6. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1919)

Out of all the silent movies on the list, this is the one I was most excited about watching. I've heard a lot about it over the years but never actually seen it before.

This movie is acclaimed as one of the best silent horror movies, and it's also an example of Expressionist cinema. Expressionism started in the early 20th century as an avant garde movement and flourished during the Weimar Republic in Germany (1920s). It's an artistic style that emphasizes emotion over realism.

Expressionist film developed partially because of the isolation Germany experienced during World War I. During the war, the German government banned foreign films, so the German film industry's production rate skyrocketed to make up for the lack of outside material. Once the inflation problem started, Germans started going out and spending their money on quick entertainment like movies so they'd get some use out of the money before it became worthless.

Eventually the rest of the world start appreciating the artistry and inventiveness of German films and German filmmakers gradually got access to more resources. But early on, expressionist films had very small budgets, and the makers compensated for that by making loud set pieces full of non-realistic, geometric shapes. Couple that with Caligari's theme of insanity and you have one very surreal film. 

The plot (stolen from Wikipedia):

The main narrative is introduced using a frame story in which most of the plot is presented as a flashback, as told by the protagonist, Francis (one of the earliest examples of a frame story in film).

Francis (Friedrich Fehér) and an elderly companion are sharing stories when a distracted-looking woman, Jane (Lil Dagover), passes by. Francis calls her his betrothed and narrates an interesting tale that he and Jane share. Francis begins his story with himself and his friend Alan (Hans Heinrich von Twardowski), who are both good-naturedly competing to be married to the lovely Jane. The two friends visit a carnival in their German mountain village of Holstenwall, where they encounter the captivating Dr. Caligari (Werner Krauss) and a near-silent somnambulist, Cesare (Conrad Veidt), whom the doctor keeps asleep in a coffin-like cabinet, controls hypnotically, and is displaying as an attraction. Caligari hawks that Cesare's continuous sleeping state allows him to know the answer to any question about the future. When Alan asks Cesare how long he will live, Cesare bluntly replies that Alan will die before dawn tomorrow—a prophecy which is fulfilled. Alan's violent death at the hands of some shadowy figure becomes the most recent in a series of mysterious murders in Holstenwall.

Francis, along with Jane, to whom he is now officially engaged, investigates Caligari and Cesare, which eventually results in Caligari's order for Cesare to murder Jane. Cesare nearly does so, revealing to Francis the almost certain connection of Cesare and his master Caligari to the recent homicides; however, Cesare refuses to go through with the killing because of Jane's beauty and he instead carries her out of her house, pursued by the townsfolk. Finally, after a long chase, Cesare releases Jane, falls over from exhaustion, and dies.

In the meantime, Francis goes to the local insane asylum to ask if there has ever been a patient there by the name of Caligari, only to be shocked to discover that Caligari is the asylum's director. With the help of some of Caligari's oblivious colleagues at the asylum, Francis discovers through old records that the man known as "Dr. Caligari" is obsessed with the story of a mythical monk called Caligari, who, in 1703, visited towns in northern Italy and similarly used a somnambulist under his control to kill people. Dr. Caligari, insanely driven to see if such a situation could actually occur, deemed himself "Caligari" and has since successfully carried out his string of proxy murders. Francis and the asylum's other doctors send the authorities to Caligari's office, where Caligari reveals his lunacy only when told that his beloved slave Cesare has died; Caligari is then imprisoned in his own asylum.

The narrative returns to the present moment, with Francis concluding his tale. A twist ending reveals that Francis' flashback, however, is actually his fantasy: he, Jane and Cesare are all in fact inmates of the insane asylum, and the man he says is Caligari is his asylum doctor, who, after this revelation of the source of his patient's delusion, says that now he will be able to cure Francis.

I love the twist ending. 

Everything about this movie is distorted and surreal - the acting, the scenery, the music, even the font on the title cards. 

The music is very modern and atonal. At first I was afraid it would annoy me, but after the first couple minutes I hardly even noticed it because it matched the plot so well. The visuals are really what stick with you:

Some of the most interesting art direction you will ever see.

This movie is a trip. Recommended viewing for anyone who is curious about early horror films or is interested in Expressionism. I watched it with a couple friends of mine, and although it probably wasn't what they were expecting, I think they were glad they watched it with me. 

Fun fact: German filmmaking during this period was considered "more artistic" than that in other countries, and the Expressionist style was influential to directors such as Orson Welles and Alfred Hitchcock. More on that later.

Zero Dark Thirty

If I had to guess which current movies will make it on to future 1001 lists, I would pick Zero Dark Thirty for sure. I can't remember the last time everyone I know (and don't know) has been so eager to dissect a movie.

How ironic is it that Kathryn Bigelow, who has succeeded better than anyone else so far at making good movies about ongoing wars, used to be married to James Cameron, the ultimate commercial director?

I've seen it twice so far, once with my boyfriend and a second time with my parents. I liked it the first time, but I think I enjoyed it even more the second time around because I was more relaxed. At first I thought the format of breaking it up into chapters was a little weird, but it didn't bother me the second time around. With a story that stretches over 10 years, breaking it up that way was probably the easiest way to establish shifts in time and locale. Other details stuck out at me more the second time around.

I love that this movie has gotten so many people talking, and that everyone seems to interpret it a little differently.

It might not be as nailbiting exciting all the way through as The Hurt Locker, but I'm ok with that. Zero Dark Thirty is asking bigger, more complicated questions, and it gets more political.

There were two scenes in the movie that I really loved (minor spoilers ahead):

1. The scene after James Gandolfini as Leon Panetta is briefed on the compound, walking into the elevator he asks his assistant "what do you think of the girl?"

Assistant: "I think she's fucking smart."

Panetta: (sarcastically) "We're all smart."

2. The scenes where the special helicopters are en route to the compound and it's so dark you can barely see them flying low over the mountain passes. So chilling. I tried to imagine what thoughts were going through the SEALs' heads right at that moment.

I also loved all the scenes of the Navy SEALs leading up to the raid. The actors did a great job of conveying the camaraderie that comes with being part of a tight-knit unit. I liked the scenes where the more skeptical SEALs are questioning Maya (Jessica Chastain's character) on what her evidence is and why they should believe her.

Most of America may be keen to forget all the missteps and questionable judgment calls of the last 10 years, but topics like torture shouldn't be glossed over and forgotten about.

The questions I'm left with are: what will we do differently in the future because of what we've learned in the past 10 years? Have we even learned anything in the past 10 years?

Will we ever learn?

5. Intolerance (1916)

In 1915, D.W. Griffith was developing a film focused on the dangers of social reform called "The Mother and the Law" when critiques of his previous film Birth of a Nation started rolling in. Angered by the accusations of racism in the film, he added additional storylines to his new project that showed the result of intolerance throughout history. This was his attempt at silencing critics.

The outcome was a sprawling, ambitious film that cost a then unheard of $2 million to produce. It received positive critical reviews, but did not do well with the American public (protip: don't make an anti-war film when your country is about to enter a World War ...). The film was originally 3 hours and 30 minutes long, but most modern cuts are 3 hours and 17 minutes. The one I watched was 3 hours 17 minutes.

The plot consists of four stories set in different historical periods that span 2,500 years. To emphasize the thematic connections between the stories, they are intercut throughout the movie instead of being presented linearly.

The film opens with a shot of a woman deemed "Eternal Motherhood" rocking a cradle. She symbolizes the passing of generations, and subsequent shots of her are used to transition between the four stories throughout the film.

