I am both a film snob and a lover of film, and these are films I would purchase for the Denver Public Library system if I were to win Lotto: Hopefully a nice range of avant-garde, fine art, international, edgy domestic, classic B and subversive films is represented — note biting cultural criticism, depressing science fiction, absurdism, magic realism and highly stylistic films are the most likely to make the list. A few action / car-crash and / or impossible terrorist films ("The Jackal") were thrown in as guilty pleasures.
I think of great titles all the time, so this is by no means the definitive list of my favorite films.
Please feel free to email suggestions to me. You also may feel free to email corrections, but do not suggest "Pulp Fiction." If you want to know why "Pulp Fiction" isn't included, read The Baffler essay on it. In addition to what The Baffler has to say about "Pulp Fiction," I'm bugged by the part where the guy gets shot in the car; people are supposed to laugh at this — and most do — but that scene bugs me. Gratuitous violence bugs me. War films, however, do not. One of my favorite films of all time is the Soviet film "Come and See" (1985), which is also the most horrific.
New in 2010! (That's a joke.) Entries will be converted to full citations. Pithy annotations will provide context. Really, if I were to win Lotto I would sit around doing stuff like that so think of me if you do ...
List last updated 01/15/2006. My personal favorites are in bold. Thanks to Rob Beneckson, Jay Holden, Michele Masias and Rick Thompson for contributing titles.
ABCD
• À Ma Soeur! (Fat Girl; France, 2001)
• Alfred Hitchcock’s Rope (1948)
• Alien (1979)
• All the Mornings of the World (Tous les Matins du Monde; France, 1991)
• Amélie (Fabuleux Destin de Amélie Poulain, De; France, 2001)
• American Beauty (1999)
• American Heart (1992)
• American History X (1998)
• Animal Farm (1954)
• A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
• Artificial Intelligence: A.I. (2001)
• Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery (1997)
• Being John Malkovich (1999)
• Belle de Jour (France, 1967)
• Betty Blue (37°2 le Matin; France, 1986)
• Big Fish (2003)
• Black History: Lost Stolen or Strayed (TV documentary, 1968)
• Black Hole, The (1979)
• Black Orpheus (Orfeu Negro; Brazil, 1959)
• Blackhawk Down (2001)
• Blade Runner (1982)
• Blood Simple (1984)
• Blow Out (1981)
• Blue Velvet (1986)
• Boat, The (Boot, Das; Germany, 1981)
• Bodyguard, The (1992)
• Boogie Nights (1997)
• Born on the Fourth of July (1989)
• Bourne Identity, The (2002)
• Boot, Das (The Boat; Germany, 1981)
• Bowling for Columbine (Documentary, 2002)
• Boys Don’t Cry (1999)
• Boyz N the Hood (1991)
• Brazil (1985)
• Breaker Morant (Australia, 1980)
• Breaking Glass (U.K., 1980)
• Brother from Another Planet, The (1984)
• Buffy the Vampire Slayer (1992)
• Bugsy Malone (1976)
• Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo, Il (Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The; Italy, 1966)
• C'era Una Volta il West (Once Upon a Time in the West; Italy, 1968)
• Café Flesh (1980s?)
