Jake Dole

Jake Dole studies film at the Carleton University in Ottawa, Ontario, having recently completed an honours degree in Communications at the University of Ottawa.

(in alphabetical order)

City of Pirates(Raúl Ruiz, 1984)
F for Fake(Orson Welles, 1975)
Fanny and Alexander(Ingmar Bergman, 1982)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes(Howard Hawks, 1953)
October(Sergei Eisenstein, 1927)
Picnic at Hanging Rock(Peter Weir, 1975)
The Red Shoes(Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger, 1948)
Tale of Tales(Yuri Norstein, 1979)
Toto le héros(Jaco Van Dormael, 1991)
A Walk Through H(Peter Greenaway, 1978)

I am fascinated by mysteries, riddles, antiquity, paintings and the poetics of memory. This list contains four my favorite riddles - F for Fake, A Walk Through H, Picnic at Hanging Rock and City of Pirates. The works of Welles, Greenaway and Ruiz are puzzles, exploring space and time and toying with our minds. Each added viewing provides a fresh interpretation and a new discovery to savour.

Every one of the ten films is a painting - some of them have changed the way we dream. October and Gentlemen Prefer Blondes are as important as they are great. Picnic at Hanging Rock, The Red Shoes and A Walk Through H are either elaborately staged as paintings or, in the case of the latter, serve to explore an existential journey by exploring drawings.

Ultimately these films are about the poetics of memory, entering our subconscious in an intimate dialogue with the filmmaker. Toto le héros, Tale of Tales and Fanny and Alexander are some of the more personal opportunities.

I picked Norstein in favour of Tarkovsky, which was a close call. I am also extremely fond of Walerian Borowczyk and Wojciech Has, whose works transcend with mystery and existential journey.

Daniel Gast

Daniel Gast is a 21 year old art student from Utrecht, the Netherlands.

Constructing a top ten is a real pain. It changes slightly on a weekly basis. At the moment my list would look something like this:

Maborosi(Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1995)

Serene and poetic cinema. A contemplative masterwork on (Japanese) life.

Cyclo(Anh Hung Tran, 1995)

Beautifully shot movie, with one of the most touching poems.

Tokyo.Sora(Hiroshi Ishikawa, 2002)

Ishikawa's debut as a film director, and right on the money. This movie is about the human contact, or the lack of it.

Gummo(Harmony Korine, 1997)

One of the weirdest films I've seen, but at the same time one of the most beautiful. In my opinion Gummo is a true work of art.

Dolls(Takeshi Kitano, 2002)

The Bunraku theatre is the beginning of a thoroughly emotional display of interhuman contact.

Sátántangó(Béla Tarr, 1994)

The most meditative cinematic experience I've had to date. A true revelation.

Stalker(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

Meditative and philosophical masterwork by Tarkovsky.

Eureka(Shinji Aoyama, 2000)

A film that pays off its long duration. Deeply touching!

Drawing Restraint 9(Matthew Barney, 2005)

Matthew Barney's masterwork. A movie about Japanese rituals and the sheer beauty they keep within.

Café Lumière(Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2003)

An ode to Ozu. An ode to life itself, in all its boredom and stillness.

Dave Heaton

Dave Heaton is a music and film lover/writer living in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. He is the founder and editor of ErasingClouds.com, associate music editor at PopMatters.com, and has a blog at BigTakeover.com.

(revised list, in chronological order)

Casablanca(Michael Curtiz, 1942)
The Third Man(Carol Reed, 1949)
An Autumn Afternoon(Yasujiro Ozu, 1962)
Le Mépris(Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
L'Amour l'après-midi(Eric Rohmer, 1972)
Broadway Danny Rose(Woody Allen, 1984)
Trust(Hal Hartley, 1990)
Dead Man(Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
Punch-Drunk Love(Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)
Tropical Malady(Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)

Every time I think about revising this list I have a grand notion of sweeping all the previous films away and starting anew. Tastes evolve, and there are so many films worth mentioning. But then I look at the list, fall in love with the films again even by reading their titles alone, and get stuck in that endless game of this-one or that-one. This time I've finally gone through with it, or made it part way there - six films have changed since the previous list. I tried to make this as honest a list as possible: the films that in reality I most love to watch, not those I want to say are the best (even if I rarely watch them). Five films made during my lifetime, and five made before it. There are two films here that I only saw once or twice but was completely blown away by. The others I've watched many, many times.

See also Dave's previous list: Mar-Apr 2003

Quinn Hubbard

Quinn Hubbard is a Seattle based photographer and a lifelong student of the cinema.

(in a meaningless order)

Blade Runner(Ridley Scott, 1982)

Ridley Scott's classic fusion of two film genres: science fiction and film noir.

Sophie's Choice(Alan J. Pakula, 1982)

Devastating film adaptation of Styron's staggering novel.

Rushmore(Wes Anderson, 1998)

Wes Anderson's perfectly pitched satire offers life-affirming lessons.

Blue Velvet(David Lynch, 1986)

David Lynch's painterly background reveals itself in the beautiful framing throughout.

Boys Don't Cry(Kimberly Peirce, 1999)

Unflinching examination of the human condition.

Donnie Darko(Richard Kelly, 2001)

An apocalyptic tone poem. Remarkable.

The Door in the Floor(Tod Williams, 2004)

An unforgettable character study in a minor key.

The English Patient(Anthony Minghella, 1996)

Anthony Minghella's literate and lush adaptation of Ondaatje's masterpiece.

Ordinary People(Robert Redford, 1980)

Robert Redford's honest and stark melodrama based upon Judith Guest's book.

Good Will Hunting(Gus Van Sant, 1997)

Gus Van Sant's troubled genius struggles with an abusive past.

Amit Itzcar

Amit Itzcar is a 28 year old filmmaker from Israel who recently finished his latest film, The Safety in Rubber. You can read more about him at www.myspace.com/amitzcar.

All About Lily Chou-Chou(Shunji Iwai, 2001)

Because of the songs, the mood. The best film about modern youth.

It's A Wonderful Life(Frank Capra, 1946)

I cry every time I watch it.

Unbreakable(M. Night Shyamalan, 2000)

Shyamalan is a genius, no matter what anyone says. Probably the only "mainstream" director I really love and wait for any new movie from.

Buffalo 66(Vincent Gallo, 1998)

Gallo is an inspiration for me. Even though he's probably an egomaniac.

Lonesome Jim(Steve Buscemi, 2005)

Depression has never been so funny. Screw Garden State (Zach Braff, 2004)! Lonesome Jim is much better!

Spring Forward(Tom Gilroy, 1999)

Ned Beatty and Liev Schreiber are so good together. Beautifully shot and acted.

What Time is it There?(Tsai Ming-liang, 2001)

Or any other Tsai Ming-liang film for that matter.

City Slickers(Ron Underwood, 1991)

The best American "Men" film since Deliverance. Billy Crystal is hilarious!