The Modern Story (The Mother and the Law)

The largest portion of the film is occupied by the plot of Griffith's original idea pre-Birth of a Nation. A group of early 20th-century female social reformers called "Uplifters" try to gain the patronage of a wealthy spinster whose brother owns a mill so they can further their cause. The wealthy spinster agrees to help finance the Uplifters, but after a while she finds that the mill is not generating enough revenue to satisfy her altruistic pursuits. She complains to her brother, whose response is to order a 10% cut in wages for all his factory workers. After the mill owner orders the wage cut, the workers go on strike but are quickly and violently suppressed by the state militia. (This was based on a real event.) Many victims of the strike move to a nearby city, including the Little Dear One, a young woman who takes care of her father (a former mill worker), and The Boy, another former mill worker. After arriving in the city, the Boy falls into a life of crime working for the Musketeer of the Slums. Another disenfranchised young person called The Friendless One falls in with the Musketeer and becomes his mistress. After struggling to adapt to his sudden life changes, the Dear One's father dies, leaving her alone in the world. The Dear One and the Boy get married and he swears off his former life of crime.

He returns his gun to the Musketeer, but they get in a scuffle and the Musketeer vows revenge because he is now afraid the Boy will turn him in to the police. The Musketeer stages a setup to implicate the Boy in a crime and the Boy is sent to jail. Intercut scenes show the Uplifters celebrating their successes at reforming society. A few months pass and the Dear One has a baby. As her husband is in jail (nevermind that he's falsely incarcerated), the Uplifters are convinced the Dear One is a negligent mother and take her baby away. Once again, the Dear One is alone.

The film's poster showing an evil reformer's hand trying to take the baby from its mother.

The Musketeer goes to the Dear One's apartment and promises to help her get her baby back. The Friendless One (the Musketeer's girlfriend) watches jealously. The Boy is released from jail and reunited with the Dear One.

While the Boy is out one day, the Musketeer goes to the Dear One's apartment to get the address for where the baby is being held. His girlfriend puts a gun in her handbag and follows him without his knowledge. He enters the Dear One's apartment and tries to assault her. As this is happening, an informant tells the Boy that the Musketeer has gone to the apartment. When the Boy arrives, he can already hear a scuffle inside and he kicks down the door. He and the Musketeer get into a fight, during which the Boy and the Dear One are knocked unconscious. The Friendless One (whom nobody knows is watching) leans in through a window and shoots the Musketeer. When the Dear One and the Boy come to, they see the dead Musketeer on the ground. The police arrive and arrest the Boy.

The Boy is put on trial. As he gives his testimony, a closeup shows the Dear One wringing her hands.

The Friendless One--the real murderer--watches the trial but says nothing of her guilt.

The Boy is found guilty and sentenced to death. Back at the Dear One's apartment, a 'kindly police officer' tries to comfort her.

Upon inspecting the room where the crime was committed, the police officer realizes the gunshots must have been fired from an observer through the window. This gives the Dear One hope that they can appeal the Boy's case. The police officer and the Dear One rush off to the governor's house to plead their case, followed by the Friendless One, who is still racked with guilt. After denying the Dear One's pleas, the governor leaves his house. As the Dear One collapses on the steps outside, the Friendless One finally admits her guilt to the Dear One and the police officer. Scenes are intercut showing the boy being administered last rites by a priest and being led to the gallows. The Dear One, Friendless One, and police officer chase after the governor and stop the train he has boarded from going any further. The Friendless One confesses to the murder. The governor signs a pardon and instructs an aide to halt the Boy's hanging. As the Boy is being prepared for the gallows, a phone rings nearby--at the very last second--letting the executioners know of the pardon. The heightened tension is finally diffused as the Boy is reunited with the Dear One. The Dear One gets the baby back and the story ends with "justice and restoration" (title card).

Three other stories are intercut with this one--the fall of ancient Babylon to Cyrus the Great, Christ's crucifixion, and the St. Bartholomew Day Massacre in France in 1572--but the modern story is the longest and most interesting. It's also notable because it is the only one in the movie that has a happy ending; the others end with death and destruction.

Overall, this film is too preachy to be enjoyable. Notice how many of the characters don't have regular names, but are titled according to how Griffith wanted the audience to view them: the Dear One, the Boy, the Friendless One, the Musketeer of the Slums.

Film is often used as a way to express personal views, but Griffith is too overt with it for a narrative film. Most directors employ emotional manipulation in their films, but I like for it to be more subtle so there is at least an illusion that the audience is thinking for themselves. The discovery of "oh, he's the bad guy" or "I feel sympathetic toward that character" is paramount to the movie-watching experience, and Griffith deprives his viewers of that. As for the anti-progressive stance he takes, it was probably influenced in part by the fact that many reformers were supported film censorship, which Griffith would rail against throughout his career.

Even if his did go a little overboard with his emotional manipulation of the audience, Griffith is regarded as a master of silent film techniques and there are many technical aspects of this film that are appreciable.

For starters, the scenes set in ancient Babylon are breathtaking.

Look at those set pieces! They are jaw-droppingly big.

A lot of live animals were used in the Babylon scenes to make them extra exotic.

Aside from being known for its sheer scale, this film is also known for its revolutionary editing style of intercutting multiple plotlines. As the film reaches its climax, the cuts get quicker and quicker. This style influenced European and Soviet filmmakers in particular.

Many of Griffith's assistant directors went on to illustrious Hollywood careers themselves, including Erich von Stroheim (Greed, Foolish Wives, Sunset Boulevard), Tod Browning (Dracula, Freaks) and W.S. Van Dyke (The Thin Man, San Francisco).

I find it interesting that the controversy surrounding Griffith's earlier film and the commercial failure of this one did not halt his career. Despite the questionable content of his movies, the man is regarded as a genius and forefather of modern cinema. The question of whether you should you judge ones art separately from their personal life/beliefs is thrown around often in reference to controversial figures. The answer to the question when applied to D.W. Griffith is a resounding "yes." His artistry was impressive enough that people overlook his themes, but I have a hard time getting past them. This film really touched a nerve with me. The themes probably stick out to me the most because I'm a 21st-century viewer. I'm used to seeing big movies with special effects. While the set pieces and editing are impressive for their era, they don't make this a "good" movie to me.

Fun fact: false eyelashes were invented during the production of this film because Griffith wanted the Babylonian princess' eyelashes to be so long they brushed her cheeks when she blinked.

This film is available on Netflix.

4. Les Vampires (1915-16)

Les Vampires follows the adventures of Parisian newspaper reporter Philippe Guerande as he investigates a string of crimes committed by a gang called the Vampires.

He is aided along the way by his coworker Mazamette, who has been working undercover with the Vampires. Mazamette becomes Philippe's faithful sidekick and also provides comic relief throughout the movie.

Philippe and Mazamette spend much of their time entangled with a particular Vampires member, Irma Vep, as she carries out many of the gang's dastardly plans.

The plot is as follows (stolen from Wikipedia):

Episode 1 - The Severed Head

Philipe Guérande (Édouard Mathé), a reporter working for the newspaper "The Paris Chronicle" who is investigating a criminal organisation called the Vampires, receives a telegram at work stating that the decapitated body of the national security agent in charge of the Vampire investigations, Inspector Durtal, was found in the swamps near Saint-Clement-Sur-Cher, with the head missing. Being turned down by the local magistrate (Thelès), he spends the night in a nearby castle owned by Dr. Nox (Jean Aymé), an old friend of his father, along with Mrs. Simpson (Rita Herlor), an American multimillionaire who desires the property. After waking up in the night, Philipe finds a note in his pocket saying ‘Give up your search, otherwise bad luck awaits you! – The Vampires’ and a mysterious passage behind a painting in his room. Meanwhile, Mrs. Simpson’s money and jewels are stolen in her sleep by a masked thief, but Philipe is suspected of the crime. Philipe again visits the magistrate, who now believes his case, and they trick Dr. Nox and Mrs. Simpson into waiting in an anteroom. At the castle, Philipe and the magistrate find the head of Inspector Durtal hidden in the passage in Philipe’s room. Back in the anteroom, they find that Mrs. Simpson is dead and that Dr. Nox has vanished. Her pocket contains a note from the Grand Vampire saying that he has murdered the real Dr. Nox and is now assuming his identity.

