The Magic of Cinema
I am interested in independent world cinema, serious intelligent films of artistic merit, documentaries and comedy.
For many years I had a special interest in seeing all the greatest films ever made. I spent time in a Curzon cinema or the Picturehouse whenever the opportunity arose. This all started partly because when I first came to London as a young man, I lived opposite The Renoir, the best cinema in London, now known as the Curzon Bloomsbury (picture below).
Much like with books, for a long time I have collected all of the films I have seen on a digital website. I have now seen over 2,750 films from around the world, and I am happy that I have the Letterboxd profile to refer to whenever needed and to collect and display my films in an organised way.
You can view all my films on my profile here:
If a film strikes your interest, you can click on the cover and find out more, for any of the items.
Exceptional Films - The Best of Cinema:
This is my main list, which contains the 500 or so greatest films of all time, in my opinion. It took a long time to compile, and was probably worth it. You can view the list here:
This is a complete list of every film I have given a rating of 4* or higher, meaning that the film is exceptional. You will not go wrong with any film on this list. In my opinion this is a list of the best of the best that cinema has to offer and comprises a full list of all my favourites. They are not in order of preference, although many of the films towards the top of the list are some of the very best. This list also contains the best documentaries.
Documentaries - The Very Best
A list of 120 or so of the greatest documentaries. You can view the list here:
This is a list of the very best documentaries. I have seen many documentaries, but these are the very best. They are not in any order of preference. Every documentary on this list is well worth seeing. Most are essential viewing but all of the documentaries on this list will educate, inspire and challenge and are worthy aspects of inner development. Pick any one from this list at random and take it from there. Please note that only feature-length documentaries are included here.
Comedy - The Best, Genuinely Funny, Uplifting Films
A list of the 50 or so best comedies of all time, with a focus on modern films from the last 10 years.
This is a list of the very best comedy films that I have seen. There is an emphasis on fast-paced, intelligent, sharp dialogue and a real feel-good factor. These films are genuinely funny and contain a consistently high level of laughs. Pick any film from the list at random and you will be guaranteed to enjoy massively, even if it is a film you may not have previously heard of. In fact, discovering these gems is one of the best things about film viewing. I have seen a huge amount of comedy films, but have only carefully selected these 47 films, because each of these will make you laugh - a lot. They are not listed in any order of preference. Hope you enjoy.
I must have researched every film over the years. I was also able to see every film I ever wanted to see, but in the last year or two, my interest has somewhat dwindled away. I have not got much time now for the cinema due to other pursuits, but I will always love the Renoir - here it is:
The 50 Greatest Films of All Time:
A few years ago I attempted to do this, to create a list of the 50 greatest films ever, i.e. my very favourites, the deepest, most meaningful films ever, with an emphasis on new films. It would have been a shame to lose this and the screenshots setting out the stories here.
So, here it is. The final, definitive list of the 50 greatest films of all time, in my opinion. Some of the films that defined my outlook on the world, many unacknowledged masterpieces, and the cutting edge in modern cinema. I hope to spread the word and share some of the worlds explored here.
The films are listed in alphabetical order.
After the Wedding (Susanne Bier, 2006) Boogie (Radu Muntean, 2008) The Beautiful Country (Hans Petter Moland, 2004) Beijing Bicycle (Xiaoshuai Wang, 2001) Ben X (Nic Balthazar, 2007) The Best Of Youth (Marco Tullio Giordana, 2003) The Big Picture (Eric Latrigau, 2010) Boy A (John Crowley, 2007) Broken Wings (Nir Bergman, 2002) Caro Diario (Nanni Moretti, 1993) Central Station (Walter Salles, 1998) Crazy/Beautiful (John Stockwell, 2000) The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu (Cristi Puiu, 2005) Don't Worry About Me (David Morrissey, 2009) Exhibit A (Dom Rotheroe, 2007) Festen (Thomas Vinterberg, 1998)
Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
Freefall (Dominic Savage, 2009)
Hallam Foe (David MacKenzie, 2007)
Holly (Guy Moshe, 2006)
The Idiots (Lars von Trier, 1998)
Import/Export (Ulrich Seidl, 2007)
In the Loop (Armando Iannucci, 2009)
In A Better World (Susanne Bier, 2010)
In This World (Michael Winterbottom, 2002)
Inside I'm Dancing (Damien O'Donnell, 2004)
Intimacy (Patrice Chereau, 2001)
Into the Wild (Sean Penn, 2007)
Ivan'sxtc (Bernard Rose, 2001)
Lilja 4-ever (Lukas Moodysson, 2002)
The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
The Low Down (Jamie Thraves, 2000)
Man Push Cart (Ramin Bahrani, 2005)
9 Songs (Michael Winterbottom, 2004)
Once (John Carney, 2006)
Open Hearts (Susanne Bier, 2002)
Oslo, August 31st (Joachim Trier, 2011)
The Painted Veil (John Curran, 2006)
Pelican Blood (Karl Golden, 2010)
The Red Riding Trilogy (Julian Jarrold, James Marsh, Anand Tucker, 2009)
Somersault (Cate Shortland, 2004)
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring (Kim Ki-Duk, 2003)
Submarine (Richard Adoyade, 2011)
Sweet Sixteen (Ken Loach, 2002)
Three Colours Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)
Times & Winds (Reha Erdem, 2006)
Tyrannosaur (Paddy Considine, 2011) Uno (Aksel Hennie, John Andreas Andersen, 2004)
Uzak (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2002)
The Wrestler (Darren Aronofsky, 2008)
Well, that's it - the 50 greatest films of all time, in my opinion, current several years ago. They are all outstanding, and need to be seen, one by one.
To see my selection of the best screenshots of each of these films, please click here: http://www.seadworld.com/2019/07/films.html?view=sidebar I will still keep Letterboxd updated every time a new film comes out of quality, and this section may be further expanded in the future.