Best foreign language (non-English) films

[Maltin]

Here's a list of 100 foreign language films compiled from a vote for the top foreign language films of all-time (with a cut off date of 2002 for some reason).

http://eddieonfilm.blogspot.com/2005/12/foreign-art.html

It's depressing that there are so many on that list that I've not seen.

What would your favourites be?

ETA: Apparently he's named the list The Satyajit Ray Memorial Anything-But-Definitive List of Non-English Language Films.

 

[Nardini]

Strange to see an omission from that list, but my own suggested "must see" European film is 1900 (in Italian it is called Novacento). Directed by Bernardo Bertolucci with a great cast (Robert De Niro, Gerard Depardieu, Donald Sutherland, Burt Lancaster etc. It shows a good historical representation of the birth of Italian fascism as well as being a great film. The uncut version is the one to get hold of. Brilliant.

 

[marty21]

only seen 12 of those of those amores perros was my fave, but i know wnat to see a lot of those so i'll be adding them to my amazon rental list

 

[CyberRose]

La Haine - probably my favourite film of all time!

 

[Reno]

A critic proof list of all the sanctioned Foreign arthouse classics. It's full of great films, yet it's also a bit boring and conservative. Something you wouldn't get with a list of 100 greatest American films is the lack of commercial genre films (only Eyes Without a Face, Spirited Away and Suspiria fall within that group). Most shocking is the total exclusion of anything by Sergio Leone. I'd happily drop a few terminally overrated recent "classics" like Run Lola Run, City of God or Amelie for Black Sunday by Mario Bava or Audition by Takashi Miike or any film by Michael Haneke. Just one of Kieslowski's Three Colours trilogy would also have been enough to make place for something else.

On the other hand I think that directors like Bergman, Bunuel and Fassbinder genuinely are represented by their best work.

 

[CyberRose]

La Haine - probably my favourite film of all time!

It didn't even make it onto the list! What a crap crap list!

This is even worse than the 100 films you'll see on film4 before you die list!

 

[Boris Sprinkler]

A couple of my favourites on there, Amalie and Wings of Desire.

 

[youareagoat]

Das Boot tops my list

 

[Shippou-Sensei]

not bad


though i kinda find spirited away to be token anime if ya know what i mean

and i don't get why crouching tiger rated so highly

 

[zenie]

La Haine - probably my favourite film of all time!

yeh that and Amelie for me

Might watch Amelie again this weekend actually

 

[g force]

Missed off some of my French favourites: La Haine, Les Amants Du Pnt Neuf, La Cage aux Folles. No Infernal Affairs/general lack of HK cinema in favour of the usual canon of European "arthouse"

 

[Reno]

La Cage aux Folles

A popular farce at the time, but do you really think it deserves to be on that list.

 

[g force]

Maybe not but that's the problem with all these lists....what are the criteria? I just like the film and it would be in my Top 100

 

[Reno]

Maybe not but that's the problem with all these lists....what are the criteria? I just like the film and it would be in my Top 100

Fair enough.

 

[STFC]

My favourites, in no particular order, would be City of God, La Haine and Christiane F.

 

[skyscraper101]

La Haine - probably my favourite film of all time!

Another vote for this. Also Taxi, Amelie, Cherche Chacun Mon Chat are amoung my favorite French films

 

[Gromit]

Crap list. I've seen six of them. Most films on the list are black and white.
Although I have nothing against B&W i think it evidences the nostalgic for that era mindset of the voters.

Where was?:

Intacto
Betty Blue
The Big Boss
Hero - (much better the CTHDragon)
Delicatessen

 

[Reno]

I'm a bit baffled by the popularity of Amelie, the blandest and least deserving film on the list. It's the Foreign language film for people who don't normally watch Foreign language films IMO. :snob:

 

[Reno]

The Three Colours films

Have another look...

 

[Biddlybee]

Hardly seen any on that list. A few that I liked...

Amelie
The Sea Inside
Nine Queens
Taxi
Run Lola Run
Man Bites Dog
La Haine
Talk to Her
City of God

Loads more I can't think of at the mo.

 

[Biddlybee]

I'm a bit baffled by the popularity of Amelie, the blandest and least deserving film on the list. It's the Foreign language film for people who don't normally watch Foreign language films IMO. :snob:

I quite like and do watch foreign language films... but still love amelie (it's a simple story, but I like it!)

 

[Gromit]

Have another look...

Sorry i did skim very quickly. Have changed that line to Delicatessen.

 

[zenie]

I'm a bit baffled by the popularity of Amelie, the blandest and least deserving film on the list. It's the Foreign language film for people who don't normally watch Foreign language films IMO. :snob:

ermm ok

I like the storyline - that ok with you?

 

[Madusa]

La Haine - probably my favourite film of all time!

Definately mine too. Ive seen a quite a few of those, but definately will be bookmarking that site and watching more. Cheers, Maltin!

 

[girasol]

That list won't load up for me, is 'Festen' in it?

What about Fitzcarraldo?

I think Amelie is ok, but not brilliant.

 

[Reno]

That list won't load up for me, is 'Festen' in it?

What about Fitzcarraldo?

I think Amelia is ok, but not brilliant.

Festen isn't on there but as the best of the Dogme films it would be a worthwhile inclusion.

The list is really bad when it comes to recent films. It mostly lists new Foreign films that were commercially successful rather than those which were challenging or groundbreaking in the way many of the older films were.

Aguirre is on the list, but Fitzcarraldo isn't which is fine by me. I thought it covered similar ground but wasn't as good a film.

 

[girasol]

Ah, finally the list has loaded, of the ones I've seen, these are my favourites:

Amores Perros
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
Spirited Away
City Of God

I haven't seen most of them though.

Can't believe Festen isn't there, or Betty Blue... Or 'La Heine'. Or 'Cache'

 

[girasol]

Festen isn't on there but as the best of the Dogme films it would be a worthwhile inclusion.

The list is really bad when it comes to recent films. It mostly lists new Foreign films that were commercially successful rather than those which were challenging or groundbreaking in the way many of the older films were.

Aguirre is on the list, but Fitzcarraldo isn't which is fine by me. I thought it covered similar ground but wasn't as good a film.

I enjoyed Fitzcarraldo at more than I enjoyed Aguirre. I thought the 'taking the boat over the mountain' mission was gripping.

Pixote is another excellent movie that never made it to the list. But these things always cause disappointment, there's no such thing as the definitive '100 Best Of' anything!

 

[Madusa]

I enjoyed Fitzcarraldo at more than I enjoyed Aguirre. I thought the 'taking the boat over the mountain' mission was gripping.

Pixote is another excellent movie that never made it to the list. But these things always cause disappointment, there's no such thing as the definitive '100 Best Of' anything!

Yeah, I always wanted to see Pixote, but never got round to it.Is it a good one? Are there any other Brazilian movies you could recommend to me?

(Probably worth a thread of it's own...)

 

[badlands]

He named the list after Satyajit Ray but none of his films are included.
Weird.
Other films I would put in there
Kaos
Spring in a Small Town
Uzak
Fitzcarraldo
Au Revoir Les Enfants
La Haine
Alexander Nevsky
And major omissions, Sans Soleil and La Jetee