The One-Line Review Presents “1000 Films from the First Century of Cinema that Every Self-Respecting Film-Buff Should See at Least Once”

I present a list, not of my own personal favourites, but a list of films that every serious filmlover should really see at least once. In fact, I rather disliked a number of films on the list, and many more were little more than diverting, but they are all films that have many admirers and/or have great historical or social value. And furthermore, I didn’t include many films that I admire greatly, simply because I am perhaps in the minority in doing so. That’s not to say that some subjectivity hasn’t crept in to my selection making, but for the most part, this is a list that goes some way towards definitiveness, or at least reaches for it in a fairly honest way.

Film-makers, actors, genres, major film-producing nations, movements – just about everything is covered. Of course, there’s bound to be one or two eyebrow raising omissions and the odd dubious inclusion, but for the most part this is a list that few will find inaccurate when measured against its rather inelegant but precise title.

• Leaving the Lumière Factory (1895)
• Arrival of a Train at La Ciotat (1896)
• The Kiss (1896)
• Explosion of a Motor Car (1900)
• A Trip to the Moon (1902)
• The Great Train Robbery (1903)
• The Red Spectre (1907)
• Little Nemo and the Princess (1911)
• Cabiria (1914)
• After Death (1915)
• The Birth of a Nation (1915)
• Intolerance (1916)
• Les Vampires (1915-1916)
• Easy Street (1917)
• Broken Blossoms (1919)
• The Oyster Princess (1919)
• The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)
• Destiny (1921)
• The Phantom Carriage (1921)
• Cops (1922)
• Dr. Mabuse, the Gambler (1922)
• Häxan (1922)
• Nanook of the North (1922)
• Nosferatu (1922)
• Our Hospitality (1923)
• Safety Last! (1923)
• Girl Shy (1924)
• Greed (1924)
• The Last Laugh (1924)
• Die Nibelungen (1924)
• Sherlock Jr. (1924)
• Battleship Potemkin (1925)
• The Big Parade (1925)
• The Gold Rush (1925)
• Seven Chances (1925)
• Strike (1925)
• The Adventures of Prince Achmed (1926)
• Faust (1926)
• Berlin, Symphony of a City (1927)
• The General (1927)
• Metropolis (1927)
• Napoleon (1927)
• The Red Mill (1927)
• Sunrise (1927)
• L'Argent (1928)
• The Cameraman (1928)
• The Crowd (1928)
• October (1928)
• The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
• Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
• The Wedding March (1928)
• The Wind (1928)
• Asphalt (1929)
• Big Business (1929)
• Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
• Pandora’s Box (1929)
• The Skeleton Dance (1929)
• Un Chien Andalou (1929)
• L'Âge d'Or (1930)
• All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
• The Blue Angel (1930)
• Borderline (1930)
• Earth (1930)
• People on Sunday (1930)
• Under the Roofs of Paris (1930)
• La Chienne (1931)
• City Lights (1931)
• Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (1931)
• Frankenstein (1931)
• M (1931)
• Le Million (1931)
• À Nous la Liberté (1931)
• The Public Enemy (1931)
• Tabu (1931)
• Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932)
• Freaks (1932)
• Free Wheeling (1932)
• I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang (1932)
• I Was Born, But... (1932)
• Love Me Tonight (1932)
• The Music Box (1932)
• Scarface (1932)
• Trouble in Paradise (1932)
• Vampyr (1932)
• Duck Soup (1933)
• 42nd Street (1933)
• King Kong (1933)
• Land Without Bread (1933)
• Liebelei (1933)
• Queen Christina (1933)
• Sons of the Desert (1933)
• The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (1933)
• Three Little Pigs (1933)
• Zéro de Conduite (1933)
• L'Atalante (1934)
• It Happened One Night (1934)
• It's a Gift (1934)
• The Scarlet Empress (1934)
• The Sea Horse (1934)
• The Thin Man (1934)
• Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
