Comments on: In Contention’s 15 Greatest Foreign Language Films

By: doug nagy

doug nagy — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 17:17:14 +0000

I have heard very good things about City of God, I intend to watch everything mentioned above eventually. I need to mark them down on a pad and check them off as I go.

By: dani

dani — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:54:41 +0000

I’m glad some of you mentioned Cinema Paradiso. It’s a film that moved me like no other.

Doug, I think you’d like City of God. It’s a gritty violent movie set in Brazil. It’s a bit jarring though to see how kids are exposed to violence in such an early age. It’s like war in your own neighborhood. Also notable is how the vivid and creative cinematography beautifully portrays the ugliness of the situations. It’s definitely an eye-opener.

By: omahabitch

omahabitch — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 16:34:40 +0000

Metropolis is totally missing in that list, and you really have to check out Das Boot (The Boat) imho it is the best WWII movie ever. Open Your Eyes from Spain is very good too and a lot better than Vanilla Sky, the Tom Cruise remake.

And Werner Herzog made some awesome movies, of which i would recommend Nosferatu, Alguierre and anything else with Klaus Kinski in the lead role.

By: randall

randall — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 15:24:57 +0000

Brotherhood of the Wolf is cinematically one of the most beautiful films ever made.

By: Herby

Herby — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 11:11:32 +0000

Best forign film of all time, in fact, in my opinion the Best Film Ever

Fritz Lang’s Metropolis

By: Herby

Herby — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:16:58 +0000

Josh, Breathless is great, but my favorite Goddard is Farenheit 451.

By: Herby

Herby — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 07:14:34 +0000

Das Boot is probably the best submarine film I ever saw (yes, better that Hunt for Red October) and RAN, how can you go wrong with King Lear in Samauri time (also directed by Akira Kurosawa, so say no more).

By: Chuck Norris

Chuck Norris — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 05:43:07 +0000

Ha, I’m obviously not that great of a reader–I listed Cries and Whispers as a movie that was omitted from the list, but in fact it was included. I have another, however: Y Tu Mama Tambien (2001, Alfonso Cuaron).

By: Josh

Josh — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:58:33 +0000

Doug I recommend “Breathless” – translated from the French “A Bout de Souffle.” It’s Godard’s best film and is a very early Tarantino influence from the bizarre gangster elements to the use of long shots. A great film as is “The Bicycle Thieves” (which has been translated a few times to “Bicycle Thieves” and “Bicycle Thief”), which features one of the best child act performances.

Worst omissions: “Amelie” and “The Diving Bell and the Butterfly”

By: Anthony

Anthony — Tue, 26 Aug 2008 02:46:33 +0000

That is quite a difficult talk, to make 15 of the greatest Foreign Films ever. I dont think anyone will be completely satisfied with such a list. Although I see Cries and Whispers, what about Seventh Seal? Or more recently, Cinema Paradiso? Fellini’s 8 1/2 is there, but does La Dolce Vita need to be up there as well? What about the works of Carl Theodor Dreyer, who, in my opinion, is one of the greatest directors ever! So, in sum, the list is not bad, its not good, it just is someones favorite foreign films.