#1

The 400 Blows (1959)
Tomatometer icon 99%

#1
Adjusted Score: 107216%
Critics Consensus: A seminal French New Wave film that offers an honest, sympathetic, and wholly heartbreaking observation of adolescence without trite nostalgia.
Synopsis: For young Parisian boy Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud), life is one difficult situation after another. Surrounded by inconsiderate adults, including... [More]
Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Claire Maurier, Albert Remy, Guy Decomble
Directed By: François Truffaut

#2

8 1/2 (1963)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#2
Adjusted Score: 104537%
Critics Consensus: Inventive, thought-provoking, and funny, 8 1/2 represents the arguable peak of Federico Fellini's many towering feats of cinema.
Synopsis: Troubled Italian filmmaker Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) struggles with creative stasis as he attempts to get a new movie off... [More]
Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo
Directed By: Federico Fellini

#3
#3
Adjusted Score: 68821%
Critics Consensus: This late-career anthology by Akira Kurosawa often confirms that Dreams are more interesting to the dreamer than their audience, but the directorial master still delivers opulent visions with a generous dose of heart.
Synopsis: This imaginative Japanese production presents a series of short films by lauded director Akira Kurosawa. In one chapter, a young... [More]
Starring: Akira Terao, Mitsunori Isaki, Martin Scorsese, Mitsuko Baishô
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa, Ishirô Honda

#4

Amarcord (1973)
Tomatometer icon 88%

#4
Adjusted Score: 92639%
Critics Consensus: Ribald, sweet, and sentimental, Amarcord is a larger-than-life journey through a seaside village and its colorful citizens.
Synopsis: In an Italian seaside town, young Titta (Bruno Zanin) gets into trouble with his friends and watches various local eccentrics... [More]
Starring: Magali Noël, Bruno Zanin, Pupella Maggio, Armando Brancia
Directed By: Federico Fellini

#5

Basquiat (1996)
Tomatometer icon 67%

#5
Adjusted Score: 68401%
Critics Consensus: With affected strokes, Basquiat paints an expressionist portrait of a misfit artist, masterfully rendered by a riveting Jeffrey Wright.
Synopsis: Despite living a life of extreme poverty in Brooklyn, graffiti artist Jean-Michel Basquiat (Jeffrey Wright) strives to rise up through... [More]
Starring: Jeffrey Wright, Michael Wincott, Benicio del Toro, Claire Forlani
Directed By: Julian Schnabel

#6

Beau travail (1999)
Tomatometer icon 87%

#6
Adjusted Score: 88572%
Critics Consensus: Beau Travail finds director Claire Denis drawing on classic literature to construct a modern tragedy fueled by timeless desires.
Synopsis: Foreign Legion officer, Galoup, recalls his once glorious life, leading troops in the Gulf of Djibouti. His existence there was... [More]
Starring: Denis Lavant, Michel Subor, Grégoire Colin, Richard Courcet
Directed By: Claire Denis

#7

Betty Blue (1986)
Tomatometer icon 78%

#7
Adjusted Score: 80049%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A would-be writer (Jean-Hugues Anglade) falls for an unpredictable woman (Béatrice Dalle), then he slowly realizes that she is going... [More]
Starring: Béatrice Dalle, Jean-Hugues Anglade, Consuelo De Haviland, Clémentine Célarié
Directed By: Jean-Jacques Beineix

#8

Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Tomatometer icon 99%

#8
Adjusted Score: 110085%
Critics Consensus: An Italian neorealism exemplar, Bicycle Thieves thrives on its non-flashy performances and searing emotion.
Synopsis: Unemployed Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. His wife, Maria... [More]
Starring: Lamberto Maggiorani, Lianella Carell, Enzo Staiola, Elena Altieri
Directed By: Vittorio De Sica

#9

Black Girl (1972)
Tomatometer icon - -

#9
Adjusted Score: -1%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The 17-year-old dreamer Billie Jean (Peggy Pettit) is the youngest in a family of loving yet discouraging women. Billie Jean's... [More]
Starring: Brock Peters, Leslie Uggams, Peggy Pettit, Claudia McNeil
Directed By: Ossie Davis

#10

Black Orpheus (1959)
Tomatometer icon 88%

#10
Adjusted Score: 96216%
Critics Consensus: Colorful, atmospheric, and infections, Black Orpheus takes an ancient tale and makes it fresh anew, thanks in part to its bewitching bossa nova soundtrack.
Synopsis: Young lovers Orfeu (Breno Mello) and Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn) run through the favelas of Rio during Carnaval, on the lam... [More]
Starring: Breno Mello, Marpessa Dawn, Lourdes de Oliveira, Léa Garcia
Directed By: Marcel Camus

#11

Blood Simple (1984)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#11
Adjusted Score: 104371%
Critics Consensus: Brutally violent and shockingly funny in equal measure, Blood Simple offers early evidence of the Coen brothers' twisted sensibilities and filmmaking ingenuity.
Synopsis: "Blood Simple" was the first feature film from Joel and Ethan Coen. This is the newly restored and re-edited director's... [More]
Starring: John Getz, Frances McDormand, M. Emmet Walsh, Dan Hedaya
Directed By: Joel Coen

#12

Branded to Kill (1967)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#12
Adjusted Score: 102415%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: After botching his latest assignment, a third-ranked Japanese hit man becomes the target of another assassin.... [More]
Starring: Jo Shishido, Mariko Ogawa, Mari Annu, Kôji Nanbara
Directed By: Seijun Suzuki