Gummo(Harmony Korine, 1997)

The clothes, the non-actors, and Chloë.

Cinemania(Stephen Kijak and Angela Christlieb, 2002)

Because I know exactly how those film-goers feel.

Marios Karidis

Marios Karidis is a film lover - wannabe filmmaker - from Athens, obsessed with Martin Scorsese, Isaac Hayes and Carl Barks.

(revised list, in preferential order)

Mean Streets(Martin Scorsese, 1973)
Bottle Rocket(Wes Anderson, 1996)
2001: A Space Odyssey(Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
The Last Temptation Of Christ(Martin Scorsese, 1988)
The Exterminating Angel(Luis Buñuel, 1962)
Bad Lieutenant(Abel Ferrara, 1992)
I Vitelloni(Federico Fellini, 1953)
Hana-Bi(Takeshi Kitano, 1997)
Dumbo(Ben Sharpsteen, 1941)
Blow-Up(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1966)

See also Marios' previous list: Jul-Aug 2003

Chris MaGee

Chris MaGee is a poet, writer and fledgling filmmaker living in Toronto, Canada, and has been the assistant editor of Jones Av., a quarterly journal dedicated to poetry.

(in alphabetical order)

After Life(Hirokazu Kore-eda, 1998)

Such a simple premise, yet such a profound film. Makes you glad to be human.

Apocalypse Now(Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

Imperialism, madness, the nature of evil: so much more than a war movie.

Blade Runner(Ridley Scott, 1982)

Frankenstein retold in 2019 Los Angeles.

The Hole(Tsai Ming-liang, 1998)

Who knew plagues and water damage could be so darn romantic?

Ikiru(Akira Kurosawa, 1952)

Despair, beauty and understanding at the end of life.

Kikujiro(Takeshi Kitano, 1999)

The most formally beautiful film I know.

North by Northwest(Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

The best thriller ever made. Let's hope to God they never decide to remake it.

The Remains of the Day(James Ivory, 1993)

Hannibal who? This is Anthony Hopkins' (as well as anyone else's) best performance.

Spirited Away(Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)

Why hasn't Miyazaki's imagination been designated a World Heritage Site?

Wings of Desire(Wim Wenders, 1987)

For anyone who's ever been lonely.

Andrew Schenker

Professional librarian and amateur film critic, Andrew Schenker's writings on film can be accessed at The Cine File.

(in alphabetical order)

Andrei Rublev(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1969)
M(Fritz Lang, 1931)
Ordet(Carl Dreyer, 1954)
La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc(Carl Dreyer, 1928)
Persona(Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
The Sacrifice(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986)
Seven Samurai(Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Solaris(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
3 Women(Robert Altman, 1977)
Werckmeister Harmonies(Béla Tarr, 2001)

Ekrem Serdar

Ekrem Serdar says hello at http://dostlaraselam.blogspot.com.

(revised list, in no particular order)

L'Argent(Robert Bresson, 1983)
(nostalgia)(Hollis Frampton, 1971)
Il posto(Ermanno Olmi, 1961)
La Règle du jeu(Jean Renoir, 1939)
Viaggio in Italia(Roberto Rossellini, 1953)
Late Spring(Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)
The Leopard(Luchino Visconti, 1963)
Boats Out of Watermelon Rinds(Ahmet Ulucay, 2004)
Ashes and Diamonds(Andrzej Wajda, 1958)
Les Quatre cents coups(François Truffaut, 1959)

Plus anything Louis Malle, Scott Puccio or Nathaniel Dorsky has made - gladly, happily.

See also Ekrem's previous list: May–June 2002

Ryan Slater

Ryan Slater has a B.G.S. in film studies with a minor in sociology and is currently involved in the sound design program at The Los Angeles Film School.

The Cranes are Flying(Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
Seven Samurai(Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Stalker(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)
Dekalog(Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)
Nights of Cabiria(Federico Fellini, 1957)
Humanity and Paper Balloons(Sadao Yamanaka, 1937)
He Who Gets Slapped(Victor Sjöström, 1924)
Monsieur Verdoux(Charles Chaplin, 1947)
Stroszek(Werner Herzog, 1977)
Playtime(Jacques Tati, 1967)

Honorable Mentions: Un condamné à mort s'est échappé (Robert Bresson, 1956), À bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960), Paisan (Roberto Rossellini, 1946), Faces (John Cassavetes, 1968), Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying About and Love the Bomb (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) and the films of Tsukamoto Shinya, Wong Kar-Wai, Michael Haneke, and many more.

Frank P. Tomasulo

Frank P. Tomasulo, Ph.D., is Professor and Head of Film Studies in the College of Motion Picture, Television, and Recording Arts at Florida State University. This represents a list of films that synthesize thematic relevance and cinematic technique, movies that can be viewed again and again with new insights into the Human Condition and the possibilities of artistic expression.

Citizen Kane(Orson Welles, 1941)
Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
L'Avventura(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)
L'Année dernière à Marienbad(Alain Resnais, 1961)
Wild Strawberries(Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
Il Conformista(Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Jules et Jim(François Truffaut, 1961)
In the Mood for Love(Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
Fear Eats the Soul(Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
A Clockwork Orange(Stanley Kubrick, 1970)

Some others that do not fit on an arbitrary list of ten: Ladri di bicyclette (DeSica, 1948), City Lights (Chaplin, 1931), On the Waterfront (Kazan, 1954), Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953), and The Godfather (Coppola, 1974).

Daniel Yacavone

Daniel Yacavone is a Temporary Lecturer in Film Studies at the University of Edinburgh. He has published in Studies in French Cinema and elsewhere, and has a particular interest in film and other arts (especially painting), cinematic reflexivity, and philosophy and film.

(revised list, in no particular order)

2001: A Space Odyssey(Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

The most remarkable smuggling of the abstract/experimental into the cinematic mainstream and the synthesis of three great visions (Kubrick's, Clarke's, and Olaf Stapledon's).

Dekalog(Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)

A monumental achievement via the most intimate.

Out 1: noli me tangere(Jacques Rivette, 1971)

Waiting for Pierre. Rivette's light-dark, serious-play masterpiece - DVD beckons.

Twin Peaks (pilot)(David Lynch, 1990)

Hard to pick just one Lynch, but this just eclipses Mulholland Dr., Lost Highway, and Fire Walk With Me, for its effortless originality and unfaltering atmosphere.

Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

The only sound film made in America as complex and captivating as Welles and Cassavetes at their best

Le Mépris(Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)

Beautiful and majestic on a big screen.

La Maman et la putain(Jean Eustache, 1973)

A new style of reflexive realism; immersive and cathartic.

Mirror(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974)

Heart-stirring ending.

The Seventh Seal(Ingmar Bergman, 1957)

The film that launched a thousand directors.

L'Année dernière à Marienbad(Alain Resnais, 1962)

Modernist film and literature in perfect synch.

