Note: I've excluded the likes of "Citizen Kane" and the first two "Godfather" films because nothing new can possibly be written about them despite their respective unadulterated brilliance. Also, these are fifteen essential films, not the fifteen essential films, so read accordingly. Thanks for reading!
1. "The Night of the Hunter" (1955) - Perhaps the greatest film ever made. It's ostensibly a dark fairy tale about a pair of children who are pursued by a deranged preacher (the indomitable, inimitable Robert Mitchum) throughout the South circa 1930, but there's much more to it. One of its remarkable qualities is the fact that it seemingly has three different auteurs that work brilliantly together despite all odds. The first two are director Charles Laughton and. The third is Mitchum himself. The laconic, pot-smoking star of such films as "Out of the Past" and "Track of the Cat" is tremendous here; his natural charisma steers his Reverend from Hell into the realm of the plausible simply because despite his barely-repressed ferocity, he's magnetic. The relevance of the narrative is striking too; the fact that such a wicked charlatan could wander freely is a reflection of the lawlessness of the Depression and the willingness of desperate people to believe in something. But, if nothing else, it's pure cinema; or, as Godard put it, truth at 24 frames per second.
2. "Taxi Driver" (1976) - A hearkening back to a time when American movies were allowed to be smarter and angrier, Martin Scorsese's best film (sorry not sorry "Hugo") is a radical, beautiful picture that captures the psyche of the loner better than any before or since. Its portrait of American society is also wildly subversive; the final, damning ending is one of the finest in film history.
3. "The Wild Bunch" (1969) - "It ain't like it used to be, but it'll do." This line, one of the last in the picture, is emblematic of the worldview of "The Wild Bunch" and its director, Sam Peckinpah. A violent, bawdy ode to the Westerns of days gone by, it's the kind of film that comes along once in a generation; a proud cross on the lonely grave of a forgotten genre. And through all the sweat, blood, and whiskey, Peckinpah crafts a kind of rough visual poetry that has been often imitated but never duplicated.
4. "Gun Crazy" (1950) - The granddaddy of the Bonnie-and-Clyde films that spawned such entries as, well, "Bonnie and Clyde" in addition to the more contemporary "True Romance" , Joseph H. Lewis' film has yet to generate an equal. Rarely will a picture grab you by the throat and refuses to let go in the way that gun crazy does. It's more than a B-movie; it's desire and violence at an unparalleled velocity.5. "Act of Violence" (1948) - Film noir is a genre (style, if you prefer) that if not forgotten, has been relegated to niche circles, and with the possible exceptions of "The Big Sleep" and its ilk, is often ignored in larger discussions of the development of American cinema. Fred Zinnemann's bracing fever dream of post-WWII USA is a testament to the folly of that neglection. Like "Gun Crazy", it has little regard for the mental health of the audience; the dark crevasses of postwar society are mined for maximum psychological effect.
6. "Rocky" (1976) - Yeah, yeah, yeah. The inspirational sports story is as American as apple pie and violence, but there is frankly nothing that has ever come close to the heights of Sylvester Stallone's first and last defensible film. The 'down-on-his-luck' underdog schtick has been done to death, but in "Rocky" it's a simple story told with an exquisite sensibility that is at once American and completely universal. Of course, Stallone himself felt it wise to pulverize any genuine pathos out of the concept with the resulting five sequels (including "Rocky Balboa"), but the original more than stands the test of time.
dynamics. Magnificent.
8. "The Man who Shot Liberty Valance" (1962) - John Ford was so prolific, it feels like an injustice to neglect his greatest film with John Wayne (sorry, "The Searchers". And "Fort Apache". And "The Quiet Man". You get the idea). Ford's unique brand of myth-making comes to a close here as the rosy, wildly fictitious portrait of the frontier found in his earlier pictures is questioned, but not completely torn asunder. Jimmy Stewart is a perfect foil to the Duke as the two slowly march to the sunset of the American West.
9. "The Last Picture Show" (1971) - The coming-of-age film is another genre popular among American directors, but there hasn't been anything that's even come close to Peter Bogdanovich's titanic masterpiece. Everything, from the grainy 35mm black-and-white film stock to the Hank Williams-happy soundtrack, is bracingly authentic, and by the time the camera settles on a closed movie theater in an empty town, a feeling rattles your bones that can only be described as apocalyptic.
10. "Rear Window"(1954) - Of course you could pick one of a half-dozen Alfred Hitchcock movies for this list and not conceivably be faulted for it, but in my opinion this is the greatest of the Master of Suspense's myriad achievements. It's his most complete film, a perfectly realized yarn of voyeurism and intrigue that hasn't aged a day in the last sixty years. Jimmy Stewart and Grace Kelly are at their very best here.
11. "Blue Collar" (1978) - An often overlooked gem from the American New Wave, this Paul Schrader-directed film about the folly and the hardship of the American working class is bitter and righteous without being overtly cynical and misanthropic. Watch for Richard Pryor in his finest dramatic role.
12. "Punch-Drunk Love" (2002) - One of the best contemporary American romance films, period. Director Paul Thomas Anderson's offbeat, atypical movie about two offbeat, atypical people is the kind of movie that can melt the blackest of hearts and most cynical of minds. It's an unfiltered expression of, well, love, and it's goddamned infectious.
13. "Devil's Doorway" (1950) - Remarkable not only for its style but for its content, Anthony Mann's egregiously underseen drama mixes the potency and fatalism of the film noir with the broad scope of the Western in its tale of American Indians vs. settlers to great effect. It's the kind of fiery, uncompromising, forward-thinking film that's more than welcome in a genre known for its sometimes casual, oftentimes not-so-casual racism.14. "Heaven's Gate" (1980) - Maybe not the best movie on this list, but it's definitely the most movie. At almost 220 minutes, Michael Cimino's epic Western was credited not only with the bankruptcy of studio United Artists but also with the demise of the American New Wave of the 1970's. This is a bit reductive; it is excessive to be sure, but in that sense it seems quintessentially American. Every gigantic setpiece and every luxurious panorama shot feels at home in the wide expanses of "Heaven's Gate". There's no clear narrative structure here, the story ambles along with its three main characters, but by the blood-soaked finale and melancholic denouement it feels like we have witnessed an essential episode in American history. It's also remarkably relevant; the theme of dispossessed immigrants fighting for their stake in a wild frontier against a large corporation hits pretty close to home in these xenophobic atmosphere of today. Despite (or because of) its wild excess and ambition, "Heaven's Gate" has earned a place in the pantheon of great American films.
15. "L.A. Confidential" (1997) - The best noir to come along in thirty years, this is the closest studio filmmaking gets to flawless. The black heart of James Ellroy's novel simmers just under the skin of this marvelous creation, which exists in the no man's land between populist moviemaking and more subversive territory. Guy Pearce, Russell Crowe, and Kevin Spacey are some of the best movie cops to ever kick down a door.
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