Top Ranked Films from the Rest of Europe

Taking the countries we didn’t list yet from the remainder of Europe, we have 32 more films mentioned, with 24 in the top 1000. Poland and Denmark had 6 each.

1. Ordet [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1955] #111 - Denmark
2. Ashes and Diamonds [Wajda, Andrzej; 1958] #114 - Poland
3. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles [Akerman, Chantal; 1975] #146 - Belgium-France
4. Dekalog [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1988] #237 - Poland
5. Gertrud [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1964] #276 - Denmark
6. Landscape in the Mist [Angelopoulos, Theo; 1988] #321 - Greece-France-Italy
7. Travelling Players, The [Angelopoulos, Theo; 1975] #418 - Greece
8. Closely Watched Trains [Menzel, Jirí; 1966] #427 - Czechoslovakia
9. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days [Mungiu, Cristian; 2007] #430 - Romania
10. Breaking the Waves [von Trier, Lars; 1996] #449 - Denmark-Sweden-France-Netherlands-Norway
11. Day of Wrath [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1943] #488 - Denmark
12. Sátántangó [Tarr, Bela; 1994] #547 - Hungary-Germany-Switzerland
13. Loves of a Blonde [Forman, Milos; 1965] #553 - Czechoslovakia
14. Werckmeister Harmonies [Tarr, Bela & Hranitzky, Agnes; 2000] #611 - Hung-It-Gy-France
15. Once [Carney, John; 2006] #744 - Ireland
16. Daisies [Chytilová, Vera; 1966] #756 - Czechoslovakia
17. Firemen's Ball, The [Forman, Milos; 1967] #804 - Czechoslovakia
18. Fateless [Koltai, Lajos; 2005] #824 - Hungary-GY
19. Short Film About Killing, A [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1988] #844 - Poland
20. Festen (aka Celebration) [Vinterberg, Thomas; 1998] #884 - Denmark-Sweden
21. Round-Up, The (Szegénylegények) [Jancsó, Miklós; 1966] #889 - Hungary
22. Europa [von Trier, Lars; 1991] #929 - Denmark
23. Edge of Heaven, The [Akin, Fatih; 2007] #962 - Gy-Tky-Italy
24. Mephisto [Szabó, István; 1981] #997 - Hungary
25. Man Without a Past, The [Kaurismaki, Aki; 2002] #1104 - Finland
26. Eternity and a Day [Angelopoulos, Theo; 1998] #1125 - Greece-Fr-It-Ger
27. Kingdom (Riget) [von Trier, Lars; 1994] #1193 - Den-Fr-Gy-Sweden
28. Red and White [Jancsó, Miklós; 1967] #1218 - Hungary-USSR
29. Maskerade [Forst, Willi; 1934] #1223 - Austria
30. Short Film About Love, A [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1988] #1239 - Poland
31. Man of Marble [Wajda, Andrzej; 1977] #1246 - Poland
32. Kanal [Wajda, Andrzej; 1957] #1268 - Poland

Missing:

The Oscar-winning The Shop on Main St., a beautifully understated Czech film about the 'Aryanization' of Jewish shops, with a terrific performance by Ida Kaminska

Zelary - a terrific Czech film about an underground agent in WW2 who has to move high up in the mountains to escape; Oscar nominee for foreign film.

Kolya - a beautiful Oscar-winning story of an aging Czech bachelor who marries to help a Russian woman get citizenship, and who gets a terrific stepson named Kolya in the bargain; this would be #1 on this list for me, an all-time top 100 for sure. Written by the director's father who stars as the bachelor musician.

My favorite on this list is the Oscar-winning Mephisto, a brilliant study of an actor thanks to a remarkable performance by Klaus-Maria Brandauer (where was Oscar?), based on Klaus Mann’s (son of Thomas) novel of his brother-in-law's life, who was an actor in Berlin during the Third Reich.

Some of these should come with a warning, especially Jeanne Dilman, which is 3.5 hrs long, and shows Jeanne meticulously peel potatoes, prepare meat loaf, take a bath, and other everyday banalities, which was the point, I'm sure. It all leads up to an important character event, but that could have been done in 90 minutes instead, and you wouldn't want director Akerman's head. Bela Tarr’s Werckmeister Harmonies has some unforgettable scenes, with a giant whale and an angry mob with torches, yet its entire meaning must ultimately be provided by the viewer.

Our Emmy Choices for 2009

My Emmy Choices for this year's awards, for 2009
Telecast live, Sunday, Sept. 20th
Most Nominations: 30 Rock (22), Grey Gardens (17), Mad Men (16)

Updated with winners [looks like 5 of my 11 prime time choices won, and I'm happy for Chenoweth and Gleeson, both overdue] Here's the official Emmy winners at their site

Comedy Series: **WINNER: 30 Rock**
(1) 30 Rock (2) Entourage
[Flight of the Conchords wasn’t as good as year one. Same with Entourage, new chapters, same story. 30 Rock has maintained its sharpness and creativity each year. Witness this Baldwin quote, "The postmaster general and I had a falling out over the Jerry Garcia stamp.. I mean, if I want to lick a hippie I'll return Joan Baez' phone calls". rock, sex, and right wing humor all in one line.. now THAT is comedy!]

Drama Series: **WINNER: Mad Men**
(1) Mad Men (2) Big Love (3) Dexter
[Damages, likewise, a better year one but still engrossing and worthy; for some reason, I find Mad Men maddingly addictive, but all three of these are worthy candidates. You have to love Big Love, produced by Tom Hanks - you get all the viewpoints on polygamy and Mormans, who have always been 'under attack' from the repressive U.S. government. In fact, the first woman in the U.S. arrested for 'terrorism' was a Morman woman who bombed the feds, circa 1910?]

Lead Actor/Comedy: **WINNER: Alec Baldwin**
(1) Alec Baldwin, 30 Rock
(2) Jemaine Clement, Flight of the Conchords
[This should be a Baldwin runaway, he’s brilliant in this, absolutely perfect timing for comedy. Jemaine doesn't act, but is kinda funny in a nerdy, perverted way]

Lead Actor/Drama: **WINNER: Bryan Cranston** - back to back
(1) Michael C. Hall, Dexter
(2) Bryan Cranston, Breaking Bad
(3) Jon Hamm, Mad Men
[Cranston is brilliant, a former Broadway musical star - deserved Emmys for Malcolm in the Middle, but he got his last year for this role. Hall deserves at least one for Dexter, he’s better in this than in Six Feet Under, and makes homicide enjoyable. Hamm is an Arrow shirt ad, circa 1955, but I think wife January Jones is the better actor]

Lead Actor/Miniseries of Movie:
I haven’t seen these but I love Brendan Gleeson (Into the Storm), he’s long overdue. You may know him from In Bruges with Colin Farrell last year. Kenneth Branagh and Ian McKellen are both nominated, and both Shakespearean, either would be a good choice.
**WINNER: Brendan Gleeson** - Yea!

Lead Actress/Comedy: **WINNER: Toni Collette** - this series bothers me, like when, as a man, she had a fistfight with a high school boy; they call this comedy? about a true schizoid person w multiple personalities?
(1) Sara Silverman, Sarah Silverman Program
(2) Mary-Louise Parker, Weeds
(3) Tina Fey, 30 Rock
[Mary-Louise is overdue for Weeds, but I have a crush on Sara Silverman, who was voted 50th in Maxim’s “hottest 100 women” poll. She said, "great position - I'm not so high that I have to maintain myself, but I'm ahead of 50 others that I can say I'm 'hotter than.." She also told “The Aristocrats” joke the most erotically in that film, and deserves something for that!]

Lead Actress/Drama: **WINNER: Glenn Close** - 2 for 2, she's just too good
(1) Glenn Close, Damages
(2) Elisabeth Moss, Mad Men
(3) Sally Field, Brothers and Sisters
[Close is perfect, and scary, but won last year. Moss is the best actor in a large and talented cast and is very understated. Field has won enough, and Hunter is a life-long favorite and from the same town in Georgia, Athens]

Lead Actress/ Miniseries or Movie:
I haven’t seen these but I love the underrated Chandra Wilson, from Grey’s Anatomy. She’s up against two former Oscar winners, in Jessica Lange and Shirley Maclaine, also Sigourney Weaver and Drew Barrymore.
**WINNER: Jessica Lange**

Supporting Actor/Comedy: **WINNER: John Cryer**
(1) Tracy Morgan, 30 Rock
(2) Kevin Dillon, Entourage
[Looks like Piven retired himself to give co-star Dillon a shot, but I get more laughs from Tracy Morgan myself, and this is comedy, not dramatic acting, Johnny Drama!]

Supporting Actor/Drama: **WINNER: Michael Emerson** - I hate this show, can't watch it
(1) John Slattery, Mad Men
(2) William Hurt, Damages
[both are just what the part calls for, Slattery is overdue for some award]

Supporting Actress/Comedy: **WINNER: Kristen Chenoweth** - they got this right, and she cried the whole time!
(1) Kristin Chenoweth, Pushing Daisies
(2) Jane Krakowski, 30 Rock
(3) Elizabeth Perkins
[Chenoweth is a huge talent, for both music and comedy; it’ll be a crime if she doesn’t get one award for the early cancelled but underrated fantasy. Krakowski is funny but I don’t see a lot of acting, same with Perkins & Poehler]

Supporting Actress/Drama: **WINNER: Cherry Jones** - 24 is still on? (hey, I have a "cherry jones" myself, esp. on ice cream)
(1) Chandra Wilson, Grey’s Anatomy
(2) Rose Byrne, Damages
[Chandra is overdue for an Emmy for this; she has a SAG Actor. Dianne Wiest is an old fave but has 2 Oscars already]

Supporting Actress/Miniseries or Movie:
I haven’t seen these but I love Janet McTeer, a best actress Oscar nominee as well, for Tumbleweeds.
**WINNER: Shohreh Aghdashloo** - a surprise winner from Iran, and she was truly gorgeous, wasn't she? one of the classiest winners..

Exceptional Merit in Non-Fiction Programming: (already awarded)
The Memory Loss Tapes, Shari Cookson and Nick Doob, producers
[This was brilliant, pt 1 of the Alzheimer’s Project for HBO, I was glad they won. This is the equivalent of "documentary", but AMPAS 'owns' that word, tv can't use it - how silly, eh? How can people get a legal hold on nouns, like 'windows' and 'apple'?]

