I started looking for a good selection of “must-see” movies quite a while ago. In just a couple of years of searching on the Internet, I’ve seen lists of the top ten movies, including collections of the most poppy and “not for everyone” movies.
The most successful list of movies, in my opinion, is this one:
Twelve Monkeys, USA, 1995, Terry Gilliam
12 Angry Men, 1957, U.S.A.
2001: A Space Odyssey, UK, 1968, Stanley Kubrick.
400 Blows, France, 1959, François Truffaut
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Alexander the Great (O Megalexandros), Greece-Italy, 1980, Theo Angelopoulos
Alice in the Cities (Alice in den Stadten), FRG, 1974, Wim Wenders
Amadeus, 1984, USA, Milos Forman
Amelie (Fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain, Le), France, 2001, Jean-Pierre Jeunet.
An American in Paris, 1951, United States, Vincent Minnelli.
American History X, USA (1998) by Tony Kay.
The English Patient, 1996, USA, Anthony Minghella.
Andalusian Dog (Un chien andalou), France, 1928, Louis Buñuel.
Apocalypse Now, 1979, USA, Francis Ford Coppola.
L’Atalante, France, 1934, Jean Vigo.
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Run Lola, Run (Lola rennt), Germany, 1998, Tom Tykwer
Blade Runner, U.S.-UK, 1982, Ridley Scott
Ben-Hur, 1959, USA, William Wyler.
Easy Rider, USA, 1969, Dennis Hopper
Raging Bull, 1980 Martin Scorsese, USA.
The Fight Club, 1999, USA, David Fincher.
La grande bouffe, France-Italy, 1973, Marco Ferreri.
The Big Fish (Snatch), UK, Guy Ritchie.
The Big Lebowski, 1998, USA, Joel Cohen.
The Big Parade, USA, 1925, King Vidor.
Bonnie and Clyde, USA, 1967, Arthur Penn
Brazil, UK, 1985, Terry Gilliam.
Bunker (Untergang, Der), Germany-Italy-Austria, 2003, Oliver Hirschbeiger
Rebel without a Cause USA, 1955, Nicholas Ray
Being John Malkovich, USA, 1999, Spike Jones
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Last Year in Marienbad (L’annee derniere a Marienbad), France-Italy, 1961, Alain René
Les valseuses, France, 1973, Bertrand Blier
The Grand Illusion, France, 1937, Jean Renoir.
The Great Dictator, 1940, Charles Spencer Chaplin, USA.
Spring In A Small Town, China, 1948, by Fay Mu.
Les visiteurs du soir, France, 1942, Marcel Carné.
Platoon, USA, 1986, Oliver Stone
Viridiana, Spain, 1960, Luis Buñuel.
Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, USA/New Zealand, 2001, Peter Jackson
Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (USA-New Zealand, 2003, Peter Jackson)
Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (USA-New Zealand, 2002, Peter Jackson)
Hair, 1979, Milos Forman, USA.
The Wizard of Oz, USA, 1939, Victor Fleming.
Eight and a Half (Otto e mezzo), Italy-France, 1962, Federico Fellini.
Time of Gypsies (Dom za Vesanje), Yugoslavia, 1989, Emir Kusturica
All or nothing, UK-France, 2002, Mike Leigh
All About My Mother (Todo sobre mi madre), Spain, 1999, Pedro Almodóvar
The Graduate, 1967, USA, Michael Nichols.
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Gaslight, USA, 1944, George Cucor
Hero, Hong Kong-China, 2002, Zhang Yimou.
Gottdammerung/The Damned, Italy-FRG/Switzerland, 1968, Luchino Visconti.
Gladiator, USA, 2000, Ridley Scott.
Vertigo (Vertigo), 1958, USA, Alfred Hitchcock.
Der blaue Engel (Der blaue Engel), Germany, 1930, Joseph Sternberg
Naked Island (Hadaka no Shima), Japan, 1961, Kaneto Shindo
City of God (Cidade de dues), Brazil-France-US 2002, Fernando Meirelles, Katia Lund
City of Lost Children (Cite des enfants perdus, La) France, 1995, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Carot
Citizen Kane, 1941, USA, Orson Welles.
The Grapes of Wrath, 1940, John Ford, USA.
Wuthering Heights, 1939, William Wyler.
