Barry Jenkins's Criterion Closet Picks
by moo_fatcats | created - 01 Feb 2017 | updated - 02 Feb 2017 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
R | 188 min | Drama
Two young Swedish children in the 1900s experience the many comedies and tragedies of their lively and affectionate theatrical family, the Ekdahls.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bertil Guve, Pernilla Allwin, Kristina Adolphson, Börje Ahlstedt
Votes: 67,450 | Gross: $4.97M
2. Pather Panchali (1955)
Not Rated | 125 min | Drama
Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Banerjee, Chunibala Devi
Votes: 38,489 | Gross: $0.54M
Part of "The Apu Trilogy"
3. Aparajito (1956)
Not Rated | 110 min | Drama
Following his father's death, a boy leaves home to study in Calcutta, while his mother must face a life alone.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Pinaki Sengupta, Smaran Ghosal, Kamala Adhikari, Rani Bala
Votes: 15,972 | Gross: $0.17M
Part of "The Apu Trilogy"
4. The World of Apu (1959)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama
This final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.
Director: Satyajit Ray | Stars: Soumitra Chatterjee, Sharmila Tagore, Alok Chakravarty, Swapan Mukherjee
Votes: 16,729 | Gross: $0.02M
Part of "The Apu Trilogy"
5. Weekend (II) (2011)
Not Rated | 97 min | Drama, Romance
After a drunken house party with his straight mates, Russell heads out to a gay club. Just before closing time he picks up Glen but what's expected to be just a one-night stand becomes something else, something special.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Tom Cullen, Chris New, Jonathan Race, Laura Freeman
Votes: 32,813 | Gross: $0.46M
6. Shadows (1958)
PG | 87 min | Drama, Music, Romance
Cassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Ben Carruthers, Lelia Goldoni, Hugh Hurd, Anthony Ray
Votes: 12,544
Part of "John Cassavetes: Five Films"
7. Faces (I) (1968)
R | 130 min | Drama
A middle-aged man leaves his wife for another woman. Shortly after, his ex-wife also begins a relationship with a younger partner. The film follows their struggles to find love amongst each other.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: John Marley, Gena Rowlands, Lynn Carlin, Seymour Cassel
Votes: 11,637
Part of "John Cassavetes: Five Films"
8. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
R | 155 min | Drama, Romance
Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands
Votes: 28,662 | Gross: $13.34M
Part of "John Cassavetes: Five Films"
9. The Killing of a Chinese Bookie (1976)
R | 135 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A proud strip club owner is forced to come to terms with himself as a man when his gambling addiction gets him in hot water with the mob, who offer him only one alternative.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Ben Gazzara, Timothy Carey, Seymour Cassel, Robert Phillips
Votes: 14,725
Part of "John Cassavetes: Five Films"
10. Opening Night (1977)
PG-13 | 144 min | Drama
A renowned actress teeters on the edge of a breakdown as she counts down the days toward a big Broadway opening.
Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, John Cassavetes, Ben Gazzara, Joan Blondell
Votes: 12,177
Part of "John Cassavetes: Five Films"
11. A Constant Forge (2000)
Not Rated | 200 min | Documentary, Biography, Romance
A look at the life, times, and art of independent film pioneer John Cassavetes through interviews with his family, friends, and admirers of his work.
Director: Charles Kiselyak | Stars: Seymour Cassel, Carol Kane, Jon Voight, Ben Gazzara
Votes: 509
Part of "John Cassavetes: Five Films"
12. Punch-Drunk Love (2002)
R | 95 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
Socially frustrated Barry Egan calls a phone-sex line to curb his loneliness. Little does he know it will land him in deep trouble and will jeopardize his burgeoning romance with the mysterious Lena.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Adam Sandler, Emily Watson, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Jason Andrews
Votes: 177,244 | Gross: $17.84M
13. I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967)
X | 121 min | Drama, Romance
Told in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Blue) (1968) deals with topics such as class society, non-violent resistance, sex, relationships, and tourism to Francoist Spain.
Director: Vilgot Sjöman | Stars: Lena Nyman, Vilgot Sjöman, Börje Ahlstedt, Peter Lindgren
Votes: 4,302 | Gross: $20.24M
Part of "I Am Curious . . . Box set"
14. I Am Curious (Blue) (1968)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama
Told in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) deals with topics such as class society, religion, sex, contraceptives, and the Swedish prison Kumla.