#13

Breaking the Waves (1996)
Tomatometer icon 85%

#13
Adjusted Score: 89185%
Critics Consensus: Breaking the Waves offers a remarkable testament to writer-director Lars von Trier's insight and filmmaking skill -- and announces Emily Watson as a startling talent.
Synopsis: In a small and religious coastal town, a simple, devoutly religious Scottish woman, Bess McNeill (Emily Watson), finds a partner... [More]
Starring: Emily Watson, Stellan Skarsgård, Katrin Cartlidge, Jean-Marc Barr
Directed By: Lars von Trier

#14

Breathless (1959)
Tomatometer icon 95%

#14
Adjusted Score: 104496%
Critics Consensus: Breathless rewrote the rules of cinema -- and more than 50 years after its arrival, Jean-Luc Godard's paradigm-shifting classic remains every bit as vital.
Synopsis: Petty thug Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) considers himself a suave bad guy in the manner of Humphrey Bogart, but panics and... [More]
Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger, Jean-Pierre Melville
Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard

#15

A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#15
Adjusted Score: 101592%
Critics Consensus: A fantastic cinematic and artistic achievement, Edward Yang's A Brighter Summer Day depicts youth, ideals, violence and politics in a melancholic, tender light, culminating in a complex portrait of Taiwanese identity.
Synopsis: A boy experiences first love, friendships and injustices growing up in 1960s Taiwan.... [More]
Starring: Kuo-Chu Chang, Elaine Jin, Chang Chen, Han Chang
Directed By: Edward Yang

#16
#16
Adjusted Score: 93743%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: This documentary by lauded German filmmaker Wim Wenders follows renowned guitarist Ry Cooder and his son, Joachim, as they travel... [More]
Starring: Luis Barzaga, Joachim Cooder, Ry Cooder, Julio Alberto Fernández
Directed By: Wim Wenders

#17

Cameraperson (2016)
Tomatometer icon 99%

#17
Adjusted Score: 103575%
Critics Consensus: Fresh and inventive yet immediately accessible, Cameraperson distills its subject's life and career into an experience that should prove immediately absorbing even for those unfamiliar with her work.
Synopsis: Cinematographer Kirsten Johnson exposes her many years behind the camera through a memoir made up of decades of footage shot... [More]
Starring: Kirsten Johnson, Roger Phenix
Directed By: Kirsten Johnson

#18

Carnival of Souls (1962)
Tomatometer icon 87%

#18
Adjusted Score: 94875%
Critics Consensus: Carnival of Souls offers delightfully chilling proof that when it comes to telling an effective horror story, less can often be much, much more.
Synopsis: Mary Henry ends up the sole survivor of a fatal car accident through mysterious circumstances. Trying to put the incident... [More]
Starring: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger, Stan Levitt
Directed By: Herk Harvey

#19

Chop Shop (2007)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#19
Adjusted Score: 98719%
Critics Consensus: Filled with excellent performances, Ramin Bahrani's deft sophomore effort is a heartfelt, hopeful neorealist look at the people who live in the gritty underbelly of New York City.
Synopsis: A young man works as an auto-body repairman to provide for his younger sister.... [More]
Starring: Alejandro Polanco, Isamar Gonzales, Ahmad Razvi, Carlos Ayala
Directed By: Ramin Bahrani

#20

Chungking Express (1994)
Tomatometer icon 88%

#20
Adjusted Score: 92740%
Critics Consensus: Even if all it had to offer were writer-director Wong Kar-wai's thrillingly distinctive visuals, Chungking Express would be well worth watching; happily, its thoughtfully drawn characters and naturalistic performances also pack a potent dramatic wallop.
Synopsis: Every day, Cop 223 (Takeshi Kaneshiro) buys a can of pineapple with an expiration date of May 1, symbolizing the... [More]
Starring: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Faye Wong
Directed By: Kar-Wai Wong

#21

City Lights (1931)
Tomatometer icon 95%

#21
Adjusted Score: 103661%
Critics Consensus: One of the best underdog romance movies ever, with an ending that will light up any heart.
Synopsis: A hapless but resilient tramp (Charlie Chaplin) falls in love with a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill) on the tough... [More]
Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers, Hank Mann
Directed By: Charlie Chaplin

#22

Code Unknown (2000)
Tomatometer icon 75%

#22
Adjusted Score: 76344%
Critics Consensus: Though challengingly cryptic at times, Code Unknown still manages to resonate.
Synopsis: In Paris, one incident is seen through the eyes of several people -- Anne (Juliette Binoche), a stressed actress thirsty... [More]
Starring: Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic, Luminita Gheorghiu, Ona Lu Yenke
Directed By: Michael Haneke

#23

Come and See (1985)
Tomatometer icon 90%

#23
Adjusted Score: 95259%
Critics Consensus: As effectively anti-war as movies can be, Come and See is a harrowing odyssey through the worst that humanity is capable of, directed with bravura intensity by Elem Klimov.
Synopsis: The invasion of a village in Byelorussia by German forces sends young Florya (Aleksey Kravchenko) into the forest to join... [More]
Starring: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas
Directed By: Elem Klimov

#24

Cure (1997)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#24
Adjusted Score: 97931%
Critics Consensus: Mesmerizing and psychologically intriguing.
Synopsis: "Cure" is part atmospheric crime film and part philosophical meditation. Detective Takabe (Koji Yakusho) is tracking a series of identical... [More]
Starring: Kôji Yakusho, Tsuyoshi Ujiki, Anna Nakagawa, Masato Hagiwara
Directed By: Kiyoshi Kurosawa

