Past students have always requested a copy of the film list for both of the film courses I teach, Study of Film and Film Criticism and Theory. Below is a list of films we have studied in both classes and a list of recommendations for the senior research paper, which is argumentative theory-based. Film students may pick from both lists to do their research paper. However, students must make a critical decision on how to theoretically approach a particular film listed on the Study of Film list. Study of Film is a film appreciation course that glosses over the film canon.
Film List for Study of Film
(We study ALL the films on this list)
Film Director Year Rating
The Kid Chaplin 1921 NR
Modern Times Chaplin 1936 NR
Battleship Potemkin Eisenstein 1925 NR
The Public Enemy Wellman 1931 NR
It Happened One Night Capra 1934 NR
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Capra 1939 NR
Gone with the Wind Fleming 1939 NR
Bringing Up Baby Hawks 1938 NR
Citizen Kane Welles 1941 NR
Casablanca Curtiz 1942 NR
The Maltese Falcon Huston 1941 NR
Chinatown Polanski 1974 R
Blade Runner Scott 1982 R
All About Eve Mankiewicz 1950 NR
Singin’ in the Rain Donen, Kelly 1952 NR
Cabaret Fosse 1972 R
Moulin Rouge! Luhrmann 2001 PG-13
High Noon Zinnemann 1952 NR
The Searchers Ford 1956 NR
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Leone 1966 R
Unforgiven Eastwood 1992 R
On the Waterfront Kazan 1954 NR
Rebel without a Cause Ray 1955 NR
Some Like it Hot Wilder 1959 NR
Rear Window Hitchcock 1954 NR
Psycho Hitchcock 1960 NR
North by Northwest Hitchcock 1959 NR
Dr. Strangelove Kubrick 1964 NR
The Shining Kubrick 1980 R
Bonnie and Clyde Penn 1967 NR
The Graduate Nichols 1967 PG
The Godfather Coppola 1972 R
Apocalypse Now Coppola 1979 R
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest Forman 1975 R
Jaws Spielberg 1975 PG
Schindler’s List Spielberg 1993 R
Annie Hall Allen 1977 PG
Bullets Over Broadway Allen 1994 R
Raging Bull Scorsese 1980 R
Goodfellas Scorsese 1990 R
Do the Right Thing Lee 1989 R
Lost in Translation Coppola, Sophia 2003 R
Fargo Coen Bros. 1996 R
O’Brother Where Art Thou Coen Bros. 2000 PG-13
The Thin Red Line Malick 1998 R
Down by Law Jarmusch 1986 NR
Gallopin’ Gaucho Disney 1928 NR
Steamboat Willie Disney 1928 NR
Spirited Away Miyazaki 2001 PG
Bowling for Columbine Moore 2003 R
My Life as a Dog Halleström 1985 PG-13
The Bicycle Thieves deSica 1948 NR
Cinema Paradiso Tornatore 1988 R
Hero Yimou Zhang 2002 PG-13
Un Chien Andalou Buñuel, Dali 1929 NR
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie Buñuel 1972 NR
Film Criticism and Theory
Please note some films may fall under numerous theoretical “umbrellas.” I also did not want to continue adding films from the Study of Film course based on what I have mentioned in the previous section–although I have made some “notable” exceptions. Boldfaced films are films we have studied in class. I do acknowledge debates on why certain films are not listed. Film Criticism and Theory course is not about the film canon. It is about critical approaches to film and film narrative. Moreover, keep in mind there are couple of considerations I must take into account: First, whether there is an abundance of academic materials available for some of the films listed to warrant a thorough research; second, whether the film is appropriate enough for secondary students; and third, whether the films has made it through the test of time. In other words, has the film aged like fine wine? Okay, I know I have listed some exceptions to this but the films’ genre and the directors’ contribution to cinema’s evolution have given them some maturation.
Film Director Year Rating
Structuralism
The Red Balloon LaMorisse 1956 NR
Battleship Potemkin Eisenstein 1925 NR
2001: A Space Odyssey Kubrick 1968 PG
Elevator in the Gallows Malle 1958 NR
The Matrix Wachowski Bros 1999 R
All is Lost Redford 2013 PG
Rashomon Kurosawa 1951 NR
No Country for Old Men Coen Bros. 2007 R
The Lighthouse Eggers 2019 R
Blowup Antonioni 1966 NR L’Avventura Antonioni 1960 NR Citizen Kane Welles 1941 NR
Formalism
The Last Emperor Bertolucci 1987 PG-13
Life of Pi Lee 2012 PG
Moonrise Kingdom Anderson 2012 PG-13
An American in Paris Minelli 1951 NR
The Fall Singh 2006 R
Amélie Jeunet 2001 R
Singin’ in the Rain Donen and Kelly 1952 NR
Guys and Dolls Mankiewicz 1955 NR
8 ½ Fellini 1963 NR
Vertigo Hitchcock 1958 NR
Amélie Jeunet 2001 R
Realism
The Bicycle Thieves deSica 1948 NR