There are some reality show awards, but I don’t care – they could lose all those, imo, and just show more live music and comedy from around the planet, that would be the best reality. Let's just mount cameras in all the blues, jazz, and other music venues around the world. I think we should also put cameras all over Tiger Woods' house, and pay him another 100 million a year..

Top Ranked Films from Brazil and Mexico

20 total (10 each), with 14 in the top 1000 (7 each). Ironic, that most Mexican films were directed by Spaniard Luis Buñuel, even one by a Russian, Sergei Eisenstein. [I'm using the IMDB country designations, which are often joint collaberations, just to get the financing]. These two countries had the most films listed in the the western hemisphere, after the U.S. and Canada.

Brazil
1. City of God [Meirelles, Fernando and Lund, Katia; 2002] #192 - Brazil-Germany-France [photo top] - Lund was a photojournalist with experience working in the slums that Fernando had assist him on this film, as this is based on the story of a young photographer who took pictures of the violence in this slum city.
2. Children of Men [Meirelles, Fernando; 2006] #458 - Brazil
3. Black God, White Devil [Rocha, Glauber; 1964] #528 - Brazil
4. Terra em Transe [Rocha, Glauber; 1967] #617 - Brazil
5. Antonio das Mortes [Rocha, Glauber; 1969] #668 - Brazil
6. Barren Lives [Dos Santos, Nelson Pereira; 1963] #752 - Brazil
7. Limite [Peixoto, Mario; 1931] #897 - Brazil
8. Black Orpheus [Camus, Marcel; 1959] #1124 - Brazil-France-Italy
9. Pixote [Babenco, Hector; 1981] #1237 - Brazil
10. Central Station [Salles, Walter; 1998] #1238 - Brazil

I'm a big fan of both Meirelles, City of God is a masterpiece, and Salles, whose Motorcycle Diaries is also excellent, but is listed as U.S., not Brazil, though Salles is from Rio de Janiero. I've yet to see the Rocha films, they are currently unavailable at Netflix. Black Orpheus is also a classic, a modernized myth, and should be ranked much higher, like the top 200. It's a rare combination of music and film that become so symbiotic they can't be separated.

Mexico
1. Pan's Labyrinth [del Toro, Guillermo; 2006] #154 - Mexico
2. Los Olvidados [Buñuel, Luis; 1950] #372 - Mexico
3. Exterminating Angel, The [Buñuel, Luis; 1962] #403 - Mexico
4. Y Tu Mamá También [Cuarón, Alfonso; 2001] #470 - Mexico
5. Amores perros [Inarritu, Alejandro Gonzalez; 2000] #489 - Mexico
6. El [Buñuel, Luis; 1953] #520 - Mexico
7. Que viva - Mexico! [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1932] #663 - Mexico-US
8. Nazarín [Buñuel, Luis; 1959] #1078 - Mexico
9. Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz, The [Buñuel, Luis; 1955] #1172 - Mexico
10. Simon of the Desert [Buñuel, Luis; 1965] #1214 - Mexico

I'm not a big fan of Pan's, though it did have some interesting special effects (in a kind of 50's way); but I found it mostly sensationalism without a lot of substance behind the imagery, and I can do without watching a man sew his torn up face together in a mirror. Buñuel, a surrealist who works without a script (and sometimes with Salvador Dali), does a lot of improvising, and is an acquired taste - many of his films will test your patience, which Exterminating Angel did for me. Viridiana (Spanish, the #1 ranked film solely from Spain) was much more interesting. Cuaron (Y Tu Mamá También) is one of the best young directors, and all his films are worth seeing.
Missing: Inarritu's Babel, which I found much more artistic and riveting than Amores Perros, which has some very disturbing dog scenes.

Top Ranked Films from Australia, Canada, and New Zealand

The top ranked films on the net from Australia (9), New Zealand (4), and Canada (13) from our survey of internet film polls. Out of the 26 mentioned, 23 made the top 1000, 11 from Canada.

Australia
1. Piano, The [Campion, Jane; 1993] #81 - Australia
2. Shine [Hicks, Scott; 1996] #574 - Australia
3. Mad Max 2, aka Road Warrior [Miller, George; 1981] #590 - Australia
4. Walkabout [Roeg, Nicolas; 1971] #672 - Australia
5. Picnic at Hanging Rock [Weir, Peter; 1975] #730 – Australia
6. An Angel at My Table, An [Campion, Jane; 1990] #737 - New Zealand-Aust-UK
7. Forbidden Lie$ [Broinowski, Anna; 2007] #1028 - Australia
8. Year of Living Dangerously, The [Weir, Peter; 1982] #1136 - Australia
9. Moulin Rouge! [Luhrmann, Baz; 2001] #1184 - Australia-US
[see bottom of this post for a list of Australian Film Institute awards for best picture]

Missing (they really shafted Australia in the polls):
Babe (Chris Noonan, 1995)
[This won 17 international awards, nominated for Best Picture, how can it not make any film polls? Produced by Road Warrior director George Miller]
My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong, 1979) - energetic romantic adventure
Breaker Morant (Bruce Beresford, 1980) - terrific war story based on fact
The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005) – a gutsy western
The Last Wave (Peter Weir, 1977) - aboriginal folk tale of the apocalypse
Flirting (John Duigan, 1980) - insightful interracial love story, Nicole Kidman co-stars
The Man From Snowy River (George Miller, 1982) – not the same George Miller as above, another Aussie western
Australia (Baz Luhrmann, 2008) - enjoyable epic western romance, with some war thrown in as well

My own favorite Aussie films are:
Babe, Walkabout, The Road Warrior (a classic in mayhem), My Brilliant Career, Picnic at Hanging Rock, Flirting, The Piano, The Proposition, Shine, The Man From Snowy River
Update: add Animal Kingdom (2010)

New Zealand
1. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring [Jackson, Peter; 2001] #84 - US-New Zealand
2. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King [Jackson, Peter; 2003] #97 - US-New Zealand 3. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers [Jackson, Peter; 2002] #144 - US-New Zealand
4. An Angel at My Table [Campion, Jane; 1990] #737 - New Zealand

Canada
1. Wavelength [Snow, Michael; 1967] #263 - Canada
2. Sweet Hereafter, The [Egoyan, Atom; 1997] #319 - Canada
3. Dead Ringers [Cronenberg, David; 1988] #355 - Canada
4. Atlantic City [Malle, Louis; 1980] #491 - Canada-France
5. Fast Runner, The [Kunuk, Zacharias; 2001] #620 - Canada
6. Videodrome [Cronenberg, David; 1983] #705 - Canada
7. Hart of London, The [Chambers, Jack; 1970] #711 - Canada
8. Région centrale, La [Snow, Michael; 1971] #725 - Canada*
9. Capote [Miller, Bennett; 2005] #760 - Canada-US
10. Away from Her [Polley, Sarah; 2006] #774 - Canada
11. Crash [Cronenberg, David; 1996] #984 - Canada
12. My Winnipeg [Maddin, Guy; 2007] #1096 - Canada
13. Barbarian Invasions, The [Arcand, Denys; 2003] #1207 - Canada*
* = in French, with subtitles

I think the last of these, foreign language Oscar® winner Barbarian Invasions, about a man dying of cancer with his family and friends around to send him off, is my favorite Canadian film (in French, with subtitles). However, The Sweet Hereafter (in English) is a minor masterpiece, imo, which also deals with death, as lawyer Ian Holm shows up in a small Canadian town to try to get them to seek justice after a fatal school bus accident. Atlantic City, with Burt Lancaster and Susan Sarandon, is Louis Malle's best to me, though it really feels like US film, another crime/noir story. Apparently, Wavelength is an experimental film designed to get people to leave the theater with noise, I don't know how it out-polled the more serious films.

Australian Film Institute Awards for Best Picture [only films produced in Australia]

2008 - The Black Balloon
2007 - Romulus, My Father
2006 - Ten Canoes
2005 - Look Both Ways
2004 - Somersault
2003 - Japanese Story
2002 - Rabbit-Proof Fence
2001 - Lantana
2000 - Looking for Alibrandi
1999 - Two Hands
1998 - The Interview
1997 - Kiss or Kill
1996 - Shine
1995 - Angel Baby
1994 - Muriel's Wedding
1993 - The Piano
1992 - Strictly Ballroom
1991 - Proof
1990 - Flirting
1989 - Evil Angels (aka. A Cry in the Dark)
1988 - The Navigator: A Medieval Odyssey
1987 - The Year My Voice Broke
1986 - Malcolm
1985 - Bliss
1984 - Annie's Coming Out
1983 - Careful, He Might Hear You
1982 - Lonely Hearts
1981 - Gallipoli
1980 - Breaker Morant
1979 - My Brilliant Career
1978 - Newsfront
1977 - Storm Boy
1976 - The Devil's Playground
1974/5 - Sunday Too Far Away
1973 - Libido: The Child
1973 - 27A
1972 - Stork
1971 - Homesdale
1970 - Three To Go: Michael
1969 - Jack And Jill: A Postscript
1968 - The Change at Groote / The Talgai Skull
1967 - Cardin in Australia
1966 - Concerto for Orchestra
1965 - The Legend of Damien Parer / Stronger Since The War
1964 - The Dancing Class / I The Aboriginal
1963 - The Land That Waited
1962 - Bypass to Life / Night Freighter
1961 - Not awarded this year
1960 - Three in a Million
1959 - Edge of The Deep / The Power Makers
1958 - Conquest of The Rivers / Hard to Windward

Top Ranked Films from China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan

Top ranked films on the net from China (7), Hong Kong (8), and Taiwan (8).

