400 Famous Foreign Films Rated

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The main criteria for inclusion here, other than being famous, was that the film must be in a foreign language. In other words, I haven’t included any films made by foreign directors in English, for example Last Tango in Paris or Blow-Up, but I have included Canadian Films in French and odd American films like Apocalypto and Letters from Iwo Jima. I’ve also included foreign silent films, and foreign films like Spirited Away or Sans Soleil which were released in the US and UK with an English soundtrack.  

Most of the titles are the English translations; the only exceptions are certain Italian and French films where the original title is better-known.

The ratings are just my opinions and the rating system is the same as Leonard Maltin’s Movie Guide. 4 stars is the maximum, and three and a half is also excellent. ‘BOMB’ is the worst. Anything less than 3 stars is usually not worth watching. 

1. 10 (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002) ****
2. 12:08 East of Bucharest (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006) ***½
3. 1900 (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1976) ***½
4. 2046 (Wong Kar Wai, 2004) ***½
5. 3-Iron (Kim Ki-Duk, 2004) ***½
6. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007) ***½
7. 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963) ***½
8. A Christmas Tale (Arnaud Desplechin, 2008) **
9. A Hole in My Heart (Lukas Moodyson, 2004) BOMB
10. A Nous La Liberte (Rene Clair, 1931) ***
11. A One and A Two (Edward Yang, 2000) ****
12. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, 2009) ***
13. A Royal Affair (Nikolaj Arcel, 2012) ***
14. A Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1997) ***½
15. A Taxing Woman (Juzo Itami, 1987) ***
16. A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2004) ***½ 
17. Accattone (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1961) ***
18. After Life (Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998) ****
19. After the Rehearsal (Ingmar Bergman, 1984) ***½
20. After the Wedding (Susanne Bier, 2006) ***
21. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972) ***½
22. Akira (Katsuhiro Otomo, 1988) ***
23. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder 1974) ***½
24. Alice in the Cities (Wim Wenders, 1974) ***
25. All About My Mother  (Pedro Almodovar, 1999) ***
26. Alphaville (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965) ***
27. Amarcord (Federico Fellini 1973) ****
28. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) ****
29. Amores Perros (Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu, 2000) ***½
30. Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012) ***½
31. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966) **
32. Anything for Her (Fred Cavayé, 2008) ***
33. Aparajito (Satyajit Ray, 1956) ***
34. Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006) ****
35. Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud (Louis Malle, 1958) ***½
36. Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) ***
37. Atanarjuat - The Fast Runner  (Zacharias Kunuk, 2001) BOMB
38. Attack the Gas Station (Kim Sang-Jin, 1999) ***½
39. Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson, 1966) **½
40. Audition (Takashi Miike, 1999) **
41. Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman, 1978) ***½
42. Bad Education (Pedro Almodovar, 2004) ***
43. Baise-Moi (Virginie Despentes, Coralie Trinh Thi, 2000) BOMB
44. Ballad of A Soldier (Grigori Chukhrai, 1959) ***½
45. Bande a Part (Jean-Luc Godard, 1964) ***
46. Battle Royale (Kinji Fukasaku, 2000) ***
47. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999) **
48. Before the Revolution (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1964) ***
49. Belle De Jour (Luis Bunuel, 1967) ***½
50. Betty Blue (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1986) **½
51. Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, 1948) ****
52. Black Book (Paul Verhoeven, 2007) ***½
53. Black Cat White Cat (Emir Kusturica, 1998) ***
54. Bob le Flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956) **
55. Boudu Saved From Drowning (Jean Renoir, 1932) **½
56. Boy (Nagisa Oshima, 1969) **
57. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1959) ***
58. Broken Embraces ( Pedro Almodóvar, 2009) ***
59. Buffet Froid (Bertrand Blier, 1979) ***½
60. Bullhead (Michaël R. Roskam, 2011)***
61. Burma VJ (Anders Ostergaard, 2008) ***
62. Bus 174 (José Padilha, Felipe Lacerda, 2002) ***½
63. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005) ***½
64. Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette, 1974) **
65. Chico & Rita (Fernando Trueba, Javier Mariscal, Tono Errando, 2010) ***½
66. Chungking Express (Wong Kar Wai, 1994) ***½
67. Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988) **
68. Circle of Deceit (Volker Schlondorff, 1981) ***½
69. City of God (Fernando Meirelles, 2002) ***
70. City of Sadness (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 1989) **½
71. Claire's Knee (Eric Rohmer, 1970) ***
72. Closely Observed Trains (Jiri Menzel, 1966) ****
73. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990) ***
74. Cobra Verde (Werner Herzog, 1987) **
75. Code Unknown (Michael Haneke, 2000) ***
76. Come And See (Elem Klimov, 1985) ****
77. Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972) **½  
78. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000) ****
79. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1981) **
80. Day for Night (Francois Truffaut, 1973) **** 
81. Dear Diary (Nanni Moretti, 1994) ***
82. Death of A Cyclist (Juan Antonio Bardem, 1955) ***½
83. Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1982) ***
84. Dogtooth (Yorgos Lanthimos, 2009) BOMB
85. Dolls (Takeshi Kitano, 2002) ***½
86. Domicile Conjugal (Francois Truffaut, 1970) ****
87. Downfall (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2004) **½ 
88. Eat Drink Man Woman (Ang Lee 1994) ****
89. Eloge De L’Amour (Jean-Luc Godard, 2001) **½
90. Elvira Madigan (Bo Wilderberg, 1967) ***
91. End of Summer (Yasujiro Ozu, 1961) ***½
92. Eureka (Shinji Aoyama, 2000) **
93. Every Man for Himself and God Against All (Werner Herzog, 1975) **½
94. Face to Face (Ingmar Bergman, 1976) ***
95. Fallen Angels (Wong-Kar Wai, 1995) ***
96. Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman, 1982) ****
97. Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige, 1993) ***
98. Fires on the Plain (Kon Ichikawa, 1959) ***
99. Floating Weeds (Yasujiro Ozu, 1959) ***
100. Fox and His Friends (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1975) ***
101. From the Life of the Marionettes (Ingmar Bergman, 1980) ****
102. Germany Year Zero (Roberto Rossellini, 1947) ***
103. Get Out Your Handkerchiefs (Bertrand Blier, 1978) ***
104. Gomorrah (Matteo Gorrone, 2008) **½
105. Goodbye Lenin (Wolfgang Becker, 2003) ***
106. Grave of the Fireflies (Isao Takahata, 1988) ****
107. Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano, 1997) ***
108. Happy Together (Wong Kar Wai, 2007) ** 
109. Head-On (Fatih Akin, 2004) ***½
110. Hero (Zhang Yimou, 2002) ***
111. Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959) ***½ 
112. Hour of the Wolf (Ingmar Bergman, 1968) ***½
113. House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004) ****
114. I Saw the Devil (Kim Ji-woon, 2010) ***
115. I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953) ***
116. I’ve Loved You So Long (Philip Claudel, 2008) ***½
117. Ichi the Killer (Takashi Miike, 2001) ***
118. Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952) ***½
119. Il Divo (Paolo Sorrentino, 2008) **
120. In A Year with 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1978) **
121. In the Land of Blood and Honey (Angelina Jolie, 2011) ***
122. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000) ***
123. In the Realm of the Senses (Nagisa Oshima, 1976) **
124. Irreversible (Gasper Noe, 2002) ****
125. Ivan’s Childhood (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1962) ***½
126. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles(Chantal Akerman, 1975) ***
127. Jeux Interdits (Rene Clement, 1952) ***
128. Journey to Italy (Roberto Rossellini, 1954) ***
129. Jules et Jim (Francois Truffaut, 1960) **
130. Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa, 1980) ***½
131. Kings and Queen (Arnaud Desplechin, 2004) **
132. Kings of the Road (Wim Wenders, 1976) BOMB
133. Knife in the Water (Roman Polanski, 1962) ***
134. Kung Fu Hustle (Stephen Chow, 2005) ****
135. L’Argent (Robert Bresson, 1983) **
136. L’Atalante (Jean Vigo, 1934) **
137. L’Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960) **
138. La Belle Et La Bete (Jean Cocteau, 1946) ***½ 
139. La Belle Noiseuse (Jacques Rivette, 1991) **
140. La Bete Humaine (Jean Renoir, 1938) ****
141. La Cage Aux Folles (Edouard Molinaro, 1978) ***
142. La Chinoise (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967) BOMB
143. La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960) **½
144. La Femme Infidele (Claude Chabrol, 1968) *** 
145. La Femme Nikita (Luc Besson, 1990) ***
146. La Grande Bouffe (Marco Ferreri, 1973) BOMB
147. La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir, 1937) ***½
148. La Guerre Est Finie (Alain Resnais, 1966) ***½
149. La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995) ****
150. La Jetée (Chris Marker, 1962) ***
151. La Maman Et La Putain (Jean Eustache, 1973) ****
152. La Marseillaise (Jean Renoir, 1938) ***½
153. La Notte (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961) **½
154. La Peau Douce (Francois Truffaut, 1964) ***½
155. La Regle Du Jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939) ****
156. La Ronde (Max Ophuls, 1950) ***
157. La Strada (Federico Fellini, 1954) ****
158. La Terra Trama (Luchino Visconti, 1948) **
159. La Vie de Boheme (Aki Kaurismaki, 1992) ***½
160. L'Appartement (Gilles Mimouni, 1996) ****
161. Last Life in the Universe (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, 2003) ***½
162. Last Train Home (Lixin Fan, 2009) ***½
163. Last Year at Marienbad (Alain Resnais, 1961) **½
164. Late Spring (Ozu Yasujiro, 1949) ***½
165. Le Boucher (Claude Chabrol, 1970) ***
166. Le Crime De Monsieur Lange (Jean Renoir, 1936) ***½ 
167. Le Jour Se Leve (Marcel Carne, 1939) ***½
168. Le Mepris/Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963) ***½
169. Le Quattro Volte (Michelangelo Frammartino, 2010) BOMB
170. Le Rayon Vert (Eric Rohmer, 1986) ***½
171. L'Eclisse (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1962) **½
172. L'Enfant Sauvage (Francois Truffaut, 1970) ***½
173. Leolo (Jean-Claude Lauzon, 1992) ***½
174. Les Biches (Claude Chabrol, 1968) ***
175. Les Diaboliques (Henri-Georges Clouzot) ***½
176. Les Enfants Du Paradis (Marcel Carne 1945) **
177. Les Valseuses (Bertrand Blier, 1974) ***½
178. Les Visiteurs Du Soir (Marcel Carne, 1942) ***
179. Les Yeux Sans Visage (Georges Franju, 1960) ***
180. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008) **½
181. Let’s Talk about the Rain (Agnès Jaoui, 2008) ***
182. Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006) ***
183. Lilya 4-Ever (Lukas Moodysson, 2002) ***½
184. Live Flesh (Pedro Almodovar, 1997) ***½
185. Lola (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1981) ***
186. Look at Me (Agnes Jaoui, 2004) ***½
187. Lorna’s Silence (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2008) ***
188. Los Olvidados (Luis Bunuel, 1950) ***
189. Love is Colder than Death (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1969) **
190. Made in USA (Jean-Luc Godard, 1966) ***
191. Ma Nuit Chez Maud (Eric Rohmer, 1969) ****
192. Ma Vie Sexuelle (Arnaud Desplechin, 1996) ****
193. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929) ****
194. Man Without A Past (Aki Kaurismaki, 2002) ***½
195. Maria Full of Grace (Joshua Marston, 2004) ***½
196. Masculin Féminin (Jean-Luc Godard, 1966) **
197. Matador (Pedro Almodovar, 1986) ***½
198. Memories of Murder (Joon-ho Bong, 2003) ****
199. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927) ****
200. Micmacs (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2009) ****
201. Millenium Mambo (Hou Hsiao-Hsien, 2001) **
202. Mirror (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974) **½
203. Mon Uncle (Jacques Tati, 1958) ***
204. Monrak Transistor (Pen-Ek Ratanaruang, 2001) ****
205. Monsieur Lazhar  (Philippe Falardeau, 2011)***
206. Mouchette (Robert Bresson, 1966) **½
207. Mr Hulot’s Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953) **½
208. Murmur of the Heart (Louis Malle, 1971) **
209. My Sassy Girl (Kwak Jae-Young, 2001) ****
210. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957) ***½
211. Nine Queens (Fabian Bielinsky, 2000) ***½
212. Nobody Knows (Hirokazu Koreeda, 2004) **
213. Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1983) ***
214. Oasis (Lee Chang-Dong, 2002) ***½
215. Of Gods and Men (Xavier Beauvois, 2010) ***
216. Oldboy (Park Chan-Wook, 2003) ***½
217. Once Upon A Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011) ***
218. One Plus One (Jean-Luc Godard, 1968) BOMB
219. Onibaba (Kaneto Shindo, 1964) ***½
220. Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945) ***½
221. Open Your Eyes (Alejandro Amenabar, 1998) **** 
222. Ordet (Carl Dreyer, 1955) **
223. OSS 117: Lost in Rio (Michel Hazanavicius, 2009) ***
224. Ossessione (Luchino Visconti, 1943) ****
225. Paisa (Roberto Rossellini, 1946) ***
226. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006) ***
227. Paris Belongs to Us (Jacques Rivette, 1960) ***½
228. Passenger (Andrzej Munk, 1963) ****
229. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955) ***
230. Pepe Le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937) ****
231. Persepolis (Marjane Satrapi, 2007) ***
232. Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966) ****
233. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959) ***½
234. Pierrot Le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965) **½
235. Pixote (Hector Babenco, 1981) ***
236. Play Time (Jacques Tati, 1967) ***
237. Plein Soleil (Rene Clement, 1960) ***½
238. Potemkin (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) ***½
239. Princess Mononoke (Hayao Miyazaki, 1997) **½
240. Princess Yang Kwei-Fei (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1955) ***
241. Quai Des Brumes (Marcel Carne, 1938) ***½
242. Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou, 1991) ***½
243. Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985) ***½
244. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) ***
245. Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955) ***½
246. Ringu (Hideo Nakata, 1998) ***
247. Rocco And His Brothers (Luchino Visconti, 1960) ****
248. Romance (Catherine Breillat, 1999) **
249. Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998) ***½
250. Russian Ark (Alexander Sokurov, 2002) **
251. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (Pier Paulo Pasolini, 1975) BOMB
252. Salvatore Giuliano (Francesco Rosi, 1962) **½
253. Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983) ***½
254. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954) ****
255. Saraband (Ingmar Bergman, 2003) ***½
256. Satantango (Bela Tarr, 1994) ***
257. Save the Green Planet (Jeong Jun-Hwan, 2003) ****
258. Sawdust and Tinsel (Ingmar Bergman, 1953) ***½
259. Scenes From A Marriage (Ingmar Bergman, 1973) ****
260. Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmuller, 1976) **
261. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) ***½
262. Shame (Ingmar Bergman, 1968) ****
263. Shoeshine (Vittorio De Sica, 1946) ***
264. Shoot the Piano Player (Francois Truffaut, 1961) ***
265. Show Me Love (Lukas Moodyson, 1998) ***½
266. Simon of the Desert (Luis Bunuel, 1965) ***½
267. Small Change (Francois Truffaut, 1976) ***½
268. Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, 1955) ***½
269. Solaris (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972) **
270. Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano, 1993) ***½