• Catch Me If You Can (2002)
• Chiens Dans la Neige, Des (Wolves in the Snow; Canada , 2002)
• Children's Hour, The (1961)
• Christiane F. — Wir Kinder vom Bahnhof Zoo (West Germany, 1981)
• Cité des Enfants Perdus, La (City of Lost Children; France, 1995)
• Chitty Chitty Bang Bang (1968)
• Clockwork Orange, A (1971)
• Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
• Coeur en Hiver, Un (Heart in Winter, A; France, 1992)
• Collateral (2004)
• Collector, The (1965)
• Come and See (Idi i Smotri; Soviet Union, 1985)
• Come See the Paradise (1990)
• Contact (1997)
• Conversation, The (1974)
• Cool Hand Luke (1967)
• Cosmos (TV series, 1980)
• Crooklyn (1994)
• Crow, The (1994)
• Da Hong Deng Long Gao Gao Gua (Raise the Red Lantern; China, 1991)
• Dances with Wolves (1990)
• Day After Tomorrow, The (2004)
• Dead Poets Society (1989)
• Dead Zone, The (1983)
• Dean Koontz’s Intensity (TV, 1997)
• Decima Vittima, La (Tenth Victm, The; Italy, France, 1965)
• Déclin de l'Empire Américain, Le (Decline of the American Empire; Canada, 1986)
• Decline of the American Empire (Déclin de l'Empire Américain, Le; Canada, 1986)
• Delicatessen (1991)
• Devil’s Backbone, The (Espinazo del Diablo, El; Spain, 2001)
• Diabolique (Diaboliques, Les; France, 1955)
• Diaboliques, Les (Diabolique; France, 1955)
• Die Another Day (2002)
• Die Hard (1988)
• Dimanche à la Campagne, Un (Sunday in the Country, A; France, 1984)
• Dirty Pretty Things (2002)
• Do the Right Thing (1989)
• Down by Law (1986)
• Dr. Strangelove (1964)
• Dreamlife of Angels, The (Vie Rêvée des Anges, La; France, 1998)
EFGH
• Eat Drink Man Woman (Yin Shi Nan Nu; Taiwan, 1994)
• Effect of Gamma Rays on Man-in-the-Moon Marigolds, The (1972)
• 8 Mile (2002)
• 8 Million Ways To Die (1986)
• Elephant (2003)
• Elephant Man, The (1980)
• Eréndira (France / Mexico / West Germany, 1983)
• Escape from New York (1981)
• Espinazo del Diablo, El (Devil’s Backbone, The; Spain, 2001)
• Equilibrium (2002).
• Exposed (1983)
• Eye, The (Jian Gui; China, 2002)
• Fabuleux Destin de Amélie Poulain, De (Amélie; France, 2001)
• Falcon and the Snowman, The (1985)
• Fat Girl (À Ma Soeur! France, 2001)
• Fahrenheit 9/11 (Documentary, 2004)
• Fargo (1996)
• Fifth Element, The (1997)
• Flirting ( Australia , 1991)
• 400 Blows, The (Quatre Cents Coups, Les; France, 1959)
• French Connection, The (1971)
• Full Metal Jacket (1987)
• Funny Games (Austria, 1997)
• Gandhi (1982)
• Gattaca (1997)
• Getting Straight (1970)
• Ghost (1990)
• Ghost World (2000)
• Gladiator (2000)
• Gloria (1980)
• Gods Must Be Crazy, The (Botswana, 1980)
• Good Girl, The (2002)
• Good Night and Good Luck (2005)
• Good, the Bad and the Ugly, The (Buono, il Brutto, il Cattivo, Il; Italy, 1966)
• Goodfellas (1990)
• Gosford Park (2001)
• Grease (1978)
• Groundhog Day (1993)
• Haine, La (Hate; France, 1995)
• Hand, The (Ruka; Czechoslovakia, 1965)
• Handmaid's Tale, The (1990)
• Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
• Harold and Maude (1971)
• Hate (Haine, La; France, 1995)
• Heart in Winter, A (Coeur en Hiver, Un; France, 1992)
• Heavenly Creatures (U.K. / Germany / New Zealand, 1994)
• Heavy Metal (1981)
• Hell Boy (2004)
• High Plains Drifter (1973)
• Himmel Über Berlin, Der (Wings of Desire, The; Germany, 1987)
• History of Violence, A (2005)
• Homem do Ano, O (Man of the Year; Brazil, 2003)
• Hotel Rwanda (2004)
IJKL
• I, Robot (2004)
• Idi i Smotri (Come and See; Soviet Union, 1985)
• In Cold Blood (1967)
• In the Bedroom (2001)
• Intensity (TV, 1997)
• Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994)
• Invasion of the Barbarians (Invasions Barbares, Les; Canada / France, 2003)