China
1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Lee, Ang; 2000] #152 - China-Taiwan-US
2. Spring in a Small Town [Fei Mu; 1948] #674 - China
3. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou; 2004] #710 - China
4. Yellow Earth [Chen Kaige; 1984] #854 - China
5. Red Sorghum [Zhang Yimou; 1987] #918 - China
6. Flight of the Red Balloon, The [Hsiao-hsien Hou; 2007] #943 - China
7. King of the Children [Chen Kaige; 1987] #1179 - China

Hong Kong
1. In the Mood for Love [Wong Kar-Wai; 2001] #272 - Hong Kong-France [photo rt]
2. Raise the Red Lantern [Zhang Yimou; 1991] #303 - Hong Kong
3. Farewell, My Concubine [Chen Kaige; 1993] #456 - Hong Kong-China
4. Chungking Express [Wong Kar-Wai; 1994] #534 - Hong Kong
5. Killer, The [Woo, John; 1989] #709 - Hong Kong
6. Happy Together [Wong Kar-Wai; 1997] #1085 - Hong Kong
7. Days of Being Wild [Wong Kar-Wai; 1990] #1118 - Hong Kong
8. Fallen Angels [Wong Kar-Wai; 1995] #1147 - Hong Kong
[see bottom of this post for a list of the Hong Kong film award best picture winners]

Taiwan
1. Yi yi [Yang, Edward; 2000] #223 - Taiwan-Japan
2. Time to Live and the Time to Die, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1985] #501 - Taiwan
3. City of Sadness, A [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1989] #509 - Taiwan
4. Touch of Zen, A [Hu, King; 1969] #660 - Taiwan
5. Brighter Summer Day, A [Yang, Edward; 1991] #721 - Taiwan
6. Puppetmaster, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1993] #817 - Taiwan
7. Flowers of Shanghai [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1998] #895 - Taiwan
8. Vive L'Amour [Tsai Ming-Liang; 1994] #1062 - Taiwan

These are all worth seeing, Zhang Yimou and Wong Kar-Wai are among my favorite all-time directors, and Ang Lee never made a bad film in the east or west. [Of the Taiwan films, I've only seen Yi Yi] Two of Kar-Wai's best films were meant as one long film: Chungking Express, followed by Fallen Angels - together they inspired Tarantino's Pulp Fiction. Yimou's films got him the job of planning the ceremonies at the Beijing summer Olympics, which were mind-boggling.

Omissions:
Zhang Yimou's Hero, top-grossing film in Chinese history, exciting action and a terrific screenplay with a winding plot about assassins after the King of Q'in.
Zhang Yimou's To Live, grand prize winner at Cannes, a beautiful romantic epic about a Chinese family, covers about four decades in their lives.
Zhang Yimou's The Road Home, audience winner at Sundance, introduced Ziyi Zhang to the west; a story of a lifetime marriage from its beginnings, and the long road home at the end.
Ang Lee's Eat Drink Man Woman, from Taiwan; a delicious film about a master chef and his unmarried daughters.
Chien Kaige's The Emperor and the Assassin, a beautiful historical 'costume' epic with a twisty plot.
Wong Kar-Wai's Ashes of Time Redux - a re-edited version of his samurai film about a wine that makes one forget

© 2009, William L. Sinclair

Combining all the above as just China, we get this list:

1. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Lee, Ang; 2000] #152 - China-Taiwan-US
2. Yi yi [Yang, Edward; 2000] #223 - Taiwan-Japan
3. In the Mood for Love [Wong Kar-Wai; 2001] #272 - Hong Kong-France
4. Raise the Red Lantern [Zhang Yimou; 1991] #303 - Hong Kong
5. Farewell, My Concubine [Chen Kaige; 1993] #456 - Hong Kong-China
6. Time to Live and the Time to Die, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1985] #501 - Taiwan
7. City of Sadness, A [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1989] #509 - Taiwan
8. Chungking Express [Wong Kar-Wai; 1994] #534 - Hong Kong
9. Touch of Zen, A [Hu, King; 1969] #660 - Taiwan
10. Spring in a Small Town [Fei Mu; 1948] #674 - China
11. Killer, The [Woo, John; 1989] #709 - Hong Kong
12. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou; 2004] #710 - China
13. Brighter Summer Day, A [Yang, Edward; 1991] #721 - Taiwan
14. Puppetmaster, The [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1993] #817 - Taiwan
15. Yellow Earth [Chen Kaige; 1984] #854 - China
16. Flowers of Shanghai [Hou Hsiao-Hsien; 1998] #895 - Taiwan
17. Red Sorghum [Zhang Yimou; 1987] #918 - China
18. Flight of the Red Balloon, The [Hsiao-hsien Hou; 2007] #943 - China
19. Vive L'Amour [Tsai Ming-Liang; 1994] #1062 - Taiwan
20. Happy Together [Wong Kar-Wai; 1997] #1085 - Hong Kong
21. Days of Being Wild [Wong Kar-Wai; 1990] #1118 - Hong Kong
22. Fallen Angels [Wong Kar-Wai; 1995] #1147 - Hong Kong
23. King of the Children [Chen Kaige; 1987] #1179 - China


The Hong Kong Film Awards [complete list of best picture winners]

2009 - Ip Man (2008)
2008 - The Warlords (2007)
2007 - After This Our Exile (2006)
2006 - Election (2005)
2005 - Kung Fu Hustle (2004)
2004 - Running on Karma (2003)
2003 - Infernal Affairs (2002)
2002 - Shaolin Soccer (2001)
2001 - Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
2000 - Ordinary Heroes (1998)
1999 - Beast Cops (1998)
1998 - Made in Hong Kong (1997)
1997 - Comrades: Almost a Love Story (1996)
1996 - Summer Snow (1994)
1995 - Chungking Express (1994)
1994 - C'est la vie, mon chéri (1994)
1993 - Cageman (1992)
1992 - To Be Number One (1991)
1991 - Days of Being Wild (1991)
1990 - Beyond the Sunset (1989)
1989 - Rouge (1987)
1988 - An Autumn's Tale (1987)
1987 - A Better Tomorrow (1986)
1986 - Police Story (1985)
1985 - Homecoming (1984)
1984 - Banbianren (1983)
1983 - Boat People (1982)
1982 - Father and Son (1981)

Top Ranked Films from Russia-USSR

The top ranked films on our internet survey from Russia or the USSR; 34 total mentioned, with 23 in the top 1000. The top three are ironically silent films; the #1 ranked Man With a Movie Camera still looks modern today, featuring thousands of edits and creative camerawork to show one day in the Soviet Union.

1. Man With a Movie Camera [Vertov, Dziga; 1929] #78
2. Battleship Potemkin [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1925] #100
3. October [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1927] #222
4. Earth [Dovzhenko, Alexander; 1930] #249
5. Solaris [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1972] #267
6. Andrei Rublev [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1966] #282
7. Strike [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1924] #328
8. Ivan the Terrible, Part One [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1944] #357
9. Alexander Nevsky [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1938] #374 [photo rt - this features the ice battle on a frozen lake]
10. Mirror, The [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1976] #382
11. Stalker [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1979] #407
12. Ivan the Terrible, Part Two [Eisenstein, Sergei; 1946] #416
13. Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors [Parajanov, Sergei; 1964] #508
14. Come and See [Klimov, Elem; 1985] #559
15. Colour of Pomegranate, The [Parajanov, Sergei; 1968] #578
16. I Am Cuba [Kalatozishvili, Mikheil; 1964] #637
17. Ivan's Childhood [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1962] #743
18. Storm Over Asia [Pudovkin, Vsevolod; 1928] #753
19. Tulpan [Dvortsevoy, Sergei; 2008] #758
20. Outskirts (Okraina) [Barnet, Boris; 1933] #801
21. Mother (Mat) [Pudovkin, Vsevolod; 1926] #855
22. Cranes Are Flying, The [Kalatozishvili, Mikheil; 1957] #874
23. Russian Ark [Sokurov, Aleksandr; 2002] #898
24. End of St. Petersburg, The [Pudovkin, Vsevolod; 1927] #1016
25. Alexandra [Sokurov, Aleksandr; 2007] #1042
26. Happiness [Medvedkin, Aleksandr; 1934] #1056
27. War and Peace [Bondarchuk, Sergei; 1967] #1077
28. Childhood of Maxim Gorky, The [Donskoi, Mark; 1938] #1120
29. By the Bluest of Seas [Barnet, Boris; 1936] #1135
30. Burnt by the Sun [Mikhalkov, Nikita; 1994] #1146
31. Slave of Love, A [Mikhalkov, Nikita; 1976] #1165
32. My Apprenticeship (Gorky Trilogy II) [Donskoi, Mark; 1939] #1173
33. My Friend Ivan Lapshin [Gherman, Alexei; 1984] #1199
34. Arsenal [Dovzhenko, Alexander; 1928] #1202

We lumped Russia and the USSR together. It's interesting that Ivan the Terrible, in two parts, was listed as one from Russia, one from the USSR. Many of these are terrific: all the Eisensteins, Man With the Movie Camera (deserves #1), Tarkovsky's Andrei Rublev, Ivan's Childhood, and The Mirror, the holocaust story Come and See, and the major league epic War and Peace, which is over 6 hrs, with 250,000 extras.

Missing: Gregori Chukrai's Ballad of a Soldier (1959), first Russian film distributed in the U.S., a beautiful b&w anti-war tale of a soldier's train journey home on a special furlough for heroism.

© 2009, William L. Sinclair

Top Ranked Films from the UK

The first list is just UK produced films, 92 total with 73 in the top 1000. The second list are multi-country projects which include the UK, 18 more mentioned with 11 of those in the top 1000. There are also 8 best picture winners.


UK (only)