Good bye, Lenin!, Germany, 2003, Wolfgang Baker
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The Girl on the Bridge (Fille sur le point, La), France, 1999, Patrice Leconte
Delicatessen, France, 1991, Jean-Pierre Jeunet, Marc Carot
Le jour se leve, France, 1939, Marcel Carné
Groundhog Day, USA, 1993, Harold Remis.
The Wild Bunch, USA, 1968, Sam Pekinpah.
The Stagecoach, USA, 1939, John Ford.
Diary for My Children (Naplo gyermekeimnek), U.N.R., 1982, Marta Mesarosz
Diary of a Country Priest (Le journal d’un cure de campagne), France, 1950, Robert Bresson.
Dogma, USA, 1999, Kevin Smith.
Doctor Zhivago, USA, 1965, David Lin.
Dr. Mabuse der Spieler, Germany, 1922, Fritz Lang
Dr. Strangelove or: how I learned to stop worrying and love the bomb, Great Britain, 1964, Stanley Kubrick
Donnie Darko, USA (2001) by Richard Kelly.
The Doors, USA, 1991, Oliver Stone.
The Road (La strada), Italy, 1954, Federico Fellini.
Knocking on heaven’s door, Germany, 1997, Thomas Jahn.
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Gendarme de saint-Tropez, France, 1964, Jean Giraud
Tin Drum (Die Blechtrommel), FRG-France with contributions from the People’s Republic of Poland, 1979, Volker Schlöndorf
Belly of an Architect (Belly of an Architect), UK-Italy, 1987, Peter Greenaway
Living in oblivion, USA, 1995, Tom DiCillo
The life of David Gale, United States-Germany, 2003, Alan Parker
It’s a Wonderful Life, United States, 1946, Frank Capra.
It’s a Wonderful Life (Vita e bella, La) 1997, Roberto Benigni
To Live (Ikiru), Japan, 1952, Akira Kurosawa
Vivre sa vie, France, 1962, Jean-Luc Godard.
Jules and Jim, France, 1961, François Truffaut
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Funny Face, USA, 1957, Stanley Donen
A Clockwork Orange, United Kingdom, 1971, Stanley Kubrick.
Le declin de l’empire americain (The Fall of the American Empire), Canada, 1985, Denis Arcand.
Star Wars, 1977, USA, by George Lucas.
Star Wars: Episode IV – A new hope, USA, 1977, by George Lucas.
Star Wars: Episode 5 – The Empire Strikes Back, (Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back, USA, 1980, by George Lucas.
Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi, USA, 1983, George Lucas
The Green Mile, 1999, USA, Frank Darabont.
Zelig, 1983, USA, Woody Allen.
Smultronstallet (Strawberry Hollow), Sweden, 1957, Ingmar Bergman.
Celebrity, 1998, the USA, Woody Allen.
The gold rush, USA, 1925, Charles Spencer Chaplin.
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Beautiful Mind (Beautiful Mind), USA, 2001, Ron Howard
The Idiot (Hakuchi), Japan, 1951, Akira Kurosawa
Empire of the Sun, 1986, USA, Steven Spielberg.
Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the lost ark (1981), USA, Steven Spielberg
Indiana Jones and the last crusade (Indiana Jones and the last crusade), 1989, USA, Steven Spielberg
Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom (Indiana Jones and tample of doom), 1984, USA, Steven Spielberg.
E.T., the Extra-Terrestrial (1982), USA, Steven Spielberg.
Interview with the vampire (Interview with the vampire: the vampire chronicles), USA, 1994, Neil Jordan
Storie di ordinaria follia (Story of an ordinary madness), Italy-France, 1981, Marco Ferreri.
Love Story, USA, 1970, Arthur Hiller.
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The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Kabinett des Dr. Caligari), Germany, 1919, Robert Vine
Casino, USA, 1995, Martin Scorsese.
How to Steal a Million, USA, 1966, William Wyler.
Caligula, Italy-USA, 1979, Tinto Brass, USA.
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels), UK, 1998, Guy Ritchie.
Casablanca, 1943, USA, Michael Curtitz.
I racconti di Canterbury (Canterbury Tales), Italy, 1972, Pier Paolo Pasolini.
King Kong, USA (1933) by Merian K. Cooper, Ernest B. Shedsack.
