Slant Magazine 100 Essential Films

The original, with links to Slant's reviews, is available on the magazine's website.

While you will find many popular classics and critical favorites on our list of 100 Essential Films, our goal was to mix things up a bit. This list should not be construed as a definitive "greatest films" package, but as an alternative compiled by a group of kinky film-lovers wanting to give serious critical thought to neglected, forgotten and misunderstood gems.

This list is not ranked and is shown by release year.

Title Year Rating
Vampires, Les 1915
Broken Blossoms or The Yellow Man and the Girl 1919
Foolish Wives 1922
Faust 1926
Hindle Wakes 1927
Cameraman, The 1928
Chute de la maison Usher, La 1928
Chute de la maison Usher, La 1928
Crowd, The 1928
Spies aka Spione 1928
Zemlya aka Earth 1930
¡Que viva Mexico! 1932
Freaks 1932
full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
Love Me Tonight 1932
Black Cat, The 1934
Crime of Monsieur Lange, The aka Crime de Monsieur Lange, Le 1936
Gueule d'amour 1937
Make Way for Tomorrow 1937
full starfull starfull starhalf starempty star
Stage Door 1937
Only Angels Have Wings 1939
Mortal Storm, The 1940
To Be or Not to Be 1942
full starfull starfull starfull starhalf star
The Leopard Man 1943
Monsieur Verdoux 1947
full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
Portrait of Jennie 1948
Flowers of St.Francis, The aka Francesco, giullare di Dio 1950
In a Lonely Place 1950
full starfull starfull starfull starempty star
Ace in the Hole 1951
House of Pleasure aka Plaisir, Le 1952
Life of Oharu, The aka Saikaku ichidai onna 1952
I Confess 1953
Ensayo de un crimen 1955
Autumn Leaves 1956
Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? 1957
Bonjour tristesse 1958
Imitation of Life 1959
Cleo from 5 to 7 aka Cléo de 5 à 7 1961
Ladies Man, The 1961
Confessions of an Opium Eater 1962
Winter Light aka Nattvardsgästerna 1963
Gertrud 1964
Lonely Wife, The aka Charulata 1964
Midareru 1964
7 Women 1966
Masculine, Feminine aka Masculin, féminin: 15 faits précis 1966
Operazione paura 1966
Point Blank 1967
Shooting, The 1967
Memories of Underdevelopment aka Memorias del subdesarrollo 1968
Once Upon a Time in the West aka C'era una volta il West 1968
full starfull starfull starfull starfull star
Hi, Mom! 1970
The Lickerish Quartet 1970
Trash 1970
A New Leaf 1971
McCabe & Mrs. Miller 1971
full starfull starhalf starempty starempty star
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia 1974
full starfull starfull starhalf starempty star
Celine and Julie Go Boating aka Céline et Julie vont en bateau 1974
F for Fake aka Vérités et mensonges 1974
Lancelot of the Lake aka Lancelot du Lac 1974
Texas Chainsaw Massacre, The 1974
Passenger, The aka Professione: reporter 1975
Xala 1975
Assault on Precinct 13 1976
full starfull starfull starhalf starempty star
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles 1976
Tenant, The aka Locataire, Le 1976
Killer of Sheep 1977
In a Year with 13 Moons aka In einem Jahr mit 13 Monden 1978
Stalker 1979
Big Red One, The 1980
Possession 1981
Fitzcarraldo 1982
Tenebre 1982
Narayama bushiko 1983
Day of the Dead 1985
Empire of the Sun 1987
Yeelen 1987
Distant Voices, Still Lives 1988
Last Temptation of Christ, The 1988
Short Film About Killing, A aka Krótki film o zabijaniu 1988
Close Up aka Nema-ye Nazdik 1990
A Brighter Summer Day aka Guling jie shaonian sha ren shijian 1991
Hard Boiled aka Laat sau sen taan 1992
full starfull starfull starhalf starempty star
Husbands and Wives 1992
Twin Peaks: Fire Walk with Me 1992
Puppetmaster, The aka Hsimeng jensheng 1993
Sátántangó 1994
Dead Man 1995
full starfull starfull starfull starhalf star
Showgirls 1995
Underground 1995
Crash 1996
Hana-bi 1997
Mother and Son aka Mat i syn 1997
Beloved 1998
Dong 1998
Velvet Goldmine 1998
Beau travail 1999
Zhantai 2000
À ma soeur! 2001
Kairo 2001
Twentynine Palms 2003