David Parkinson

This 1967 Ming Dynasty epic may lack plot complexity and period spectacle. But the stand-off in a remote inn is flecked with tension, wit and slick martial artistry.

Comedy has rarely been so intricate, incisive and inspired.

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

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 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.

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

The formula of an innocent thrust into a nightmare would fascinate Hitch for decades to come, but here he packs the tale with strong characters and important details.

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.

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.

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.

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

This study in chaos and calculation not only makes for harrowingly compelling viewing, but it also exposes the apathy of an international community that simply turned the other way.

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

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

Nostalgic and charming romance with special moments in the extra-narrative action.

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

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

Compelling morality tale that works on multiple layers.

Powerful art cinema that challenges political and social unity in Iran.

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

A typical older male mentore story...told with sensitivity and perceptiveness.

Whether rediscovering La France périphérique or hurtling through the Louvre, Varda and JR make a surprisingly empathetic team and their collaboration is as provocative as it is poetic and poignant.

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

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.

This is intelligent, admirably unsentimental and utterly involving for its full three-hour running time.

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.

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.

Meticulously constructed, beautifully played and poignant.

Superbly played and realised, this stays with you.

Exceptional, human filmmaking.

Hitchcock's penultimate film deals with many of his previous themes with typical grim comedy and insight into a psychopathic killer's mind.

Poetic, provocative and unstoppably powerful. But, depressingly, it probably won't change a thing.

A rose-tinted look at American history, certainly, but still a very entertaining one.

A truly insightful art film that still manages to be easy-going and unpretentious.

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

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

A magnificent comic performance and a film of genial hilarity.

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

Packed with cultural references and sly satire, this is also a hugely entertaining comic romp.

This lesser known Kurosawa feature is worth a look, with outstanding performances and stunning cinematography.

Alec Guinness shines in this hilarious British comedy.

A bleak and moving drama with reflective performance from Jack Nicolson.

Well-served by a laudably authentic ensemble, the director explores both character and ethnicity with a canny wit.

A painful and poignant excoriation of the American dream.

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

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

A gripping study of treachery, identity and survival.

Full of fascinating behavioural insights and moments that are both hilarious and adorable, this studied treatise on the personality and emotionality of domestic animals should provide plentiful food for thought.

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

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

Dark but beautiful.

Winning Best Film at that year's Oscars, this John Huston film typically epic with a faithful screenplay to Richard Llewellyn's famous novel. Strong performances from Crisp and O'Hara although McDowall as the young lead, gives a particularly memorable performance while the setting shows Wales at its most beautiful.

Magnificent absurdist crime drama from the master of suspense.

Louis Malle, possibly at his best here. The drama is subtle but affecting.

It might be lesser known, but certainly not deservingly so. This is a cracking piece of Brit cinema.

Lemmon and Maclaine fail to reproduce the chemistry from The Apartment but this slight film is not as ignorable as reputation suggests.

A must see.

Powerful and mesmerising, this offers an fresh approach to a tough topic.

Not as depressing as the subject matter might suggest, this tackles heavy themes of modern life.

One of the Nouvelle Vague's boldest achievements.

Farhadi’s gifted storytelling and direction is on show again in a damning look at Iranian society.

Long, but engrossing and frequently enraging drama that not only exposes the flaws in the Romanian health service, but also in modern humanity.

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

For all the courage and ingenuity of this extraordinary film, it's clear that Caouette has actually resolved few issues and that his life is still very much a work in progress.

Whether viewed as a political allegory or a domestic drama, this is the most accessible film yet from one of Europe’s very finest filmmakers.

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.

A sensitive, sincere and humbling profile which is truly inspirational.

A moving treatment of a deeply personal subject (France's own partner died of an AIDS-related illness in 1992), and an enthralling depiction of a seriously fired-up popular movement.

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

Courageous and indelible account and an invaluable perspective of the protests.

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

Deftly played and beautifully photographed, this may lack depth, but its observations on human transience are deeply moving.

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.

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.

Costa-Gravas at his hypocrisy and oppression-fighting best.

Douglas' teeth-clenched, dimple-thrusting megalomaniac is among his best work, while the gossipy screenplay (another Oscar winner) is served wonderfully by Minnelli's lush melodramatics.

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

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.

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

Curious allegorical epic which was supposed to speak to Allied spirits during the second world war but was a trifle obscure in its symbolism even then.

A true emotional epic.

This is simply the finest jazz documentary ever made.

Ideal Sunday afternoon fare.

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

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.

Filled with striking and scarringly disconcerting images of vandalised nature, satanic mills and redundant modernity, this is a mournful tribute to a maligned migrant workforce and a sobering reminder that nothing comes cheap.

An explosion of garish colour, wacky detail and surreal complications, Almodovar’s very funny, urban comedy overflows with the unexpected. See it!

Seminal feature from Tarkovsky, the master of atmosphere and multi-functional allegory is truly affecting, as well as fodder for countless film studies curricula.

Written with great insight by Kogo Noda and filmed with painterly delicacy by Asakazu Nakai, though Ozu's touch brings the magic to this domestic drama.

Visually striking, intellectually challenging and emotionally harrowing.

Elements of self parody from the master of slapstick leave you yearning for the early work that made his name. But it's worth a watch to see Chaplin and Keaton in one of few on-screen appearances together.

Evocative and endearing - a worthy string to the Lean bow.

Interesting portrait of the shallow nature of fame but overall this fails to engage on an emotional level.

Marx brothers anarchy that makes up for plot inconsistencies with infectious humour.

Witty, moving and visually dazzling.

Woody's neuroses are still gloriously present, and the whole thing is made accessible by Herbert Ross' dynamic direction.

A delight from start to finish.

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.