"Film students should stay as far away from film schools and film teachers as possible.
The only school for the cinema is the cinema."
Bernardo Bertolucci
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"We all steal, but if we're smart we steal from great directors. Then, we can call it influence."
Krzysztof Kieslowski
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"I'm often asked by younger filmmakers,
why do I need to look at old movies -- And the response I find that I have to give them is that I
still consider myself a student. The more pictures I've made in the past twenty
years the more I realize I really don't know. And I'm always
looking for something to, something or someone that I could learn from.
I tell them, I tell the younger filmmakers and the young students that I do it like painters used to do, or painters do: study the old masters, enrich your
palette, expand your canvas. There's always so much more to learn."
Martin Scorsese
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Browse throught the list on
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Judging criteria for the selection process of the list included:
Feature-Length Fiction Films - narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length, theatrical released in at least
three different countries, and has
had an European DVD-release (with English subtitles).
Influence on other Filmmakers - Films that directors often cite as influence or a source for inspiration.
Historical Significance - a film's mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other
groundbreaking achievements.
Films From All Around the World - Although American films dominate the list, it includes movies
from all around the world.
Not Forgotten - No matter what year the films are from, they are still talked about regularly.
Nothing Personal - This list has nothing to do with my personal taste. That's the whole point.
Facts about this list:
The Most Celebrated Director - Akira Kurosawa, Stanley Kubrick and Steven Spielberg have the most films on the list: seven!
The Most Celebrated Star - Robert De Niro appears in nine listed films: six leading roles
(one of which earned him an Oscar),
and three supporting roles (one of which earned him another Oscar).
The Most Celebrated Leading Lady - Both Diane Keaton and Ellen Burstyn have four films:
two leading roles and two smaller parts. Film legends Katherine Hepburn and Faye Dunaway all have three leading roles on the list.
New Films and Revisions: The annual revision of the list, together with the selected films for 2024, will be online April 2025.
The Kurosawa films
Rashomon (1950)
Ikiru (1952)
The Seven Samurai (1954)
Throne of Blood (1957)
Yojimbo (1961)
High and Low (1963)
Ran (1985)
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The Kubrick films
Paths of Glory (1957)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Shining (1980)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
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The Spielberg films
Jaws (1975)
Close Encouters.... (1977)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Schindler's List (1993)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
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The Robert DeNiro films
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Raging Bull (1980)
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
Goodfellas (1990)
Casino (1995)
Heat (1995)
Joker (2019)
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The Diane Keaton films
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Annie Hall (1977)
Manhattan (1979)
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The Ellen Burstyn films
The Last Picture Show (1971)
The Exorcist (1973)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Interstellar (2014)
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The Katharine Hepburn films
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The African Queen (1951)
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The Faye Dunaway films
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Chinatown (1974)
Network (1976)
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The 2023 Films
Anatomy of a Fall (Justine Triet / France)
Barbie (Greta Gerwig)
Oppenheimer (Christopher Nolan)
Poor Things (Yorgos Lanthimos)
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History
This list will never be finished. What is considered a classic now might not be considered a classic tomorrow (Brian De Palma earned a Razzy nomination as
Worst Director for Scarface).
Since I want this list to reflect the classics today (instead of being a relic of ages past), regular updates are inevitable
and infinite.
April 14 2024: Annual Revision, Part 2
Added: Freaks (1932), All That Jazz (1979), Total Recall (1990), The Insider (1999)
Deleted: Doctor Zhivago (1965), Braveheart (1995), The Green Mile (1999), The Hunt (2013)
March 20 2024: Annual Revision
Added: Angels with Dirty Faces (1938), Bringing Up Baby (1938), To Be or Not to Be (1942), Ballad of a Soldier (1960), Rocco and His Brothers (1961), Yojimbo (1961), Belle de jour (1968), Z (1969), Kes (1970), Paper Moon (1974), Time of the Gypsies (1990), Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989), Casino (1995), Good Will Hunting (1997), The Green Mile (1999), Magnolia (1999), Amores Perros (2000), Children of Men (2006), Black Swan, (2010), Incendies (2010), The Hunt (2012), Her (2013), Gone Girl (2014), Inside Out (2015),
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018), Anatomy of a Fall (2023), Barbie (2023), Oppenheimer (2023), Poor Things (2023), Dune: Part Two (2024)
