1,000 Films to Keep You Company During Lockdown

* Originally published 18th March 2020 *

This ridiculously long, but essential for survival, list of 1,000 films is the most valuable commodity in your isolation kit. Thanks Coronavirus. The full list of 1,000 films can be accessed via the Letterboxd list (see below). All available to watch online on Amazon – many of which on Prime. With new movie releases on hold, it’s worth reminding you of the exhilaratingly extensive history of cinema at your fingertips.

However, there’s no Star Wars films, no The Godfathers, The Lord of the Rings, no Citizen Kane or Schindler’s List. This is not necessarily the greatest movies ever made. Nor is it a bunch of movies about viral outbreaks. And in all honesty, as unique as each of these films are, I wonder how many you have actually seen.

What it won’t do is take all the toilet paper. And will absolutely make you forget about how depressing it is not being able to go to the cinema. I painstakingly curated the 1,000 movies over several days back in March, believing each and every one sparks something of ourselves that allows us to love film.

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These 1,000 movies span over a hundred years of cinema. You remember that rocket crashing into the moon with a face? That guy shooting at us that would later inspire Martin Scorsese to close out Goodfellas? Or when the frantic Pina cries after Francesco before being shot? When Rita Hayworth flicks that hair? The cheeky Emily Lloyd flashing some leg at the seaside? And how can we forget Adrian Cronauer blurting out that euphoric catchphrase to start his broadcast? Those are all on this list.

Italy are very well represented too. Among the huge chunk of Italian cinema here, a certain Federico and Michelangelo have numerous entries. It sure would not be a sweet life or an adventure without them both. Spain is also in abundance – an executioner, the bourgeoisie, Luis Tosar and little Ana – to name a few. And yes, of course, before you’re on the verge of a nervous breakdown, the great Pedro shows up a lot.

Meanwhile in Germany, Petra, Maria and Veronika are give life by a man who was taken too soon. The New German Cinema and the follow-through dips its toe in the water with Herzog and Wenders. There’s also a tin drum, an eavesdropper, a nude gathering and woman on t he run.

North of Europe, the celebration see emigrants, headhunters, pigeons, men and chicken gather for a royal affair. On a sadder note, hearts go out to those we lost on Utøya. And with moods for all occasions, the illustrious Ingmar joins the fray with films in double figures. Wow.

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If anyone can get us through this misty landscape, it’s the Greeks. Their traveling players include Yorgos, Stella, Electra and Zorba. Teach us to dance.

Where else in Europe would you like to venture? We can offer you Marienbad, Anatolia and a couple of instances with no man’s land. Come and see, there’s a Czech ball for the firemen, a Hungarian son and a Danish feast. And there you can join Marketa, Andrei and Pelle, in the edge of heaven and beyond the hills.

I’d be twisting your arm to seek out the majestic works of a certain Polish man. A camera buff for sure, it was not blind chance that he would make one multi-layered gem after another. About killing, about love, about Véronique, painting the art of cinema with glorious blue, white and red.

So this is England. Some kitchen sink dramas, gritty realism, plenty of pride and hunger. Life is sweet according to some, and there is hope and glory depending on how you see it. Whatever your tastes, there are a ton of British films on this list. The Bard himself is behind some of the films, whether your looking for Richard, Romeo, Henry or Hamlet.

Back Shelf Cinema: Thérèse (1986)

With two fine gentlemen alone, Abbas and Asghar, the cinema of Iran is well worth diving into. Both would be carried by the wind and make compelling features outside their native land too.

Further in Asia, we are spoilt for choice for sure. Think about Japanese cinema in the 1950s and 60s alone. Rashomon, Ikiru, Tokyo Story, Woman in the Dunes – all here and more. Lady Snowblood is waiting for you also. As is Kurosawa’s King Lear. Fancy a mass fight to the death? You got it. Throw in three exquisite family dramas from a filmmaker who won the Palme d’Or two years ago and you have a magnificent deal.

Do we have time for China? You bet. A comeback in the late 1980s for the nation’s cinema, with master filmmakers giving us movies like Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou) and A Touch of Sin (Jia Zhangke). And now you too get to drool over Kaili Blues and Long Day’s Journey Into Night (Bi Gan).

In Hong Kong, there’s the adrenaline buzz of The Killer and Hard Boiled (John Woo), and the luminous worlds of In the Mood for Love and 2046 (Wong Kar-wai). And these are just appetizers.

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Taiwan has two filmmaking giants too. The Wedding Banquet and Lust, Caution (Ang Lee) are irresistible in their own ways. And so are the complex delights of movies like Three Times and The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien). I mean, we can stop right there can’t we?

What? And not move onto South Korea? Not a chance. As if it were Christmas in August, these filmmakers are ripe for the picking any time. If the names Na Hong-jin, Lee Chang-dong, Bong Joon-ho and Park Chan-wook don’t wet your whistle then cinema night not be for you, old boy.

I’ll tell you what else is on this blistering list of movies. Canadian films the likes of Arcand, Egoyan, Villeneuve, Polley and Dolan. Australian Peter Weir made terrific homegrown films, then continued his brilliance in America. We’ve got that covered.

Oscars fans will be delighted to see a few Best Picture winners on the list. Both Wings and Sunrise from 1927 win Best Picture prizes at the very first Academy Awards. You can watch them now. Unfavoured victors are also present, like How Green Was My Valley, An American in Paris and The Last Emperor – all three deserve your attention.