Episode 2 - The Ring That Kills

Grand Vampire in disguise as Count de Noirmoutier, reads that ballerina Marfa Koutiloff (Stacia Napierkowska), who is engaged to Philipe, will perform a ballet called The Vampires. To prevent her from publicizing the Vampires' activities and to deter Philipe, he gives Marfa a poisoned ring before her performance, which kills her onstage. Amidst the panicking crowds Philipe recognizes the Grand Vampire and follows him to an abandoned fort and is captured by the gang. They agree to interrogate Philipe at midnight and execute him at dawn. Philipe finds that the Vampire guarding him is one of his co-workers, Oscar-Cloud Mazamette (Marcel Lévesque). They decide to work together and capture the Grand Inquisitor when he arrives at midnight. They bind and hood the Grand Inquisitor, and set him up for execution in place of Phillipe. At dawn the Vampires arrive for the execution, but the police raid the lair. The Vampires escape, but as they flee they mistakenly execute their own Grand Inquisitor, who turns out to be the Chief Justice of the Supreme Court.

Episode 3 - The Red Cypher

While faking illness to get off work, Philipe tries to decode a red booklet that he lifted from the Grand Inquisitor’s body, which contains the crimes of the Vampires. He discovers that his house is under surveillance by the Vampires, so he leaves in disguise. Following clues in the booklet he arrives at "The Howling Cat" night club. Performing there is Irma Vep (Musidora), whose name Philipe sees is an anagram for vampire. After her act, the Grand Vampire assigns Irma to retrieve the red booklet. As Philipe returns home Mazamette arrives, along with a poison pen he stole from the Grand Vampire. A few days later, Irma arrives at their house disguised as a new maid, but Philipe recognizes her. She tries to poison him, but fails. His mother (Delphine Renot) leaves to meet her brother after receiving word that he has been in a car accident, but it turns out to be a trap and she is captured by the Vampires. While Philipe is asleep, Irma lets another Vampire into his home but he shoots them. They escape, however, because his gun was loaded with blanks. In a shack in the slums, Philipe’s mother is held by Father Silence (Louis Leubas), a deaf-mute, and is forced to sign a ransom note, but she kills him with Mazamette’s poison pen and escapes.

Episode 4 - The Spectre

The Grand Vampire, under the alias of a real estate broker "Treps," meets Juan-José Moréno (Fernand Herrmann), a businessman, who asks for an apartment with a safe. The Grand Vampire puts Moréno into an apartment whose safe is rigged to be opened from the rear through the party wall of an apartment belonging to Irma Vep and the Grand Vampire. However, the case Moréno places inside contains the Vampires’ black attire. Later, in disguise as bank secretary "Juliette Bertaux," Irma learns that a man called Mr. Metadier has to bring₣300,000 to another branch. In the case that he is unable to make the delivery, Irma will. Soon afterward, Mr. Metadier is murdered by the Vampires and his body disposed of while on a train home from a film. When Irma is about to take the money for him a spectre of Mr. Metadier appears and takes it instead. The Grand Vampire pursues the spectre, who escapes down a manhole. Later that day, Mme. Metadier appears at the bank, saying she hasn’t seen her husband in days. They also find out that the money hasn’t been delivered. Philipe soon learns of this, and goes to the bank in disguise, recognizing Irma. He finds her address and a few hours later sneaks in, using Mazamette as a ploy. Irma and the Grand Vampire open the safe from their side, only to find Metadier’s body and the money. Philipe tries to capture them but is knocked down and they escape. Philipe calls the police just as Moréno enters and finds his safe opened from the other side. He walks through and is caught by Philipe. Moréno is revealed to be another criminal in disguise, and claims not to have killed Metadier, but to have found his body by the train tracks where the Vampires had dumped it. Moréno found Metadier's letter of authority on his corpse, took Metadier's body home, disguised himself as Metadier, put the body in his safe, assumed Metadier's identity, took the money, and put it too in his safe. The upshot is that the money is now in the Vampires' possession. The police arrive and arrest Moréno.

Episode 5 - Dead Man's Escape

The examining magistrate from Saint-Clement-Sur-Cher relocates to Paris and is assigned to the Vampire case and the Moréno affair. After being summoned to the magistrate, Moréno commits suicide using a concealed cyanide capsule. His body is left in his cell, but during the night he wakes up, very much alive. He kills the night-watchman and takes his clothes, escaping from the prison. He is noticed by Mazamette, who is suffering from insomnia. The following morning, Moréno is found to have escaped. While writing an account of the events, Philipe is pulled out of his window by the Vampires and whisked into a large costume box. He is driven away and the box is unloaded, but incompetently, and it slides down a large flight of stairs. The Vampires retreat and Philipe is let out by two bystanders. He visits the costume designer Pugenc whose name and box number (13) are on the costume box, just missing Moréno and his gang who have bought police uniforms for a scheme of their own. Philipe learns from Pugenc that the costume box was to go to Baron de Mortesalgues on Maillot Avenue, and realizes that "Mortesalgues" must be another alias of the Grand Vampire. Later, Moréno confronts Philipe in a café, but when Philipe calls for the nearby policemen, they turn out to be part of Moréno’s gang and he is again captured. Meanwhile, Mazamette breaks into Moréno’s hideout. Philipe is taken there to be hanged by the gang, unless he can give them means to revenge themselves against the Vampires. He tells them that Baron de Mortesalgues is the Grand Vampire, and they spare him, tying him up. Mazamette appears and frees him. That evening, the Grand Vampire, in disguise as Baron de Mortesalgues, holds a party for his "niece," who is Irma Vep in disguise. The party attracts many members of the Parisian aristocracy. "Mortesalgues" reveals that at midnight there will be a surprise; but the "surprise" is a sleeping-gas attack on the guests. The Vampires steal all of the guests' valuables while they are unconscious. The Vampires flee with the stolen items on the top of their car, but Moréno, forewarned by Philipe, robs the Vampires and sends Philipe a letter telling him that, for the moment, they are even. Mazamette visits Philipe; he is angry with their lack of progress and wants to quit. Philipe shows Mazamette a line from a book of Jean de la Fontaine’s Fables which states “in all things, one must take the end into account.” They renew their resolves.

Episode 6 - Hypnotic Eyes

Fifteen days have passed since the events at Maillot. Moréno is looking for clues to lead him to the Vampires, and reads in a paper that a Fontainebleau notary has been murdered by them; as he happens to possess a gaze with a terrible hypnotic power, he takes control of his new maid, Laura, to turn her into his slave. Meanwhile, Philipe and Mazamette happen to see a newsreel on the murder inquest, in which they spot Irma Vep and the Grand Vampire. They cycle to Fontainebleau to investigate. Enroute they spot an American tourist, Horatio Werner, riding fast into the forest, and follow him. He places a box under one of the boulders, and they take it. The Grand Vampire, who is staying in the Royal Hunt Hotel under the pseudonym of Count Kerlor, along with Irma in disguise as his son, Viscount Guy, reads in a paper that George Baldwin (Émile Keppens), an American millionaire, has been robbed of $200,000. Whoever can capture the criminal, Raphael Norton, who has fled to Europe with the actress Ethel Florid, will be awarded the unspent balance of the loot. "Kerlor" notices that Mr and Mrs. Werner, who are staying at the hotel, are distressed by this notice, and concludes that Mr. Werner is Raphael Norton. Philipe and Mazamette arrive at the hotel and find that the Vampires are based there. In a different hotel they force open the box and find Baldwin’s stolen money inside. Moréno comes to the Royal Hunt in disguise. While the Grand Vampire tells the hotel guests a story, Irma breaks into the Werners' suite, finding a map leading to the box in the forest. When she leaves, she is captured and chloroformed by Moréno, who takes the map. While his gang take Irma away, he dresses his hypnotized maid, Laura, as Irma and tells her to give the Vampires the map. Once one of the Vampires (Miss Édith) follows the map to get the treasure, Moréno’s gang ambushes her, only to find that Philipe has already taken it. Moreno demands that the Grand Vampire ransom Irma Vep. In the early morning, the police raid the hotel and find that Werner is actually Norton, so Philipe and Mazamette win the money. Moréno falls in love with Irma and decides not to return her to the Grand Vampire. Instead, he hypnotizes her and causes her to write a confession of her involvement in the murders of the Fontainbleau notary (in this episode), Metadier (episode 4), the ballerina Marfa Koutiloff (episode 2), and Dr. Nox (episode 1). The Grand Vampire comes to meet Moréno, but Moréno by hypnotic command compels Irma to kill him. The episode ends with the now-wealthy Mazamette informing a dozen adoring journalists that "although vice is seldom punished, virtue is always rewarded."

