Around the World In 80 Movies

In these last few years I've watched quite a bit of foreign films so I decided to post my favorite 80 moves from outside the U.S.. . The genres are mixed, there’s a little bit of everything, from Crime to comedy. What they do have in common in my opinion is that they are all very enjoyable to watch.

Starting from Europe:




SPAIN




1: Volver (Almodovar)
A Crime/Noir movie from Almodovar. Great atmosphere and a brilliant P. Cruz.

2: Talk to her (Almodovar)
A dark psychological drama set inside a hospital.

3: Sex And Lucia (Medem)
A tasteful and intriguing erotic movie with great cinematography.

FRANCE



4: Band of Outsiders (Godard)
A whimsical crime Film that offers stunning direction and some of the best scenes that cinema has to offer.


5: My Life to live (Godard)
Another great picture by Godard, an urban tale with an original narrative sequence.

6 ,7 & 8: Three Colors Trilogy -Red,White & Blue. (Kieslowski)
The three color trilogy deals with the three ideals of the French revolution from a modern perspective. The films are elegantly directed and very well written. Leading characters in one film usually return as cameos in another, a technique that reminds me of Tarantino.

9: Amélie (Jeunet)
A wonderfully written romantic comedy full of original ideas.

10: Day for Night (Truffaut)
A Love letter to the Art of filmmaking and one of Truffaut’s best movies.

11: War of the Buttons (Robert)
An excellent film that deals with childhood. A great feel good movie that takes the viewer on a nostalgia trip.

I think this is a great thread, I've seen Amelie and Volver. I might try and find some of the others. Keep it up, can't wait till you get to Japanese Cinema...I might even look forward to some of your Bollywood listings (not really a fan but have found myself enjoying a few Indian flicks recently).

Could've started similar thread, but I'm afraid of you trying to sue me. Haha.

Go for it! I've surely missed seeing a lot of great foreign movies,so I would love to see another similar thread posted in this forum!

ITALY






12: L’Avventura (Antonioni)
A woman disappears during a boat trip. What starts out like a mystery movie slowly becomes something else, a film about empathy, moral decay and emotional isolation. Antonioni is a master filmmaker; everything looks beautiful and carefully detailed. The slow pacing of the movie demands your full attention.


13: La Notte (Antonioni)
A night in the life of a rich married couple. They no longer love each other but they still decide to stay together in some sort of emotional purgatory. Very stylish and with great camera work ,I strongly believe that without “La Notte” Wong Kar Wai would have been a very different filmmaker.


14: La Dolce Vita (Fellini)
The story of a tabloid reporter named Marcello who becomes consumed by the sweet life of hedonism and self-indulgence with the roman jet set. Does Marcello know that life can offer a more meaningful alternative ? Probably yes, but he doesn’t seem to care. Even though “La Dolce Vita” is in many ways a philosophical film ,casual viewers can appreciate the vitality and excitement of the many party scenes.


15: Umberto D. (De Sica)
A portrait of a retired government worker dealing with the hardships of old age and poverty. Shot in 1962 the film is still very relevant today. Neorealism at its best.


16.Manhunt (Di Leo)
If you’re ever going to watch an Italian B Movie, than Manhunt by Fernando di Leo should be your choice.It has everything that you would want to see in an exploitation flick: prostitutes, pimps, pushers, gangsters, amazing car chases …you name it. The main characters of the movie remind me of Vincent and Jules of Pulp Fiction, probably not a coincidence.


17,18 & 19 : The Dollar Trilogy-A fistful of dollars;For a few dollars more;The Good,The bad & The Ugly. (Leone)
In many ways the dollar trilogy should be considered almost as neorealism. In these three films by Leone everybody is dirty and dusty and shaving is something that you only do in your spare time. You can easily tell that these men stink and that they couldn’t care less about their stench . It’s a dog eat dog world in the dollar trilogy, were guns do all the talking. From a technical and artistic standpoint we have a constant progression with each film; the last chapter “The Good, The Bad The Ugly” is flawless.


20: The consequences of Love (Sorrentino)
A solitary man with a dark past lives in a 5 star hotel in Switzerland. The monotony of his bleak existence is suddenly interrupted when he underestimates the consequences of love. Sorrentino gave us a very stylish noir/crime film and at the same time a great love story.I highly recommend his work.

