Top 50 best movies 2021

From the wise guys of Goodfellas to The Sopranos, all crime dynasties that came after The Godfather are descendants of the Corleones: Francis Ford Coppolas magnum opus is the ultimate patriarch of the Mafia genre. A monumental opening line [I believe in America] sets the operatic Mario Puzo adaptation in motion, before Coppolas epic morphs into a chilling dismantling of the American dream. The corruption-soaked story follows a powerful immigrant family grappling with the paradoxical values of reign and religion; those moral contradictions are crystallized in a legendary baptism sequence, superbly edited in parallel to the murdering of four rivaling dons. With countless iconic detailsa horses severed head, Marlon Brandos wheezy voice, Nino Rotas catchy waltzThe Godfathers authority lives on.Tomris Laffly

Back in the headlines thanks to David Finchers brilliantly acerbic making-of drama Mank, Citizen Kane always finds a way to renew itself for a new generation of film lovers. For newbies, the journey of its bulldozer of a protagonist played with inexhaustible force by actor-director-wunderkind Orson Welles from unloved child to thrusting entrepreneur to press baron to populist feels entirely au courant [in unconnected news, Donald Trump came out as a superfan]. You can bathe in the films groundbreaking techniques, like Gregg Tolands deep-focus photography, or the limitless self-confidence of its staging and its investigation of American capitalism. But its also just a damn good story that you definitely dont need to be a hardened cineaste to enjoy.Phil de Semlyen

Long considered a feminist masterpiece, Chantal Akermans quietly ruinous portrait of a widows daily routineher chores slowly yielding to a sense of pent-up frustrationshould take its rightful place on any all-time list. This is not merely a niche film, but a window onto a universal condition, depicted in a concentrated structuralist style. More hypnotic than you may realize, Akermans uninterrupted takes turn the simple acts of dredging veal or cleaning the bathtub into subtle critiques of moviemaking itself. [Pointedly, we never see the sex work Jeanne schedules in her bedroom to make ends meet.] Lulling us into her routine, Akerman and actor Delphine Seyrig create an extraordinary sense of sympathy rarely matched by other movies. Jeanne Dielman represents a total commitment to a womans life, hour by hour, minute by minute. And it even has a twist ending.Joshua Rothkopf

Starting with a dissolve from the Paramount logo and ending in a warehouse inspired by Citizen Kane, Raiders of the Lost Ark celebrates what movies can do more joyously than any other film. Intricately designed as a tribute to the craft, Steven Spielbergs funnest blockbuster has it all: rolling boulders, a barroom brawl, a sparky heroine [Karen Allen] who can hold her liquor and lose her temper, a treacherous monkey, a champagne-drinking villain [Paul Freeman], snakes [Why did it have to be snakes?], cinemas greatest truck chase and a barnstorming supernatural finale where heads explode. And its all topped off by Harrison Fords pitch-perfect Indiana Jones, a model of reluctant but resourceful heroism [look at his face when he shoots that swordsman]. In short, its cinematic perfection.Ian Freer

Made in the middle of Italys boom years, Federico Fellinis runaway box-office hit came to define heated glamour and celebrity culture for the entire planet. It also made Marcello Mastroianni a star; here, he plays a gossip journalist caught up in the frenzied, freewheeling world of Roman nightlife. Ironically, the movies portrayal of this milieu as vapid and soul-corrodingly hedonistic appears to have passed many viewers by. Perhaps thats because Fellini films everything with so much cinematic verve and wit that its often hard not to get caught up in the delirious happenings onscreen. So much of how we view fame still dates back to this film; it even gave us the word paparazzi.Bilge Ebiri

Its the easiest 207 minutes of cinema youll ever sit through. On the simplest of frameworksa poor farming community pools its resources to hire samurai to protect them from the brutal bandits who steal its harvestAkira Kurosawa mounts a finely drawn epic, by turns absorbing, funny and exciting. Of course the action sequences stir the bloodthe final showdown in the rain is unforgettablebut this is really a study in human strengths and foibles. Toshiro Mifune is superb as the half-crazed self-styled samurai, but its Takashi Shimuras Yoda-like leader who gives the film its emotional center. Since replayed in the Wild West [The Magnificent Seven], in space [Battle Beyond the Stars] and even with animated insects [A Bugs Life], the original still reigns supreme.Ian Freer

Can a film really be an instant classic? Anyone who watched In The Mood for Love when it was released in 2000 may have said yes. The second this love story opens, you sense you are in the hands of a master. Wong Kar-wai guides us through the narrow streets and stairs of 60s Hong Kong and into the lives of two neighbors [Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung] who discover their spouses are having an affair. As they imagineand partly reenacthow their partners might be behaving, they fall for each other while remaining determined to respect their wedding vows. Loaded with longing, the film benefits from no less than three cinematographers, who together create an intense sense of intimacy, while the faultless performances shiver with sexual tension. This is cinema.Anna Smith

On the road to becoming the most significant filmmaker of the last 20 years, Paul Thomas Anderson transformed from a Scorsesian chronicler of debauched L.A. life into a hard-nosed investigator of the American confidence man. The pivotal point was There Will Be Blood, an epic about a certain kind of hustlerthe oil baron and prospector. Daniel Plainview is, in the final analysis, an ultra-scary Daniel Day-Lewis who will drink your milkshake. Scored by Radioheads Jonny Greenwood [himself emerging as a major composer], Andersons mournful epic is the true heir to Chinatowns bone-deep cynicism. As Phantom Thread makes clear, Anderson hasnt lost his sense of humor, not by a long shot. But there once was a moment when he needed to get serious, and this is it.Joshua Rothkopf

