A few days ago I compiled the following list for another thread. I think you could have some profit from it.
La régle du jeu (Rule of the Game) by Renoir, Jean (France, 1939)
Les enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise) by Carné, Marcel (France, 1945)
Many people, but by no means all people, think that the best movie ever made is Children of Paradise.
Les jeux sont faits (The Dices of Thrown) by Delannoy, Jean (France, 1947)
It is almost 60 years since I saw this movie. But recently I found a German translation of the film manus by Sartre. A man and a woman die. In the other world (which is highly bureaucratic) they fall in love. They are sent back to this earth. If they can stay alive for 24 hours they will remain alive. But both find themselves caught in a moral conflict. And both choose to follow their moral obligation, knowing fully well that they will not survive.
La beauté du diable (Beauty of the Devil) by Clair, René (France, 1949)
This is a French version of Faust, but without all German philosophy.
Fröken Julie (Miss Julie) by Sjöberg, Alf (Sweden, 1951)
When this movie was new, it was not only a great artistic success. It was also a world-wide box office success. And the first Swedish movie to win the Golden Palm.
Sommarlek (Summer Interlude) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1951)
I have never heard anyone say something unfortunate about this movie. Nevertheless I think it is Bergman's most underrated movie. And the dark side is not completely absent from this love story of two teenagers.
Ikiru (To Live) by Kurosawa, Akira (Japan, 1952)
A high official's soul died 25 years ago when his wife died. He continued to live only for his son, but did not receive any gratitude, not even decency. Now he got cancer and have only a few more months to live. Nevertheless, for the first time in 25 years he does make a meaningful thing of his life.
Ukigumo (Floating Clouds) by Naruse, Mikio (Japan, 1955)
Letiyat zhuravli (The Cranes Are Flying) by Kalatósov, Mikhail (Russia, 1957)
An incredibly excellent war and love movie. Do not forget to notice the unique music.
Monpti by (Käutner, Helmuth (Germany, 1957)
I am old enough to have seen quite a few Romy Schneider movies when they were new. To me she was just a beautiful girl like so many others. But this was the movie - which I did not see until 1988 - that made me a Romy fan.
Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1957)
Les amants (The Lovers) by Malle, Louis (France, 1958)
Les misérables by Chanois, Jean-Paul de (France, 1958)
Popiol i diament (Ashes and Diamonds) by Wajda, Andrzej (Poland, 1958)
Dama s sobatjkoj (The Lady with the Dog) by Kheifits, Yossif (Russia, 1959)
Ingmar Bergman has said about this movie that it has attained the highest thing that is possible, viz. that the spectator forgets that he is seeing a movie.
Hangyaku-Ji (Conspirator) by Ito, Daisuke (Japan, 1961)
A subtitled DVD has recently been released.
Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray (Sundays and Cybèle) by Bourguignon, Serge (France, 1961)
Såsom i en spegel (Through a Mirror Darkly) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1961)
La jetée by Marker, Chris (France, 1962)
L'eclisse (Solar Eclipse) by Antonioni, Michelangelo (Italy, 1962)
L'oiseau du paradis (Bird of Paradise) by Camus, Marcel (France, 1962)
Muriel, ou le temps d'un retour (Muriel) by Resnais, Alain (France, 1962)
Seppuku (Harakiri) by Kobayashi, Masaki (Japan, 1962)
Les parapluies de Cherbourg (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg) by Demy, Jacques (France, 1963)
L'immortelle (The Undeadly One) by Robbe-Grillet, Alain (France, 1963)
Il deserto rosso (The Red Desert) by Antonioni, Michelangelo (Italy, 1964)
Utsukushisa to kanashimi to (With Beauty and Sorrow) by Shinoda, Masahiro (Japan, 1965)
A DVD without subtitles can be found in Japan, and another edition subtitled in Chinese and English is sold by dvdasian.com
It is an adaptation of Nobèl Prize winner Yasunari Kawabata's novel with the same title.
According to my taste, this is the best Japanese movie ever made.