I've gone for a Euro-centric list that reflects my modern/contemporary film bias and fails to reflect my love of Japanese cinema and the work of Orson Welles (too hard to pick just one!). I rate (and love) the following by other directors as highly as the above in many cases - and they could easily make the list in another mood: Le Rayon vert (Eric Rohmer, 1986), A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974), Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel, 1974), Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968), Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, 2000).

See also Daniel's previous list: May-June 2003

Jason Younkman

Jason Younkman is a 20 year old cineaste and currently a film major attending Savannah College of Art and Design in Georgia, USA.

Ten films that have greatly influenced my personal aesthetic and view of the world:

The Magnificent Ambersons(Orson Welles, 1942)
Pierrot le Fou(Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
Greed(Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
Andrei Rublev(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)
Barry Lyndon(Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
Apocalypse Now(Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
Il Conformista(Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Sherlock, Jr.(Buster Keaton, 1924)
Midnight Cowboy(John Schlesinger, 1969)

Jason Jude Chan

Jason Jude Chan is not a child of Marx and Coca-Cola but wishes he could be. Instead, he is a moviegoer, a student at UCLA, at times searching for politics, culture, and society, always discovering the YOU/ME/WE/US in history, everything.

(If given: an island, a projector, and a canvas. & forced to leave today)

Masculin Feminin(Jean-Luc Godard, 1966)
Il Conformista(Bernardo Bertolucci, 1970)
Baisers volés(François Truffaut, 1968)
We All Loved Each Other So Much(Ettore Scola, 1974)
The Apartment(Billy Wilder, 1960)
In the Mood for Love(Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)
City Lights(Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
Ballad of a Soldier(Grigori Chukrhai, 1959)
La Battaglia di Algeri(Gillo Pontecorvo, 1965)
Manhattan(Woody Allen, 1979)

All, in many ways, are about yearning/love/history/& the individual.

Close Films: Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990), Roman Holiday (William Wyler, 1953), On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954), Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2003), Singin' in the Rain (Stanley Donen, 1952).

Close People: Louis Malle, Seijun Suzuki, Vittorio de Sica, John Cassavetes, Federico Fellini.

George Cherian

....is a doctor, training as a haematologist in England, but hailing from Kerala in India. Always a bit mad on serious cinema, he is even more loopy on the subject of music. Don't get him started!

Apu Trilogy(Satyajit Ray, 1955-59)

Mercifully now available in a 3 DVD boxset, watch it one after the other, every year or so and weep with joy!

Au Hasard, Balthazar(Robert Bresson, 1966)

Godard's quote, of this film being the whole world, cannot be bettered.

Late Spring(Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

No one Ozu film is 'better' than any of his others, but this is my favourite, with the marvellous Setsuko Hara.

Tropical Malady(Apithapong Weerasethakul, 2004)

Startling! Anyone watching this film will be knocked sideways! Not just one of the best films about sexual desire (homosexual in this case) but the disquiet at the heart of human desiring

Léon Morin, prêtre(Jean Pierre Melville, 1961)

Spirit vs Flesh. Melville's unexpected left turn (or is that a sharp veer to the right?) into Bresson territory achieves lift off! A true master of the cinema.

Drifting Clouds(Aki Kaurismaki, 1996)

The first of Kaurismaki's 'loser trilogy' (recently completed with Lights in the Dusk, 2006) it is ,like all his films a hymn to human solidarity, this one being specifically about unemployment, but it is much more than that. It is also one of the best depictions of a marriage, and of how a couple get each other through hard times and, although never explicitly stated in the film, the heartbreak of the death of their only child.

Yi Yi (A One and a Two)(Edward Yang, 2000)

An epic for our times, because cities are where most of us live, go to work, get married, bring up our kids, and watch ourselves and our parents getting old. Not a wasted minute in its 3-hr running time. An instant classic.

Vagabond(Agnes Varda, 1985)

Another director goes boldly forth into Bresson territory. But this wry tender take starts with an anonymous young woman's frozen death in a ditch in winter, and traces backward her last few months of life, through the memories of people who fleetingly encountered her. It is very moving and edifying and deserves to be better known.

Crime of Monsieur Lange(Jean Renoir, 1936)

Made in 1935. Gosh! Has anything seemed still so modern and radical? Has ensemble playing ever been bettered? And in these times of globalisation, has anything better been said about the struggles of the collective enterprise against capitalist greed? And been such fun to watch?

Intimate Lighting(Ivan Passar, 1965)

Of all the gems made during the Prague Spring, this one will continue to grow in esteem and affection in people's minds and outlast them all. So seemingly artless in its depiction of friendship and family life, it is a miracle!

Five more if I'm allowed: Alice in the Cities (Wim Wenders, 1974), Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Van Sant, 1989), Vivre sa vie (Jean Luc Godard, 1962 - Godard's marvelous run in the 1960s wont be eclipsed by anyone), In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-Wai, 2000) and finally Stardust Memories (Woody Allen, 1980).

David Collins

David Collins has a B.F.A. in Film Production and an M.F.A. in Screenwriting, both from York University in Toronto, Canada. He currently teaches film and writing courses part-time at Sheridan College while working on short films, theatre and prose writing.

For this list, I've tried to narrow the focus down to films which are innovative in their use of the formal elements of cinema in the service of a higher aesthetic purpose (whatever that is…).

(in alphabetical order)

Celine et Julie vont en bateau(Jacques Rivette, 1974)
The Commune (Paris, 1871)(Peter Watkins, 2000)
Journal d'un curé de campagne(Robert Bresson, 1950)
Distant Voices, Still Lives(Terence Davies, 1988)
L'Année Dernière à Marienbad(Alain Resnais, 1962)
Mirror(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974)
Persona(Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
Tokyo Story(Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)
Walkabout(Nicholas Roeg, 1971)
Warrendale(Allan King, 1967)

Honourable mentions (most are interchangeable with any title on the above list, though not necessarily chosen for their use of film form) to 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963), Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005), Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941), Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972), Dead Ringers (David Cronenberg, 1988), The Decline of the American Empire (Denys Arcand, 1986), Do The Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989), Mon Oncle Antoine (Claude Jutra, 1971), The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986), Two or Three Things I Know About Her (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967).

Bradley Elfman

Atlanta based painter currently working on script for first film. Previously co-founded Norman (Oklahoma) Film Society and Las Cruces Film Society.

(in preferential order)

A Short Film About Love(Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)
A Woman Under the Influence(John Cassavetes, 1974)
Distant Voices, Still Lives(Terence Davies, 1988)
Late Spring(Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)
The Passenger(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1975)
Three Times(Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2005)
Vivre sa vie(Jean-Luc Godard, 1962)
Raise the Red Lantern(Zhang Yimou, 1991)
When a Woman Ascends the Stairs(Mikio Naruse, 1960)
Winter's Light(Ingmar Bergman, 1963)

Additional Five: La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc (Carl Dreyer, 1928), Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958), Naked (Mike Leigh, 1993), Osaka Elegy (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1936), Goodbye Dragon Inn (Tsai Ming-liang, 2003).

