Apu's Essential Films (March 18th, 2014)

Apu's Essential Films (March 18th, 2014)'s icon

Created by Apu.

Favorited 13 times, disliked 0 times, added to 3 watchlists.

I added this list after I had watched my 5000th feature film, House of Games (1987)

The idea behind it was that if I only had the opportunity to pick 10% of all the feature films I've seen in my life (i.e. 500 films) and put them all together into a personal canon, this would be the end result.

Broadly speaking, these are the 500 films I'd want to have with me on a desert island.

The criterion I've used for the inclusion of films are, for a lack of a better world, personal. For example, I haven't factored in any sense of historical importance a film might or might not have. These 500 films are not necessarily the best films I've seen (although it should be very close to it) but the films that fascinate me the most, the films I find most aesthetically pleasing, films that are important to me nostalgically, and films I basically could re-watch at any given time. In my opinion, all films included in this list possess a certain re-watch-value that films not included might lack.

Omissions, of course, are inevitable. I've made an effort to be exhaustive, and if, for instance, none or only a few films from a certain director/wave/movement/period/genre made it into this list, it's because I don't value it as much as others.

Omissions also apply to many of the films I've seen that, for some reason or another, didn't make it, as well as all (acclaimed) films I haven't yet caught up with. However, it may also be that if a certain film is absent, it's absent because I don't value it as much as those I've included.

Riefenstahl's Olympia (1938) is divided into two parts, hence why there are 501 entries instead of 500.

See also my Essential Short Film list.

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  1. 1 new

    12 Angry Men

    1957, in 30 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    2001: A Space Odyssey

    1968, in 45 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    5 Fingers

    1952, in 1 top list Check
  4. 4 new

    The Abominable Dr. Phibes

    1971, in 3 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Adam's Rib

    1949, in 8 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    The African Queen

    1951, in 11 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Alias Nick Beal

    1949 — a.k.a. The Contact Man, in 2 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Alien

    1979, in 30 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Aliens

    1986, in 24 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    All About Eve

    1950, in 25 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    All the President's Men

    1976, in 21 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Todo sobre mi madre

    1999 — a.k.a. All About My Mother, in 18 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Alphaville: Une étrange aventure de Lemmy Caution

    1965 — a.k.a. Alphaville, in 13 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    American Beauty

    1999, in 25 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    And Then There Were None

    1945, in 2 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Le deuxième souffle

    1966 — a.k.a. Second Breath, in 5 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Angels with Dirty Faces

    1938, in 9 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    Angst

    1983, in 6 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Les rendez-vous d'Anna

    1978 — a.k.a. The Meetings of Anna, in 6 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Annie Hall

    1977, in 34 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Aparajito

    1956 — a.k.a. The Unvanquished, in 15 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    The Apartment

    1960, in 28 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Apocalypse Now

    1979, in 37 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Apur Sansar

    1959 — a.k.a. The World of Apu, in 19 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Astenicheskiy sindrom

    1989 — a.k.a. The Asthenic Syndrome, in 8 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Atlantic City

    1980, in 14 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    The Awful Truth

    1937, in 15 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Bad Boy Bubby

    1993, in 5 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Bad Day at Black Rock

    1955, in 7 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    Badlands

    1973, in 23 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Narayama bushikô

    1983 — a.k.a. Ballad of Narayama, in 8 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Bande à part

    1964 — a.k.a. Band of Outsiders, in 13 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    Banketten

    1948, in 0 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Barry Lyndon

    1975, in 24 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    Tretya meshchanskaya

    1927 — a.k.a. Bed and Sofa, in 6 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    The Best Years of Our Lives

    1946, in 30 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Beware, My Lovely

    1952, in 1 top list Check
  38. 38 new

    The Big Clock

    1948, in 5 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    The Big Red One

    1980, in 10 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    The Big Sleep

    1946, in 22 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    El espíritu de la colmena

    1973 — a.k.a. The Spirit of the Beehive, in 21 top lists Check
  42. 42 new

    The Birds

    1963, in 18 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    The Bitter Tea of General Yen

    1932, in 3 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Blithe Spirit

    1945, in 2 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    Blood Simple

    1984, in 10 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    The Blues Brothers

    1980, in 11 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Body and Soul

    1947, in 6 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    The Body Snatcher

    1945, in 2 top lists Check
  49. 49 new

    Bonjour tristesse

    1958, in 3 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie

    1972 — a.k.a. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, in 21 top lists Check
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Last updated on Mar 13, 2014;