Each one is a classic, and that collection alone makes up the bulk of the recommendations that follow.
Just askJohn LennonorBlack Sabbath.
But it starts as a dramatic depiction of a very human love triangle.
Once that human drama is interrupted, it stays that way.
In tandem, they are a one-two punch of imaginative horror filmmaking that took decades to digest.
Between their productions,Alfred Hitchcocktook part in an extensive interview with French critic-turned-directorFrancois Truffaut.
Images via Universal
The shot composition is phenomenal.
The tragic plot unfolds as if itself a dream.
Denis has claimed to shoot quickly and edit painstakingly, and it shows.Beau Travailis fleet yet in no rush.
Image via Pyramide Distribution
InBlows, our protagonist is a preteen Antoine.
When hes not skipping school, hes a disruptive student.
At home, his parents just dont seem to get him.
Image via Cocinor
The French New Waveand400 Blowsby extensionsought to lead by example the elevation of movies as literary vehicles.
This is the plot of the psychedelic science-fiction dramaStalker.
The film starts out presented in washed-out sepia.
Image via Goskino
Temporal shifts, Orthodox religious imagery, bent reality, and danger await.
The tone is despondent, the forces are supernatural, and the less spoiled in detail, the better.
From the opening credits, sets up a hypnotic mood but manages to keep its strangeness dramatically grounded throughout.
Images via Toho
Like the directors ownRashomon, there is a bit of nihilism in the morality at play.
Not the sorts of men you otherwise want around.
At three-plus hours, it is an epic, full of action, thoughtful writing, and three-dimensional characters.
Throne of Blooddelivers itself in much the same language but is a more straightforward tragedy.
The beats and narrative hooks ofMacbethas a story are so strong an engine thatAkira Kurosawas direction soars with it.
Watch Seven Samurai on the Criterion Channel
Watch Throne of Blood on the Criterion Channel