Nick Figliola

Nick Figliola lives in Philadelphia in the United States. He has a B.A in Communication Arts and Journalism and hopes to begin a career writing for film.

(revised list, in preferential order)

Pulp Fiction(Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

The film that defines cinema of the 1990s and only gets better with age.

Taxi Driver(Martin Scorsese, 1976)

The finest film from our greatest American filmmaker. Raw, Powerful and Unforgettable.

Wild Strawberries(Ingmar Bergman, 1957)

A beautiful film that showcases a master at the peak of his power.

Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

The master of suspense has crafted the greatest film ever about obsession, with harrowing consequences.

Do the Right Thing(Spike Lee, 1989)

Brilliantly acted, directed and scripted. Lee has created a masterwork dealing with racial tensions that is every bit as relevant today.

Cet obscur objet du désir(Luis Buñuel, 1977)

Buñuel's last work is a perfect showcase for his genius.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind(Steven Spielberg, 1977)

The greatest science fiction film of all time. Spielberg has captured some of the most beautifully shot scenes of his career. The last 20 minutes are absolutely unforgettable.

A Streetcar Named Desire(Elia Kazan, 1951)

This is the greatest acting ever captured on film. Marlon Brando has created one of cinema's most iconic characters.

Mulholland Dr.(David Lynch, 2001)

Lynch casts a spell and sucks you into his mind. The best film of the new millennium.

Bande à part(Jean-Luc Godard, 1964)

The definitive film of the New Wave. The master is in top form.

Honorable Mentions: Fargo (Joel Coen 1996), Les Quatre cents coups (François Truffaut, 1959), Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974), Short Cuts (Robert Altman, 1993), Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955).

See also Nick's previous list: Nov-Dec 2002

Todd Ford

Todd Ford is a web developer living and working in Bismarck, ND, USA. He also writes regular film reviews for the local publication Prairie Independent and is the vice president, webmaster, and co-programmer for the Bismarck based Cinema 100 Film Society.

(revised list, in alphabetical order)

A Canterbury Tale(Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, 1944)
Day of the Dead(George A. Romero, 1985)
F for Fake(Orson Welles, 1975)
Gabbeh(Mohsen Makhmalbaf, 1996)
Gummo(Harmony Korine, 1997)
Martha(Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
My Own Private Idaho(Gus Van Sant, 1991)
Playtime(Jacques Tati, 1967)
Slacker(Richard Linklater, 1991)
Texas Chainsaw Massacre(Tobe Hooper, 1974)

I most regret this list not having anything by the big three: Ozu, Bresson, and Dreyer. My picks would've been Early Summer, Diary of a Country Priest, and Ordet. I also regret having nothing from the 2000s, especially Spielberg's A.I. Artificial Intelligence and Aronofsky's The Fountain. Finally, I wish I could have squeezed in Brakhage's Dog Star Man which I probably revisit more often than any other film.

See also Todd's previous lists: Apr-June 2005        Mar–Apr 2002

Mike Kitchell

Mike Kitchell is a Photography student who writes about film in his free time. For more information visit http://esotika.blogspot.com

(revised list, not in order)

Daughters of Darkness(Harry Kumel, 1971)
Eden and After(Alain Robbe-Grillet, 1970)
L'Année Dernière à Marienbad(Alain Resnais, 1961)
Camille 2000(Radley Metzger, 1969)
Posession(Andzrej Zulawski, 1981)
Lips of Blood(Jean Rollin, 1975)
Living(Frans Zwartjes, 1971)
Fruits of Passion(Shuji Terayama, 1981)
Go Go Second Time Virgin(Koji Wakamatsu, 1969)
Venus in Furs(Jess Franco, 1969)

Others worth mentioning: Teorema (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1968), Querelle (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982), La Marge (Walerian Borowczyk, 1976), Beyond the Valley of the Dolls (Russ Meyer, 1970), and Funeral Parade of Roses (Toshio Matsumoto, 1969).

See also Mike's previous lists: Nov-Dec 2003      Jan-Mar 2005

Tyler Ludowitz

Tyler Ludowitz is a film student at the North Carolina School of the Arts.

Au Hasard, Balthazar(Robert Bresson, 1966)
Mouchette(Robert Bresson, 1967)
A Woman Under the Influence(John Cassavetes, 1974)
Mirror(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975)
Days of Heaven(Terrence Malick, 1978)
Julien Donkey-Boy(Harmony Korine, 1999)
Killer of Sheep(Charles Burnett, 1977)
Masculin Feminin(Jean-Luc Godard, 1966)
The Brown Bunny(Vincent Gallo, 2004)
Mutual Appreciation(Andrew Bujalski, 2005)

Marcos Marino Beiras

Marcos Marino Beiras is a theoretical physicist in Geneva, Switzerland.

(in no particular order)

Pierrot le fou(Jean-Luc Godard, 1965)
Persona(Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
Il Conformista(Bernardo Bertolucci, 1969)
Sweet Movie(Dusan Makavejev, 1974)
La Maman et la putain(Jean Eustache, 1973)
Solaris(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1972)
Memories of Underdevelopment(Tomas Gutierrez Alea, 1968)
Days of Eclipse(Aleksandr Sokurov, 1988)
L'Année Dernière à Marienbad(Alain Resnais, 1962)
La Jetée(Chris Marker, 1962)

Yoel Meranda

Yoel Meranda's website Ways of Seeing includes his videos and his comments about favourite films/filmmakers. An article he wrote on Sirk's Imitation of Life was published by the Radikal newspaper in Turkey. Some of Yoel's videos are available at his website and YouTube.

This is where things stand for me at the moment. I restricted myself to one film per filmmaker.

(in some arbitrary order of preference)

Francesco, giullare di Dio(Roberto Rossellini, 1950)

The light reflected from the screen, white, pure sense. Love equals art equals the universal.

What Goes Up(Robert Breer, 2000)

If frame is the unit of cinema, what happens between frames deserves higher attention.

I...(Stan Brakhage, 1995)

Almost rhythmless and structureless, so dynamic you can't grasp what you see. Eye-education!

Au Hasard, Balthazar(Robert Bresson, 1966)

The best acting in the history of cinema by... a donkey! The best supporting actors: the flies around him.

Faust(F.W. Murnau, 1926)

The last two lines of Goethe's “Faust”: “The Eternal-Feminine / Draws us up high”.

The Searchers(John Ford, 1956)

The film that made me realize that colours, spaces, shapes and their rhythms can tell me much more about myself than all the stories in the world.

Sophie's Place(Larry Jordan, 1986)

Images that symbolize everything and nothing. Tangentially contains the whole human experience.

The Potted Psalm(Sidney Peterson, 1946)

"These images are meant to play not on our rational senses, but on the infinite universe of ambiguity within us." - Sidney Peterson

The Tarnished Angels(Douglas Sirk, 1957)

I felt so fragile, as if everything could break like a glass at any given moment.

