501 Great Directors

Great film but the ending completely ruined it. Originally the ending involved Lillian Gish's character wandering into the desert to met her end after going insane. But the studio insisted that they had a happy ending so not to ruin Gish's career. Gish herself hated the new ending at it's easy to see why.

Amazing film. Louise Brooks is just mesmerising, my eyes were fixed on her the whole time. Has a great moody, sexual atmosphere throughout. Overall a must see of the silent era.

Still holds up today and still remains incredibly creepy. Max Schreck creates an icon of the horror film with his repulsive take on Bram Stoker's 'Dracula'. The effects and lighting make it visually stunning, whilst the story is expertly paced. The only thing that disappointed me slightly was the version I saw had a somewhat annoying gothic/industrial soundtrack, which is reason enough why I need to see this again.

Totally surreal, but brilliant.

The first great musical and the one that invented all the cliches.
Only thing it would of benefited from is more Busby Berkely dance sequences.

"Now go out there and be so swell that you'll make me hate you!""

Fritz Lang is the man, this is amazing! The trial of Peter Lorre's child murder, where he pleads with the criminals that he is compelled to commit his crimes whilst they commit theirs out of choice is one of the greatest scenes in cinema.

I still can't decide whether this should be a 3 1/2 or 4 star rating, maybe I'll change it once I've had a little longer to take it all in.
Anyway, "Earth" is the story of how the poor Ukranian farmers protested against the Kulaks (rich peasant farmers). Of course this is a Marxist propaganda film, but that and the plot are not really of importance. What is of importance is the beautiful images that Dovzhenko captures.
I may have only seen one film by Dovzhenko and one film by Eisenstein but as this point and can say that I prefer the former, who is somewhat overshadowed by the latters work.
The story may be a bit weak and the title cards don't seem to translate to well but this is defiantly one to see for the memorable images.

Another classic I can cross of my list!

Renoir's Le Regle du Jeu (The Rules Of The Game) is rightly considered a masterpiece. It's an excellent look at relationships, and class divide on the eve of the Second World War. I found it started a little slow but this soon changed. I love the complex relationships and emotions of the characters. Look out for director, Jean Renoir, playing a major role.

David Huxley: Now don't lose your head, Susan.
Susan Vance: My what?
David Huxley: Don't lose your head!
Susan Vance: I've got my head, I've lost my leopard!

Better than the previous years "Magnificent Obsession", also with Rock Hudson and Jane Wyman. Again a typically melodramatic story but the Douglas Sirk touch makes it well worth watching. Gorgeous cinematography by Russell Metty.

Visually stunning.

Highly enjoyable film by Preston Sturges. There's witty dialogue and a great performance from McCrea, not so great a performance from Lake, but she still steals every scene with that beauty of hers.

An amazing film with an amazing animation technique. It's hard to believe that such an enchanting film was created with nothing but black paper, scissors and alot of talent.

A stylish looking film. The sequences of the pickpockets at work with the quick editing was just a joy to watch.
The musical score is beautiful, and the fact that it's used sparingly between natural sounds of a busy Paris is very effective.

Even on the strength of one film I can say that Bresson truly is one of the great filmmakers, I'm eagerly awaiting to discover all his other films.

Great chemistry between Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck, and such a beautiful story. I loved seeing the shots of the city.

Powell and Pressburger do it again. A beautiful film shot in technicolor about a woman forced to chose between her two loves, her husband and the ballet. The 15 minute dance sequence is glorious.

I've been meaning to watch this for ages but for some reason kept putting it off everytime I had the chance to. Maybe I wasn't expecting much of it but damn was I wrong!
Of course it's a classic of it's genre and almost flawless. Today it may seem a bit sugary and sweet but it is still just so delightful! Garland was great and so are the songs, most notably "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" and "The Trolley Song" (which I haven't been able to stop singing for 2 days now!). Got to mention Margaret O'Brien also as the death fixated Tootie whole stole every scene she was in.

Jacques Becker's final film is a fine prison escape drama. Becker used a cast of mostly non-professionals for the five men planning the perfect prison escape. Luckily there are no unnecessary subplots to distract from the suspense, infact it is pretty simple and all we are shown is the escape in stunning detail, and all the mechanics and processes which go into it.
So much more than just you average prison film, highly recommended.

A brilliant film noir. Gene Tierney was great, Clifton Webb's performance is also worth a mention.

Documentary style propaganda film by Humphrey Jennings. Follows the story of civilian firefighters in London during the Blitz. We see all the horrors close hand. The firefighters are portrayed as hard working heroes, which they are. The cast were all real firemen, not actors, so it certainly feels real even though they were actually reconstructions.
Overall a brilliant, memorable look at the period and events.

Great performances from Dennis Price as the quintessentially British and exceedingly charming serial killer plus man of many faces Alec Guinness, as no less than eight members of the D'Ascoyne family.

"I shot an arrow in the air; she fell to earth in Berkeley Square."

Brilliant film. James Dean in Rebel is the symbol of teenage rebellion. After all these years it's still relevant today. A classic which you just have to see.

Best heist film ever! 'Rififi' is simply amazing!

One of the best B-Movies ever. Creepy atmosphere, great suspense, and a fine cast, plus not forgetting the cold war paranoia!

Great horror movie that doesn't rely on blood and guts to get it's scares.