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey [Kubrick, Stanley; 1968] #2
2. Third Man, The [Reed, Carol; 1948] #15 [photo rt]
3. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb [Kubrick, Stanley; 1964] #17
4. Lawrence of Arabia [Lean, David; 1962] #50
5. A Clockwork Orange [Kubrick, Stanley; 1971] #69
6. Bridge on the River Kwai, The [Lean, David; 1957] #85
7. Barry Lyndon [Kubrick, Stanley; 1975] #101
8. Kind Hearts and Coronets [Hamer, Robert; 1949] #117
9. Brief Encounter [Lean, David; 1945] #127
10. Red Shoes, The [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1948] #156
11. Great Expectations [Lean, David; 1946] #180
12. Brazil [Gilliam, Terry; 1985] #189 [photo rt]
13. Performance [Roeg, Nicolas/Donald Cammell; 1970] #202
14. Monty Python and the Holy Grail [Gilliam, Terry/Terry Jones; 1975] #224
15. A Matter of Life and Death [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1946] #280
16. Gandhi [Attenborough, Richard; 1982] #286
17. Lady Vanishes, The [Hitchcock, Alfred; 1938] #295
18. Don't Look Now [Roeg, Nicolas; 1973] #306
19. Repulsion [Polanski, Roman; 1965] #311
20. A Hard Day's Night [Lester, Richard; 1964] #332
21. Life and Death of Colonel Blimp, The [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1943] #334
22. 39 Steps, The [Hitchcock, Alfred; 1935] #346
23. Trainspotting [Boyle, Danny; 1995] #360
24. Peeping Tom [Powell, Michael; 1960] #369
25. Secrets & Lies [Leigh, Mike; 1996] #385
26. Henry V [Olivier, Laurence; 1944] #409
27. Black Narcissus [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1946] #412
28. Crying Game, The [Jordan, Neil; 1992] #415
29. Monsieur Verdoux [Chaplin, Charles; 1947] #422
30. Thief of Bagdad, The [Powell, Michael, Berger, & Whelan; 1940] #434
31. Odd Man Out [Reed, Carol; 1947] #478
32. Saturday Night and Sunday Morning [Reisz, Karel; 1960] #485
33. English Patient, The [Minghella, Anthony; 1996] #502
34. Man of Aran [Flaherty, Robert; 1934] #517
35. Kes [Loach, Ken; 1969] #526
36. If… [Anderson, Lindsay; 1968] #533
37. Local Hero [Forsyth, Bill; 1983] #535
38. Canterbury Tale, A [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1944] #536 [photo rt]
39. Providence [Resnais, Alain; 1977] #548
40. Mononoke-hime (anime) [Miyazaki, Hayao; 1997] #555
41. Servant, The [Losey, Joseph; 1963] #560
42. Listen to Britain [Jennings, Humphrey; 1941] #562
43. Shakespeare in Love [Madden, John; 1998] #563
44. Tom Jones [Richardson, Tony; 1963] #583
45. Life of Brian [Gilliam, Terry/Terry Jones; 1979] #599
46. Snatch [Ritchie, Guy; 2000] #605
47. I Know Where I'm Going! [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1945] #607
48. Distant Voices, Still Lives [Davies, Terence; 1988] #647
49. Lolita [Kubrick, Stanley; 1962] #650
50. Topsy-Turvy [Leigh, Mike; 1999] #661
51. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels [Ritchie, Guy; 1998] #673
52. Monty Python's Life of Brian [Jones, Terry; 1979] #675
53. Man Who Fell to Earth, The [Roeg, Nicolas; 1976] #678
54. Devils, The (of Loudun) [Russell, Ken; 1971] #684
55. In Bruges [McDonagh, Martin; 2008] #708
56. Man for All Seasons, A [Zinnemann, Fred; 1966] #715
57. Innocents, The [Clayton, Jack; 1961] #742
58. Overlord [Cooper, Stuart; 1975] #763
59. Get Carter [Hodges, Mike; 1971] #776
60. Chicken Run [Park, Nick & Lord, Peter; 2000] #781
61. Fires Were Started [Jennings, Humphrey; 1943] #800
62. Howards End [Ivory, James; 1992] #812
63. Wallace & Gromit: The Curse of the Were-Rabbit [Park, Nick & Box, Steve; 2005] #815
64. Naked [Leigh, Mike; 1993] #870
65. Bad Timing [Roeg, Nicolas; 1980] #880
66. Fallen Idol, The [Reed, Carol; 1948] #886
67. Goldfinger [Hamilton, Guy; 1964] #901
68. Gregory's Girl [Forsyth, Bill; 1981] #906
69. Night of the Demon [Tourneur, Jacques; 1957] #917
70. This Is England [Meadows, Shane; 2006] #920
71. Chariots of Fire [Hudson, Hugh; 1981] #925
72. Fish Called Wanda, A [Crichton, Charles; 1988] #970
73. O Lucky Man! [Anderson, Lindsay; 1973] #972
74. Quadrophenia [Roddam, Franc; 1979] #1000
75. Love & Diane [Dworkin, Jennifer; 2002] #1006
76. Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner, The [Richardson, Tony; 1962] #1030
77. Atonement [Wright, Joe; 2007] #1036
78. Hamlet [Olivier, Laurence; 1948] #1044
79. Tales of Hoffmann, The [Powell, Michael/Emeric Pressburger; 1951] #1053
80. A Room with a View [Ivory, James; 1985] #1067
81. Go-Between, The [Losey, Joseph; 1970] #1115
82. Cook, The Thief, His Wife & Her Lover, The [Greenaway, Peter; 1989] #1128
83. Excalibur [Boorman, John; 1981] #1157
84. Lavender Hill Mob [Crichton, Charles; 1951] #1186
85. Ryan's Daughter [Lean, David; 1970] #1189
86. Pandora and the Flying Dutchman [Lewin, Albert; 1951] #1194
87. Song of Ceylon [Wright, Basil; 1934] #1195
88. Pillow Book, The [Greenaway, Peter; 1996] #1196
89. Full Monty [Cattaneo, Peter; 1997] #1200
90. Accident [Losey, Joseph; 1967] #1226
91. Room at the Top [Clayton, Jack; 1959] #1231
92. Duellists, The [Scott, Ridley; 1977] #1259


UK Plus

1. Pianist, The [Polanski, Roman; 2002] #200 - Fr-Gy-UK-Poland
2. Blow-Up [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1966] #244 - Italy-UK
3. Big Lebowski, The [Coen, Ethan and Joel; 1998] #386 - US-UK
4. Queen, The [Frears, Stephen; 2006] #481 - UK-Fr-Italy
5. Triplets of Belleville, The [Chomet, Sylvain; 2003] #624 - France-Belg-Can-UK
6. Man on Wire [Marsh, James; 2008] #712 - UK-US
7. Straight Story, The [Lynch, David; 1999] #745 - US-France-UK
8. Orlando [Potter, Sally; 1992] #907 - UK-Russia-France-Italy-Netherlands
9. Sweet Sixteen [Loach, Ken; 2002] #927 - UK-Gy-Spain
10. Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The [Butler, George; 2000] #968 - Sw-UK-Gy-US
11. Festival Express [Smeaton & Cvitanovich; 2003] #985 - UK-Neth
12. Eyes Wide Shut [Kubrick, Stanley; 1999] #1046 - UK-US
13. Leaving Las Vegas [Figgis, Mike; 1995] #1048 - US-UK-France
14. Last Emperor [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1987] #1054 - UK-Italy-China-France
15. Paragraph 175 [Epstein, Rob & Friedman, Jeffrey; 2000] #1063 - UK-US-Germany
16. Tale of the Wind, A [Ivens, Joris; 1988] #1066 - UK-France-Germany
17. Sense and Sensibility [Lee, Ang; 1995] #1222 - US-UK
18. Sheltering Sky, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1990] #1263 - UK-Italy

© 2009, William L. Sinclair

This is a great list of films, you can pretty much enjoy all the films of these directors: Stanley Kubrick, Michael Powell, Carol Reed, and David Lean - these all belong on any list of great directors. 2001, Dr. Strangelove, Lawrence of Arabia are all in my all-time top 10, and apparently many others lists as well. At Criterion's film club / networking site, The Auteurs, over 100,000 members have 2001 ranked #1, A Clockwork Orange #2, and Dr. Strangelove #5, so it's fair to say they rank Kubrick #1 for directors.

There are many offbeat classics on this list: Kind Hearts and Coronets, In Bruges, A Hard Day's Night, Brazil, Performance, The Servant, Shakespeare in Love, Local Hero, Black Narcissus, A Matter of Life and Death, Orlando. Probably the most glaring omission for me is Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment, a romantic comedy (which includes insanity and communism) from Karel Reisz with David Warner and Vanessa Redgrave as the ex-wife who drives Warner into gorilla suits and insanity.

Top Ranked Films from Japan

The top ranked films from Japan, based on our survey of internet polls. This includes all multi-national efforts since there were only 5. A total of 47 films were mentioned, with 34 in the top 1000.

1. Seven Samurai, The [Kurosawa, Akira; 1954] #7 [photo top]
2. Rashomon [Kurosawa, Akira; 1950] #22
3. Tokyo Story [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1953] #57
4. Ugetsu [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1953] #58
5. Yojimbo [Kurosawa, Akira; 1961] #172
6. Ikiru [Kurosawa, Akira; 1952] #198
7. Sansho the Bailiff [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1954] #204
8. Yi yi [Yang, Edward; 2000] #223 - Taiwan-Japan
9. Throne of Blood [Kurosawa, Akira; 1957] #258
10. Spirited Away [Miyazaki, Hayao; 2001] #259
11. Hotaru no Hakaa (Grave of the Fireflies) [Takahata, Isao; 1988] #324
12. An Actor's Revenge [Ichikawa, Kon; 1963] #361
13. Late Spring [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1949] #436
14. Story of the Late Chrysanthemums, The [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1939] #460
15. In the Realm of the Senses [Oshima, Nagisa; 1976] #479 - France-Japan
16. Life of Oharu, The [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1952] #480
17. Floating Clouds [Naruse, Mikio; 1955] #482
18. High and Low [Kurosawa, Akira; 1963] #516
19. My Neighbour Totoro [Miyazaki, Hayao; 1988] #591
20. Autumn Afternoon, An [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1962] #592
21. I Was Born, But… [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1932] #625
22. Dersu Uzala [Kurosawa, Akira; 1975] #644 - Japan-Russia
23. La Chienne [Renoir, Jean; 1931] #677 - Japan-China
24. Kagemusha [Kurosawa, Akira; 1980] #755
25. Nobody Knows [Koreeda, Hirokazu; 2004] #791
26. Anatahan [von Sternberg, Josef; 1953] #807
27. Hana-Bi [Kitano, Takeshi; 1997] #819
28. Princess Yang Kwei Fei (Yokihi) [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1955] #828 - Japan-Hong Kong
29. Woman in the Dunes [Teshigahara, Hiroshi; 1964] #858
30. Hidden Fortress, The [Kurosawa, Akira; 1958] #862
31. 47 Ronin, The [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1962] #868
32. Red Beard [Kurosawa, Akira; 1965] #919
33. Branded to Kill [Suzuki, Seijun; 1967] #931
34. Early Summer (Bakushû) [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1951] #975
35. Floating Weeds [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1959] #1008
36. Burmese Harp [Ichikawa, Kon; 1956] #1040
37. Early Autumn [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1961] #1049
38. Sonatine [Kitano, Takeshi; 1993] #1065
39. Utamaro and His Five Women [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1946] #1111
40. Ballad of Narayama [Imamura, Shohei; 1983] #1112
41. Harakiri [Kobayashi, Masaki; 1962] #1137
42. Ceremony, The [Oshima, Nagisa; 1971] #1150
43. Kwaidan [Kobayashi, Masaki; 1964] #1153
44. Shin heike monogatari (Taira Clan) [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1955] #1168
45. Late Autumn [Ozu, Yasujiro; 1960] #1180
46. Chikamatsu monogatari [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1954] #1242
47. My Love Has Been Burning [Mizoguchi, Kenji; 1949] #1277

These are an acquired taste but nearly everyone agrees that The Seven Samurai is one of the all-time classics of both black and white cinematography, and action-adventure captured dramatically on film, making viewers feel part of the action. The original title in Japan: The Magnificent Seven! When the U.S. western based on this came out, Kurosawa's film title was changed in the west to avoid confusion.