Intolerance(D.W. Griffith, 1916)

"Out of the cradle, endlessly rocking"...

The Runners Up: I Was a Male War Bride (Howard Hawks, 1949), Lady Musashino (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1951), F for Fake (Orson Welles, 1974), Zorns Lemma (Hollis Frampton, 1970), As I Was Moving Ahead Occasionally I Saw Brief Glimpses of Beauty (Jonas Mekas, 2000).

Nick Naney

Nick Naney is a film student at the University of Hartford

Il Conformista(Bernardo Bertolucci, 1969)
Sexy Beast(Johnathan Glazer, 2001)
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly(Sergio Leone, 1966)
Rushmore(Wes Anderson, 1998)
The Abominable Dr. Phibes(Robert Fuest, 1971)
The 400 Blows(Francois Trauffaut, 1959)
Dawn of the Dead(George A. Romero, 1978)
The Wild Bunch(Sam Peckinpah, 1969)
Viridiana(Luis Buñuel, 1961)
Blue Velvet(David Lynch, 1986)

Runners-Up: Most Coen Brothers films, Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel, 1972), Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992), Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975), Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957).

Sebastian Nilsson

Sebastian Nilsson lives in Falkenberg.

The Godfather(Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
City of God(Fernando Meirelles & Katia Lund, 2002)
The Seven Samurai(Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Lost in Translation(Sofia Coppola, 2003)
On the Waterfront(Elia Kazan, 1954)
Sin City(Robert Rodriguez, 2005)
Harvey(Henry Koster, 1950)
Reservoir Dogs(Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?(Mike Nicholas, 1966)
To Kill a Mockingbird(Robert Mulligan, 1962)

Ibán Rodríguez

Ibán Rodríguez is just a serious film lover.

(in no particular order)

Once Upon a Time in America(Sergio Leone, 1984)
The Elephant Man(David Lynch, 1980)
Dersu Uzala(Akira Kurosawa, 1974)
La Maman et la putain(Jean Eustache, 1973)
Andrei Rublev(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1966)
Persona(Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
The Seventh Seal(Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
Pather Panchali(Satyajit Ray, 1955)
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari(Robert Wiene, 1919)
Liltja 4-ever(Lukas Moodysson, 2002)

And five more films: To live (Zhang Yimou, 1994), Léolo (Jean-Claude Lauzon, 1992), El sur (Víctor Erice, 1983), Mouchette (Robert Bresson, 1967), Warui yatsu hodo yoku nemuru (Akira Kurosawa, 1960).

Chris Weseloh

Chris Weseloh is a 23-year old film lover who picked up an interest in film about 2 or 3 years ago. Chris currently writes mini-reviews on his Rottentomatoes.com journal.

(in alphabetical order)

12 Angry Men(Sidney Lumet, 1957)

I've seen this movie numerous times since I was young. I'd say it was the first 'classic' I ever saw and I loved it from the beginning. It gives me hope that juries really do act in this way, giving every defendant the benefit of the doubt in criminal cases and working in a way to discover the truth.

The Cabinet of Dr Caligari(Robert Wiene, 1919)

German expressionism is defined by the sets featured in this film. Not only was this movie a great piece of art, it was an excellent story as well. It was entertaining from start to finish and can be loved by those who aren't particularly into silent films. Also, the score matched the mood of every scene perfectly.

Days of Heaven(Terrence Malick, 1978)

This film is completely beautiful. From the music to the lighting and cinematography, this movie was a treat. Malick is so good at getting his actors to give completely real and believable performances. I also like the various religious symbolism in Days of Heaven. A very powerful movie.

M(Fritz Lang, 1931)

Superb German Expressionism. Great use of shadow and camera angles here. Also, Lorre gives one of the best film monologues ever. I like M because it is an early look at the difference between a murderer and a mentally-sick man.

The New World(Terrence Malick, 2005)

This film was absolutely beautiful. The scenery, the dialogue, and the music put me in what I might call spiritual bliss. It's almost indescribable. The cinematography, camerawork, and lighting are beautiful. Never has a director been more masterful at making EVERY shot perfect.

Ordet(Carl Dreyer, 1955)

Ordet touches on the kind of spirituality I can really appreciate. Dreyer's main theme is the difference between faith through fear of sin and death vs. faith through enjoyment of life. He does an excellent job portraying faith through enjoyment of life with the characters he gives us.

La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc(Carl Dreyer, 1928)

Dreyer's use of close-up gives us a direct look at the anguish from Joan, and the hatred from those condemning her. I know little of the story of Joan of Arc, but I have read that this movie is taken directly from the records of her trial. It's a masterpiece.

Psycho(Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Hitchcock is my favourite director and the psychological thriller one of my favourite genres. I love the suspense Hitchcock creates and the performance he gets out of Anthony Perkins. This is a top-notch psychological thriller.

Stalker(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

Beautiful shots, interesting plot, and religious symbolism are three of my favourite things in film. Stalker has all three. I was mesmerized by the long camera shots and how perfectly timed each transition was. It was near perfect in that regard. I also really liked how this movie dealt with faith.

Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

Hitchcock touches all four with this movie. I love his study of the male mind. Using James Stewart for the leading role was a perfect choice. He always plays a gentleman character, and presents himself in that way in Vertigo too. By using such a character, the whole 'point' of the film is greater illustrated.

Samuel Wigley

Samuel Wigley works at the British Film Institute in London and is a contributor to Sight & Sound magazine.

(revised list)

Aguirre: The Wrath of God(Werner Herzog, 1972)
Chinatown(Roman Polanski, 1974)
The Lady from Shanghai(Orson Welles, 1947)
Le Mépris(Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
Mulholland Dr.(David Lynch, 2001)
Out 1: Spectre(Jacques Rivette, 1972)
Partie de campagne(Jean Renoir, 1936)
Rio Bravo(Howard Hawks, 1959)
Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
Viaggio in Italia(Roberto Rossellini, 1953)

Five others: Pierrot le fou (Jean-Luc Godard, 1965), Landscape in the Mist (Theo Angelopoulos, 1988), Manhattan (Woody Allen, 1979), In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950), Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966).

See also Samuel's previous lists: Jul-Sept 2004      Jan-Feb 2003

Kevin Wilson

I currently write a blog featuring reviews and thoughts about films that I've seen.

Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

From a director at the peak of his powers, a film about obsession which reveals more about man than any other of his films.

Stalker(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

Tarkovsky's most challenging film, and one of his most spiritually affecting.

Les Yeux sans visage(Georges Franju, 1959)

Combines horror with great beauty.

Amelie(Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)

Charming, whimsical, heart-warming. What more can be said?

In the Mood for Love(Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)

Masterfully shot, directed and acted tale of a love that never was.

Possession(Andrzej Zulawski, 1981)

Demented tale of a dissolving marriage with allegory aplenty.

