100 Greatest Foreign Films

I tried watching 8 1/2 and it was so awful.. a screenwriter friend of mine said every guy hated it in her class.. For the time being there are plenty of other films i would rather watch

I agree completely, but a ***** ton of directors and critics love the movie so it still has a shot.

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Fear and Loathing in MoFo... The Gunslinger 45's Top 50 Favorite Films

In the 10 Ring: Gunslinger45's reviews

8 1/2 is a very hardcore art movie. I loved it but I understand why someone would hate it.

Anyway, there are well over than 100 masterpieces in world cinema. Names like Mikio Naruse, Takeshi Kitano, Mamoru Oshii and Isao Takahata came to my mind as directors who didn't show up there and who produced movies regarded as masterpieces. Someone versed in Indian, Chinese, Iranian or German cinema may also come up with dozens of names of great directors who didn't show up there.

I believe there are an almost infinite number of genuine masterpieces of cinema in existence.

The first time you watch 8 1/2, it seems like it's random, boring and pointless, bot each time you rewatch it, it has more meaning to film buffs. It actually seems like a "normal" movie now. Not that I'm suggesting that anybody should watch it again.

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I watched it only once. It instantly shoot up to 5th place in my top 100 favorites. Now it is gradually coming down.

I found interesting (and disappointing) that the other Fellini movies are much weaker. They lack the raw aggression of 8 1/2.

I found La Strada quite better than 8 1/2. It was only bad while 8 1/2 was atrocious. Fellini is probably the only director I wouldn't be exploring further. At least for a few years.

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Look, I'm not judging you - after all, I'm posting here myself, but maybe, just maybe, if you spent less time here and more time watching films, maybe, and I stress, maybe your taste would be of some value. Just a thought, ya know.

La Strada I thought was okay, but I was not a fan of Amarcord or La Dolce Vita either.

Only pre-2000 films on this list for now.

At what point did 8 1/2 start paying off?
I have seen some really dry films that I ended up loving .. on the waterfront for example.. what a terrible first hour I wanted to pull my hair out.

10 - Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)



9 - L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)



8 - Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)



7 - M (Fritz Lang, 1931)



6 - Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)

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Seven Samurai only number 6? Dammit. Oh well that tells me Rashomon will be in the top 5 somewhere.

Tokyo Story will be 1st.

Waiting for the day when Breathless is exchanged for all the better Godard films.

Waiting for the day I finally watch Breathless!

As long as number one is not 8 1/2 I will be happy. If it is Rashomon or more likely Tokyo Story then I will be even happier!

First 10 seconds. I absolutely loved the first scene of the movie. One of the best dream sequences ever.

It's a love it or hate it movie.

I usually love or hate a movie based on it's first minutes. Exceptions are Ozu's movies that usually build up atmosphere very subtly and require more patience.

I found 8 1/2 to be a very aggressive movie, very true black metal style, breaking everything and stuff.

I think I may add the top 10 highest rated post-2000 non-English films on the Sign and Sound 2012 poll, in inverse chronological order:

The Turin Horse (Bela Tarr, 2011)


Loong Boonmee raleuk chat (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010)


The Death of Mister Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005)


Cache (Michael Haneke, 2005)


Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)


The Russian Ark (Aleksandr Sokurov, 2002)


Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)


In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai, 2000)


Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)


Werckermeister Harmonies (Bela Tarr, 2000)

Whoops, guess my order was all wrong! Very surprised to see Rashomon above Seven Samurai.

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Good post, some more that I like:

Pan's Labyrinth
City of God
A Prophet
Holy Motors
Oldboy
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Tiger