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