Some Like it Hot(Billy Wilder, 1959)

Simply the funniest film ever made. One liner after one liner, and the best Cary Grant impersonation ever.

Le Mépris(Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)

A film about artistic compromise and integrity and love turning into contempt.

Seconds(John Frankenheimer, 1966)

“There are no second acts in American lives”, and this is why.

Three Colours: Red(Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

The most impressive of the trilogy, considers how fate and chance intervenes in our lives.

Just missing out: La Belle et la bête (Jean Cocteau, 1946), It Happened One Night (Frank Capra, 1934), Suspiria (Dario Argento, 1977), Temptress Moon (Chen Kaige, 1996), Don't Look Now (Nicolas Roeg, 1973).

Bjoern Becher

Bjoern Becher is a 26-year-old cinephile who lives in Germany. He is a critic at www.filmstarts.de, one of the largest online film magazines in Germany. In addition, he also runs a News-Blog about the Japanese film director Takashi Miike.

(in alphabetical order)

19(Kazushi Watanabe, 2000)
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb(Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Happiness(Todd Solondz, 1998)
Infernal Affairs(Andrew Lau & Alan Mak, 2002)
Kikujiro(Takeshi Kitano, 1999)
The Last Picture Show(Peter Bogdanovich, 1971)
M(Fritz Lang, 1931)
To Be or Not to Be(Ernst Lubitsch, 1942)
Visitor Q(Takashi Miike, 2001)
The Wild Bunch(Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

Andrew Bienefeld

Andrew Bienefeld is a PhD student in law at UBC, herein enjoying his first foray into writing on film. Initially fascinated with the documentary genre, his interest in film now covers all serious non-commercially oriented forms. He regularly bothers the decision makers at the UBC Film Society with obscure suggestions regarding potential features, and in their tolerance, they have granted his element of the relationship the formal status of a voluntary advisory role.

Elaborations in Film upon the Human Condition: A Tentative All Time Top Ten

Since I found it most helpful where others explained the basis for their choices I have done likewise. The heading was born of a desire to indicate, with an economy of words, what lay at the core of my decision making.

Before listing my choices I want to thank the editors and all the contributors for their respective parts in providing this intriguing compilation. Having derived so much benefit from it I felt something of an obligation to contribute. What a nice gift for us all to fashion for one another!

Films are listed in order of production date in the hopes of making apparent any unwitting temporal bias in the selection process.

Seven Up!(Paul Almond, 1964)

Delightful, disarming and poignant.

Life of Brian(Terry Jones, 1979)

Hilarious, intelligent and profound.

High Hopes(Mike Leigh, 1988)

Excellent character studies and social commentary punctuated by moments of great comedy.

Cinema Paradiso(Giuseppe Tornatore, 1989)

Beautiful in every sense.

Anything Can Happen(Marcel Lozinski, 1995)

Lovely and disarming. Simply magnificent.

Jerusalem(Bille August, 1996)

A beautifully composed film that shows tempered religion as harmless - even benevolent - when churches act as simple community centres possessing a slightly mystic charm. Goes on to depict the searing human cost of devout religion, wherein “leaders” look to remap community life to accord with their religious ideology.

Secrets and Lies(Mike Leigh, 1996)

It is in some ways unnerving how well Mike Leigh understands the English working class and what an extraordinary job he does of bringing them to life on screen.

Mrs. Dalloway(Marleen Gorris, 1997)

A sophisticated portrayal of an immensely important book. Among its many treasures is an astonishingly effective voyage through the innermost thoughts of the title character.

Dark Days(Marc Singer, 2000)

A historically valuable work that documents a reality for homeless people in New York City beyond the scope of my imagination prior to viewing.

Out of Place: Memories of Edward Said(Makato Sato, 2005)

A documentary that employs refined visual and musical techniques so subtly that it clearly also constitutes a work of art. A film so brilliantly conceived that it is able to address the Israeli-Palestinian divide with stark honesty, while humanising both sides, and being gentle at all times in its treatment of its subjects.

Finally, the film that I feel most uncomfortable about omitting: Manufactured Landscapes (Jennifer Baichwal, 2006). While it may well be the most worthwhile and important film for people to see at present, the assignment is to provide an “all time” top ten. Ultimately I felt that the urgency of the message in Baichwal’s film means that its particular qualities make its value relatively less durable when compared against the included films.

Theodore Darst

Theodore Darst is directing at the European Film College.

(in no particular order)

Night of the Hunter(Charles Laughton, 1955)
I am Cuba(Mikhail Kalatozov, 1964)
Gummo(Harmony Korine, 1997)
Shadow of a Doubt(Alfred Hitchcock, 1941)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller(Robert Altman, 1971)
Made in Britain(Alan Clarke, 1982)
Grey Gardens(David & Albert Maysles, Ellen Hovde & Muffie Meyer, 1975)
La Passion de Jeanne D'Arc(Carl Dreyer, 1928)
Even Dwarves Started Small(Werner Herzog, 1970)
Dog Days(Ulrich Siedl, 2001)

Abhimanyu Das

Abhimanyu Das is a ‘serious film lover’, native of Calcutta, BA in English from Franklin and Marshall College (Pennsylvania, USA) and amateur film writer/blogger.

(in no particular order)

The Apu Trilogy(Satyajit Ray, 1955-59)

It may seem a cheat to include a trilogy but it is essentially one beautiful, epic character study (contradiction in terms, but true). The best film(s) ever to come out of India.

The Godfather(Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)

Perhaps the most perfectly wrought gangster film in history (with the possible exception of the next entry).

The Godfather II(Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

Perhaps the most perfectly wrought gangster film in history (with the possible exception of the previous entry).

Blade Runner(Ridley Scott, 1982)

The very definition of the genre film that transcends genre.

Fanny and Alexander(Ingmar Bergman, 1982)

A ‘great director’ at the peak of his abilities.

Psycho(Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

The perfect thriller, inspiration for most contemporary horror films.

Apocalypse Now(Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

My favourite book to cinema adaptation.

Lost in Translation(Sofia Coppola, 2003)

The beginning of the 21^st century’s loneliness-in-a-crowd genre.

Pulp Fiction(Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

Whether or not one is sick of hearing about it, its skill, entertainment value and influence is undeniable.

A Clockwork Orange(Stanley Kubrick, 1971)

The definitive cinematic take on violence.

Honorable mentions to Naked (Mike Leigh, 1993), Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985), Trainspotting (Danny Boyle, 1996), The Big Lebowski (Joel Coen, 1998), Videodrome (David Cronenberg, 1982), Heat (Michael Mann, 1995), Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987), Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985), The Proposition (John Hillcoat, 2005) and Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954).

Harv Hilowitz

Harv Hilowitz is a professional working in the Hudson Valley region of New York, USA, and he has been a film buff since staying up all night watching films on TV with his mother as a young child 50 years ago.

