Cinema
Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan
Jerusalem and Montreal, November 2021
bnarchives.net / Creative
Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 4.0)
Unlike books, cinema directs and controls our attention and leaves less to the imagination. But that’s why we love it: it grabs us. And even if it isn’t always as deep as books, it can still teach us plenty. Here is a list of movies and series we liked, along with their directors/creators and the year/s in which they first screened.
1. 8˝ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
2. 12 (Nikita Mikhalkov, 2007)
3. 12 Angry Men (Sidney Lumet, 1957)
4. 1900 (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1976)
5. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
7. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
8. Across the Universe (Julie Taymor, 2007)
9. All About My Mother (Pedro Almodóvar, 1999)
10. Amadeus (Miloš Forman, 1984)
11. Amarcord (Federico Fellini, 1973)
12. American Beauty (Sam Mendes, 1999)
13. Amores Perros [Love is a Bitch] (Alejandro González Ińárritu, 2000)
14. Angel Heart (Alan Parker, 1987)
15. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
16. Arabian Nights (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1974)
17. Bagdad Café (Percy Adlon, 1987)
18. Ballad on Naryama (Shôhei Imamura, 1983)
19. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
20. Bedrag [Follow the Money] (Series, Jeppe Gjervig Gram, Jannik Tai Mosholt, Anders Frithiof August, 2016-)
21. Being There (Al Ashby, 1979)
22. Betrayed (Costa-Gavras, 1988)
23. Black Cat, White Cat (Emir Kusturica, 1998)
24. Blood Simple (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1985)
25. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1985)
26. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier, 1996)
27. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
28. Brother (Aleksey Balabanov, 1997)
29. Burn! (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1969)
30. Céline (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1992)
31. Chernobyl (Series, Craig Mazin, 2019)
32. Chocolate (Claire Denis, 1988)
33. Cinema Paradiso (Giuseppe Tornatore, 1988)
34. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, 1931)
35. Cyrano de Bergerac (Jean-Paul Rappeneau, 1990)
36. Dances with Wolves (Kevin Costner, 1990)
37. Danton (Andrzej Wajda, 1983)
38. Darwin’s Nightmare (Hubert Sauper, 2004)
39. Das Boot (Wolfgang Petersen, 1981)
40. Das Experiment (Oliver Hirschbiegel, 2001)
41. De Bruit et de Fureur [Sound and Fury] (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1988)
42. Defiance (Edward Zwick, 2008)
43. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)
44. Departed (Yôjirô Takita, 2008)
45. Devs (Series, Alex Garland, 2020)
46. Diva (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1981)
47. Dog Day Afternoon (Sidney Lumet, 1975)
48. Dogville (Lars Von Trier, 2003)
49. D.O.A. (Annabel Jankel & Rocky Morton, 1988)
50. Donna Flor and her Two Husbands (Bruno Barreto, 1976)
51. Down by Law (Jim Jarmusch, 1986)
52. Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
53. Eastern Promises (David Cronenberg, 2007)
54. El Norte (Gregory Nava, 1983)
55. Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 1990)
56. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)
57. Falling Down (Joel Schumacher, 1993)
58. Fahrenheit 11/9 (Michael Moore, 2018)
59. Fargo (Joel and Ethan Coen, 1996)
60. Fauda, (Series, Lior Raz and Avi Issacharoff, 2015-2018)
61. Fellini's Casanova (Federico Fellini, 1976)
62. Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
63. Fog of War (Errol Morris, 2003)
64. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)
65. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick, 1987)
66. Gadjo Dilo [The Crazy Stranger] (Tony Gatlif, 1997)
67. Gangs of New York (Martin Scorsese, 2002)
68. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
69. Gran Torino (Clint Eastwood, 2008)
70. Homeland (Series, Howard Gordon and Alex Gansa, 2011-2020)
