David Parkinson

Like "The Searchers", this is so brilliant that the only real effect of the other versions is to make you want to watch the original again.

Less visceral than the battle scene in Seven Samurai, this is more of a free-for-all, with brute force leaving no room for skill.

Suspense gives way to metaphor in a stark thriller that hints at the work to come from master Carol Reed.

It may seem flawed in a number of ways to some people but this is monumental cinema and essential viewing for true film enthusiasts.

The stinging bon mots occasionally sound handcrafted rather than raspingly spontaneous, but aspiring actress Anne Baxter’s rise to the top over the corpse of her supposed idol, Bette Davis, remains rousing and endlessly amusing.

Tense and slick, this early thriller remains a true masterpiece.

If Tom Jones now feels something of a product of its times, it still deserves credit for attempting something new - no matter how derivative.

Timeless classic. Superb performances and the infamous shower scene make this the perfect nightmare.

Comedy has rarely been so intricate, incisive and inspired.

If you can see past the heavy-handed religious overtones you will encounter an inspired and deeply intelligent Bresson classic.

This is still the definitive version of Charles Dickens' atmospheric and occasionally creepy classic.

Magnificent examination of the criminal mind and Cagney's finest moment.

An uncompromising documentary which simply lays its subject bare and dares us not be moved by the raw humanity on display.

This is Hitchcock's longest film and also his most self-referential. Little jokes abound about art and artifice, role play and reality, duty and duplicity and each viewing reveals something new to enhance the pleasure of watching the Master of Suspense at his most mischievous and assured.

Difficult love, Nazis, and a lovely soupy plot...brilliant.

The mood of the movie reflects the exuberance of youth and the wisdom of experience. New Wave gold.

If you only ever see one silent film, this is the one it should be. A masterpiece.

A tight plot that's enriched by wonderfully crafted characters that each have their own key weaknesses.

Alec Guinness shines in this hilarious British comedy.

The director left France during the German Occupation and, many critics would argue, his work never reached the same heights again. But, even with its immediate contemporary relevance softened, this film alone is enough to seal his reputation, as its playful love games, satirical bite and technical marvels refuse to diminish.

Wonderfully complex but warmly human, Bergman's drama is one of his very best.

Meticulously constructed, beautifully played and poignant.

This is not just a treatise on post-colonialism and class. Sembène boldly uses his female characters to comment on Senegal's chauvinist patriarchy.

Demonstrating that the greatest political evil is indifference, this appeal to a world on the verge of war has lost none of its relevance.

This MGM classic remains the most faithful and powerful adaptation of the great Dickens novel.

One of Woody's most aesthetically gorgeous films as well as his classic love-hate letter to the city of his soul.

A must see.

Has a vigour, a commitment and an intelligence that is absent from too much modern cinema.

Orson Welles second tribute to Shakespeare is an often-ignored masterpiece. Check it out.

The red-jacketed, Method-pouting James Dean steals every scene, but the ensemble playing is nothing short of exemplary.

Moving and atmospheric, this quest tale is among the best of its kind.

Both funny and touching, this showcases Chaplin at his best.

Ideal Sunday afternoon fare.

One of the Nouvelle Vague's boldest achievements.

Impeccably mounted and played, this is gastro-cinema at its most sensual and intoxicating.

A thriller that twists and turns with an understated power that will have you gripping the arm of your seat. Terrific stuff.

Although not all the loose ends are tied up in the telling of this bizarre and absorbing tale of love, grief and goose-bumps, one scarcely minds at all, since the fourth-dimensional doings on offer, (underlined with a marvellously moody, haunting score by Zbigniew Preisner) are like an erotic trip into The Twilight Zone.

A touching and revelatory piece of film-making about the plights of real people living in an uncertain world.

Chock full of larger-than-life characters, it's an enthralling insight into a raw, bloodied world.

Typical James Stewart defeating bullies with integrity stuff.

Captivating and poignant portayal of life on the edge for the disregarded of our societies.

Magnificent absurdist crime drama from the master of suspense.

Bleak brilliance.

Satirical Samurai action of the highest order.

Switching from dour humour to humanist drama without seeming contrived, this is a masterclass in combining character and landscape that is played with deceptive poignancy by the excellent leads.

Shot in magisterial black-and-white, veteran director Trueba's drama is a welcome return from the Belle Epoque man.

The execution could be improved, but the sheer zip of the real life story just about carries this wartime tale along.

Storytelling of breathtaking scale and grandeur, even if the complex plotting may twist your synapses along the way.

Bleak and compelling.

Less audacious than A Bout de Souffle, this is, however, one of Godard's most accessible pictures. A good place to learn how much of a debt modern cinema owes him.

A classic of the weepy genre so have some toilet roll handy.

Cocteau has produced a bizarre, interesting although at times tedious movie.

Vibrantly recreating a seminal period in Jodorowsky's personal and artistic development, this bullishly played saga has enough quirky detail, audacious incident and visual panache to sweep the storyline through its less persuasive phases.

