This is kind of an interesting list; the films I want to own are not the same thing as "the best films I've ever seen" or "the best films ever made". These are the films that, if a friend happened to remark that they have never seen one of these, I would be happy to sit down then and there and watch it with them. Many of these are films that I end up watching almost every year ("sex, lies, and videotape", "Careful, He Might Hear You", "The Black Stallion"). Some I've only seen once, but they stayed with me in such a way that I wish I had them on hand ("A Question of Attribution", "Four Days in September", "Vanya on 42nd Street"). Some very good films will never make this list because I wouldn't want to watch them on the small screen ("Lawrence of Arabia", "The Pillow Book"). The really fun thing about making this list was finding out the multiple "hits" by directors that I didn't know. I was unaware that I have a thing for Carroll Ballard and John Schlesinger.
I knew that I didn't want to own videotapes, and laserdiscs are
so unwieldy. Maybe DVD will be the medium that I will succumb to,
and I'll start my film collection. At some point I would like to
add my own reviews, and links to other reviews. These are in the
order that I thought of them, by the way; no rating system should
be inferred. This is an ongoing project; there are many, many
more which are deserving.
FILM TITLE |
DIRECTOR |
DIRECTOR (I had to look up) |
Black Stallion, The |
Ballard, Carroll |
|
Life is Sweet |
Leigh, Mike |
|
Secrets and Lies |
Leigh, Mike |
|
sex, lies, and videotape |
Soderburgh, Steven |
|
Unbelievable Truth, The |
Hartley, Hal |
|
Trust |
Hartley, Hal |
|
Lone Star |
Sayles, John |
|
Careful, He Might Hear You |
Schultz, Carl |
|
Searching For Bobby Fischer |
Zaillian, Steve |
|
Sammie and Rosie Get Laid |
Frears, Stephen |
|
My Beautiful Laundrette |
Frears, Stephen |
|
Prick Up Your Ears |
Frears, Stephen |
|
City of Lost Children |
Jeunet, Jean-Pierre/Caro, Marc |
|
Alice |
Svankmejer, Jan |
|
Truly, Madly, Deeply |
Minghella, Anthony |
|
Close My Eyes |
Poliakoff, Stephen |
|
My Brilliant Career |
Armstrong, Gillian |
|
Never Cry Wolf |
Ballard, Carroll |
|
Usual Suspects, The |
Singer, Bryan |
|
Big Night |
Tucci, Stanley/Scott, Campbell |
|
Daytrippers, The |
Mottola, Greg |
|
Babettes Feast |
Axel, Gabriel |
|
In the Land of the Deaf |
Philibert, Nicolas |
|
Room with a View, A |
Merchant, Ismail |
|
Howards End |
Merchant, Ismail |
|
Four Days in September |
Barreto, Bruno |
|
Troublesome Creek: A Midwestern |
Jordan, Jeanne |
|
Dead Again |
Branagh, Kenneth |
|
Eight Men Out |
Sayles, John |
|
Bull Durham |
Shelton, Ron |
|
Mrs Parker and the Vicious Circle |
Rudolph, Alan |
|
Spanish Prisoner, The |
Mamet, David |
|
Glengarry Glen Ross |
Foley, James |
|
House of Games |
Mamet, David |
|
Plenty |
Schepisi, Fred |
|
Babe |
Noonan, Chris |
|
Jaws |
Spielberg, Steven |
|
Mad Max |
Miller, George |
|
Road Warrior, The |
Miller, George |
|
Hannah and Her Sisters |
Allen, Woody |
|
Manhattan |
Allen, Woody |
|
Annie Hall |
Allen, Woody |
|
Stranger Than Paradise |
Jarmusch, Jim |
|
Player, The |
Altman, Robert |
|
Strapless |
Hare, David |
|
Empire of the Sun |
Spielberg, Steven |
|
Last Emperor, The |
Bertolucci, Bernardo |
|
Terminator, The |
Cameron, James |
|
Terminator II: Judgement Day |
Cameron, James |
|
Alien |
Scott, Ridley |
|
Aliens |
Cameron, James |
|
Cold Comfort Farm |
Schlesinger, John |
|
Zed and Two Naughts, A |
Greenaway, Peter |
|
Belly of an Architect |
Greenaway, Peter |
|
Persuasion |
Michell, Robert |
|
Sense and Sensibility |
Lee, Ang |
|
Vanya on 42nd Street |
Malle, Louis |
|
My Dinner with Andre |
Malle, Louis |
|
Blood Simple |
Coen, Joel |
|
Last Seduction, The |
Dahl, John |
|
Casablanca |
Curtiz, Michael |
|
Hit, The |
Frears, Stephen |
|
Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead |
Stoppard, Tom |
|
We Think the World of You |
Gregg, Colin |
|
Englishman Abroad, An |
Schlesinger, John |
|
Question of Attribution, A |
Schlesinger, John |
|
Another Country |
Kanievksa, Marek |
|
Miller's Crossing |
Coen, Joel |
|
Big Time |
Blum, Chris |
|
Into The West |
Newell, Mike |
|
Princess Bride |
Reiner, Rob |
|
Decline of Western Civilization |
Spheeris, Penelope |
|
DoWC II: The Metal Years |
Spheeris, Penelope |
|
Goodfellas |
Scorcese, Martin |
|
My Life as a Dog |
Hallstrom, Lasse |
|
Year My Voice Broke, The |
Duigan, John |
|
Flirting |
Duigan, John |
|
Smoke |
Wang, Wayne |
|
Burnt by the Sun |
Mikhalkov, Nikita |
|
I've Heard the Mermaids Singing |
Rozema, Patricia |
|
Mindwalk |
Capra, Bernt |
|
Erotica |
Egoyan, Atom |
|
Ruby in Paradise |
Nunez, Victor |
|
Slacker |
Linklater, Richard |
|
Strangers in Good Company |
Scott, Cynthia |
|
Silverado |
Kasdan, Lawrence |
|
Raiders of the Lost Ark |
Spielberg, Steven |
|
Out of Africa |
Pollack, Sydney |
|
Reservoir Dogs |
Tarantino, Quentin |
|
Hope and Glory |
Boorman, John |
|
Stop Making Sense |
Demme, Jonathan |
|
Something Wild |
Demme, Jonathan |
|
Next Stop, Wonderland |
Anderson, Brad |
|
Man Who Would Be King, The |
Huston, John |
|
FairyTale: A True Story |
Sturridge, Charles |
|
Who Am I This Time? |
Demme, Jonathan |
|
General, The | Boorman, John | |
Limey, The | Soderburgh, Steven | |
Do the Right Thing | Lee, Spike | |
She's Gotta Have It | Lee, Spike | |
28 Up | Apted, Michael | |
Six Degrees of Separation | Schepisi, Fred | |
Witches, The | Roeg, Nicolas | |
Winslow Boy, The |
Mamet, David |
|
League of Their Own, A |
Marshall, Penny |
|
Get Shorty | Sonnenfeld, Barry |