Spike Lee's Essential List of Films for Filmmakers

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This is the list that Spike Lee distributes to his graduate students at NYU every year.

Spike says: "I've Been A Professor At The NYU Graduate Film For The Past 15 Years.The 1st Day Of Every Class I Hand Out My List Of Films That I Feel You Must See If You Want To Make Films. Please Look At This List And See What You Might Have Missed. As I Tell My Students If You Want Your Film "Game" To Be Tight You Must Have Seen Great Movies, World Cinema, It Just Can't Be Hollywood Films. Educate Yourself. Learn. Grow. Evolve. Make Great Films.

Peace, Onward And Upward,

Spike Lee."

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  1. 58 -8

    Thief

    1981, in 5 top lists Check
  2. 15 -

    Raising Arizona

    1987, in 9 top lists Check
  3. 75 -8

    Dog Day Afternoon

    1975, in 23 top lists Check
  4. 80 -8

    Kung fu

    2004 — a.k.a. Kung Fu Hustle, in 11 top lists Check
  5. 8 -

    Bonnie and Clyde

    1967, in 28 top lists Check
  6. 55 -8

    Raging Bull

    1980, in 34 top lists Check
  7. 85 -8

    Cool Hand Luke

    1967, in 13 top lists Check
  8. 70 -8

    To Kill a Mockingbird

    1962, in 18 top lists Check
  9. 88 -8

    The Wizard of Oz

    1939, in 38 top lists Check
  10. 14 -

    The Night of the Hunter

    1955, in 34 top lists Check
  11. 11 -

    Ace in the Hole

    1951, in 21 top lists Check
  12. 67 -8

    White Heat

    1949, in 15 top lists Check
  13. 4 -

    Ran

    1985, in 25 top lists Check
  14. 65 -8

    Touch of Evil

    1958, in 31 top lists Check
  15. 39 -2

    The Maltese Falcon

    1941, in 27 top lists Check
  16. 84 -8

    Empire of the Sun

    1987, in 9 top lists Check
  17. 86 -8

    Badlands

    1973, in 23 top lists Check
  18. 10 -

    Ultimo tango a Parigi

    1972 — a.k.a. Last Tango in Paris, in 19 top lists Check
  19. 42 -2

    Midnight Cowboy

    1969, in 22 top lists Check
  20. 87 -8

    Days of Heaven

    1978, in 19 top lists Check
  21. 22 -1

    La dolce vita

    1960 — a.k.a. La Dolce Vita, in 22 top lists Check
  22. 36 -2

    West Side Story

    1961, in 22 top lists Check
  23. 83 -8

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    1977, in 23 top lists Check
  24. 29 -1

    Patton

    1970, in 13 top lists Check
  25. 63 -8

    District 9

    2009, in 10 top lists Check
  26. 91 -8

    Ladri di biciclette

    1948 — a.k.a. Bicycle Thieves, in 36 top lists Check
  27. 12 -

    Some Like It Hot

    1959, in 35 top lists Check
  28. 2 -

    Rashômon

    1950 — a.k.a. Rashomon, in 34 top lists Check
  29. 73 -8

    Chinatown

    1974, in 31 top lists Check
  30. 79 -8

    Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop...

    1964, in 37 top lists Check
  31. 24 -1

    Cidade de Deus

    2002 — a.k.a. City of God, in 22 top lists Check
  32. 57 -8

    Casablanca

    1942, in 39 top lists Check
  33. 62 -8

    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest

    1975, in 35 top lists Check
  34. 26 -1

    The Godfather Part II

    1974, in 32 top lists Check
  35. 25 -1

    The Godfather

    1972, in 42 top lists Check
  36. 23 -1

    8½

    1963, in 35 top lists Check
  37. 89 -8

    An American in Paris

    1951, in 18 top lists Check
  38. 56 -8

    Apocalypto

    2006, in 2 top lists Check
  39. 1 -

    Bad Lieutenant

    1992, in 6 top lists Check
  40. 32 -1

    La battaglia di Algeri

    1966 — a.k.a. The Battle of Algiers, in 29 top lists Check
  41. 66 -8

    Blue Collar

    1978, in 4 top lists Check
  42. 35 -2

    À bout de souffle

    1960 — a.k.a. Breathless, in 29 top lists Check
  43. 44 -2

    Boyz n the Hood

    1991, in 9 top lists Check
  44. 16 -

    The Bridge on the River Kwai

    1957, in 32 top lists Check
  45. 9 -

    Il conformista

    1970 — a.k.a. The Conformist, in 20 top lists Check
  46. 60 -8

    Cooley High

    1975, in 4 top lists Check
  47. 45 new

    Daughters of the Dust

    1991, in 9 top lists Check
  48. 93 -8

    Dead End

    1937, in 5 top lists Check
  49. 81 -8

    Dirty Pretty Things

    2002, in 2 top lists Check
  50. 19 -

    A Face in the Crowd

    1957, in 14 top lists Check
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Last updated on Jan 22, 2014; source