Chinatown, USA, 1974, Roman Polanski.
The Conformist (Il conformista), Italy-France-F Germany, 1970, Bernardo Bertolucci
Battle royale (Battle Royale), Japan, 2000, Kinji Fukasaku
Brief Encounter, UK, 1945, David Lean.
Bullfighting/L’empire of the senses (Ai-no bullfighting/L’empire des senses), Japan-France, 1976, Nagisa Oshima
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, Taiwan-USA, 2000, by Ang Lee
Pretty Woman (1990), USA, Garry Marshall.
The Godfather, 1971, USA, Francis Ford Coppola.
The Godfather II, United States, 1974, Francis Ford Coppola.
The Godfather III, 1990, USA, Francis Ford Coppola.
Pulp Fiction, USA, 1994, Quentin Tarantino.
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest (One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest), 1975, Milos Forman, USA.
Dolls, Japan, 2002, Takeshi Kitano Japan
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Laberinto del Fauno, El, Mexico-Spain-USA, 2006, Guillermo del Toro
Leon, France-USA, 1994, Luc Besson.
The Leopard (Il Gattopardo), Italy-France, 1963, Luchino Visconti.
The Boat (Boot, Das), FRG, 1981, Wolfgang Peterson
Lawrence of Arabia, USA, 1962, David Lin
Moon in the Fog (Ugetsu Monogatari), Japan, 1953, Kenji Mizoguchi
In the mood for love, France-Hong Kong, 2000, Wong Kar-wai
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M (M), Germany, 1931, Fritz Lang
Magnolia, USA, 1999, Paul Thomas Anderson
Mulholland Drive (Mulholland Dr.), France – USA, 2001, David Lynch
The Maltese Falcon, 1941, USA, John Huston.
The Matrix, 1999, USA, Larry Wachowski, Andy Wachowski.
Trivia of Life (Les choses de la vie), France-Italy, 1969, Claude Saute
Dead Man, 1995, USA, Jim Jarmusch.
Metropolis, Germany, 1926, Fritz Lang.
Silence is Gold (Le silence est d’or), France, 1947, René Clair.
Silence (Tystnaden), Sweden, 1963, Ingmar Bergman
The Silence of the Lambs, USA, 1991, Jonathan Demme.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail, United Kingdom, 1975, Terry Jones & Terry Gilliam
The Sea Inside (Mar adentro), Spain-France-Italy, 2004, Alejandro Amenabar
The Bridge on the River Kwai, United Kingdom – USA, 1957, David Lin
My Night at Maud’s (Ma nuit chez Maud), France, 1969, Eric Romer
A Man and a Woman (Un homme et une femme), France, 1966, Claude Lelouch.
The Fly, USA, 1986, David Cronenberg.
Arsenic and Old Lace, USA, 1944, Frank Capra
Mutiny on the Bounty, USA, 1935, Frank Lloyd.
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All Quiet on the western front, 1930, Lewis Milestone
Trainspotting, UK, 1996, Danny Boyle.
On the Last Breath (A bout de souffle), France, 1959, Jean-Luc Godard.
North by Northwest, United States, 1959, Alfred Hitchcock.
Quai des Orfevres, France, 1947, Henri-Georges Clouzot.
Back to the Future, USA, 1985, Robert Zemeckis.
Back to the Future II, 1989, USA, Robert Zemeckis.
Back to the Future III, 1989, USA, Robert Zemeckis.
Nazarin, Mexico, 1957, Luis Buñuel.
Nazi (Fuhrer Ex), Germany-Italy, 2002, Winfried Boehngel.
Skies over Berlin/Wings of Desire (Himmel uber Berlin/Les ailes du desir), FRG-France, 1987, Wim Wenders
Bride of Frankenstein, USA, 1935, James Whale
Some Like it Hot (Only Girls in Jazz) (Somelike it hot), 1959
Intolerance, USA, 1916, David Wark Griffith
No Man’s Land, Bosnia and Herzegovina – Slovenia – Italy – France – Great Britain – Belgium, 2001, Danis Tanovich
Modern times 1936, Charles Spencer Chaplin.
