Top 10 Favorite Foreign Films of All-Time
 

I know I'm forgetting some but here are my favorite foreign films ever made:

Runners up include:
8 1/2
Der Untergang (Downfall)
M
Ikiru
El Laberinto Del Fauno (Pan's Labyrinth)
Yojimbo
Le Fabuleux Destin D'Amelie Poulain (Amelie)
Lola Rennt (Run Lola Run)
Mou Gaan Dou (Infernal Affairs)

And Heres the Top 10:
10. Le Pacte des Loups (Brotherhood of the Wolf)
9. Ondskan (Evil)
8. Hable con Ella (Talk to Her)
7. Batoru Rowaiaru (Battle Royale)
6. La Vita e Bella (Life Is Beautiful)
5. Shichinin no Samurai (Seven Samurai)
4. Il Buono, Il brutto, Il Cattivo (The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly)
3. Oldboy
2. Les Invasions Barbares (The Barbarian Invasions)
1. Cidade de Deus (City of God)

The top ten
 

1.) La Dolce Vita (Federico Fellini; 1960)
2.) Aguirre: Der Zorn Gottes (Werner Herzog; 1972)
3.) Persona (Ingmar Bergman; 1966)
4.) La Grande Illusion (Jean Renoir; 1937)
5.) Nora Inu (Akira Kurosawa; 1949)
6.) Les Quatre Cents Coups (Francois Truffaut; 1959)
7.) Apur Sansur (Satyajit Ray; 1959)
8.) Il Gattopardo (Luchino Visconti; 1963)
9.) Smultronstallet (Ingmar Bergman; 1957)
10.) Les Enfants du Paradis (Marcel Carne; 1945)

Runners up:

La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer; 1928)
Umberto D (Vittorio De Sica; 1952)
El Angel de Exterminador (Luis Bunuel; 1961)
La Regle du Jeu (Jean Renoir; 1939)
La Battaglia di Algeri (Gillo Pontecorvo; 1966)
Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky; 1969)
Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa; 1950)
8 1/2 (Federico Fellini; 1963)
Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa; 1952)
A Bout de Souffle (Jean-Luc Godard; 1960)

rough top 10

1. Avalon
2. Princess Mononoke
3. Pan's Labyrinth
4. Akira
5. Eyes Of Crystal
6. Ghost In The Shell
7. Seven Samurai
8. Gozu
9. Brotherhood Of The Wolf
10. Zatoichi

1. Seven Samurai
2. Cries and Whispers
3. Wages of Fear
4. The Seventh Seal
5. Yojimbo
6. La Strada
7. Ikiru
8. Raise the Red Lantern
9. The Bicycle Thief
10. Umberto D.

The next 10:

11. 8 1/12
12. Au revoir, les enfants
13. Murmur of the Heart
14. Rashomon
15. Grave of the Fireflies
16. Princess Mononoke
17. Ran
18. Throne of Blood
19. Ordet
20. La Dolce Vita

1. Persona
2. Stalker
3. That Obscure Object of Desire
4. Last Year in Marienbad
5. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
6. City of God
7. The Bicycle Thief
8. Contempt
9. The Seventh Seal
10. Jules and Jim

Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi)
Mirror (Tarkovsky)
Andrei Rublev (Tarkovsky)
The Green Ray (Rohmer)
Alice in the Cities (Wenders)
Maborosi (Koreeda)
L'Avventura (Antonioni)
Celine and Julie go Boating (Rivette)
Rules of the Game (Renoir)
Seven Samurai (Kurosawa)

+
Pather Panchali (Ray)
Abraham Valley (Oliveira)
Tokyo Story (Ozu)
The Colour of Pomegranates (Paradjanov)
Tales of the Taira Clan (Mizoguchi)

1. Fitzcarraldo
2. Passion of Joan of Arc
3. The Seventh Seal
4. Faust (Svanmajer version)
5. Children of Paradise
6. Orpheus
7. Akira Kurusawas Dreams
8. Aguirre the Wrath of God
9. Old Boy
10. City of Lost Children

1. Versus ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZVIm_PvWsyQ )
2. Battle Royale ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y-T7yPJVvXw )
3. Dobermann ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Of7I7c9zwJM )
4. Night Watch ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=COBDdnIbwBA )
5. Man Bites Dog ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oi5rmt-gucs )
6. Natural City ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZDps6s66aw )
7. Infernal Affair ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AXL88b_CZdA )
8. City of God ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iISAiUwY9eM )
9. Time And Tide ( http://www.liberatedfilms.com/film-7...ical%20Trailer )
10. Run Lola Run ( http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta1Sn6MtC9w )

I included trailers ( God bless Youtube ! :D ) because as everyone know : It's fun to tell but it's great to show !

