Before Criterion releases their classic movies streaming service in a month or 2, Filmstruck was how I watched and learned about classic global moviemaking. I will be forever indebted to the amazing films I have watched and been inspired by. I’ve been singing their praises for several months now if you’re interested in reading what came before. Below is the top 10 films I suggest seeking out thanks to my time with Filmstruck.
Honorable Mentions:
| 10 | Three Colors: Red |
| The finale of Krzysztof Kieślowski’s three stories about France is a beautiful exploration of a relationship across time and space. It starts as something small, and grows into something big. |
| 9 | Bonnie and Clyde |
| Totally entertaining fable of the gangster couple who Robin Hooded their way into American Folklore. Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway have never been better or more likable than here. |
| 8 | Rashomon |
| Of all the films I watched, films by Akira Kurosawa have the most timelessness and foresight. This one, about a crime reported differently from 3 different witnesses, is so influential “The Rashomon Effect” is known by every lawyer working today. |
| 7 | Malcolm X |
| Along with Amadeus, I can’t imagine a better biopic than Spike Lee’s epic about Malcolm X. This movie truly spans the activist’s life, painting a beautiful complex portrait of a great flawed man. |
| 6 | Sunset Boulevard |
| I was previously underwhelmed by Billy Wilder until I saw this film. Like The Player, this movie captures the cynical but accurate cruelty of Hollywood’s ability to make someone famous and then unfamous, and how delusion can get the better of even the best of us. |
| 5 | Seventh Seal |
| A twisted but well written quest by the great Ingmar Bergman, who clearly pushed cinema into unproven waters. This film introduces us to playing chess with the devil, and ends in one of the most iconic shots of films of yesteryear. |
| 4 | Network |
| Sydney Lumet’s greatest achievement, finding that timeless relevance in the entertainment industry. Network predicted the rise of Fox News, the indifference to facts, and the corporate puppetry that goes on to simply try to get people to watch a program. |
| 3 | Singin’ in the Rain |
| The opposite of Sunset Boulevard. This is Old Hollywood’s greatest musical, with several iconic songs, Gene Kelly at his best, and a dance number unrivaled in its historical brilliance (Make Em Laugh). |
| 2 | All the President’s Men |
| A movie about newspapers that’s much more a political thriller. The story of Woodward and Bernstein writing about Watergate and the Nixon Administration has given us a blueprint for how to homage investigative journalism, and some famous adages like “Follow the money” that ring true today. |
| 1 | Seven Samurai |
| This movie’s concept is so perfect The Magnificent Seven didn’t even really change the script when it ripped this movie off. Akira Kurosawa’s masterpiece about 7 samurai defending a town from bandits has battles, at least 9 or 10 complex characters, and made putting the band together a thing that movies did. More amazingly, it’s 3.5 hours long and you never notice once because you’re so into what’s going on. |