Director: Vilgot Sjöman | Stars: Maj Hultén, Vilgot Sjöman, Lena Nyman, Börje Ahlstedt
Votes: 1,644
Part of "I Am Curious . . . Box set"
15. Three Colors: Blue (1993)
R | 94 min | Drama, Music, Mystery
A woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Juliette Binoche, Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Benoît Régent
Votes: 110,405 | Gross: $1.32M
Part of "Three Colours"
16. Three Colors: White (1994)
R | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
After his wife divorces him, a Polish immigrant plots to get even with her.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Zbigniew Zamachowski, Julie Delpy, Janusz Gajos, Jerzy Stuhr
Votes: 79,531 | Gross: $1.46M
Part of "Three Colours"
17. Three Colors: Red (1994)
R | 99 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski | Stars: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Frédérique Feder, Jean-Pierre Lorit
Votes: 109,927 | Gross: $4.04M
Part of "Three Colours"
18. The Decalogue (1989–1990)
TV-MA | 572 min | Drama
Ten television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments.
Stars: Artur Barcis, Olgierd Lukaszewicz, Olaf Lubaszenko, Aleksander Bardini
Votes: 27,853 | Gross: $0.10M
19. La haine (1995)
Not Rated | 98 min | Crime, Drama
24 hours in the lives of three young men in the French suburbs the day after a violent riot.
Director: Mathieu Kassovitz | Stars: Vincent Cassel, Hubert Koundé, Saïd Taghmaoui, Abdel Ahmed Ghili
Votes: 196,113 | Gross: $0.31M
20. Blood Simple (1984)
R | 99 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
The owner of a seedy small-town Texas bar discovers that one of his employees is having an affair with his wife. A chaotic chain of misunderstandings, lies, and mischief ensues after he devises a plot to have them murdered.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: John Getz, Frances McDormand, Dan Hedaya, M. Emmet Walsh
Votes: 105,057 | Gross: $2.15M
21. Fat Girl (2001)
Not Rated | 86 min | Drama
Two sisters confront their sexual attitudes and experiences while on a family holiday.
Director: Catherine Breillat | Stars: Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero De Rienzo, Arsinée Khanjian
Votes: 12,808 | Gross: $0.72M
22. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
R | 114 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A stressed father, a bride-to-be with a secret, a smitten event planner, and relatives from around the world create much ado about the preparations for an arranged marriage in India.
Director: Mira Nair | Stars: Naseeruddin Shah, Lillete Dubey, Shefali Shah, Vijay Raaz
Votes: 26,666 | Gross: $13.88M
23. The Swamp (2001)
Not Rated | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
The life of two women and their families in a small provincial town of Salta, Argentina.
Director: Lucrecia Martel | Stars: Mercedes Morán, Graciela Borges, Martín Adjemián, Leonora Balcarce
Votes: 7,842 | Gross: $0.10M
24. Ratcatcher (1999)
Not Rated | 94 min | Drama
A naïve young lad navigates the dirty squalid streets of 1973 Glasgow and the poor youth around him.
Director: Lynne Ramsay | Stars: Tommy Flanagan, Mandy Matthews, William Eadie, Michelle Stewart
Votes: 11,758 | Gross: $0.22M
25. George Washington (2000)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
A group of children, in a depressed small town, band together to cover up a tragic mistake one summer.
Director: David Gordon Green | Stars: Candace Evanofski, Donald Holden, Damian Jewan Lee, Curtis Cotton III
Votes: 8,662 | Gross: $0.24M
26. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,239 | Gross: $0.10M
27. The River (1951)
Approved | 99 min | Drama, Romance
The growing pains of three young women contrast with the immutability of the holy Bengal River, around which their daily lives unfold.
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Patricia Walters, Nora Swinburne, Esmond Knight, Arthur Shields
Votes: 6,879
28. Breathless (1960)
Not Rated | 90 min | Crime, Drama
A small-time crook, hunted by the authorities for a car theft and the murder a police officer, attempts to persuade a hip American journalism student to run away with him to Italy.
Director: Jean-Luc Godard | Stars: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Van Doude, Jean-Luc Godard
Votes: 87,858 | Gross: $0.34M
29. The Pleasures of the Flesh (1965)
104 min | Crime, Drama
After Atsushi commits murder, he is blackmailed into keeping a suitcase full of embezzled money. What follows is a descent into lustful, reckless actions and regret.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Katsuo Nakamura, Mariko Kaga, Yumiko Nogawa, Masako Yagi
Votes: 1,710
From "Eclipse Series 21: Oshima's Outlaw Sixties"
30. Violence at Noon (1966)
99 min | Crime, Drama
Two young women must come to terms with the fact that a man they're deeply linked to is a murdering rapist.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Saeda Kawaguchi, Akiko Koyama, Kei Satô, Rokkô Toura
Votes: 1,191
From "Eclipse Series 21: Oshima's Outlaw Sixties"
31. Sing a Song of Sex (1967)
103 min | Drama
Four high school students preparing for their university entrance exam fantasize about a classmate, and meet up with their inebriated teacher, while singing bawdy drinking songs.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Ichirô Araki, Kazuko Tajima, Jûzô Itami, Akiko Koyama
Votes: 873
From "Eclipse Series 21: Oshima's Outlaw Sixties"
32. Double Suicide: Japanese Summer (1967)
98 min | Crime, Drama
Over the course of a night, a sex-obsessed young woman, a suicidal man, and a gun-crazy wannabe gangster are taken prisoner of a gang awaiting a shootout between a rival gang at dawn.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Kei Satô, Keiko Sakurai, Rokkô Toura, Shunsuke Mizoguchi
Votes: 885
From "Eclipse Series 21: Oshima's Outlaw Sixties"
33. Three Resurrected Drunkards (1968)
80 min | Action, Comedy
A carefree afternoon at the beach turns into a comic misadventure when three young Japanese men are mistaken for illegal Korean residents.