1. Battle Royale
2. Oldboy
3. Bloody Reunion.
4. Pan's Labyrinth
5. The Audition
6. The Devil's Backbone
7. Hard Boiled
8. City of God
9. Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
10. Once Upon A Time in China Trilogy

Other than the top 3 or so, the rest are interchangeable.

1. Ivan the Terrible Part 1
2. Ivan the Terrible Part 2
3. Aguirre, the Wrath of God
4. The 400 Blows
5. M
6. The Bicycle Thief
7. Persona
8. Grand Illusion
9. The Shop on Main Street
10. The Seventh Seal

So many more I could mention but I don't care enough to.

1. Pan's Labyrth
2. The good, bad, & the ugly
3. A Fistfull of dollars
4. Princess Mononoke
5. Sprited Away
6. Hard Boiled
7. Battle Royale
8. Shaun of the Dead
9. Hott Fuzz
10. The Host

1.a very long enagement
2.Sympathy for Lady Vengeance
3.the butcher
4.shutter
5.brotherhood of the wolf
6.black book
7.irreversible
8.oldboy
9.bittersweet life
10.sex and lucia

1. Seven Samurai
2. Yojimbo
3. City of God
4. Oldboy
5. Pan's Labrynth
6. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
7. Ran
8. Ikiru
9. Brotherhood of the Wolf
10. Grand Illusion

In The Mood For Love
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
Oldboy
Persona
Fanny and Alexander
Hard Boiled
La Pianiste
The Road Home
City Of God
Hero

LA HAINE
City of God
Cinema Paradiso
Pan's Labyrinth...

It's late and I'm tired...quick list for ya

Some greats:

- Lady Vengeance(duh)
- Nosferatu(Herzog)
- The Great Silence
- Everything by Leone
- Everything by Argento
- Harakiri
- Das Boot
- Calamari Union(Actually not a foreign one for me :D)
- Infernal Affairs
- The Beyond
- Everything John Woo made in HK
- Everything by Chan Wook-Park
- Everything by Kurosawa

etc..

It´s a hard choice but

1) Ran (Kurosawa)
2) Trois Couler: Rouge(Kieslovsky)
3) Kagemusha (Kurosawa)
4) Camile Cloudel (Nuytten)
5) O Pagador de Promessas (Anselmo Duarte)
6) Pan´s Labirinth (Del Toro)
7) Stalker
8) Delicatessen
9) Nuovo Cinema Paradiso
10) Una pura Formalitá

A lot of movies could be increase this list such as: Blow Up, Quatrilho, "Festa de Babette", City Of God(Cidade de Deus),Trois Coulers:White and Blue, Seven Samurais,Dreams,Fanny and Alexander, Napolleon, A dama do Cine Changai, Eles não usam black-tie, 8 1/2...

City of God
Amores Perros
Y Tu Mama Tambien
Night Watch
Princess and the Warrior
Lady Vengeance
Old Boy
Amelie
Delecatessen
Russian Ark

Top 20 in order of ratings (from movies I can remember):

Il Buono, Il brutto, Il Cattivo (10/10)
Intacto (9/10)
Seven Samurai (9/10)
City of God (9/10)
8 1/2 (9/10)
Curse of The Golden Flower (9/10)
Y Tu Mama Tambien (8.5/10)
Pan´s Labyrinth (8.5/10)
The Spanish Apartment (8.5/10)
Amores Perros (8/10)

Bad Education (8/10)
Amelie (8/10)
All About My Mother (8/10)
Russian Dolls (8/10)
Hero (8/10)
Montando Cabos (8/10)
M (8/10)
The Beat My Heart Skipped (8/10)

can't put these in Order but

- Ran, Kagemusha & Throne of Blood - Kurosawa
- Aguirre: Wrath of God - Herzog
- Ringu 1 and 0 (japanese)
- Musa the Warrior (Korean)
-Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance (Korean)
- Infernal Affairs (all 3)
- Betty Blue
- Amores Perros

oops that's more than 10 already!

This is a tough one. And I'm sure I'm leaving stuff out, but here's my ten (not necessarily in order):

-Talk To Her
-Sympathy For Mr. Vengeance/Oldboy/Sympathy For Lady Vengeance
-Seven Samurai
-The Bad Sleep Well
-City Of God
-I Am Cuba
-In The Mood For Love
-Triad Election
-Fallen Angel
-L'Enfant

Here's a rough ten:

1. Rashomon
2. The Seventh Seal
3. 8 1/2
4. The Wages of Fear
5. Children of Paradise
6. Aguirre: Wrath of God
7. The Seven Samurai
8. Andrei Rublev
9. The Good, The Bad, The Ugly
10. M

runners up in no order:
Rules of the Game
Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie
Ran
The 400 Blows
La Dolce Vita
La Haine
The Bicycle Thief
Underground
Fanny and Alexander
Beauty and the Beast (Cocteau)
Breathless
Kwaidan
Battle of Algiers
Wild Strawberries
The Barber of Siberia
Stalker
....

and there are more...it's very hard to decide with foreign films...so much still to watch too...