• Les Misérables (1935)
• Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
• A Night at the Opera (1935)
• The 39 Steps (1935)
• Tit for Tat (1935)
• Top Hat (1935)
• Triumph of the Will (1935)
• The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936)
• Dodsworth (1936)
• Fury (1936)
• How to Vote (1936)
• Modern Times (1936)
• Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
• My Man Godfrey (1936)
• Night Mail (1936)
• The Only Son (1936)
• Partie de Campagne (1936)
• Rembrandt (1936)
• The Awful Truth (1937)
• La Grande Illusion (1937)
• Humanity and Paper Balloons (1937)
• Jericho (1937)
• Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
• Oh, Mr. Porter! (1937)
• The Old Mill (1937)
• Pepe le Moko (1937)
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
• The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
• Alexander Nevsky (1938)
• Angels with Dirty Faces (1938)
• Bringing Up Baby (1938)
• The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (1938)
• Holiday (1938)
• The Lady Vanishes (1938)
• The Masseurs and a Woman (1938)
• Olympia (1938)
• Le Quai des Brumes (1938)
• Destry Rides Again (1939)
• Gone with the Wind (1939)
• Le Jour se Lève (1939)
• Love Affair (1939)
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
• Ninotchka (1939)
• Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
• La Règle du Jeu (1939)
• Stagecoach (1939)
• The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums (1939)
• Ugly Duckling (1939)
• The Wizard of Oz (1939)
• The Bank Dick (1940)
• Fantasia (1940)
• Gaslight (1940)
• The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
• The Great Dictator (1940)
• His Girl Friday (1940)
• The Philadelphia Story (1940)
• Pinocchio (1940)
• Rebecca (1940)
• The Shop Around the Corner (1940)
• The Thief of Bagdad (1940)
• Citizen Kane (1941)
• The Devil and Daniel Webster (1941)
• Dumbo (1941)
• The Ghost Train (1941)
• How Green Was My Valley (1941)
• It Started with Eve (1941)
• The Lady Eve (1941)
• The Loyal 47 Ronin of the Genroku Era (1941)
• The Maltese Falcon (1941)
• Sullivan's Travels (1941)
• Aniki Bobo (1942)
• Bambi (1942)
• Casablanca (1942)
• Cat People (1942)
• Listen to Britain (1942)
• The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
• The Palm Beach Story (1942)
• To Be or Not to Be (1942)
• Went the Day Well? (1942)
• Day of Wrath (1943)
• Fires Were Started (1943)
• The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
• Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
• My Learned Friend (1943)
• Ossessione (1943)
• The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
• Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
• A Canterbury Tale (1944)
• Double Indemnity (1944)
• Frenzy (1944)
• Hail the Conquering Hero (1944)
• Henry V (1944)
• Jammin' the Blues (1944)
• Laura (1944)
• Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
• The Miracle of Morgan's Creek (1944)
• To Have and Have Not (1944)
• Brief Encounter (1945)
• Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (1945)
• Dead of Night (1945)
• Detour (1945)
• Les Enfants du Paradis (1945)
• I Know Where I'm Going! (1945)
• Leave Her to Heaven (1945)
• The Lost Weekend (1945)
• Mildred Pierce (1945)
• A Place of One's Own (1945)
• Rome Open City (1945)
• La Belle et la Bête (1946)
• The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
• The Big Sleep (1946)
• Gilda (1946)
• Great Expectations (1946)
• It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
• Ivan the Terrible (1944-1946)
• The Killers (1946)
• A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
• My Darling Clementine (1946)
• Notorious (1946)
• Paisan (1946)
• Shoeshine (1946)
• Black Narcissus (1947)
• Build My Gallows High (1947)
• The Cat Concerto (1947)
• The Ghost and Mrs. Muir (1947)
