60 Hollywood Films of the 30's and 40's set in Britain

I wanted to make up this list because Hollywood seemed to have a striking interest in things British at this time. Partly it was due to the joint US/UK effort in World War Two, partly it was the fact that literary adaptations were popular - and that meant a lot of English classics - and partly it was the fact that there were a lot of British actors working in Hollywood who needed roles that suited their accents. In any case, it was certainly a trend. 

I haven’t included any films like Foreign Correspondent (1940) or A Tale of Two Cities (1935) which are just partly set in Britain. I've included US/UK co-productions if they had an American director. 

1. A Chump at Oxford (1940)
2. A Yank At Eton (1942)
3. A Yank at Oxford (1938) 
4. A Yank in the RAF (1941)
5. And Then There Were None (1945)
6. Becky Sharp (1935)
7. Cavalcade (1933)
8. Cluny Brown (1946)
9. David Copperfield (1935)
10. Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde (1932 and 1941)
11. Dracula (1931)
12. Forever Amber (1947)
13. Gaslight (1944)
14. Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
15. Great Expectations (1934)
16. Hangover Square (1945)
17. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
18. Jane Eyre (1944) 
19. Kidnapped (1938 and 1948)
20. Kitty (1945)
21. Little Lord Fauntleroy (1936)
22. Lloyds of London (1936)
23. Mary of Scotland (1936)
24. Ministry of Fear (1944)
25. Mrs Miniver (1942)
26. Mystery of Edwin Drood (1935) 
27. National Velvet (1944)
28. None but the Lonely Heart (1944)
29. Of Human Bondage (1934 and 1946)
30. Oliver Twist (1933)
31. Pride and Prejudice (1940)
32. Random Harvest (1942)
33. Rebecca (1940)
34. Suspicion (1941)
35. Sylvia Scarlett (1935)
36. That Hamilton Woman (1941)
37. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
38. The Barrets of Wimpole St. (1934)
39. The Citadel (1938)
40. The Ghost and Mrs Muir (1947)
41. The Hound of the Baskervilles (1939) and others in the Basil Rathbone-Sherlock Holmes series
42. The Invisible Man (1933)
43. The Light That Failed (1939)
44. The Lodger (1944)
45. The Moonstone (1934)
46. The Old Dark House (1932)
47. The Paradine Case (1948) 
48. The Picture of Dorian Gray (1945)
49. The Prince and the Pauper (1937)
50. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939)
51. The Saint in London (1939)
52. The Secret Garden (1949)
53. The Werewolf of London (1935)
54. The White Cliffs Of Dover (1944)
55. The Wolf Man (1941)
56. The Woman In White (1948)
57. This Above All (1942)
58. Twelve O’Clock High (1949)
59. Waterloo Bridge (1931 and 1940)
60. Wuthering Heights (1939)

Books About Film 1: 50 Films That Have Had a Book Written About Them

 

These are all books about individual films (or film series). I haven’t included books which concentrate only on visual elements and/or special effects. I have also excluded short works of 100 pages or so such as the BFI Film Classics series.