Chinese Ghost Story
Drunken Master 2
Operation Condor
Diva
Supercop
Chinese Ghost Story 2
Once Upon a Time in China
Oldboy
District B-13

Life is Beautiful is probably the greatest foreign film of all time.

I am glad someone else has this in their top 10. Easily my #1. (I will be back with a top ten shortly) I just had to point that out.
:D

.

I still have much to see before I would feel comfortable with making a top 10 foreign films list, but I'm glad to see a lot of 8½ love here, and I love most of the films you guys are listing.

Probably forgetting a bunch but...

Princess Mononoke
Castle In The Sky
Spirited Away
(Just about any Studio Ghibli movie really)
Pan's Labyrinth
Baran
Night Watch
Amelie
Chinese Ghost Story
House of Flying Daggers
Hero
Zatoichi
Brotherhood Of The Wolf
Battle Royale

In no order

I haven't really watched all that many, but if I had to choose which were my favorites from the few that I've seen, these would be the ones:

10. Belleville Rendez-vous - Also known as The Triplet Of Bellvelle, as released in the U.S.. As an illustrator & cartoonist, I was surprised at how close this flick was to the style of drawing that I usually shoot for. Gritty yet beautifully rendered, cartoonishly exaggerated yet realistically animated. I could look at artwork like this all day.
Plus, even though it is a foreign film, it has no dialogue in it, at all. And therefore, no need for sub-titles. So if some bizarre accident occurs (heaven forbid, of course) whereby that part of your brain that's responsible for reading becomes inexplicably cancelled out, you'll still be to watch & enjoy this flick.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...5221movies.jpg

9. [REC] - Take what Cloverfield took from The Blair Witch Project, add a dash of 28 Days Later, and then sprinkle on some sub-titles (depending on which version you see),
& there you go. A quality zombie flick of which I rarely get to see without a giant glob of gooey camp splattered all over it.

8. Zatoichi - I had heard of this Zatoichi, but never bothered looking up anything about this long-lasting character of the East. I stumbled on this DVD, & found myself enjoying it so much, that the end result was multiple viewings with no diminishment in enjoyment. The movie, just like the series of an earlier time, follows the latest adventure of a mystery traveler commonly referred to as the "blind masseuse", who in actuality is a gentle samurai warrior who's lone wolf journeys could've well been the inspiration of the Italian counter-part, "Man With No Name" of spaghetti western fame. Silent, noble & despite his blindness, the ability to see with more clarity, not just the world around him, but also the will & intentions contained within the hearts of all he encounters.
A great classic character of the Japanese tradition.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...er_Photo-2.jpg

7. City Of God - For me, watching this movie feels almost exactly like watching a documentary. There's a part where a young (incredibly young) kid gang member is asked to choose between getting shot in the hand or in the foot, and IMO, is a scene that holds more power, depth & context than most movies contain in their entirety. An incredibly eye-opening & moving picture.

6. Curse Of The Golden Flower - Some of the most breath-taking & just absolutely beautiful background sets designs ever in a film. So rich are the colors & exquisite details in this movie, that it requires multiple viewings just to be able to soak it all in. Once one can get passed that aspect of the film, it will become obvious that the sets are not a distraction, but an enhancement to the story. An enrichment that adds to the dialogue with an intensity that allows the ideas of what appears to be human pettiness behavior in a royal setting (a la Shakespearian stuff) to be revealed as much grander in scope & concept.
And for a movie that can make someone as simple minded as myself come to a conclusion like that, that's definitely a statement to the power of it's artistry.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...r_Photo-33.jpg

5. Pan's Labyrinth - Just an absolutely beautiful movie. This film's creativity & emotion are elegantly entwined in a manner that blurs the barrier between the "real" world & the fantasy dimension, almost beyond physical distinction.

4. Let The Right One In - Good horror movies come so rarely into my life. The same with good vampire movies. And the same also goes for good love stories (I refrain from using the term "romance movies" since I find Hollywood's idea of romance is always so impossibly & ridiculously fairy-tale-like). This movie is 2 outta 3 (Though there is some, it's very light on the horror). Told more in an adult manner, yet still with enough of an escapist sensibilty that is respective to the genre, this is a soft, beautiful & beguiling story (which is really saying something since I don't know what that word means) of two 12 year olds finding love for the first time thru the flaws of each of their separate (& sometimes desperate) life situations.
The characters are portrayed with such a down to earth awkwardness that is usually found with kids at this age & also with a longing that is so sincere & convincing, that I find myself agreeing with many who have seen this movie & have compared it to another vampire love story of this year; the 15 year old girls can have their Twilight. I'll take LTROI.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...85106scifi.jpg

3. El Mariachi - Because of the severe financial restraints of this picture, the story is forced to be told thru the creativity of all-out action in it's purest, unadulterated form. I think that there should be a law requiring that all big budget action films be shot & directed with as much energy & fun as in this one, before even one cent of the million dollars of special effects is spent.
Cool, violent & high-octane action-adventure in all it's bared-boned glory.

