This list is personal in the way my top three books post was personal: It's not about what I objectively think about all the movies I've seen, but rather the intersection of the movie and the time in my life when I saw them. Scenes from these movies rattle around in my head constantly and inform my interpretation of all other scenes that I might now encounter.
1. Cocteau (1946) La Belle et La Bete. Blogged about this one already.
2. Fellini (1956) La Strada. Anthony Quinn on his knees breaking chains he put on himself. 'nuff said but it turns out I have a really awkward blogpost inspired by this movie already as well!
3. Resnais (1980) Mon Oncle d'Amerique. A lecture on neuroscience embedded in a film about life. The juxtaposition of the scenes of Depardieu having his job threatened and two rats in a cage fighting over limited resources is one that flashes through my mind at least once a day.
4. Wenders (1988) Wings of Desire. Found another blog post inspired by the movie as well! Possibly the most life-affirming movie I've ever seen.
5. Kurosawa (1951) Roshomon. What is truth? Do events exist outside of our interpretation of them? I don't remember anything specific about this movie, but I can access the existential mind-funk inside of me that was inspired by this movie easily.
6. Bergman (1958) The Seventh Seal. Protagonist plays chess with Death incarnate? Drop the mic.
7. Linklater (1995) Before Sunrise. It's as if someone found a fantasy deep within me and made a film about it that I then saw before I even knew about it myself.
8. Malle (1981) My Dinner with Andre. I'll reference lines from this movie in the middle of a speech about the dangers of technology and I don't think this movie has anything to do with that. I think about this movie when I think about the power of storytelling. Basically, I think about this movie all the time.
9. Truffaut (1959) Les 400 Coups. Feels so personal and authentic - rarely have I felt another's existential pain so viscerally.
10. Clouzot (1953) The Wages of Fear. The first poem ever written is to literature as this movie is to cinema.
11. Cacoyannis (1963) Zorba the Greek. Engage! I wish I could ask Joseph Campbell if this is the film version of The Magic Mountain. I think that question would make me sound very smart...
12. Nolan (2001) Memento. The ending of this movie hit the resonance frequency of my darkest fears. Am I beholden only to my sense of self as defined by my memories?
13. Coen Brothers (1991) Barton Fink. "Oh, I could tell you some stories." Make assumptions, live in your own head, judge books by their covers - oh this movie hit me where it hurts!
14. Linklater (2001) Waking Life. Sometime I get up and switch the light switch to make sure I'm still real.
15. Lynch (1990) Wild at Heart. Maybe the only one on this list I am embarrassed by, but for me this is the road trip movie to end all road trips. I admit I think about the touchstone line about his jacket everyday:
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