1. The African Queen (1951) Katherine Hepburn - The Making Of The African Queen (1987)
2. Alien Films (1979-1997) David Thomson -The Alien Quartet (1999)
3. All About Eve (1950) Sam Staggs - All About All About Eve: The Complete Behind-the-Scenes Story of the Bitchiest Film Ever Made! (2001)
4. Apocalypse Now (1979) Peter Cowie - The Apocalypse Now Book (2001)
5. The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959) Robin Wood - The Apu Trilogy (1971)
6. Avatar (2009) Jody Duncan and Lisa Fitzpatrick - The Making of Avatar (2010)
7. The Big Lebowski (1998) Jeff Bridges and Bernie Glassman – The Dude and the Zen Master (2013)
8. Blade Runner (1982) Judith B. Kerman (Ed)- Retrofitting Blade Runner: Issues in Ridley Scott’s Blade  Runner and Philip K.Dick’s Do Andriods Dream of Electric Sheep?(1991)/Paul M. Sammon - Future Noir: The Making of Blade Runner (1996)
9. The Bonfire of the Vanities (1990) Julie Salamon- The Devil’s Candy: The Bonfire of the Vanities Goes to Hollywood (2002)
10. Brewster McCloud (1970) Kirk C.McLelland - On Making A Movie: Brewster McCloud (1971)
11. Casablanca (1942) Aljean Harmetz - Round Up The Usaul Suspects (1992)
12. Citizen Kane (1941) Pauline Kael- The Citizen Kane Book (1971)/ Robert L. Carringer -  The Making of "Citizen Kane" (1996)
13. The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-2012) Jody Duncan Jesser and Janine Pourroy - The Art and Making of The Dark Knight Trilogy (2012)
14. The Deceivers (1988) Ismael Merchant - Hullabaloo In Old Jaypore: The Making Of The Deceivers (1989)
15. El Mariachi (1992) Roberto Rodriguez- Rebel Without A Crew, Or How A 23 Year Old Film-Maker With $7,000 Became A Hollywood Player (1996)
16. The Emerald Forest (1985) John Boorman - Money Into Light: The Emerald Forest Diaries (1985)
17. Frenzy (1972) Raymond Foery - Alfred Hitchcock’s Frenzy: The Last Masterpiece (2012)
18. The Godfather Trilogy (1972-1990) Harlan Lebo - The Godfather Legacy: The Untold Story of the Making of the Classic Godfather Trilogy (2005)/ Tom Santopietro - The Godfather Effect: Changing Hollywood, America, and Me (2012)
19. Gone With the Wind (1939) Gavin Lambert - The Making of Gone With The Wind (1976)/ Herb Bridges and Terryl C. Boodman - Gone With the Wind: The Definitive Illustrated History of the Book, the Movie and the Legend (1989) / Darden Asbury Pyron - Southern Daughter: The Life of Margaret Mitchell and the Making of Gone with the Wind (2005) / Molly Haskell - Frankly, My Dear: "Gone with the Wind" Revisited (2010)
20. The Great Gatsby (1974) Bruce Bahrenburg  - Filming the Great Gatsby (1974)
21. Harry Potter Films (2001-2011) Brian Sibley - Harry Potter Film Wizardry (2010) / Bob McCabe - Harry Potter Page to Screen: The Complete Filmmaking Journey (2011)
22. Heaven’s Gate (1980) Steven Bach - Final Cut (1985)
23. Imitation of Life (1959) Sam Staggs - Born to Be Hurt: The Untold Story of Imitation of Life by (2010)
24. Indiana Jones Films (1981-2008) J. W. Rinzler and Laurent Bouzereau - The Complete Making of Indiana Jones: The Definitive Story Behind All Four Films (2008)
25. Intolerance (1916) William M. Drew - D.W.Griffith’s Intolerance: Its Genesis and Vision (1986)
26. James Bond Films (from 1962) James Chapman - Licence to Thrill: A Cultural History of the James Bond Films (2008) / Paul Duncan  - The James Bond Archives (2012)/ Roger Moore - Bond On Bond: Reflections on 50 years of James Bond Movies (2012)
27. Jaws (1975) Edith Blake – The Making of the Movie Jaws (1975)/ Carl Gottlieb- The Jaws Log (1975)
28. Jurassic Park (1993) Don Shay and Jody Duncan -The Making of Jurassic Park (1993)
29. King Kong (1976) Bruce Bahrenburg  - The Creation of Dino De Laurentis' King Kong (1976)
30. The Matrix (1999) Glenn Yeffeth (Ed)- Taking the Red Pill: Science, Philosophy and Religion in the Matrix (2003)
31. The Misfits (1961) James Goode - The Story of the Misfits (1963)
32. National Lampoon’s Animal House (1978) Matty Simmons - Fat, Drunk & Stupid: The Inside Story Behind the Making of Animal House (2012)
33. Night of the Hunter (1955) Preston Neal Jones - Heaven and Hell to Play With: The Filming of ‘Night of the Hunter’ (2002)
34. The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) Colin Clark - The Prince, the Showgirl and Me: Six Months on the Set with Marilyn Monroe and Olivier (1996)
35. Psycho (1960) Stephen Rebello - Alfred Hitchcock and the Making of Psycho (1990)/ Raymond Durgnat - A Long, Hard Look at Psycho (2008)
36. The Red Badge Of Courage (1951) Liliian Ross - Picture (1952)
37. Secret People (1952) Lindsay Anderson - The Making Of A Film : The Story Of ‘Secret People’ (1952)
38. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs  (1937) Richard Holliss and Brian Sibley -  Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs & the Making of the Classic Film (1994) / Martin Krause and Linda Witowski  - Walt Disney's Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs: An Art in Its Making (1995)
39. A Star Is Born (1954) Ronald Haver - A Star Is Born: The Making of the 1954 Movie and Its 1983 Restoration (2002)
40. Star Wars (from 1977) Glenn Kenny -A Galaxy Not So far Away : Writers and Artists on 25 Years of Star Wars (2002)
41. A Streetcar Named Desire (1950) Sam Staggs - When Blanche Met Brando: The Scandalous Story of "A Streetcar Named Desire"  (2006)
42. Sunset Boulevard (1950) Sam Staggs - Close-up on Sunset Boulevard: Billy Wilder, Norma Desmond, and the Dark Hollywood Dream (2003)
43. Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song  (1971) Melvin van Peebles  - Sweet Sweetback's Baadasssss Song: A Guerilla Filmmaking Manifesto (2004) 
44. Taxi Driver (1976) Geoffrey Macnab - The Making of Taxi Driver (2009)
45. The Searchers (1956) Glenn Frankel - The Searchers-The Making of an American Legend (2013)
46. Titanic (1997) W.Marsh (Ed) - James Cameron’s Titanic (1997)/ Paula Parsi - Titanic and the Making of James Cameron (1998)/ Kevin S.Sandler and Galylan Studlar (Eds) - Titanic: Anatomy of A Blockbuster (1999)
47. Toy Story (1995) John Lasseter and Steve Daly - Toy Story The Art and Making of the Animated Film (2009)
48. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983) Stephen Farber & Marc Green - Outrageous Conduct: Art, Ego, and the Twilight Zone Case (1988)
49. Up Close and Personal (1996) John Gregory Dunne - Monster: Living Off the Big Screen (1998)
50. The Wizard of Oz (1939) Aljean Harmetz - The Making of the Wizard of Oz (1977)

100 Early Colour Films (1935-1949)

Left-click to enlarge

Top: Bambi, The Bluebird, The Boy with Green Hair, Dumbo

2nd row: The Garden of Allah, On the Town, Fantasia, The Wizard of Oz

3rd row: The Jungle Book, Pinocchio, Becky Sharp, The Adventures of Robin Hood

Bottom: Leave Her To Heaven, Three Godfathers, The Yearling, Blithe Spirit

The history of the development of colour film is quite complicated. There have been ‘colour’ films in some form since the dawn of cinema in 1895, and in researching this subject I found various different claims for what is the ‘first colour film’, depending on how the authors chose to define it. But this list is designed to be a guide to the most beautiful early colour films rather than a treatise on technical matters so I’ve begun with Becky Sharp (1935), the first feature film in full three-colour Technicolour, and listed all of the major colour films I could find from the next 15 years. Nearly all are from the US or UK and I’m probably missing films from other countries - surely France, Italy, Japan etc had a few colour films in the 1940’s?- but information on this subject seemed extremely hard to come by.

