergeschichte, 2009, Germany. Michael Haneke.
Carlos, 2010, France. Olivier Assayas.
A Tree of Life, 2011, USA. Terrence Malick.
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives / Loong Boonmee raleuk chat, 2011, Thailand. Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
Part 2. The very best Hollywood films
Comedies
Trouble in Paradise, 1932. Ernst Lubitsch.
It Happened One Night, 1934. Frank Capra.
A Night at the Opera, 1935. Sam Wood.
My Man Godfrey, 1936. Gregory La Cava.
The Awful Truth, 1937. Leo McCarey.
Bringing Up Baby, 1938. Howard Hawks.
The Philadelphia Story, 1940. George Cukor.
His Girl Friday, 1940. Howard Hawks.
Sullivan’s Travels, 1941. Preston Sturges.
The Lady Eve, 1941. Preston Sturges.
Some Like It Hot, 1959. Billy Wilder.
Annie Hall, 1977. Woody Allen.
Epic films
Ben Hur: The Tale of the Christ, 1926. Fred Niblo.
Cleopatra, 1934. Cecil B. DeMille.
The Good Earth, 1937. Sidney Franklin et al.
Gone With the Wind, 1939. Victor Fleming et al.
The Robe, 1953. Henry Koster.
The Ten Commandments, 1956. Cecil B. DeMille.
Giant, 1956. George Stevens.
Ben Hurr, 1959. William Wyler.
Spartacus, 1960. Stanley Kubrick.
El Cid, 1961. Anthony Mann.
Reds, 1981. Warren Beatty.
Titanic, 1997. James Cameron.
Gladiator, 2000. Ridley Scott.
Film noir
The Maltese Falcon, 1941. John Huston.
Double Indemnity, 1944. Billy Wilder.
Laura, 1944. Otto Preminger.
Phantom Lady, 1944. Robert Siodmak.
Detour, 1945. Edgar Ulmer.
The Big Sleep, 1946. Howard Hawks.
Gun Crazy, 1950. Joseph H. Lewis.
The Big Heat, 1953. Fritz Lang.
Kiss Me Deadly, 1955. Robert Aldrich.
Touch of Evil, 1958. Orson Welles.
Point Blank, 1967. John Boorman.
The Long Goodbye, 1973. Robert Altman.
Chinatown, 1974. Roman Polanski.
The Conversation, 1974. Francis F. Coppola.
Night Moves, 1975. Arthur Penn.
Pulp Fiction, 1994. Quentin Tarantino.
Gangster films
Underworld, 1927. Josef von Sternberg.
Little Caesar, 1930. Mervyn LeRoy.
The Public Enemy, 1931. William Wellman.
Scarface, 1932. Howard Hawks.
Angels with Dirty Faces, 1938. Michael Curtiz.
The Roaring Twenties, 1939. Raoul Walsh.
White Heat, 1949. Raoul Walsh.
The Asphalt Jungle, 1950. John Huston.
Bonnie and Clyde, 1967. Arthur Penn.
The Godfather, 1972. Francis F. Coppola.
The Godfather: Part II, 1974. Francis F. Coppola.
Once upon a Time in America, 1984. Sergio Leone.
Goodfellas, 1990. Martin Scorsese.
Reservoir Dogs, 1992. Quentin Tarantino.
History and war films
The Big Parade, 1925. King Vidor.
All Quiet on the Western Front, 1930. Lewis Milestone.
Young Mr. Lincoln, 1939. John Ford.
Mrs. Miniver, 1942. William Wyler.
Casablanca, 1942. Michael Curtiz.
The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946. William Wyler.
From Here to Eternity, 1953. Fred Zinnemann.
Paths of Glory, 1957. Stanley Kubrick.
Patton, 1970. Franklin J. Schaffner.
Full Metal Jacket, 1987. Stanley Kubrick.
Schindler’s List, 1993. Steven Spielberg.
The Thin Red Line, 1998. Terrence Malick.
Saving Private Ryan, 1998. Steven Spielberg.
Inglourious Basterds, 2009. Quentin Tarantino.
The Hurt Locker, 2009. Kathryn Bigelow.
Horror films
Dracula, 1931. Tod Browning.
King Kong, 1933. Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack.
Bride of Frankenstein, 1935. James Whale.
Cat People, 1942. Jack Turner.
The Seventh Victim, 1943. Mark Robson.
The Thing, 1951. Christian Nyby.
The Night of the Hunter, 1955. Charles Laughton.
