Three Dozen Greatest Films of All Time, by Alexander Soifer
by letranger1 | created - 28 Jul 2014 | updated - 28 Jul 2014 | PublicWhen my university film students asked me for my ten greatest films of all time, I realized that ten would not work, and selected three dozen great works of cinematic art. Perhaps, I should have chosen five dozen or 100 films, but here we are! You probably noticed that when the celebrated film critics select their "10", they nearly exclusively select black and white films. Of course, b&w is already an abstraction and thus instantly looks like an art. In my opinion, color present greater difficulties in creating art - colorit, or color harmony alone present a great task for a director. And so I believe it is harder to create a masterpiece in color, and this somewhat influenced my selection. Would be happy to receive constructive feedback!
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1. Favourites of the Moon (1984)
Not Rated | 101 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
A porcelain table service and a painting from the 19th century pass from hand to hand and deteriorate over time, sealing the fate of different characters who cross paths in an unusual Paris.
Director: Otar Iosseliani | Stars: Katja Rupé, Alix de Montaigu, François Michel, Jean-Pierre Beauviala
Votes: 879
Directed by Otar Iosseliani
2. Repentance (1984)
PG | 153 min | Drama
Varlam, the despotic mayor of a small town, dies. After his funeral, his body is repeatedly unearthed and buried again. Through flashbacks and dreamlike scenes, we witness his rise, power and ambiguities.
Director: Tengiz Abuladze | Stars: Avtandil Makharadze, Zeinab Botsvadze, Ia Ninidze, Ketevan Abuladze
Votes: 4,894 | Gross: $0.22M
Directed by Tengiz Abuladze
3. Landscape After Battle (1970)
109 min | Drama, History, Romance
The film opens with the mad rush of haphazard freedom as the concentration camps are liberated. Men are trying to grab food, change clothes, bury the tormentors they find alive. They are ... See full summary »
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Daniel Olbrychski, Stanislawa Celinska, Aleksander Bardini, Tadeusz Janczar
Votes: 883
Directed by Andrzej Wajda
4. The Double Life of Véronique (1991)
R | 98 min | Drama, Fantasy, Music
Two parallel stories about two identical women; one living in Poland, the other in France. They don't know each other, but their lives are nevertheless profoundly connected.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Wladyslaw Kowalski, Halina Gryglaszewska, Kalina Jedrusik
Votes: 52,906 | Gross: $2.00M
Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
5. Cries & Whispers (1972)
R | 91 min | Drama
When a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin
Votes: 36,942 | Gross: $1.74M
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
6. Caravaggio (1986)
93 min | Biography, Drama, History
A retelling of the life of the celebrated 17th-century painter through his brilliant, nearly blasphemous paintings and his flirtations with the underworld.
Director: Derek Jarman | Stars: Noam Almaz, Dexter Fletcher, Nigel Terry, Sean Bean
Votes: 7,013 | Gross: $0.00M
Directed by Derek Jarman
7. The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
Not Rated | 79 min | Biography, Drama, History
The life of the Armenian poet Sayat-Nova, from childhood to death, his spiritual journey, artistic endeavors and inner conflicts within the cultural and historical context of Armenia, hailed as revolutionary by Mikhail Vartanov.
Director: Sergei Parajanov | Stars: Sofiko Chiaureli, Melkon Alekyan, Vilen Galstyan, Gogi Gegechkori
Votes: 13,517
Directed by Sergei Paradzhanov
8. Nostalghia (1983)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama
A Russian poet and his interpreter travel to Italy researching the life of an 18th-century composer, and instead meet a ruminative madman who tells the poet how the world may be saved.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Oleg Yankovskiy, Erland Josephson, Domiziana Giordano, Patrizia Terreno
Votes: 30,032 | Gross: $0.01M
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
9. Oedipus Rex (1967)
Not Rated | 104 min | Drama
Rescued from abandonment and raised by the King and Queen, Oedipus is still haunted by a prophecy--he'll murder his father and marry his mother.