I haven’t included films with just a sequence or two in colour like The Women (1939) The Picture Of Dorian Gray (1944) or The Secret Garden (1949) but I have included films such as The Wizard of Oz and A Matter of Life and Death, which are a mix of colour and black and white, if at least half the movie is in colour.

All films are from the USA unless otherwise stated.

1935

1. Becky Sharp (Rouben Mamoulian)

1936

2. Dancing Pirate (Lloyd Corrigan)
3. The Garden of Allah (Richard Boleslawski)
4. The Trail Of The Lonesome Pine (Henry Hathaway)

1937

5. A Star is Born (William Wellman)
6. Nothing Sacred (William Wellman)
7. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (David Hand)
8. Wings of the Morning (Harold D. Schuster) (UK) The first three-strip technicolor movie shot in Europe.

1938

9. Kentucky (David Butler)
10. Sweethearts (W.S.Van Dyke II)
11. The Adventures Of Robin Hood (Michael Curtiz)
12. The Adventures of Tom Sawyer (Norman Taurog)
13. The Divorce of Lady X (Tim Whelan) (UK)
14. The Drum (Zoltan Korda) (UK)
15. The Goldwyn Follies (George Marshall)

1939

16. Dodge City (Michael Curtiz)
17. Drums Along the Mohawk (John Ford)
18. Gone With The Wind (Victor Fleming)
19. Gulliver’s Travels (Dave Fleischer)
20. Hollywood Cavalcade (Irving Cummings)
21. Jesse James (Henry King)
22. The Four Feathers (Zoltan Korda) (UK)
23. The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (Michael Curtiz)
24. The Wizard Of Oz (Victor Fleming)

1940

25. Bitter Sweet (W. S. Van Dyke)
26. Fantasia (Ben Sharpsteen)
27. Northwest Mounted Police (Cecil B. DeMille)
28. Northwest Passage (King Vidor)
29. Pinocchio (Ben Sharpsteen, Hamilton Luske)
30. The Blue Bird (Walter Lang)
31. The Return of Frank James (Fritz Lang)
32. The Thief of Baghdad (Ludwig Berger, Tim Whelan, Michael Powell) (UK)

1941

33. Billy the Kid (David Miller)
34. Blood And Sand (Rouben Mamoulian)
35. Dumbo (Ben Sharpsteen)
36. Smilin' Through (Frank Borzage)
37. Western Union (Fritz Lang)

1942

38. Arabian Nights (John Rawlins)
39. Bambi (David Hand et al)
40. Reap the Wild Wind (Cecil B. DeMille)
41. The Black Swan (Henry King)
42. The Jungle Book (Zoltan Korda)

1943

43. Baron Munchausen (Josef Von Baky) (Germany)
44. For Whom the Bell Tolls (Sam Wood)
45. Heaven Can Wait (Ernst Lubitsch)
46. Kismet (William Dieterle)
47. Phantom of the Opera (Arthur Lubin)
48. The Gang's All Here (Busby Berkeley)
49. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger) (UK)
50. Victory Through Air Power (James Algar et al)

1944

51. An American Romance (King Vidor)
52. Cover Girl (Charles Vidor)
53. Kismet (William Dietrele)
54. Lady In The Dark (Mitchell Leisen)
55. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli)
56. Pin Up Girl (H. Bruce Humberstone)
57. The Princess and the Pirate (David Butler)
58. This Happy Breed (David Lean) (UK)

1945

59. Anchors Aweigh (George Sidney)
60. A Song to Remember (Charles Vidor)
61. Blithe Spirit (David Lean) (UK)
62. Caesar and Cleopatra (Gabriel Pascal) (UK)
63. Henry V (Laurence Olivier) (UK)
64. Leave Her To Heaven (John M.Stahl)
65. The Spanish Main (Frank Borzage)
66. The Three Caballeros (Norman Ferguson)
67. Yolanda And The Thief (Vincente Minnelli)

1946

68. A Matter Of Life And Death (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger)(UK)
69. Duel in the Sun (King Vidor)
70. Night and Day (Michael Curtiz)
71. The Kid From Brooklyn (Norman Z. McLeod)
72. The Stone Flower (Aleksandr Ptushko) (USSR) first Soviet film in colour
73. The Yearling (Clarence Brown)
74. Ziegfeld Follies (Vincente Minnelli)

1947

75. An Ideal Husband (Alexander Korda) (UK)
76. Black Narcissus (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger) (UK)
77. Life with Father (Michael Curtiz)
78. The Secret Life of Walter Mitty (Norman Z. McLeod)

