Desert Island Film 80

A masterful noir that seems like one of the two or three biggest influences on The Godfather and on Scorsese's style

Desert Island Film 79

Ashby, Towne, Beatty and one of the greatest films ever about Los Angeles

Desert Island Film 78

One of the most memorable cinematic discoveries for me in the last five years

Desert Island Film 77

 Arthur Penn's noir with a memorable Hackman and Melanie Griffith

Desert Island Film 76

Ray captures the buoyant feelings of innocence masterfully

Desert Island Film 75

Perhaps the first of Scorsese's films with that primal energy he would become known for

Desert Island Film 74

Has the New Wave's keen interest and eye in youth, female beauty and the sea

Desert Island Film 73

For so many reasons, including one of the great closing scenes in the history of film

Desert Island Film 72

One of the most underrated filmmakers' most underrated films

Desert Island Film 71

The more I watch, the more Ford seems like the narrative version of Wiseman, a filmmaker deeply concerned with our institutions and the very foundation on which this country is supposed to rest.

Desert Island Film 70

Not to be missed.  One of France's great action films and one of its greatest filmmakers greatest films.

Desert Island Film 69

Unrelenting and powerful and one of the key American New Wave films

My Current Top 50

I see so many movies that every now and then I like to take a step back and think about where I would rate them all. Here’s what I would call my current top 50. I limited it to one film per director and gave greatest emphasis to the films that continue to haunt me:

Sunrise (1927)
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
Morocco (1930)
La chienne (1931)
City Lights (1931)
L’atalante (1934)
Holiday (1938)
The Shop Around The Corner (1940)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
Gentleman Jim (1942)
Notorious (1946)
Late Spring (1949)
In a Lonely Place (1950)
Stars in My Crown (1950)
The Big Heat (1953)
The Sun Shines Bright (1953)
The Barefoot Contessa (1954)
Voyage in Italy (1954)
Written on the Wind (1956)
Pickpocket (1959)
Shoot the Piano Player (1960)
Chronicle of a Summer (1961)
Gertrud (1964)
Pierrot le fou (1965)
Army of Shadows (1969)
Kes (1969)
La maison des bois (1971)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
The Mother and the Whore (1973)
Alice in the Cities (1974)
The Passenger (1975)
Mikey and Nicky (1976)
Blow Out (1981)
Le Pont du Nord (1981)
Boy Meets Girl (1984)
Full Moon in Paris (1984)
Where Is The Friend’s House? (1987)
Trust (1990)
Heat (1995)
Dead Man (1995)
Goodbye South, Goodbye (1996)
Funny Ha Ha (2002)
Still Life (2006)
Mysteries of Lisbon (2010)
Clouds of Sils Maria (2014)
Right Now, Wrong Then (2015)
In Jackson Heights (2015)
Certain Women (2017)
Let the Sunshine In (2017)
Wheel of Fortune and Fantasy (2021)

Desert Island Film 68

 One of Bunuel's most free-flowing and liberated films

Desert Island Film 67

For fans of long takes and of the work of Hou Hsiao-hsien.  A great example of a 21st century art film.

Desert Island Film 66

Erice's most accessible film to date.  A poetic and beautiful film that explores the feelings the young have for the older generation as they discover their flaws and their humanity.

Desert Island Film 65

For the power of motion, or in other words, cinema

Desert Island Film 64

A fabulous new addition to trance cinema (Garrel's Regular Lovers, Dead Man, McCabe & Mrs. Miller) and a completely original approach to the biopic

Desert Island Film 63

Our greatest crime epic, post-Godfather