My Top 20 by Year - 1953
by miran_kor | created - 17 Jun 2015 | updated - 2 weeks ago | PublicUnder construction and always in progress.
The Best films from this year (according to IMDb) I've seen (so far).
Out of (only) 153 films 'seen' (ie rated at IMDb).
(Apr 2024)
Notes:
- Features, shorts, docs and TV movies eligible ("A film is a film is a film.").
- TV mini-series are NOT (unless stated otherwise).
- My humble rates added (for films with the same rate just once or twice though).
- Films with the same rate are ordered arbitrarily. Feel free to re-order them at your will.
- When I saw more than 20 excellent films (9/10 or above in my book) from a certain year I'll try and list them ALL. That would make some lists much longer but all the excellentia deserves to be mentioned.
Cinema = cinema (big screen) viewing TV = TV viewing PC = download OL = online viewing VHS = VHS viewing
Yet to see (among many):
Hiroshima (Sekigawa, 1953) Magia verde (Green Magic, Napolitano, 1953, doc) Velikiy voin Albanii Skanderbeg (Skanderbeg, Yutkevich, 1953) Les orgueilleux (The Proud and the Beautiful, Allégret/Portas, 1953) The Cruel Sea (Frend, 1953) The Man Between (Reed, 1953) Titanic (Negulesco, 1953) All I Desire (Sirk, 1953) I vinti (The Vanquished, Antonioni, 1953) Fûfu (Husband and Wife, Naruse, 1953) Koibumi (Love Letter, K. Tanaka, 1953) Himeyuri no tô (Himeyuri Lily Tower, Imai, 1953) The War of the Worlds (Haskin, 1953) Dos tipos de cuidado (Two Careful Fellows, I. Rodríguez, 1953) La valigia dei sogni (Comencini, 1953) Tsuma (Wife, Naruse, 1953) Nigorie (Stained Image, Imai, 1953) Taiheiyô no washi (Eagle of the Pacific, Honda, 1953) Sie fanden eine Heimat (The Village, L. Lindtberg, 1953) Devadasu (Raghavaiah, 1953) Ani imôto (Older Brother, Younger Sister; Naruse, 1953) Nihon no higeki (A Japanese Tragedy, Kinoshita, 1953) Gan (Wild Geese, Toyoda, 1953) Man on a Tightrope (Kazan, 1953) Anni facili (Easy Years, Zampa, 1953) Do Bigha Zamin (Two Acres of Land, B. Roy, 1953) Tajemství krve (The Secret of Blood, Frič, 1953) Magokoro (Sincere Heart, Kobayashi, 1953) Las tres perfectas casadas (Gavaldón, 1953) L'amour d'une femme (The Love of a Woman, Grémillon, 1953) Una di quelle (One of Those, Fabrizi, 1953) Solange Du da bist (As Long as You're Near Me, H. Braun, 1953) Entotsu no mieru basho (Where Chimneys Are Seen, Gosho, 1953) El niño y la niebla (The Boy and the Fog, Gavaldón, 1953) Dangerous When Wet (Walters, 1953) El vampiro negro (The Black Vampire, R. V. Barreto, 1953) By the Light of the Silvery Moon (D. Butler, 1953) Inferno (R. Ward Baker, 1953) The Kidnappers (Leacock, 1953)
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1. El (1953)
Approved | 82 min | Drama, Romance
A husband's suave exterior unravels after his marriage, and he unleashes his paranoid and volatile temper on his wife, which escalates to more dangerous and unpredictable tantrums.
Director: Luis Buñuel | Stars: Arturo de Córdova, Delia Garcés, Aurora Walker, Carlos Martínez Baena
Votes: 6,574
PC. 10/10.
2. Tokyo Story (1953)
Not Rated | 136 min | Drama
An old couple visit their children and grandchildren in the city, but receive little attention.
