The Criterion Collection

Rashomon

Akira Kurosawa

The Rules of the Game

Jean Renoir

The Phantom Carriage

Victor Sjöström

Bob: “Sjöström creates a mood that is as haunting as it is gripping. The impact of the images is surprisingly strong, aided greatly by Matti Bye's score.”

Army of Shadows

Jean-Pierre Melville

Bob: “Gripping yet bleak depiction of WWII French resistance. Stunning cinematography and confident direction further enhance oppressive feel of despair.”

The Last Temptation of Christ

Martin Scorsese

Bob: “A thought-provoking and daring study of not just Christianity, but the nature of religion and the insecurities of faith.”

12 Angry Men

Sidney Lumet

Bob: “Strong depiction of the power of prejudice and the tricks it can play on the mind. Makes a good case in favor of critical thinking against all odds.”

The Third Man

Carol Reed

Bob: “Among the noirest of FIlm Noirs, Reed builds the suspense cleverly until we are presented with thát reveal of Orson Welles. Great photography as well.”

The Wages of Fear

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Bob: “Gripping, suspenseful and -between the lines- an effective stab towards American capitalism.”

Diabolique

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Bob: “The greatest Hitchcock film Hitchcock never made, with an ending that kickstarted the surprise twist.”

The Killing

Stanley Kubrick

Paths of Glory

Stanley Kubrick

Bob: “First critical film on war that sadly lacks many of the later Kubrick trademarks yet is gripping nonetheless.”

Beauty and the Beast

Jean Cocteau

Bob: “Revolutionary in visual, in-camera trickery and a deceitful 'happy' ending.”

Paris, Texas

Wim Wenders

Bob: “Dreamlike journey through the Texan landscape, Wenders infuses 80's neonlight mood with a tad too much cheesiness.”

The 400 Blows

François Truffaut

Bob: “Authentic and free of false sentiment, Truffaut effectively recollects the upbringing of a life went wrong and where it went wrong.”

Playtime

Jacques Tati

Bob: “Hugely ambitious "search for the jokes" puzzle that's impossible to grasp in single viewing. Equal turns cynical and funny, yet distancing.”

The Seventh Seal

Ingmar Bergman

Bob: “Rumination on death and religion set amidst the outbreak of the plague. ”

Solaris

Andrei Tarkovsky

Bob: “Hypnotic existential science-fiction that's remarkably emotional for a Tarkovsky film.”

Modern Times

Charlie Chaplin

Bob: “Clever satire on the industrial revolution that's in equal turns funny and cynically essential.”

The Great Dictator

Charles Chaplin

Bob: “Brave satire against the upcoming Nazi party with the ultimate ambition: ending the war. Pretty funny too.”

Days of Heaven

Terrence Malick

Bob: “Lush photography of nature in its most purest form, Malick was clearly searching and finding a voice he'd perfect for The Thin Red Line.”

8½

Federico Fellini

Bob: “The definitive film on filmmaking. Also an ambitious psychological rumination on inspiration, told within a complex meta-framework.”

The Thin Red Line

Terrence Malick

Bob: “Poetic meditation on the inner-workings of a soldier, in which Malick pitches the cruelty of men and war against the purity of nature.”

M

Fritz Lang

Bob: “Haunting portrait of paranoia, revenge and the illusion of justice set against the backdrop of pre-WWII Nazi Germany.”