#25

Dead Man (1995)
Tomatometer icon 70%

#25
Adjusted Score: 73469%
Critics Consensus: While decidedly not for all tastes, Dead Man marks an alluring change of pace for writer-director Jim Jarmusch that demonstrates an assured command of challenging material.
Synopsis: Circumstances transform a mild-mannered accountant (Johnny Depp) into a notorious Old West gunslinger.... [More]
Starring: Johnny Depp, Gary Farmer, Lance Henriksen, Michael Wincott
Directed By: Jim Jarmusch

#26

Drive My Car (2021)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#26
Adjusted Score: 107695%
Critics Consensus: Drive My Car's imposing runtime holds a rich, patiently engrossing drama that reckons with self-acceptance and regret.
Synopsis: Two years after his wife's unexpected death, Yusuke Kafuku (Hidetoshi Nishijima), a renowned stage actor and director, receives an offer... [More]
Starring: Hidetoshi Nishijima, Toko Miura, Reika Kirishima, Yoo-rim Park
Directed By: Ryûsuke Hamaguchi

#27

Drylongso (1998)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#27
Adjusted Score: 76929%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A lost treasure of 1990s DIY filmmaking, Cauleen Smith's Drylongso embeds an incisive look at racial injustice within a lovingly... [More]
Starring: Toby Smith, April Barnett, Will Power, Channel Schafer
Directed By: Cauleen Smith

#28
#28
Adjusted Score: 101688%
Critics Consensus: Louis Malle's hypnotic debut is a noir with genuine soul, infusing its tale of best laid plans gone awry with wistful performances, swooning cinematography, and a sultry soundtrack.
Synopsis: Restless femme fatale Florence Carala (Jeanne Moreau) recruits her lover, Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet), to murder her wealthy husband, Simon... [More]
Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Jean Wall, Georges Poujouly
Directed By: Louis Malle

#29

Eraserhead (1977)
Tomatometer icon 89%

#29
Adjusted Score: 95937%
Critics Consensus: David Lynch's surreal Eraserhead uses detailed visuals and a creepy score to create a bizarre and disturbing look into a man's fear of parenthood.
Synopsis: Henry (John Nance) resides alone in a bleak apartment surrounded by industrial gloom. When he discovers that an earlier fling... [More]
Starring: Jack Nance, Charlotte Stewart, Allen Joseph, Jeanne Bates
Directed By: David Lynch

#30

Fantastic Planet (1973)
Tomatometer icon 91%

#30
Adjusted Score: 94112%
Critics Consensus: Fantastic Planet is an animated epic that is by turns surreal and lovely, fantastic and graceful.
Synopsis: This animated tale follows the relationship between the small human-like Oms and their much larger blue-skinned oppressors, the Draags, who... [More]
Starring: Barry Bostwick, Mark Gruner, Marvin Miller, Hal Smith
Directed By: René Laloux

#31
#31
Adjusted Score: 95850%
Critics Consensus: Chen Kaing's epic is grand in scope and presentation, and, bolstered by solid performances, the result is a film both horrifying and enthralling.
Synopsis: Chen Kaige's much acclaimed, long out of print masterpiece chronicles the rise of two young stars of the Beijing Opera... [More]
Starring: Leslie Cheung, Fengyi Zhang, Gong Li, Qi Lü
Directed By: Chen Kaige

#32

Fat Girl (2001)
Tomatometer icon 74%

#32
Adjusted Score: 76612%
Critics Consensus: The controversial Fat Girl is an unflinchingly harsh but powerful look at female adolescence.
Synopsis: Anaïs is twelve and bears the weight of the world on her shoulders. She watches her older sister, Elena, whom... [More]
Starring: Anais Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Arsinée Khanjian, Romain Goupil
Directed By: Catherine Breillat

#33

Funny Games (1997)
Tomatometer icon 73%

#33
Adjusted Score: 75082%
Critics Consensus: Violent images and blunt audience provocation make up this nihilistic experiment from one of cinema's more difficult filmmakers.
Synopsis: An idyllic lakeside vacation home is terrorized by Paul (Arno Frisch) and Peter (Frank Giering), a pair of deeply disturbed... [More]
Starring: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Frank Giering, Arno Frisch
Directed By: Michael Haneke

#34

George Washington (2000)
Tomatometer icon 84%

#34
Adjusted Score: 85898%
Critics Consensus: Languid and melancholy, George Washington is a carefully observed rumination on adolescence and rural life.
Synopsis: Set in the landscape of a rural southern town, "George Washington" is a stunning portrait of how a group of... [More]
Starring: Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Curtis Cotton III, Eddie Rouse
Directed By: David Gordon Green

#35
#35
Adjusted Score: 89058%
Critics Consensus: An innovative blend of samurai and gangster lifestyles.
Synopsis: Ghost Dog (Forest Whitaker) is a contract killer, a master of his trade who can whirl a gun at warp... [More]
Starring: Forest Whitaker, John Tormey, Cliff Gorman, Henry Silva
Directed By: Jim Jarmusch

#36

Godzilla (1954)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#36
Adjusted Score: 103407%
Critics Consensus: More than straight monster-movie fare, Gojira offers potent, sobering postwar commentary.
Synopsis: A fire-breathing behemoth terrorizes Japan after an atomic bomb awakens it from its centuries-old sleep.... [More]
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata
Directed By: Ishirô Honda

