The Mindful Actor Workshops

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Film History - 3 Lists of Influential Films

Missy Cross

I adore film! And if you’re here for acting tools, I’m guessing you do too!! ♥️

I always say to my younger students:

You are coming into an industry that is over 130 years old - it didn’t just start 20 years ago. 🤓

So it’s imperative that you learn the history of the industry that you are in!

Understanding film history is an important part of an actor's education, because it can help you develop your craft, gives you an appreciate the art form, and allows you to understand references in what you are working on.

Many filmmakers are influenced by films of the past - if someone in an audition gives you a film historical reference, you’ll want to know what that is or who they're referring to. And the more you are able to expand your understanding of film language and references, you will be better equipped to land a role and do it well.

Here are 3 lists in no particular order and obviously subjective: 

Influential International Films, The 2021 AFI Top Films, and Influential Canadian Films.

How many have you seen?? What would you add or remove?

50 Influential International Films List

  1. Seven Samurai (Japan, 1954)

  2. Rashomon (Japan, 1950)

  3. Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948)

  4. Tokyo Story (Japan, 1953)

  5. The 400 Blows (France, 1959)

  6. Breathless (France, 1960)

  7. Amélie (France, 2001)

  8. City of God (Brazil, 2002)

  9. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Taiwan, 2000)

  10. Yi Yi (Taiwan, 2000)

  11. In the Mood for Love (Hong Kong, 2000)

  12. Chungking Express (Hong Kong, 1994)

  13. Oldboy (South Korea, 2003)

  14. Memories of Murder (South Korea, 2003)

  15. A Separation (Iran, 2011)

  16. Close-Up (Iran, 1990)

  17. The White Balloon (Iran, 1995)

  18. Pan's Labyrinth (Mexico/Spain, 2006)

  19. Y Tu Mamá También (Mexico, 2001)

  20. Like Water for Chocolate (Mexico, 1992)

  21. The Lives of Others (Germany, 2006)

  22. Run Lola Run (Germany, 1998)

  23. Good Bye Lenin! (Germany, 2003)

  24. The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957)

  25. Persona (Sweden, 1966)

  26. Fanny and Alexander (Sweden, 1982)

  27. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Denmark/France, 1928)

  28. Metropolis (Germany, 1927)

  29. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Germany, 1920)

  30. Battleship Potemkin (Soviet Union, 1925)

  31. Andrei Rublev (Soviet Union, 1966)

  32. Solaris (Soviet Union, 1972)

  33. Wild Strawberries (Sweden, 1957)

  34. A Man Escaped (France, 1956)

  35. The Wages of Fear (France/Italy, 1953)

  36. La Dolce Vita (Italy, 1960)

  37. L'Avventura (Italy, 1960)

  38. Cinema Paradiso (Italy, 1988)

  39. Jean de Florette (France, 1986)

  40. Manon des Sources (France, 1986)

  41. Three Colors Trilogy (Poland/France/Switzerland, 1993-1994)

  42. The Leopard (Italy, 1963)

  43. Tokyo Sonata (Japan, 2008)

  44. Spirited Away (Japan, 2001)

  45. Grave of the Fireflies (Japan, 1988)

  46. Red Sorghum (China, 1987)

  47. Farewell My Concubine (China, 1993)

  48. Raise the Red Lantern (China, 1991)

  49. The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria, 1966)

  50. Waltz with Bashir (Israel, 2008)

 

AFI’s Greatest Films of All Time Top 50 List

  1. Citizen Kane (1941)

  2. The Godfather (1972)

  3. Casablanca (1942)

  4. Raging Bull (1980)

  5. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

  6. Gone with the Wind (1939)

  7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

  8. Schindler's List (1993)

  9. Vertigo (1958)

  10. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  11. City Lights (1931)

  12. The Searchers (1956)

  13. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

  14. Psycho (1960)

  15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

  16. Sunset Boulevard (1950)

  17. The Graduate (1967)

  18. The General (1926)

  19. On the Waterfront (1954)

  20. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

  21. Chinatown (1974)

  22. Some Like It Hot (1959)

  23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

  24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

  25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

  26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)

  27. High Noon (1952)

  28. All About Eve (1950)

  29. Double Indemnity (1944)

  30. Apocalypse Now (1979)

  31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

  32. The Godfather Part II (1974)

  33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

  34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

  35. Annie Hall (1977)

  36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

  37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)

  38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

  39. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

  40. The Sound of Music (1965)

  41. King Kong (1933)

  42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

  43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)

  44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

  45. Shane (1953)

  46. It Happened One Night (1934)

  47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

  48. Rear Window (1954)

  49. Intolerance (1916)

  50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

 

Influential Canadian Films

  1. Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001)

  2. Mon Oncle Antoine (1971)

  3. The Sweet Hereafter (1997)

  4. Dead Ringers (1988)

  5. My Winnipeg (2007)

  6. The Red Violin (1998)

  7. C.R.A.Z.Y. (2005)

  8. Incendies (2010)

  9. Exotica (1994)

  10. The Decline of the American Empire (1986)

  11. Maelström (2000)

  12. Goin' Down the Road (1970)

  13. Water (2005)

  14. The Barbarian Invasions (2003)

  15. The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

  16. Videodrome (1983)

  17. Les bons débarras (1980)

  18. The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974)

  19. The Fly (1986)

  20. The Triplets of Belleville (2003)

  21. The Grey Fox (1982)

  22. Stories We Tell (2012)

  23. Leolo (1992)

  24. Le Nuit de la poésie (1980)

  25. Jesus of Montreal (1989)

  26. Away from Her (2006)

  27. Polytechnique (2009)

  28. The Adjuster (1991)

  29. Highway 61 (1991)

  30. Black Christmas (1974)

  31. The Art of Woo (2001)

  32. Last Night (1998)

  33. The Tracey Fragments (2007)

  34. Goin' Down the Road Again (1985)

  35. Meatballs (1979)

  36. The Love Crimes of Gillian Guess (2004)

  37. The Trotsky (2009)

  38. La Guerre des tuques (1984)

  39. Strange Brew (1983)

  40. The F Word (2013)

  41. Eastern Promises (2007)

  42. The Five Senses (1999)

  43. The Saddest Music in the World (2003)

  44. Thirty Two Short Films About Glenn Gould (1993)

  45. The Stone Angel (2007)

  46. Black Robe (1991)

  47. FUBAR (2002)

  48. The Silent Partner (1978)

  49. The Bitter Ash (1963)

  50. Hard Core Logo (1996)

  51. Last Night (1996)

  52. Hello Destroyer (2016)

 

Bonus list - 100 Overlooked Films Directed by Women.

Again, how many have you seen?? What would you add or remove? Tell us below!