271. Songs from the Second Floor (Roy Andersson, 2000) **
272. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001) ***
273. Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter (Kim Ki-Duk, 2003) ***½
274. Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979) **½
275. Stolen Kisses (Francois Truffaut, 1968) **** 
276. Stray Dog (Akira Kurosawa, 1949) ***½
277. Strike (Sergei Eisenstein, 1924) ***
278. Subway (Luc Besson, 1985) ***
279. Such a Gorgeous Kid Like Me (Francois Truffaut, 1972) ***½
280. Summer Interlude (Ingmar Bergman, 1951) ***½
281. Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 1953) ***½
282. Sundays and Cybele (Sege Bourguignon, 1962) ***
283. Sunday's Children (Daniel Bergman, 1992) ***½
284. Swept Away...by an Unusual Destiny…. (Lina Wertmuller, 1975) **½
285. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodovar, 2002) ***
286. Tampopo (Juzo Itami, 1987) ***½
287. Tears of the Black Tiger (Wisit Sasanatieng, 2000) ***½
288. Tell No One (Guillaume Canet, 2006) ***
289. That Obscure Object of Desire (Luis Bunuel, 1977) ***½
290. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959) **½
291. The Baader Meinhof Complex (Uli Edel, 2008) **
292. The Barbarian Invasions (Denys Arcand, 2003) ***½
293. The Battle of Algiers (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1965) ****
294. The Beaches of Agnes (Agnes Varda, 2008) ***½
295. The Beat that My Heart Skipped (Jacques Audiard, 2005) **½
296. The Best Intentions (Bille August, 1992) ***
297. The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1972)  BOMB
298. The Burmese Harp (Kon Ichikawa, 1956) ***½
299. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1919) ***½
300. The Child (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2005) ****
301. The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008) ****  
302. The Conformist (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970) ****
303. The Crime Of Monsieur Lange (Jean Renoir, 1936) ***½
304. The Death of Mr Lazerescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005) ***
305. The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoise (Luis Bunuel, 1972) ****
306. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007) ****
307. The Double Life of Veronique (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1991) **
308. The Dreamlife of Angels (Erick Zonca, 1998) ***½
309. The Earrings of Madame De… (Max Ophuls, 1953) **
310. The Edukators (Hans Weingartner, 2004) ***½
311. The Elephant Keeper (Chatrichalerm Yukol, 1987) ***
312. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (Werner Herzog, 1974) **½
313. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel, 1962) ***½
314. The Funeral (Juzo Itami, 1984) ***
315. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Vittorio De Sica, 1971) ***
316. The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000)***
317. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964) **½
318. The Happiness of the Katakuris (Takashi Miike, 2001) ***½
319. The Hidden Fortress (Akira Kurosawa, 1958) ****
320. The Holy Girl (Lucrecia Martel, 2004) **
321. The Host (Boon Joon-Ho, 2006) **½
322. The House of Flying Daggers (Zhang Yimou, 2004) ****
323. The Human Condition Pt.1: No Greater Love (Masaki Kobayashi, 1958) ***½
324. The Human Condition Pt.2: Road to Eternity (Masaki Kobayashi, 1959) ***½
325. The Human Condition Pt.3: A Soldier's Prayer (Masaki Kobayashi, 1961) ***½
326. The Idiots (Lars Von Trier, 1998) BOMB
327. The Isle (Kim Ki-Duk, 2000) **½
328. The Kid with A Bike (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2011 ) ***
329. The Last Metro (Francois Truffaut, 1980) ***½
330. The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963) **
331. The Life of Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1952) ****
332. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel Von Donnersmarck, 2006) ****
333. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum (Volker Schlondorff, Margarethe Von Trotta, 1975) ***½
334. The Magic Flute (Ingmar Bergman, 1975) **
335. The Middleman (Satyajit Ray, 1976) ****
336. The Milky Way (Luis Bunuel, 1969) ***
337. The Motorcycle Diaries (Walter Salles, 2004) **
338. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Dreyer, 1927) ***
339. The Phantom of Liberty (Luis Bunuel, 1974) ***
340. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001) ***½
341. The Pornographers (Shohei Imamura, 1966) **
342. The Raid: Redemption (Gareth Evans, 2011) ***½
343. The Red Circle (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1970) **½
344. The Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1964) ***
345. The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986) ***
346. The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) ***½
347. The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) **½
348. The Shop on Main Street (Jan Kadar, Elmar Klos, 1965) ****
349. The Silence (Ingmar Bergman, 1963) ***½
350. The Skin I Live In (Pedro Almodovar, 2011) ***
351. The Son (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2003) ****
352. The Son's Room (Nanni Moretti, 2001) ***½
353. The Sorrow and the Pity (Marcel Ophuls, 1969) ***½
354. The Spirit of the Beehive (Victor Erice, 1973) ***
355. The Story of Adele H. (Francois Truffaut, 1975) **
356. The Third Generation (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1979) BOMB
357. The Time of the Gypsies (Emir Kusturica, 1989) ***½
358. The Time of the Wolf (Michael Haneke, 2003)  ****
359. The Tin Drum (Volker Schlondorff, 1979) ****
360. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964) BOMB
361. The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988) ***½
362. The Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman, 1960) ***
363. The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953) ****
364. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009) ***½
365. Three Colours: Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993) **
366. Three Colours: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) **½
367. Three Colours: White (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994) *** 
368. Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, 1957) ***½
369. Through a Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman, 1961) **½
370. Through the Olive Trees (Abbas Kiarostami,  1994) ***½
371. Tesis (Alejandro Amenábar, 1996) ***½
372. Together (Lukas Moodysson, 2000) ***
373. Tokyo Drifter (Seijun Suzuki, 1966) **½
374. Tokyo Olympiad (Kon Ichikawa, 1965) ***
375. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) ****
376. Tout Va Bien (Jean-Luc Godard 1972) ***½ 
377. Tristana (Luis Bunuel, 1970) **½
378. Troll Hunter (André Ovredal, 2010) ***½
379. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004) BOMB
380. Twenty-Four Eyes (Keisuke Kinoshita, 1954) ***½
381. Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) ****
382. Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica, 1951) **½
383. Underground (Emir Kusturica, 1995) ****
384. Uzak/Distant (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002) **½
385. Visitor Q (Takashi Miike, 2001) **
386. Vivre Sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962) ****
387. Volver (Pedro Almodovar, 2006) ***
388. Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008) ***½
389. We Have A Pope (Nanni Moretti, 2011) **
390. Week End (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967) **** 
391. Where Is the Friend's Home? (Abbas Kiarostami, 1987) ***
392. White Material (Claire Denis, 2008) **½
393. Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) ***½  
394. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1988) ****
395. Winter Light (Ingmar Bergman, 1962) ***½
396. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (Pedro Almodovar, 1988) ***½
397. WR - Mysteries of the Organism (Dusan Makavejev, 1971) **
398. Y Tu Mama Tambien (Alfonso Cuaron, 2001) **½
399. Yojimbo (Akira Kurosawa, 1961) ****
400. Zatoichi (Takeshi Kitano, 2003) ***½