• Kiss of Death (1947)
• The Lady from Shanghai (1947)
• Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
• Motion Painting No. 1 (1947)
• Nightmare Alley (1947)
• Odd Man Out (1947)
• Record of a Tenement Gentleman (1947)
• Abbott and Costello Meet Frankenstein (1948)
• Bicycle Thieves (1948)
• Force of Evil (1948)
• Germany, Year Zero (1948)
• Hamlet (1948)
• Letter from an Unknown Woman (1948)
• Red River (1948)
• The Red Shoes (1948)
• Rope (1948)
• The Snake Pit (1948)
• Spring in a Small Town (1948)
• La Terra Trema (1948)
• The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
• Unfaithfully Yours (1948)
• Adam's Rib (1949)
• Begone Dull Care (1949)
• Blood of the Beasts (1949)
• Jour de Fête (1949)
• Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)
• Late Spring (1949)
• On the Town (1949)
• Passport to Pimlico (1949)
• The Reckless Moment (1949)
• The Third Man (1949)
• Twelve O'Clock High (1949)
• Whisky Galore! (1949)
• White Heat (1949)
• The Window (1949)
• All about Eve (1950)
• The Asphalt Jungle (1950)
• Born Yesterday (1950)
• Gun Crazy (1950)
• The Happiest Days of Your Life (1950)
• Harvey (1950)
• In a Lonely Place (1950)
• Last Holiday (1950)
• Los Olvidados (1950)
• Orpheus (1950)
• Rashomon (1950)
• La Ronde (1950)
• Saint Francis, God's Jester (1950)
• Sunset Boulevard (1950)
• Un Chant d'Amour (1950)
• Winchester '73 (1950)
• Ace in the Hole (1951)
• The African Queen (1951)
• An American In Paris (1951)
• Bellissima (1951)
• The Browning Version (1951)
• The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
• Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
• Early Summer (1951)
• Gerald McBoing-Boing (1951)
• The Lavender Hill Mob (1951)
• The Man in the White Suit (1951)
• Miracle in Milan (1951)
• The River (1951)
• Strangers on a Train (1951)
• A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
• The Bad and the Beautiful (1952)
• Baiju Bawra (1952)
• Casque d'or (1952)
• Fanfan la Tulipe (1952)
• The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice (1952)
• Forbidden Games (1952)
• The Golden Coach (1952)
• High Noon (1952)
• Ikiru (1952)
• The Life of Oharu (1952)
• The Narrow Margin (1952)
• Le Plaisir (1952)
• The Quiet Man (1952)
• Singin' in the Rain (1952)
• Umberto D. (1952)
• The Band Wagon (1953)
• The Big Heat (1953)
• Duck Amuck (1953)
• El (1953)
• From Here to Eternity (1953)
• Genevieve (1953)
• I Vitelloni (1953)
• It's a Grand Life (1953)
• Madame de... (1953)
• Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)
• The Naked Spur (1953)
• Pickup on South Street (1953)
• Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)
• Shane (1953)
• Tokyo Story (1953)
• Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
• The Wages of Fear (1953)
• French Cancan (1954)
• Godzilla (1954)
• Hobson's Choice (1954)
• Johnny Guitar (1954)
• On the Waterfront (1954)
• Rear Window (1954)
• Sansho Dayu (1954)
• Senso (1954)
• Seven Samurai (1954)
• Sound of the Mountain (1954)
• A Star Is Born (1954)
• La Strada (1954)
• Twenty-Four Eyes (1954)
• Viaggio in Italia (1954)
• All That Heaven Allows (1955)
• Bad Day at Black Rock (1955)
• Death of a Cyclist (1955)
• Les Diaboliques (1955)
• East of Eden (1955)
• Floating Clouds (1955)
• Kiss Me Deadly (1955)
• The Ladykillers (1955)
• Lola Montes (1955)
• Marty (1955)
• Night and Fog (1955)
• The Night of the Hunter (1955)
• Ordet (1955)
• Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
• Rififi (1955)
• Shin Heike Monogatari (1955)
• Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)
• The Unknown Soldier (1955)
• ...And God Created Woman (1956)
• Bigger Than Life (1956)
• Bob le Flambeur (1956)
• The Burmese Harp (1956)
• Early Spring (1956)
• Forbidden Planet (1956)
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
• Juvenile Passion (1956)
• The Killing (1956)
