IMDb: Favorite films - a list by Andres Herce

1.

Magnolia (1999)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.0/10 X

An epic mosaic of several interrelated characters in search of happiness, forgiveness, and meaning in the San Fernando Valley. (188 mins.)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman

2.

Rope (1948)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X

Two young men strangle their "inferior" classmate, hide his body in their apartment, and invite his friends and family to a dinner party as a means to challenge the "perfection" of their crime. (80 mins.)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Stars: James Stewart, John Dall, Farley Granger, Dick Hogan

3.

Mulholland Drive (2001)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X

After a car wreck on the winding Mulholland Drive renders a woman amnesic, she and a perky Hollywood-hopeful search for clues and answers across Los Angeles in a twisting venture beyond dreams and reality. (147 mins.)

Director: David Lynch

Stars: Naomi Watts, Laura Harring, Justin Theroux, Ann Miller

4.

Manhattan (1979)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.0/10 X

A divorced New Yorker currently dating a high-schooler brings himself to look for love in the mistress of his best friend instead. (96 mins.)

Director: Woody Allen

Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy

5.

Amadeus (1984)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.4/10 X

The incredible story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, told in flashback by his peer and secret rival Antonio Salieri - now confined to an insane asylum. (160 mins.)

Director: Milos Forman

Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Simon Callow

6.

Persona (1966)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X

A nurse is put in charge of an actress who can't talk and finds that the actress's persona is melding with hers. (85 mins.)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Stars: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand

7.

Unforgiven (1992)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.3/10 X

Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner and a young man. (131 mins.)

Director: Clint Eastwood

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris

8.

Fargo (1996)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X

Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson. (98 mins.)

Director: Joel Coen

Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare

9.

Volver (2006)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.6/10 X

After her death, a mother returns to her home town in order to fix the situations she couldn't resolve during her life. (121 mins.)

Director: Pedro Almodóvar

Stars: Penélope Cruz, Carmen Maura, Lola Dueñas, Blanca Portillo

10.

A Single Man (2009)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X

An English professor, one year after the sudden death of his boyfriend, is unable to cope with his typical days in 1960s Los Angeles. (99 mins.)

Director: Tom Ford

Stars: Colin Firth, Julianne Moore, Matthew Goode, Nicholas Hoult

11.

Autumn Sonata (1978)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X

After having neglected her children for many years, world famous pianist Charlotte visits her daughter Eva in her home... (99 mins.)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Stars: Ingrid Bergman, Liv Ullmann, Lena Nyman, Halvar Björk

12.

Vicky Cristina Barcelona (2008)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.2/10 X

Two girlfriends on a summer holiday in Spain become enamored with the same painter, unaware that his ex-wife, with whom he has a tempestuous relationship, is about to re-enter the picture. (96 mins.)

Director: Woody Allen

Stars: Rebecca Hall, Scarlett Johansson, Javier Bardem, Christopher Evan Welch

13.

Rosemary's Baby (1968)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.0/10 X

A young couple move into a new apartment, only to be surrounded by peculiar neighbors and occurrences. When the wife becomes mysteriously pregnant, paranoia over the safety of her unborn child begins controlling her life. (136 mins.)

Director: Roman Polanski

Stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer

14.

There Will Be Blood (2007)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X

A story about family, greed, religion, and oil, centered around a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business. (158 mins.)

Director: Paul Thomas Anderson

Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer

15.

Scott Pilgrim vs. the World (2010)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.5/10 X

Scott Pilgrim must defeat his new girlfriend's seven evil exes in order to win her heart. (112 mins.)

Director: Edgar Wright

Stars: Michael Cera, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Kieran Culkin, Alison Pill

16.

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9.0/10 X

A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery. (161 mins.)

Director: Sergio Leone

Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè

17.

Moonrise Kingdom (2012)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X

A pair of young lovers flee their New England town, which causes a local search party to fan out and find them. (94 mins.)

Director: Wes Anderson

Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray

18.

Manhattan Murder Mystery (1993)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X

A middle-aged couple suspects foul play when their neighbor's wife suddenly drops dead. (104 mins.)

Director: Woody Allen

Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Jerry Adler, Lynn Cohen

19.

Kiki's Delivery Service (1989)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.8/10 X

A young witch, on her mandatory year of independent life, finds fitting into a new community difficult while she supports herself by running an air courier service. (103 mins.)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Stars: Kirsten Dunst, Minami Takayama, Rei Sakuma, Kappei Yamaguchi

20.

Paths of Glory (1957)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.5/10 X

When soldiers in WW1 refuse to continue with an impossible attack, their superiors decide to make an example of them. (88 mins.)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Stars: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready

21.

Rear Window (1954)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.7/10 X

A wheelchair bound photographer spies on his neighbours from his apartment window and becomes convinced one of them has committed murder. (112 mins.)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Stars: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey, Thelma Ritter

22.

The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.7/10 X

In 1930s New Jersey, a movie character walks off the screen and into the real world. (82 mins.)

Director: Woody Allen

Stars: Mia Farrow, Jeff Daniels, Danny Aiello, Irving Metzman

23.

Vivre Sa Vie (1962)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.9/10 X

Twelve episodic tales in the life of a Parisian woman and her slow descent into prostitution. (80 mins.)

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Stars: Anna Karina, Sady Rebbot, André S. Labarthe, Guylaine Schlumberger

24.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 9.0/10 X

The lives of two mob hit men, a boxer, a gangster's wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption. (154 mins.)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis

25.

Memento (2000)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.6/10 X

A man, suffering from short-term memory loss, uses notes and tattoos to hunt for the man he thinks killed his wife. (113 mins.)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior

26.

Fanny and Alexander (1982)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.1/10 X

Two young Swedish children experience the many comedies and tragedies of their family, the Ekdahls. (188 mins.)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Stars: Bertil Guve, Pernilla Allwin, Börje Ahlstedt, Allan Edwall

27.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.7/10 X

A young FBI cadet must confide in an incarcerated and manipulative killer to receive his help on catching another serial killer who skins his victims. (118 mins.)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney, Kasi Lemmons

28.

My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 8.2/10 X

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wonderous forest spirits who live nearby. (86 mins.)

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Toshiyuki Amagasa, Paul Butcher

29.

Irreversible (2002)

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 7.3/10 X

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in the underpass. (97 mins.)

Director: Gaspar Noé

Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Jo Prestia