Forget The Artistsorry Uggieand relish instead the sheer, serotonin-enhancing verve of MGMs glorious epitaph to cinemas silent era. Its trio of dancersrubber-faced [and heeled] Donald OConnor, sparkling newcomer Debbie Reynolds and co-director and headline act Gene Kellyare a triple threat, nailing the stellar songs, intricate and physically demanding dance routines and selling all the comic beats with consummate skill. But kudos also belongs to Betty Comden and Adolph Green, whose effervescent screenplay provides the beat for the spectacle to move to, and Jessica Hagen, whose often-overlooked turn as croaky silent star Lina Lamont is the movies funny-sad counterpoint. Not forgetting co-director Stanley Donen, who was always happy to let his stars take the credit but deserves an equal share for a musical that never puts a foot wrong.Phil de Semlyen

Three decades on and still a shot of pure cinematic adrenaline, Martin Scorseses gangster opus is a gloriously-executed epitaph to boyhood heroes who turn out to have feet of clay and blood-soaked hands. Its famous for many things the 300 f-bombs, the iconic Copacabana oner, the umpteen needle-drop moments, Billy Battss death, Joe Pescis shirt collars, et al but if theres a single reason why its a favourite with everyone from hardcore cineastes to professional footballers [that, and Scarface], its surely the arc of Ray Liottas antihero Henry Hill. He goes from starry-eyed kid to aspiring mobster to hard-bitten wiseguy to coked-up paranoiac in 150 breathless minutes. Moral corruption is rarely this alluring.Phil de Semlyen

Theres no other thriller as elegant, light-touched and sexy as Hitchcocks silken caper. Cary Grants suavely hollow adman Roger O. Thornhill [What does the O. stand for? Nothing.] is Don Draper with a sense of humor, which he sorely needs when he contracts a bad case of Wrong Manitis. The set pieces, the villains, Eva Marie Saints femme fatale, Saul Basss credits, Bernard Herrmanns musical cuessomehow the film manages to be even more than the sum of its glorious parts. Oh, and somewhere in there, Thornhill even manages to find his soul.Phil de Semlyen

You could watch Mulholland Drive, undoubtedly one of the greatest films of a new century, a hundred times and still get something different out of it with each revisit. David Lynchs glamorous nightmare of Los Angeles is dense with mystery, terror and uncanny sexinessthemes that had long been a constant of the auteurs work, but which here reached their lurid apotheosis.Abbey Bender

Vittorio de Sicas Neorealist masterpiece is set in a world where owning a bicycle is the key to working, but it could just as easily be set in one where the absence of car, or affordable childcare, or a home, or a social security number are insurmountable barriers in the constant slog to put food on the table. Thats what makes simultaneously it a film for postwar Italy and modern-day anywhere-at-all. Thats what makes it such a powerful, enduring landmark in humanist cinema. You can feel it in virtually every social drama you care to mention, from Ken Loach to Kelly Reichardt.Phil de Semlyen

Theres a new Batman in Gotham, in the shadowy form of Matt Reevess The Batman and this is the bar it has to clear. The middle entry in Christopher Nolans Bat-trilogy is an almost flawless case study of how to do a sophisticated superhero epic for modern audiences andthe almost is only because the final act refreshingly tries to cram in almost too many ideas, much moral arithmetic. Heath Ledgers Joker, meanwhile, redefines big-screen villainy: Its not enough to be sinister,youneed a party trick now too.Phil de Semlyen

Charlie Chaplins total vision remains awe-inspiring: He wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in his own movies, which he also scored with an orchestra. And when those cameras were rolling, they captured a self-made icon with a global audience. Still, City Lights was something else. Chaplin, reticent to give up the visual techniques hed mastered, insisted on making his new comedy a silent film even as viewers were growing thirsty for sound. As ever, the star had the last laugh: Not only was the film a huge commercial success, it also ended on the most heartbreaking close-up in cinema historythe peak of the reaction shot [since cribbed by movies from La Strada to The Purple Rose of Cairo], no dialogue required.Joshua Rothkopf

Theres never a bad time to revisit one of Jean Renoirs great masterpieces [along with The Rules of the Game], but this current era of populists, nationalists and shouty rabble-rousers feels like a particularly good one. Set in a German POW camp during WWI, the film lays bare the fault lines of class and nationality among a group of French prisoners and their German captors and comes to the conclusion that all that really matters is mans nobility toward his fellow man.Phil de Semlyen

Calling this one the peak of screwball comedy may be too limiting: Among the many topflight movies directed by journeyman filmmaker Howard Hawks, His Girl Friday is his most romantic and most verbose [the constant banter feels like foreplay]. Though the laconic Hawks would downplay his own proto-feminism throughout his life, the film is also his most liberated; strong women who had jobs and ran with newshounds were simply what he wanted to see. Most wonderfully, this comedy best celebrates the rule of wit: Heor, more often, shewith the sharpest tongue wins. If you love words, youll love this movie.Joshua Rothkopf

You could stick nearly every Powell and Pressburger film on this list; such was the dynamic duos stellar output. But for our moneyand that of superfan Martin Scorsesethis dazzling ballet-set romance is first among equals. It's a perfect expression of artists drive to create, set in a lush Technicolor world shot by the great Jack Cardiff. Scorsese describes it as the movie that plays in my heart. Well take two seats at the back.Phil de Semlyen

A sexy Freudian mind-bender thats often considered Alfred Hitchcocks finest triumph, Vertigo is pitched in a world of existential obsession and cunning doubles. Shape-shifting her way through Edith Heads transformational costumes, Kim Novak haunts in two roles: Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton, both objects of desire for James Stewarts curious ex-cop. Completing this vivid psychodrama is Bernard Herrmanns alarmingly duplicitous score, which twists its way to a towering finale.Tomris Laffly

Increasingly a giant of world cinema, Frances Claire Denis continues to confound expectations, making movies in sync with her own offbeat rhythms and thematic preoccupations [colonialism, power, repressed attraction]. This one, her celebrated breakout, is something of a spin on Herman Melvilles Billy Buddbut thats like calling Jaws something of a spin on Moby-Dick. The genius is in Deniss technique, manifesting itself in images of shattering emotional precision: sinewy silhouettes of soldiers, abstract tests of will in the desert and, most ravishingly, the euphoria of breaking into dance, courtesy of a loose-limbed Denis Lavant and Coronas Rhythm of the Night.Joshua Rothkopf

