World Film Classics

Around the World In A Few Dozen Movies

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Some films you can't afford to miss. Whether you're an old film-hound or a newbie to the pleasures of international cinema, check out my ever-growing listing of movies that everybody should see. As your guide, I personally vouchsafe for their quality, accessibility, and all-around goodness. In case you don't agree with any of my choices or have suggestions of your own, let me know, or post to the forum.

As this section grows, check back frequently for more worthwhile movies -- the kind of hidden gold that slumbers at the bottom of the "foreign" rentals section, with torn photocopies of the cover stuffed into the generic video box. I will not sleep nor eat until I watch and rewatch the classics from all over the world and assemble the cream of the crop on these pages. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

2001: A Space Odyssey
UK/US, 1968. Directed by Stanley Kubrick.
Why I can't stop watching this movie over and over again.

Das Boot
Germany, 1981. Directed by Wolfgang Petersen.
Even if you're no friend of war movies, this claustrophobic submarine thriller is well worth your time.

Cinema Paradiso
Italy, 1988. Directed by Guiseppe Tornatore
Philip Noiret as kindly projectionist breaks some hearts in this nostalgia-drenched picturesque.

Un Coeur En Hiver
France, 1992. Directed by Claude Sautet.
Emmanuelle Beart plays Ravel on the fiddle, but can she melt a frozen heart?

Raise the Red Lantern
China, 1991. Directed by Zhang Yimou.
Gong Li is stunning as the Third Mistress in Yimou's fabulous opus.

Run Lola Run
Germany, 1998. Directed by Tom Twyker.
Whoever said classics had to be old? For a jolt of just how electrifying and exciting world cinema can be, enjoy this piece of pure movie candy.

The Seventh Seal
Sweden, 1956. Directed by Ingmar Bergman.
Death don't have no mercy: Bergman's most famous film has been made a cliché by its parodists, but it's still fresh and gripping five decades later.

The Tin Drum
Germany, 1979. Directed by Volker Schlöndorff.
Experience the Second World War from the point of view of a cynical gnome.

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg
France, 1964. Directed by Jacques Demy.
This candy-colored love story is sung all the way through, but don't let that turn you off.

Walkabout
UK/Australia, 1971. Directed by Nicolas Roeg.
Uptight kids get lost in the wilderness and stumble through the sets for Koyaanisqatsi in this enchanting cult classic.

Yojimbo
Japan, 1961. Directed by Akira Kurosawa.
One of the most accessable and all-out entertaining Japanese movies I've ever seen.

Zazie Dans Le Métro
France, 1960. Directed by Louis Malle.
An absurdist madcap urban comedy featuring the most foul-mouthed eight-year-old in movie history.

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