Les demoiselles de Rochefort (The Girls at Rochefort) by Demy, Jacques (France, 1966)
Vargtimman (The Hour of the Wolf) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1968)
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie (The Discreet Charme of the Bourgeoisy) by Buñuel, Luis (France, 1972)
Dersu Uzala (The Siberian Guide) by Kurosawa, Akira (Russia/Japan, 1975)
La dentellière (The Lace-Maker) by Goretta, Claude (France, 1977)
Clair de femme (Woman Light) by Costa-Gavras, Constantin (France, 1979)
Mauvais sang (Evil Blood) by Carax, Leos (France, 1986)
Seppan by Fagerström-Olsson, Agneta (Sweden, 1986)
Seppan is local slang for Seperator, an enterprise that hired many immigrant workers. And the central aspect of this movie is the collective of children talking some ten different languages. In the original Swedish version there are never any subtitles. It is the intention of the director that we should not understand everything the children say to each other.
Krotki film a milosci (A Little Movie on Love) by Kieslowski, Krzysztof (Poland, 1987)
Jean de Florette, I-II by Berri, Claude (France, 1986-1987)
Dekalog, 7, "Thou Shalt Not Steal" by Kieslowski, Krzysztof (Poland, 1988)
Quelques jours avec moi (A Few Days With Me) by Sautet, Claude (France, 1988)
Skyggen af Emma (The Shadow of Emma) by Kragh-Jakobsen, Sören (Denmark, 1988)
Topio stin omichli (Landscape in the Mist) by Angelopoulos, Theodor (Greece, 1988)
J'embrasse pas (I Dont Kiss) by Téchiné, André (France, 1991)
Not the main plot, but one third of this movie is a strange love story between a heterosexual boy who make his living as a homosexual prostitute, and a girl who is a normal prostitute.
Balti armastuslood (Baltic Love) by Urbla, Peeter (Estonia, 1992)
Three episodes from each of the Baltic nations. It is only the Lithuanian episode that I really love. A priest student and a strip girl fall in deep and reciprocal love.
Il ladre di bambini (Stolen Children) by Amelio, Gianni (Italy, 1992)
Les nuits fauves (Violent Nights) by Collard, Cyril (France, 1992)
Collard, who had also the main male part, was dying in aids. He could not wait till financing was ready, and some technical things are not perfect. But this is no doubt the best aids movie ever made. I have read that Collard lived until four hours after his movie a famous prize.
30:de november (30th November) by Fridell, Daniel (Sweden, 1995)
The story of West Side Story is moved to a Stockholmian suburb where numerous immigrants live. The boy is a nazi and the girl is a political fugitive from Peru.
Mee Pok Man by Khoo, Eric (Singapore, 1995)
Read my user comment.
Jeanne et le garcon formidable (Jeanne and the Perfect Guy) by Ducastel, Olivier & Martineau, Jacques (France, 1997)
This is a musical, but the boy will die from aids.
Seul contre tous (I Stand Alone) by Noé, Gaspar (France, 1998)
Les diables (The Little Devils) by Ruggia, Christophe (France, 2002)
Read the plot summary. This is the movie I love most of all those made in this century.
To livadi pou dakryzei (Weeping Meadow) by Angelopoulos, Theodor (Greece, 2003)
Rightly or wrongly I think that among all movies made by Angelopoulos this is the one in which he has succeeded best in doing exactly what he intended to do.
Barfuss (Barefoot) by Schweiger, Til (Germany, 2005)
Ein ganz gewöhnlicher Jude (A Quite Ordinary Jew) by Hirschbiegel, Oliver (Germany, 2005)
This movie is only for those who understand German. We cannot read as speedily as we can listen. Subtitles will invariably delete some of the words. But here all words are too important to delete any.
La petite chartreuse (The Little Chartreuse) by Denis, Jean-Pierre (France, 2005)
Read the plot summary
Va, vis et deviens (Go, live, and Become) by Mihaileanu, Radu (France/Israel, 2005)
Read the plot summary.
Coeurs (Hearts) by Resnais, Alain (France, 2006)
Auf der anderen Seite (At Heavens Edge) by Akin, Fatih (Germany/Turkey, 2007)
One of the best movies made in this century. I also think that the most dissimilar spectators could love it high-brow, low-brow, those searching action, those searching emotions, etc. etc.
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