Best 100 Non-American Films

[Verbose]

There are a great many good non-american movies. Here are a few I would consider classics and their country of origin:

Sänger frän andra väningen(Songs from the Second Floor)

Great film! Just nitpicking; it should read "Sånger från andra våningen".

 

[Corlindale]

Thanks for pointing it out. It always confuses me that the Swedish language features both "å" and "ä".

 

[Serutan]

Metropolis, Akira Kurasawa's Dreams, The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, Nosferatu (Both 1920 and 1980(?) versions)

 

[BCLG100]

the full monty

 

[Goa]

I just saw "Das Leben der anderen". Amazing, just amazing.
This one definitely has to be on the list.

 

[Urederra]

Not many italian films mentioned... that has to change.

Cinema Paradiso.
Fellini's 8 1/2
Amarcord (ummmm... better in large quantities )
Fistfull of dollars.
the Bicycle thief,.
La dolce vita
La Strada.
The last emperor.

Paths of Glory...

(Although its by Kubrick, it was filmed entirely in Bavaria, that could constitute non-american...?)

I disagree (partially), It doesn't matter where movies are filmed. What matters is what is the nationality of the producers. Many american movies have been filmed overseas. I think that's why Pan's labirinth, for example, is considered mexican although most of the staff who made the film were spaniards, included the two oscar winners.

 

[batteryacid]

There are a great many good non-american movies. Here are a few I would consider classics and their country of origin:

Sånger från andra våningen(Songs from the Second Floor) - Swedish film, very surreal but quite interesting. Consists of a series of tableaus and does not really have a general story, but manages to convey a sense of despair and disillusionment in a modern society very well. It's also quite funny on occasions. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0120263/

Funny Games - A German movie despite the title. Instructed by Michael Haneke. This is possibly the most creepy movie I have ever seen, which is just a testament to how well it is done. It manages to be so extremely nasty without even being particularly visual in its violence, and the director constantly toys with the viewer, plays on his expectations and turns them upside down. This is anything but an uplifting movie, and it is not one to choose if one simply seeks Friday night entertainment, but it is definetely one to watch. An American version is scheduled to come out this year, but I would recommend checking out the German original anyway. I doubt they can find another actor who'll do the part of Paul half as well. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0119167/

Der Siebente Continent(The Seventh Continent) - also German, also Haneke. This one I found even more disturbing than Funny Games. It is a very dark movie about a modern disillusioned family, and the way they eventually seek to escape the coldness and triviality of their current existence. It is amazingly well done, however, so it is certainly worth watching, even with the shocking effect it can have on the viewer(when I saw it with a bunch of others for the first time, we all just sat for a minute in stunned silence when the movie had ended, none of us speaking a word.) http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0098327/


Festen(The Party) - A Danish movie which has received quite a bit of international acclaim. It is also somewhat nasty, it tells the story of a birthday party during which very dark revelations about a family's past are made. The interesting thing to watch is how everyone strives to make the party go on even as the horrifying reality of the past events start to dawn on the guests. http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0154420/

Funny games and der siebte continent are Austrian movies (To be specific: Haneke is Austrian and thwe films were made in Austria; but half of the Cast is German ) ; Haneke makes a lot of films now in France (Le temps du lupe , la pianiste, Code inconnu, Cache)

Festen and Mifunes were really great films; I did not like the other Dogme films though

 

[Kosez]

Italian (by directors)

La dolce vita (Fellini)
Ultimo tango a Parigi (Bertolucci)
Per un pugno di dollari (Leone)
Per qualche dollaro in piu ...
Ill buono, ill bruto, ill cativo ...
Once Upon a Time in America ...
Roma, cita aperta (Rosellini)

France
La regle du jeu (Renoir)
La grande illusion ...
Les quatre cents des coups (Truffaut)
A bout de souffle (Godard)
Les enfants du paradis (Carne)

Poland
Trois couleurs (Kieslowski)
Popiol i diament (Wajda)

Serbia
Otac na sluzbenem putu (Kustorica)
Underground ...
Ko to tamo peva (Sijan)

Germany
Fitzcarraldo (Herzog)
Metropolis (Lang)
M ...
Fury ...
Nosferatu (Murnau)
Sunrise ...

and many many more. After the break.

 

[Truronian]

I don't think anyone's mentioned Oldboy yet...

 

[ummmm........]

I was thinking about a movie this morning but I can't remember the name of it. It was something about 'barbarians' maybe. Anyway, there's this really successful financial guy, and his father's dying. His father is a professor of some kind. They aren't really close, but the son comes back home to make his father comfortable at the end, like he bribes the union guys at the hospital to open an empty floor for his father, and he pays some of his father's students to come to the hospital and pretend they care, etc. I probably remember enough that I could eventually find it via google/imdb, but somebody will probably recognize it soon anyway. Point is, it was a good non-English movie . . .

 

[Valka D'Ur]

Does it crack anybody else up to see Passion of the Christ in the foreign films section at the store?

It was filmed in a foreign language. Where else should it be?

I thought Das Boot and Chocolat were rather good, too. And we can't forget The Gods Must be Crazy.

I loved The Gods Must Be Crazy! The sequel was pretty funny, too.

My own personal favorite is Raise the Red Lantern. I've seen a couple of other movies Gong Li was in, but can't recall the titles at the moment... but I enjoy all the ones she's in.

I see nobody has mentioned a Canadian classic: Duct Tape Forever

 

[pboily]

I was thinking about a movie this morning but I can't remember the name of it. It was something about 'barbarians' maybe. Anyway, there's this really successful financial guy, and his father's dying. His father is a professor of some kind. They aren't really close, but the son comes back home to make his father comfortable at the end, like he bribes the union guys at the hospital to open an empty floor for his father, and he pays some of his father's students to come to the hospital and pretend they care, etc. I probably remember enough that I could eventually find it via google/imdb, but somebody will probably recognize it soon anyway. Point is, it was a good non-English movie . . .

Sounds like "Les invasions barbares", a sequel (of sorts) to "Le declin de l'empire americain"

 

[BirraImperial]

Some films I like:

Der Untergang (2004)
Das Boot (1981)
Abre los ojos (1997)
Todo sobre mi madre (1999)
Carne Trémula (1997)

 

[JohnRM]

There is a such thing as non-American films?!

 

[thetrooper]

There is a such thing as non-American films?!

Not really, don't listen to them. It's evil propaganda.

Not many Norwegian movies in this thread, so I'll just mention Naboer.