2. Ran - Before movies like Crouching Tiger/ Hidden Dragon & Hero came along & added the artistically flair fantasy elements to these types of epic movies, there was Ran. Some of the most beautiful & grand visuals ever in an Akira Kurosawa film. The fact that his name was associated with this project guaranteed this film's sweeping quality. And, the added high budget seemed to compromise his vision not in the slightest. Instead, it seemed to open up the potentiality that Mr. Kurosawa had holding in his already abundant visionary dreams.
Definitely my favorite of his works.

1. House Of Flying Daggers

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...IDEO-842-1.jpg

Growing up, it always frustrated me whenever the majority of big budget action flicks or martial arts movies of the time often seemed to sacrifice on story to make room for the expansive bangs & the expensive effects. It was generally said, that in these types of movies, you couldn't really have both, particularly, at a consistent high level. And I was one those kids who always asked "Why not?"
And then came the House Of Flying Daggers. And with it's beautiful story of love & intrigue, combined with lavish costumes, solid performances & unique individually themed action sequences, this film of the burgeoning genre known as wuxia, seemed to asked that very same question.

http://i249.photobucket.com/albums/g...IDEO-652-1.jpg

Foreign films are just so much better...
 

1. Delicatessen - dark humor as done by the French is absolutely hilarious. Plus it has Dominique Pinon, who is amazing.

2. Pan's Labyrinth - I love Guillermo del Toro. 'Nuff said.

3. A Very Long Engagement - so romantic...

4. Love Songs - sticking random songs into movies that are definitely not musicals seems to work for the French...

5. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari - old horror movies are the best. Und ich liebe Deutsch.

6. Strictly Ballroom - Australians making fun of ballroom dancing. Brilliant.

7. Nosferatu - I have a thing for vampire movies. And this one happens to be really good.

8. Mad Max - young Mel Gibson was really attractive

9. Infernal Affairs - Chinese action films rock my world.

10. M - the best part about this movie was the last line where they blatantly stated the moral of the film that they were hoping to communicate to their audience.

My top ten

1. Seven Samurai
2. Man Bites Dog
3. Old Boy
4. La Haine
5. Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon
6. Irreversible
7. City Of God
8. Akira
9. Spirited Away
10. Hero

10. Akira
9. Oldboy
8. In the Mood For Love
7. The Virgin Spring
6. Ran
5. The Seventh Seal
4. Jules et Jim
3. La Dolce Vita
2. Seven Samurai
1. 81/2

Persona
The Holy Mountain
Fitzcarraldo
Band a Parte
The Piano Teacher
Chansons d'amour
Etre et Avoir
Ran
The 400 Blows
The Lives Of Others

1. The Sacrifice
2. Persona
3. Kings of the Road
4. The Seventh Seal
5. Alphaville
6. Stalker
7. The Exterminating Angel
8. Fitzcarraldo
9. Beauty and the Beast (la belle et la bette)
10. City of God

Aguirre: The Wrath of God
Andrei Rublev
Persona
Scenes From A Marriage
Small Change
The Passion of Joan of Arc
City Of God
Blow-Up
Grave of the Fireflies
M

Not in any particular order.

1. Delicatessen
2. Hard Boiled
3. Profondo rosso
4. Amelie
5. Battle Royale
6. Once upon a time in China
7. Itchi the killer
8. Grrrrr
9. Zatôichi
10.Princess Mononoke

prod77
Save Our Cinema

www.hotbox-studios.webs.com

no order

woman in the dunes
oldboy
stalker
sonatine
tokyo story
ikiru
uzak
irreversible
fallen angels
the return

Beau Travail (France)
Veronika Voss (Germany)
Caché (France)
Il Posto (Italy)
L'Eclisse (Italy)
Pandora's Box (Germany)
Playtime (France)
Regular Lovers (France)
Scenes from a Marriage (Sweden)
Solaris (Russia)
Tokyo Olympiad (Japan)
Werckmeister Harmonies (Hungary)
The Wind Will Carry Us (Iran

1. La Strada
2. Stalker
3. La Dolce Vita
4. Solaris
5. The Spirit of the Beehive
6. Throne of Blood
7. Vivre Sa Vie
8. The Grand Illusion
9. A Bout de Souffle
10. Andrei Rublev


Having to leave a lot off...