1948

79. Adventures of Don Juan (Vincent Sherman)
80. Easter Parade (Charles Walters)
81. Joan of Arc (Victor Fleming)
82. Rope (Alfred Hitchcock)
83. She Wore A Yellow Ribbon (John Ford)
84. Summer Holiday (Rouben Mamoulian)
85. The Emperor Waltz (Billy Wilder)
86. That Lady in Ermine (Ernst Lubitsch)
87. The Boy with the Green Hair (Joseph Losey)
88. The Paleface (Norman Z. McLeod)
89. The Pirate (Vincente Minnelli)
90. The Red Shoes (Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger) (UK)

1949

91. In the Good Old Summertime  (Robert Z. Leonard)
92. On the Town (Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen)
93. Samson and Delilah (Cecil B.DeMille)
94. Take Me Out to the Ball Game (Busby Berkeley)
95. That Forsyte Woman (Compton Bennett)
96. The Adventures of Ichabod and Mr. Toad (James Algar et al)
97. The Barkelys Of Broadway (Charles Walters)
98. The Beautiful Blonde from Bashful Bend (Preston Sturges)
99. The Red Pony (Lewis Milestone)
100. Three Godfathers (John Ford)

130 Female Movie Directors- and Their Best Films

Top : Ida Lupino, Lina Wertmuller, Gillian Armstrong, Nora Ephron

Middle: Penny Marshall, Penelope Spheeris, Miranda July, Agnes Varda

Bottom: Sofia Coppola, Agnes Jaoui, Catherine Hardwicke, Mira Nair

I’ve listed some of these directors’ most famous films, and if 3 titles are given that generally means that person has directed many other feature films as well. I've included just a few of the more famous actress-directors, all of whom have directed at least 2 films.