#37

Hamlet (1996)
Tomatometer icon 95%

#37
Adjusted Score: 98562%
Critics Consensus: Kenneth Branagh's sprawling, finely textured adaptation of Shakespeare's masterpiece lives up to its source material, using strong performances and a sharp cinematic focus to create a powerfully resonant film that wastes none of its 246 minutes.
Synopsis: In the only unabridged film version of the classic play, here updated to the 19th century, Prince Hamlet (Kenneth Branagh)... [More]
Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Julie Christie, Billy Crystal, Gérard Depardieu
Directed By: Kenneth Branagh

#38

Hara-Kiri (1962)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#38
Adjusted Score: 100589%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Aging samurai Hanshiro Tsugumo (Tatsuya Nakadai) arrives at the home of Kageyu Saito (Rentarô Mikuni) and asks to commit a... [More]
Starring: Tatsuya Nakadai, Shima Iwashita, Akira Ishihama, Yoshio Inaba
Directed By: Masaki Kobayashi

#39

A Hard Day's Night (1964)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#39
Adjusted Score: 110503%
Critics Consensus: A Hard Day's Night, despite its age, is still a delight to watch and has proven itself to be a rock-and-roll movie classic.
Synopsis: The Beatles in their feature film debut, one of the greatest rock-and-roll comedy adventures ever. The film has a fully... [More]
Starring: The Beatles, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin
Directed By: Richard Lester

#40

Haxan (1922)
Tomatometer icon 92%

#40
Adjusted Score: 95881%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A hybrid of documentary and fiction, this silent film explores the history of witchcraft, demonology and satanism. It shows representations... [More]
Starring: Benjamin Christensen, Maren Pedersen, Clara Pontoppidan, Elith Pio
Directed By: Benjamin Christensen

#41

The Heroic Trio (1992)
Tomatometer icon 81%

#41
Adjusted Score: 81581%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: In Hong Kong, babies are being kidnapped by the Invisible Woman (Michelle Yeoh) for the Evil Master (Yee Kwan Yan),... [More]
Starring: Anita Mui, Maggie Cheung, Michelle Yeoh, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong
Directed By: Johnnie To

#42
#42
Adjusted Score: 101016%
Critics Consensus: Distinguished by innovative technique and Emmanuelle Riva's arresting performance, Hiroshima Mon Amour is a poignant love story as well as a thoughtful meditation on international trauma.
Synopsis: The deep conversation between a Japanese architect (Eiji Okada) and a French actress (Emmanuelle Riva) forms the basis of this... [More]
Starring: Emmanuelle Riva, Eiji Okada, Stella Dassas, Pierre Barbaud
Directed By: Alain Resnais

#43

Hoop Dreams (1994)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#43
Adjusted Score: 102240%
Critics Consensus: One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time, Hoop Dreams is a rich, complex, heartbreaking, and ultimately deeply rewarding film that uses high school hoops as a jumping-off point to explore issues of race, class, and education in modern America.
Synopsis: Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St.... [More]
Starring: Steve James, William Gates, Arthur Agee, Sheila Agee
Directed By: Steve James

#44

House (1977)
Tomatometer icon 91%

#44
Adjusted Score: 95171%
Critics Consensus: House is a gleefully demented collage of grand guginol guffaws and bizarre sequences.
Synopsis: In an effort to avoid spending time with her father and his creepy new lover, young Gorgeous (Kimiko Ikegami) resolves... [More]
Starring: Kimiko Ikegami, Ai Matsubara, Miki Jinbo, Eriko Tanaka
Directed By: Nobuhiko Ôbayashi

#45

I Am Cuba (1964)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#45
Adjusted Score: 103831%
Critics Consensus: Visually absorbing and formally audacious, I Am Cuba (Soy Cuba) opens a long-buried time capsule that has lost none of its captivating power.
Synopsis: A study in contrasts set in and around Havana that explores Cuba's 1959 revolution. A young woman's fascination with the... [More]
Starring: Luz María Collazo, Jean Bouise, Sergio Corrieri, José Gallardo
Directed By: Mikhail Kalatozov

#46

Ikiru (1952)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#46
Adjusted Score: 107629%
Critics Consensus: Ikiru is a well-acted and deeply moving humanist tale about a man facing his own mortality, one of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most intimate films.
Synopsis: Mr. Watanabe suddenly finds that he has terminal cancer. He vows to make his final days meaningful. His attempts to... [More]
Starring: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri, Kyôko Seki
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

#47

Infernal Affairs (2002)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#47
Adjusted Score: 95643%
Critics Consensus: Smart and engrossing, this is one of Hong Kong's better cop thrillers.
Synopsis: Idealistic police cadet Chan Wing-Yan (Tony Leung) is recruited by Police Superintendant Wong (Anthony Wong) to go deep undercover as... [More]
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Andy Lau, Anthony Chau-Sang Wong, Eric Tsang
Directed By: Andrew Lau Wai-Keung, Alan Mak

#48

Inland Empire (2006)
Tomatometer icon 72%

#48
Adjusted Score: 76309%
Critics Consensus: Typical David Lynch fare: fans of the director will find Inland Empire seductive and deep. All others will consider the heady surrealism impenetrable and pointless.
Synopsis: Nikki (Laura Dern), an actress, takes on a role in a new film, and because her husband (Peter J. Lucas)... [More]
Starring: Laura Dern, Jeremy Irons, Harry Dean Stanton, Justin Theroux
Directed By: David Lynch

#49

Knife in the Water (1962)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#49
Adjusted Score: 100504%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: On their way to an afternoon on the lake, husband and wife Andrzej (Leon Niemczyk) and Krystyna (Jolanta Umecka) nearly... [More]
Starring: Leon Niemczyk, Jolanta Umecka, Zygmunt Malanowicz
Directed By: Roman Polanski