Episode 7 - Satanas

A mysterious man (Louis Leubas) arrives at Moréno’s home, and shows that he knows that the Grand Vampire’s body is inside a trunk. Moréno tries to get rid of him, but he is paralysed by a pin in the man’s glove. The man reveals himself to be the true Grand Vampire, Satanas, and that the first was a subordinate. While at a cabaret called the "Happy Shack", Moréno and Irma receive a note from Satanas saying they will see proof of his power at two o'clock. At two he fires a powerful cannon at the "Happy Shack", largely destroying it. Meanwhile, Philipe decides to visit Mazamette, but he is out "chasing the girls." He hides as Mazamette arrives home, drunk, with two women and a friend, who he later chases out angrily at gunpoint. The next morning, Irma and Moréno go to Satanas’ home to surrender, and Satanas offers them the chance to work with him, informing them that American millionaire George Baldwin is stopping at the Park Hotel. Satanas wants Baldwin's signature. One of Moréno’s accomplices, Lily Flower (Suzanne Delvé), goes to the Park Hotel and poses as an interviewer from "Modern Woman" magazine and through trickery gets Baldwin to sign a blank piece of paper. Afterwards, Irma enters and dupes Baldwin into recording his voice saying "Parisian women are the most charming I've ever seen, all right!" Lily Flower brings Baldwin's signature to Moréno’s home, and Moréno writes out an order (over Baldwin's signature) to pay Lily Flower $100,000. Moréno’s gang seize the hotel telephone operator of Baldwin's hotel; Irma takes her place by using a forged note. When the bank cashier calls Baldwin to confirm that he has given a very large draft to an attractive Parisian woman, Irma intercepts the call, and plays the recording she made of Baldwin's voice, and the cashier is persuaded. While Lily Flower is taking the money, Mazamette comes in, recognising her as his old squeeze from the "Happy Shack", and follows her, seeing her hand the money to a man in a taxi—Moréno! Moréno gives Satanas the money, but he is given it back as a present. Philipe and Mazamette capture Lily Flower at her home and make her call Moréno and tell him to come, but when he and Irma arrive they fall into a trap and are caught by the police.

Episode 8 - The Thunder Master

Irma, sentenced to life imprisonment, has been sent to St. Lazarus’ prison. A transfer order is sent to the prison to send Irma to a penal colony in Algeria. On the day of her departure, Irma finds out that Moréno has been executed. Satanas follows Irma’s transportation route, stopping at a seaside hotel in disguise as a Priest. At the port, he gives some religious comfort to the prisoners, but Irma’s copy contains a secret message saying “the ship will blow up” and giving her directions on how to safeguard herself. Satanas destroys the ship with his cannon. Meanwhile, Philipe finds through the red codebook that the explosive shell that landed on the “Happy Shack” came from Montmartre, and Mazamette goes to investigate. His son, Eustache Mazamette (René Poyen), is sent home from school due to bad behaviour, so they go to "investigate" together. They find some men loading boxes into a house, and notice one of the top hat cases contains a shell. Later, reading that no survivors have been found from the exploding ship, Satanas visits Philipe to avenge Irma’s death. Satanas paralyses Phillipe with the poisoned pin in his glove and leaves a bomb in a top hat to kill him off. Mazamette arrives and throws the top hat out the window just in time. At Satanas’ home, Eustache is used as a ploy to hide Mazamette in a box, but Satanas sees this through a spy-hole. Satanas threatens Eustache, but Eustache shoots at Satanas, and the police raid the building and arrest him. After the action, they find that Mazamette’s nose has been broken by Eustache’s shot. Meanwhile, Irma is shown to have survived the blast on the ship, and is trying to get back to Paris from under a train. She is helped by the station staff and police, pretending that she is in “one of those eternal love stories beloved by popular imagination.” She makes her way to the Vampire hangout, the “Howling Cat” nightclub, where she performs, and is rapturously greeted by the Vampires. Upon hearing of the arrest of Satanas, one of the Vampires, Venomous (Frederik Moris), appoints himself the new chief. By Satanas’ orders, they mail him an envelope containing a poisoned note, which he eats to commit suicide.

Episode 9 - The Poinsoner

Irma is now a devoted collaborator of Venomous, who is set on getting rid of Philipe and Mazamette. He learns that Philipe is engaged to Jane Bremontier (Louise Lagrange), and the following day Irma and Lily Flower rent an apartment above hers. Irma’s maid, a Vampire also, hears that Philipe and Jane’s engagement party will be catered for by the famous Béchamel House. Venomous cancels their catering order, and on the day of the party the Vampires appear instead. Jane’s mother (Jeanne Marie-Laurent) gives the concierges one bottle of the Vampires' champagne as a present, and just as dinner is served the male concierge, Leon Charlet, drinks it, is poisoned and dies. His wife stops the party guests from drinking their champagne just in time, and the Vampires make a hasty escape. A few days later, Mazamette and Philipe’s mother pick up Jane and her mother in the night in order to take them to a safe retreat near Fontainebleau. Irma, who tries to fill the getaway car with soporific gas, is spotted by Mazamette, but Irma gasses him, and he is taken away asleep while Irma hides in a box on the car. Mazamette is dumped on the street and taken to the police station, believed to be drunk. When he wakens, he calls Philipe to warn him, but Irma slips out of the box and gets away in the car before Philipe can catch her. Irma jumps off the car near the Pyramid Hotel, and calls Venomous to meet her there, but Philipe has also arranged to meet Mazamette there. Philipe spots Irma at the Pyramid Hotel, captures her and ties her up. Philipe and Mazamette leave Irma in Mazamette's car and attempt to ambush Venomous, but Irma honks the car horn to warn him. Venomous saves Irma and drives off in Mazamette’s car, so Philipe and Mazamette chase him in his. Venomous leaps off; Philipe chases Venomous on foot, following him onto the top of a moving train, but Venomous gets away. Mazamette, enraged at the police for not letting him help Philipe on the train, hits one of the officers, who arrest him. At the police station, Philipe and Mazamette carry on so dramatically that the police decide not to book Mazamette, who is after all a famous philanthropist. But the Vampires are still on the loose.

