Jonathan Rosenbaum's essential cinema
His ballots for the Sight and Sound Critics' polls of 1982 to 2022 and his top 100 and top 1000 from his book Essential Cinema: On the Necessity of Film Canons (2003)
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- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiBarbara DennekRita MaidenMonsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.S&S 1982 #1, 1992, 2002, 2022 #7
Top 100 2003 - DirectorErich von StroheimStarsGibson GowlandZasu PittsJean HersholtThe sudden fortune won from a lottery fans such destructive greed that it ruins the lives of the three people involved.S&S 2012, 2022 #1
Top 100 2003 - DirectorFritz LangStarsPeter LorreEllen WidmannInge LandgutWhen the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.S&S 2002, 2022 #2
Top 100 2003 - DirectorBéla TarrStarsMihály VigPutyi HorváthLászló feLugossyOn the eve of a large payment, residents of a collapsing collective farm see their plans turn into desolation when they discover that Irimiás, a former co-worker who they thought was dead, is returning to the community.S&S 2012, 2022 #9
#1 1994
Top 100 2003 - DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsHenrik MalbergEmil Hass ChristensenPreben Lerdorff RyeFollows the lives of the Borgen family, as they deal with inner conflict, as well as religious conflict with each other, and the rest of the town.S&S 1992, 2022 #4
Top 100 2003 - DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsNina Pens RodeBendt RotheEbbe RodeIn the elegant world of artists and musicians, Gertrud ends her marriage to Gustav and takes a lover, the composer Erland Jansson.S&S 1982 #2, 2002
Top 100 2003 - DirectorMu FeiStarsChaoming CuiWei LiYu ShiA lonely housewife finds her monotonous life altered when her childhood sweetheart returns to town.S&S 2022 #3
Top 100 2003 - DirectorRobert BressonStarsFrançois LeterrierCharles Le ClaincheMaurice BeerblockA captured French Resistance fighter during World War II engineers a daunting escape from a German prison in France.S&S 2022 #5
Top 100 2003 - DirectorKenji MizoguchiStarsShôtarô HanayagiKôkichi TakadaRyôtarô KawanamiThe adopted son of a legendary actor, and an aspiring star himself, turns to his infant brother's wet nurse for support and affection - only for her to give up everything for her beloved's glory.S&S 1982 #5, 2002
Top 100 2003 - StarsJean-Luc GodardAlain CunyJulie DelpyAn 8-part documentary chronicling the history of cinema, examining the history of the concept of cinema and how both relates to the 20th century.S&S 2012
Top 100 2003 - DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsNikolay CherkasovSerafima BirmanPavel KadochnikovAs Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.S&S 2022 #6
Top 100 2003 - DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsTatsuo SaitôTomio AokiMitsuko YoshikawaTwo young brothers throw a tantrum when they discover that their father isn't the most important man in his workplace.S&S 2012
Top 100 2003 - DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJames StewartGrace KellyWendell CoreyA wheelchair-bound photographer spies on his neighbors from his Greenwich Village courtyard apartment window and, despite the skepticism of his fashion-model girlfriend, becomes convinced one of them has committed murder.S&S 2012
Top 100 2003 - DirectorAleksandr DovzhenkoStarsK. BondarevskyDmitri GolubinskyElena GolkiA young farmer and his lazy father try to help with the construction of the Dniprohes, but he learns that strength is not enough for a worker and joins the Communist party.S&S 2012
Top 100 2003 - DirectorAgnès VardaStarsSandrine BonnaireMacha MérilStéphane FreissA young woman's body is found frozen in a ditch. Through flashbacks and interviews, we see the events that led to her inevitable death.S&S 2022 #8
Top 100 2003 - DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHaley Joel OsmentJude LawFrances O'ConnorA highly advanced robotic boy longs to become "real" so that he can regain the love of his human mother.S&S 2022 #10
#1 2001
Top 100 2003 - DirectorAbbas KiarostamiStarsBehzad DoraniNoghre AsadiRoushan Karam ElmiIrreverent city engineer Behzad comes to a rural village in Iran to keep vigil for a dying relative. In the meanwhile the film follows his efforts to fit in with the local community and how he changes his own attitudes as a result.S&S 2012
#1 2000
Top 100 2003 - DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeGerda MaurusWilly FritschThe mastermind behind a ubiquitous spy operation learns of a dangerous romance between a Russian lady in his employ and a dashing agent from the government's secret service.S&S 2012
Top 100 2003 - DirectorHoward HawksStarsJane RussellMarilyn MonroeCharles CoburnShowgirls Lorelei Lee and Dorothy Shaw travel to Paris, pursued by a private detective hired by the suspicious father of Lorelei's fiancé, as well as a rich, enamored old man and many other doting admirers.S&S 1992, 2002
Top 100 2003 - DirectorZhangke JiaStarsTao ZhaoTaishen ChengJue JingAn exploration on the impact of urbanization and globalization on a traditional culture.S&S 2012
#1 2005 - DirectorRobert BressonStarsAnne WiazemskyWalter GreenFrançois LafargeThe story of a mistreated donkey and the people around him. A study on saintliness and a sister piece to Bresson's Mouchette.S&S 1992
Top 100 2003 - DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMady CorrellAllison RoddanA suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.S&S 1992
Top 100 2003 - DirectorJean-Luc GodardStarsJean-Paul BelmondoJean SebergVan DoudeA small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder of a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.S&S 1982 #3
Top 100 2003 - DirectorLouis FeuilladeStarsMusidoraÉdouard MathéMarcel LévesqueAn intrepid reporter and his loyal friend battle a bizarre secret society of criminals known as The Vampires.S&S 2002
Top 100 2003 - DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsMonica VittiAlain DelonFrancisco RabalA young woman meets a vital young man, but their love affair is doomed because of the man's materialistic nature.S&S 1982 #4
Top 100 2003