#50

Kwaidan (1964)
Tomatometer icon 91%

#50
Adjusted Score: 95699%
Critics Consensus: Exquisitely designed and fastidiously ornate, Masaki Kobayashi's ambitious anthology operates less as a frightening example of horror and more as a meditative tribute to Japanese folklore.
Synopsis: Taking its title from an archaic Japanese word meaning "ghost story," this anthology adapts four folk tales. A penniless samurai... [More]
Starring: Rentarô Mikuni, Michiyo Aratama, Tetsurô Tanba, Katsuo Nakamura
Directed By: Masaki Kobayashi

#51

L'Avventura (1960)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#51
Adjusted Score: 100454%
Critics Consensus: L'Avventura marks a bewitchingly ambiguous milestone in Antonioni's career -- and European cinema in general.
Synopsis: In Michelangelo Antonioni's classic of Italian cinema, two lovely young women, Claudia (Monica Vitti) and Anna (Léa Massari), join the... [More]
Starring: Monica Vitti, Gabriele Ferzetti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar
Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni

#52

The Last Emperor (1987)
Tomatometer icon 86%

#52
Adjusted Score: 98257%
Critics Consensus: While Bernardo Bertolucci's decadent epic never quite identifies the dramatic pulse of its protagonist, stupendous visuals and John Lone's ability to make passivity riveting give The Last Emperor a rarified grandeur.
Synopsis: This sweeping account of the life of Pu Yi (John Lone), the last emperor of China, follows the leader's tumultuous... [More]
Starring: John Lone, Joan Chen, Peter O'Toole, Ying Ruocheng
Directed By: Bernardo Bertolucci

#53

Le Samouraï (1967)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#53
Adjusted Score: 104516%
Critics Consensus: Le Samouraï makes the most of its spare aesthetic, using stylish -- and influential -- direction, solid performances, and thick atmosphere to weave an absorbing story.
Synopsis: Hit man Jef Costello (Alain Delon) goes through an elaborate set of rituals before carrying out a hit on a... [More]
Starring: Alain Delon, Nathalie Delon, François Perier, Cathy Rosier
Directed By: Jean-Pierre Melville

#54

M (1931)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#54
Adjusted Score: 109295%
Critics Consensus: A landmark psychological thriller with arresting images, deep thoughts on modern society, and Peter Lorre in his finest performance.
Synopsis: In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert (Peter Lorre), a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of... [More]
Starring: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Directed By: Fritz Lang

#55

Metropolitan (1990)
Tomatometer icon 93%

#55
Adjusted Score: 96044%
Critics Consensus: Metropolitan gently skewers the young socialite class with a smartly written dramedy whose unique, specific setting yields rich universal truths.
Synopsis: A radical student is adopted by a group of young New Yorkers, serves as a catalyst to alter his and... [More]
Starring: Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols
Directed By: Whit Stillman

#56

The Mirror (1975)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#56
Adjusted Score: 102524%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Using a nonlinear structure interlaced with dreams and flashbacks, director Andrei Tarkovsky creates a stream-of-consciousness meditation on war, memory and... [More]
Starring: Margarita Terekhova, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko, Ignat Daniltsev
Directed By: Andrei Tarkovsky

#57

Mississippi Masala (1991)
Tomatometer icon 92%

#57
Adjusted Score: 98478%
Critics Consensus: Sarita Choudhury and Denzel Washington's romantic chemistry lights up the screen in Mississippi Masala, Mira Nair's observant and sexy tale of cultures clashing.
Synopsis: The vibrant cultures of India, Uganda, and the American South are blended and simmered into a rich and fragrant fusion... [More]
Starring: Denzel Washington, Sarita Choudhury, Roshan Seth, Sharmila Tagore
Directed By: Mira Nair

#58

Mon Oncle (1958)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#58
Adjusted Score: 98328%
Critics Consensus: Jacques Tati's most accessible film is a paean to gentle values and observing the small details of life.
Synopsis: Genial, bumbling Monsieur Hulot (Jacques Tati) loves his top-floor apartment in a grimy corner of the city, and cannot fathom... [More]
Starring: Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Alain Bécourt, Lucien Fregis
Directed By: Jacques Tati

#59

Multiple Maniacs (1970)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#59
Adjusted Score: 102460%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: The Cavalcade of Perversion, a traveling freak-show, is a front for a band of psychotic kidnappers and murderers.... [More]
Starring: Divine, David Lochary, Mary Vivian Pearce, Mink Stole
Directed By: John Waters

#60
#60
Adjusted Score: 105900%
Critics Consensus: George A. Romero's debut set the template for the zombie film, and features tight editing, realistic gore, and a sly political undercurrent.
Synopsis: A ragtag group of Pennsylvanians barricade themselves in an old farmhouse to remain safe from a horde of flesh-eating ghouls... [More]
Starring: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Keith Wayne
Directed By: George A. Romero

#61

Nothing But a Man (1964)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#61
Adjusted Score: 103070%
Critics Consensus: With calm confidence and a strikingly naturalistic approach, Nothing But a Man tells a quietly powerful story of Black American lives.
Synopsis: African-American rail worker Duff Anderson (Ivan Dixon) has left his 4-year old son with a nanny, and now drifts through... [More]
Starring: Ivan Dixon, Abbey Lincoln, Gloria Foster, Julius Harris
Directed By: Michael Roemer

