50 films I can re-watch anytime

Timeless. Any vampire movie made after this one is just a joke to me. The fairy tale spirit and the extraordinary performance of Max Schreck make the use of cheap tricks and cheap scares absolutely unnecessary. He still does make me shiver. Besides, which other world-class vampire movie was actually made, with exterior shots, in the Carpathian mountains ? Watching this film is just like studying a beautiful master's painting. A true work of art.

The first time I watched this I was about 12, on an old 25 inch TV. Did not understand the point, fell asleep. Some time later I had the extraordinary privilege of watching it on one of Paris's biggest, widest silver screens with an out-of-this world audio system for the 2001 re-release. I had never seen anything quite like it, and haven't since. I went to the pictures for the date, and for 3 and a half hours the nonetheless exceedingly gorgeous girl simply vanished out of my mind. I felt i was somewhere else myself too, lost in space, or maybe lost in my mind trying to make something of the story.

Some films are so good you forget their genre, they're just great films. Stalker is beyond that - you actually forget this is a film at all. Somehow it all makes sense in the end, you understand nothing yet you just feel the whole experience has a perfect coherence. There is so much you can understand, and it will differ from viewer to viewer , and what he can relate it to, in his own psyche: this film is more than a film, actually, this film is You.

Ah, the seventies... It's not about Brando, it's not about Hopper, it's not about Sheen who all give the performance of their lives in this film. It's about a shooting that was so hard, so long, so chaotic that it actually shows on every face. You can make anything look like the Vietnam war with a computer, you won't make the actor feel like he's at war, and show it to the camera. They all were at war. And the film is about so many other things than war.

Cinema was basically born with this film. Yes the Lumiere brothers invented the gear a few years before, but they never viewed it as an artistic endeavour. This this is probably the first film to actually use a constructed story. The special effects are amazing. Amazing. Who needs CGI when you are as creative as Mr. Melies. This is also the first film to have been ripped off, litterally by the meter, all around the world in dozens of films. Who needs DSL internet when you can steal a roll.
The recently released hand-coloured version, with the fantastic soundtrack by Air - remember in the early days of cinema they never actually played the same tune each time a movie was shown - is a tour de force.

Many will consider it odd to view this one as Wong Kar Wai's best, but I still believe it is his masterpiece. First because Leslie Cheung is the greatest actor who ever graced the HK film industry with his performances. Then because of the extraordinary blend between such a poetic atmosphere and the energy of the actors. This film IS nostalgy.

Saw this on TV just by chance in a sleepless night and couldn't get my eyes off it. I literally was hypnotized. And i really was lucky as this one is really, really difficult to find. Yes it is a TV movie, but it was shown in theaters too. At this time Welles was finding it hard to make a living, and this is actually his final directing job. Moreau has never been so beautiful and mysterious, Welles has never been so impressive and fragile. This is also the only work in colour by Welles, and boy, does he know how to use colour. Once again this one makes you forget that you are watching a movie, in fact, you are actually watching a painting in the making, until the final touch.

When Belmondo was young, handsome, artsy. When Godard was not autistic yet. When Seberg was alive. When nothing else mattered but style.
Si vous n’aimez pas la mer... Si vous n’aimez pas la montagne... Si vous n’aimez pas la ville : allez vous faire foutre !
Si vous n'aimez pas ce film, allez vous faire foutre.

No Leslie Cheung here, but Tony Leung reaches his heights. The cinematography is simply gorgeous, and Wai makes you dream of a HK that probably never was. Who cares. At this level, art creates life, not the other way round.

Wai's most stylish film ever. The story is accessory. I dare you to not wish to take the first flight to HK after watching this one.

Woo's best, by a hundred miles. Nevermind if the story has already been told in the Deer Hunter, this one is better. The most shocking Vietnam war film I have ever seen. The only film bar one - see below - that still makes me cry at * that * very scene even if I have watched it a dozen times. Get the Director's ending - which was slaughtered in the name of commercialism. Probably the bluntest point about mankind made on film in this ending.