Zero for Conduct (Zero de conduit), France, 1932, Jean Vigo
Nosferatu, Symphony of Terror (Nosferatu, Eine Symphonie des Grauens), Germany, 1922, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
The Night Porter, Italy, 1974, Liliana Cavani
Night Of The Living Dead, 1968, George A. Romero
Night on Earth, 1991, USA, Jim Jarmusch.
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Dead poets society, USA, 1989, Peter Weir
City Lights, USA, 1931, Charles Spencer Chaplin.
Once upon a Time in America, United States-Italy, 1983, Sergio Leone.
Oldboy, South Korea, 2003, Chan-Woo Park.
Omen, U.S.-U.K., 1976, Richard Donner.
Badlands, 1973, USA, Terrence Malick.
Orphee, France, 1949, Jean Cocteau.
The Usual Suspects, USA, 1995, Paul Verhoeven.
Brutti, Sporchi e Cattivi (Disgusting, Dirty, and Malicious), Italy, 1976, Ettore Scola.
Repulsion, UK, 1965, Roman Polanski
Open Your Eyes (Abre los ojos), Spain-France-Italy, 1997, Alejandro Amenabar
The deer hunter,USA, 1978, Michael Cimino
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Black Hawk Down, USA, 2001, Ridley Scott
Daddy on a Trip (Otac na sluzbenom putu), Yugoslavia, 1985, Emir Kusturica
Paris, Texas, FRG, 1984, Wim Wender.
Ashes and Diament (Popiol i diament), Poland, 1958, Andrzej Wajda
Persona, Sweden, 1966, Ingmar Bergman
Song of the Road (Pater Panchali), India, 1955, Satyajit Ray
The Piano, Australia-New Zealand-France , 1993, Jane Campion
The Pianist, France, 2002, Roman Polanski
The Pianist (Paniste, La), France-Austria, 2001, Michael Haneke
Picnic at Hanging Rock, Australia, 1975, Peter Weir
The Shawshank Redemption, USA, 1994, Frank Darabont.
Talk to Her (Hable con ella), Spain, 2002, Pedro Almodóvar
Late Springtime (Banshun), Japan, 1949, Yasujiro Ozu
Remember (Memento), USA, 2000, Christopher Nolan.
Last Tango in Paris, Italy-France, 1972, Bernardo Bertolucci.
Last Emperor (Ultimo Imperatore) , UK-Italy-China, 1985, Bernardo Bertolucci.
The Last Picture Show, USA, 1971, Peter Bogdanovich
The Last Man (Der letzte Mann), Germany, 1924, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
The Rules of the Game (La regle du jeu), France, 1939, Jean Renoir.
Adventure (L’avventura), Italy-France, 1959, Michelangelo Antonioni
Psycho, 1960, USA, Alfred Hitchcock.
Bullet in the Head, Hong Kong, 1990, John Woo.
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Ran, Japan, 1985, by Akiro Kurasawa
Rashomon, Japan, 1950, Akira Kurosawa
Breaking the Waves, Denmark, 1996, Lars von Trier
Rosemary’s Baby, USA, 1968, Roman Polanski.
Requiem for a Dream, USA (2000) by Darren Aranowski.
Rome, The Open City (Roma citta aperta), Italy, 1945, Roberto Rossellini.
High Noon, USA, 1952, Fred Zinnemann.
The Birth of a Nation (USA, 1915) by David Wark Griffith.
Rocky, 1976, USA, John J. Evildsen.
Rocco and His Brothers (Rocco ei suoi fratelli), Italy-France, 1960, Luchino Visconti
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The Samurai (Le samourai), France-Italy, 1967, Jean-Pierre Melville
The Seventh Seal (Det sjunde inseglet), Sweden, 1956, Ingmar Bergman
L.A. Confidential, USA, 1997, Curtis Hanson
Sex, Lies, and Videotape, 1989, USA, Steven Soderbergh.
Seven, 1995, USA, David Fincher.
Seven Samurai (Shinin no Samurai), Japan, 1954, Akira Kurosawa
Angel Heart, USA (1987) by Alan Parker.
Serpico, Italy – USA, 1973, Sidney Lumet
The Shining, United Kingdom, 1980, Stanley Kubrick.
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie, France-Spain-Italy, 1972, Luis Buñuel.
Beautiful people, Great Britain, 1999, Jasmin Dizdar
Goodfellas, 1990 Martin Scorsese, USA
La dolce vita (Sweet Life), Italy-France, 1959, Federico Fellini.