#62
#62
Adjusted Score: 91991%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: A man (Jet Li) must protect his martial-arts school while sorting out his feelings for a young woman (Biao Yuen)... [More]
Starring: Jet Li, Rosamund Kwan, Biao Yuen, Steve Tartalia
Directed By: Hark Tsui

#63

Onibaba (1964)
Tomatometer icon 90%

#63
Adjusted Score: 91477%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While her son, Kichi, is away at war, a woman (Nobuko Otowa) and her daughter-in-law (Jitsuko Yoshimura) survive by killing... [More]
Starring: Nobuko Otowa, Jitsuko Yoshimura, Kei Satô, Taiji Tonoyama
Directed By: Kaneto Shindô

#64

Open City (1945)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#64
Adjusted Score: 106106%
Critics Consensus: Open City fills in the familiar contours of its storyline with three-dimensional characters and a narrative depth that add up to a towering -- and still powerfully resonant -- cinematic achievement.
Synopsis: Rome, 1944. Giorgio Manfredi, one of the leaders of the Resistance is tracked down by the Nazis. He goes to... [More]
Starring: Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Marcello Pagliero, Maria Michi
Directed By: Roberto Rossellini

#65

The Others (2001)
Tomatometer icon 84%

#65
Adjusted Score: 90223%
Critics Consensus: The Others is a spooky thriller that reminds us that a movie doesn't need expensive special effects to be creepy.
Synopsis: Grace (Nicole Kidman), the devoutly religious mother of Anne (Alakina Mann) and Nicholas (James Bentley), moves her family to the... [More]
Starring: Nicole Kidman, Christopher Eccleston, Alakina Mann, James Bentley
Directed By: Alejandro Amenábar

#66

Pather Panchali (1955)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#66
Adjusted Score: 108015%
Critics Consensus: A film that requires and rewards patience in equal measure, Pather Panchali finds director Satyajit Ray delivering a classic with his debut.
Synopsis: Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in... [More]
Starring: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Bannerjee, Uma Das Gupta
Directed By: Satyajit Ray

#67
#67
Adjusted Score: 97042%
Critics Consensus: Visually mesmerizing, Picnic at Hanging Rock is moody, unsettling, and enigmatic -- a masterpiece of Australian cinema and a major early triumph for director Peter Weir.
Synopsis: In the early 1900s, Miranda (Anne Lambert) attends a girls boarding school in Australia. One Valentine's Day, the school's typically... [More]
Starring: Rachel Roberts, Dominic Guard, Helen Morse, Jacki Weaver
Directed By: Peter Weir

#68

The Player (1992)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#68
Adjusted Score: 102721%
Critics Consensus: Bitingly cynical without succumbing to bitterness, The Player is one of the all-time great Hollywood satires -- and an ensemble-driven highlight of the Altman oeuvre.
Synopsis: Certain that the anonymous threats he's been receiving are the work of David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), producer Griffin Mill (Tim... [More]
Starring: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg
Directed By: Robert Altman

#69

The Red Balloon (1956)
Tomatometer icon 96%

#69
Adjusted Score: 99274%
Critics Consensus: The Red Balloon invests the simplest of narratives with spectacular visual inventiveness, making for a singularly wondrous portrait of innocence.
Synopsis: A red balloon with a life of its own follows a boy around Paris.... [More]
Starring: Pascal Lamorisse, Vladimir Popov, Paul Perey, Renée Marion
Directed By: Albert Lamorisse

#70

La Strada (1954)
Tomatometer icon 98%

#70
Adjusted Score: 107673%
Critics Consensus: Giulietta Masina and Anthony Quinn's pitiable pair of outsiders provide a poignant contrast between gentleness and might in Federico Fellini's unforgettable parable.
Synopsis: When Gelsomina (Giulietta Masina), a naïve young woman, is purchased from her impoverished mother by brutish circus strongman Zampanò (Anthony... [More]
Starring: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani
Directed By: Federico Fellini

#71

A Room With a View (1986)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#71
Adjusted Score: 103178%
Critics Consensus: The hard edges of E.M. Foster novel maybe sanded off, but what we get with A Room with a View is an eminently entertaining comedy with an intellectual approach to love.
Synopsis: In this British drama based on the novel by E.M. Forster, Lucy Honeychurch (Helena Bonham-Carter), a young Englishwoman, is touring... [More]
Starring: Helena Bonham Carter, Maggie Smith, Julian Sands, Denholm Elliott
Directed By: James Ivory

#72
#72
Adjusted Score: 105078%
Critics Consensus: Its genius escaped many viewers at the time, but in retrospect, The Rules of the Game stands as one of Jean Renoir's -- and cinema's -- finest works.
Synopsis: André is having an affair with Christine, whose husband Robert is himself hiding a mistress. Christine's married maid is romantically... [More]
Starring: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Mila Parély, Roland Toutain
Directed By: Jean Renoir

#73

The Runner (1984)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#73
Adjusted Score: 101049%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Amiro, an illiterate 11-year-old orphan living alone in an abandoned tanker in the Iranian port city of Abadan, survives by... [More]
Starring: Majid Niroumand, Abbas Nazeri, Musa Torkizadeh
Directed By: Amir Naderi

#74

Seven Samurai (1954)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#74
Adjusted Score: 112342%
Critics Consensus: Arguably Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai is an epic adventure classic with an engrossing story, memorable characters, and stunning action sequences that make it one of the most influential films ever made.
Synopsis: A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits,... [More]
Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi
Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