Episode 10 - The Terrible Wedding

A few months after their engagement party, and little news of the Vampires, Philipe and Jane are now married. Augustine Charlet (Germaine Rouer), widow of the poisoned concierge, is invited by the Guérandes to be their chamber maid, which she accepts. The following day, she receives a letter from the Vampires detailing that she should consult Madame d’Alba at 13 Avenue Junot. When she does, Mazamette, who has taken an attraction to her, follows her. Madame d’Alba, a Vampire, hypnotises Augustine and instructs her to unlock the door of Philipe’s apartment at 2 am to let the Vampires in. Mazamette catches her as she leaves, and he promises not to tell Philipe of the incident. Unable to sleep that night, he sees her let the Vampires in, and they tie her up and feed poisonous gas into the Guérandes’ room. He shoots at them and they flee, and Augustine explains her actions. As they go to the police, Venomous tries to break in through a bedroom window, but Jane shoots at him. When she looks out the window she is lassoed down and carried away. At daybreak, the police raid Avenue Junot. Irma and Venomous escape through the roof and drive away, capturing Augustine. Mazamette shoots at the car, causing an oil leak. Philipe follows the trail to the Vampires’ lair and lays traps at nightfall while the gang celebrate the wedding of Irma and Venomous. The police do a large scale police raid at daybreak, while the Vampires are still celebrating. As Irma hides, all of the Vampires are either killed or captured by the police. She confronts their captives, but is shot by Jane. Paris now being safe from the Vampires, Mazamette proposes to Augustine and she accepts.

___________________________________________________________________


The movie was inspired by real events: gangs called Apaches preyed on the French middle class in the years leading up to World War I. One gang in particular, the Bonnot Gang, is cited as being the basis for the Vampires.

As I mentioned earlier, Les Vampires is credited with establishing the crime thriller genre and was influential to directors such as Fritz Lang (M, The Big Heat) and Alfred Hitchcock. You can find certain themes of Les Vampires in later movies by Hitchcock: ordinary people caught in extraordinary circumstances (Philippe and his family members), characters falling from high places (there are a lot of scenes in Les Vampires that involve balconies or rooftop windows), food + death (one character is poisoned and killed at an engagement dinner), and violence in public places (innocents are terrorized at a party, a hotel, etc.).

Irma Vep is the first femme fatale to appear in a movie on the 1001 list, even though that archetypal character was already in use by other filmmakers at the time. (Ultimate real-life femme fatale Mata Hari would go down in history for meeting her demise just one year after the final episode of Les Vampires was released). Even before this film was made, there existed a connection between vampire and femme fatale: femme fatales were described as "sexual vampires" who seduced their male counterparts and sucked all the willpower out of them, thus rendering them helpless to the dark females' evil plans. This is why vixen-y female characters are called "vamps." Proof of Irma Vep's vamp-ness: she switches sides with at least one foe during the movie and becomes his lover; she is a cabaret-style performer and a "deadly woman" (the literal translation of femme fatale).

Fun fact - In 1996, French director Olivier Assayas made a film called Irma Vep that revolves around a fictional remaking of Les Vampires starring Maggie Cheung. If you search for "Irma Vep" on Google, the results will pop up with a bunch of pictures showing Maggie Cheung in a black bodysuit.

Although Les Vampires was criticized at its release for "not having the artistry of a D.W. Griffith film," there were a lot of striking visuals that stuck with me.

Episode 2 - A ballerina costumed as a vampire bat descends onto the stage and begins her eerie dance, only to then die suddenly during the performance.

Episode 8 - Mazamette and his son go to the Grand Vampire's house to investigate. The Grand Vampire sends his manservant out to greet them, but watches through a mask he has installed in the wall that lets him spy on the entryway.

Cross-section of the two rooms as the Grand Vampire watches his guests enter.

The mask as it looks from the front. Mazamette and his son have no idea they are being watched.

There are also a couple of scenes that use stop-motion.

Philippe comes across this sign, and as the camera shows it from his point of view, the letters move around to reveal their hidden meaning (Irma Vep's name is an anagram for Vampire). I did not know stop motion had been in use this early! Pretty cool.

Mazamette's son randomly shows up in episode 8 after never having been mentioned throughout the previous episodes. Like his dad, he provides a lot of comic relief, but then he disappears again and is never mentioned in episodes 9 or 10. I wish they had used that child actor more because he was pretty funny and brought some lightheartedness to the film. His name in the film is "Eustache" while the elder Mazamette's first name is "Oscar-Cloud" but he's usually just called Mazamette.

The guy who plays Mazamette (Marcel Levesque) is perfect. Just look at him! He oozes comedy. There's even a scene in the last episode where some other characters make fun of his big nose. Mazamette has now been added to my list of great supporting characters in movies and literature.

Musidoria (Irma Vep) would go on to be a star of French cinema, and director Louis Feuillade kept cranking out his own films. He directed over 630 films (!!!!!) between 1906 and 1924. Maybe that's why he looks so pleased with himself here.

"Yep, I'm pretty awesome. I mean, just look at my mustache! C'est magnifique!"

Random Movie Trivia

David Fincher (Se7en, Fight Club, etc.) directed this music video:

The List

By popular demand, here is the entire list. If you don't see something on the list that you think I should watch, let me know. Since I'm already a huge movie-watching quest, I don't mind a few more.

I agree with the inclusion of most of the films on the list, but there are a few that give me pause. (Apocalypto? Really?) Those are outnumbered, however, by the films I'm happy to see have been included.

This list includes all the movies that have been in every edition of the book. There have been 7 editions so far. And there may be another 7 before I finish it.

A Trip to the Moon (1902)
The Great Train Robbery (1903)
The Birth of a Nation (1915)
Les Vampires (1915)
Intolerance (1916)
Broken Blossoms (1919)
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
Way Down East (1920)
Within Our Gates (1920)
The Phantom Carriage (1921)
Orphans of the Storm (1921)
La Souriante Madame Beudet (1922)
Dr. Mabuse Parts 1 and 2 (1922)
Nanook of the North (1922)
Nosferatu (1922)
Haxan (1923)
Foolish Wives (1922)
Our Hospitality (1923)
The Wheel (1923)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Strike (1924)
Greed (1924)
Sherlock, Jr. (1924)
The Last Laugh (1924)
Seven Chances (1925)
The Phantom of the Opera (1925)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
The Gold Rush (1925)
The Big Parade (1925)
Metropolis (1927)
Sunrise (1927)
The General (1927)
The Unknown (1927)
October (1927)
The Jazz Singer (1927)
Napoleon (1927)
The Kid Brother (1927)
The Crowd (1928)
The Docks of New York (1928)
An Andalusian Dog (1928)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Storm over Asia (1928)
Blackmail (1929)
The Man with the Movie Camera (1929)
Pandora's Box (1929)
The Blue Angel (1930)
L'Age D'Or (1930)
Earth (1930)
Little Caesar (1930)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
À Nous la Liberté (1931)
Le Million (1931)
Tabu (1931)
Dracula (1931)
Frankenstein (1931)
City Lights (1931)
The Public Enemy (1931)
M (1931)
La Chienne (1931)
Vampyr (1932)
Love Me Tonight (1932)
Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)
I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
Trouble in Paradise (1932)
Scarface (1932)
Shanghai Express (1932)
Freaks (1932)
Me and My Gal (1932)
Zero for Conduct (1933)
42nd Street (1933)
Footlight Parade (1933)
Gold Diggers of 1933 (1933)
She Done Him Wrong (1933)
Duck Soup (1933)
Queen Christina (1933)
Las Hurdes (1933)
King Kong (1933)
The Bitter Tea of General Yen (1933)
Sons of the Desert (1933)
It's a Gift (1934)
Triumph of the Will (1934)
L'Atalante (1934)
The Black Cat (1934)
Judge Priest (1934)
It Happened One Night (1934)
The Thin Man (1934)
Captain Blood (1935)
Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
A Night at the Opera (1935)
The 39 Steps (1935)
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
Top Hat (1935)
A Day in the Country (1936)
Modern Times (1936)
Swing Time (1936)
My Man Godfrey (1936)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
Camille (1936)