50 Great French Films (with video)

Films had to achieve a certain amount of ‘Frenchness’ to be included here. For example, I wanted to list Certified Copy (2010), which is officially a French film, but since it’s set in Italy, is mainly in English, and has an Iranian director, it didn’t seem right to. One or two non-French elements like that might not have disqualified it, but three major non-French elements meant it had to be left out.

To me these are not just '50 great French films' but also the 50 best French films of all time...

The video above shows the posters for all 50 of the films listed here.

1. Le Crime De Monsieur Lange (Jean Renoir, 1936)
2. Pepe Le Moko (Julien Duvivier, 1937)
3. La Bete Humaine (Jean Renoir, 1938)
4. Le Quai Des Brumes (Marcel Carne, 1938)
5. La Regle Du Jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939)
6. Le Jour Se Leve (Marcel Carne, 1939)
7. Les Visiteurs Du Soir (Marcel Carne, 1942)
8. La Belle Et La Bete (Jean Cocteau, 1946)
9. Jeux Interdits (Rene Clement, 1952)
10. The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)
11. Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955)
12. Ascenseur Pour L'echafaud (Louis Malle, 1958)
13. Hiroshima Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959)
14. Plein Soleil (Rene Clement, 1960)
15. Vivre Sa Vie (Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)
16. Le Mepris (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
17. La Peau Douce (Francois Truffaut, 1964)
18. Belle De Jour (Luis Bunuel, 1967)
19. Week End (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)
20. La Femme Infidele (Claude Chabrol, 1968)
21. Stolen Kisses (Francois Truffaut, 1968)
22. Ma Nuit Chez Maud (Eric Rohmer, 1969)
23. Domicile Conjugal (Francois Truffaut, 1970)
24. L'Enfant Sauvage (Francois Truffaut, 1970)
25. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, Luis Bunuel, 1972)
26. La Maman Et La Putain (Jean Eustache, 1973)
27. La Nuit Americaine (Francois Truffaut, 1973)
28. Les Valseuses (Bertrand Blier, 1974)
29. L'Argent De Poche (Francois Truffaut, 1976)
30. That Obscure Object of Desire (Luis Bunuel, 1977)
31. Buffet Froid (Bertrand Blier, 1979)
32. Le Dernier Metro (Francois Truffaut, 1980)
33. Sans Soleil (Chris Marker, 1983)
34. La Haine (Matthieu Kassovitz, 1995)
35. L'Appartement (Gilles Mimouni, 1996)
36. Ma Vie Sexuelle (Arnaud Desplechin, 1996)
37. The Dreamlife of Angels (Erick Zonca, 1998)
38. Amelie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
39. The Piano Teacher (Michael Haneke, 2001)
40. Irreversible (Gasper Noe, 2002)
41. The Time of the Wolf (Michael Haneke, 2003)
42. A Very Long Engagement (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2004)
43. Look at Me (Agnes Jaoui, 2004)
44. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
45. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
46. I’ve Loved You So Long (Philip Claudel, 2008)
47. The Beaches of Agnes (Agnes Varda, 2008)
48. The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008)
49. Micmacs (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2009)
50. The Artist (Micel Hazanavicius, 2011)

My 150 All-Time Favourite Films

A lot of the fun of making up lists like this is that you get to remember and reflect on special personal reactions to films. That personal element is also the reason other people are inevitably going to disagree with you. I’m sure anyone who reads this will do as I do when I read people’s favourite movie lists. They’ll go: “yes/yes/OK, maybe/I liked it but not that much/yes/yes/ NO!!!! No Way! Are you on drugs???/yes/yes/OK....”

But that can't be helped….

Many of these films I’ve seen over and over and so can say with some certainty that they are favourites. Others I’ve only seen once and/or I haven’t seen them in over a decade - and maybe if I saw them again now my opinon would change - but my first impression was so positive I had to include them. All of them did that ‘transcendent’ thing to me- rooted me to my seat, made me completely forget my surroundings, took me to another place….