Showing some personal growth as well as filmmaking craft, John Ford makes some amends for his appearance in DW Griffiths virulently racist The Birth of a Nation with this landmark western. Its a story of hatred slowing giving way to compassion that strips away the toxic myths of the old frontier via the swaggering but broken-down figure of Ethan Edwards [John Wayne]. Edwards is no white-hatted Shane type, but an embittered war veteran who hunts his own niece [Natalie Wood] with the intention of killing her for the crime of have been assimilated with the Comanche. The shot of Edwards framed in that doorway is one of the most famous and most mimicked in cinema.Phil de Semlyen

Ingmar Bergmans psychologically raw output has the potency to turn mere film fans into raging addicts; Persona is the hard stuff, a double-sided psychodrama that somehow feels like it was shot last weekend with two of Ingys coolest friends [Bibi Andersson and Liv Ullmann, both revelatory]. For its intimacy and economy alone, the film feels like a preview of the scrappy decade to come. Bergman, recovering from a serious bout of pneumonia, wrote the script in the hospital, grappling with a crisis of purpose that he turned into art of the highest caliber.Joshua Rothkopf

Spike Lees bitterly funny, ultimately tragic fresco of a Brooklyn neighborhood during one sweltering summer day was hugely controversial at the time: Critics dinged Lee for his depiction of an uprising in the wake of a police killing. The movie has lost none of its relevance or power; if anything, its gained some. But the filmmaking is what makes this a classic, particularly the energy, wit and style with which Lee presents this microcosm and the social forces at play inside it.Bilge Ebiri

Its no exaggeration to say that Akira Kurosawas Rashomon redefined cinematic storytelling. With its shifting, unreliable narrative structurein which four people give differing accounts of a murderthe film is remarkably daring and serves as a reminder of how form itself can beguile us. Flashbacks have never been so thrillingly deployed; nearly 70 years after its release, filmmakers are still trying to catch up to its achievements.Abbey Bender

Jean Renoir cemented his virtuosity with this pitch-perfect study of social-strata eruptions among the ditzy, idle rich, about to be blown sideways by WWII. Affairs among aristocrats and servants alike bloom during a weeklong hunting trip at a country manor, where the only crime is to trade frivolity with sincerity. Renoir captures his sparklingly astute ensemble cast with fluid, deep-focus camera movements, innovations that inspired directors from Orson Welles to Robert Altman.Stephen Garrett

Rightly considered one of the most focused and suspenseful movies ever made, Steven Spielbergs tale of a shark terrorizing a beach town remains effective more than four decades later. Jaws may have set the reputation of those gray-finned creatures back a few centuries, but it took the popular movie thriller to another level, demonstrating that B-movie material could be executed with masterly skill. Spielberg proved that less is more when it comes to crafting a feeling of dread, barely even showing us the beast that went on to haunt a whole generation.Dave Calhoun

The deliciously dark, stylish genre of film noir simply wouldnt exist without Double Indemnity. This one truly has it all: flashbacks, murder, shadows and cigarettes galore, and, of course, a devious femme fatale [Barbara Stanwyck]. As one of the great directors of Hollywoods golden age, Billy Wilder excelled across a variety of cinematic types, but this hard-boiled gem is his most influential work.Abbey Bender

The first in a five-film autobiographical series, Francois Truffauts The 400 Blows is the story of Antoine Doinel [Jean-Pierre Léaud]stuck in an unhappy home life but finding solace in goofing off, smoking and hanging with his friendsand its cinemas greatest evocation of a troubled childhood. Plus, its the perfect primer to get kids into subtitled movies.Ian Freer

Popcorn pictures hit hyperdrive after George Lucas unveiled his intergalactic Western, an intoxicating gee-whiz space opera with dollops of Joseph Campbellstyle mythologizing that obliterated the moral complexities of 1970s Hollywood. This postmodern movie-brat pastiche references a virtual syllabus of genre classics, from Metropolis and Triumph of the Will to Kurosawas samurai actioners, Flash Gordon serials and WWII thrillers like The Dam Busters. Luke Skywalkers quest to rescue a princess instantly elevated B-movie bliss to billion-dollar-franchise sagas.Stephen Garrett

Carl Theodor Dreyers classic tale of the trial of Joan of Arc is somehow both austere and maximalist. The director shows restraint with setting and scope; the film focuses largely on the back-and-forth between Joan and her inquisitors. But the intense close-ups give free reign to Maria Falconettis marvelously expressive turn as the doomed Maid of Orleans. Made at the close of the silent era, it set new standards in screen acting.Bilge Ebiri

The ultimate cult film, Leones spaghetti Western is set in a civilizing Americathough mostly shot in Rome and Spainbut the real location is an abstract frontier of old versus new, of larger-than-life heroes fading into memory. Its a triumph of buried political commentary and purest epic cinema. Henry Fondas icy stare, composer Ennio Morricones twangy guitars of doom and the monumental Charles Bronson as the last gunfighter [an ancient race] are just three reasons of a million to saddle up.Joshua Rothkopf

If all it did was to launch a franchise centered on Sigourney Weavers fierce survivor [still among the toughest action heroines of cinema], Ridley Scotts claustrophobic, deliberately paced sci-fi-horror classic would still be cemented in the film canon. But Alien claims masterpiece status with its subversive gender politics [this is a movie that impregnates men], its shocking chestburster centerpiece and industrial designer H.R. Gigers strangely elegant double-jawed creature, a nightmarish vision of hostilityand one of cinemas most unforgettable pieces of pure craft.Tomris Laffly

Simply spun, Yasujiro Ozus domestic drama is small but perfectly formed. Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama are dignified and moving as parents who visit their children and grandchildren, only to be neglected. Delicately played, beautifully shot [often with the camera hovering just off the ground], Ozus masterpiece is the family movie given grandeur and intimacy. If you loved last years Shoplifters, youll love this.Ian Freer

