Slant Magazine's 100 Essential Films
Created by johnnyg.
Favorited 39 times, disliked 0 times, added to 43 watchlists.
While you will find many popular classics and critical favorites on our list of 100 Essential Films, our goal was to mix things up a bit. This list should not be construed as a definitive "greatest films" package, but as an alternative compiled by a group of kinky film-lovers wanting to give serious critical thought to neglected, forgotten and misunderstood gems. We aimed for the kind of list where post-Cahiers Orson Welles could stand shoulder-to-shoulder with a pre-pastiche Brian De Palma; where it's understood that Hitchcock, Dreyer, Ford and Ozu created masterpieces besides film-school staples like Vertigo, The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Searchers, and Tokyo Story; and where the postmodern irony of Douglas Sirk's Imitation of Life is allowed space next to its modern-day equivalent: Paul Verhoeven's Showgirls (gasp!). Because space was tight, documentaries, shorts and animated films were not eligible. Additionally, we limited directors to no more than one spot on the list
Pssst, want to check out the Slant Magazine's 100 Essential Films list in our new look?
Filter
-
1 -
Les vampires
1915, in 14 top lists Check -
2 -
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl
1919 — a.k.a. Broken Blossoms, in 13 top lists Check -
3 -
Foolish Wives
1922, in 10 top lists Check -
4 -
Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage
1926 — a.k.a. Faust, in 15 top lists Check -
5 -
Hindle Wakes
1927 — a.k.a. Fanny Hawthorne, in 2 top lists Check -
6 -
The Cameraman
1928, in 13 top lists Check -
7 -
The Crowd
1928, in 20 top lists Check -
8 -
La chute de la maison Usher
1928 — a.k.a. The Fall of the House of Usher, in 10 top lists Check -
9 -
Spione
1928 — a.k.a. Spies, in 8 top lists Check -
10 -
Zemlya
1930 — a.k.a. Earth, in 16 top lists Check -
11 -
An American Tragedy
1931, in 0 top lists Check -
12 new
¡Que viva México! Da zdravstvuyet Meksika!
1979 — a.k.a. Que Viva Mexico, in 3 top lists Check -
13 -
Freaks
1932, in 19 top lists Check -
14 -
Love Me Tonight
1932, in 11 top lists Check -
15 -
The Black Cat
1934, in 8 top lists Check -
16 -
Le crime de Monsieur Lange
1936 — a.k.a. The Crime of Monsieur Lange, in 7 top lists Check -
17 -
Gueule d'amour
1937 — a.k.a. Lady Killer, in 1 top list Check -
18 -
Make Way for Tomorrow
1937, in 16 top lists Check -
19 -
Stage Door
1937, in 6 top lists Check -
20 -
Only Angels Have Wings
1939, in 10 top lists Check -
21 -
The Mortal Storm
1940, in 4 top lists Check -
22 -
To Be or Not to Be
1942, in 23 top lists Check -
23 -
The Leopard Man
1943, in 3 top lists Check -
24 -
Monsieur Verdoux
1947, in 11 top lists Check -
25 -
Portrait of Jennie
1948, in 5 top lists Check -
26 -
Francesco, giullare di Dio
1950 — a.k.a. The Flowers of St. Francis, in 10 top lists Check -
27 -
In a Lonely Place
1950, in 19 top lists Check -
28 -
Ace in the Hole
1951, in 21 top lists Check -
29 -
Saikaku ichidai onna
1952 — a.k.a. The Life of Oharu, in 12 top lists Check -
30 -
Le plaisir
1952 — a.k.a. Le Plaisir, in 6 top lists Check -
31 -
I Confess
1953, in 2 top lists Check -
32 -
Ensayo de un crimen
1955 — a.k.a. The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz, in 6 top lists Check -
33 -
Autumn Leaves
1956, in 0 top lists Check -
34 -
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter?
1957, in 4 top lists Check -
35 -
Bonjour tristesse
1958, in 3 top lists Check -
36 -
Imitation of Life
1959, in 6 top lists Check -
37 -
The Ladies Man
1961, in 5 top lists Check -
38 -
Cléo de 5 à 7
1962 — a.k.a. Cleo from 5 to 7, in 15 top lists Check -
39 -
Confessions of an Opium Eater
1962 — a.k.a. Evils of Chinatown, in 1 top list Check -
40 -
Nattvardsgästerna
1963 — a.k.a. Winter Light, in 10 top lists Check -
41 -
Charulata
1964 — a.k.a. The Lonely Wife, in 10 top lists Check -
42 -
Gertrud
1964, in 11 top lists Check -
43 -
Midareru
1964 — a.k.a. Yearning, in 5 top lists Check -
44 -
7 Women
1965, in 3 top lists Check -
45 -
Operazione paura
1966 — a.k.a. Kill Baby, Kill, in 3 top lists Check -
46 -
Masculin féminin
1966 — a.k.a. Masculine-Feminine, in 7 top lists Check -
47 -
Point Blank
1967, in 15 top lists Check -
48 -
The Shooting
1966, in 4 top lists Check -
49 -
Memorias del subdesarrollo
1968 — a.k.a. Memories of Underdevelopment, in 11 top lists Check -
50 -
C'era una volta il West
1968 — a.k.a. Once Upon a Time in the West, in 28 top lists Check
Last updated on May 14, 2012; source