Psycho, 1960. Alfred Hitchcock.
The Birds, 1963. Alfred Hitchcock.
Rosemary’s Baby, 1968. Roman Polanski.
Night of the Living Dead, 1969. George Romero.
The Exorcist, 1973. William Friedkin.
Carrie, 1978. Brian De Palma.
The Shining, 1980. Stanley Kubrick.
The Blair Witch Project, 1999. Daniel Myrick, Eduardo Sánchez.
Paranormal Activity, 2007. Oren Peli.
Melodramas
Seventh Heaven, 1927. Frank Borzage.
Blonde Venus, 1932. Josef von Sternberg.
The Scarlet Empress, 1934. Josef von Sternberg.
Stella Dallas, 1937. King Vidor.
Stage Door, 1937. Gregory La Cava.
Dance, Girl, Dance, 1940. Dorothy Arzner.
Rebecca, 1940. Alfred Hitchcock.
Now, Voyager, 1942. Irving Rapper.
Mildred Pierce, 1945. Michael Curtiz.
Letter from an Unknown Woman, 1948. Max Ophüls.
All about Eve, 1950. Joseph L. Mankiewicz.
The Bad and the Beautiful, 1952. Vincente Minnelli.
All That Heaven Allows, 1956. Douglas Sirk.
Imitation of Life, 1959. Douglas Sirk.
Far from Heaven, 2002. Todd Haynes.
Musicals
The Love Parade, 1929. Ernst Lubitsch.
Love Me Tonight, 1932. Rouben Mamoulian.
Footlight Parade, 1933. Lloyd Bacon.
Top Hat, 1935. Mark Sandrich.
Swing Time, 1936. George Stevens.
The Wizard of Oz, 1939. Victor Fleming.
Meet Me in St. Louis, 1945. Vincente Minnelli.
Easter Parade, 1948. Charles Walters.
Singin’ in the Rain, 1952. Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly.
The Band Wagon, 1953. Vincente Minnelli.
Funny Face, 1957. Stanley Donen.
West Side Story, 1961. Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins.
Cabaret, 1972. Bob Fosse.
Moulin Rouge!, 2001. Baz Luhrman.
Science fiction
The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951. Robert Wise.
The War of the Worlds, 1953. Byron Haskin.
This Island Earth, 1955. Joseph M. Newman, Jack Arnold.
Forbidden Planet, 1956. Fred M. Wilcox.
Invasion of the Body Snatchers, 1956. Don Siegel.
Seconds, 1966. John Frankenheimer.
2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968. Stanley Kubrick.
Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, 1977. George Lucas.
Blade Runner, 1982. Ridley Scott.
Dark City, 1998. Alex Proyas.
The Matrix, 1999. Andy and Larry Wachowski.
Avatar, 2009. James Cameron.
Westerns
Stagecoach, 1939. John Ford.
Canyon Passage, 1946. Jack Turner.
Duel in the Sun, 1947. King Vidor.
Red River, 1948. Howard Hawks.
High Noon, 1952. Fred Zinnemann.
Johnny Guitar, 1954. Nicholas Ray.
The Man from Laramie, 1955. Anthony Mann.
The Searchers, 1956. John Ford.
Forty Guns, 1957. Samuel Fuller.
Rio Bravo, 1959. Howard Hawks.
Ride Lonesome, 1959. Budd Boetticher.
The Wild Bunch, 1969. Sam Peckinpah.
McCabe and Mrs. Miller, 1971. Robert Altman.
Dances with Wolves, 1990. Kevin Costner.
Unforgiven, 1992. Clint Eastwood.
True Grit, 2010. Ethan and Joel Coen.
Independent films
The Exiles, 1961. Kent MacKenzie.
Two-Lane Blacktop, 1971. Monte Hellman.
Badlands, 1973. Terrence Malick.
Eraserhead, 1976. David Lynch.
Angel City, 1977. Jon Jost.
Variety, 1983. Bette Gordon.
Stranger than Paradise, 1984. Jim Jarmusch.
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer, 1986. John McNaughton.
Sex, lies and videotape, 1989. Steven Soderbergh.
Drugstore Cowboy, 1989. Gus Van Sant.
Slacker, 1991. Richard Linklater.
Smoke, 1995. Wayne Wang, Paul Auster.
Gummo, 1997. Harmony Korine.
George Washington, 2000. David Gordon Green.
The Mad Songs of Fernanda Hussein, 2001. John Gianvito.
Lost in Translation, 2003. Sofia Coppola.
Source: Сinemotionlab