The Word (Ordet), Denmark, 1955, Carl Theodor Dreyer
The Servant, United Kingdom, 1963, Joseph Losey
Death in Venice, Italy-France, 1971, Luchino Visconti
Spartacus, 1960, USA, Stanley Kubrick.
Saving Private Ryan, 1998, USA, Steven Spielberg.
Schindler’s List, 1993, the USA, Steven Spielberg.
The Wall (Pink Floyd – The Wall), UK-USA, 1982, Alan Parker
The Passion of Joan of Arc (La passion de Jeanne d’Arc), France, 1927, Charles Theodore
Fear and loathing in Las Vegas, USA, 1998, Terry Gilliam
Merry Christmas Mr.Lawrence, UK-Japan, 1983, Nagisa Oshima
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Secrets & Lies, UK, 1996, Michael Leigh
So Far, So Close (In weiter Ferne, so nah!), FRG, 1993, Wim Wenders
Cab Driver, USA, 1976, Martin Scorsese.
Dancer in the Dark, Denmark , 2000, Lars Von Trier.
Teorema, Italy, 1968, Pier Paolo Pasolini.
Terminator, 1984, USA, James Cameron.
Terminator 2: Judgment Day, 1991, USA.
Titanic, 1997, USA, James Cameron.
The Longing of Veronika Voss (Die Sehnsucht der Veronika Voss), FRG, 1982, Rainer Werner Fassbinder
A streetcar named desire, USA, 1951, Elia Kazan.
Interstate 60, USA-Canada, 2002, Bob Gale.
Three Colors: White (Trois couleurs blank), Poland-France-Switzerland, 1993, Krzysztof Kieslowski
Trois couleurs rouge, Poland-France-Switzerland, 1994, Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Three Colors: Blue (Trois couleurs bleu), Poland-France-Switzerland,1992, Krzysztof Kieslowski
The Thirty-nine Steps, Great Britain, 1935, Alfred Hitchcock
Tootsie, 1982, Sidney Pollack, USA
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To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962, Robert Mulligan
Gone with the Wind, USA, 1939, Victor Fleming
The Sansho Manager (Sansho daiyu), Japan, 1954, Kenji Mizoguchi
Freaks, 1932, USA, Tod Browning
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Fargo, USA, 1996, Joel Cohen
Faust, Germany, 1926, Friedrich Wilhelm Murnau
Fireworks (Hana-Bi), Japan, 1997, Takeshi Kitano
The Philadelphia Story (USA, 1940, George Cukor)
Fitzcarraldo, FDR, 1982, Werner Herzog.
Forrest Gump, USA (1994), Robert Zemeckis.
Blow Up, United Kingdom-Italy, 1966, Michelangelo Antonioni
Frankenstein, USA, 1931, James Whale
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Hiroshima, my love (Hiroshima, mon amour), France, 1958, Alain Resnais
Cool Hand Luke, USA, 1967, Stuart Rosenberg
Cold mountain, USA, 2003, Anthony Minghella
The Good, The Bad, The Wicked (Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il), Italy, 1966, Sergio Leone
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Full Metal Jacket, USA, 1987, directed by Stanley Kubrick
The Circus, USA, 1927, directed by Charles Spencer Chaplin
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Chung King Express, Hong Kong, 1994, Wong Kar-wai
Rain Man, 1988, USA, Barry Levinson
The Elephant Man, 1980, USA, David Lynch
Jaws, 1975 Steven Spielberg, USA.
Four Rooms, 1995, USA, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez, Alexandra Rockwell,
Chicago, USA-Canada, 2002, Rob Marshall.
Aliens, 1984, USA, James Cameron.
Alien, 1979, USA, Ridley Scott.
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Whispers and Shouts (Viskningar och rop), Sweden, 1972, Ingmar Bergman
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (Les Parapluies de Cherbourg), France, 1964, Jacques Demy
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Annie Hall, USA, Woody Allen, 1977
It Happens one night, USA, 1934, Frank Capra.
Cet obscur objet du desir, France-Spain, 1977, Louis Buñuel
Butterfly effect, Germany, 2004, Eric Bress, J. Mackey Graber
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Yankee doodle dandy, USA, 1942, Michael Curtitz