The Criterion Collection

12 Angry Men

Sidney Lumet

The Wages of Fear

Henri-Georges Clouzot

Army of Shadows

Jean-Pierre Melville

Burden of Dreams

Les Blank

The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

The Leopard

Luchino Visconti

Hunger

Steve McQueen

The Killing

Stanley Kubrick

Made in U.S.A

Jean-Luc Godard

Throne of Blood

Akira Kurosawa

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button

David Fincher

ryanbabula: “Tragic and beautiful. Fincher's ode to life and the inevitability of death. ”

Paths of Glory

Stanley Kubrick

ryanbabula: “The second of Kubrick's great anti-war films is angry and true. Douglas' presence is mesmerizing and its stance against bureaucracy is striking. ”

Walkabout

Nicolas Roeg

ryanbabula: “A visual and ideological feast. Class and culture are dissected in Roeg's beautiful montages. Mesmerizing.”

High and Low

Akira Kurosawa

ryanbabula: “Half-thriller, half-procedural probes class differences in post-war Japan. All Kurosawa. All brilliant. ”

Repulsion

Roman Polanski

ryanbabula: “Polanski understands women's fears better than most male filmmakers. Denueve is stunning and terrifying at once. Paranoia at its best.”

The Night of the Hunter

Charles Laughton

ryanbabula: “Grimm fairytale with haunting images and broad strokes of good and evil. It's a shame it's Laughton's only directorial effort. Mitchum is the man.”

The Last Temptation of Christ

Martin Scorsese

ryanbabula: “Scorsese wrestling with both Jesus' faith and his own as well. Hugely personal and incredibly powerful. Isn't afraid to ask questions of its viewers.”

Chasing Amy

Kevin Smith

ryanbabula: “Kevin Smith's second best film (behind DOGMA). Romantic nerd fantasy grounded in reality. Don't you wish you could steal Affleck's monologue??”

Days of Heaven

Terrence Malick

ryanbabula: “One of Malick's first opuses. Gloriously told and a marvel to be seen. Explores good vs evil & nature vs man. Remains as one of my favorite films. ”

The Thin Red Line

Terrence Malick

ryanbabula: “Brilliant and emotional. Its questions cannot be contained by the film. Lasts for days after viewing it. I'm constantly challenged when I watch this. ”

Modern Times

Charlie Chaplin

ryanbabula: “Chaplin's cry against modernism is as hysterical as it is powerful. I love this film. Only Keaton does body humor as well.”

The Great Dictator

Charles Chaplin

ryanbabula: “The film's final minutes speak volumes. It's almost too timely and literal to be funny. Chaplin is a genius.”

The 400 Blows

François Truffaut

ryanbabula: “Truffaut's first film is brimming with memory and rambunctiousness. An ode to childhood and all of its trials, tribulations and revelations.”

Breathless

Jean-Luc Godard

ryanbabula: “Godard's film didn't just define the New Wave; it shook it up, tore it apart and laughed while doing it. I revel in every moment of this film. ”

The Red Shoes

Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger

ryanbabula: “Powell and Pressburger's magnum opus (on par with COLONEL BLIMP). Explores the artist's process/insanity while being a sumptuous love story as well. ”