Ugetsu is one of the more haunting stories put on film, suffice to say that there are surprising plot twists that no one can see coming.

© 2009, William L. Sinclair

Top Ranked Films from Germany

This continues our top ranked films on the internet survey, by individual countries. The first list is just Germany, and we merged West Germany into these; 49 total, with 35 in the top 1000. The second list is just the multi-country collaberations that included Germany, 43 mentioned, with 38 in the top 1000.
© 2009, William L. Sinclair

Germany and West Germany

1. M [Lang, Fritz; 1931] #11
2. Metropolis [Lang, Fritz; 1927] #23
3. Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens [Murnau, F.W.; 1922] #48
4. Aguirre: The Wrath of God [Herzog, Werner; 1972] #72
5. Lives of Others, The [von Donnersmarck, Florian Henckel; 2006] #163 [photo rt]
6. Berlin Alexanderplatz [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1980] #197
7. Das Boot [Peterson, Wolfgang; 1981] #245
8. Pandora's Box [Pabst, G.W.; 1928] #251
9. Blue Angel, The [von Sternberg, Josef; 1930] #273
10. Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, The [Wiene, Robert; 1919] #326 11. Last Laugh [Murnau, F.W.; 1924] #425
12. Marriage of Maria Braun, The [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1979] #426
13. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1971] #435
14. Triumph of the Will [Riefenstahl, Leni; 1935] #455
15. Downfall [Hirschbiegel, Oliver; 2004] #484
16. Dr. Mabuse, The Gambler [Lang, Fritz; 1922] #487
17. Kings of the Road [Wenders, Wim; 1976] #490
18. Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, The [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1972] #524
19. Olympia [Riefenstahl, Leni; 1938] #532
20. In a Year with 13 Moons [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1978] #538
21. Fitzcarraldo [Herzog, Werner; 1982] #566
22. Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, The [Herzog, Werner; 1974] #573
23. Alice in the Cities [Wenders, Wim; 1974] #580
24. Faust [Murnau, F.W.; 1926] #585
25. Fox and His Friends [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1975] #706
26. Tiger of Eschnapur, The [Lang, Fritz; 1959] #741
27. Heimat (Homeland) [Reitz, Edgar; 1984] #823
28. Grizzly Man [Herzog, Werner; 2005] #840
29. Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, The [Straub, Jean-Marie; 1968] #843
30. Tin Drum, The [Schlöndorff, Volker; 1979] #852
31. Hitler: A Film from Germany [Syberberg, Hans-Jürgen; 1977] #857
32. Liebelei [Ophüls, Max; 1933] #867
33. Threepenny Opera, The [Pabst, G.W.; 1931] #878
34. Not Reconciled [Straub, Jean-Marie; 1965] #896
35. Kameradschaft [Pabst, G.W.; 1931] #921
36. Mädchen in Uniform [Sagan, Leontine; 1931] #1004
37. Die Nibelungen [Lang, Fritz; 1924] #1010
38. Diary of a Lost Girl [Pabst, G.W.; 1929] #1013
39. Berlin: Symphony of a Great City [Ruttmann, Walter; 1927] #1018
40. American Friend, The [Wenders, Wim; 1977] #1022
41. Under the Bridges [Kaütner, Helmut; 1945] #1076
42. Veronika Voss [Fassbinder, Rainer Werner; 1982] #1081
43. Land of Silence and Darkness [Herzog, Werner; 1971] #1092
44. Rocker [Lemke, Klaus; 1972] #1127
45. Yesterday Girl [Kluge, Alexander; 1966] #1159
46. Variety [Dupont, E.A.; 1925] #1181
47. Lessons of Darkness [Herzog, Werner; 1992] #1188
48. Spione [Lang, Fritz; 1928] #1205
49. People on Sunday [Siodmak, Robert & Edgar G. Ulmer; 1930] #1270

Lang, Murnau, Herzog - these are not only deservedly at the top of this list but are also among my favorite directors. Each seemed to make his films into works of art. Fitzcarraldo remains a favorite 'obsession on film', a grand adventure as crazy as its director. I was also riveted by The Lives of Others, and Das Boot. Even today, the filmmaking artistry of Leni Reifenstahl is undeniable; she undoubtably gets moved down the list because it's all Third Reich propaganda, but those interested in creative camera work and direction should definitely see these, at least Olympia, which documented the 1936 Olympics.

Multi-Country with Germany

1. Conformist, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1970] #76 - Italy-France-Germany
2. City of God [Meirelles, Fernando; 2002] #192 - Brazil-Germany-France
3. Wings of Desire [Wenders, Wim; 1987] #247 - France-West Germany
4. Fight Club [Fincher, David; 1999] #275 - US-Germany
5. Hiroshima mon amour [Resnais, Alain; 1959] #284 - France-Japan
6. Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The [Demy, Jacques; 1964] #289 - France-Germany
7. Tristana [Buñuel, Luis; 1970] #315 - France-Spain
8. Vampyr [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1932] #316 - France-Germany
9. 1900 [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1976] #368 - France-Germany-Italy
10. L'Argent [Bresson, Robert; 1983] #442 - France-Switzerland
11. Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The [Schnabel, Julian; 2008] #443 - France-US
12. Germany, Year Zero [Rossellini, Roberto; 1947] #467 - Italy-West Germany
13. Mulholland Dr. [Lynch, David; 2001] #477 - France-US
14. In the Realm of the Senses [Oshima, Nagisa; 1976] #479 - France-Japan
15. That Obscure Object of Desire [Buñuel, Luis; 1977] #496 - France-Spain
16. Wind Will Carry Us, The [Kiarostami, Abbas; 1999] #511 - France-Iran
17. F for Fake [Welles, Orson; 1973] #525 - France-Iran-West Germany
18. Sacrifice, The [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1986] #586 - France-Sweden
19. Werckmeister Harmonies [Tarr, Bela & Hranitzky, Agnes; 2000] #611 - Hung-It-Germany-France
20. Triplets of Belleville, The [Chomet, Sylvain; 2003] #624 - France-Belg-Can-UK
21. Dead Man [Jarmusch, Jim; 1995] #636 - US-Germany
22. Three Colours: Blue [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1993] #654 - France-Poland-Switzerland
23. Three Colours: Red [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1994] #656 - France-Switzerland-Poland
24. Persepolis [Paronnaud, Vincent & Satrapi, Marjane; 2007] #694 - France-US
25. Passion [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1982] #704 - France-Switzerland
26. Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1980] #716 - France-Switzerland
27. Damned, The [Visconti, Luchino; 1969] #728 - Italy-West Germany
28. Ludwig [Visconti, Luchino; 1972] #749 - France-Germany-Italy
29. Underground [Kusturica, Emir; 1995] #757 - France-Germany-Hungary
30. Fateless [Koltai, Lajos; 2005] #824 - Hungary-Germany
31. Indian Tomb, The [Lang, Fritz; 1959] #877 - France-Italy-West Germany
32. I'm Going Home [de Oliveira, Manoel; 2001] #882 - France-Portugal
33. Seraphine [Provost, Martin; 2008] #893 - France-Belg
34. Sweet Sixteen [Loach, Ken; 2002] #927 - UK-Germany-Spain
35. Three Colours: White [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1994] #956 - France-Poland
36. Edge of Heaven, The [Akin, Fatih; 2007] #962 - Germany-Tky-Italy
37. Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The [Butler, George; 2000] #968 - Sw-UK-Germany-US
38. Tenant, The [Polanski, Roman; 1976] #991 - France-US
39. Trial, The [Welles, Orson; 1962] #1052 - Fr-Germany-Yugo-Italy
40. Paragraph 175 [Epstein, Rob & Friedman, Jeffrey; 2000] #1063 - UK-US-Germany
41. Tale of the Wind, A [Ivens, Joris; 1988] #1066 - UK-France-Germany
42. Eternity and a Day [Angelopoulos, Theo; 1998] #1125 - Greece-Fr-It-Germany
43. Kingdom (Riget) [von Trier, Lars; 1994] #1193 - Den-Fr-Germany-Sweden

The Conformist remains one of my favorite films from any era. For me, Bertolucci's finest, and the influence on Coppola is obvious as this seems to have inspired the Godfather films. City of God is a modern masterpiece, a literal war in the streets of what's considered the worst slums in our hemisphere; this is my favorite Brazilian film. Fight Club is great fun, I laughed throughout and later found out director Fincher said "I make comedies, why don't people laugh in the theater?" - well, I did; this is brillliant insanity, plus Helena Bonham Carter.