71. House of Sand and Fog (Vadim Perelman, 2003)
72. Icarus (Bryan Fogel, 2017)
73. In Darkness (Agnieszka Holland, 2011)
74. In the Mood for Love (Kar Wai Wong, 2000)
75. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
76. IP5 (Jean-Jacques Beineix, 1992)
77. Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino, 1997)
78. JFK (Oliver Stone, 1991)
79. Jules and Jim (François Truffaut, 1962)
80. King of Devil’s Island (Marius Holst, 2010)
81. La Battaglia di Algeri [The Battle of Algiers] (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)
82. La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini, 1960)
83. La Notte di San Lorenzo [The Night of the Shooting Stars] (Paolo & Vittorio Taviani, 1982)
84. Lady Vengeance (Chan-wook Park, 2005)
85. Land of Mine (Martin Zandvliet, 2015)
86. Le Bal (Ettore Scola, 1983)
87. Le Couperet (Costa-Gavras, 2005)
88. Le Dernier Combat [The Last Battle] (Luc Besson, 1983)
89. Le Dernier Métro [The Last Metro] (François Truffaut, 1980)
90. Le Retour de Martin Guerre (Daniel Vigne, 1982)
91. Le Roi et L’oiseau [The King and the Mockingbird] (Paul Grimault, 1980)
92. Le Souffle au Cśur [Murmur of the Heart] (Luis Malle, 1971)
93. Le Temps des Gitans [Time of the Gypsies] (Emir Kusturica, 1998)
94. Les Misérables du XXeme siecle (Claude Lelouch, 1995)
95. Les Plouffe (Gilles Carle, 1981)
96. Les Valseuses [Going Places] (Bertrand Blier, 1974)
97. Letters from Iwo Jima (Clint Eastwood, 2006)
98. Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014)
99. Life is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni, 1997)
100. Lili Marlene (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1981)
101. Little Big Man (Arthur Penn, 1970)
102. Locke (Steven Knight, 2013)
103. Mad Max (George Miller, 1979)
104. Man of Iron (Andrzej Wajda, 1981)
105. Man of Marble (Andrzej Wajda, 1977)
106. Man on Wire (James Marsh, 2008)
107. Matewan (John Sayles, 1987)
108. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
109. Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
110. Midnight Cowboy (John Schlesinger, 1969)
111. Midnight Express (Alan Parker, 1978)
112. Mississippi Burning (Alan Parker, 1988)
113. Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, 1936)
114. Mon Oncle [My Uncle] (Jacques Tati, 1958)
115. Montenegro (Dusan Makavejev, 1981)
116. Moneyball (Bennett Miller, 2011)
117. My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan, 1989)
118. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
119. Music Box (Costa Gavras, 1989)
120. Narcos (Series, Chris Brancato, Carlo Bernard, and Doug Miro, 2015-2017)
121. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)
122. Nikita (Luc Besson, 1990)
123. Nobody Speaks (Brian Knappenberger, 2017)
124. Noce Blanche [White Wedding] (Jean-Claude Brisseau, 1989)
125. Norma Rae (Martin Ritt, 1979)
126. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
127. No Direction Home: Bob Dylan (Martin Scorsese, 2005)
128. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2000)
129. Of Mice and Men (Lewis Milestone, 1939)
130. Oldboy (Chan-wook Park, 2003)
131. Once Were Warriors (Lee Tamahori, 1994)
132. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)
133. Our Daily Bread (Nikolaus Geyrhalter, 2005)
134. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo del Toro, 2006)
135. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957)
136. Peaky Blinders (Series, Steven Knight, 2013-)
137. Platoon (Oliver Stone, 1986)
138. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
139. Ragtime (Miloš Forman, 1981)
140. Rashômon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
141. Reservoir Dogs (Quentin Tarantino, 1992)
142. Rivers and Tides (Thomas Riedelsheimer, 2001)
143. Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)
144. Roger & Me (Michael Moore, 1989)
145. Roma (Federico Fellini, 1972)
146. Room (Lenny Abrahamson, 2015)
147. Rosewood (John Singleton, 1997)
148. Run Lola, Run (Tom Tykwer, 1998)
149. Running on Empty (Sidney Lumet, 1988)