Whats the best part of Pulp Fiction? The twist contest at Jack Rabbit Slims? Bruce Willis versus the Gimp? Juless Ezekiel 25:17 monologue? Quentin Tarantinos film earns curiosity with its grabby movie moments but claims all-time status with its spellbinding achronological plotting, insanely quotable dialogue and a proper understanding of the metric system. Pulp Fiction marked its generation as deeply as did Star Wars before it; its a flourish of 90s indie attitude that still feels fresh despite a legion of chatty imitators.Ian Freer

The late 90s spawned two prescient satires of reality TV, back when it was still in its pre-epidemic phase: the underrated EDtv and, this, Peter Weirs profound statement on the way the media has its claws in us. In some ways a kinder, gentler version of Network, The Truman Show is a TV parable in which a meek hero [Jim Carrey] wins back his life. It can also be considered an angrier film, slamming both the controlling TV networks [represented by Ed Harriss messiahlike Christof] and us, the viewing public, for making a game show of other peoples lives.Phil de Semlyen

Notions of masculinity, conflicted sexuality and tribal identity [or lack of it] boil beneath the surface of David Leans historical epic like magma. They seeps through the cracks of its depiction of iconoclastic Edwardian nomad and Arab leader T E Lawrence [Peter OToole], locating its huge set pieces within the megalomaniac compass of its hero and lending depth to its intimate moments when the cost of all is laid bare. Amid its sweeping Arabian landscapes, famously captured by cinematographer Freddie Youngs cameras, its the interior landscape of Lawrence himself that this great biopic maps out so memorably.Phil de Semlyen

Fun fact: Psycho is the first film to ever depict a toilet flushing. Happily, Alfred Hitchcocks thriller broke new ground in other ways, too, from offing its heroine within the first third to diving deeper into a crazed mind [bravo, Anthony Perkins] than Hollywood had yet managed before. Forget the shower shenanigans, the end is creepy AF.Ian Freer

Japanese cinema has produced no shortage of heavy hitters, but director Kenji Mizoguchi may deserve prime of place. He was able to turn out impeccable ghost stories [Ugetsu] and backstage dramas [The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums], but his greatest trait was a deep, unshakable empathy for women, beaten down by the patriarchy but heartbreaking in their suffering. These women are central to Sansho the Bailiff, a feudal tale of familial dissolution that will wreck you. Make no apologies for your tears; everyone else will be crying, too.Joshua Rothkopf

Mournful, challenging and mesmerizing, Soviet director Andrei Tarkovskys epic portrait of the life and times of one of Russias most famous medieval icon painters foregrounds qualities such as landscape and mood over story and character. Ultimately, its the tale of a mans attempt to overcome his crisis of faith in a world that seems to have an endless supply of violence and strifeand its a remarkable testament to the persistence of artists working under oppressive regimes.Bilge Ebiri

The melancholy of Michel Legrands glorious score washes over viewers hearts from the first moment of Jacques Demys nontraditional, sung-through musical. One of the most romantic films ever made about the pains and purity of first love, the immaculately styled The Umbrellas of Cherbourg challenged the lighter Hollywood musicals of the era [like The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady] and launched the sensational Catherine Deneuve into international stardom. Later, it would be a major influence on La La Land.Tomris Laffly

Director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne took a modestly sleazy noir setup and turned it into a meditation on the horrors of American history and rapacious capitalism. The film also sports a perfect cast, with a top-of-his-game Jack Nicholson as a cynical private eye, an impossibly alluring Faye Dunaway as the femme fatale with a past so dark her final revelation still shocks, and the legendary John Huston as the monstrous millionaire at the heart of it all.Bilge Ebiri

Not just any film gets homaged by Bill and Ted. But Ingmar Bergmans great treatise on mortality isnt just any film. Despite becoming somehow synonymous with difficult art-house statement, its not all weighty themes, plague-strewn landscapes and chess games with the Grim Reaper. As Max von Sydows medieval knight travels the land witnessing the apocalypse, loads of life-affirming moments lighten the load. Of course, its a work of profound philosophical thought, too, so youll feel brainier for having seen it.Phil de Semlyen

Worlds collide in Sofia Coppola's pitch-perfect tale of a movie star [Bill Murray] and a newlywed [Scarlett Johansson] in Tokyo. Coppola approaches each of her characters with a warmth and sensitivity that exudes from the screenand ensures that Brass in Pocket will remain a karaoke favorite around the world [pink wig optional]. Why has the film endured so vividly in viewers hearts? Maybe because it captures those gloriously melancholic moments weve all experienced that seem to be gone in a flash, yet linger forever.Anna Smith

A time capsule of a vanished New York and a portrait of twisted masculinity that still stings, Taxi Driver stands at the peak of the vital, gritty auteur-driven filmmaking that defined 1970s New Hollywood. Martin Scorseses vision of vigilantism is filled with an uncomfortable ambience, and Paul Schraders screenplay probes philosophical depths that are brought to vicious life by Robert De Niros unforgettable performance.Abbey Bender

The jewel in Japanese animation studio Studio Ghiblis crown, Spirited Away is a glorious bedtime story filled with soot sprites, monsters and phantasmsits a movie with the power to coax out the inner child in the most grown-up and jaded among us. A spin on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland [with the same invitation to follow your imagination], Spirited Away has been ushering audiences into its dream world for almost two decades and seems only to grow in stature each year, a tribute to its hand-drawn artistry. Trivia time: It remains Japans highest-grossing film ever, just ahead of Titanic.Anna Smith

The first no-budget horror movie to become a bona-fide calling card for its director, George A. Romeros seminal frightfest begins with a single zombie in a graveyard and builds to an undead army attacking a secluded house. Most modern horror clichés start here. But nothing betters it for style, mordant wit, racial and political undertow, and scaring the bejesus out of you, all some 50 years before Us.Ian Freer