Top Ranked Films from France

All French films listed, including joint country projects. 176 total films mentioned, with 148 in the top 1000. Just France alone had 117, with 94 in the top 1000. These are the highest totals after the U.S.
© 2009, William L. Sinclair

1. Rules of the Game, The [Renoir, Jean; 1939] #44 - France
2. L'Atalante [Vigo, Jean; 1934] #49 - France
3. Passion of Joan of Arc, The [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1928] #51 - France
4. Jules et Jim [Truffaut, François; 1961] #59 - France
5. 400 Blows, The [Truffaut, François; 1959] #60 - France
6. Contempt [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1963] #74 - France-Italy
7. Ran [Kurosawa, Akira; 1985] #86 - France-Japan
8. Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The [Buñuel, Luis; 1972] #88 - France
9. Au Hasard Balthazar [Bresson, Robert; 1966] #93 - France
10. Gospel According to St. Matthew, The [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1964] #103 - France-Italy
11. Shoah [Lanzmann, Claude; 1985] #119 - France
12. Pickpocket [Bresson, Robert; 1959] #125 - France
13. Pierrot le fou [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1965] #129 - France-Italy
14. Wages of Fear, The [Clouzot, Henri-Georges; 1952] #134 - France-Italy
15. Celine and Julie Go Boating [Rivette, Jacques; 1974] #141 - France
16. Man Escaped, A [Bresson, Robert; 1956] #151 - France
17. My Life to Live (Vivre sa vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1962] #160 - France
18. Diaboliques, Les [Clouzot, Henri-Georges; 1955] #164 - France
19. Breathless [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1959] #179 - France
20. Les Enfants du paradis [Carné, Marcel; 1945] #184 - France
21. La Jetee [Marker, Chris; 1961] #185 - France
22. La Grande Illusion [Renoir, Jean; 1937] #199 - France
23. Pianist, The [Polanski, Roman; 2002] #200 - Fr-Gy-UK-Poland
24. Playtime [Tati, Jacques; 1967] #210 - France
25. Belle de jour [Buñuel, Luis; 1967] #214 - France-Italy
26. Two or Three Things I Know About Her [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1966] #215 - France
27. Last Year at Marienbad [Resnais, Alain; 1961] #216 - France-Italy
28. L'Âge d'or [Buñuel, Luis; 1930] #217 - France
29. Masculine-Feminine [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1966] #221 - France-Sweden
30. Napoléon [Gance, Abel; 1927] #232 - France
31. La Belle et la bête (Beauty/Beast) [Cocteau, Jean; 1946] #242 - France
32. Wings of Desire [Wenders, Wim; 1987] #247 - France-West Germany
33. Diary of a Country Priest [Bresson, Robert; 1950] #250 - France
34. Le Jour se lève [Carné, Marcel; 1939] #255 - France
35. Un Chien Andalou [Buñuel, Luis; 1928] #256 - France
36. Zero for Conduct [Vigo, Jean; 1933] #262 - France
37. Les Vampires [Feuillade, Louis; 1916] #266 - France
38. Earrings of Madame de..., The [Ophuls, Max; 1953] #268 - France
39. Week-End [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1967] #277 - France-Italy
40. Rise to Power of Louis XIV, The [Rossellini, Roberto; 1966] #279 - France
41. Hiroshima mon amour [Resnais, Alain; 1959] #284 - France-Japan
42. Umbrellas of Cherbourg, The [Demy, Jacques; 1964] #289 - France-Germany
43. Day for Night [Truffaut, François; 1973] #291 - France
44. Army of Shadows [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1969] #296 - France-Italy
45. L'Eclisse [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1962] #305 - France-Italy
46. Forbidden Games [Clément, René; 1951] #307 - France
47. Lola Montès [Ophüls, Max; 1955] #309 - France
48. Tristana [Buñuel, Luis; 1970] #315 - France-Spain
49. Vampyr [Dreyer, Carl Theodor; 1932] #316 - France-Germany
50. Le Million [Clair, René; 1931] #318 - France
51. Mr. Hulot's Holiday [Tati, Jacques; 1953] #330 - France
52. Voyage dans la lune, Le (Trip to the Moon) [Méliès, Georges; 1902] #335 - France
53. Last Tango in Paris [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1973] #337 - France-Italy
54. Amélie [Jeunet, Jean-Pierre; 2001] #345 - France
55. Le Samouraï [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1967] #358 - France
56. La Notte [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1961] #364 - France-Italy
57. Orpheus [Cocteau, Jean; 1950] #365 - France
58. 1900 [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1976] #368 - France-Germany-Italy
59. Band of Outsiders [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1964] #375 - France
60. À nous la liberté [Clair, René; 1931] #383 - France
61. Red Desert [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1964] #388 - France-Italy
62. Shoot the Piano Player [Truffaut, François; 1960] #393 - France
63. Lola [Demy, Jacques; 1961] #394 - France
64. Eyes Without a Face [Franju, Georges; 1959] #400 - France-Italy
65. Beau Travail [Denis, Claire; 1998] #402 - France
66. Mon oncle [Tati, Jacques; 1958] #413 - France
67. Partie de campagne [Renoir, Jean; 1936] #417 - France
68. Double Life of Veronique, The [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1991] #419 - France
69. Léon [Besson, Luc; 1994] #421 - France
70. Mother and the Whore, The [Eustache, Jean; 1973] #424 - France
71. L'Argent [Bresson, Robert; 1983] #442 - France-Switzerland
72. Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The [Schnabel, Julian; 2008] #443 - France-US
73. Night and Fog [Resnais, Alain; 1955] #457 - France
74. Sans soleil [Marker, Chris; 1983] #465 - France
75. Crime of Monsieur Lange, The [Renoir, Jean; 1936] #469 - France
76. Mulholland Dr. [Lynch, David; 2001] #477 - France-US
77. In the Realm of the Senses [Oshima, Nagisa; 1976] #479 - France-Japan
78. Mouchette [Bresson, Robert; 1966] #492 - France
79. That Obscure Object of Desire [Buñuel, Luis; 1977] #496 - France-Spain
80. My Night at Maud's [Rohmer, Eric; 1969] #498 - France
81. Wind Will Carry Us, The [Kiarostami, Abbas; 1999] #511 - France-Iran
82. Boudu Saved from Drowning [Renoir, Jean; 1932] #513 - France
83. F for Fake [Welles, Orson; 1973] #525 - France-Iran-West Germany
84. Casque d'or [Becker, Jacques; 1952] #543 - France
85. Le Plaisir [Ophüls, Max; 1951] #571 - France
86. Sacrifice, The [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1986] #586 - France-Sweden
87. Class, The [Cantet, Laurent; 2008] #597 - France
88. Le Boucher [Chabrol, Claude; 1970] #609 - France
89. Young Girls of Rochefort, The [Demy, Jacques; 1967] #613 - France
90. Muriel ou Le Temps d'un Retour [Resnais, Alain; 1963] #621 - France-Italy
91. French Cancan [Renoir, Jean; 1954] #623 - France
92. Triplets of Belleville, The [Chomet, Sylvain; 2003] #624 - France-Belg-Can-UK
93. Lancelot du Lac [Bresson, Robert; 1974] #629 - France-Italy
94. India Song [Duras, Marguerite; 1975] #641 - France
95. Claire's Knee [Rohmer, Eric; 1970] #643 - France
96. Three Colours: Blue [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1993] #654 - France-Poland-Switzerland
97. Three Colours: Red [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1994] #656 - France-Switzerland-Poland
98. Wild Child, The [Truffaut, François; 1970] #670 - France
99. Un Chant d'amour [Genet, Jean; 1950] #681 - France
100. Blood of a Poet, The [Cocteau, Jean; 1930] #691 - France
101. Persepolis [Paronnaud, Vincent & Satrapi, Marjane; 2007] #694 - France-US
102. Dames du Bois de Boulogne, Les [Bresson, Robert; 1945] #703 - France
103. Passion [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1982] #704 - France-Switzerland
104. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [Cohen, Sasha Baron; 2006] #713 - France-Italy
105. Sauve qui peut (la vie) [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1980] #716 - France-Switzerland
106. Pépé le Moko [Duvivier, Julien; 1937] #718 - France
107. Alphaville [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1965] #726 - France
108. Ludwig [Visconti, Luchino; 1972] #749 - France-Germany-Italy
109. Maîtres fous, Les [Rouch, Jean; 1955] #750 - France
110. Underground [Kusturica, Emir; 1995] #757 - France-Germany-Hungary
111. Bob le flambeur [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1956] #766 - France
112. Van Gogh [Pialat, Maurice; 1991] #767 - France
113. Time Out [Cantet, Laurent; 2001] #769 - France
114. La Belle Noiseuse [Rivette, Jacques; 1991] #780 - France
115. L'Enfant (The Child) [Dardenne, Jean-Pierre & Luc; 2005] #794 - France
116. Mon oncle d'Amérique [Resnais, Alain; 1980] #814 - France
117. Cleo from 5 to 7 [Varda, Agnès; 1962] #816 - France
118. La Ronde [Ophüls, Max; 1950] #825 - France
119. Phantom of Liberty, The [Buñuel, Luis; 1974] #835 - France
120. Under the Roofs of Paris [Clair, René; 1930] #842 - France
121. Two English Girls [Truffaut, François; 1971] #850 - France
122. Amants du Pont-Neuf, Les [Carax, Lèos; 1991] #851 - France
123. Arabian Nights [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1974] #863 - France-Italy
124. To Be and to Have [Philibert, Nicolas; 2002] #871 - France
125. Indian Tomb, The [Lang, Fritz; 1959] #877 - France-Italy-West Germany
126. Lacombe, Lucien [Malle, Louis; 1974] #879 - France
127. I'm Going Home [de Oliveira, Manoel; 2001] #882 - France-Portugal
128. Vagabond (Santoit ni loi) [Varda, Agnès; 1985] #891 - France
129. Sugar Cane Alley (Rue case negres) [Palcy, Euzhan; 1983] #892 - France
130. Seraphine [Provost, Martin; 2008] #893 - France-Belg
131. Z [Costa-Gavras, Constantin; 1969] #900 - France
132. Woman Next Door, The [Truffaut, François; 1981] #905 - France
133. Under the Sand [Ozon, Francois; 2000] #911 - France
134. Le Fils (The Son) [Dardenne, Jean-Pierre & Luc; 2002] #924 - France
135. Histoire(s) du cinéma [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1997] #930 - France
136. Port of Shadows [Carné, Marcel; 1938] #933 - France
137. Le Trou [Becker, Jacques; 1960] #934 - France-Italy
138. Murmur of the Heart [Malle, Louis; 1971] #938 - France
139. Une Femme est une femme [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1961] #945 - France
140. Red Circle, The [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1970] #953 - France-Italy
141. Ju Dou [Zhang Yimou; 1990] #955 - France
142. Three Colours: White [Kieslowski, Krszystof; 1994] #956 - France-Poland
143. Carnival in Flanders [Feyder, Jacques; 1935] #967 - France
144. Out 1: Spectre [Rivette, Jacques; 1974] #973 - France
145. La Collectionneuse [Rohmer, Eric; 1967] #983 - France
146. La Bête humaine [Renoir, Jean; 1938] #986 - France
147. Tenant, The [Polanski, Roman; 1976] #991 - France-US
148. Coeur en hiver, Un [Sautet, Claude; 1992] #993 - France
149. Cul-de-sac [Polanski, Roman; 1996] #1009 - France
150. Les Enfants Terribles [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1950] #1017 - France
151. Léolo [Lauzon, Jean-Claude; 1992] #1051 - France
152. Trial, The [Welles, Orson; 1962] #1052 - Fr-Gy-Yugo-Italy
153. Chronicle of a Summer [Rouch, Jean & Edgar Morin; 1960] #1057 - France
154. Since Otar Left [Bertucelli, Julie; 2003] #1073 - France-Belgium
155. Marquise of O, The [Rohmer, Eric; 1976] #1082 - France
156. Au Revoir, Les Enfants [Malle, Louis; 1987] #1083 - France
157. Christmas Tale, A [Desplechin, Arnaud; 2008] #1088 - France
158. Green Ray, The [Rohmer, Eric; 1986] #1097 - France
159. Le Feu Follet [Malle, Louis; 1963] #1103 - France
160. Plein soleil (Purple Noon) [Clément, René; 1960] #1116 - France
161. La Femme Infidèle [Chabrol, Claude; 1969] #1119 - France
162. Judex [Franju, Georges; 1963] #1123 - France-Italy
163. Too Early, Too Late [Straub, Jean-Marie & Danièle Huillet; 1982] #1143 - France-Egypt
164. L'Amour Fou [Rivette, Jacques; 1969] #1151 - France
165. Devil in the Flesh [Autant-Lara, Claude; 1947] #1166 - France
166. Second Breath [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1966] #1192 - France
167. Italian Straw Hat, The [Clair, René; 1928] #1197 - France
168. Sign of Leo, The [Rohmer, Eric; 1959] #1203 - France
169. Tout va bien [Godard, Jean-Luc & Jean-Pierre Gorin; 1972] #1215 - France
170. Cyrano de Bergerac [Rappeneau, Jean-Paul; 1990] #1240 - France
171. Toute une nuit [Akerman, Chantal; 1982] #1249 - France-Belgium
172. Rififi [Dassin, Jules; 1955] #1258 - France
173. Chloe in the Afternoon [Rohmer, Eric; 1972] #1269 - France
174. Bay of Angels [Demy, Jacques; 1963] #1272 - France
175. Testament of Orpheus [Cocteau, Jean; 1960] #1274 - France
176. Toni [Renoir, Jean; 1935] #1275 - France