Related: Around the World in 80 Films: 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days

On the tough prospect of this year’s Cannes Film Festival also being cancelled, we made sure we pulled out some Palme d’Or winners available to stream. Genuine masterpiece zone now, with The Cranes Are Flying, Underground and 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days. And then those golden palm winners you have not even seen – Scarecrow, The Tree of Wooden Clogs and The Eel. You can change that right now. You’d be less forgiven if you haven’t seen the French winners, The Wages of Fear, The Class and Blue is the Warmest Color.

I haven’t forgotten the French. I was just putting it off as there are so many. But alas, I shall reel.off even more films you likely haven’t seen yet. La Vérité from 1960? Therese from 1986? The Dreamlife of Angels from 1998? You have no excuses now. Speaking of 1986, a marvelous year for French film when you see Betty Blue, Jean de Florette and Manon of the Spring – all on our list. And so many more.

Éric Rohmer has a huge handful of his thought-provoking films on the list too. As do the Belgian Dardennes brothers. The perfect incentive to follow Claire, Pauline and Rosetta in their ground-level life adventures.

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Jacques Demy and Agnès Varda were quite the duo, in relations and in filmmaking. They chose not to work together but their respective voices on cinema spoke more than loud enough. There’s a multitude of their pictures for you to watch right now on the elusive list.

So mention of the French New Wave was pretty inevitable. Truffaut and Godard are the household names, and thus an influx of their innovative works are awaiting your perusal.

With Varda, the name is synonymous with both French cinema and the essence of those films with a woman behind the camera. Truth be told, female directors have been making excellent films for decades.

Maya Deren — Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)

And spread across the world – Cuba (Una Noche), Denmark (After the Wedding), Tunisia (Beauty and the Dogs), New Zealand (Whale Rider), Australia (Somersault), Iran (The Apple), India (Salaam Bombay!), Japan (The Mourning Forest) – to name only a small sample of a scintillating selection.

Many of the short films added to the collection were also directed by women, including the iconic Meshes of the Afternoon (1943). You’ll also find winners from our very own Femme Filmmakers Festival from last year in Little Pyongyang, Once Upon a Line and Salam.

Related: Little Pyongyang and Dignan the Dog among winners at FemmeFilmFest 2019

If you’re looking for animations then that genre is more than represented here. Studio Ghibli makes a large footprint as expected, as do various other Asian films of the same caliber. The range of films, from Persepolis or Coraline, to The Illusionist or Chico & Rita, gives plenty of scope for selection. Why not take a gamble on animations such as The Girl Without Hands, Night Is Short, Walk on Girl or Ruben Brandt, Collector? Which I’m guessing you haven’t seen.

The immense documentary selection also boasts some tough decision-making ahead. The tragic death of a race car driver at the top of his game. A Canadian filmmaker turning the camera on her own parental revelation. Cats of Istanbul. An animated documentation of a horrific shooting. The perspective of being a woman during the war in Syria. I’m only scratching the surface.

Oh it’s spooks and scares you want? Let’s have a peep at the bad seeds, the wailing, the angst, the fog. It is near dark, and you’re ravenous for high tension, and under the shadow they creep. Plenty of chilling and grotesque behaviour on offer.

Related: Under the Shadow (2016) Review

Should you wish to attempt to laugh your dates away, then you could do far worse than Charlie Chaplin. Or the Marx Brothers. And Buster Keaton of course. Elsewhere, plenty of classic comedies from Hollywood’s golden age and beyond.

And no, America, I have not forgotten about you. How can I possibly, with talent like Jack Lemmon and Jane Fonda at your disposal?

Instead of clogging up this list of a thousand films with American pictures, I’m recommending more of the independent cinema breakout scene in the late 1980s and well into the 90s. Indie filmmakers like Hal Hartley, Whit Stillman, Jim Jarmusch, Steven Soderbergh, Gus Van Sant, Richard Linklater were flourishing in their new found rising.

Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore — Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore (1974)

The curation also includes what I consider films from very well established film directors that do not get talked about enough. Think David Lynch (Lost Highway), Spike Lee (25th Hour), Robert Altman (Images), Coen Brothers (Blood Simple) or Michael Mann (Manhunter). Even the great Martin Scorsese has made films we need to embrace more – and there are four such films of his on the list.

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Before I ramble on until the end of time, I want to shout out a few things. John Cassavetes directs Gena Rowlands in four of the films featured. Warren Beatty appears in four films – directing two of them. Isabelle Adjani is also very popular with five entries. And with Butterflies Are Free, The Sugarland Express and Private Benjamin, you are given the gift of the sprightly Goldie Hawn.

So while physical travel is halted, you can still fly across the globe and experience some truly fine cinema from Brazil (Aquarius), Argentina (Sidewalls), Estonia (November), Egypt (Clash), Syria (For Sama), Hungary (Mephisto), Vietnam (The Scent of Green Papaya). I’ll stop there, as you have much browsing to be done.

Maybe if we start at the beginning. Sweep aside the broken blossoms and just open Pandora’s box. Say hello to Little Annie Rooney and Prince Achmed, pray we’re in 7th Heaven after all. With this babbling I send out my thoughts to you all. Enjoy the movies. You must.