This rousing Russian silent film was conceived in the heat of Soviet propaganda and commissioned by the still-young Communist government to salute an event from 20 years earlier. It tells of a sailors revolt that morphs into a full-blown workers uprising in the city of Odessa; the movie is most famous for one breathtaking sequencemuch copied and parodied sinceof a baby carriage tumbling down a huge flight of steps. But Battleship Potemkin is full of powerful images and heady ideas, and director Sergei Eisenstein is rightly considered one of the pioneers of early film language, with his influence felt through the decades.Dave Calhoun

The only Charlie Chaplin movie to see the Little Tramp go on a massive cocaine binge, this relentlessly inventive silent classic hardly needs the added kick. The gags come almost as fast as you can process them, with the typically pinpoint Chaplin slapstick conjured here from scenarios that seem purpose-built to end in disaster. The sight of Chaplin literally feeding himself into a massive machine offers a still-germane satire on technological advancement.Phil de Semlyen

Film critic Jean-Luc Godards seismic directing debut is a bravado deconstruction of the gangster picture that also reinvented moviemaking itself. It features Cubistic jump cuts, restless handheld camerawork, location shoots, eccentric pacing [the 24-minute centerpiece is two lovers talking in a bedroom], and self-conscious asides about painting, poetry, pop culture, literature and film. A sexy fling between petty thief Jean-Paul Belmondo and Sorbonne-bound gamine Jean Seberg morphs into an oddly touching, existential meditation. Its pulp fiction, but alchemically profound.Stephen Garrett

So much of Stanley Kubricks genius was conceptual, and this one asks his most audacious question: What if the world came to an endand it was hilarious? Nuclear annihilation was a subject in which Kubrick immersed himself, reading virtually every unclassified text. His conclusion was grim: There would be no winning. Via darkest comedy [the only way into the subject] and an unhinged Peter Sellers playing three separate parts, Kubrick made his point.Joshua Rothkopf

One of those epochal filmstheres only a handfulthat sits on the divide between silent cinema and the sound era but taps into the virtues of both, Fritz Langs serial-killer thriller burns with deep-etched visual darkness while perking ears with its whistled In the Hall of the Mountain King [performed by a purse-lipped Lang himself; his star, Peter Lorre, couldnt whistle]. The movies theme is vigilance: We must protect our children, but who will protect society from itself? M is like a sonar listening to a pre-Nazi Germany on the cusp of shedding its humanity.Joshua Rothkopf

Set in [eek!] 2019, Ridley Scotts vision of a dystopian future is one of the most stylish sci-fi films of all time. With a noir-inspired aesthetic and a haunting synth score by Vangelis [a massive influence on Prince], Blade Runner is iconic not just for its era-defining look, but also for its deeper philosophical examination of what it means to be human. Many have tried to imitate the films uncanny vibe, but these rain-slicked streets and seedy vistas possess a singular menace.Abbey Bender

The creative fecundity of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, dead from an overdose at age 37 after completing more than 40 features, deserves enshrinement by a new generation. This film is arguably his sharpest and most psychologically complex; inarguably, its his bitchiest. There is so much to love in Fassbinders shag-carpeted showdown, which goes beyond the spectacle of two dueling fashionistas into a profound exploration of aging and obsolescence.Joshua Rothkopf

Few film movements can boast the hit rate of Italian neorealism, a post-WWII wave dedicated to working-class struggle that seems to comprise only masterpieces. Robert Rossellini was responsible for a few of them, including Germany Year Zero and this earlier drama of repression and resistance, which boasts not one but two of the most memorable death scenes in all of cinema.Phil de Semlyen

Brace for the land of phantoms and the call of the Bird of Death: One of the earliest [though unauthorized] adaptations of Dracula is still the most terrifying. Max Schrecks insectlike performance as the bloodthirsty Count Orlok is just as transfixing and repulsive as it was almost a century ago. German Expressionist director F.W. Murnaus haunting images of a crepuscular world set the chilling standard for generations of cinematic nightmares.Stephen Garrett

With about 6,500 zingers to choose from, everyone has their favorite Airplane! gag. Directors David and Jerry Zucker and their partner in extreme silliness, Jim Abrahams, truly threw the kitchen sink at this dizzying spoof of the 70s disaster movies that were all the rage at the time. Onscreen comedy, in turn, was modernized for what would be its most transforming decade. Our favorite joke? Looks like I picked the wrong week to quit amphetamines.Phil de Semlyen

Hypnotic, bewitching, thought-provoking, disturbing, horrifying: However you react to it, you won't forget Jonathan Glazer's startling adaptation of Michel Faber's woman-who-fell-to-earth novel. Using her celebrity in a radical way, Scarlett Johansson is perfectly cast as an alien in human form who roams Glasgow trying to pick up men in her van. It was shot guerrilla-style on the streets of the Scottish city, so look out for the footage of genuinely baffled passersby.Anna Smith

Both a sequel and a reboot, the fourth entry in director George Millers series of post-apocalyptic gearhead epics fuses death-defying stunts with modern special effects to give us one of the all-time-great action movies. This one is a nonstop barrage of chases, each more spectacularly elaborate and nightmarish than the lastbut its all combined with Millers surreal, poetic sensibility, which sends it into the realm of art.Bilge Ebiri

Francis Ford Coppolas evergreen Vietnam War classic proves war is swell, as assassin Martin Sheen heads upriver to kill renegade colonel Marlon Brando. En route, theres surfing, a thrilling helicopter raid, napalm smelling, tigers and Playboy bunnies, until Sheen steps off the boat and into a different zone of madnessor is it genius? Who knows at this point?Ian Freer

Forget what the Oscars crowned as the Best Picture of 2005: Ang Lees tragic gay romance is the nominee that stands the test of time. Anchored by Rodrigo Prietos swoonworthy cinematography and a wistful Heath Ledger [whose performance toppled societal perceptions of masculinity], Brokeback Mountain is a milestone in LGBTQ art-house cinema. It reimagined the Western genre and became a part of the zeitgeist.Tomris Laffly

