Films I hold in the highest regard

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This post lists some of my all-time favourite films, many of which I consider to be historic events in aesthetic history. The criterion for inclusion is a 9/10 (or higher) rating. See here for a list of films that I generally recommend.

(T) = trigger warning
(S) = film series

n

  • 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007) (T)
  • 12 Angry Men (1957)
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

A

  • Adaptation. (2002)
  • Akira (1988)
  • Alien (1979)
  • Anomalisa (2015)
  • Arrival (2016)

B

  • Barry Lyndon (1975)
  • Being John Malkovich (1999)
  • Before Sunrise trilogy (1995-2013) (S)
  • Beyond the Infinite Two Minutes (2020)
  • Blue Valentine (2010)
  • Brief Encounter (1945)
  • Brokeback Mountain (2005)

C

  • Chicken Run (2000)
  • Chungking Express (1994)
  • Cinema Paradiso (1988)
  • City of God (2002)
  • Close-Up (1990)
  • Come and See (1980) (T)
  • The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)

D

  • Decalogue (1989) (S)1
  • The Devils (1971) (T)
  • The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
  • Do the Right Thing (1989)
  • The Double Life of Véronique (1991)
  • Drive (2011)
  • Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

E

F

  • Fantastic Planet (1973)
  • Fallen Angels (1995)
  • The Farewell (2019)
  • Farewell My Concubine (1992)
  • Fitzcarraldo (1982)

G

  • The Godfather (1972)
  • The Godfather: Part II (1974)
  • GoodFellas (1995)

H

  • The Handmaiden (2016)
  • Harakiri (1963)
  • Happy Together (1997)
  • House (1977)

I

  • Ikiru (1952)
  • In the Mood for Love (2000)
  • The Iron Giant (1999)
  • Irreversible (2002) (T)
  • It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
  • It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012)

J

K

  • The Killing Fields (1984)
  • The King of Comedy (1982)
  • Kwaidan (1964)

L

  • La Haine (1995)
  • Le Samouraï (1967)
  • Life Is Beautiful (1997)
  • The Lighthouse (2019)
  • The Lord of the Rings (2001-2003) (S)
  • Love and Death (1975)

M

  • Magnetic Rose (1995)
  • Mandy (2018)
  • The Matrix (1999)
  • Menace II Society (1993)
  • Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
  • Moonlight (2016)

N

  • Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
  • No Country for Old Men (2007)
  • The Northman (2022)

O

  • One Cut of the Dead (2017)
  • Oldboy (2003)

P

  • Paths of Glory (1957)
  • Patriotism (1966)
  • Parasite (2019)
  • Persona (1966)
  • Phantom of the Paradise (1974)
  • Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
  • Possession (1981)
  • The Producers (1967)
  • Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
  • Pulp Fiction (1994)
  • The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

Q

R

  • Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
  • Raging Bull (1980)
  • Ran (1985)
  • Rashomon (1950)
  • Reservoir Dogs (1992)

S

  • Santa Sangre (1989)
  • Schindler’s List (1993)
  • Seven Samurai (1954)
  • Seven up (1964-2019) (S)
  • The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  • The Shining (1980)
  • Solaris (1972)
  • Son of the White Mare (1981)
  • Sorcerer (1977)
  • Spider-Man 2 (2004)
  • Spirited Away (2001)
  • Stand by Me (1986)
  • Still Walking (2008)
  • Suspiria (1977)

T

  • Taxi Driver (1976)
  • The Thing (1982)

U

  • Uncut Gems (2019)

V

  • The Vanishing (1988)

W

  • Waking Life (2001)
  • Whiplash (2014)
  • The Wicker Man (1973)
  • Wild Strawberries (1957)
  • The Witch (2015)
  • The Wolf House (2018)
  • The Wrestler (2008)

X

Y

  • You Won’t Be Alone (2022)

Z

  • The Zone of Interest (2023)
  1. See also ‘A Short Film About Killing’ and ‘A Short Film About Love’ (1988) which are extended adaptations of episodes 5 & 6. ↩︎
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