See the Top 100 Foreign Films

I’m using foreignfilm.com’s list as it seems as good as any. so far i have seen 41/100. not too shabby. there is a whole lot of kurosawa on this list. luckily, i bet i can get a lot of these from the library. i should just cancel my blockbuster subscription now.

I did not care for the list of movies. So I am scrapping the idea. I still watch tons of foreign films, just don’t agree that these were the Top 100.

I’m about 33% through the list. I have to say I’m disappointed. A lot of these movies are just plain dull. I am not one that would normally say that. I love foreign films, but some on this list are excruciating. I make give up on it. We’ll see.

According to www.foreignfilm.com these are the Top 100. I’ve seen quite a few, but I want to see them all again. I’ll report back as I view them.

1. Seven Samurai (1954), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
2. 8 1/2 (1963), Italy
directed by Federico Fellini
3. Rashomon (1951), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
4. Wild Strawberries (1957), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
5. The Seventh Seal (1956), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
6. The Bicycle Thief (1948), Italy
directed by Vittorio De Sica
7. Cries and Whispers (1972), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
8. M (1931), Germany
directed by Fritz Lang
9. Ran (1985), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
10. Amelie (2001), France
directed by Jean-Pierre Jeunet
11. Ikiru (1952), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
12. Persona (1966), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
13. City of God (2002), Brazil
directed by Fernando Meirelles
14. The 400 Blows (1959), France
directed by Francois Truffaut
15. La Dolce Vita (1960), Italy
directed by Federico Fellini
16. Stalker (1979), Russia
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
17. Raise the Red Lantern (1991), China
directed by Yimou Zhang
18. Andrei Rublev (1966), Russia
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
19. Yojimbo (1961), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
20. Throne of Blood (1957), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
21. Grand Illusion (1937), France
directed by Jean Renoir
22. La Strada (1954), Italy
directed by Federico Fellini
23. The Exterminating Angel (1962), Mexico
directed by Luis Bunuel
24. The Mirror (1974), Russia
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
25. Children of Paradise (1945), France
directed by Marcel Carne
26. Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972), Germany
directed by Werner Herzog
27. Los Olvidados (1950), Mexico
directed by Luis Bunuel
28. Umberto D (1952), Italy
directed by Vittorio De Sica
29. In the Mood for Love (2000), Hong Kong
directed by Wong Kar-Wai
30. Metropolis (1926), Germany
directed by Fritz Lang
31. Fanny and Alexander (1982), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
32. Beauty and the Beast (1946), France
directed by Jean Cocteau
33. Nights of Cabiria (1957), Italy
directed by Federico Fellini
34. The Rules of the Game (1939), France
directed by Jean Renoir
35. Spirited Away (2001), Japan
directed by Hayao Miyazaki
36. Nostalghia (1983), Russia
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
37. The Silence (1963), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
38. Tokyo Story (1953), Japan
directed by Yasujiro Ozu
39. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972), France
directed by Luis Bunuel
40. Solaris (1972), Russia
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
41. Winter Light (1962), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
42. Viridiana (1961), Spain
directed by Luis Bunuel
43. Breathless (1959), France
directed by Jean-Luc Godard
44. My Life to Live (1962), France
directed by Jean-Luc Godard
45. Nosferatu (1922), Germany
directed by F.W. Murnau
46. Pather Panchali (1955), India
directed by Satyajit Ray
47. Open City (1945), Italy
directed by Roberto Rossellini
48. That Obscure Object of Desire (1977), France
directed by Luis Bunuel
49. Through a Glass Darkly (1961), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
50. L’Age d’Or (1930), France
directed by Luis Bunuel
51. Un Chien Andalou (1928), France
directed by Luis Bunuel
52. Ugetsu Monogatari (1953), Japan
directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
53. The Wages of Fear (1953), France
directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
54. Cinema Paradiso (1988), Italy
directed by Giuseppe Tornatore
55. All About My Mother (1999), Spain
directed by Pedro Almodovar
56. Sansho the Bailiff (1954), Japan
directed by Kenji Mizoguchi
57. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919), Germany
directed by Robert Wiene
58. Amarcord (1973), Italy
directed by Federico Fellini
59. Show Me Love (1998), Sweden
directed by Lukas Moodysson
60. L’Avventura (1960), Italy
directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
61. Battleship Potemkin (1925), Russia
directed by Sergei Eisenstein
62. Smiles of a Summer Night (1955), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
63. La Notte (1961), Italy
directed by Michelangelo Antonioni
64. Talk to Her (2001), Spain
directed by Pedro Almodovar
65. Das Boot (1981), Germany
directed by Wolfgang Petersen
66. The Hidden Fortress (1958), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
67. The Leopard (1963), Italy
directed by Luchino Visconti
68. The Children of Heaven (1997), Iran
directed by Majid Majidi
69. Chungking Express (1994), Hong Kong
directed by Wong Kar-Wai
70. Princess Mononoke (1997), Japan
directed by Hayao Miyazaki
71. To Live (1994), China
directed by Yimou Zhang
72. Au Revoir les Enfants (1987), France
directed by Louis Malle
73. Ivan’s Childhood (1962), Russia
directed by Andrei Tarkovsky
74. Contempt (1963), France
directed by Jean-Luc Godard
75. Amores Perros (2000), Mexico
directed by Alejandro Gonzalez Iniarritu
76. Central Station (1998), Brazil
directed by Walter Salles
77. Underground (1995), Yugoslavia
directed by Emir Kusturica
78. Fitzcarraldo (1982), Germany
directed by Werner Herzog
79. Hero (2002), China
directed by Yimou Zhang
80. Run Lola Run (1998), Germany
directed by Tom Tykwer
81. Shoot the Piano Player (1960), France
directed by Francois Truffaut
82. Sanjuro (1962), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
83. Belle de Jour (1967), France
directed by Luis Bunuel
84. Alexander Nevsky (1938), Russia
directed by Sergei Eisenstein
85. Pierrot Le Fou (1965), France
directed by Jean-Luc Godard
86. The Killer (1989), Hong Kong
directed by John Woo
87. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Taiwan
directed by Ang Lee
88. Hiroshima, Mon Amour (1959), France
directed by Alain Resnais
89. Jean de Florette (1986), France
directed by Claude Berri
90. Jules and Jim (1961), France
directed by Francois Truffaut
91. Lovers of the Arctic Circle (1998), Spain
directed by Julio Medem
92. High and Low (1963), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
93. Diabolique (1954), France
directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
94. Kagemusha (1980), Japan
directed by Akira Kurosawa
95. The Virgin Spring (1959), Sweden
directed by Ingmar Bergman
96. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988), Spain
directed by Pedro Almodovar
97. Life is Beautiful (1998), Italy
directed by Roberto Benigni
98. Manon of the Spring (1986), France
directed by Claude Berri
99. The Wild Reeds (1994), France
directed by Andre Techine
100. No Man’s Land (2001), UK
directed by Danis Tanovic