1920’s
1. Man With A Movie Camera (Vertov, 1927)
2. The Crowd (Vidor, 1928)
1930’s
3. It Happened One Night (Capra, 1934)
4. A Night At The Opera (Wood, 1935)
5. Fury (Lang, 1936)
6. They Won't Forget (LeRoy, 1937)
7. Bringing Up Baby (Hawks, 1938)
8. La Bete Humaine (Renoir, 1938)
9. The Lady Vanishes (Hitchcock, 1938)
10. Destry Rides Again (Marshall, 1939)
11. Gunga Din (Stevens, 1939)
12. Le Jour Se Leve (Carne, 1939)
13. Mr.Smith Goes To Washington (Capra, 1939)
1940’s
14. Foreign Correspondent (Hitchcock, 1940)
15. Pinocchio (Sharpsteen, Luske, et al, 1940)
16. The Grapes of Wrath  (Ford, 1940)
17. His Girl Friday (Hawks, 1940)
18. Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)
19. Went the Day Well? (Calvacanti, 1942)
20. Double Indemnity (Wilder, 1944)
21. Dead Of Night (Cavalcanti, Crichton, Dearden, Hamer, 1946)
22. A Matter Of Life And Death (Powell, 1946)
23. The Best Years of Our Lives (Wyler, 1946)
24. The Big Sleep (Hawks, 1946)
25. It's A Wonderful Life (Capra, 1946)
26. The Killers (Siodmark, 1946)
27. My Darling Clementine (Ford, 1946)
28. The Postman Always Rings Twice (Garnett, 1946)
29. Green For Danger (Gilliat, 1947)
30. Nightmare Alley (Goulding, 1947)
31. Oliver Twist (Lean, 1948)
32. The Third Man (Reed, 1949)
33. Gun Crazy (Lewis, 1949)
1950’s
34. In A Lonely Place (Ray, 1950)
35. The Day The Earth Stood Still (Wise, 1951)
36. The Wages Of Fear (Clouzot, 1952)
37. Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953)
38. From Here To Eternity (Zinneman, 1953)
39. Stalag 17 (Wilder, 1953)
40. The Band Wagon (Minnelli, 1953)
41. Ugetsu Monogatari (Mizoguchi, 1953)
42. La Strada (Fellini, 1954)
43. Sansho The Bailiff (Mizoguchi, 1954)
44. Rear Window (Hitchcock, 1954)
45. Night Of The Hunter (Laughton, 1955)
46. Forbidden Planet (McLeod Wilcox, 1956)
47. Wild Stawberries (Bergman, 1957)
48. The Bridge On the River Kwai (Lean, 1957)
49. The Sweet Smell Of Success (Mackendrick, 1957)
50. Twelve Angry Men (Lumet, 1957)
51. The Hidden Fortress (Kurosawa, 1958)
52. Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)
53. Anatomy Of A Murder (Preminger, 1959)
54. North by Northwest (Hitchcock, 1959)
1960’s
55. Rocco And His Brothers (Visconti, 1960)
56. Saturday Night And Sunday Morning (Reisz, 1960)
57. The Apartment (Wilder, 1960)
58. Yojimbo (Kurosawa, 1961)
59. Lawrence of Arabia (Lean, 1962)
60. Billy Liar (Schlesinger, 1963)
61. The Servant (Losey, 1963)
62. The Great Escape (Sturges, 1963)
63. Dr Strangelove (Kubrick, 1964)
64. The Shop on Main Street (Kadar, Klos, 1965)
65. The Battle Of Algiers (Pontecorvo, 1966)
66. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Nichols, 1966)
67. Weekend (Godard, 1967)
68. The Graduate (Nichols, 1967)
69. Stolen Kisses (Truffaut, 1968)
70. Rosemary's Baby (Polanski, 1968)
71. Ma Nuit Chez Maud (Rohmer, 1969)
1970’s
72. Patton (Schaffner, 1970)
73. The Conformist (Bertolucci, 1971)
74. The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoise (Bunuel, 1972)
75. Sleuth (Manciewicz, 1972)
76. The Godfather (Coppola, 1972)
77. Play it Again,  Sam (Ross, 1972)
78. Day For Night (Truffaut, 1973)
79. La Mamain Et La Putain (Eustache, 1973)
80. Mean Streets (Scorsese, 1973)
81. Scenes From A Marriage (Bergman, 1973)
82. Sleeper (Allen, 1973)
83. The Godfather, Part 11 (Coppola, 1974)
84. Jaws (Spielberg, 1975)
85. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Forman, 1975)
86. The Middleman (Ray, 1976)
87. All the President's Men (Pakula, 1976)
88. Annie Hall (Allen, 1977)
89. The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978)
90. The Tin Drum (Schlondorff, 1979)
91. Apocalypse Now Redux (Coppola, 1979/2001)
1980’s
92. Airplane (Abrahams, 1980)
93. Reds (Beatty, 1981)
94. Fanny and Alexander (Bergman, 1982)
95. The Right Stuff (Kaufmann, 1983)
96. Amadeus (Forman, 1984)
97. Come And See (Klimov, 1985)
98. Hannah and Her Sisters (Allen, 1986)
99. Wings of Desire (Wenders, 1988)
1990’s
100. Goodfellas (Scorsese, 1990)
101. JFK (Stone, 1991)
102. Point Break (Bigelow, 1991)
103. The Naked Gun 2½: The Smell of Fear (Zucker, 1991)
104. Malcolm X (Lee, 1992)
105. Reservoir Dogs (Tarantino, 1992)
106. Hot Shots, Part Deux (Abrahams, 1993)
107. Short Cuts (Altman, 1993)
108. Hoop Dreams (James, 1994)
109. Pulp Fiction (Tarantino, 1994)
110. The Shawshank Redemption (Darabont, 1994)
111. Heat (Mann, 1995)
112. L'Apartement (Mimouni, 1996)
113. The English Patient (Minghella, 1996)
114. Fargo (Coen, 1996)
115. Boogie Nights (Anderson, 1997)
116. L.A. Confidential (Hanson, 1997)
117. Nil By Mouth (Oldman, 1997)
118. The Game (Fincher, 1997)
119. Afterlife (Koreeda, 1998)
120. Enemy of the State (Scott, 1998)
121. The Big Lebowski (Coen, 1998)
122. Saving Private Ryan (Spielberg, 1998)
123. American Beauty (Mendes, 1999)
124. Fight Club (Fincher, 1999)
125. Magnolia (Anderson, 1999)
2000’s
126. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Lee, 2000)
127. A One and A Two (Yang, 2000)
128. Traffic (Soderbergh, 2000)
129. Lantana (Lawrence, 2001)
130. Monrak Transistor (Ratanaruang, 2001)
131. Mulholland Drive (Lynch, 2001)
132. My Sassy Girl (Kwak, 2001)
133. The Royal Tenenbaums (Anderson, 2001)
134. Waking Life (Linklater, 2001)
135. Lord of the Rings,  Part 111 (Jackson, 2003)
136. Lost In Translation (Coppola, 2003)
137. Memories of Murder (Bong, 2003)
138. The Time of the Wolf (Haneke, 2003)
139. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Gondry, 2004)
140. The Incredibles (Bird, 2004)
141. Munich (Spielberg, 2005)
142. Apocalypto (Gibson, 2006)
143. The Prestige (Nolan, 2006)
144. A Mighty Heart (Winterbottom, 2007)
145. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Dominik, 2007)
146. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Schnabel, 2007)
147. The Class (Cantet, 2008)
148. Inglourious Basterds (Tarantino, 2009)
2010’s
149. Toy Story 3 (Unkrich, 2010)
150. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (Yates, 2011)