Biting political satires don't have to be long and complicated: This 68-minute masterpiece is perfectly pithy, exposing the absurdities of international politics with swift wit and spot-on slapstick. Often regarded as the funniest of the Marx Brothers oeuvre, the film is alsosadlytimeless, as its portrayal of a war-mongering dictatorship remains relevant to this day.Anna Smith

An unlikely pick? Not when you consider the low-budget sensation in a larger context. Many films emerge from Sundance with a deafening buzz; how do you explain a $250 million global box-office gross? Credit a revolutionary internet campaign, spooky and immersive, thats now a tactic in every publicists playbook. And lets not forget the movie itself, which kicked off the found-footage trend. Even more prophetically, The Blair Witch Project is about a generation that cant stop filming itself, even when lost in the woodsits ground zero for selfie horror.Joshua Rothkopf

With the ink barely wet on Richard Nixons 1974 resignation, director Alan J. Pakula, actor-producer Robert Redford and screenwriter William Goldman created a hot-off-the-presses docudrama about the Watergate break-in that crackles with live-wire tension. This is nose-to-the-grindstone investigative work in an analog worldthink rotary phones, electric typewriters, handwritten notes on legal pads, red-pen edits and Xerox copiersand a master class in making movie dialogue absolutely riveting. Its an essential touchstone for every political thriller since.Stephen Garrett

Were cheating by including all three films [Pather Panchali, Aparajito and The World of Apu], but really, how do you separate the installments of Satyajit Rays magnificent coming-of-age trilogy? The Bengali great follows young Apu [Apurba Kumar Roy] from boyhood to adult life via schooling and a move from his remote village to the big city, as well as loves and losses. Some of the most intimate Indian cinema ever captured, its also completely relatable, whether you hail from Kolkata, Kansas or Camden Town.Phil de Semlyen

Boy meets train. Boy loses train. Boy chases Union forces who stole train, wins back train and fires off in the opposite direction. It may not sound like your average love story, but thats exactly what Buster Keatons deadpan and death-defying silent comedy is: a majestic demonstration of trick photography, balletic courage and comic timing, all underpinned by genuine heart. Trust us, its loco-motional.Phil de Semlyen

There are countless movies about romantic relationships, yet few explore the subject more creatively than Michel Gondrys breakthrough, scripted by Charlie Kaufman [who was then becoming a household name with Being John Malkovich and Adaptation]. The sci-fiinflected tale of two halves of a broken-up couple going through a memory-erasing procedure takes many surprising, poignant turns; the films impeccably executed combination of authentically quirky imagery and philosophical inquiry has become a signpost of modern independent cinema.Abbey Bender

The title is still a killer piece of marketing, suggesting something much gorier than what you get. Thats not to say Tobe Hoopers masterpiece doesnt deliver. A grungy vision of horror captured during a palpably sweaty and stenchy Texas summer, the film has taken its rightful place as a definitive parable of Nixonian class warfare, eat-or-be-eaten social envy and the essentially unknowable nature of some unlucky parts of the world.Joshua Rothkopf

As unsparing as cinema gets, the influence of Elem Klimovs sui generis war movie transcends the genre in a way that not even Steven Spielbergs Saving Private Ryan can match. At its heart its a coming-of-age story that follows a young Belarusian boy [Aleksei Kravchenko] through unspeakable horror as Nazi death squads visit an apocalypse on his region. Alongside its historical truths, the films grammar and visual languagethere are passages that play like an ultra-violent acid tripare what truly elevates it. Like an Hieronymus Bosch masterpiece, the images here can never be unseen.Phil de Semlyen

Writer-director Michael Manns heist masterpiece put two of our greatest actors, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, together onscreen for the first timeone as a stoic master criminal, the other as the obsessive cop determined to bring him down. In weaving their stories together, Mann presents dueling but equally weighted perspectives, with our allegiance as viewers constantly shifting. The last word on cops-and-robbers movies, its suffused with a magic that crime thrillers try to recapture to this day.Bilge Ebiri

Our list doesnt lack for Stanley Kubrick movies [nor should it]. Still, its shocking to remember that The Shiningso redolent of the directors pet themes of mazelike obsession and the banality of evilwas once considered a minor work. Its since come to represent the most concentrated blast of Kubricks total command; hes the god of the film, Steadicam-ing around corners and making the audience notice that he was born to redefine horror. Even if we cant roll with the crackpot fan theories about how Kubrick allegedly faked the Apollo moon landing, well readily admit that this film contains cosmic multitudes.Joshua Rothkopf

The one that got Pixars [Luxo] ball rolling and still an absolute high-water mark for CG animation, Toy Story reinvented what a family movie could be. On the surface, its a simple story about a couple of miniature rivals sizing each other up [Woody was originally going to be a whole mess meaner], before falling into peril at the hands of next-door pyrotechnics genius Sid. But its also about jealousy, power dynamics and our relationships with our own childhoods. With it, Pixar took storytelling to infinity and far, far beyond.Phil de Semlyen

Shot on 16-millimeter film in sketchy light, Charles Burnetts UCLA graduate thesis film stitches together seemingly mundane vignettes to form a compelling mosaic of late-70s African-American life. A landmark of independent black cinema, its set to a great soundtrack ranging from blues and classical to Paul Robeson. Poetic, compassionate, angry, ironic: All human life is present here.Ian Freer

Theres a tendency in these greatest-of-all-time exercises to prioritize the director, the camerawork or the screenplay. But respect must be paid to the performer, too: In a decade of brilliant acting, no turn was quite as galvanizing as the one given by Gena Rowlands in this stunning peek into a fraying mind. A fluky Los Angeles housewife and mother whos constantly being told to calm down, Rowlandss Mabel is the apotheosis of John Cassavetess improvisatory cinema; our concern for her never flags as she teeters through excruciating scenes of breakdown and regrouping.Joshua Rothkopf

Quotable, endearing and bursting with creative moments, Annie Hall is one of the most revolutionary of romantic comedies. This quintessential New York movie turned countless viewers on to the joys of verbose dialogue [and experimentation in menswear for women], and has long been lauded for both its accessibility and its poignancy, a balance that few movies have since achieved so memorably.Abbey Bender