Director: Nagisa Ôshima | Stars: Kazuhiko Kato, Osamu Kitayama, Norihiko Hashida, Kei Satô
Votes: 702
From "Eclipse Series 21: Oshima's Outlaw Sixties"
34. Lola (1961)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Anouk Aimée, Marc Michel, Jacques Harden, Alan Scott
Votes: 7,522
From "The Essential Jacques Demy"
35. Bay of Angels (1963)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
Jean is a clerk in a bank. His colleague Caron is a gambler and gives him the virus. In the casinos, Jean meets Jackie. Their love affair will follow their luck at the roulette.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Jeanne Moreau, Claude Mann, Paul Guers, Henri Nassiet
Votes: 4,214 | Gross: $0.09M
From "The Essential Jacques Demy"
36. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
A young woman separated from her lover by war faces a life-altering decision.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel
Votes: 31,300 | Gross: $0.03M
From "The Essential Jacques Demy"
37. The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
G | 125 min | Comedy, Drama, Musical
Two sisters leave their small seaside town of Rochefort in search of romance. Hired as carnival singers, one falls for an American musician, while the other must search for her ideal partner.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, George Chakiris, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin
Votes: 12,011 | Gross: $0.09M
From "The Essential Jacques Demy"
38. Donkey Skin (1970)
91 min | Comedy, Fantasy, Musical
A fairy godmother helps a princess disguise and flee the kingdom so she won't have to marry the king who happens to be her father.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Marais, Jacques Perrin, Micheline Presle
Votes: 6,346
From "The Essential Jacques Demy"
39. A Room in Town (1982)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Musical, Romance
Amid an ongoing workers' strike, a steelworker falls in love with the daughter of his baroness landlady, even though both are already in relationships.
Director: Jacques Demy | Stars: Dominique Sanda, Danielle Darrieux, Richard Berry, Michel Piccoli
Votes: 1,609
From "The Essential Jacques Demy"
40. Jour de Fête (1949)
Not Rated | 70 min | Comedy
A village postman with no sense of humour delivers his mail via bicycle on the day the travelling fair comes to town. He is disrupted by a short film about US speed and efficiency and the playful teasing of the village folk.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Guy Decomble, Paul Frankeur, Santa Relli
Votes: 9,047
From "The Complete Jacques Tati"
41. Monsieur Hulot's Holiday (1953)
Not Rated | 83 min | Comedy
Monsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Nathalie Pascaud, Micheline Rolla, Valentine Camax
Votes: 20,251
From "The Complete Jacques Tati"
42. My Uncle (1958)
Not Rated | 116 min | Comedy
Monsieur Hulot visits the technology-driven world of his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, but he can't quite fit into the surroundings.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie, Lucien Frégis
Votes: 24,223
From "The Complete Jacques Tati"
43. Playtime (1967)
Not Rated | 155 min | Comedy
Monsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden, France Rumilly
Votes: 25,888
From "The Complete Jacques Tati"
44. Trafic (1971)
G | 96 min | Comedy
Mr. Hulot drives a recreational vehicle from Paris to Amsterdam in his usual comical, disastrous style.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Marcel Fraval, Honoré Bostel, François Maisongrosse
Votes: 7,512
From "The Complete Jacques Tati"
45. Parade (1974 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 90 min | Comedy, Family
Two children go behind the scenes of a small circus.
Director: Jacques Tati | Stars: Jacques Tati, Karl Kossmayer, Pierre Bramma, Michèle Brabo
Votes: 1,799
From "The Complete Jacques Tati"
46. A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Not Rated | 237 min | Crime, Drama, Romance
Based on a true story, primarily on a conflict between two youth gangs, a 14-year-old boy's girlfriend conflicts with the head of one gang for an unclear reason, until finally the conflict comes to a violent climax.
Director: Edward Yang | Stars: Chang Chen, Lisa Yang, Kuo-Chu Chang, Elaine Jin
Votes: 12,728
47. The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
R | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
The eccentric members of a dysfunctional family reluctantly gather under the same roof for various reasons.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Gene Hackman, Gwyneth Paltrow, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller
Votes: 312,952 | Gross: $52.36M
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