100 Underrated Movies

1. Afterlife (1998) This Japanese film is brilliant and totally unique, the kind of movie that changes lives.
2. And Then There Were None (1945) Superb film. It’s acclaimed but not very well-known and it deserves an audience as big as Casablanca’s.
3. Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) Many critics are quite sniffy about this movie, but it’s Frank Capra’s best film after his three masterpieces It Happened One Night, Mr.Smith Goes to Washington and It’s a Wonderful Life.
4. Bad Company (1972) A truly beautiful film and perhaps the best Western of the 1970’s (sorry Peckinpah, Eastwood et al)
5. Billion Dollar Brain (1967) One of only two really good Ken Russell films, the other being Altered States.
6. Bird (1988) A biopic of Charlie Parker, it’s one of Clint Eastwood’s best films, along with The Changeling and Gran Torino
7. Bus 174 (2002) Incredibly tense Brazilian documentary about a real-life bus hijacking.
8. Cape Fear (1962) It doesn’t usually feature on lists of the greatest movies of the 60’s. It should do. Infinitely better than the Scorsese remake mainly because Robert Mitchum’s performance as Max Cady is so much more subtle and engaging than De Niro’s.
9. Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) As good as Bowling for Columbine, Fahrenheit 9/11 and Sicko i.e. very good indeed.
10. Carlito’s Way (1993) It got quite good reviews, but not good enough. It’s a flat-out masterpiece, with brilliant performances from Al Pacino and Sean Penn, and some of the most interesting camerawork and sound design ever put on film.
11. Catch-22 (1970) Disjointed, but has some incredible scenes.
12. Catfish (2010) Weird, original and totally engaging
13. Celebrity (1998) Unfairly dismissed Woody Allen picture. I prefer it to Midnight in Paris.
14. Chaplin (1992) David Thomson called this movie ‘dreadful’. Well, I think his review is ‘dreadful’ because the film in fact is excellent, brilliantly acted and very moving.  
15. City of Hope (1991) John Sayles’ best film.
16. Come and See (1985) Highly acclaimed by some critics, it should nevertheless be even more praised, because it’s such a shattering masterpiece. In the first 20 minutes of Saving Private Ryan Spielberg tried to match Come and See in terms of depicting the horror of war. He came close, but didn’t quite reach the level of this film.
17. Die Hard 2 (1990) Better than the original and better than just about everything else Bruce Willis has ever done.
18. Eat Drink Man Woman (1994) Still Ang Lee’s best film.
19. Enemy of the State (1998) Incredibly fast-moving, hi-tech thriller that can be  watched over and over. Tony Scott can do some things right.
20. Falling Down (1993) Fascinating film with Michael Douglas’ greatest ever performance, but critics couldn’t get past the fact that it was directed by Joel Schumacher.
21. Four Lions (2010) One of the best British films of the last ten years. Chris Morris on top form.
22. Galaxy Quest (1999) This sharp sci-fi comedy/satire seemed to get lost in the shuffle. It’s well worth watching.
23. Get Smart (2008) Not a great movie, but a very good one, and a lot of fun
24. Go (1999) Doug Liman’s finest hour.
25. Grand Canyon (1999) The critics all said this film was false and contrived. They were wrong.
26. Grave of the Fireflies (1988) Forget all other Japanese animation (sorry Miyazagi) and just see this.
27. Gun Crazy (1949) It’s well-regarded but not well-regarded enough, because it’s one of the top 5 films of the 1940’s.
28. Hard Eight (1997) Paul Thomas Anderson’s first film is much better than the over-rated There Will Be Blood
29. Hot Shots Part Deux (1993) Funny as hell.
30. Intermission (2003) Excellent Irish film
31. It Happened Tomorrow (1944) Trippy, head-spinning Rene Clair fantasy. 
32. JFK (1991) Some object to the thesis of the film, but to my mind that’s irrelevant because as film-making it’s Oliver Stone’s best work and reaches heights very few other films even come near.
33. Johnny English Reborn (2011) It starts out flabby and unfunny but grows on you and then builds and builds until in the end you realise you’ve been laughing non-stop for an hour.
34. Kafka (1992) Why do critics sometimes get things completely the wrong way round? This was a better film than Sex, Lies & Videotape.
35. Keane (2004) Hard to watch at times but emotionally powerful, with a brilliant performance by Damian Lewis
36. King of the Hill (1993) Still probably Steven Soderbergh’s best movie after Traffic.
37. Kung Fu Hustle (2004) My favourite Hong Kong film ever (and yes I have seen plenty of Wong Kar-Wai).
38. L’Appartement (1996) Possibly the greatest French film ever made. Certainly the greatest 'Hitchcock film' not made by Hitchcock (Sorry, Brian De Palma)
39. Last Train Home (2009) A riveting Chinese documentary.
40. Leave Her to Heaven (1945) A wonderful film noir in colour.
41. Leolo (1992) The best French-Canadian film ever made, imaginative and clever from start to finish.
42. Les Visiteurs Du Soir (1942) Little-known Marcel Carne film is much better than the tedious Les Enfants Du Paradis
43. London (1994) Why oh why aren’t Patrick Keillor’s films easier to find? This is the only one I’ve seen and it’s one of the most brilliant film-essays ever made.
44. Ma Vie Sexuelle (1996) I loved this film.
45. Man with a Movie Camera (1927) One of the few silent films that are academic classics and also a lot of fun to watch.
46. Micmacs (2009) This masterpiece from Jean-Pierre Jeunet deserves to be as well-known as Amelie
47. Midnight (1939) Screwball comedy that should be as well-known as Bringing Up Baby and His Girl Friday.
48. Monrak Transistor (2001) The best Thai film ever made. Also one of the best Asian films ever made.
49. Mortal Thoughts (1991) The only good think that Alan Rudolph ever did is also virtually the only good thing Demi Moore ever did, which is weird.
50. My Myself Irene (2000) An incredibly imaginative, original comedy tour-de-force.
51. Nighthawks (1981) This New York-set thriller is probably Sylvester Stallone’s best film.
52. Nightmare Alley (1947) The most powerful drama of the 1940’s.
53. Nurse Betty (2000) Very intriguing, unusual film.
54. Office Space (1999) This film should have won many, many awards. Under-rated by ‘serious’ critics I guess because it came from Mike Judge, creator of Beavis and Butt-head.
55. Open Your Eyes (1997) The Spanish original of Vanilla Sky is a head-spinning extravaganza of invention and imagination.
56. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951) One of the strangest and most beautiful films of the 50’s.
57. Plein Soleil (1960) The first, French version of Patricia Highsmith’s The Talented Mr Ripley is streets ahead of the English-language film of the 90’s.
58. Point Break (1991) Action movie that twists your emotions into knots. Kathryn Bigelow’s finest hour (and yes I have seen The Hurt Locker).
59. Re-animator (1985) Grisly, inventive, sharp and hilarious.
60. Rescue Dawn (2006) Great film, with Christian Bale’s best-ever performance.
61. Rocco and His Brothers (1960) Luchino Visconti’s best film by far. Ignore The Leopard, watch this instead.
62. Saint Jack (1979) Peter Bogdanovich’s most distinctive film, set in Singapore, taken from Paul Theroux’s novel. 
63. Salt (2010) Much better than the awful Wanted. Also better than Mr and Mrs Smith
64. Shoot the Moon (1982) Pauline Kael loved this film; everyone else ignored it. She was right, they were wrong.
65. Shutter Island (2010) I heard some reviewers describe this movie as a disaster. What on earth were they talking about? It's certainly a lot better than Scorsese's Hugo, which for its first two-thirds is completely inert. 
66. Singles (1992) Cameron Crowe’s only really great film.
67. Slapshot (1977) One of the best sports films ever made because it’s one of the funniest. 
68. Solaris (2002) Better than the original. This version is slow but also beautiful and hypnotic. The original was just slow and tedious.
69. Suddenly (1954) Frank Sinatra as a political assassin; weird film way ahead of its time.
70. The Cable Guy (1996) A darkly brilliant movie
71. The Crime Of Monsieur Lange (1936) Great Jean Renoir picture, much better than La Grande Illusion
72. The Descent (2005) One of the few really great horror films of the last ten years, it’s way ahead of The Exorcist in terms of delivering genuine chills.
73. The Elephant Keeper (1987) Excellent Thai film that no-one’s ever heard of.
74. The Front (1976) One of Woody Allen’s best films only stars him, and was directed by Martin Ritt
75. The Game (1997) Perhaps David Fincher’s best movie. It’s incredible that so few people appreciated it.
76. The International (2009) Like The Bourne Identity (an excellent film) but more complex.
77. The Long Kiss Goodnight (1996) Great action film.
78. The Lovely Bones (2009) Again, weird that the critics hated this film so much. It’s not great, but it’s not terrible either.
79. The Middleman (1976) From director Satyajit Ray, this is the greatest Indian film ever made, and much better than Pather Panchali.
80. The Next Three Days (2010) A great, very intense film; incredibly all the critics hated it, just because it came from Paul Haggis I guess
81. The Other Guys (2010) Excellent film, Will Ferrell at his best.
82. The Petrified Forest (1936) Humphrey Bogart, Leslie Howard and a great script.
83. The Prestige (2006) Christopher Nolan’s best film, certainly better than the striking but muddled Inception
84. The Pumpkin Eater (1964) One of the best British films of the 60’s
85. The Rock (1996) The only good thing Michael Bay has ever done.
86. The Spy in Black (1939) Early Michael Powell film. Great fun. 
87. The Transporter (2002)  Excellent, well-made, action movie. Better than many 'serious' movies.
88. The Vanishing (1988) This was badly remade in the US. The Dutch original is creepily brilliant.
89. The Wedding Singer (1998) Why do critics go on about Adam Sandler being redeemed only by Punch-Drunk Love when this, and Funny People, are much better films? 
90. The Whole Town's Talking (1936) Jean Arthur in a John Ford modern city-set drama: intriguing in all kinds of ways.
91. The Yes Men Fix the World (2009) Fascinating and audacious. Deserves to be better known. I haven’t seen the first Yes Men film but would certainly like to.
92. Thunderbolt And Lightfoot (1974) Brilliant teaming of Jeff Bridges and Clint Eastwood, with director Michael Cimino, in a caper-action movie that's also sad and moving and real.
93. Time of the Wolf (2003) Michael Haneke’s best film (and he’s made many great ones). Just astonishing.
94. W (2008) Oliver Stone's take on Bush Jr. Very Interesting film, not at all bad.
95. Went the Day Well? (1942) The best World War Two movie made during World War Two in any country. The Eagle Has Landed stole some of its plot.
96. Wetherby (1985) Shocking drama from a David Hare play.
97. What’s Up Doc? (1972) Better than The Last Picture Show.
98. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) This film is highly acclaimed but it deserves to be known as one of the greatest films of all time. It certainly has the best script of all time. I prefer it to Citizen Kane or Rules of the Game.
99. Wisconsin Death Trip (1999) Just Google pictures of this film or watch the trailer and you’ll know why I included it.
100. You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger (2010) The strange thing is this film, and Cassandra’s Dream (though not Scoop), are quite good movies, and Midnight in Paris is just a little better than them, but judging from the reviews you’d think they were worlds apart in terms of quality.