Director: Yasujirô Ozu | Stars: Chishû Ryû, Chieko Higashiyama, Sô Yamamura, Setsuko Hara
Votes: 68,651
PC.
3. Eaux d'artifice (1953)
Not Rated | 12 min | Short
A woman dressed in an elegant period dress wanders through the water gardens at the Villa d'Este.
Director: Kenneth Anger | Star: Carmilla Salvatorelli
Votes: 1,787
PC.
4. Daybreak Express (1953)
5 min | Documentary, Short, Music
Set to a classic Duke Ellington recording of "Daybreak Expresa" this is a five-minute short on the soon-to-be-demolished Third Avenue elevated train line in Manhattan, New York City.
Director: D.A. Pennebaker
Votes: 1,335
OL.
5. Toot Whistle Plunk and Boom (1953)
Approved | 10 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A crash course on the history of Western musical instruments.
Directors: Ward Kimball, Charles Nichols | Stars: The Mellowmen Quartet, Loulie Jean Norman, Charlie Parlota, Bill Thompson
Votes: 1,556
OL. 10/10.
6. Sawdust and Tinsel (1953)
Not Rated | 93 min | Drama
The complicated relationships between a circus ringmaster, his estranged wife and his lover.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Åke Grönberg, Harriet Andersson, Hasse Ekman, Anders Ek
Votes: 7,383
PC. 9.5/10.
7. Summer with Monika (1953)
R | 96 min | Drama, Romance
A pair of teenagers meet one summer day, start a reckless affair and abandon their families to be with one another.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Harriet Andersson, Lars Ekborg, Dagmar Ebbesen, Åke Fridell
Votes: 16,187
Cinema. 9/10.
8. 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: 20,277
TV.
9. The Living Desert (1953)
G | 69 min | Family, Documentary
Although first glance reveals little more than stones and sand, the desert is alive. Witness moving rocks, spitting mud pots, gorgeous flowers and the never-ending battle for survival between creatures of every shape, size and description.
Director: James Algar | Star: Winston Hibler
Votes: 1,717
OL.
10. Duck Amuck (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
The short-tempered Daffy Duck must improvise madly as the backgrounds, his costumes, the soundtrack, even his physical form, shifts and changes at the whim of the animator.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 9,436
PC.
11. The Earrings of Madame De... (1953)
Not Rated | 105 min | Drama, Romance
When an aristocratic woman known only as "Madame de . . ." sells a pair of earrings given to her by her husband in order to pay some debts, she sets off a chain reaction of financial and carnal consequences that can end only in despair.
Director: Max Ophüls | Stars: Charles Boyer, Danielle Darrieux, Vittorio De Sica, Jean Debucourt
Votes: 11,111
PC.
12. Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953)
78 min | Comedy
After finding out that North American people are visiting the Spanish villages, the citizens of Villar del Río start preparing themselves to welcome them when they arrive.
Director: Luis García Berlanga | Stars: Lolita Sevilla, Manolo Morán, José Isbert, Alberto Romea
Votes: 4,823
PC.
13. Christopher Crumpet (1953)
6 min | Animation, Short
Through drawings, an illustrator tells his dog the story of a boy named Christopher Crumpet. Christopher can at will change himself from a little boy into a chicken. He threatens to do so ... See full summary »
Director: Robert Cannon | Stars: Marvin Miller, Marian Richman
Votes: 203
OL.
14. The Tell-Tale Heart (I) (1953)
Passed | 8 min | Animation, Short, Crime
A madman tells his tale of murder, and how a strange beating sound haunted him afterward.
Director: Ted Parmelee | Stars: James Mason, Jack Mather
Votes: 2,213
OL.
15. The Three Little Pups (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
A variation on the age-old 'Three Little Pigs' theme, with Droopy and pals being the target of one of the most laid-back wolves you'll ever see.
Director: Tex Avery | Stars: Bill Thompson, Daws Butler, Red Coffey, Joe Trescari
Votes: 621
OL.