Some of the above don't seem very French (Pasolini, Kurosawa) - that's what makes country lists difficult. Where is Jean de Florette/Manon des Sources? To me, this is the greatest French epic, one novel filmed in two parts, four hours total. Some find them slow, but that didn't keep about 100 of these others off the polls! I found Children of Paradise (#20) painstaking to sit through; and La Jetee is not even a film, its 15 minutes of still photos with a narrator - it has no "moving pictures". The 400 Blows is terrific, shot at 25 by Truffaut, a movie critic, for his first feature film. Louis Malle's first fim, Elevator To the Gallows, belongs on this list.

I'll have to admit, that personally, I prefer films from Italy first, then China. I find many French films to be overrated, often painstakingly slow. At one point, I was gonna say that you could tell a French film because (a) someone will either dress up like a woman or two guys will dance together (b) someone will sing something French, either Freres Jacques or La Marseillaise (c) someone will do mime or Pierrot the clown with the frilly collar (d) someone will drink cognac or champagne, or both. I believe ALL of these are in the classic La Grande Illusion (well, not Pierrot), which is a masterpiece anyway. Thankfully, I saw enough French gangster films that the stereotype was finally broken. But I still don't get their spelling - if all those letters are silent, then why use 'em? Rendezvous that..

Top Ranked Films from Italy

This begins our series of posts of the top ranked films on the internet by individual nations. The U.S. easily has the most listed, with 630 overall, with 489 in the top 1000. France is second with 117 (but 176 if you include joint efforts, with 148 in the top 1000), the UK is next with 92.

Many international films present a unique problem: they are sometimes made by several countries together, so separating the true country of origin may be difficult. In this case, we are listing the films from Italy alone first, 49 total, 42 in the top 1000, then a second list that includes all Italian joint efforts with other nations, which increases the list to 96 total with 79 in the top 1000.
Photo is actor-director Vittorio De Sica, who said "I lost all my money on these films; but I did them so I would have Umberto D and Bicycle Thief.."
© 2009, William L. Sinclair

Italy (alone)

1. Bicycle Thief, The [De Sica, Vittorio; 1949] #16
2. 8½ [Fellini, Federico; 1963] #37
3. Umberto D [De Sica, Vittorio; 1952] #53 [photo rt]
4. La Dolce vita [Fellini, Federico; 1960] #99
5. La Strada [Fellini, Federico; 1954] #113
6. Paisan [Rossellini, Roberto; 1946] #167
7. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1975] #240
8. Leopard, The [Visconti, Luchino; 1963] #269
9. Amarcord [Fellini, Federico; 1973] #274
10. Suspiria [Argento, Dario; 1977] #351
11. Senso [Visconti, Luchino; 1954] #353
12. Voyage in Italy [Rossellini, Roberto; 1953] #387
13. Rome, Open City [Rossellini, Roberto; 1945] #392
14. Tree of Wooden Clogs, The [Olmi, Ermanno; 1978] #404
15. Death in Venice [Visconti, Luchino; 1971] #433
16. Passenger, The [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1975] #472
17. Miracle in Milan [De Sica, Vittorio; 1951] #474
18. Salvatore Giuliano [Rosi, Francesco; 1961] #494
19. Life is Beautiful [Begnini, Roberto; 1997] #495
20. Accattone [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1961] #551
21. Fellini Satyricon [Fellini, Federico; 1969] #570
22. I Vitelloni [Fellini, Federico; 1953] #593
23. La Terra Trema [Visconti, Luchino; 1948] #603
24. Nostalghia [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1983] #622
25. Europa '51 [Rossellini, Roberto; 1952] #634
26. Fellini's Casanova [Fellini, Federico; 1976] #635
27. Teorema [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1968] #658
28. Ossessione [Visconti, Luchino; 1943] #695
29. Best of Youth, The [Giordana, Marco Tullio; 2003] #702
30. Spider's Stratagem, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1970] #729
31. Stromboli [Rossellini, Roberto; 1950] #740
32. Juliet of the Spirits [Fellini, Federico; 1965] #782
33. Othello [Welles, Orson; 1952] #796
34. Night of the Shooting Stars, The [Taviani, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani; 1982] #802
35. Gomorra [Garrone, Matteo; 2008] #805
36. Fellini's Roma [Fellini, Federico; 1972] #861
37. Flowers of St. Francis, The [Rossellini, Roberto; 1950] #866
38. Big Deal on Madonna Street [Monicelli, Mario; 1958] #908
39. Shoeshine [De Sica, Vittorio; 1947] #912
40. Of a Thousand Delights [Visconti, Luchino; 1965] #932
41. Black Sunday [Bava, Mario; 1960] #947
42. Il Bidone [Fellini, Federico; 1955] #951
43. Lamerica [Amelio, Gianni; 1994] #1012
44. Intruder, The (L'innocent) [Visconti, Luchino; 1976] #1025
45. Night Porter, The [Cavani, Liliana; 1974] #1045
46. Il Sorpasso [Risi, Dino; 1962] #1075
47. Il Posto (The Sound of Trumpets) [Olmi, Ermanno; 1961] #1154
48. And the Ship Sails On [Fellini, Federico; 1983] #1175
49. Before the Revolution [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1964] #1267


Italy (plus multi-country films)