Cannes Palme d'Or Winners-Full List, 20 Great Ones & 15 Bad Ones

Some of the best Cannes Palme d'Or winners

 

The major prize at the Cannes Film Festival- which we now know as the Palme d’Or- has, over the years, changed names as follows:

Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (1939–1954)

Palme d'Or (1955–1963)

Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (1964–1974)

Palme d'Or (1975–present)

My previous post talked of 20 Best and 20 Worst Oscar Winners, but with the Palme d’Or there is a far greater proportion (29 of the 84 films) which I haven’t seen, so in the equivalent lists here I’ve used the terms ‘great’ and ‘bad’ instead.

20 Great Winners, In Chronological Order

1.         The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)

2.         The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)

3.         Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1967)

4.         MASH (Robert Altman, 1970)

5.         The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

6.         Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

7.         Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) (Joint Winner)

8.         The Tin Drum (Volker Schlondorff, 1979) (Joint Winner)

9.         Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders, 1984)     

10.       The Mission (Roland Joffe, 1986)

11.       Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

12.       Barton Fink (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1991)            

13.       Underground (Emir Kusturica, 1995)

14.       Taste of Cherry (Abbas Kiarostami, 1997)

15.       Elephant (Gus Van Sant, 2003)  

16.       Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore, 2004)          

17.       L'Enfant (Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, 2005)

18.       The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach, 2006)

19.       The Class (Laurent Cantet, 2008)        

20.       The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)  

15 Bad Winners, In Chronological Order

1.         Union Pacific (Cecil B. DeMille, 1939)

2.         Brief Encounter (David Lean, 1946)

3.         Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica, 1951)

4.         Othello (Orson Welles, 1952)

5.         Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler, 1957)

6.         La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)

7.         The Leopard (Luchino Visconti, 1963)

8.         The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy, 1964)

9.         The Knack …and How to Get It Richard Lester, 1965)

10.       A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch, 1966)

11.       The Ballad of Narayama (Shohei Imamura, 1983)

12.       Wild at Heart (David Lynch, 1990)

13.       The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)

14.       The Eel (Shohei Imamura, 1997)

15.       Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier, 2000)

The Full List (Note that the Cannes Festival often awards this prize to two films in the same year and in 1946 awarded it to 11 films)

1939 Union Pacific (Cecil B. DeMille)

1946 Brief Encounter (David Lean)

1946 Iris and the Lieutenant (Alf Sjoberg)

1946 La symphonie pastorale (Jean Delannoy)

1946 Men Without Wings (Frantisek Cap)

1946 Neecha Nagar (Chetan Anand)

1946 Portrait of Maria (Emilio Fernandez)

1946 Rome, Open City (Roberto Rossellini)

1946 The Last Chance (Leopold Lindtberg)

1946 The Lost Weekend (Billy Wilder)

1946 The Red Meadows (Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen Jr.)

1946 The Turning Point (Fridrikh Ermler)

1947 Prize Not Awarded

1948 Festival Not Held

1949 The Third Man (Carol Reed)

1950 Festival Not Held

1951 Miss Julie (Alf Sjöberg)

1951 Miracle in Milan (Vittorio De Sica)

1952 The Tragedy of Othello: The Moor of Venice (Orson Welles)

1952 Two Cents Worth of Hope (Renato Castellani)

1953 The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot)

1954 Gate of Hell (Teinosuke Kinugasa)

1955 Marty (Delbert Mann)

1956 The Silent World (Jacques-Yves Cousteau and Louis Malle)

1957 Friendly Persuasion (William Wyler)

1958 The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov)

1959 Black Orpheus (Marcel Camus)

1960 La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini)

1961 The Long Absence (Henri Colpi)

1961 Viridiana (Luis Bunuel)

1962 O Pagador de Promessas (Anselmo Duarte)

1963 The Leopard (Luchino Visconti)

1964 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Jacques Demy)