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Silvana Mangano, Franco Citti, Alida Valli, Carmelo Bene
Votes: 6,875
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
10. Blow-Up (1966)
Not Rated | 111 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A fashion photographer unknowingly captures a death on film after following two lovers in a park.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Stars: David Hemmings, Vanessa Redgrave, Sarah Miles, John Castle
Votes: 67,584
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
11. Lancelot of the Lake (1974)
85 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
King Arthur learns that his wife, Queen Guinevere, has been having an affair with Lancelot, who at the same time remains loyal to the king, particularly after Arthur's traitorous nephew Mordred commits an attempt on his life.
Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Luc Simon, Laura Duke Condominas, Humbert Balsan, Vladimir Antolek-Oresek
Votes: 4,238
Directed by Robert Bresson
12. Landscape in the Mist (1988)
TV-MA | 127 min | Drama
Two children journey the long road to Germany to find the man they believe to be their father.
Director: Theodoros Angelopoulos | Stars: Michalis Zeke, Tania Palaiologou, Stratos Tzortzoglou, Eva Kotamanidou
Votes: 9,634
Directed by Theo Angelopoulos
13. The Piano (1993)
R | 121 min | Drama, Music, Romance
In the mid-19th century a mute woman is sent to New Zealand along with her young daughter and prized piano for an arranged marriage to a farmer, but is soon lusted after by a farm worker.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel, Sam Neill, Anna Paquin
Votes: 95,075 | Gross: $40.16M
Directed by Jane Campion
14. The Celebration (1998)
R | 105 min | Drama
At Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.
Director: Thomas Vinterberg | Stars: Ulrich Thomsen, Henning Moritzen, Thomas Bo Larsen, Paprika Steen
Votes: 93,773 | Gross: $1.65M
Directed by Thomas Vinterberg
15. The Passenger (1975)
PG-13 | 126 min | Drama, Thriller
Unable to find the war he's been asked to cover, a frustrated war correspondent takes the risky path of co-opting the identity of a dead arms-deal acquaintance.
Director: Michelangelo Antonioni | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Maria Schneider, Jenny Runacre, Ian Hendry
Votes: 26,152 | Gross: $0.62M
Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
16. Danton (1983)
PG | 136 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1793, as the Terror begins in France, Georges Danton, a champion-of-the-people, returns to clash against Maximilien Robespierre and his extremist party.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Gérard Depardieu, Wojciech Pszoniak, Anne Alvaro, Roland Blanche
Votes: 7,767
Directed by Andrzej Wajda
17. The Return (2003)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
In the Russian wilderness, two brothers face a range of new, conflicting emotions when their father - a man they know only through a single photograph - resurfaces.
Director: Andrey Zvyagintsev | Stars: Vladimir Garin, Ivan Dobronravov, Konstantin Lavronenko, Nataliya Vdovina
Votes: 47,479 | Gross: $0.50M
Directed by Andrei Zvyagintsev
18. Medea (1969)
Not Rated | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy
After his quest to retrieve the fabled Golden Fleece, Jason returns to Greece with powerful sorceress Medea. However, when the king banishes her, it's only human that Medea plots her furious revenge. Can they escape her wrath?
Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Maria Callas, Massimo Girotti, Laurent Terzieff, Giuseppe Gentile
Votes: 5,484
Directed by Pier Paolo Pasolini
19. Solaris (1972)
PG | 167 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy
Votes: 98,160
Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
20. Persona (1966)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Thriller
A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand
Votes: 130,769
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
21. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,239 | Gross: $0.10M
Directed by Kurosawa Akira
22. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,071,336 | Gross: $112.00M
Directed by Miloš Forman
23. Black Swan (2010)
R | 108 min | Drama, Thriller
Nina is a talented but unstable ballerina on the verge of stardom. Pushed to the breaking point by her artistic director and a seductive rival, Nina's grip on reality slips, plunging her into a waking nightmare.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Natalie Portman, Mila Kunis, Vincent Cassel, Winona Ryder
Votes: 823,727 | Gross: $106.95M
Directed by Darren Aranofsky
24. Medea (1988 TV Movie)
76 min | Drama
Medea is in Corinth with Jason and their two young sons. King Kreon wants to reward Jason for his exploits: he gives the hand of his daughter, Glauce, to Jason as well as the promise of the... See full summary »
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Udo Kier, Kirsten Olesen, Henning Jensen, Solbjørg Højfeldt
Votes: 3,636 | Gross: $0.02M
Directed by Lars von Trier
25. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 718,716 | Gross: $56.95M
Directed by Stanley Kubrick
26. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (1989)
NC-17 | 124 min | Crime, Drama
At Le Hollandais gourmet restaurant, every night is filled with opulence, decadence and gluttony. But when the cook, a thief, his wife and her lover all come together, they unleash a shocking torrent of sex, food, murder and revenge.
Director: Peter Greenaway | Stars: Richard Bohringer, Michael Gambon, Helen Mirren, Alan Howard
Votes: 41,692 | Gross: $7.72M
Directed by Peter Greenaway
27. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
R | 94 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Benoît Régent
Votes: 110,405 | Gross: $1.32M
Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski
28. The Seventh Seal (1957)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy
A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe
Votes: 198,275
Directed by Ingmar Bergman
29. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography
In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.
Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro
Votes: 62,202
Directed by Werner Herzog
30. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
Not Rated | 103 min | Drama, Romance, War
As World War II and the German occupation ends, the Polish resistance and the Soviet forces turn on each other in an attempt to take over leadership in Communist Poland.
Director: Andrzej Wajda | Stars: Zbigniew Cybulski, Ewa Krzyzewska, Waclaw Zastrzezynski, Adam Pawlikowski
Votes: 13,452
Directed by Andrzej Wajda
31. The Ballad of Narayama (1983)
Not Rated | 130 min | Drama
In a poor 19th century rural Japanese village, everyone who reaches the age of 70 has to climb a nearby mountain to die. An elderly woman is reaching close to her cut-off age during her last days with her family.
Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto, Tonpei Hidari, Aki Takejô
Votes: 9,099
Directed by Imamura Shohei
32. Dogville (2003)
R | 178 min | Crime, Drama
A woman on the run from the mob is reluctantly accepted in a small Colorado community in exchange for labor, but when a search visits the town she finds out that their support has a price.
Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Nicole Kidman, Paul Bettany, Lauren Bacall, Harriet Andersson
Votes: 158,542 | Gross: $1.53M
Directed by Lars von Trier
33. Othello (1951)
Approved | 90 min | Drama, Romance
The Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Micheál MacLiammóir, Robert Coote, Suzanne Cloutier
Votes: 9,446
Directed by Orson Welles
34. Rose (2011)
90 min | Drama, War
Rose, a German widow, hides from Russian soldiers who like to rape women and fights off Polish refugees who will steal everything she has. She gets help when Tadeusz, a former Polish officer, arrives looking to hide from his past.
Director: Wojciech Smarzowski | Stars: Marcin Dorocinski, Agata Kulesza, Malwina Buss, Kinga Preis
Votes: 3,990
Directed by Wojciech Smarzowski
35. White Feast (1996)
102 min | Drama
Knowing that he will soon pass on, elderly Valentin Grack hires private detective Stanislav to follow him around for an entire day and write down everything that he does. It is a cold day ... See full summary »
Director: Vladimir Naumov | Stars: Innokentiy Smoktunovskiy, Armen Dzhigarkhanyan, Natalya Belokhvostikova, Natalya Naumova
Votes: 45
Directed by Vladimir Naumov
36. The King Is Alive (2000)
R | 110 min | Drama
When a bus breaks down in the desert, the passengers decide to stage "King Lear."
Director: Kristian Levring | Stars: Miles Anderson, Romane Bohringer, David Bradley, David Calder
Votes: 2,004 | Gross: $0.10M
Directed by Kristian Levring
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