• A Man Escaped (1956)
• The Mystery of Picasso (1956)
• The Red Balloon (1956)
• The Samurai Trilogy (1954-1956)
• The Searchers (1956)
• Written on the Wind (1956)
• The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
• The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
• Il Grido (1957)
• Kanal (1957)
• The Mysterians (1957)
• Nights of Cabiria (1957)
• Nine Lives (1957)
• Paths of Glory (1957)
• Pyaasa (1957)
• The Seventh Seal (1957)
• Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
• Throne of Blood (1957)
• 12 Angry Men (1957)
• What's Opera, Doc? (1957)
• Wild Strawberries (1957)
• Ashes and Diamonds (1958)
• Big Deal on Madonna Street (1958)
• The Defiant Ones (1958)
• Dracula (1958)
• The Hidden Fortress (1958)
• Lift to the Scaffold (1958)
• Mon Oncle (1958)
• The Music Room (1958)
• A Night to Remember (1958)
• Touch of Evil (1958)
• Vertigo (1958)
• Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
• The Apu Trilogy (1955-1959)
• Ballad of a Soldier (1959)
• Ben-Hur (1959)
• Fires on the Plain (1959)
• Floating Weeds (1959)
• The Four Hundred Blows (1959)
• The Ghost of Yotsuya (1959)
• La Grande Guerra (1959)
• Hiroshima Mon Amour (1959)
• I'm All Right Jack (1959)
• Imitation of Life (1959)
• North by Northwest (1959)
• Pickpocket (1959)
• Plan 9 from Outer Space (1959)
• Rio Bravo (1959)
• Some Like It Hot (1959)
• Tiger Bay (1959)
• The Tiger of Eschnapur (1959)
• The Apartment (1960)
• L'Avventura (1960)
• À Bout de Souffle (1960)
• The Cloud-Capped Star (1960)
• La Dolce Vita (1960)
• Elmer Gantry (1960)
• Eyes Without a Face (1960)
• Jazz on a Summer's Day (1960)
• Knights of the Teutonic Order (1960)
• Late Autumn (1960)
• Peeping Tom (1960)
• Psycho (1960)
• Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
• Romeo, Juliet and Darkness (1960)
• Saturday Night and Sunday Morning (1960)
• Shoot the Pianist (1960)
• Le Trou (1960)
• Tunes of Glory (1960)
• The Virgin Spring (1960)
• When a Woman Ascends the Stairs (1960)
• Wild River (1960)
• Accattone (1961)
• Blast of Silence (1961)
• Divorce - Italian Style (1961)
• The End of Summer (1961)
• The Human Condition Trilogy (1959-1961)
• The Hustler (1961)
• Il Posto (1961)
• The Innocents (1961)
• Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
• Last Year in Marienbad (1961)
• Lola (1961)
• Mother Joan of the Angels (1961)
• La Notte (1961)
• The Stray Bullet (1961)
• A Taste of Honey (1961)
• Through a Glass Darkly (1961)
• Victim (1961)
• Viridiana (1961)
• West Side Story (1961)
• Yojimbo (1961)
• An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
• Carnival of Souls (1962)
• Cleo from 5-7 (1962)
• L'Eclisse (1962)
• The Exterminating Angel (1962)
• Harakiri (1962)
• Ivan's Childhood (1962)
• La Jetée (1962)
• Jules and Jim (1962)
• Knife in the Water (1962)
• Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
• Lolita (1962)
• The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (1962)
• Mafioso (1962)
• The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
• The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
• Ride the High Country (1962)
• To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
• The Trial (1962)
• Vivre Sa Vie (1962)
• What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
• Winter Light (1962)
• Barren Lives (1963)
• Billy Liar (1963)
• The Birds (1963)
• Contempt (1963)
• 8½ (1963)
• The Great Escape (1963)
• The Haunting (1963)
• High and Low (1963)
• The House is Black (1963)
• Hud (1963)
• Judex (1963)
• The Leopard (1963)
• Lord of the Flies (1963)
• Muriel ou Le Temps d'un Retour (1963)
• The Nutty Professor (1963)
• Passenger (1963)
• The Servant (1963)
• Shock Corridor (1963)
• The Silence (1963)
• This Sporting Life (1963)
• A Time to Live and a Time to Die (1963)

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