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] #101244. 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-France16. 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.