Subtle and multi-layered film-making with compelling performances.

Impeccably performed by its young leads and nurturing supporting cast, this deeply personal picture particularly impresses in the closing scenes, which are quietly devastating in their intimacy, insight and truth.

Knowingly blending realist grit with generic guile, this unrelentingly tense account of a fragmented family living in constant fear thoroughly merited the Best Director prize at the Venice Film Festival.

Thrillingly capturing both time and place and fizzing with non-judgemental empathy and cinematic flair, this is a magnificent debut that catapults Laetitia Dosch into the front rank of French actresses.

An atmospheric rite of passage that suggests big things lie ahead for its writer-director and young cast.

The mesmerising García and sensitive direction by Lelio light up this delicate yet spiky drama. Terrific stuff from both Chileans.

Olivier is truly remarkable in his portayal of the hammy actor, anti-hero Archie.

Shot in beautiful black and white with some stunning visuals, Gomes' narrative quest is a understated gem.

Drolly scripted, impeccably designed and photographed, and played to succinct perfection, this may only be a slender drama, but it's also a cherishable summation of what makes Aki Kaurismäki special.

Exploring workers' rights in an age of mechanisation and recession, this isn't always an easy watch. But it's played with spirit, filmed with integrity and is pleasingly full of surprises.

A powerful meditation on personal freedom from a Hungarian auteur.

It's a stark vision of humanity in a hellish world. Tough and thought-provoking.

This is simply the finest jazz documentary ever made.

Exposing the bleak reality of a supposedly more innocent time, this inspired blend of musical and melodrama succeeds in being both fond and forlorn, artistic and authentic.

The result is both audaciously amusing and provocatively sophisticated.

Funny and freewheeling, it's a joy.

This is a fascinating insight into the mind of the Nobel laureate and his city muse. Coolly intelligent and noirishly compelling.

Exquisitely designed, this cornucopia of melodramatic fragments and movie pastiches will enchant Guy Maddin fans.

An intense, emotional ride. Uplifting and inspiring.

Violent, visionary, vital.

Hansen-Løve again shows what a gifted storyteller she is with this tender, realistic portrayal of young love.

A charming, visually sparkling Parisian fantasy with a dark edge.

Challenging the truism that you can never go home, this doesn't entirely integrate its political subtext. But the storylines are involving, the setting is picturesque and the performances are impeccable.

Avant-garde triumph revolving around the seemingly mundane life of a widow in Brussels.

Marlene Dietrich tries not to give anything away as usual while Agatha Christie's whodunit plot whirs tidily about her expressionless beauty.

As startling and bleakly compelling as you'd expect from this rare combination of director and subject.

Superb dialogue, beautifully played and hummingly atmospheric, this is sexy, poignant and tense with some surpising humour...only the plot shows cracks...

Dramatically, this may seem slight. But bounteous pleasures lie in the intimacy of the acting and in the exquisite cinematic and culinary craftmanship on display.

Detached, but never dispassionate, this may not be Andrew Haigh's best film. But its slow-burning authenticity suggests a versatility to go with his acuity for credible characters in recognisable situations.

A fun and insightful slice of Roman life. Next up, M25: The Movie?

Wry and haunting.

Echoes of Dog Day Afternoon and Locke reverberate around this claustrophobic thriller, which is tautly plotted, precisely paced and grippingly played by Jakob Cedergren and his unseen co-stars.

Sturges' no-holds-barred comic cristicism of American Forces abroad is still challenging and funny.

For the rare uninitiated, this is a fine introduction to Babs' talents.

The performance of Harvey Stephens as the young Damien has invested the film with the chill of genuine credibility.

Pondering everything from free expression and sexual harassment to bourgeois guilt and migrant rage, this superbly acted saga may not always hit the target. But it unerringly leaves its mark.

The spirits of the old masters pervade this disquieting but deeply moving drama. But Kore-eda stands alone as the chronicler of family life in a country facing an identity crisis.

Filmed on a modest budget with a subtle sense of place and pace, this highly impressive debut considers mortality with a wry compassion that's rare for such a young director.

A gripping study of treachery, identity and survival.

A welcome return from Hoop Dream director Steve James. Even at just shy of three hours, the format strains to accommodate such a complex, involving true-life story, but it makes a seriously impressive attempt.

Romance novel in narrative this transcends its genre with visual depth and perceptive socio-cultural insights.

With the camera placement being as meticulous as the use of Handel on the soundtrack, this impeccably played saga deservedly earned Mungiu a share of the Best Director prize at Cannes.

As with a number of arthouse films, the ending leaves something to be desired. But, courtesy of its meticulously mundane digital imagery, this is a film of precise details that sketches an outline of existence and then leaves it to the audience to draw their own conclusions.

A lighter film for Hitchcock but with a wonderfully sewn narrative and some good performances.