150. Satyricon (Federico Fellini, 1969)
151. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
152. Searching for Sugar Man (Malik Bendjelloul, 2012)
153. Secrets and Lies (Mike Leigh, 1996)
154. Serpico (Sidney Lumet, 1973)
155. Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1975)
156. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
157. Shine (Scott Hicks, 1996)
158. Sicario (Denis Villeneuve, 2015)
159. Sleeping with the Enemy (Joseph Ruben, 1991)
160. Starred Up (David Mackenzie, 2013)
161. Straw Dogs (Sam Peckinpah, 1971)
162. Such a Long Journey (Sturla Gunnarsson, 1998)
163. Sunshine (István Szabó, 1999)
164. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)
165. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
166. The Act of Killing (Joshua Lincoln Oppenheimer, 2012)
167. The Band’s Visit (Eran Kolirin, 2007)
168. The Big Kahuna (John Swanbeck, 1999)
169. The Bridges of Madison County (Clint Eastwood, 1995)
170. The Bureau (Series, Éric Rochant, 2015-2020)
171. The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg, 1998)
172. The Century of the Self (Series, Adam Curtis, 2002)
173. The China Syndrome (James Bridges, 1979)
174. The Coca-Cola Kid (Dusan Makavejev, 1985)
175. The Commitments (Alan Parker, 1991)
176. The Cook, The Thief His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway, 1989)
177. The Crying Game (Neil Jordan, 1992)
178. The Dear Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978)
179. The Emerald Forest (John Boorman, 1985)
180. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella, 1996)
181. The Full Monty (Peter Cattaneo, 1997)
182. The General (John Boorman, 1998)
183. The Godfather (I, II and III) (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972, 1974, 1990)
184. The Killing Fields (Roland Joffé, 1984)
185. The Last Emperor (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1987)
186. The Life of David Gale (Alan Parker, 2003)
187. The Lives of Others (Florian Hanckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
188. The Man Who Planted Trees (Frédérick Back, 1988)
189. The Matrix (Lana Wachowsky,1999)
190. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)
191. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)
192. The Return (Andrei Zvyagintsev, 2003)
193. The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1981)
194. The Salt of the Earth (Wim Wenders and Juliano Ribeiro Salgado, 2014)
195. The Sheltering Sky (Bernardo Bertolucci, 1990)
196. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
197. The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme, 1991)
198. The Stoning of Soraya (Cyrus Nowrasteh, 2008)
199. The Syrian Bride (Eran Riklis, 2004)
200. The Tin Men (Barry Levinson, 1987)
201. The Truman Show (Peter Weir, 1998)
202. The Unbearable Lightness of Being (Philip Kaufman, 1988)
203. The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988)
204. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)
205. The Wire (HBO series, 2002-2008)
206. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)
207. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
208. Titus (Julie Taymor, 1999)
209. Trafic (Jacques Tati, 1971)
210. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)
211. Underground (Emir Kusturica, 1995)
212. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992)
213. Up (Series, Paul Almond and Michael Apted, 1964-2019).
214. Vitus (Fredi M. Murer, 2007)
215. Waltz with Bashir (Ari Folman, 2008)
216. Waste Land (Lucy Walker, 2010)
217. Week-end (Jean-Luc Godard, 1967)
218. When Father was Away on Business (Emir Kusturica, 1985)
219. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Mike Nichols, 1966)
220. Z (Costa Gavras, 1969)
221. Zazie dans le Métro (Louis Malle, 1960)
222. Un Zoo la Nuit (Jean-Claude Lauzon, 1987)
Shimshon Bichler and Jonathan Nitzan teach political economy at colleges and universities in Israel and Canada, respectively. All their publications are available for free on The Bichler & Nitzan Archives (http://bnarchives.net).