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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41 new
El espíritu de la colmena
1973 — a.k.a. The Spirit of the Beehive, in 21 top lists Check -
44 new
Blithe Spirit
1945, in 2 top lists Check -
50 new
Le charme discret de la bourgeoisie
1972 — a.k.a. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, in 21 top lists Check -
62 new
Céline et Julie vont en bateau: Phantom Ladies...
1974 — a.k.a. Celine and Julie Go Boating, in 11 top lists Check -
90 new
Dead Man
1995, in 12 top lists Check -
104 new
All That Money Can Buy
1941 — a.k.a. The Devil and Daniel Webster, in 4 top lists Check -
118 new
Duelle (une quarantaine)
1976 — a.k.a. Duelle, in 2 top lists Check -
157 new
The Ghost and Mrs. Muir
1947, in 8 top lists Check -
169 new
Heaven Can Wait
1943, in 5 top lists Check -
174 new
Histoire de Marie et Julien
2003 — a.k.a. The Story of Marie and Julien, in 1 top list Check -
203 new
La belle et la bête
1946 — a.k.a. Beauty and the Beast, in 26 top lists Check -
211 new
Le pont du Nord
1981 — a.k.a. Le Pont du Nord, in 4 top lists Check -
223 new
Lost Horizon
1937, in 6 top lists Check -
235 new
A Matter of Life and Death
1946, in 23 top lists Check -
265 new
Ordet
1955, in 21 top lists Check -
268 new
El laberinto del fauno
2006 — a.k.a. Pan's Labyrinth, in 33 top lists Check -
316 new
Sherlock Jr.
1924, in 24 top lists Check -
318 new
Simón del desierto
1965 — a.k.a. Simon of the Desert, in 5 top lists Check -
381 new
The Wizard of Oz
1939, in 38 top lists Check -
387 new
Yeelen
1987, in 9 top lists Check -
501 new
The Witches
1990, in 2 top lists Check
Last updated on Mar 13, 2014;