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Film Canon | The Best Films Ever Made


In Order of Excellence

1. Touch of Evil - Orson Welles (1958)

Stark, perverse story of murder, kidnapping, and police corruption in Mexican border town.

2. Citizen Kane - Orson Welles (1941)

Following the death of a publishing tycoon, news reporters scramble to discover the meaning of his final utterance.

3. The Conformist - Bernardo Bertolucci (1970)

A weak-willed Italian man becomes a fascist flunky who goes abroad to arrange the assassination of his old teacher, now a political dissident.

4. The Godfather - Francis Ford Coppola (1972)

The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.

5. Chinatown - Roman Polanski (1974)

A private detective investigating an adultery case stumbles on to a scheme of murder that has something to do with water.

6. The Secret in Their Eyes - Juan Campanella (2009)

A retired legal counselor writes a novel hoping to find closure for one of his past unresolved homicide cases and
for his unreciprocated love with his superior - both of which still haunt him decades later.


7. The Bicycle Thief - Vittorio De Sica (1948) 

A man and his son search for a stolen bicycle vital for his job.

8. Sansho Dayu - Kenji Mizoguchi (1954)

In mediaeval Japan a compassionate governor is sent into exile. 

 9. Breaking the Waves - Lars von Trier (1996)

Oilman Jan is paralyzed in an accident. His wife, who prayed for his return, feels guilty; even more,
​when Jan urges her to have sex with another.


10. In the Mood for Love - Wong Kar Wai (2000)

A man and a woman move in to neighboring Hong Kong apartments and form a bond when
​they both suspect their spouses of extra-marital activities.


11. Persona - Ingmar Bergman (1966)

A nurse is put in charge of an actress who can't talk and finds that the actress's persona is melding with hers.

12. 21 Grams - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (2003)

A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother and a born-again ex-con.

13. Wild Strawberries - Ingmar Bergman (1957)

After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence

14. Rashomon - Akira Kurosawa (1950)

A heinous crime and its aftermath are recalled from differing points of view

15. The Passion of Joan of Arc - Carl Theodor Dreyer (1928)

A chronicle of the trial of Jeanne d'Arc on charges of heresy,
​and the efforts of her ecclesiastical jurists to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.


16. The Last Laugh - F.W. Murnau (1924)

An aging doorman, after being fired from his prestigious job at a luxurious Hotel
​is forced to face the scorn of his friends, neighbours and society


17. L'Avventura - Michelangelo Antonioni (1960)

A woman disappears during a Mediterranean boating trip.
​But during the search, her lover and her best friend become attracted to each other. 


18. Amores Perros - Alejandro Gonzalez Inarritu (2000)

A horrific car accident connects three stories, each involving characters dealing with loss,
​regret, and life's harsh realities, all in the name of love.


19. Singin' in the Rain - Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly (1952)

A silent film production company and cast make a difficult transition to sound.

20. A Clockwork Orange - Stanley Kubrick (1971)

In future Britain, charismatic delinquent Alex DeLarge is jailed and volunteers for an experimental aversion therapy
​developed by the government in an effort to solve society's crime problem... but not all goes to plan


21. Casablanca - Michael Curtiz (1942)

Set in unoccupied Africa during the early days of World War II:
​An American expatriate meets a former lover, with unforeseen complications.


 22. The Best Years of our Lives - William Wyler (1946)

Three WWII veterans return home to small-town America to discover that they and their families have been irreparably changed.

23. 8 1/2 - Federico Fellini (1963)

A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.

24. Network - Sidney Lumet (1976)

A TV network cynically exploits a deranged ex-TV anchor's ravings and revelations about the media for their own profit.

25. Letter from an Unknown Woman - Max Ophuls (1948)

A pianist about to flee from a duel receives a letter from a woman he cannot remember whom may hold the key to his downfall.

26. Ugetsu Monogatari - Kenji Mizoguchi (1953)

In the beginning of the springtime in the period of the Japanese Civil Wars of the Sixteenth Century
​in Lake Biwa in the Province of Omi, the family man farmer and craftsman Genjurô travels
​ to Nagahama to sell his wares and makes a small fortune.


27. The Celebration - Thomas Vinterberg (1998)

At Helge's 60th birthday party, some unpleasant family truths are revealed.

28. Amadeus - Milos Forman (1984)

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback by his peer
​and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum.


29. Raging Bull - Martin Scorsese(1980)

An emotionally self-destructive boxer's journey through life,
​as the violence and temper that leads him to the top in the ring, destroys his life outside it.


30. Once upon a Time in the West - Sergio Leone (1968)

Epic story of a mysterious stranger with a harmonica who joins forces with a notorious desperado
​to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.


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