1. The Bicycle Thief [De Sica, Vittorio; 1949] #16 - Italy
2. 8½ [Fellini, Federico; 1963] #37 - Italy
3. Umberto D [De Sica, Vittorio; 1952] #53 - Italy
4. Once Upon a Time in the West [Leone, Sergio; 1968] #70 - Italy-US
5. Good, The Bad, and the Ugly, The [Leone, Sergio; 1966] #73 - Italy-Spain
6. Contempt [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1963] #74 - France-Italy
7. The Conformist [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1970] #76 - Italy-France-Germany
8. La Dolce vita [Fellini, Federico; 1960] #99 - Italy
9. Gospel According to St. Matthew, The [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1964] #103 - France-Italy
10. La Strada [Fellini, Federico; 1954] #113 - Italy
11. Pierrot le fou [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1965] #129 - France-Italy
12. The Battle of Algiers [Pontecorvo, Gillo; 1966] #132 - Italy-Algiers
13. The Wages of Fear [Clouzot, Henri-Georges; 1952] #134 - France-Italy
14. Nights of Cabiria [Fellini, Federico; 1957] #136 - Italy-France
15. Cinema Paradiso [Tornatore, Giuseppe; 1988] #158 - Italy-France
16. Paisan [Rossellini, Roberto; 1946] #167 - Italy
17. L'Avventura [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1960] #188 - Italy-France
18. Belle de jour [Buñuel, Luis; 1967] #214 - France-Italy
19. Last Year at Marienbad [Resnais, Alain; 1961] #216 - France-Italy
20. Golden Coach, The [Renoir, Jean; 1952] #220 - Italy-France
21. Rocco and His Brothers [Visconti, Luchino; 1964] #239 - Italy-France
22. Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1975] #240 - Italy
23. Blow-Up [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1966] #244 - Italy-UK
24. Leopard, The [Visconti, Luchino; 1963] #269 - Italy
25. Amarcord [Fellini, Federico; 1973] #274 - Italy
26. Week-End [Godard, Jean-Luc; 1967] #277 - France-Italy
27. Army of Shadows [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1969] #296 - France-Italy
28. L'Eclisse [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1962] #305 - France-Italy
29. Landscape in the Mist [Angelopoulos, Theo; 1988] #321 - Greece-France-Italy
30. Last Tango in Paris [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1973] #337 - France-Italy
31. Suspiria [Argento, Dario; 1977] #351 - Italy
32. Senso [Visconti, Luchino; 1954] #353 - Italy
33. La Notte [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1961] #364 - France-Italy
34. 1900 [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1976] #368 - France-Germany-Italy
35. Voyage in Italy [Rossellini, Roberto; 1953] #387 - Italy
36. Red Desert [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1964] #388 - France-Italy
37. Rome, Open City [Rossellini, Roberto; 1945] #392 - Italy
38. Eyes Without a Face [Franju, Georges; 1959] #400 - France-Italy
39. Tree of Wooden Clogs, The [Olmi, Ermanno; 1978] #404 - Italy
40. Death in Venice [Visconti, Luchino; 1971] #433 - Italy
41. Germany, Year Zero [Rossellini, Roberto; 1947] #467 - Italy-West Germany
42. Passenger, The [Antonioni, Michelangelo; 1975] #472 - Italy
43. Miracle in Milan [De Sica, Vittorio; 1951] #474 - Italy
44. Salvatore Giuliano [Rosi, Francesco; 1961] #494 - Italy
45. Life is Beautiful [Begnini, Roberto; 1997] #495 - Italy
46. For a Few Dollars More [Leone, Sergio; 1965] #541 - Italy-Spain
47. Accattone [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1961] #551 - Italy
48. Fellini Satyricon [Fellini, Federico; 1969] #570 - Italy
49. I Vitelloni [Fellini, Federico; 1953] #593 - Italy
50. La Terra Trema [Visconti, Luchino; 1948] #603 - Italy
51. Muriel ou Le Temps d'un Retour [Resnais, Alain; 1963] #621 - France-Italy
52. Nostalghia [Tarkovsky, Andrei; 1983] #622 - Italy
53. Lancelot du Lac [Bresson, Robert; 1974] #629 - France-Italy
54. Europa '51 [Rossellini, Roberto; 1952] #634 - Italy
55. Fellini's Casanova [Fellini, Federico; 1976] #635 - Italy
56. Teorema [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1968] #658 - Italy
57. Ossessione [Visconti, Luchino; 1943] #695 - Italy
58. Best of Youth, The [Giordana, Marco Tullio; 2003] #702 - Italy
59. Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan [Cohen, Sasha Baron; 2006] #713 - France-Italy
60. Damned, The [Visconti, Luchino; 1969] #728 - Italy-West Germany
61. Spider's Stratagem, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1970] #729 - Italy
62. Stromboli [Rossellini, Roberto; 1950] #740 - Italy
63. Ludwig [Visconti, Luchino; 1972] #749 - France-Germany-Italy
64. Juliet of the Spirits [Fellini, Federico; 1965] #782 - Italy
65. Othello [Welles, Orson; 1952] #796 - Italy
66. Night of the Shooting Stars, The [Taviani, Paolo & Vittorio Taviani; 1982] #802 - Italy
67. Gomorra [Garrone, Matteo; 2008] #805 - Italy
68. Fellini's Roma [Fellini, Federico; 1972] #861 - Italy
69. Arabian Nights [Pasolini, Pier Paolo; 1974] #863 - France-Italy
70. Flowers of St. Francis, The [Rossellini, Roberto; 1950] #866 - Italy
71. Indian Tomb, The [Lang, Fritz; 1959] #877 - France-Italy-West Germany
72. Big Deal on Madonna Street [Monicelli, Mario; 1958] #908 - Italy
73. Shoeshine [De Sica, Vittorio; 1947] #912 - Italy
74. Of a Thousand Delights [Visconti, Luchino; 1965] #932 - Italy
75. Le Trou [Becker, Jacques; 1960] #934 - France-Italy
76. Black Sunday [Bava, Mario; 1960] #947 - Italy
77. Il Bidone [Fellini, Federico; 1955] #951 - Italy
78. Red Circle, The [Melville, Jean-Pierre; 1970] #953 - France-Italy
79. Edge of Heaven, The [Akin, Fatih; 2007] #962 - Gy-Tky-Italy
80. Lamerica [Amelio, Gianni; 1994] #1012 - Italy
81. Intruder, The (L'innocent) [Visconti, Luchino; 1976] #1025 - Italy
82. Night Porter, The [Cavani, Liliana; 1974] #1045 - Italy
83. Avanti! [Wilder, Billy; 1972] #1047 - US-Italy
84. Trial, The [Welles, Orson; 1962] #1052 - Fr-Gy-Yugo-Italy
85. Last Emperor [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1987] #1054 - UK-Italy-China-France
86. Il Sorpasso [Risi, Dino; 1962] #1075 - Italy
87. Judex [Franju, Georges; 1963] #1123 - France-Italy
88. Black Orpheus [Camus, Marcel; 1959] #1124 - Brazil-France-Italy
89. Eternity and a Day [Angelopoulos, Theo; 1998] #1125 - Greece-Fr-It-Ger
90. Caro diario [Moretti, Nanni; 1993] #1133 - Italy-France
91. Il Posto (The Sound of Trumpets) [Olmi, Ermanno; 1961] #1154 - Italy
92. And the Ship Sails On [Fellini, Federico; 1983] #1175 - Italy
93. Luna [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1979] #1183 - US-Italy
94. Dark Eyes [Mikhalkov, Nikita; 1987] #1234 - Italy-USSR-USA
95. Sheltering Sky, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1990] #1263 - UK-Italy
96. Before the Revolution [Bertolucci, Bernardo; 1964] #1267 - Italy


These are some of my favorite foreign language films, I think because they are so well composed visually, yet are also touching; plus, the language really is one of the most enjoyable to hear, isn't it? Umberto D is a masterpiece of the heart to me, while L'avventura is one of the best composed films shot-for-shot that I've ever seen, one of three that Woody Allen said "transcend film and become art".
Cinema Paradiso is an homage to a life spent with movies, a love letter to their inspiration. L'america is a striking statement about identity, alienation, and hope. Bertolucci's The Conformist is a riveting indictment of losing one's ethics for personal gain, and its style influenced many American directors. His cinematographer, Vittorio Storaro, became a favorite in the US, winning Oscars for Apocalypse Now, Reds, and The Last Emperor. Fellini may not be for all tastes, but I think La Dolce Vita is another masterpiece, while his Amarcord may be more accessible to general audiences as it's a nostalgic, autobiographical look at growing up in a small Italian town.

Top Ranked Drama-Comedy Films and Other Dramas

These are the last of the drama genres from our survey of all the internet polls. Using IMDB's designations, there are 23 films mentioned listed as either drama-comedy or comedy-drama, with 16 in the top 1000. Following this list are the remaining dramas from various other sub-genres: fantasy, mystery, legal, adventure - really just the miscellaneous remaining dramas that haven't been listed elsewhere yet; 20 of those mentioned, 15 in the top 1000.

Drama-Comedy Films

1. El Verdugo [Berlanga, Luis García, 1963 ] #497 - Spain-Italy
2. Le Plaisir [Ophüls, Max, 1951 ] #571 - France
3. I Was Born, But… [Ozu, Yasujiro, 1932 ] #626 - Japan
4. Stranger Than Paradise [Jarmusch, Jim, 1984 ] #627 - US
5. Goodbye Solo [Bahrani, Ramin, 2008 ] #717 - US
6. Underground [Kusturica, Emir, 1995 ] #758 - France-Germany-Hungary
7. Tulpan [Dvortsevoy, Sergei, 2008 ] #759 - Russia-Kaz
8. Firemen's Ball, The [Forman, Milos, 1967 ] #805 - Czechoslovakia
9. Phantom of Liberty, The [Buñuel, Luis, 1974 ] #836 - France
10. Naked [Leigh, Mike, 1993 ] #872 - UK
11. I'm Going Home [de Oliveira, Manoel, 2001 ] #884 - France-Portugal
12. Sun Shines Bright, The [Ford, John, 1953 ] #926 - US
13. You Can Count On Me [Lonergan, Kenneth, 2000 ] #955 - US
14. Savages, The [Jenkins, Tamara, 2007 ] #969 - US
15. Out 1: Spectre [Rivette, Jacques, 1974 ] #976 - France
16. La Collectionneuse [Rohmer, Eric, 1967 ] #985 - France
17. Léolo [Lauzon, Jean-Claude, 1992 ] #1054 - France
18. Happiness [Medvedkin, Aleksandr, 1934 ] #1059 - USSR
19. Sorpasso, Il [Risi, Dino, 1962 ] #1078 - Italy
20. Christmas Tale, A [Desplechin, Arnaud, 2008 ] #1091 - France
21. Man Without a Past, The [Kaurismaki, Aki, 2002 ] #1106 - Finland
22. Late Autumn [Ozu, Yasujiro, 1960 ] #1183 - Japan
23. Adaptation [Jonze, Spike, 2002 ] #1268 - US

El Verdugo is a nearly impossible movie to find or to view, or even find stills or posters. Only about 200 people have rated it at IMDB. Apparently it got buried with Franco.. or by the Generalissimo.
I found the nearly constant brass band in Underground to be not only insane but a major distraction; for me, this would be the perfect musical accompaniment in hell. This would be the most effective form of torture known if put into practice.

Dramas from Other Sub-Genres

1. 8½ [Fellini, Federico, 1963] #37 - Italy [Fantasy]
2. 12 Angry Men [Lumet, Sidney, 1957] #124 - US [Legal]
3. Celine and Julie Go Boating [Rivette, Jacques, 1974] #141 - France [Mystery] 4. Pan's Labyrinth [del Toro, Guillermo, 2006] #154 - Mexico [Fantasy]
5. Donnie Darko [Kelly, Richard, 2001] #228 - US [Fantasy]
6. Oldboy [Park Chan-Wook, 2003] #380 - Korea [Mystery]
7. If… [Anderson, Lindsay, 1968] #534 - UK [Fantasy]
8. Marnie [Hitchcock, Alfred, 1964] #540 - US [Mystery]
9. Enigma of Kaspar Hauser, The [Herzog, Werner, 1974] #572 - West Germany [Mystery]
10. Into the Wild [Penn, Sean, 2007] #588 - US [Nature]
11. Fast Runner, The [Kunuk, Zacharias, 2001] #621 - Canada [Fantasy]
12. Blood of a Poet, The [Cocteau, Jean, 1930] #693 - France [Fantasy]
13. Spider's Stratagem, The [Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1970] #730 - Italy [Mystery]
14. Kameradschaft [Pabst, G.W., 1931] #924 Germany [Adventure]
15. Kramer vs. Kramer [Benton, Robert, 1979] #994 - US [Legal]
16. Mother India [Khan, Mehboob, 1957] #1032 - India [Musical]
17. Hamlet [Olivier, Laurence, 1948] #1047 - UK [Play]
18. Missing [Costa-Gavras, Constantin, 1982] #1099 - US [Mystery]
19. Lost Highway [Lynch, David, 1997] #1117 - US [Mystery]
20. Rose Hobart [Cornell, Joseph, 1936] #1151 US [Art]

Fellini's autobiographical 8½ is really hard to classify, these are IMDB's genre listings. 12 Angry Men is unique, and stands alone among legal films.

Most true mystery films were listed as crime drama.

I recently saw Oldboy and liked it a lot, it's a very unusual story, creatively filmed. I also found Into the Wild riveting and rewarding, but I had a hard time watching both Pan's Labyrinth and The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser. Kramer vs Kramer is just about the worst film to ever win best picture, imo, a mundane and common story with no relevations, no artistic catharsis, not much really in the way of creativity. Now, had the kid just "seen some dead parents or divorce lawyers.."