Best foreign film of all-time

Actually i take that back ITs a tie for Leon(the professional) and CTHD

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"Who comes at 12:00 on a Sunday night to rent Butch Cassady and the Sundance Kid?"
-Hollywood Video rental guy to me

oh oh, i'm excited now, you're pulling out titles i had forgotten and some i want to argue with!

Tous les Matins du Monde/Jean de Florette/Manon de la Source/Camille Claudel/Le Retour de Martin Guerre ... while I admit these films are all very good, they are the staple of modern french cinema and at the same time, aren't THAT high up there on the list for me. I mean, with those, you might as well throw in Germinal, and Le Gloire de Mon Pere, and Le Chateau de Ma Mere, Cyrano de Bergerac, La Reine Margot, I mean, they're all very good but ... you know? And Milou en Mai, all these films of a similar vein that touch on tragedy and such, the period pieces or the love drama, but I mean, that's so many of the French films it might as well be 3/4 of them! I think the full package must count to make it "the best" or at least, one of the best ...

La Femme Nikita ... I love this movie to death. I was tempted to add it to my list. But I didn't, because as much as I love it, I know it isn't one of "the best." It's very good, but that's it. Also ... The Professional, wasn't that an American film? It was in English wasn't it, with Jean Reno and that little girl, and Gary Oldman?

Your list, Holden, makes me so happy, sometimes I feel a little nerdy when we get to talking about these films and am so glad to see somebody's seen and includes on a list of their favorites movies I feel the same way about ...

Cleo I mentioned, but also ...

Jules et Jim
The Rules of the Game
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie - ahh, Luis Bunuel, sick and hilarious! Very necessary to establishing the tradition of acerbic, witty, irreverent film.

The 400 Blows was definitely haunting but I don't know if I'd put it in "best" ...

Is Akira the animation? That was certainly worth seeing and a must for anime fans but rather ... not a complete work, i'd say not all-round "great." but maybe that's just me, i left that one deeply confused.

But really, I argue that Nosferatu was d@mned fascinating but not a "great" for me. Necessary for film history and all but ... provocative at most.

Metropolis - the same thing, important for the history of film in Europe but not necessarily a "great." If we're going to include greats, what happened to Eisenstein, Oktober, The Battleship Potemkin?

There are a lot of others on your list i'm supposed to see, i know ... 8 1/2, and all that ... i'll get around to it. one day ...

See, Sergei Eisenstein! I told you there would be some I will have unintentionally snubbed, even with a gigantic list.

I'll still go with The Seventh Seal as THE best.

HEY I thought we were supposed to do only 1 or 2 movies!
So now I have to add to my list.

MY Tops! (not really in order except the top 5)
1. Yojimbo
2. Seven samurai
3.Cyrano de Bergerax
4.Tampopo
5.RAN

Sanjuro, Jean de Florette, Manon of the sping, Rashomon, Throne of Blood, Ikiru, Tokyo Story, Ugetsu Mono, Sansho the Bayliff, All the Mornings of the World (girl in here is same as in Cyrano, shes gorgeous!),Hidden fortress, High & Low, La Strada, DodesKaden.

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God save Freddie Mercury!

Nobody is gonna mention Godzilla??? come on, thats a good one...well sorta

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"I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work." - Mitch Hedberg

Godzilla! Humm, forgot about that. And Gamera too, the flyin monster turtle thingie! Thats even better than Godzilla.

Should also have mentioned Grave of the Fireflies! I cried & cried & cried & it was just a cartoon!

Wow, this post had been flying! I go away for the day and some great post's have been laid down. One film did come to mind while i stared blankly at the P.C: The Vanishing (George Sluizer, 1988, Neth/Fra). Often mistaken for Sluizer's poor American remake (1993), this film is a unforgettably chilling experience which ploughs inexorably towards an appaling denouement of inconcievable horror. Raymond Lemourne (played by Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu) should be added to the villains post immediatley!!!

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Personality goes a long way...

Lars Von Trier's The Kingdom is hands down the best picture made outside of the US ever.

I hope that British films count.

"Tie Me Up! Tie Me Down!", "Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown"--two of Almodovar's earliest and finest films, showcasing his trademark exaggerated take on women and relationships. Hilarious!

"The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover"---Peter Greenaway's surreal, touching tale of hedonism

"Wings of Desire" and "Faraway, So Close"--Wim Wenders. Sublime and beautifully filmed.

"Johnny Stecchino" Roberto Begnini co-wrote, directed and stars in this hilarious mobster farce.

"The Hairdresser's Husband"--Patrice Leconte. A bittersweet tale of love and loss.

"Kolya"--Jan Sverak. Somewhat predictable but delightful. Andrej Chalimon gives one of the best child performances I've seen.

"An Angel at My Table"--Jane Campion. Fact-based account of New Zealand author Janet Frame, who suffered through years of psych-ward torment. Beautifully acted by Kerry Fox.

"Strictly Ballroom"--Baz Luhrmann. Highly amusing, poignant and visually stimulating genre film.

"Orlando"--Sally Potter. Tilda Swinton is brilliant in this adaptation of V. Woolf's classic tale of gender and immortality.

"Blue", "White", "Red"--Krzysztof Kieslowski. Intricately constructed. This trilogy should be a thread in itself.

"Cinema Paradiso", "The Starmaker"--James Berardinelli sucks me in every time he puts a story to film. Few directors excite my emotions in such a way.


These are some that stand out in my mind. A delightful thread to read, it has given me some picks for my next rental binge.

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You get me slapped with a fine, you argue with the customers and I have to patch everything up, you get us thrown out of a funeral by violating the corpse, and then to top it off, you ruin my relationship. I mean, what's your encore? Do you, like, anally rape my mother while pouring sugar in my gas tank?

wow, i'm surprised nobody responded to my post regarding hong kong action cinema. that's a huge genre that has it's share of talent.

Oh man, am I ashamed of myself.
I totally forgot about Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown.
I loooove that movie.

Foreign film are why I go to the theater and rent movies!
There is no way to pick 1 and not 100. so I'll just do 10
1.The cup
2.Babettes Feast
3.Jean de Florette (w/manion of the spring)
4.Raise the red lantern
5.My life as a dog
6.Eat,drink,man,woman
7.Kikijurio
8.My beautiful lauderette
9.Life is beautiful
10.Artemisia

Gosh, only 10, I feel like a mother playing favorites. There are soooo many good ones, and more coming everyday, it seems. So much tape so little time.:bawl:

A really obscure Chinese film called "Those were the Days" is my choice.

Nice choices, neesee! "Raise the Red Lantern" is a classic. I must have seen it a dozen times, at least.

"My Beautiful Launderette" is wonderful, I don't think I've seen Daniel Day Lewis looking cuter. Have you seen "Sammy and Rosie Get Laid" or "Prick Up Your Ears"? Stephen Frears is a great director, but some of his finest films don't get much lip service.

i just wanted to say "hi" to neesee... hello and welcome aboard.

Awe,mom.BrodieMan is cool!You'll like him.Smart guy.Hey,Did you see Bohdigrrl's list.Good stuff on there!BrodieMan-did you notice? I'm catching you in posts...heh,heh,heh

he he he... tell your mom to post here if she gets a chance.

She will.She's not an addict like me.She probably watches movies instead of talking about them.Pff...whatever

Hahhahaha Sunfrog

Yikes, I haven't seen a lot of those movies...

But one of my favourite movies is "Life is Beautiful", as well as a less-known film by Emir Kusturica called "Underground"... If you haven't seen it, you definitely should

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Black Holes Suck!

Zephryus!!! Where have you been? I missed you!