La Strada Fellini 1954 NR
Il Posto Olmi 1961 NR
The African Queen Huston 1951 NR
The Great Escape Sturges 1963 NR
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid Hill 1963 PG
Ace in the Hole Wilder 1951 NR
On the Waterfront Kazan 1954 NR
Amores Perros Iñnáritu 2000 R
Children of Men Cuarón 2006 R
The Conversation Coppola 1974 R
Dog Day Afternoon Lumet 1975 R
Auteur
Badlands Malick 1973 R
Days of Heaven Malick 1978 PG
Tree of Life Malick 1998 PG-13
Strangers on a Train Hitchcock 1951 R
The Man who Knew too Much Hitchcock 1956 NR
The Birds Hitchcock 1963 PG
Down by Law Jarmusch 1986 R
Mean Streets Scorsese 1973 R
It’s a Wonderful Life Capra 1946 NR
Stagecoach Ford 1939 NR
All that Jazz Fosse 1979 R
Rebecca Hitchcock 1940 NR
Studio
Bringing Up Baby Hawks 1938 NR
Dr. Zhivago Lean 1965 PG-13
The Wizard of Oz Fleming, Cukor, LeRoy 1939 NR
Gone with the Wind Fleming and Cukor 1939 NR
Lawrence of Arabia Lean 1962 NR
The Philadelphia Story Cuckor 1940 NR
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A Star is Born Cuckor 1954 NR
Ideology
The Best Years of our Lives Wyler 1946 NR
From Here to Eternity Zinneman 1953 NR
Seven Samurai Kurosawa 1954 NR
Barry Lyndon Kubrick 1975 PG
The Great Dictator Chaplin 1940 NR
Do the Right Thing Lee 1989 R
Blakkklansman Lee 2018 R
There Will Be Blood Anderson 2007 R
The Candidate Ritchie 1972 PG
All the President’s Men Pakula 1976 PG
Au Revoir Les Enfants Malle 1987 PG
Europa Europa Holland 1990 R
The Man Who Wasn’t There Coen Bros. 2001 R
Network Lumet 1976 R
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner? Kramer 1967 NR
Black Girl Sembène 1966 NR
A Face in the Crowd Wilder 1957 NR
King of Comedy Scorsese 1982 PG
Anatomy of a Murder Preminger 1959 NR
The Verdict Lumet 1982 R
M*A*S*H Altman 1970 R
Easy Rider Hopper 1969 R
The Man who wasn’t There Coen Bros. 2001 R
Empire of the Sun Spielberg 1987 PG
Battle of Algiers Pontecorvo 1967 NR
Army of Shadows Melville 1969 NR
The Conformist Bertolucci 1970 R
District 9 Blomkamp 2009 R
Adaptation
Macbeth Polanski 1971 R
Throne of Blood Kurosawa 1957 NR
Rear Window Hitchcock 1954 NR
12 Angry Men Lumet 1957 NR
A Streetcar Named Desire Kazan 1951 NR
The Double Ayoade 2013 R
Genre
Le Samourai Melville 1967 NR
Le Circle Rouge Melville 1970 NR
Breathless Goddard 1960 NR
The 400 Blows Truffaut 1959 NR
The French Connection Friedkin 1971 R
True Grit Coen Bros. 2010 R
True Grit Hathaway 1969 G
Pale Rider Eastwood 1985 R
Shane Stevens 1953 NR
Rio Bravo Hawks 1959 NR
In a Lonely Place Ray 1950 NR
Singin’ in the Rain Donen and Kelly 1952 NR
The Bandwagon Minelli 1953 NR
The Man who Shot Liberty Valance Ford 1962 NR
Ugetsu Mizoguchi 1953 NR
Kuroneoko Shindô 1960 NR
Saving Private Ryan Spielberg 1998 R
Full Metal Jacket Kubrick 1978 R
Eyes without a Face Franju 1960 NR
Sunset Boulevard Wilder 1950 NR
Under the Skin Glazer 2013 R
Only Lovers Left Alive Jarmusch 2013 R
Westside Story Wise 1961 NR
Funny Face Donen 1957 NR
Mulholland Drive Lynch 2001 R
Red River Hawks 1948 NR
The Wild Bunch Pekinpah 1969 NR
Lady Eve Sturges 1941 NR
The Haunting Wise 1963 NR
Brazil Gilliam 1985 R
Touch of Evil Welles 1958 NR
Rosemary’s Baby Polanski 1968 R
Metropolis Lang 1927 NR
Cleo from 5 to 7 Varda 1962 NR
Harold and Maude Ashby 1971 PG
The Godfather II Coppola 1974 R
Gender
Mildred Pierce Curtiz 1945 NR
Dial M for Murder Hitchcock 1954 NR
The Apartment Wilder 1960 NR
Double Indemnity Wilder 1944 NR
To Have and Have Not Hawks 1944 NR
Ex Machina Garland 2014 R
Volver Almódovar 2006 R
Nights of Cabiria Fellini 1957 NR
Life of Oharu Mizoguchi 1952 NR
Aliens Cameron 1986 R
Woman of the Year Stevens 1942 NR
Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? Aldrich 1962 NR
Roman Holiday Wyler 1953 NR
My Fair Lady Cukor 1964 NR
Raise the Red Lantern Zhang 1991 PG
Blue Jasmine Allen 2013 PG
Marnie Hitchcock 1964 PG
Frenzy Hitchcock 1972 R
Thelma and Louise Scott 1991 R
Roma Cuarón 2018 R
Frida Taymor 2004 R
The Witch Eggers 2016 R Under the Skin Glazer 2013 R
Archetypal
Star Wars IV Lucas 1977 PG
Taxi Driver Scorsese 1976 R
The Searchers Ford 1956 NR
O Brother Where Art Thou? Coen Bros. 2000 PG-13
Purple Noon Clément 1960 PG-13
Birdman Iñnáritu 2014 R
The Seventh Seal Bergman 1957 NR
The Talented Mr. Ripley Minghella 1999 R
Coraline Selick 2009 PG
Cronos del Toro 1993 R
Pan’s Labyrinth del Toro 2006 R
Deadman Jarmusch 1996 R
Fight Club Fincher 1999 R
The Devil’s Backbone del Toro 2001 R
The Treasure of Sierra Madre Huston 1948 NR