In college, a friend introduced me to FilmStruck, the streaming service that carried the Criterion Collection before it became the Criterion Channel. It was the first time I was exposed to art-house and foreign films. I must have watched Orson Welles’ The Trial a hundred times. I made note of these films because I consider them important for a range of reasons. Some were pure entertainment, but some also changed me permanently. Cinema can do that.
1920s
- Sunrise: A Song of Two HumansF.W. Murnau · 1927
1930s
- L’AtalanteJean Vigo · 1934
1940s
- Day of WrathCarl Theodor Dreyer · 1943
1950s
- OrdetCarl Theodor Dreyer · 1955
- A Man EscapedRobert Bresson · 1956
- The Cranes Are FlyingMikhail Kalatozov · 1957
- Mon OncleJacques Tati · 1958
- Tōkaidō Yotsuya KaidanNobuo Nakagawa · 1959
1960s
- La Dolce VitaFederico Fellini · 1960
- Letter Never SentMikhail Kalatozov · 1960
- The HustlerRobert Rossen · 1961
- West Side StoryRobert Wise & Jerome Robbins · 1961
- La JetéeChris Marker · 1962
- LolitaStanley Kubrick · 1962
- The TrialOrson Welles · 1962
- 8½Federico Fellini · 1963
- Dr. StrangeloveStanley Kubrick · 1964
- KwaidanMasaki Kobayashi · 1964
- Marriage Italian StyleVittorio De Sica · 1964
- OnibabaKaneto Shindō · 1964
- Juliet of the SpiritsFederico Fellini · 1965
- Andrei RublevAndrei Tarkovsky · 1966
- Au Hasard BalthazarRobert Bresson · 1966
- SecondsJohn Frankenheimer · 1966
- Le SamouraïJean-Pierre Melville · 1967
- PlaytimeJacques Tati · 1967
- The GraduateMike Nichols · 1967
- Once Upon a Time in the WestSergio Leone · 1968
- The Great SilenceSergio Corbucci · 1968
- La PiscineJacques Deray · 1969
- Midnight CowboyJohn Schlesinger · 1969
- The CrematorJuraj Herz · 1969
1970s
- El TopoAlejandro Jodorowsky · 1970
- WandaBarbara Loden · 1970
- A Clockwork OrangeStanley Kubrick · 1971
- Harold and MaudeHal Ashby · 1971
- Minnie and MoskowitzJohn Cassavetes · 1971
- Murmur of the HeartLouis Malle · 1971
- Straw DogsSam Peckinpah · 1971
- The Last Picture ShowPeter Bogdanovich · 1971
- THX 1138George Lucas · 1971
- The Godfather Parts I & IIFrancis Ford Coppola · 1972, 1974
- F for FakeOrson Welles · 1973
- Fantastic PlanetRené Laloux · 1973
- The Texas Chain Saw MassacreTobe Hooper · 1974
- MirrorAndrei Tarkovsky · 1975
- SalòPier Paolo Pasolini · 1975
- That Most Important Thing: LoveAndrzej Żuławski · 1975
- Mikey and NickyElaine May · 1976
- Satan’s BrewRainer Werner Fassbinder · 1976
- Abigail’s PartyMike Leigh · 1977
- EraserheadDavid Lynch · 1977
- StroszekWerner Herzog · 1977
- The American FriendWim Wenders · 1977
- The AscentLarisa Shepitko · 1977
- Being ThereHal Ashby · 1979
- Camera BuffKrzysztof Kieślowski · 1979
- WoyzeckWerner Herzog · 1979
1980s
- Grown-UpsMike Leigh · 1980
- The ShiningStanley Kubrick · 1980
- FitzcarraldoWerner Herzog · 1982
- TootsieSydney Pollack · 1982
- AngstGerald Kargl · 1983
- MeantimeMike Leigh · 1983
- VideodromeDavid Cronenberg · 1983
- 1984Michael Radford · 1984
- Blood SimpleCoen Brothers · 1984
- Paris, TexasWim Wenders · 1984
- This Is Spinal TapRob Reiner · 1984
- After HoursMartin Scorsese · 1985
- Brazil (Director’s Cut)Terry Gilliam · 1985
- Come and SeeElem Klimov · 1985
- Mishima: A Life in Four ChaptersPaul Schrader · 1985
- Smooth TalkJoyce Chopra · 1985