#75

The Seventh Seal (1957)
Tomatometer icon 93%

#75
Adjusted Score: 103482%
Critics Consensus: Narratively bold and visually striking, The Seventh Seal brought Ingmar Bergman to the world stage -- and remains every bit as compelling today.
Synopsis: When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block (Max von Sydow) returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the... [More]
Starring: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson
Directed By: Ingmar Bergman

#76

Shadows (1958)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#76
Adjusted Score: 102877%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: At a party, Lelia (Lelia Goldoni), a young African-American girl with a light complexion, meets Tony (Anthony Ray), a somewhat... [More]
Starring: Hugh Hurd, Lelia Goldoni, Ben Carruthers, Anthony Ray
Directed By: John Cassavetes

#77

Shame (2011)
Tomatometer icon 79%

#77
Adjusted Score: 88146%
Critics Consensus: Boasting stellar performances by Michael Fassbender and Carey Mulligan, Shame is a powerful plunge into the mania of addiction affliction.
Synopsis: Successful and handsome New Yorker Brandon (Michael Fassbender) seems to live an ordinary life, but he hides a terrible secret... [More]
Starring: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Nicole Beharie
Directed By: Steve McQueen

#78

Smooth Talk (1985)
Tomatometer icon 94%

#78
Adjusted Score: 96284%
Critics Consensus: Elevated by Laura Dern's haunting performance, Smooth Talk is far more than your average coming-of-age drama.
Synopsis: Fifteen-year-old Connie (Laura Dern) spends the summer before her sophomore year fixating on getting male attention. While her mother, Katherine... [More]
Starring: Laura Dern, Treat Williams, Mary Kay Place, Margaret Welsh
Directed By: Joyce Chopra

#79

Solaris (1972)
Tomatometer icon 93%

#79
Adjusted Score: 102537%
Critics Consensus: Solaris is a haunting, meditative film that uses sci-fi to raise complex questions about humanity and existence.
Synopsis: A psychologist is sent to a space station orbiting a planet called Solaris to investigate the death of a doctor... [More]
Starring: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy
Directed By: Andrei Tarkovsky

#80

Stalker (1979)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#80
Adjusted Score: 103880%
Critics Consensus: Stalker is a complex, oblique parable that draws unforgettable images and philosophical musings from its sci-fi/thriller setting.
Synopsis: In an unnamed country at an unspecified time, there is a fiercely protected post-apocalyptic wasteland known as The Zone. An... [More]
Starring: Aleksandr Kajdanovsky, Nikolay Grinko, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Alisa Freyndlikh
Directed By: Andrei Tarkovsky

#81
#81
Adjusted Score: 75935%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Sweet Sweetback (Melvin Van Peebles) is a black orphan who, having grown up in a brothel, now works there as... [More]
Starring: Melvin Van Peebles, Simon Chuckster, Hubert Scales, John Dullaghan
Directed By: Melvin Van Peebles

#82

The Swimming Pool (1969)
Tomatometer icon 95%

#82
Adjusted Score: 96977%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: When a journalist's (Romy Schneider) boyfriend (Alain Delon) allows her former lover (Maurice Ronet) to drown, the couple must answer... [More]
Starring: Alain Delon, Romy Schneider, Maurice Ronet, Jane Birkin
Directed By: Jacques Deray

#83

Tampopo (1985)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#83
Adjusted Score: 105038%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to director Juzo Itami's offbeat humor and sharp satirical edge, Tampopo is a funny, sexy, affectionate celebration of food and its broad influence on Japanese culture.
Synopsis: Two Japanese milk-truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe) help a restaurant owner (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles.... [More]
Starring: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Kôji Yakusho
Directed By: Juzo Itami

#84
#84
Adjusted Score: 99780%
Critics Consensus: An exquisitely shot showcase for Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung that marks a somber evolution of Wong Kar-wai's chic style, In the Mood for Love is a tantric tease that's liable to break your heart.
Synopsis: In 1962, journalist Chow Mo-wan (Tony Leung Chiu Wai) and his wife move into a Hong Kong apartment, but Chow's... [More]
Starring: Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Kelly Lai Chen, Rebecca Pan
Directed By: Kar-Wai Wong

#85

Thirst (2009)
Tomatometer icon 81%

#85
Adjusted Score: 85368%
Critics Consensus: The stylish Thirst packs plenty of bloody thrills to satisfy fans of both vampire films and director Chan Wook Park.
Synopsis: Sang-hyun (Song Kang-ho), a respected priest, volunteers for an experimental procedure that may lead to a cure for a deadly... [More]
Starring: Song Kang-ho, Kim Ok-bin, Shin Ha-kyun, Kim Hae-sook
Directed By: Park Chan-wook

#86

Time Bandits (1981)
Tomatometer icon 91%

#86
Adjusted Score: 95966%
Critics Consensus: Time Bandits is a remarkable time-travel fantasy from Terry Gilliam, who utilizes fantastic set design and homemade special effects to create a vivid, original universe.
Synopsis: Young history buff Kevin (Craig Warnock) can scarcely believe it when six dwarfs emerge from his closet one night. Former... [More]
Starring: John Cleese, Sean Connery, Shelley Duvall, Katherine Helmond
Directed By: Terry Gilliam

#87

Tokyo Story (1953)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#87
Adjusted Score: 106703%
Critics Consensus: Tokyo Story is a Yasujiro Ozu masterpiece whose rewarding complexity has lost none of its power more than half a century on.
Synopsis: The elderly Shukishi (Chishu Ryu) and his wife, Tomi (Chieko Higashiyama), take the long journey from their small seaside village... [More]
Starring: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura
Directed By: Yasujirô Ozu