1. Adrienne Shelly (US): Waitress (2007) 
2. Agnès Jaoui (France): The Taste of Others (2000) Look at Me (2004) 
3. Agnès Varda (France): Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962) Vagabond (1985) The Gleaners and I (2000) The Beaches of Agnes (2008)
4. Agnieszka Holland (Poland): Europa Europa (1990) The Secret Garden (1993)  In Darkness (2011)
5. Alice Guy (France): L'Arroseur Arrosé (1895) The Shooting of Dan McGrew (1915)
6. Alice Wu (US): Saving Face (2004) 
7. Allison Anders (US): Gas, Food Lodging (1992) Grace of My Heart (1996)
8. Amy Heckerling (US): Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982) Clueless (1995) 
9. Andrea Arnold (UK): Red Road (2006) Fish Tank (2009) Wuthering Heights (2011) 
10. Ann Hui (Hong Kong): Boat People (1981) Love in a Fallen City (1984)  A Simple Life (2011)  
11. Anna Boden (US): Sugar (2008) It's Kind of a Funny Story (2010) Both films co-directed with Ryan Fleck
12. Anne Fletcher (US): Step Up (2006) 27 Dresses (2008) The Proposal (2009)
13. Anne Fontaine (France): The Girl from Monaco (2008) Coco avant Chanel  (2009)
14. Antonia Bird (UK):  Priest (1994) Face (1997) The Hamburg Cell (2004)
15. Athina Rachel Tsangari (Greece): Attenberg (2010)
16. Barbara Kopple (US): Harlan County, USA (1976) Shut Up & Sing (2006)
17. Barbara Loden (US): Wanda (1970) 
18. Barbra Streisand (US): Yentl (1983) The Prince of Tides (1991)
19. Beeban Kidron (UK): To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar (1995) Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason (2004) 
20. Betty Thomas (US): The Brady Bunch Movie (1995) Dr. Dolittle (1998) 28 Days (2000)
21. Bronwen Hughes (Canada): Harriet the Spy (1996) Forces of Nature (1999)
22. Callie Khouri (US): Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood (2002)
23. Carol Morley (UK): Dreams of A Life (2011)
24. Caroline Link (Germany): Nowhere in Africa (2001) 
25. Cate Shortland (Australia): Somersault (2004)
26. Catherine Breillat (France): Romance (1999) A Ma Soeur (2001) Anatomy of Hell (2004)
27. Catherine Hardwicke (US): Thirteen (2003) Twilight (2008) Red Riding Hood (2011)
28. Chantal Akerman (Belgium): Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) Les Rendez-vous d'Anna (1978) La Captive (2000)
29. Claire Denis (France): Beau Travail (1999) 35 Shots of Rum (2008) White Material (2009)
30. Clara Law (Hong Kong): Autumn Moon (1992) Floating Life (1996) The Goddess of 1967 (2000)
31. Clio Barnard (UK): The Arbor (2010)
32. Courtney Hunt  (US): Frozen River (2008)
33. Daniele Huillet (France): Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach (1968) Moses und Aron (1975) Class Relations (1984) Always co-directed with Jean-Marie Straub
34. Debra Granik (US): Down to the Bone (2004) Winter’s Bone (2010)
35. Diane English (US): The Women (2008)
36. Diane Keaton (US): Unstrung Heroes (1995) Hanging Up (2000) 
37. Diane Kurys (France): Cocktail Molotov (1980) Entre Nous (1983) A Man in Love (1987)
38. Dorothy Arzner (US): Christopher Strong (1933) The Bride Wore Red (1937) Dance Girl Dance (1940) 
39. Elaine May (US): A New Leaf (1971) The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
40. Germaine Dulac (France): La Souriante Madame Beudet (1923) The Seashell and the Clergyman (1928) Je N'ai Plus Rien (1934)
41. Gillian Armstrong (Australia): My Brilliant Career (1979) The Last Days of Chez Nous (1992) Oscar and Lucinda (1997) 
42. Gina Prince-Bythewood (US): The Secret Life of Bees (2008)
43. Gurinder Chadha (UK): Bhaji on the Beach (1993) Bend It Like Beckham (2002) Bride & Prejudice (2004)
44. Ida Lupino (UK): Outrage (1950) The HitchHiker (1953) The Bigamist (1953)
45. Isabel Coixet (Spain): My Life Without Me (2003)The Secret Life of Words (2005) Elegy (2008)
46. Jane Campion (New Zealand): The Piano (1993) In the Cut (2003) Bright Star (2009)
47. Jeanne Moreau (France): Lumière (1976)  L'adolescente (1979) 
48. Jennifer Baichwal (Canada): Manufactured Landscapes (2006) Payback (2012)
49. Jennifer Lynch (US): Boxing Helena (1993) Surveillance (2008)
50. Jennifer Yuh Nelson (US): Kung Fu Panda 2 (2011)
51. Jill Sprecher (US): Clockwatchers (1997) Thirteen Conversations About One Thing (2001)
52. Joan Chen (China): Xiu Xiu: The Sent Down Girl (1998) Autumn in New York (2000)
53. Joanna Hogg (UK): Archipelago (2010)
54. Jocelyn Moorhouse (Australia):  Proof (1991) How to Make an American Quilt (1995)
55. Jodie Foster (US):  Home For The Holidays (1995) The Beaver (2011)
56. Julia Leigh (Australia):  Sleeping Beauty (2011)
57. Julie Dash (US): Daughters of the Dust (1991)
58. Julie Delphy (France): 2 Days in Paris (2007) 2 Days in New York (2012)
59. Julie Taymor (US): Titus (1999) Across the Universe (2007) The Tempest (2010)
60. Karyn Kusama (US): Girlfight (2000) Æon Flux (2005) Jennifer's Body (2009)
61. Kathryn Bigelow (US): Point Break (1991) Strange Days(1995) The Hurt Locker (2009)
62. Kelly Reichardt (US): Wendy and Lucy (2008) Meek's Cutoff (2010)
63. Kimberly Peirce (US): Boy's Don't Cry (1999) Stop-Loss (2008)
64. Kira Muratova (Soviet Union): Among Grey Stones (1983) The Asthenic Syndrome (1990) Melody for a Street Organ (2009)
65. Larisa Shepitko (Soviet Union): You and I (1971) The Ascent (1976)
66. Laurie Collyer (US): Sherrybaby (2006)
67. Lena Dunham (US): Tiny Furniture (2010)