Sabotage (1936)
Dodsworth (1936)
Things to Come (1936)
The Story of a Cheat (1936)
Captains Courageous (1937)
Song At Midnight (1937)
Grand Illusion (1937)
Stella Dallas (1937)
The Life of Emile Zola (1937)
Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
The Awful Truth (1937)
Pepe Le Moko (1937)
Jezebel (1938)
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
Olympia (1938)
The Baker's Wife (1938)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Stagecoach (1939)
The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (1939)
Babes in Arms (1939)
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Destry Rides Again (1939)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
Gone With the Wind (1939)
Daybreak (1939)
Gunga Din (1939)
Ninotchka (1939)
The Rules of the Game (1939)
Wuthering Heights (1939)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Rebecca (1940)
Fantasia (1940)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Dance, Girl, Dance (1940)
Pinocchio (1940)
The Mortal Storm (1940)
The Bank Dick (1940)
Citizen Kane (1941)
The Lady Eve (1941)
The Wolf Man (1941)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Sergeant York (1941)
Dumbo (1941)
High Sierra (1941)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
The Palm Beach Story (1942)
Now, Voyager (1942)
Casablanca (1942)
To Be or Not to Be (1942)
Cat People (1942)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
Fires Were Started (1943)
The Man in Grey (1943)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
I Walked with a Zombie (1943)
The Seventh Victim (1943)
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Ossessione (1943)
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
Laura (1944)
Gaslight (1944)
Henry V (1944)
Ivan the Terrible (1944) Parts 1 and 2
Double Indemnity (1944)
Murder, My Sweet (1944)
The Battle of San Pietro (1945)
Spellbound (1945)
Mildred Pierce (1945)
Children of Paradise (1945)
Open City (1945)
The Lost Weekend (1945)
Detour (1945)
I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
Brief Encounter (1946)
Paisan (1946)
The Postman Always Rings Twice (1946)
My Darling Clementine (1946)
The Stranger (1946)
Beauty and the Beast (1946)
The Big Sleep (1946)
The Killers (1946)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Great Expectations (1946)
Notorious (1946)
Black Narcissus (1946)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Gilda (1946)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Out of the Past (1947)
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
Odd Man Out (1947)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
Secret Beyond the Door (1948)
Force of Evil (1948)
Spring in a Small Town (1948)
Red River (1948)
Rope (1948)
The Snake Pit (1948)
The Lady from Shanghai (1948)
Paleface (1948)

The Red Shoes (1948)
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Louisiana Story (1948)
The Heiress (1949)
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
Gun Crazy (1949)
Adam's Rib (1949)
Whiskey Galore! (1949)
White Heat (1949)
The Reckless Moment (1949)
The Third Man (1949)
On the Town (1949)
Orpheus (1949)
The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
Rashomon (1950)
Winchester '73 (1950)
Rio Grande (1950)
All About Eve (1950)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Los Olvidados (1950)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
The Big Carnival (1951)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
Pandora and the Flying Dutchman (1951)
The African Queen (1951)
Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
An American in Paris (1951)
A Place in the Sun (1951)
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
The Quiet Man (1952)
Forbidden Games (1952)
Angel Face (1952)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Ikiru (1952)
Europa '51 (1952)
The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
The Big Sky (1952)
High Noon (1952)
Umberto D (1952)
The Golden Coach (1952)
The Bigamist (1953)
The Band Wagon (1953)
Madame De… (1953)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Wages of Fear (1953)
The Naked Spur (1953)
Pickup on South Street (1953)
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
The Big Heat (1953)
M. Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Voyage in Italy (1953)
Ugetsu (1953)
Shane (1953)
Beat the Devil (1953)
Johnny Guitar (1954)
On the Waterfront (1954)
Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
Les Diaboliques (1954)
Animal Farm (1954)
Rear Window (1954)
A Star Is Born (1954)
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
La Strada (1954)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Senso (1954)
Silver Lode (1954)
Carmen Jones (1954)
Sansho the Bailiff (1954)
Salt of the Earth (1954)
Artists and Models (1955)
Guys and Dolls (1955)