(in no particular order)

The Wizard of Oz(Victor Fleming, 1939)

Holds up for young & old, great numbers, perfect film mix of realism and fantasy.

To Kill A Mockingbird(Robert Mulligan, 1962)

Social conscience, atmospherics, brilliant dialogue expressed via minimalist acting.

King Kong(E.B. Schoedsack and M.C. Cooper, 1933)

Special effects & thematic King.

The Seventh Seal(Ingmar Bergman, 1957)

Spiritual cinema, pondering the great questions.

Dr. Zhivago(David Lean, 1965)

Sparkling ensemble cast, grand scope & sets evoking personal tragedy during social turmoil. Underrated.

The Godfather(Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)

Classic in every sense.

The Man Who Shot Liberty Valence(John Ford, 1962)

Intelligently nostalgic with dead-on Wayne, Stewart, Strode and ensemble cast.

Seven Beauties(Lina Wertmüller, 1976)

A cinematic mirror to every aspect of life from the heavens to the gutter.

Casablanca(Michael Curtiz, 1942)

Powerful yet personal, cynical yet heroic, a magical film.

The Pianist(Roman Polanski, 2002)

Riveting in detail without trivializing the scale of the Holocaust.

Cameron Jappe

Cameron Jappe is an actor and discerning film lover.

The Awful Truth(Leo McCarey, 1937)

Screwy, modern, romantic.

Beau Travail(Claire Denis, 1999)

Elliptical, poetic, sublime.

Gertrud(Carl Dreyer, 1964)

Refusing to conform.

Happy Together(Wong Kar-Wai, 1997)

The power to move on.

Late Spring(Yasujiro Ozu, 1949)

The crushing effects of conforming.

Looking for Mr. Goodbar(Richard Brooks, 1977)

Disreputable, imperfect, unshakable.

Mulholland Dr.(David Lynch, 2001)

An inconsistent genius’ true masterpiece.

La Pianiste(Michael Haneke, 2001)

Love misappropriated.

Rio Bravo(Howard Hawks, 1959)

Finding self-respect.

Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

Love obsessive, possessive.

James Peter McAllister McLean

James Peter McAllister McLean is a 40-year old bureaucrat hailing from Glasgow, Scotland, and whose principal hobby is procrastination, very closely followed by cinema in all its forms and glory, watching 90+ movies a year at the cinema alone (not including repeat performances). Dreams of being rich enough to live out a suitcase touring the world's movie festivals, and is a keen amateur critic who regularly foists his opinions on the more offbeat movies he's seen at his local multiplex onto close friends and acquaintances as his way of keeping in touch. You may berate him at projectmolcos@yahoo.com

I preface this by saying that I’ve seen so many movies in my time that it’s much too hard for me to name an overall best-of-the-best top ten, but it isn’t such a stretch when it comes to specific genres, so I proudly present to you the following for your consideration…

Force of Evil(Abraham Polonsky, 1948)

The grossly underrated acting talent that is John Garfield comes to the fore in this equally underrated noir classic that was years ahead of its time (IMHO). Joe Morse (Garfield) is a smart-alec lawyer in thrall to the vicious Ben Tucker (Roy Roberts), an ex-bootlegger looking to take control of all the illegal gambling rackets in NYC, via a cunning plan hatched by him and Morse, but Morse unexpectedly gets in over his head. The most gripping 80 minutes you’ll ever spend!

They Came to Rob Las Vegas(Antonio J. Isasi, 1968)

In order to avenge his murdered brother, Gary Lockwood attempts a hijack on an armored car owned by the man who did it (Lee J. Cobb), but gets more than he bargained for, on both sides of the law. A somewhat abrupt ending and copious amounts of rhubarbing fails to lessen this very entertaining thriller for me, powered by a cool Georges Garvarentz music score. Where’s the DVD of this film? I want it!

The Mechanic(Michael Winner, 1972)

Professional killer Charles Bronson’s career prospects take a nasty dive when he recruits the son of one of his victims (Jan-Michael Vincent) as an assistant. The quintessential Bronson thriller, while being a great Michael Winner movie too - that doesn’t happen often!

The Outift(John Flynn, 1973)

Aided by ex-partner Jack Cody (Joe Don Baker), smalltime bank robber Earl Macklin (Robert Duvall) wages systematic war on the crime syndicate responsible for killing his brother Frank, in retribution for a raid they both carried out on one of the syndicate’s banks. Duvall’s powerhouse performance, great action scenes and terrific ‘70s vibe (enhanced by Jerry Fielding’s killer music score) make this stand out from the crowd. Truly an unsung classic.

The Internecine Project(Ken Hughes, 1974)

Robert Elliot (James Coburn), an ex-spy turned academic is promised an important advisory post to the US President by some shady connections of his - as long as he rubs out the four people he’s been using as his information-gathering network, and who all know enough about him to hang him. How he achieves this makes for an ingenious thriller that’s too ridiculously entertaining to ignore. And then some.

The Marseille Contract(Robert Parrish, 1974)

Aka The Destructors. When several of his men are killed trying to get the goods on drug kingpin Jacques Brizard (James Mason), Paris-based DEA agent Steve Ventura (Anthony Quinn) covertly hires professional killer John Deray (Michael Caine) to infiltrate Brizard’s organisation and tear it apart from within - with a vengeance. But it also comes at a cost. A terrific film in every way, with great performances and action. Nicely downbeat too.

The Yazuka(Sydney Pollack, 1975)

Aka The Brotherhood of the Yazuka. LA private eye (and ex-WW2 army cop) Harry Kilmer (Robert Mitchum) is forced to confront his past demons when the daughter of old army buddy George Tanner (Brian Keith) is kidnapped by the titular organisation while studying in Japan, and so Tanner pleads with Kilmer to go there and rescue her. Unfortunately, Kilmer agrees, but soon has good cause to regret his decision… Brilliantly filmed from a marvelously multilayered script by Leonard Schrader, only the entire Vienna Boys Choir suffering collective laryngitis could be any more unsung than this film, and every bit as undeserving.

La Balance(Bob Swaim, 1982)

A tough, powerful Parisian policier about an elite police unit, The Brigade Territoriale, and their efforts to nail a particularly scummy crime boss by putting the squeeze on a former associate (Philippe Leotard), who tries to get out from under their thumb. Directed and cowritten by an American, this is a superior example of the policier genre, and one that’s highly influential, to boot - no La Balance, no Luc Besson, in my humble opinion. It’s that simple.

Year of the Dragon(Michael Cimino, 1985)

Hardboiled NYC cop Captain Stanley White (Mickey Rourke) goes to bloody war with the title character (John Lone), an omnipotent Triad chieftain who holds sway over the city’s Chinatown district, and is always one step ahead of White. However, even with everyone against him, White’s determined the Dragon’s going down, by any means necessary. Again, an impressively tough, downbeat film anchored by an excellent Rourke performance (yes, you read that right) and direction by Cimino that sets the film apart. The ending disappoints slightly, though.

