Apu's Essential Films (March 18th, 2014)
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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9 new
Aliens
1986, in 24 top lists Check -
39 new
The Big Red One
1980, in 10 top lists Check -
46 new
The Blues Brothers
1980, in 11 top lists Check -
52 new
Koroshi no rakuin
1967 — a.k.a. Branded to Kill, in 8 top lists Check -
87 new
Dawn of the Dead
1978, in 15 top lists Check -
109 new
Dirty Harry
1971, in 17 top lists Check -
113 new
Dr. No
1962, in 7 top lists Check -
144 new
The French Connection
1971, in 23 top lists Check -
148 new
From Russia with Love
1963, in 4 top lists Check -
155 new
The General
1926, in 34 top lists Check -
164 new
Touchez pas au grisbi
1954 — a.k.a. Hands Off the Loot, in 5 top lists Check -
197 new
Dip huet seung hung
1989 — a.k.a. The Killer, in 16 top lists Check -
216 new
Les vampires
1915, in 14 top lists Check -
233 new
The Mark of Zorro
1940, in 2 top lists Check -
262 new
On Her Majesty's Secret Service
1969, in 3 top lists Check -
295 new
Red River
1948, in 16 top lists Check -
296 new
Remorques
1941, in 5 top lists Check -
299 new
Rio Bravo
1959, in 19 top lists Check -
304 new
Saboteur
1942, in 2 top lists Check -
306 new
Tsubaki Sanjûrô
1962 — a.k.a. Sanjuro, in 7 top lists Check -
338 new
The Taking of Pelham One Two Three
1974, in 6 top lists Check -
341 new
The Terminator
1984, in 24 top lists Check -
346 new
Thunderball
1965, in 4 top lists Check -
383 new
Wong Fei-Hung
1991 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in China, in 9 top lists Check -
385 new
Ofelas
1987 — a.k.a. Pathfinder, in 3 top lists Check -
394 new
Per un pugno di dollari
1964 — a.k.a. A Fistful of Dollars, in 10 top lists Check -
395 new
Per qualche dollaro in più
1965 — a.k.a. For a Few Dollars More, in 11 top lists Check -
461 new
Tôkyô nagaremono
1966 — a.k.a. Tokyo Drifter, in 6 top lists Check -
465 new
Blue Thunder
1983, in 1 top list Check -
466 new
Judex
1963, in 5 top lists Check -
474 new
The Train
1964, in 4 top lists Check -
484 new
Lat sau san taam
1992 — a.k.a. Hard Boiled, in 12 top lists Check -
495 new
A Night to Remember
1958, in 3 top lists Check
Last updated on Mar 13, 2014;