Pather Panchali (1955)
Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
The Mad Masters (1955)
Hill 24 Doesn't Answer (1955)
The Ladykillers (1955)
Marty (1955)
Ordet (1955)
Bob Le Flambeur (1955)
Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
The Man from Laramie (1955)
Rebel without a Cause (1955)
The Phenix City Story (1955)
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
Night and Fog (1955)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
Lola Montes (1955)
Forbidden Planet (1956)
The Burmese Harp (1956)
The Searchers (1956)
A Man Escaped (1956)
Written on the Wind (1956)
The Man Who Knew Too Much (1956)
Giant (1956)
All That Heaven Allows (1956)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
The Wrong Man (1956)
Bigger Than Life (1956)
High Society (1956)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
12 Angry Men (1957)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
An Affair to Remember (1957)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
The Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Throne of Blood (1957)
The Incredible Shrinking Man (1957)
Aparajito (1957)
Gunfight at the O.K. Corral (1957)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Mother India (1957)
The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
Paths of Glory (1957)
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
Man of the West (1958)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Cairo Station (1958)
Gigi (1958)
The Defiant Ones (1958)
Vertigo (1958)
Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
Horror of Dracula (1958)
Mon Oncle (1958)
The Music Room (1958)
The 400 Blows (1959)
North by Northwest (1959)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
Eyes without a Face (1959)
Ride Lonesome (1959)
Black Orpheus (1959)
Shadows (1959)
The World of Apu (1959)
Breathless (1959)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Pickpocket (1959)
Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
Rio Bravo (1959)
The Hole (1959)
Floating Weeds (1959)
Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
L'Avventura (1960)
La Joven (1960)
The Cloud-Capped Star (1960)
The Housemaid (1960)
Psycho (1960)
Black Sunday (1960)
Peeping Tom (1960)
The Apartment (1960)
Spartacus (1960)
Splendor in the Grass (1961)
Last Year at Marienbad (1961)
La Jetee (1961)
One-Eyed Jacks (1961)
Lola (1961)
Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961)
La Notte (1961)
Jules and Jim (1961)
Viridiana (1961)
The Ladies Man (1961)
Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
Chronicle of a Summer (1961)
The Hustler (1961)
West Side Story (1961)
Mondo Cane (1962)
Cleo from 5 to 7 (1962)
Dog Star Man (1962)
An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
L'Eclisse (1962)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
Lolita (1962)
Keeper of Promises (1962)
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
My Life to Live (1962)
Heaven and Earth Magic (1962)
The Birds (1963)
The Nutty Professor (1963)
Blonde Cobra (1963)
The Cool World (1963)
8 1/2 (1963)
Passenger (1963)
Contempt (1963)
Hud (1963)
Winter Light (1963)
Flaming Creatures (1963)
The Great Escape (1963)
Shock Corridor (1963)
The Leopard (1963)
Barren Lives (1963)
Mediteranee (1963)
The House is Black (1963)
The Haunting (1963)
An Actor's Revenge (1963)
The Servant (1963)
Goldfinger (1964)
Scorpio Rising (1964)
The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Marnie (1964)
My Fair Lady (1964)
Woman in the Dunes (1964)
Dr. Strangelove (1964)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
The Red Desert (1964)
Shadows of Forgotten Ancestors (1964)
The Masque of the Red Death (1964)
Before the Revolution (1964)
Gertrud (1964)
The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
Black God, White Devil (1964)
The Demon (1964)
Vinyl (1965)
The Shop on Main Street (1965)
Doctor Zhivago (1965)
The War Game (1965)
Tokyo Olympiad (1965)
The Battle of Algiers (1965)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The Sargossa Manuscript (1965)
Alphaville (1965)
Chimes at Midnight (1965)
Repulsion (1965)
Juliet of the Spirits (1965)
Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
Faster, Pussy Cat! Kill! Kill! (1965)
Golden River (1965)
The Man Who Had His Hair Cut Short (1965)
Hold Me While I'm Naked (1966)
Blow-Up (1966)
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Daisies (1966)
Come Drink with Me (1966)
Seconds (1966)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Persona (1966)
Masculin-Feminin (1966)
Au Hazard Balthazar (1966)
In the Heat of the Night (1967)
Two or Three Things I Know About Her (1967)
The Graduate (1967)
Playtime (1967)
Report (1967)
Hombre (1967)
Belle de Jour (1967)
The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
Week End (1967)
The Godson (1967)
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Point Blank (1967)
Wavelength (1967)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
The Red and the White (1967)
Marketta Lazarova (1967)
The Jungle Book (1967)
The Fireman's Ball (1967)
Earth Entranced (1967)
Closely Watched Trains (1967)
Vij (1967)
The Cow (1968)
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
Planet of the Apes (1968)
Faces (1968)
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
If... (1968)
Memories of Underdevelopment (1968)
The Producers (1968)
David Holzman's Diary (1968)
Shame (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Hour of the Wolf (1968)
Targets (1968)
Night of the Living Dead (1968)
My Night at Maud's (1969)
Lucia (1969)
A Touch of Zen (1969)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
Midnight Cowboy (1969)
Satyricon (1969)
Z (1969)
The Conformist (1969)
Easy Rider (1969)
High School (1969)
In the Year of the Pig (1969)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Andrei Rublev (1969)
Le Boucher (1969)
The Color of Pomegranates (1969)
Kes (1969)
Tristana (1970)
Five Easy Pieces (1970)
El Topo (1970)
Woodstock (1970)
Deep End (1970)
The Spider's Stratagem (1970)
Little Big Man (1970)
The Ear (1970)
Patton (1970)
M*A*S*H (1970)
Performance (1970)
Gimme Shelter (1970)
Zabriskie Point (1970)
The Bird with The Crystal Plumage (1970)
The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (1970)
Wanda (1971)
W.R.: Mysteries of the Organism (1971)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Sorrow and the Pity (1971)
Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory (1971)
McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)
Walkabout (1971)
Klute (1971)
Harold and Maude (1971)
Red Psalm (1971)
Get Carter (1971)
The French Connection (1971)
Shaft (1971)
Dirty Harry (1971)
Murmur of the Heart (1971)
Sweet Sweetback's Baadassss Song (1971)
The Last Picture Show (1971)
Straw Dogs (1971)
Two-Lane Blacktop (1971)
The Heartbreak Kid (1972)
Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
Cabaret (1972)
Last Tango in Paris (1972)
High Plains Drifter (1972)
Sleuth (1972)
Deliverance (1972)
Solaris (1972)
The Godfather (1972)
Cries and Whispers (1972)
Fat City (1972)
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)
The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant (1972)
Frenzy (1972)
Pink Flamingos (1972)
Superfly (1972)
The Sting (1973)
The Mother and the Whore (1973)
Badlands (1973)
American Graffiti (1973)
Papillon (1973)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
Mean Streets (1973)
The Long Goodbye (1973)
The Wicker Man (1973)
Day for Night (1973)
Don't Look Now (1973)
Sleeper (1973)
Serpico (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
Turkish Delight (1973)
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Fantastic Planet (1973)
Amarcord (1973)
The Harder They Come (1973)
Pat Garret and Billy the Kid (1973)
Dersu Uzala (1974)
The Conversation (1974)
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974)
Mirror (1974)
A Woman under the Influence (1974)
Young Frankenstein (1974)
Chinatown (1974)
Celine and Julie Go Boating (1974)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai Du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
The Wall (1975)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
Fox and His Friends (1975)
India Song (1975)
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
Manila in the Claws of Brightness (1975)
Salo, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)
Nashville (1975)
Cria! (1975)
The Traveling Players (1975)
Jaws (1975)
The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
Carrie (1976)
The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
All the President's Men (1976)
Rocky (1976)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Network (1976)
Ascent (1976)
In the Realm of the Senses (1976)
1900 (1976)
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976)
Star Wars (1977)
Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
The Last Wave (1977)
Annie Hall (1977)
Last Chants for a Slow Dance (1977)
Storszek (1977)
Man of Marble (1977)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
Killer of Sheep (1977)
Eraserhead (1977)
Ceddo (1977)
The American Friend (1977)
The Hills Have Eyes (1977)
Soldier of Orange (1977)
Suspiria (1977)
The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith (1978)
Five Deadly Venoms (1978)
The Tree of Wooden Clogs (1978)
The Deer Hunter (1978)
Grease (1978)
Days of Heaven (1978)
Dawn of the Dead (1978)
Shaolin Master Killer (1978)
Up in Smoke (1978)
Halloween (1978)
The Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)
Real Life (1979)
My Brilliant Career (1979)
Stalker (1979)
Alien (1979)

Breaking Away (1979)
The Tin Drum (1979)
All That Jazz (1979)
Being There (1979)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
Life of Brian (1979)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Jerk (1979)
The Muppet Movie (1979)
Manhattan (1979)
Mad Max (1979)
Nosferatu The Vampyre (1979)
Ordinary People (1980)
Atlantic City (1980)
The Last Metro (1980)
The Shining (1980)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
The Elephant Man (1980)
The Big Red One (1980)
Loulou (1980)
Airplane! (1980)
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Das Boot (1981)
Gallipoli (1981)
Chariots of Fire (1981)
Body Heat (1981)
Reds (1981)
An American Werewolf in London (1981)
Three Brothers (1981)
Man of Iron (1981)
Too Early, Too Late (1981)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1981)
E.T. The Extra-Terestrial (1982)
The Thing (1982)
Poltergeist (1982)
Blade Runner (1982)
The Evil Dead (1982)
Tootsie (1982)
Yol (1982)
Diner (1982)
Fitzcarraldo (1982)
Gandhi (1982)
The Night of the Shooting Stars (1982)
A Question of Silence (1982)
Fanny and Alexander (1982)
A Christmas Story (1983)
El Norte (1983)
Videodrome (1983)
Return of the Jedi (1983)
The Big Chill (1983)
Sans Soleil (1983)
The Last Battle (1983)
L'Argent (1983)
Utu (1983)
Terms of Endearment (1983)
The Fourth Man (1983)
The King of Comedy (1983)
The Right Stuff (1983)
Koyaanisqatsi (1983)
Once Upon a Time in America (1983)
Scarface (1983)
The Battle of Narayama (1983)
Amadeus (1984)
The Terminator (1984)
Paris, Texas (1984)
A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Ghostbusters (1984)
A Passage to India (1984)
Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
The Killing Fields (1984)
The Natural (1984)
The Breakfast Club (1985)
Ran (1985)
Come and See (1985)
The Official Story (1985)
Out of Africa (1985)
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)
Back to the Future (1985)
The Time to Live and the Time to Die (1985)
Brazil (1985)
Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985)
The Quiet Earth (1985)
Mishima (1985)
Prizzi's Honor (1985)
Vagabond (1985)
Shoah (1985)
The Color Purple (1985)
Manhunter (1986)
Stand By Me (1986)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
She's Gotta Have It (1986)
The Decline of the American Empire (1986)
The Fly (1986)
Aliens (1986)
Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
Down by Law (1986)
A Room with a View (1986)
Children Of A Lesser God (1986)
Platoon (1986)
Caravaggio (1986)
Tampopo (1986)
Peking Opera Blues (1986)
Salvador (1986)
Top Gun (1986)
Sherman's March (1986)
The Horse Thief (1986)
Yeelen (1987)
Wings of Desire (1987)
Project A, Part II (1987)
Babette's Feast (1987)
Raising Arizona (1987)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Withnail and I (1987)
Good Morning, Vietnam (1987)
Au Revoir Les Enfants (1987)
Broadcast News (1987)
Housekeeping (1987)
The Princess Bride (1987)
Moonstruck (1987)
The Untouchables (1987)
Red Sorghum (1987)
The Dead (1987)
Fatal Attraction (1987)
A Chinese Ghost Story (1987)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The Vanishing (1988)
Bull Durham (1988)
Ariel (1988)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Akira (1988)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Hotel Terminus: The Life and Times of Klaus Barbie (1988)
A Fish Called Wanda (1988)
The Naked Gun (1988)
Big (1988)
Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
Landscape in the Mist (1988)
The Decalogue (1988)
Die Hard (1988)
A Tale of the Wind (1988)
Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)
Rain Man (1988)
The Story of Women (1988)
The Accidental Tourist (1988)†
Alice (1988)
Drowning by Numbers (1988)
Batman (1989)
When Harry Met Sally... (1989)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1989)
Drugstore Cowboy (1989)
My Left Foot (1989)
The Killer (1989)
Do the Right Thing (1989)
Roger & Me (1989)
Glory (1989)
The Asthenic Syndrome (1989)
Sex, Lies & Videotape (1989)
Say Anything... (1989)
The Unbelievable Truth (1989)
A City of Sadness (1989)
No Fear, No Die (1990)
Reversal of Fortune (1990)
Goodfellas (1990)