1965 The Knack …and How to Get It (Richard Lester)

1966 A Man and a Woman (Claude Lelouch)

1966 The Birds, the Bees and the Italians (Pietro Germi)

1967 Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni)

1968 Festival Cancelled

1969 If.... (Lindsay Anderson)

1970 MASH (Robert Altman)

1971 The Go-Between (Joseph Losey)

1972 The Working Class Goes to Heaven (Elio Petri)

1972 The Mattei Affair (Francesco Rosi)

1973 The Hireling (Alan Bridges)

1973 Scarecrow (Jerry Schatzberg)

1974 The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola)

1975 Chronicle of the Years of Fire (Mohammed Lakhdar-Hamina)

1976 Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese)

1977 Padre Padrone (Paolo and Vittorio Taviani)

1978 The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi)

1979 Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola)

1979 The Tin Drum (Volker Schlondorff)

1980 All That Jazz (Bob Fosse)

1980 Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa)

1981 Man of Iron (Andrzej Wajda)

1982 Missing (Costa-Gavras)

1982 Yol (Yılmaz Güney and Serif Goren)

1983 The Ballad of Narayama (Shohei Imamura)

1984 Paris, Texas (Wim Wenders)

1985 When Father Was Away on Business (Emir Kusturica)

1986 The Mission (Roland Joffe)

1987 Under the Sun of Satan (Maurice Pialat)

1988 Pelle the Conqueror (Bille August)

1989 Sex, Lies, and Videotape (Steven Soderbergh)

1990 Wild at Heart (David Lynch)

1991 Barton Fink (Joel and Ethan Coen)

1992 The Best Intentions (Bille August)

1993 Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige)

1993 The Piano (Jane Campion)

1994 Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino)

1995 Underground (Emir Kusturica)

1996 Secrets & Lies (Mike Leigh)

1997 Taste of Cherry  (Abbas Kiarostami)

1997 The Eel (Shohei Imamura)

1998 Eternity and a Day (Theo Angelopoulos)

1999 Rosetta (Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne)

2000 Dancer in the Dark (Lars von Trier)

2001 The Son's Room (Nanni Moretti)

2002 The Pianist (Roman Polanski)

2003 Elephant (Gus Van Sant)

2004 Fahrenheit 9/11 (Michael Moore)

2005 L'enfant (Luc and Jean-Pierre Dardenne)

2006 The Wind That Shakes the Barley (Ken Loach)

2007 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu)

2008 The Class (Laurent Cantet)

2009 The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke)

2010 Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul)

2011 The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick)

Oscar for Best Film: Full List, 20 Best and 20 Worst

Some of the Best 'Oscar Best Picture' Winners

Year given is the year of release of the film. The actual ceremony of course takes place in the February or March of the following year.

Regarding the 20 Best and 20 Worst Lists, I can make a pretty good overall comparison: I’ve seen all the best picture winners apart from four of the very early ones:1928- Wings, 1929- The Broadway Melody, 1931- Cimarron, 1933- Cavalcade.

Still, it’s just my opinion: feel free to disagree! And while I do think most of the ’20 Worst’ are really bad films, a few of them (e.g. All the King's Men, Million Dollar Baby) I just think are over-rated.

The 20 Best

1934     It Happened One Night

1940     Rebecca      

1943     Casablanca      

1946     The Best Years of Our Lives

1953     From Here to Eternity

1957     The Bridge on the River Kwai      

1960     The Apartment

1962     Lawrence of Arabia

1970     Patton    

1971     The French Connection

1972     The Godfather      

1974     The Godfather Part II      

1975     One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest      

1977     Annie Hall

1978     The Deer Hunter      

1984     Amadeus      

1996     The English Patient      

1999     American Beauty      

2003     The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King      

2007     No Country for Old Men      

The 20 Worst

1932     Grand Hotel

1937     The Life of Emile Zola

1939     Gone with the Wind      

1942     Mrs. Miniver

1944     Going My Way

1947     Gentleman's Agreement

1949     All the King's Men

1952     The Greatest Show on Earth

1956     Around the World in 80 Days      

1958     Gigi     

1959     Ben-Hur

1965     The Sound of Music      

1969     Midnight Cowboy

1980     Ordinary People      

1981     Chariots of Fire      

1983     Terms of Endearment

1985     Out of Africa      

1989     Driving Miss Daisy

1994     Forrest Gump      

2004     Million Dollar Baby      

The Full List

1928     Wings 

1929     The Broadway Melody

1930     All Quiet on the Western Front

1931     Cimarron

1932     Grand Hotel

1933     Cavalcade

1934     It Happened One Night

1935     Mutiny on the Bounty

1936     The Great Ziegfeld

1937     The Life of Emile Zola

1938     You Can't Take It With You

1939     Gone with the Wind       

1940     Rebecca       

1941     How Green Was My Valley

1942     Mrs. Miniver

1943     Casablanca       

1944     Going My Way

1945     The Lost Weekend

1946     The Best Years of Our Lives

1947     Gentleman's Agreement

1948     Hamlet

1949     All the King's Men

1950     All about Eve

1951     An American in Paris

1952     The Greatest Show on Earth

1953     From Here to Eternity

1954     On the Waterfront

1955     Marty

1956     Around the World in 80 Days       

1957     The Bridge on the River Kwai       

1958     Gigi       

1959     Ben-Hur

1960     The Apartment

1961     West Side Story

1962     Lawrence of Arabia

1963     Tom Jones

1964     My Fair Lady

1965     The Sound of Music       

1966     A Man for All Seasons

1967     In the Heat of the Night

1968     Oliver!

1969     Midnight Cowboy

1970     Patton       

1971     The French Connection

1972     The Godfather       

1973     The Sting

1974     The Godfather Part II       

1975     One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest       

1976     Rocky

1977     Annie Hall

1978     The Deer Hunter       

1979     Kramer vs. Kramer       

1980     Ordinary People       

1981     Chariots of Fire       

1982     Gandhi       

1983     Terms of Endearment

1984     Amadeus       

1985     Out of Africa       

1986     Platoon       

1987     The Last Emperor

1988     Rain Man       

1989     Driving Miss Daisy

1990     Dances With Wolves       

1991     The Silence of the Lambs       

1992     Unforgiven       

1993     Schindler's List       

1994     Forrest Gump       

1995     Braveheart       

1996     The English Patient       

1997     Titanic        

1998     Shakespeare in Love       

1999     American Beauty       

2000     Gladiator       

2001     A Beautiful Mind       

2002     Chicago       

2003     The Lord of The Rings: The Return of The King       

2004     Million Dollar Baby       

2005     Crash       

2006     The Departed       

2007     No Country for Old Men       

2008     Slumdog Millionaire      

2009     The Hurt Locker 

2010     The King's Speech