• Invasions Barbares, Les (Invasion of the Barbarians; Canada / France, 2003)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Island, The (2005)
• It Happened One Night (1934)
• Jackal, The (1997)
• Jackie Brown (1997)
• Jarhead (2005)
• Jesus Christ Superstar (1973)
• Jian Gui (Eye, The; China, 2002)
• John Carpenter's Starman (1984)
• King Kong (1933)
• King of Hearts (Roi de Coeur, Le; France / Italy, 1966)
• Koyaanisqatsi: Life Out of Balance (1983)
• Krieger und die Kaiserin, Der (Princess and the Warrior, The; Germany, 2000)
• Krzystof Kieslowski: Red, White, Blue (Trois Couleurs: Rouge; Poland / France / Switzerland, 1994; Trzy Kolory: Bialy; France / Poland / Switzerland / U.K., 1994; Trois Couleurs: Bleu; France / Poland / Switzerland / U.K., 1993)
• Ladro di Bambini, Il (Stolen Children; Italy, 1993)
• Last Picture Show, The (1971)
• Last Samurai, The (2003)
• Lathe of Heaven, The (TV, 1980)
• Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
• Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, The (TV, 1979)
• Lola Rennt (Run, Lola, Run; Germany 1998)
• Long Dimanche de Fiançailles, Un (Very Long Engagement, A; France, 2004)
• L.A. Confidential (1997)
• Lost Boys, The (1987)
• Lost in Translation (2003)
• Lost Weekend, The (1945)
MNOP
• Mad Hot Ballroom (2005)
• Man of the Year (Homem do Ano, O; Brazil, 2003)
• Maria Full of Grace (Maria, Llena Eres de Gracia; Colombia, 2004)
• Maria, Llena Eres de Gracia (Maria Full of Grace; Colombia, 2004)
• Mario Puzo’s The Godfather (1972)
• Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: Part II (1974)
• Mario Puzo’s The Godfather: Part III (1990)
• Martian Chronicles, The (TV, 1980)
• Mad Max 2: The Road Warrior (Australia, 1982)
• Meaning of Life, The (U.K., 1983)
• Memento (2000)
• Metropolis (1927)
• Midnight Express (1978)
• Mildred Pierce (1945)
• Million Dollar Baby (2004)
• Minority Report (2002)
• Mission: Impossible II (2000)
• Mo’ Better Blues (1990)
• Mona Lisa (1986)
• Monty Python's The Meaning of Life (U.K., 1983)
• Monster (2003)
• Murder My Sweet (1944)
• My Beautiful Launderette (1985)
• Mystic River (2003)
• New Outer Limits, The (TV series, 1995-2002)
• Ni Neibian Jidian (What Time Is It there? Taiwan / France, 2002)
• Night on Earth (France / U.K. / Germany / U.S. / Japan, 1991)
• Nixon (1995)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Oligarkh (Tycoon: A New Russian; Russia, 2002)
• Omega Man, The (1971)
• On the Beach (1959)
• On the Waterfront (1954)
• Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era Una Volta il West; Italy, 1968)
• Once Were Warriors (New Zealand, 1994)
• One Hour Photo (2002)
• Ordinary People (1980)
• Orfeu Negro (Black Orpheus; Brazil, 1959)
• Orlando (1992)
• Others, The (2001)
• Outer Limits, The (TV series, 1963-1965; The New Outer Limits, 1995-2002)
• Outland (1981)
• Panama Deception, The (Documentary, 1992)
• Paris Is Burning (1990)
• Paths of Glory (1957)
• Party Girl (1995)
• Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La (Passion of Joan of Arc; France, 1928)
• Passion of Joan of Arc, The (Passion de Jeanne d'Arc, La; France, 1928)
• Perfect Storm, The (2000)
• Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
• Pink Floyd The Wall (1982)
• Planet of the Apes (1968)
• Planet of the Apes (2001)
• Pleasantville (1998)
• Ponette (France, 1996)
• Postman Always Rings Twice, The (1946)
• Powder (1995)
• Princess and the Warrior, The (Krieger und die Kaiserin, Der; Germany, 2000)
QRST
• Quatre Cents Coups, Les (400 Blows, The; France, 1959)
• Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