Jacob's Ladder (1990)
King of New York (1990)
Dances with Wolves (1990)
Europa Europa (1990)
Pretty Woman (1990)
Archangel (1990)
Trust (1990)
Close-Up (1990)
Edward Scissorhands (1990)
Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer (1990)
Total Recall (1990)
Once Upon a Time in China (1991)
Boyz 'n the Hood (1991)
Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
Delicatessen (1991)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Naked Lunch (1991)
La Belle Noiseuse (1991)
The Rapture (1991)
My Own Private Idaho (1991)
Thelma & Louise (1991)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
JFK (1991)
Slacker (1991)
Tongues Untied (1991)
Hearts of Darkness: A Filmmaker's Apocalypse (1991)
The Double Life of Veronique (1991)
Strictly Ballroom (1992)
The Player (1992)
Reservoir Dogs (1992)
Romper Stomper (1992)
Glengarry Glen Ross (1992)
Unforgiven (1992)
Bram Stoker's Dracula (1992)
Candy Man (1992)
A Tale of Winter (1992)
Aileen Wuornos: The Selling of a Serial Killer (1992)
The Crying Game (1992)
Man Bites Dog (1992)
The Actress (1992)
Farewell My Concubine (1993)
Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)
Groundhog Day (1993)
Short Cuts (1993)
Philadelphia (1993)
Jurassic Park (1993)
The Age of Innocence (1993)†
The Puppetmaster (1993)
Schindler's List (1993)
Blue (1993)
The Piano (1993)
The Blue Kite (1993)
The Wedding Banquet (1993)
Red (1994)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Forrest Gump (1994)
Clerks (1994)
Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994)
The Lion King (1994)
Satantango (1994)
Natural Born Killers (1994)
The Last Seduction (1994)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Wild Reeds (1994)
Chungking Express (1994)
Crumb (1994)
Heavenly Creatures (1994)
Through the Olive Trees (1994)
Riget (1994)
Dear Diary (1994)
Muriel's Wedding (1994)
The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert (1994)
Casino (1995)
Deseret (1995)
Babe (1995)
Toy Story (1995)
Strange Days (1995)
Braveheart (1995)
Safe (1995)
Clueless (1995)
Heat (1995)
Zero Kelvin (1995)
Seven (1995)
Smoke (1995)
The White Balloon (1995)
Xixch Lo (1995)
Underground (1995)
The Brave Heart Will Take the Bride (1995)
Dead Man (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
The Pillow Book (1996)
Three Lives and Only One Death (1996)
Fargo (1996)
Independence Day (1996)
Secrets and Lies (1996)
Breaking the Waves (1996)
The English Patient (1996)
Gabbeh (1996)
Lone Star (1996)
Trainspotting (1996)
Scream (1996)
Shine (1996)
Deconstructing Harry (1997)
L.A. Confidential (1997)
Happy Together (1997)
Princess Mononoke (1997)
Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (1997)
The Butcher Boy (1997)
The Ice Storm (1997)
Boogie Nights (1997)
Kundun (1997)
The Sweet Hereafter (1997)
Funny Games (1997)
Taste of Cherry (1997)
Open Your Eyes (1997)
Mother and Son (1997)
Titanic (1997)
Tetsuo (1998)
The Celebration (1998)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Buffalo 66 (1998)
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)
Run Lola Run (1998)
Rushmore (1998)
Pi (1998)
Happiness (1998)
The Thin Red Line (1998)
The Idiots (1998)
Sombre (1998)
Ringu (1998)
There's Something About Mary (1998)
The Big Lebowski (1998)
Magnolia (1999)
Beau Travail (1999)
The Blair Witch Project (1999)
Taboo (1999)
Rosetta (1999)
All About My Mother (1999)
Three Kings (1999)
The Wind Will Carry Us (1999)
Audition (1999)
Time Regained (1999)
Fight Club (1999)
Being John Malkovich (1999)
American Beauty (1999)
Attack the Gas Station (1999)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Matrix (1999)
Nine Queens (2000)
The Captive (2000)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Ali Zaoua, Prince of the Streets (2000)
Gladiator (2000)
Kippur (2000)
Yi Yi (2000)
Requiem for a Dream (2000)
Amores Perros (2000)
Meet the Parents (2000)
Signs & Wonders (2000)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Traffic (2000)
The Gleaners and I (2000)
Memento (2000)

Dancer in the Dark (2000)
O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000)
Amélie (2001)
What Time Is It There? (2001)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001)
Kandahar (2001)
Spirited Away (2001)
The Piano Teacher (2001)
The Son's Room (2001)
No Man's Land (2001)
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Fat Girl (2001)
Mulholland Drive (2001)
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Lantana (2001)
A.I.: Artificial Intelligence (2001)
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Pianist (2002)
Talk to Her (2002)
City of God (2002)
Russian Ark (2002)
Far From Heaven (2002)
Adaptation. (2002)
Chicago (2002)
Hero (2002)
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
Uzak (2002)
Rabbit-Proof Fence (2002)
Irreversible (2002)
Bus 174 (2002)
The Barbarian Invasions (2003)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)       
Oldboy (2003)
Good Bye Lenin! (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return Of The King (2003)
The Best of Youth (2003)
Lost In Translation (2003)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
The Passion Of The Christ (2004)
Collateral (2004)
The Aviator (2004)
Million Dollar Baby (2004)
Head-On (2004)
3-Iron (2004)
Crash (2004)
Downfall (2004)
Sideways (2004)
A Very Long Engagement (2004)
Go, See, and Become (2005)
Paradise Now (2005)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Tsotsi (2005)
Caché (2005)                     
The Constant Gardner (2005)
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)
Apocalypto (2006)        
The Departed (2006)
Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
Borat: Cultural Learnings Of America For Make Benefit Glorious Nation Of Kazakhstan (2006)
The Lives of Others (2006)
Once (2006)
The Queen (2006)
The Host (2006)
The Prestige (2006)
Children of Men (2006)
United 93 (2006)
The Last King Of Scotland (2006)
Babel (2006)
Volver (2006)
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (2007)
La Vie En Rose (2007)
No Country For Old Men (2007)
Into the Wild (2007)
There Will Be Blood (2007)
Atonement (2007)
Surfwise (2007)
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Paranormal Activity (2007)
Wall-E (2008)
The Good, the Bad, the Weird (2008)
The Dark Knight (2008)
The Wrestler (2008)
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)
Gomorra (2008)
The Class (2008)
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
Anvil! The Story of Anvil (2008)
Let The Right One In (2008)
The Hurt Locker (2009)
An Education (2009)
Precious: Based on the Novel "Push" by Sapphire (2009)
Avatar (2009)
District 9 (2009)
The Hangover (2009)
In the Loop (2009)
The White Ribbon (2009)
Inglourious Basterds (2009)
Fish Tank (2009)
Monsters (2010)
Of Gods and Men (2010)
Black Swan (2010)
Four Lions (2010)
The Social Network (2010)
Inception (2010)
The King's Speech (2010)
True Grit (2010)