68. Leni Riefenstahl (Germany): Triumph of the Will (1935) Olympia (1938)
69. Leontine Sagan (Austria): Madchen in Uniform (1931) 
70. Liliana Cavani (Italy): Francesco d'Assisi (1966) The Night Porter (1974) Ripley's Game (2002)
71. Lina Wertmuller (Italy): Love and Anarchy (1973) Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August(1974) Seven Beauties (1975) 
72. Lisa Cholodenko (US): High Art (1998) Laurel Canyon (2002) The Kids Are All Right (2010)
73. Liv Ullman (Sweden): Kristin Lavransdatter (1995) Faithless (2000)
74. Liz Garbus(US): The Farm: Angola, USA (1998)  Coma (2007) Bobby Fischer Against the World (2011)
75. Lizzie Borden (US): Working Girls (1986) Love Crimes (1994)
76. Lois Weber (US): The Merchant of Venice (1914) The Blot (1921) White Heat (1934)
77. Lone Scherfig (Denmark): Wilbur Wants to Kill Himself (2002) An Education (2009) One Day (2011)
78. Lotte Reiniger (Germany): The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
79. Lucile Hadzihalilovic (France): Innocence (2004)
80. Lucrecia Martel (Argentina): The Holy Girl (2004 The Headless Woman (2008)
81. Lucy Walker (UK): Devil's Playground (2002) Waste Land (2010)
82. Lynne Ramsay (UK): Ratcatcher (1999) Morvern Callar (2002) We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)
83. Madonna (US): W.E. (2011)
84. Mai Zetterling (Sweden): The War Game (1962) The Girls (1968) Amorosa (1986) 
85. Margarethe von Trotta (Germany): The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum) 1975 (co-directed with Volker Schlondorff) Marianne and Juliane (1981) Rosenstrasse (2003)
86. Marguerite Duras (France): Nathalie Granger (1972) India Song (1975) Les Enfants (1984)
87. Marina Goldovskaya (Russia): I Am 90, My Steps Are Light (1989) A Bitter Taste of Freedom (2011)
88. Marjane Satrapi (Iran): Persepolis (2007) Chicken with Plums (2011) Both films co-directed with Vincent Paronnaud
89. Marleen Gorris (Netherlands): Antonia's Line (1995) Mrs. Dalloway (1997) The Luzhin Defence (2000)
90. Marta Meszaros (Hungary): The Girl (1968)A Diary for my Children (1984) Little Vilna: The Last Diary (2000)
91. Martha Fiennes (UK): Onegin (1999) Chromophobia (2005)
92. Mary Harron (US): I Shot Andy Warhol (1996) American Psycho (2000) 
93. Mary Lambert (US): Siesta (1987) Pet Sematary (1989) The Attic (2008) 
94. Marziyeh Meshkini (Iran): The Day I Became a Woman (2000)
95. Maya Deren (US): Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) At Land (1944)
96. Mimi Leder (US): The Peacemaker (1997) Deep Impact (1998) Pay It Forward (2000)
97. Mira Nair (India): Salaam Bombay (1988) Monsoon Wedding (2001) Vanity Fair (2004)
98. Miranda July (US): Me and You and Everyone We Know (2005) The Future (2011)
99. Nancy Savoca (US): Dogfight (1991)Household Saints (1993)
100. Nicole Garcia (France): Place Vendôme (1998) Selon Charlie (2006) Un Balcon sur la Mer (2010)
101. Nicole Holofcener (US): Walking and Talking (1996) Lovely & Amazing (2001)
102. Nicole Kassell (US): The Woodsman (2004) A Little Bit of Heaven (2011)
103. Niki Caro (New Zealand): Whale Rider (2002) North Country (2005)
104. Nora Ephron (US): Sleepless in Seattle (1993) You've Got Mail (1998) Julie & Julia (2009)
105. Patricia Rozema (Canada): I've Heard the Mermaids Singing (1987) Mansfield Park (1999)
106. Patty Jenkins (US):Monster (2003)
107. Penelope Spheeris (US): The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) (and its 2 sequels) Wayne's World (1992) The Beverly Hillbillies (1993) 
108. Penny Marshall (US): Big (1988) Awakenings (1990) A League of Their Own (1992)
109. Phyllida Lloyd (UK): Mamma Mia (2008) The Iron Lady (2011)
110. Randa Haines (US): Children Of A Lesser God (1986) Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993) 
111. Rebecca Miller (US): Personal Velocity: Three Portraits (2002) The Ballad of Jack and Rose (2005)
112. Rose Troche (US): Go Fish (1994) The Safety of Objects (2001)
113. Sally Potter (UK): Orlando (1992) The Tango Lesson (1997) Yes (2004)
114. Sam Taylor-Wood (UK): Nowhere Boy (2009)
115. Samira Makhmalbaf (Iran): The Apple (1998) Blackboards (2000) At Five in the Afternoon (2003)
116. Sarah Polley (Canada): Away from Her (2006) Take This Waltz (2011)
117. Shari Springer Berman (US): American Splendor (2003) The Nanny Diaries (2007) Both films co-directed with Robert Pulcini
118. Sharon Maguire (UK): Bridget Jones's Diary (2001) 
119. Shirley Clarke (US): The Connection (1961) Cool World (1963) Ornette: Made in America (1985)
120. Sofia Coppola (US): The Virgin Suicides (1999) Lost in Translation (2003) 
121. Sophie Marceau (France):  Parlez-moi d'amour (2002) La Disparue De Deauville (2007)
122. Susan Seidelman (US): Desperately Seeking Susan (1985) She-Devil (1989)
123. Susan Sontag (US): Promised Lands (1974) Letter from Venice(1983)
124. Susan Stroman (US): The Producers (2005) 
125. Susanne Bier (Denmark): Brothers (2004) Things We Lost in the Fire (2007) In a Better World (2010) 
126. Tamara Jenkins (US): Slums of Beverly Hills (1998) The Savages (2007)
127. Tamra Davis (US): Billy Madison (1995) Crossroads (2002)
128. Tia Lessin (US): Trouble the Water (2008)
129. Valerie Faris (US): Little Miss Sunshine (2006) co-directed with Jonathan Dayton
130. Vera Chytilova (Czech): Daisies (1966) The Jester and the Queen (1987) My Citizens of Prague Understand Me (1991)