Sonatine(Takeshi Kitano, 1993)

Apparently, this wonderfully slow-burning and elegiac tale of the last days of a tough Tokyo gangster who’s caught up in rival gang warfare on the island of Okinawa (played by the director, under his acting moniker of Beat Takeshi, and filmed in his own unique style) has been critically acclaimed to hell and back. Yeah, right. One viewing and you’ll wonder why the world and its dog hasn’t tried to copy this film the way it has so many others.

And that’s it! No “honourable mentions” cheating. Can I go home now?

Paul-Philip (Paco) Michelson

Paco Michelson studied Media and Film at Huntington University, but that was mostly fake nonsense and a waste of time. He now lives in Seoul, making "media" for S. Korean peace building group/community, The Frontiers.

Not necessarily the most influential films, but ones that astounded me with the possibilities of cinema. Looking at my list, it appears to break the unwritten cinephile rule of limited “new” movies (only 4 of my movies are “old”). This may reflect on my age or more hopefully reveal my disdain for all that “death of cinema” garbage. Limit 1 per director.

In the Mood for Love(Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
L'Avventura(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)
Pocket Ninjas(Dave Eddy, 1997)
Mother and Son(Aleksandr Sokurov, 1997)
Persona(Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
Dead Man(Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
Virgin Stripped Bare by Her Bachelors(Hong Sang-soo, 2000)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind(Michel Gondry, 2004)
Shadows(John Cassavetes, 1959)
The Man with the Movie Camera(Dziga Vertov, 1929)

Notes: Happy Together (Wong Kar-wai, 1997) is swappable with In the Mood for Love. Stan Brakhage’s entire filmography is worthy (way too many to choose just one). Any number of Godard films belong, couldn’t narrow it down, maybe Alphaville. Same goes, although not nearly as strongly, for Seijun Suzuki. Finally, Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006) probably belongs on there but I would like to see it a few more times.

Juha Rislakki

Juha Rislakki is currently doing a Masters degree in film studies at the University of Kent in the UK and has also worked at the Helsinki International Film Festival.

Limelight(Charles Chaplin, 1952)
Playtime(Jacques Tati, 1967)
L’Atalante(Jean Vigo, 1934)
Eyes Wide Shut(Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
Vertigo(Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
The Cranes Are Flying(Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
Brief Encounter(David Lean, 1945)
Mouchette(Robert Bresson, 1967)
La Strada(Federico Fellini, 1954)
Cries and Whispers(Ingmar Bergman, 1972)

Darin Robbins

Darin Robbins is a 30-year old film buff from Corning, New York who is able to fully enjoy having access to Turner Classic Movies, The Independent Film Channel, and the Sundance Channel along with a DVD player and VCR.

(in no particular order)

The Lion in Winter(Anthony Harvey, 1968)
Harold And Maude(Hal Ashby, 1971)
Doctor Zhivago(David Lean, 1965)
Little Murders(Alan Arkin, 1971)
Zardoz(John Boorman, 1974)
Apocalypse Now Redux(Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller(Robert Altman, 1971)
Catch-22(Mike Nichols, 1970)
A Clockwork Orange(Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
The Trial(Orson Welles, 1962)

In making this selection, out of many that are also worthy enough to be noted, I wanted to get a nice distribution among multiple genres. There are war movies, westerns, dramas, science fiction, and black comedies. But they are also diverse types of movies, therefore a nice sampling overall. The selection of directors is based on the criteria of filmmakers that have produced consistently great work that has allowed me to fully immerse myself in the viewing experience every time.

Anna Rebecca Rogers

Anna Rebecca Rogers is a PhD candidate in film studies at the University of Edinburgh.

A Woman Under the Influence(John Cassavetes, 1974)
julien donkey-boy(Harmony Korine, 1999)
Dead Man(Jim Jarmusch, 1995)
In the Cut(Jane Campion, 2003)
Stardust Memories(Woody Allen, 1980)
The Virgin Suicides(Sofia Coppola, 1999)
Days of Heaven(Terrence Malick, 1978)
Picnic at Hanging Rock(Peter Weir, 1975)
Elephant(Gus Van Sant, 2003)
Morvern Callar(Lynne Ramsay, 2002)

Jason Scott

Jason Scott is a 33-year-old writer and bookseller from Cheltenham, England.

Only the top three in this list are in order, as he has long felt these three films to be the best he's had the privilege of watching.

Once Upon a Time in America(Sergio Leone, 1984)
Le Mépris(Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
Walkabout(Nicolas Roeg, 1971)
Once Upon a Time in the West(Sergio Leone, 1968)
La Dolce Vita(Federico Fellini, 1960)
The Third Man(Carol Reed, 1949)
Pat Garrett and Billy the Kid(Sam Peckinpah, 1973)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly(Sergio Leone, 1966)
A Star is Born(George Cukor, 1954)
In the Mood for Love(Wong Kar-Wai, 2000)

Sometimes in, and sometimes just outside, his top ten, and all heart-thumpingly brilliant: The Man Who Fell to Earth (Nicolas Roeg, 1976), Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976), Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979), Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001), The Go-Between (Joseph Losey, 1970), The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (John Cassavetes, 1976), Death in Venice (Luchino Visconti, 1971), Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982).

Benjamin Spacek

Benjamin Spacek reviews films for the Las Vegas Weekly.

Sunset Boulevard(Billy Wilder, 1950)
Psycho(Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
Dr. Strangelove(Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
Night of the Living Dead(George A. Romero, 1968)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid(George Roy Hill, 1969)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail(Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones, 1975)
Halloween(John Carpenter, 1978)
The Empire Strikes Back(Irvin Kershner, 1980)
The Princess Bride(Rob Reiner, 1987)
Before Sunrise(Richard Linklater, 1995)

The original intention was to pick one film from each decade while simultaneously spreading out the selections amongst ten different genres. Unfortunately, my preference for the psychotronic (sci-fi, fantasy and horror), as well as limited contact with foreign and early twentieth-century cinema has tainted the list considerably. Here’s to further research!

Boris Yoselovich

Boris Yoselovich is an English teacher and a great film lover in his spare time.

Citizen Kane(Orson Welles, 1941)
Winter Light(Ingmar Bergman, 1962)
Persona(Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
Solaris(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1971)
Sacrifice(Andrei Tarkovsky, 1986)
La Notte(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961)
High and Low(Akira Kurosawa, 1963)
American Friend(Wim Wenders, 1977)
Dekalog(Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1988)
8½(Federico Fellini, 1963)

Others that should be mentioned are Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986), Veronika Voss (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1982), Pi (Darren Aronofsky, 1998), The Last Tango in Paris (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1972), Le Charme Discret de la Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel, 1972), The Barbarian Invasions (Denys Arcand, 2003), Dillinger is Dead (Marco Ferreri, 1969), Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002), and Conversation Piece (Luchino Visconti, 1974).