A brilliant thriller starring Audrey Hepburn as a blind woman being terrorised by a trio of crooks determined to get their hands on a doll stuffed full of heroin.
Alan Arkin is perfect as the evil ringleader Rout. Hepburn, as always, also gives a good performance.
I found the start a little slow and the story a little confused but towards the end was brilliant. I wish I could of seen this in the cinema when it was first released, when during the final scenes the theaters would turn of the lights one by one to heighten the terror!
Overall a very good thriller defiantly worht seeing.

A landmark in Avant-Garde filmmaking. Surreal, creepy, and unnerving, this is a must see for anyone interested in cinema.

Interesting due to the fact that it is directed by a female, Ida Lupino. Didn't find anything special here, just didn't quite work.

Bette Davis in her best over the top acting mode with outrageous make-up, childlike outfits and a certain hatred for Joan Crawford. Both hilarious and horrifying at the same time.

Love it. A classic.

A subtle and atmospheric horror movie. Brilliantly shot, infact it's the combination of the photography and the minimal soundtrack which makes this film all the more creepy

Crazy, campy but ultimately quite fun!

"In a scene like this you get a contact-high!"

Simply a masterpiece.

A simple plot of a man trying to convince a woman that they had an affair the previous year, yet still a complex puzzle which will take more than one viewing to fully undertand.
The black and white cinematography is beautiful. The tracking shots through the corridors of the baroque hotel are also sublime.
A truly unique experience.

Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway play the two leads perfectly. The final scene where they take one last loving look at each other before both being riddled with bullets will stay in my mind for days to come I'm sure.

Classic. A stunning film which to this day is still powerful. Malcolm McDowell gives a great performance in what was his first major role. Love the jumps from colour to black and white, even if it was down to budget!

I'm not very familiar with the TV series so can't comment on which is better but the film is simply great! Filled with dark humour yet serious at the same time, I have to say it's one of the greatest war films ever made.

Great film with Gregory Peck on top form as Atticus Finch.

The final part of Andrzej Wajda's War Trilogy. Some say this is the best of the three but I prefer the previous film Kanal.

A classic of the British New Wave genre. A truly great film not to be missed.

Liza Minnelli at her greatest in a performance that she hasn't been able to match since. The fantastic musical numbers provide some much needed light relief to the chilling subject matter at hand.

Watching 'Celine and Julie Go Boating' may well have been the most bizarre, wonderful and memorable three hours of my life.

Brilliant!

"Viddy well, little brother. Viddy well."

A great horror film with a bizarre twist at the end.

With every film I watch of his I love Cassavetes more, and this is defiantly the best of his I've seen so far. Gena Rowlands performance is amazing as the housewife and mother struggling with mental illness. But throughout the film it becomes clear that she is not the only one suffering from an illness. Nick, her husband also seems to be suffering, always get angry and occasionally violent. The couple are under the influence of each other, driving one another mad, yet when all is said and done all they can do is get on with life (the last scene especially).

Visually this film is stunning. The cinematography is amazing all thanks to James Wong Howe. He uses fish eye lenses, hand held camera shots and interesting angles to create a sense of paranoia and claustrophobia.
A movie way ahead of it's time, with great acting by Rock Hudson, defiantly one to see.

Very good, not as scary as I expected though.

Billie Whitelaw is brilliant as the evil nanny!

Belmondo and Seberg are so effortlessly cool.

The best Jean-Luc Godard film and one of the best of the Nouvelle Vague.

"Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me."

A brilliant classic film. The three main leads are great. Some very funy moments in this film as well as being nicely shot with interesting camera angles.

My second Tarkovsky film. Whilst I didn't find it as poetic or moving as Mirror it's still damn great! Now, I don't have anything against long shots or slow paced films but Solaris really is very slow, and at times it does seem to drag on a bit. Still, as it's Tarkovsky, however slow it is your still fixed by the beautiful images he creates. Overall, may not be Tarkovsky's best, but it's still beautiful and thought provoking.

Malle's last film is a moving and highly personal autobiographical tale (Malle was in tears at the premier). Just as the friendship between the two young boys starts to become apparent to them it's all taken away with the heartbreaking ending.
A must see film for everyone.

"Forget it, Jake. It's Chinatown. "

Polanski's take on the film noir is a classic. Jack Nicholson is superb as the private detective Jake Gittes who becomes involved in a complex case of murder, incest and water supplies. Faye Dunaway also gives a memorable performance as Evelyn Mulwray ("She's my sister AND my daughter!")
It seems that some people are disappointed by the ending but personally I think it is perfect and fitting.

All I can say is brilliant.

Really great film from Ken Loach, "gritty Northern drama"

A fantastic performance by Klaus Maria Brandauer.

Deals with some very serious issues such as sexuality, rascism and class divide during the Thatcher years, yet I found it not brilliant just OK.

The first film in Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy is simply a masterpiece. The marriage of sound and images is the best I've ever seen, matching Zbigniew Preisner's brilliant score with some beautiful blue filtered photography.
Kieslowski based his trilogy on the colours of the French flag and the mottos of the French Republic. Blue is based on the motto of Liberty, and Binoche plays her role perfectly as the sole survivor of a car crash that killed her husband and child, who only by cutting herself off from all these "traps" can she be free of her past.