Cinema is a way of life: for some it is a mere means of indulgence, while for others it is a profound medium to satiate the intellect. Cinema’s omnipresence gives it the enormous potential to entertain and educate. In fact, cinema is the most effective means of communication ever devised as the message reaches everywhere and to everyone. Cinema that is primarily light-hearted and humorous can help punctuate the monotony associated with mundane lifestyles, while cinema that is thought-provoking can have cathartic effects on the viewers. Cinema can also become a medium to portray the deepest of the human emotions and thoughts that are otherwise inexpressible.

The commercialization of cinema has taken it a long way in becoming a ubiquitous medium of entertainment. While the technical advancements have transformed cinema into an exact science the attributes of art that make it insightful have taken a back seat. And cinema is increasingly becoming an instrument to generate revenue which has made people forget its true purpose and meaning.

Here is a compilation of my favorite films (in no particular order) that I have chosen from the films watched over the past few years. And while I have watched many I believe that I have just reached the tip of the iceberg, for I have been introduced to the real good ones only recently (not to mention the ones that get added every year). If you find one or more of your favorite films missing from the list then it’s highly likely that I may not have watched them yet.

Ran (1985), Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Stalker (1979), Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Solyaris (1972), Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Citizen Kane (1941), Directed by Orson Welles

Dersu Uzala (1975), Directed by Akira Kurosawa

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

8½ (1963), Directed by Federico Fellini

Eyes Wide Shut (1999), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Rashomon (1950), Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Directed by David Lean

Ivan the Terrible [Part I (1944) & Part II (1958)], Directed by Sergei M. Eisenstein

Bicycle Thieves (1948), Directed by Vittorio De Sica

Metropolis (1927), Directed by Fritz Lang

Belle de Jour (1967), Directed by Luis Buñuel

Andrei Rublev (1966), Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

The Seventh Seal (1957), Directed by Ingmar Bergman

Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972), Directed by Werner Herzog

Once Upon a Time in America (1984), Directed by Sergio Leone

The Three Colors Trilogy [Blue (1993), White (1994), Red (1994)], Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski

Dekalog (Ten-Episode TV Series, 1988), Directed by Krzysztof Kieslowski

Doctor Zhivago (1965), Directed by David Lean

The Conversation (1974), Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Fellini Satyricon (1969), Directed by Federico Fellini

The Night of the Iguana (1964), Directed by John Huston

Le Samouraï (1967), Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

Duck, You Sucker (1971), Directed by Sergio Leone

The Apu Trilogy [Pather Panchali (1955), Aparajito (1956), Apu Sansar (1959)], Directed by Satyajit Ray

Apocalypse Now (1979), Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

The Trial (1962), Directed by Orson Welles

Mysteries of Lisbon (2010), Directed by Raúl Ruiz

The Damned (1969), Directed by Luchino Visconti

Touch of Evil (1958), Directed by Orson Welles

Night Moves (1975), Directed by Arthur Penn

Get Carter (1971), Directed by Mike Hodges

Last Tango in Paris (1972), Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci

Le cercle rouge (1970), Directed by Jean-Pierre Melville

Heat (1995), Directed by Michael Mann

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966), Directed by Sergio Leone

Harakiri (1962), Directed by Masaki Kobayashi

A Clockwork Orange (1971), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

The Godfather Trilogy [Part I (1972), Part II (1974), Part III (1990)], Directed by Francis Ford Coppola

Gone With the Wind (1939), Directed by Victor Fleming

Yojimbo (1961), Directed by Akira Kurosawa

North By Northwest (1959), Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

The Kid (1921), Directed by Charles Chaplin

The Europe Trilogy [The Element of Crime (1984), Epidemic (1987), Europa (1991)], Directed by Lars von Trier

The Turin Horse (2011), Directed by Béla Tarr

The Tree of Life (2011), Directed by Terrence Malick

Paths of Glory (1957), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

High and Low (1963), Directed by Akira Kurosawa

Korol Lir (1971), Directed by Grigori Kozintsev

Full Metal Jacket (1987), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Dr. Strangelove (1964), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Queimada (1969), Directed by Gillo Pontecorvo

Dead Man (1995), Directed by Jim Jarmusch

Viridiana (1961), Directed by Luis Buñuel

La Strada (1954), Directed by Federico Fellini

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), Directed by Ang Lee

Scarface (1983), Directed by Brian De Palma

Hannibal (2001), Directed by Ridley Scott

Magic (1978), Directed by Richard Attenborough

Amadeus (1984), Directed by Milos Forman

Crash (1996), Directed by David Cronenberg

Mr. Klein (1976), Directed by Joseph Losey

Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (2011), Directed by Nuri Bilge Ceylan

The Return (2003), Directed by Andrey Zvyagintsev

The Depression Trilogy [Antichrist (2009), Melancholia (2011), Nymphomaniac (Vol. 1 & 2) (2013)] Directed by Lars von Trier

The Great Beauty (2013), Directed by Paolo Sorrentino

Guide (1965), Directed by Vijay Anand

F for Fake (1973), Directed by Orson Welles

Frenzy (1972), Directed by Alfred Hitchcock

Barry Lyndon (1975), Directed by Stanley Kubrick

Shoot the Piano Player (1960), Directed by François Truffaut

La Jetée (1962), Directed by Chris Marker

Chinatown (1974), Directed by Roman Polanski

Sunset Blvd. (1950), Directed by Billy Wilder

Jalsaghar (1958), Directed by Satyajit Ray

Pyaasa (1957), Directed by Guru Dutt

Mirror (1975), Directed by Andrei Tarkovsky

Blood Simple (1984), Directed by Joel Coen

L’Eclisse (1962), Directed by Michelangelo Antonioni

The Duellists (1977), Directed by Ridley Scott

Blue Velvet (1986), Directed by David Lynch

Hey Ram (2000), Directed by Kamal Hassan

A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001), Directed by Steven Spielberg

12 Angry Men (1957), Directed by Sidney Lumet

The King of Comedy (1982), Directed by Martin Scorsese

The Secret in Their Eyes (2009), Directed by Juan José Campanella

The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (2007), Directed by Andrew Dominik

Lust, Caution (2007), Directed by Ang Lee

Live Flesh (1997), Directed by Pedro Almodovar

The Last Temptation of Christ (1988), Directed by Martin Scorsese

The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (2005), Directed by Tommy Lee Jones

There Will Be blood (2007), Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

The Spy Who Came in from the Cold (1965), Directed by Martin Ritt

Midnight in Paris (2011), Directed by Woody Allen

Magnolia (1999), Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson

Eastern Promises (2007), Directed by David Cronenberg

Yusuf Trilogy [Egg (2007), Milk (2008), Honey (2010)], Directed by Semih Kaplanoglu

Jaane Bhi Do Yaaro (1983), Directed by Kundan Shah

Note: This article was originally published here

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