Deleted: Sherlock Jr. (1924), Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936), The Bad and the Beautiful (1952), East of Eden (1955), From Here to Eternity (1957), Ben Hur (1959), Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), Hud (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), Cool Hand Luke (1967), Patton (1970), Seven Beauties (1976), Nostalgia (1983), Jean de Florette (1986), Wings of Desire (1988), Drugstore Cowboy (1989), Dances with Wolves (1990), Out of Sight (1998), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), The Hurt Locker (2009), The Tree of Life (2011), Gravity (2013), Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014), Boyhood (2014), Blade Runner 2049 (2017), Call Me by Your Name (2017), Black Panther (2018), The Favourite (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019), Top Gun: Maverick (2023)
June 2 2023
Added: Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Deleted: Dune (2021), Nomadland (2021)
April 28 2023: Annual Revision, Final Part
Added: The Asphalt Jungle (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Throne of Blood (1961), Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Deleted: Beetlejuice (1988), Evil Dead II (1987), My Name Is Joe (1998), Inside Out (2015)
April 19 2023: Annual Revision, Part 4
Added: The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Evil Dead II (1987), My Name Is Joe (1998)
Deleted: The Awful Truth (1937), The Asphalt Jungle (1950), A Place in the Sun (1951), Throne of Blood (1961)
April 18 2023: Annual Revision, Part 3
Added: Stand by Me (1986), Beetlejuice (1988)
Deleted: Divorce Italian Style (1962), Gone Girl (2014)
April 13 2023: Annual Revision, Part 2
Added: Braveheart (1995), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Boyhood (2014)
Deleted: Shoeshine (1947), Charade (1963), Cries and Whispers (1973), Day for Night (1975)
April 7 2023: Annual Revision
Added: Black Narcissus (1947), From Here to Eternity (1953), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962), Hud (1963), My Fair Lady (1964), Cool Hand Luke (1967),
Wings of Desire (1988), Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003), The Shape of Water (2017), Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022), Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Triangle of Sadness (2022)
Deleted: Broken Blossoms (1919), Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922), The Last Laugh (1924), Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925), Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928), Red River (1948), Yojimbo (1961), Ballad of a soldier (1961), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Braveheart (1995), 12 Years a Slave (2013), Promising Young Woman (2020)
December 7 2022:
Added: Throne of Blood (1961), Don't Look Now (1973), Beau Travail (2000), Moonlight (2016)
Deleted: L'Atalante (1934), A Man Escaped (1957), Viridiana (1962), Contempt (1964)
November 15 2022:
Added: The Lives of Others (2005), Gone Girl (2014)
Deleted: Another Round (2020), Drive My Car (2021)
October 12 2022:
Added: Another Round (2020), Nomadland (2020), Promising Young Woman (2020)
Deleted: Y tu mama tambien (2001), The White Ribbon (2009), The Worst Person in the World (2021)
May 16 2022:
Added: Charade (1963)
Deleted: Ace in the Hole (1951)
May 13 2022:
Added: The Crowd (1928), The Lady Eve (1941), Ace in the Hole (1951), Umberto D. (1956), Jules & Jim (1962), The Truman Show (1998)
Deleted: Hud (1963), The Odd Couple (1968), Inside Llewyn Davis (2013), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), The Power of the Dog (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2018)
April 25 2022:
Added: The Elephant Man (1980), The Power of the Dog (2021)
Deleted: MASH (1970), Nomadland (2021)
April 3 2022: Annual Revision
Added: Imitation of Life (1959), Hud (1963), Ivan's Childhood (1963), Night of the Living Death (1968), The Odd Couple (1968), M*A*S*H (1970), Solaris (1976), Amadeus (1984), Nostalgia (1984), Jean de Florette (1987),
Grave of the Fireflies (1989), Groundhog Day (1993), Leon: The Professional (1994), Princess Mononoke (1999),
Memories of Murder (2005), The White Ribbon (2009), The Intouchables (2012), Drive My Car (2021), Dune (2021),
Nomadland (2021), Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021), The Worst Peron in the World (2021)
Deleted: The Crowd (1928), A nous la liberte (1931), The Lady Eve (1941), Black Narcissus (1947), In a Lonely Place (1950), Ace in the Hole (1951), The Naked Spur (1953), Umberto D. (1956), Written on the Wind (1956), Rocco and His Brothers (1961), Jules & Jim (1962), Vivre sa vie (1963), Faces (1968), Z (1969), Murmur of the Heart (1972),
Being There (1979), Witness (1985), The Lives of Others (2006), Drive (2011), Boyhood (2014), Moonlight (2016), The Shape of Water (2017)
January 14 2022:
Added: Halloween (1978)
Deleted: Nomadland (2020)
January 11 2022:
Added: Being There (1979)
Deleted: Strangers on a Train (1951)
December 21 2021:
Added: Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
Deleted: Another Round (2021)
August 7 2021:
Added: Another Round (2020), Nomadland (2020)
Deleted: Being There (1979), The White Ribbon (2009)
May 14 2021:
Added: King Kong (1933), Badlands (1973)
Deleted: The Night of the Living Dead (1968), Nomadland (2020)
May 11 2021:
Added: Black Narcissus (1947), East of Eden (1955), Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
Deleted: Giant (1956), Roma (2018), Avengers: Infinity War (2018)
April 9 2021: Annual Revision
Added: The Big Sleep (1946), In a Lonely Place (1950), The Naked Spur (1953), Rififi (1955), Written on the Wind (1956), Jules & Jim (1962), The Manchurian Candidate (1962), Vivre sa vie (1962), The Dirty Dozen (1967), Being There (1979), The Fly (1986), Dead Poets Society (1989), Thelma & Louise (1991), Braveheart (1995), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Dark Knight Rises (2012), Avengers: Infinity War (2018), Nomadland (2020)
Deleted: The Birth of a Nation (1915), Great Expectations (1946), Black Narcissus (1947), Forbidden Games (1952), East of Eden (1955), Imitation of Life (1959), Ivan's Childhood (1962), What Ever Happened to Baby Jane (1962), Hud (1963), A Man for All Seasons (1966), Harold and Maude (1971), Aguirre, Der Zorn Gottes (1972), Solaris (1972), Carrie (1976), La cage aux folles (1978), Days of Heaven (1978), Brazil (1985),
The Big Lebowski (1998)
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