41 Films That Influenced Imtiaz Ali
by iknafilms | created - 22 Dec 2020 | updated - 22 Dec 2020 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. The Godfather (1972)
R | 175 min | Crime, Drama
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
Votes: 2,014,256 | Gross: $134.97M
2. Prisoner of the Mountains (1996)
R | 99 min | Drama, War
Two Russian soldiers, one battle-seasoned and the other barely into his boots and uniform, are taken prisoner by an anxious Islamic father from a remote village hoping to trade them for his captured son.
Director: Sergei Bodrov | Stars: Oleg Menshikov, Sergey Bodrov, Susanna Mekhraliyeva, Jemal Sikharulidze
Votes: 4,754 | Gross: $0.66M
3. Bemisal (1982)
142 min | Drama, Family
'Bemisal' is the story of noble orphan Sudhir, who sacrifices everything he has, from the love of his life to his profession and reputation, to save his foster family.
Director: Hrishikesh Mukherjee | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Rakhee Gulzar, Vinod Mehra, Deven Verma
Votes: 510
4. Junoon (1979)
141 min | Drama
Set during the 1857 War of Independence, an obsessed Indian Nawab desires to wed a young Anglo-Indian woman, but the girl's obstinate mother stands between them.
Director: Shyam Benegal | Stars: Shashi Kapoor, Nafisa Ali, Shabana Azmi, Naseeruddin Shah
Votes: 572
5. Sholay (1975)
Not Rated | 162 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After his family is murdered by a notorious and ruthless bandit, a former police officer enlists the services of two outlaws to capture the bandit.
Director: Ramesh Sippy | Stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Dharmendra, Amitabh Bachchan, Amjad Khan
Votes: 58,754
6. Madhumati (1958)
110 min | Fantasy, Musical, Mystery
A young man takes shelter in a mansion when a landslide blocks his route to the railway station. Then, he finds the mansion familiar and soon learns about the story of his previous birth.
Director: Bimal Roy | Stars: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Johnny Walker, Pran Sikand
Votes: 1,581
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 314,571 | Gross: $44.82M
8. Sommersby (1993)
PG-13 | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A farmer returns home from the Civil War, but his wife begins to suspect that the man is an impostor.
Director: Jon Amiel | Stars: Richard Gere, Jodie Foster, Lanny Flaherty, Wendell Wellman
Votes: 23,220 | Gross: $50.08M
9. Do You Remember Dolly Bell? (1981)
Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A young man's personality is shaped, involving some weird happenings around.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Slavko Stimac, Slobodan Aligrudic, Ljiljana Blagojevic, Mira Banjac
Votes: 6,798
10. Underground (1995)
Not Rated | 167 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
Two underground black marketeers, Marko and Blacky, sell weapons to the Communist resistance in wartime Belgrade, living the good life along the way.
Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Lazar Ristovski, Mirjana Jokovic, Slavko Stimac
Votes: 61,282 | Gross: $0.17M
11. Talk to Her (2002)
R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
Two men share an odd friendship while they care for two women who are both in deep comas.
Director: Pedro Almodóvar | Stars: Rosario Flores, Javier Cámara, Darío Grandinetti, Leonor Watling
Votes: 117,537 | Gross: $9.36M
12. Chungking Express (1994)
PG-13 | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two melancholic Hong Kong policemen fall in love: one with a mysterious female underworld figure, the other with a beautiful and ethereal waitress at a late-night restaurant he frequents.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Brigitte Lin, Takeshi Kaneshiro, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Faye Wong
Votes: 95,911 | Gross: $0.60M
13. In the Mood for Love (2000)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Romance
Two neighbors form a strong bond after both suspect extramarital activities of their spouses. However, they agree to keep their bond platonic so as not to commit similar wrongs.
Director: Kar-Wai Wong | Stars: Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Siu Ping-Lam, Tung Cho 'Joe' Cheung
Votes: 167,023 | Gross: $2.73M
14. And Your Mother Too (2001)
R | 106 min | Drama
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life and each other.
Director: Alfonso Cuarón | Stars: Maribel Verdú, Gael García Bernal, Daniel Giménez Cacho, Ana López Mercado
Votes: 128,925 | Gross: $13.62M
15. A Separation (2011)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Director: Asghar Farhadi | Stars: Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini
Votes: 258,688 | Gross: $7.10M
16. 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: 38,577 | Gross: $0.54M
17. The Deer Hunter (1978)
R | 183 min | Drama, War
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage
Votes: 362,439 | Gross: $48.98M
18. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 367,047 | Gross: $0.27M
19. Shree 420 (1955)
168 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
When a young man from a small town decides to make it big in a city, he faces several challenges.
Director: Raj Kapoor | Stars: Nargis, Raj Kapoor, Nadira, Nemo
Votes: 3,007
20. Trikal (Past, Present, Future) (1985)
137 min | Drama
A Goan native returns to his now-derelict, palatial childhood home, recalling his family's interpersonal drama during the end of Portuguese rule.
Director: Shyam Benegal | Stars: Leela Naidu, Neena Gupta, Anita Kanwar, Soni Razdan
Votes: 303
21. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,817 | Gross: $6.10M
22. A Fistful of Dollars (1964)
R | 99 min | Action, Drama, Western
A wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gian Maria Volontè, Marianne Koch, Wolfgang Lukschy
Votes: 232,887 | Gross: $14.50M
23. Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)
PG | 115 min | Drama, Mystery
During a rural summer picnic, a few students and a teacher from an Australian girls' school vanish without a trace. Their absence frustrates and haunts the people left behind.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Rachel Roberts, Anne-Louise Lambert, Vivean Gray, Helen Morse
Votes: 41,073 | Gross: $0.23M
24. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 428,364 | Gross: $51.97M
25. Cinema Paradiso (1988)
R | 174 min | Drama, Romance
A filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.
Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli
Votes: 283,133 | Gross: $11.99M
26. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri
Votes: 175,270 | Gross: $0.33M
27. The Postman (1994)
PG | 108 min | Biography, Comedy, Drama
A simple Italian postman learns to love poetry while delivering mail to a famous poet, and then uses this to woo local beauty Beatrice.
Directors: Michael Radford, Massimo Troisi | Stars: Massimo Troisi, Philippe Noiret, Maria Grazia Cucinotta, Renato Scarpa
Votes: 39,015 | Gross: $21.85M
28. Map of the Human Heart (1992)
R | 109 min | Adventure, Drama, Romance
Arctic, 1965: Avik tells his story starting in 1931. A mapmaker flies Avik, then a preteen Eskimo boy with TB, to a hospital in Montreal where he meets Albertine. They meet again when Avik joins World War II in the UK.
Director: Vincent Ward | Stars: Jason Scott Lee, Anne Parillaud, Patrick Bergin, Robert Joamie
Votes: 3,431 | Gross: $2.81M
29. The 36th Chamber of Shaolin (1978)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A man studies kung fu at the Shaolin Temple to fight back against the oppressive Manchu government.
Director: Chia-Liang Liu | Stars: Chia-Hui Liu, Lieh Lo, Yue Wong, Chia-Yung Liu
Votes: 18,380
30. Enter the Dragon (1973)
R | 102 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
A Shaolin martial artist travels to an island fortress to spy on an opium lord - who is also a former monk from his temple - under the guise of attending a fighting tournament.
Director: Robert Clouse | Stars: Bruce Lee, John Saxon, Jim Kelly, Ahna Capri
Votes: 113,045 | Gross: $25.00M
31. Geethanjali (1989)
150 min | Drama, Romance
On a fog swept chilly hill station, a terminally ill young man (Prakash) meets a boisterous girl (gitanjali). Love blossoms, but there's a shadow behind the light she radiates.
Director: Mani Ratnam | Stars: Nagarjuna Akkineni, Girija Shettar, Vijayakumar, Radhabai
Votes: 2,885
32. Arjun (1985)
154 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Arjun Malvankar after his graduation thrives to get job. The corruption and injustice taking place in his community frustrates him to the extent of revolting with the help of some of his ... See full summary »
Director: Rahul Rawail | Stars: Sunny Deol, Dimple Kapadia, Raj Kiran, Anupam Kher
Votes: 1,118
33. Kaala Patthar (1979)
Not Rated | 176 min | Action, Drama, History
Inspired by a true mining tragedy the film is about people from all walks of life showing courage and character to fight the forces of nature.
Director: Yash Chopra | Stars: Amitabh Bachchan, Shashi Kapoor, Shatrughan Sinha, Rakhee Gulzar
Votes: 2,761
34. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (1954)
G | 127 min | Adventure, Drama, Family
A ship sent to investigate a wave of mysterious sinkings encounters the advanced submarine, the Nautilus, commanded by Captain Nemo.
Director: Richard Fleischer | Stars: Kirk Douglas, James Mason, Paul Lukas, Peter Lorre
Votes: 37,200 | Gross: $28.20M
35. 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: 110,070 | Gross: $4.04M
36. 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: 110,570 | Gross: $1.32M
37. 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: 79,672 | Gross: $1.46M
38. Ghulami (I) (1985)
199 min | Action, Drama
In feudal Rajasthan, a bunch of peasants rise up against the exploitative landowners and the age-old system of caste-based oppression.
Director: J.P. Dutta | Stars: Dharmendra, Mithun Chakraborty, Naseeruddin Shah, Reena Roy
Votes: 617
39. All Quiet on the Western Front (1979 TV Movie)
TV-14 | 150 min | Drama, War
A young soldier faces profound disillusionment in the soul-destroying horror of World War I.
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Richard Thomas, Ernest Borgnine, Donald Pleasence, Ian Holm
Votes: 10,544
40. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
PG | 122 min | Drama
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Votes: 114,410 | Gross: $8.00M
41. Naya Daur (1957)
173 min | Action, Drama, Musical
When the son of a landlord decides to modernize his business by replacing the horse carts with buses, a horse cart rider decides to challenge him.
Director: B.R. Chopra | Stars: Dilip Kumar, Vyjayanthimala, Ajit Khan, Chand Usmani
Votes: 1,310
42. Closely Watched Trains (1966)
Not Rated | 92 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
An apprentice train dispatcher at a village station seeks his first sexual encounter and becomes despondent when he is unable to perform.
Director: Jirí Menzel | Stars: Václav Neckár, Josef Somr, Vlastimil Brodský, Vladimír Valenta
Votes: 13,852 | Gross: $3.27M
43. Hero (II) (1983)
Not Rated | 173 min | Action, Drama, Romance
After his friend is imprisoned, a hitman kidnaps the daughter of the police commissioner by telling her that he is a police officer.
Director: Subhash Ghai | Stars: Sanjeev Kumar, Shammi Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Meenakshi Sheshadri
Votes: 959
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