SERBIA


21:Black Cat, White Cat (Kusturica)
If you have never watched a movie by Emir Kusturica,brace yourself.
"Black Cat, White Cat" is a wonderful roller coaster ride full where anything could happen. A surrealistic love story with gypsy mobsters would be the easiest way to describe this film. I highly recommend this picture to anybody that thinks that foreign movies are too brainy or slow placed.

Adding Black Cat, White Cat to my rental list.

After you watched it,let me know if you liked it or not!

UNITED KINGDOM


22: The long Good Friday (Mackenzie)
A mob boss is about to close a lucrative deal when suddenly bombs start to go off , his businesses are blown up and his associates are being killed. Who is doing it and why is a mystery. In equal parts a detective story and a crime film “The long Good Friday” is a great movie. A special mention to the lead actor: Bob Hoskins,he is terrific in this film .

23: Shaun of the dead (Wright)
The story of a young man who is is trying to win his girlfriend back in the middle of a zombie apocalypse. An original comedy–horror film with a great script, the characters are memorable and the pace is snappy. It’s a perfect balance between “Clerks” and “Dawn of the dead”.


24: Trainspotting (Boyle)
An edgy and gritty about youth and drugs. There may be better movies about drug addiction but none of them are so stylish and beautifully executed as trainspotting. The character development and dialogue is top notch.


25: Lock stock and two smoking barrels. (Ritchie)
An original take on the crooked card game story. It is in no way as realist as “The long good Friday” however it is just as enjoyable. The camera-work is excellent, the acting is great, and the plot is full of twists. Recommended if you enjoy a bit of British humor in your gangster flicks.

26: Dr. No (Young)
I wish all Bond movies were like this, Dr. No is the first Bond movie and probably the best.This is before the series became a self-parody based on technological gimmicks and product placements.Great acting, great locations and memorable lines makes this one of the best escapist movies you would want to ever see.

Awesome idea for a thread

Thanks!

James Bond and Guy Ritchie, two of my favorites from the UK.

+ repped the UK post only for The Long Good Friday. Usually I don't do that, but I love The Long Good Friday so much and it's so underseen, to create a word.

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5-time MoFo Award winner.

GERMANY


27: M (Lang)
Gangsters and policemen desperately try to hunt down a child murderer.
Cleverly written and superbly acted M is the perfect movie for cold and rainy nights.It’s a bleak and suspenseful noir film and one of Lang’s best works.
The movie is visually stunning, we are never actually shown a murder; everything is subtle and implied, further emphasizing the chilling ambiance of the film.


28: The Downfall (Hirschbiegel)
The downfall narrates the last 10 days of Adolf Hitler and the results are remarkable.For the first time on screen we are shown the real version of Hitler, not some kind of comic book super villain but more simply a man. An old, fragile delusional man who cannot accept that his end his near.What stands out in this film is the cult like organization that the Nazi Party became in its final moments, with many of its members deciding to follow Hitler in his suicidal path.
Most of movie takes place in cramped bunkers adding almost a dreadful sense of claustrophobia to what is already a dark subject matter.

29: The White Ribbon. (Haneke)
It’s the beginning of the 20th century and strange things start to happen in a small German town.People are found dead and others simply disappear.Beautifully shot in black and white, The White Ribbon is not a simple mystery story, it is more of an analysis of human behavior. In a town full of false morality and hypocrisy all that we have left is cruel adults and apathetic children.Haneke is this film is giving us a look on how the evil seeds of Nazism were planted.


30,31:Wings of Desire - Faraway, so Close! (Wenders)
These two poetic films directed by Wim Wenders deal with Angels that overlook upon the life of troubled Berliners ,just before and just after the fall of the Berlin Wall.The plot here is of secondary importance as the director is more concerned with the themes of empathy and human (and non-human) emotions. Both films are beautifully shot, and even if the pacing is slow, viewers will be delighted to find out that Peter Falk is present in these movies, unconsciously giving a more light hearted feel to the picture.

I've not seen this movie, so no comment there. But I've also never seen any other image from the film than this one. Every single time I've read a post about this movie, this has been the accompanying image. Are there not any other decent images from this film on the web?

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M is one of my favorite movies and Fritz Lang is an excellent director!

Sorry,but no,not really! I looked around...anyway here is the second best!

I like this.


No other early German cinema?

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It's what you learn after you know it all that counts. - John Wooden
My IMDb page

I'm afraid not,there are going to be 80 foreign films in all and I'm already close to half that number....and I still have to deal with Asia,Latin America and a couple of middle eastern films!