16. Duck! Rabbit, Duck! (1953)
TV-Y7 | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
The final installment of the "Hunting Trilogy" once again has Elmer out hunting, while Bugs and Daffy try to con him into shooting the other.
Director: Chuck Jones | Stars: Mel Blanc, Arthur Q. Bryan
Votes: 3,600
OL.
17. Bully for Bugs (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Adventure
Bugs Bunny takes a wrong turn at Albuquerque and winds up in a Mexican bullring fighting one heck of a big bullying bull.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 2,948
OL.
18. Don't Give Up the Sheep (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Family, Animation, Short
A sheepdog thwarts the efforts of a thieving wolf whose tricks include altering the time clock, hiding in a bush, imitating Pan, digging a tunnel, unleashing a wildcat and disguising himself as the dog's coworker.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 1,616
OL. 9/10.
19. Ugetsu (1953)
Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy, War
A tale of ambition, family, love, and war set in the midst of the Japanese Civil Wars of the sixteenth century.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Masayuki Mori, Machiko Kyô, Kinuyo Tanaka, Mitsuko Mito
Votes: 25,827 | Gross: $0.01M
PC. 8/10.
20. Gate of Hell (1953)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama, History
A samurai pursues a married lady-in-waiting.
Director: Teinosuke Kinugasa | Stars: Machiko Kyô, Kazuo Hasegawa, Isao Yamagata, Yatarô Kurokawa
Votes: 4,280
Cinema.
21. The Wages of Fear (1953)
Not Rated | 131 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.
Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli
Votes: 66,598
Cinema.
22. Stalag 17 (1953)
Not Rated | 120 min | Comedy, Drama, War
After two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden, Don Taylor, Otto Preminger, Robert Strauss
Votes: 58,827
TV.
23. The Bullocks (1953)
Not Rated | 104 min | Comedy, Drama
A character study of five young men at crucial turning points in their lives in a small town in Italy.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Alberto Sordi, Franco Fabrizi, Franco Interlenghi, Leopoldo Trieste
Votes: 19,915 | Gross: $0.10M
PC.
24. A Geisha (1953)
Not Rated | 85 min | Drama
A seasoned geisha and her apprentice maiko are forced to give in to their clients' sexual advances to survive.
Director: Kenji Mizoguchi | Stars: Michiyo Kogure, Ayako Wakao, Seizaburô Kawazu, Eitarô Shindô
Votes: 2,369
OL.
25. Old Czech Legends (1953)
91 min | Animation, Fantasy
Excellent stop-motion animation film from one of the best Czech filmmakers, Jirí Trnka. It tells the ancient story of Bohemia, how it was founded by Czech, the Forefather, and a series of ... See full summary »
Director: Jirí Trnka | Stars: Zdenek Stepánek, Eduard Kohout, Karel Höger, Rùzena Nasková
Votes: 286
Orig. title: Staré pověsti české.
OL.
26. Little Fugitive (1953)
Not Rated | 75 min | Drama, Family
A young boy fears that he shot his older brother, who is only faking. He then runs away to Coney Island, a crowded beach area, and gets money by returning soda bottles for their deposits.
Directors: Ray Ashley, Morris Engel, Ruth Orkin | Stars: Richard Brewster, Winifred Cushing, Jay Williams, Will Lee
Votes: 3,035 | Gross: $0.03M
OL.
27. Duck Dodgers in the 24½th Century (1953)
Approved | 7 min | Animation, Short, Comedy
Duck Dodgers and Marvin Martian wage war over Planet X.
Director: Chuck Jones | Star: Mel Blanc
Votes: 6,438
OL.
28. White Mane (1953)
Approved | 40 min | Short, Adventure, Drama
In the Camargue, France, a young boy bonds with a white haired horse that escaped from ranchers.
Director: Albert Lamorisse | Stars: Alain Emery, Laurent Roche, Clan-Clan, Pascal Lamorisse
Votes: 2,319
OL. 8/10.
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