I know it's just skillfully brought up, I know it's just some easy crafts and slow shots with a cheap song, I know the scene by heart, but I still shed a tear when I see the reunion of Sidney and Dirth Pran. Even when I just think about it.
Say it : this is a true story, and the main Cambodian actor went through all this himself. Repeat : THIS*IS*A TRUE STORY.

This is not only about the revolutionary filming technique. This is not only about Frank Miller. This is not only about Roberto Rodriguez. This is not only about the renaissance of Rourke and the reinvention of Willis. This is not only about Jessica Alba's dance - well it could be just that. This is not because it is probably the most highly quotable movie in recent history. This is simply the greatest film noir of modern times.

Believe it or not, after this film, the most respected reviewers compared Stallone to Brando or Dean. Most people dream about NYC, LA, Chicago, Miami... But whenever somebody asks me which city I would like to visit first when I travel to the US, I say Philly. I hate boxing, but I love this film. Probably one of the greatest moment of humanity on film.

I think I have never watched any movie which is so single-handedly carried above by the performance of a single actor. You could forget about the violence, the cheesy 80's music and clothing, you can forget the acting of most of the cast, but you can *NEVER* forget Tony Montana. Also, this film is the perfect example of a perfect remake - completely unfaithful to the story, totaly true to the spirit.

This is the kind of horror film that is so good you forget about the horror. Forget about the cheap pea soup, forget about the spider-walk and the grotesque stunts. What really matters is the inner fight of all the protagonists with their own inner demons - no one is pure, everybody is fighting his or her own spiritual, psychological fight. This psychological dimension, the acting, and the rigorous documentation effort is what makes not only a great horror film, but a great film period.

Odd as it may seem, this movie is probably the one that I can most closely relate to the 1920's expressionist era of film. The mood development, the design work, the creativity of the special effects, and the tension buildup add up to actually reach poetic levels. Absolutely fantastic work that will look as good and feel as good as new in 50 years time.

I talked about Scarface being the perfect example of a perfect remake because it put faithfulness to the spirit over faithfulness to the story, well The Shining is the perfect example of the perfect adaptation of a novel for the silver screen. Because it is not, really not true to Stephen King's story. Kubrick makes room for his own cinematic talents, with breath-taking scenes that don't make any sense but which yo marvel at like Da Vinci paintings. Also he intelligently makes room for the talents of Nicholson, who's absolutely out of his mind in this one.
Kubrick is not a writer, but hey if King wants to do movies, let he be my guest. He actually tried to remake it... well.... no comment.

Man, what a visual, audio, intellectual and sensorial treat this one was when I watched it at the theatre. I like movies which make me think, but when they can both make me think and feel like this one, they're on the top of my list.

Yes, To did Election 1&2, The Mission, Breaking News which got more acclaim than Exiled. But this one is special. There is almost something like a story here. And that little something which you cannot fabricate, which is... a mood. You're in the middle of tiny tiny Macao under the tropics and this is a crime flick, but you actually believe you are in the Mexican desert for a remake of one of Sergio Leone's best westerns. A real tour de force.

Sergio Leone's style adapted to gangster movies. Would someone hang me if I say he achieves even more here than Coppola with the Godfather ? Due respect for the Godfather, but I venture to say so. This is more raw, more real, more streetwise.

The only thing I understood for sure about this film is that there is nothing to understand. I feel sorry for those who did not understand this simple principle, for they ruined the unique experience of watching this trying to make something of the story.

Copy/Paste my comment on Mulholland Drive here...

Picture Maxim Gorky's the lower depths, which story takes place in 19th century Russia, right in the middle of Japan's Edo era. Nonsensical ? Not at all. No one, even Jean Renoir in his 1936 version, understood Gorky's message about mankind better than Kurosawa. This is the kind of project that really shows just how great a filmmaker can be, and Kurosawa is totally up to the challenge.

Godard does not lose any bit of talent using colour - he actually gets better. Belmondo's lines are even funnier and spirited than in Breathless, but it's Karina who steals the show here. There's love between the actress and the filmmaker (they were a couple in real life at the time), and you can feel it through the screen.