- Blue VelvetDavid Lynch · 1986
- Down by LawJim Jarmusch · 1986
- Street of CrocodilesQuay Brothers · 1986
- Withnail and IBruce Robinson · 1987
- A Short Film About LoveKrzysztof Kieślowski · 1988
- The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her LoverPeter Greenaway · 1989
1990s
- GoodfellasMartin Scorsese · 1990
- Jacob’s LadderAdrian Lyne · 1990
- MetropolitanWhit Stillman · 1990
- The Match Factory GirlAki Kaurismäki · 1990
- The Reflecting SkinPhilip Ridley · 1990
- DelicatessenJean-Pierre Jeunet & Marc Caro · 1991
- In the SoupAlexandre Rockwell · 1992
- La Vie de BohèmeAki Kaurismäki · 1992
- Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with MeDavid Lynch · 1992
- UnforgivenClint Eastwood · 1992
- NakedMike Leigh · 1993
- Chungking ExpressWong Kar-wai · 1994
- CrumbTerry Zwigoff · 1994
- Natural Born KillersOliver Stone · 1994
- Pulp FictionQuentin Tarantino · 1994
- The Shawshank RedemptionFrank Darabont · 1994
- What Happened WasTom Noonan · 1994
- KidsLarry Clark · 1995
- Welcome to the DollhouseTodd Solondz · 1995
- Secrets & LiesMike Leigh · 1996
- The DaytrippersGreg Mottola · 1996
- TrainspottingDanny Boyle · 1996
- GattacaAndrew Niccol · 1997
- GummoHarmony Korine · 1997
- Lost HighwayDavid Lynch · 1997
- Taste of CherryAbbas Kiarostami · 1997
- HappinessTodd Solondz · 1998
- I Stand AloneGaspar Noé · 1998
- PiDarren Aronofsky · 1998
- The Big LebowskiCoen Brothers · 1998
- Tomorrow NightLouis C.K. · 1998
- American BeautySam Mendes · 1999
- American MovieChris Smith · 1999
- AuditionTakashi Miike · 1999
- Being John MalkovichSpike Jonze · 1999
- Eyes Wide ShutStanley Kubrick · 1999
- My Best FiendWerner Herzog · 1999
- The MatrixThe Wachowskis · 1999
2000s
- Meet the ParentsJay Roach · 2000
- Requiem for a DreamDarren Aronofsky · 2000
- Sexy BeastJonathan Glazer · 2000
- Yi YiEdward Yang · 2000
- The Lord of the RingsPeter Jackson · 2001–2003
- The Piano TeacherMichael Haneke · 2001
- AdaptationSpike Jonze · 2002
- WaspAndrea Arnold · 2003 · short
- Mind GameMasaaki Yuasa · 2004
- SidewaysAlexander Payne · 2004
- LunacyJan Švankmajer · 2005
- Pan’s LabyrinthGuillermo del Toro · 2006
- Silent HillChristophe Gans · 2006
- This Is EnglandShane Meadows · 2006
- Ex DrummerKoen Mortier · 2007
- FrownlandRonald Bronstein · 2007
- There Will Be BloodPaul Thomas Anderson · 2007
- HungerSteve McQueen · 2008
- RevancheGötz Spielmann · 2008
- The WacknessJonathan Levine · 2008
- Until the Light Takes UsAaron Aites & Audrey Ewell · 2008
- AntichristLars von Trier · 2009
- Fish TankAndrea Arnold · 2009
2010s
- Shutter IslandMartin Scorsese · 2010
- Crazy, Stupid, LoveGlenn Ficarra & John Requa · 2011
- Gregory Goes BoomJanicza Bravo · 2013 · short
- PrisonersDenis Villeneuve · 2013
- The Conjuring 1 & 2James Wan · 2013, 2016
- The DoubleRichard Ayoade · 2013
- Ex MachinaAlex Garland · 2014
- The WitchRobert Eggers · 2015
- MoonlightBarry Jenkins · 2016
- Call Me by Your NameLuca Guadagnino · 2017
- Good TimeSafdie Brothers · 2017
- LemonJanicza Bravo · 2017
- An Elephant Sitting StillHu Bo · 2018
- HereditaryAri Aster · 2018
- The House That Jack BuiltLars von Trier · 2018
- On-Gaku: Our SoundKenji Iwaisawa · 2019
- The Devil’s HarmonyDylan Holmes Williams · 2019 · short