Clocking it at number 15 on our list of the 100 Greatest Comedies Ever Made, Billy Wilders classic gangster farce plays like Scarface on helium. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon make one of cinemas most delightful double acts as a couple of musicians on the run from the Mob, but Marilyn Monroe steals the picture as the coquettish, breathy and entirely loveable Sugar. Nobodys perfect but this movie gets pretty darn close.Phil de Semlyen

Hugely expensive for its time, Metropolis is Blade Runner, The Terminator and Star Wars all rolled into one [not to mention 50 years prior]. Fritz Langs silent vision of a totalitarian society still astounds through its stunning cityscapes, groundbreaking special effects and a bewitchingly evil robot [Brigitte Helm]. Its science fiction at its most ambitious and breathtakingthe not-so-modest beginnings of onscreen genre seriousness.Ian Freer

The accepted wisdom is that the noir era really kicked off during the hard-bitten post-WWII years, which makes John Hustons adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's detective novel a real trailblazer. Its a template for the swathe of noir flicks that would follow, offering up a jaded-but-noble gumshoe in Humphrey Bogarts Sam Spade, a femme fatale [Mary Astor], a couple of shifty villains [Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre] and a labyrinthine plot that drags you around by the nose. If the movie were any more hard-boiled, youd crack your teeth on it.Phil de Semlyen

Exploding drummers, amps that go to 11, tiny Stonehenges, Dobly: This spoof rock documentaryrockumentary, if you mustis monumentally influential on cinema, cringe comedy and, possibly, the music industry itself. [Theres not a band out there without at least one Spinal Tap moment to its name.] Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are comic royalty, and we can only genuflect in their presence; shortly after this film, Guest kicked off his own directorial brand of humor, directly inspired by Rob Reiners heavy-metal satire.Phil de Semlyen

If only Hollywood made em like they used to: crackling romantic comedies that conquered the Oscars. Frank Capras hilarious hate-at-first-sight love story is still one of the fastest movies ever made. Claudette Colberts spoiled heiress and Clark Gables opportunistic reporter hit the road and bicker their way toward a happily-ever-after ending, class barriers be damned. Not only did this smart and suggestively sexy pre-Code screwball shape every rom-com that followed, it still has a leg up on most of them.Tomris Laffly

The perfect action movie? Its hard to think of one better than this tower-block spectacularnor one more imitated. Theres since been Die Hard on a boat [Under Siege], Die Hard in a hockey arena [Sudden Death] and even Die Hard in a private school [1997s Masterminds]. None, though, is fit to tie the laces on John McClanes quickly discarded shoes. The stunts are awesome, the dialogue is endlessly quotable, and Bruce Willis and Alan Rickman are a white-hatblack-hat duo straight out of a classic Western.Phil de Semlyen

In Mussolinis Italy, a repressed homosexual [Jean-Louis Trintignant] joins the Fascist party in order to blend in and hide his true self. Part psychoanalysis session, part colorful genre fantasia, director Bernardo Bertoluccis enormously influential drama journeys through different styles and aesthetics. As much as Orson Welless Citizen Kane did with the films of the 20s, 30s, and early 40s, The Conformist offers a powerful compendium of cinematic techniques from the eras preceding it.Bilge Ebiri

Let John Carpenters real masterpiecethe one that horror mavens bow down totake its place in the pantheon. A passion project that got clobbered by audiences and critics alike, The Thing was, in fact, that rarest of remakes: one that improves upon its source. Carpenters widescreen elegance and spooky synth minimalism [here furthered by composer Ennio Morricone] found a new counterpoint in some of the most disgusting practical special effects ever sprung on a paying audience. But the films ice-cold paranoia, uncut and pharma-grade, has been its most lasting legacy: a template of perfection for all since.Joshua Rothkopf

Writer-director Julie Dash should have become an Ava DuVernay-level success after her poetic feature debut, an achievement of otherworldly beauty. The first film made by an African-American woman to receive theatrical distribution, Daughters of the Dust is permeated with pride, history and matriarchal wisdom. Set in 1902, it follows the Gullah, descendents of slaves living off the coast of South Carolina, who painfully reckon with their fading traditions. Singularly ahead of its time, Daughters mourns the enduring tragedy of enslavement. Its tranquil strength later found an echo in Beyoncés Lemonade.Tomris Laffly

Back in 1975, Stanley Kubricks somber adaptation of William Makepeace Thackerays novel about a young Irishmans journey from lovestruck exile to cynical grifter in 18th-century Europe seemed out of step with the gritty, intense output of contemporary cinema. Years later, its considered by many to be Kubricks masterpiece, and its deliberate, highly aestheticized approach has influenced everybody from Ridley Scott to Yorgos Lanthimos.Bilge Ebiri

Martin Scorseses hallucinogenic biography of the tenacious boxer Jake LaMotta [Robert De Niro] is a bold mash-up of neorealist grit and hyperstylized, gossamer beauty. Put on the gloves and LaMotta is in his element; take them off and hes an insecure sociopath consumed by sexual jealousy. De Niros monstrous portrayal is miraculously empathetic, but whats truly revolutionary is Scorseses technique: Like a modern-day Verdi, the Italian-American auteur elevates the profane to the operatic.Stephen Garrett

David Fincher is the most signature director of his era: a crafter of iconic music videos and decade-defining dramas like Zodiac and The Social Network. But his transition to Hollywood was rocky; it was a town that barely understood him. The turning point was Seven, the first time that Finchers fearsome vision arrived uncut. Stylistically, the dark movie [shot by an inspired Darius Khondji, working with a silver-nitrate-retention process] has proven more durable than even The Silence of the Lambs, but its that meme-able sucker punch of an ending that still rattles audiences.Joshua Rothkopf