• Raise the Red Lantern
• Ray (2004)
• Red Kiss (Rouge Basier; France, 1986)
• Remains of the Day, The (1993)
• Repo Man (1984)
• Requiem for a Dream (2000)
• Richard Adams' Watership Down (U.K., 1978)
• Road Warrior, The (Australia 1982)
• RoboCop (1987)
• Roi de Coeur, Le (King of Hearts; France / Italy, 1966)
• Rollerball (1975)
• Room with a View, A (1985)
• Rope (1948)
• Rouge Baiser (Red Kiss; France, 1986)
• 'Round Midnight (1986)
• Ruka (Hand, The; Czechoslovakia, 1965)
• Run Lola Run (Lola Rennet; Germany, 1998)
• Saving Private Ryan (1998)
• Scarface (1983)
• Schindler's List (1993)
• Secret of Roan Inish, The (1994)
• Secret Partner, The (1965)
• Serenity (2005)
• Se7en (1995)
• Seventh Seal, The (Sjunde Inseglet, Det; Sweden, 1957)
• Sex, Lies and Videotape (1989)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• Shattered Glass (2003)
• She's Gotta Have It (1986)
• Sheltering Sky, The (1990)
• Shooting Party, The (1984)
• Simple Plan, A (1998)
• Sin City (2005)
• Six Degrees of Separation (1993)
• Sixth Sense, The (1999)
• Sjunde Inseglet, Det (Seventh Seal, The; Sweden, 1957)
• Skeleton Key, The (2005)
• Stand By Me (1986)
• Sling Blade (1996)
• Smultronstället (Wild Strawberries; Sweden, 1957)
• Solyaris (Russia, 1972)
• Soylent Green (1973)
• Species (1995)
• Spider-Man (2002)
• Spider-Man 2 (2004)
• Splendor in the Grass (1961)
• Spoorloos (Vanishing, The; Netherlands, 1988)
• Stalingrad (Russia, 1993)
• Star Maker, The (Uomo Delle Stelle, L’; Italy, 1995)
• Stargate (1994)
• Starman (1984)
• State and Main (2000)
• Station Agent, The (2003)
• Stepford Wives, The (1975)
• Stranger Than Paradise (1983)
• Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951)
• Suburbia (1984)
• Sum of All Fears, The (2002)
• Sunday in the Country, A (Dimanche à la Campagne, Un; France, 1984)
• Sunset Blvd. (1950)
• Sweet Hereafter, The (1997)
• Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
• Taxi Driver (1976)
• Tenth Victim, The (Decima vittima, La; Italy, France, 1965)
• Tess (1979)
• Thief, The (Vor; Russia, 1997)
• Third Man, The (1949)
• Thirteen (2003)
• Time Machine, The (1960)
• Time to Kill, A (1996)
• Twilight Zone, The (TV series, 1959-1964)
• 37°2 le Matin (Betty Blue; France, 1986)
• To Die For (1995)
• Toto le Hero (Toto the Hero; France, 1991)
• Tous les Matins du Monde (All the Mornings of the World; France, 1991)
• Traffic (2000)
• Trainspotting (1996)
• Tron (1982)
• True Romance (1993)
• Truman Show, The (1998)
• 12 Monkeys (1995)
• 28 Days Later (U.K., 2002)
• 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
• Tycoon: A New Russian (Oligarkh; Russia, 2002)
UVWXYZ
• Underworld (2003)
• Union Maids (Documentary, 1976)
• Uomo Delle Stelle, L' (Star Maker, The; Italy, 1995)
• Vagabond (France, 1992)
• Vanishing, The (Spoorloos; Netherlands, 1988)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Very Long Engagement, A (Long Dimanche de Fiançailles, Un; France, 2004)
• Vie Rêvée des Anges, La (Dreamlife of Angels, The; France, 1998)
• Vor (Thief, The; Russia, 1997)
• Wall, The (1982)
• War of the Worlds, The (1953)
• War of the Worlds (2005)
• Watership Down (U.K., 1978)
• Westworld (1973)
• What Time Is It there? (Ni Neibian Jidian; Taiwan / France, 2002)
• Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
• Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället; Sweden, 1957)
• Wings of Desire, The (Himmel Über Berlin, Der; Germany, 1987)
• Wings of the Dove (1997)
• Wolves in the Snow (Des Chiens Dans la Neige; Canada, 2002)
• Year of Living Dangerously, The (1982)
• Yin Shi Nan Nu (Eat Drink Man Woman; Taiwan, 1994)
• X-Men (2000)