35 films directly related to 9/11 and its aftermath, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan

35 films directly related to 9/11 and its aftermath, including the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and relations between the West and the Islamic world since 2001

1. 11'09"01 (multiple directors, 2002) Various view-points on 9/11
2. A Mighty Heart (Michael Winterbottom, 2007) About the kidnapping and killing of New York Times journalist Daniel Pearl in Pakistan in 2002
3. Armadillo (Janus Metz, 2010) Documentary about Danish soldiers in Afghanistan
4. At Five in the Afternoon (Samira Makhmalbaf, 2003) Iranian film about life for a young woman in Afghanistan after the defeat of the Taliban. 
5. Battle for Haditha (Nick Broomfield, 2007) Dramatisation of real-life massacre of civilians during the Iraq War.
6. Brothers (Susanne Bier, 2004) Drama involving soldiers fighting in Afghanistan. US remake in 2009 starred Jake Gyllenhaal and Natalie Portman
7. Buried (Rodrigo Cortes, 2010) Mainstream thriller about an Iraq-based American truck driver who finds himself buried alive 
8. Control Room (Jehane Noujaim, 2004) Documentary about Al-Jazeera and the 2003 invasion of Iraq
9. Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close (Stephen Daldry, 2011). From Jonathan Safran Foer’s novel, about a boy’s life after his father dies in the World Trade Center attacks 
10. Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004) Documentary/film-polemic.
11. Fair Game (Doug Liman, 2010) Based on the real-life story of Valerie Plame and Joseph C. Wilson, it revolves around the US claims that Iraq had yellow-cake uranium and how these claims were used to justify the 2003 invasion.
12. Grace is Gone (James C. Strouse, 2007) John Cusack plays a father who takes care of two daughters after their mother dies serving in Iraq
13. Green Zone (Paul Greengrass, 2010) About the search for WMD after the invasion of Iraq. Based on Rajiv Chandrasekaran non-fiction book ‘Imperial Life in the Emerald City’. 
14. Gunner Palace (Michael Tucker, 2005) Documentary about the Iraq War 
15. Hell and Back Again (Danfung Dennis, 2011) Documentary about a soldier in Afghanistan and his return to the US after injury
16. Hijacking Catastrophe: 9/11, Fear & the Selling of American Empire (Jeremy Earp, Sut Jhally, 2004) Documentary featuring Tariq Ali and Noam Chomsky amongst others
17. In the Valley of Elah (Paul Haggis, 2007) A father, played by Tommy Lee Jones, seaches for his son who has gone missing after returning from Iraq. 
18. Iraq In Fragments (James Longley, 2006) Documentary
19. Lions For Lambs (Robert Redford, 2007) About various aspects of the Iraq War
20. My Country, My Country (Laura Poitras, 2006) Documentary about life for Iraqis under American occupation
21. No End in Sight (Charles Ferguson, 2007) Documentary about the Iraq War 
22. Redacted (Brian De Palma, 2007) Dramatisation of a real-life incident where US soldiers gang-raped a 14-year old Iraqi girl
23. Rendition (Gavin Hood, 2007) About an American woman whose Egyptian-born husband is the subject of mistaken identity and rendition by the CIA. Based on a true story.
24. Restrepo (Tim Hetherington, Sebastian Junger, 2010) Documentary about US soldiers in Afghnisatan. Photojournalist Hetherington died soon after the release of the film while covering the war in Libya.
25. Standard Operating Procedure (Errol Morris, 2008) Documentary about the Abu Ghraib scandal
26. Taxi to the Dark Side (Alex Gibney, 2007) Documentary about an Afghan taxi driver detained and killed by US soldiers.
27. The Ground Truth (Patricia Foulkrod, 2006) Documentary about Iraq War veterans.
28. The Hamburg Cell (Antonia Bird, 2004) British TV movie docudrama about some of the 9/11 hijackers when they were in Germany 1998-2001
29. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008). Drama/thriller about a bomb disposal team in Iraq.  
30. The Road to Guantanamo (Michael Winterbottom, 2006) About three British-Pakistani/Bangladeshi men arrested in Afghanistan by the US military
31. Twin Towers (Bill Guttentag, Robert David Port, 2003) Oscar-winning documentary short
32. United 93 (Paul Greengrass, 2006) About the ‘fourth plane’ on 9/11/01
33. Where in the World Is Osama Bin Laden? (Morgan Spurlock, 2008) Documentary
34. Why We Fight (Eugene Jarecki, 2005) Documentary about the military-industrial complex, especially since 9/11
35. World Trade Center (Oliver Stone, 2006) Drama starring Nicholas Cage.

And another 12 that reflect Western cinema’s newfound interest in the Muslim World, 

1. Body Of Lies (Ridley Scott, 2008)
2. Charlie Wilson’s War (Mike Nichols, 2007) About the Russian-Afghanistan War in the 1980’s
3. Four Lions (Chris Morris, 2010) Black comedy about inept Muslim terrorists in Britain. 
4. In The Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)
5. In This World (Michael Winterbottom, 2002) About two young Afghan refugees journeying from a refugee camp in Pakistan to London.
6. Jarhead (Sam Mendes, 2005) About the 1991 Iraq War.
7. Looking For Comedy In the Muslim World (Albert Brooks, 2005)
8. Munich (Steven Spielberg, 2005)
9. Syriana (Stephen Gaghan, 2005)
10. The Kingdom (Peter Berg, 2007) 
11. Towelhead (Alan Ball, 2007) About a Lebanese American teenager in the US during the the 1991 Iraq War.
12. Traitor (Jeffrey Nachmanoff, 2008)

Honorable Mention (it’s a TV series, not a film): The Power of Nightmares (Adam Curtis, 2004) About the rise of Al-Qaeda and the neo-conservatives in the US

100 Very Weird Movies

This is a list of weird, unsettling films. They’re marked by grotesque characters, troubling scenes and menacing atmospheres. The kind of thing that guaranteed inclusion was the video inserted into James Woods’ stomach in Videodrome or the live octopus being eaten in Old Boy. I didn't want anything comedic or quirky, so Re-Animator and Death Becomes Her were excluded despite the fact they both do very strange things to the human body. And being merely surreal was also not enough; they had to be dark and disturbing in some way. Older films and straight-up, no-genre arthouse films were included if there was something particularly perverse about them, or they had an intensely disquieting mood.

Many of these movies are transgressive and had problems with the censors, but being gory or overtly sexual was also not enough. They had to be psychologically discomfiting too. I’ve included famously explicit movies like Last Tango in Paris and In the Realm of the Senses but for their twisted characters rather than their sexual content. I’ve included Herzog’s Nosferatu, but excluded many other horror movies, because it has a genuine creepiness which goes way beyond horror conventions.

I ignored films that are just gross-outs, like La Grande Bouffe or Pasolini’s Salo or Lukas Moodysson’s A Hole in My Heart, because such films seem to cross the line from ‘weird’ into ‘stupid and annoying’. I also ignored a few films I’ve seen from the ‘New French Extreme Cinema’, like Switchblade Romance and Baise-Moi, because they so obviously try to be shocking -and nothing else- that they end up as very banal, unshocking experiences. Nevertheless, this list still contains many films I didn’t like at all. So, for the record, the films I would actually recommend are marked with an asterisk. They’re the ones that are unsettling in a good way...

1. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
2. A Short Film About Killing (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)
3. A Zed & Two Noughts (Peter Greenaway, 1985)
4. Altered States (Ken Russell, 1980)*
5. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)*
6. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)*
7. Audition (Takeshi Miike, 1999)
8. Bad Lieutenant (Abel Ferrara, 1992)
9. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)* 
10. Body Double (Brian De Palma, 1984)* 
11. Caligula (Tinto Brass, 1979)
12. Cobra Verde (Werner Herzog, 1987)
13. Crash (David Cronenberg, 1996) 
14. Cries And Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972)*
15. Cul-De-Sac (Roman Polanski, 1966) 
16. Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988)* 
17. Death In Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971)
18. Don’t Look Now (Nicholas Roeg, 1973)*
19. Dressed To Kill (Brian De Palma, 1980)* 
20. Drowning By Numbers (Peter Greenaway, 1988) 
21. Enter The Void (Gaspar Noe, 2009)*
22. Eraserhead (David Lynch, 1977)
23. Every Man For Himself And God Against All (Werner Herzog, 1974)
24. Existenz (David Cronenberg, 1999)* 
25. Exotica (Atom Egoyan, 1994)*
26. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)*
27. Eyes Without A Face (Georges Franju, 1960)*
28. Funny Games (Michael Haneke, 1997)*
29. Happiness (Todd Solondz, 1998)*
30. Heart Of Glass (Werner Herzog, 1976) 
31. Henry: Portrait Of A Serial Killer (John McNaughton, 1986)
32. Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman, 1968)*
33. Hush, Hush, Sweet Charlotte (Robert Aldrich, 1964)*
34. Ichi The Killer (Takeshi Miike, 2001) 
35. In A Year With 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1978)
36. In The Realm Of The Senses (Nagisa Oshima, 1976)
37. Inland Empire (David Lynch, 2006) 
38. Irreversible (Gaspar Noe, 2002)*
39. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)*
40. Kids (Larry Clark, 1995)
41. Last Tango In Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1973)
42. Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961)
43. Life During Wartime (Todd Solondz, 2009)
44. Lost Highway (David Lynch, 1997)*
45. M (Fritz Lang, 1931)
46. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)* 
47. Mysterious Skin (Gregg Araki, 2004)*
48. Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg, 1991) 
49. Natural Born Killers (Oliver Stone, 1994)
50. Nightmare Alley (Edmund Goulding, 1947)*
51. Nosferatu The Vampyre (Werner Herzog, 1979)
52. Old Boy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)*
53. One Hour Photo (Mark Romanek, 2002)*
54. Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo, 1964)*
55. Open Your Eyes (Alejandro Amenebar, 1997)*
56. Peeping Tom (Michael Powell, 1960)*
57. Performance (Nicholas Roeg/Donald Cammell, 1970)*
58. Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)* 
59. Pi (Darren Aronofsky, 1998) 
60. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)* 
61. Raising Cain (Brian De Palma, 1992)* 
62. Repulsion (Roman Polanski, 1965)*
63. Requiem For A Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000) 
64. Romance (Catherine Breillat, 1999)
65. Rosemary's Baby (Roman Polanski, 1968)* 
66. Safe (Todd Haynes, 1995)
67. Shock Corridor (Samuel Fuller, 1963)
68. Sick: The Life And Death Of Bob Flanagan, Supermasochist (Kirby Dick, 1997)
69. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson, 2000)
70. Spider (David Cronenberg, 2002)* 
71. Storytelling (Todd Solondz, 2001)* 
72. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
73. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)*
74. Tetsuo: The Iron Man (Shinya Tsukamoto, 1989)
75. The Cement Garden (Andrew Birkin, 1993)*
76. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)*
77. The Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989) 
78. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, 1962)*
79. The Fly (David Cronenberg, 1986)*
80. The Idiots (Lars Von Trier, 1998)
81. The Isle (Kim Ki-Duk, 2000)
82. The King Of Comedy (Martin Scorsese, 1983)*
83. The Machinest (Brad Anderson, 2004)*
84. The Servant (Joseph Losey, 1963)*
85. The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar, 2011)
86. The Snake Pit (Anatole Litvak, 1948)
87. The Tempest (Derek Jarman, 1979) 
88. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (Tobe Hooper, 1974)
89. The Trial (Orson Welles, 1962)*
90. The Wicker Man (Robin Hardy, 1973)
91. Un Chien Andalou (Luis Bunuel, 1929) *
92. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)*
93. Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1983)*
94. Visitor Q (Takeshi Miike, 2001) 
95. W.R.-Mysteries of the Organism (Dusan Makavejev, 1971)
96. Welcome To The Dollhouse (Todd Solondz, 1995)*
97. Whatever Happened To Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich, 1962)* 
98. Wild At Heart (David Lynch, 1990) 
99. Wisconsin Death Trip (James Marsh, 1999)*
100. Woyzeck (Werner Herzog, 1979)

There are many other films I haven’t seen but, judging from their trailers and things I’ve read about them, it seems like they could well fit into this list; films such as Anti-Christ, Anatomy of Hell, The Baby Of Mâcon, Bad Boy Bubby, Black Snake Moan, Boxing Helena, Cannibal Holocaust, The Devils, El Topo, Fellini Satyricon, Gummo, The Holy Mountain, Hostel, The Hourglass Sanatorium, Julien Donkey-Boy, Lady in a Cage, The Night Porter, Pink Flamingoes, Santa Sangre, Superstar The Karen Carpenter Story, Suspiria, and any number of films by Bela Tarr, Derek Jarman, Guy Maddin or Walerian Borowczyk. However the ultimate weird movie (I’ve only seen clips but it’s enough) was undoubtedly made back in 1932: Tod Browning’s Freaks.