#88

The Trial (1962)
Tomatometer icon 84%

#88
Adjusted Score: 89298%
Critics Consensus: Orson Welles may take big liberties in his adaptation of The Trial, but the auteur constructs an absurd nightmare that is unmistakably Kafkaesque -- grounded by an excellent Anthony Perkins as the befuddled Josef K.
Synopsis: Josef K. (Anthony Perkins) is accused of an unspecified crime and shambles through a series of bizarre encounters in an... [More]
Starring: Anthony Perkins, Jeanne Moreau, Romy Schneider, Orson Welles
Directed By: Orson Welles

#89
#89
Adjusted Score: 69808%
Critics Consensus: For better or worse, Twin Peaks: Fire Walk With Me is every bit as strange and twisted as you'd expect from David Lynch.
Synopsis: In the folksy town of Deerfield, Wash., FBI Agent Desmond (Chris Isaak) inexplicably disappears while hunting for the man who... [More]
Starring: Kyle MacLachlan, Sheryl Lee, Moira Kelly, David Bowie
Directed By: David Lynch

#90
#90
Adjusted Score: 89794%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: While trying to find a cure for his wife's blindness, Dr. Farber has created a device that allows the user... [More]
Starring: William Hurt, Solveig Dommartin, Sam Neill, Max von Sydow
Directed By: Wim Wenders

#91

The Vanishing (1988)
Tomatometer icon 96%

#91
Adjusted Score: 100115%
Critics Consensus: A clinical, maddening descent into the mind of a serial killer and a slowly unraveling hero, culminating with one of the scariest endings of all time.
Synopsis: Rex (Gene Bervoets) and Saskia (Johanna Ter Steege) are enjoying a biking holiday in France when, stopping at a gas... [More]
Starring: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus
Directed By: George Sluizer

#92

The Virgin Spring (1959)
Tomatometer icon 88%

#92
Adjusted Score: 90200%
Critics Consensus: The Virgin Spring marks one of Ingmar Bergman's most controversial dramas, although its uncomfortable exploration of divine justice -- or lack thereof -- is undeniably thought-provoking.
Synopsis: Devout Christians Töre and Märeta (Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg) send their only daughter, the virginal Karin (Birgritta Pettersson), and... [More]
Starring: Max von Sydow, Birgitta Valberg, Gunnel Lindblom, Birgritta Pettersson
Directed By: Ingmar Bergman

#93

The Wages of Fear (1953)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#93
Adjusted Score: 106558%
Critics Consensus: An existential suspense classic, The Wages of Fear blends nonstop suspense with biting satire; its influence is still being felt on today's thrillers.
Synopsis: In the South American jungle, supplies of nitroglycerine are needed at a remote oil field. The oil company pays four... [More]
Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Véra Clouzot
Directed By: Henri-Georges Clouzot

#94

Walkabout (1971)
Tomatometer icon 86%

#94
Adjusted Score: 90501%
Critics Consensus: With its harrowingly beautiful depiction of the Australian Outback and spare narrative of culture clash, Walkabout is a peculiar survival epic.
Synopsis: Under the pretense of having a picnic, a geologist (John Meillon) takes his teenage daughter (Jenny Agutter) and 6-year-old son... [More]
Starring: Jenny Agutter, Luc Roeg, David Gulpilil, John Meillon
Directed By: Nicolas Roeg

#95

War and Peace (1966)
Tomatometer icon 100%

#95
Adjusted Score: 101665%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
Synopsis: Soviet director Sergei Bondarchuk's retelling of Leo Tolstoy's epic novel of Napoleon's invasion of Russia is widely considered one of... [More]
Starring: Lyudmila Saveleva, Sergei Bondarchuk, Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Oleg Tabakov
Directed By: Sergei Bondarchuk

#96
#96
Adjusted Score: 96269%
Critics Consensus: An auspicious debut for writer-director Cheryl Dunye, The Watermelon Woman tells a fresh story in wittily irreverent style.
Synopsis: An aspiring black lesbian filmmaker researches an obscure 1940s black actress billed as the Watermelon Woman.... [More]
Starring: Cheryl Dunye, Guinevere Turner, Valarie Walker, Lisa Marie Bronson
Directed By: Cheryl Dunye

#97
#97
Adjusted Score: 92353%
Critics Consensus: Electrified by searing performances from Gena Rowlands and Peter Falk, A Woman Under the Influence finds pioneering independent filmmaker John Cassavetes working at his artistic peak.
Synopsis: Mabel Longhetti (Gena Rowlands), desperate and lonely, is married to a Los Angeles municipal construction worker, Nick (Peter Falk). Increasingly... [More]
Starring: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Katherine Cassavetes, Lady Rowlands
Directed By: John Cassavetes

#98

Yi Yi (2000)
Tomatometer icon 97%

#98
Adjusted Score: 100094%
Critics Consensus: In its depiction of one family, Yi Yi accurately and expertly captures the themes and details, as well as the beauty, of everyday life.
Synopsis: Set in Taiwan, the film follows the lives of the Jian family from the alternating perspectives of the three main... [More]
Starring: Nien-Jen Wu, Elaine Jin, Issei Ogata, Kelly Lee
Directed By: Edward Yang

#99
#99
Adjusted Score: 102910%
Critics Consensus: The Young Girls of Rochefort pays colorful homage to classic Hollywood musicals while earning its own emotionally affecting place of honor in the genre.
Synopsis: Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Françoise Dorléac) are twin sisters who each want to find romance and leave their small... [More]
Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, Danielle Darrieux
Directed By: Jacques Demy

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