Ever-overshadowed by the Herculeanfeat that was Fitzcarraldo, Werner Herzogs other exploration ofmale vainglory in theremotest parts ofSouth Americaappliesanother coolly obversational lens tothemalignantmadness of out-of-control obsession. Its colder, greedier here: Klaus Kinskis conquistador craves gold, not culture. Featuring a river journey, a haunting, synthy Popul Voh score and a bunch of taunting monkeys, its Herzogs Apocalypse Now.Phil de Semlyen

Political thrillers still owe a debt to Gillo Pontecorvos ever-timely tour de force. Recounting the Algerian uprising against French colonial occupiers in the 1950s, The Battle of Algiers boldly examines terrorism, racism and even torture as a means of intelligence-gathering. Screened at the Pentagon for its topical significance during the early phases of the Iraq War, Algiers has its rebellious legacy vested in numerous politically charged epics, from Z to Steven Spielbergs Munich.Tomris Laffly

Pedro Almodóvar broke into the mainstream with this gloriously colorful ensemble comedy, an entry point for many into a style of smart, sexually liberated European cinema. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown offers juicy roles for a range of Spains finest female actors [plus a charmingly baby-faced Antonio Banderas] and consistently delights with its creative choices in costuming and interior design. The combination of screwball dynamics and the garishness of the 1980s is perfectly calibrated and fun.Abbey Bender

Shot over 12 years with a cast of actors that ages before our eyes, Richard Linklaters modern-day coming-of-age classic is a peerless artistic gamble, comparable only to Michael Apteds Up series and Francois Truffauts Antoine Doinel films. Still, Boyhoods astonishing compactness catches you off guard like no other movie. Adorned by Linklaters signature effortless rhythms, the film bottles the fleeting spirit of time, maturing into a reflective meditation on lifes ordinary moments.Tomris Laffly

Movies have always been a gateway into radical art; Hollywood may have made them sleek and accessible, but experimentation was there from the start. Luis Buñuel counts among the top rank of dreamers to ever grace the field of filmmaking. Without him, theres no David Lynch, no Wong Kar-waieven Alfred Hitchcock was a fan. Of Buñuels many seismic features [dont skip his slicin-up-eyeballs short, Un Chien Andalou], begin with this radical satire of class warfare, which sums up everything he did well. It even won him an unlikely Oscar.Joshua Rothkopf

An antiwar movie, a courtroom thriller, an upstairs-downstairs study of social status, a religious critique, an absurdist satire and, finally, a heartbreakingly futile plea for compassion in the face of destruction, Stanley Kubricks humanist masterpiece dissects all the delusional facets of the male psyche. Battlegrounds aboundpsychological, emotional, physicalmaking the bleakly entrenched soldiers of 1916, and the officers who confuse folly for fame, still feel painfully relevant.Stephen Garrett

Actors are the lifeblood of director Mike Leighs famous process, a much-discussed method of workshopping, character exploration, group improvisation and collaborative writing. It can often be months before the camera rolls. The results have been consistently exquisite over the years, funneled into period musical-comedies [Topsy-Turvy] and brutal contemporary dramas [Naked] alike. We recommend Leighs critical breakthrough, featuring nervy turns by Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall, as the perfect place to begin your deep dive.Joshua Rothkopf

This smoky, jazzy noir from director Alexander Mackendrick [The Ladykillers] is one of the great movies about power, influence and print journalism at its midcentury height. Its a seedy, intoxicating tale that unfolds in Manhattans backroom bar booths, and it features brain-searing performances from Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco, a bottom-feeding gossip monger, and Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker, a towering, corrupt newspaper columnist. The dialogue is snappy and delicious; the morals are as empty as Times Square at dawnDave Calhoun

This German Expressionist masterpiece came out in 1920, a long time before the invention of the spoiler warning. We only hope that audience members instinctively knew not to give away cinemas first ever twist ending and ruin the sting of this fractured horror-fable for their pals. Director Robert Wiene conjured up something truly dark and lingering from its shadows: You can feel Dr. Caligaris influence in everything from Tim Burtons movies to Shutter Island.Phil de Semlyen

This multilayered epic of country music, politics and relationships is Robert Altmans signature achievement. With its overlapping dialogue and roving camera, Nashville created an earthy, idiosyncratic panorama of American life, featuring many of the most memorable actors of the decade. The 1970s were U.S. cinemas most exciting period, and Nashvillebroadened by its admirable scope and freewheeling energyis emblematic of that creativity.Abbey Bender

Nicolas Roeg influenced and inspired a generation of filmmakers, from Danny Boyle to Steven Soderbergh and heres why. Roeg shrouds Daphne du Mauriers short story in an icy chill, seeding the idea of supernatural forces at play in a wintry Venice through sheer filmmaking craft and the power of his editing. He finds a deep humanity in the horror, too, with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherlands grieving parents reconnecting and drifting apart like flotsam on some invisible tide. His masterpiece, Dont Look Now remainsa primal cry of grief that shakes you tothe core.Phil de Semlyen

Arthur Penns game-changing action film was made in the same spirit of the revisionist Westerns of the 60s and 70sirreverent, fun, morally all over the place, and unafraid of blood and bullets. The movie takes us back to the 1930s during the legendary crime spree of lovers Bonnie Parker [Faye Dunaway] and Clyde Barrow [Warren Beatty], careening around Depression-era America and robbing it blind. Why did this film resonate so well at the end of its decade? With the Vietnam War, inner-city rioting and Nixon on the rise, all bets were off. Add the swoony pair of Beatty and Dunaway, and youve got a classic on your hands: a revolution in period dress.Dave Calhoun

Watch this space: Jordan Peeles newly minted horror classic is sure to rise in the rankings. Taking cues from grand master George A. Romero and his counterculture-defining Night of the Living Dead, Peele infused white liberal guilt with a scary racial subtext; the sunken place is precisely the kind of metaphor that only horror movies can exploit to the fullest. During its theatrical runwhich stretched into a summer that also saw the white-supremacist Charlottesville rallyGet Out felt like the only movie speaking to a deepening divide.Joshua Rothkopf