Top 100 Spiritual Films

[John Cole]

An interesting list compiled by Arts & Faith. One film, I think, notable for its absence, is Superman: The Movie, one of the great pop retellings of the Christ myth.



The A&F Top 100
The 2004 Arts & Faith Top100 Spiritually Significant Films are listed (with its year of release and the name of the director) in alphabetical order below. You can also find the list at the A&F website, where you can learn more about the films and join in on the discussion.

13 Conversations About One Thing, 2001, Jill Sprecher
2001: A Space Odyssey, 1968, Stanley Kubrick
The Addiction, 1995, Abel Ferrara
Amadeus, 1984, Milos Forman
American Beauty, 1999, Sam Mendes
Andrei Rublev, 1969, Andrei Tarkovsky
The Apostle, 1997, Robert Duvall
Au Hasard Balthazar, 1966, Robert Bresson
Babettes Gæstebud ("Babette's Feast"), 1987, Gabriel Axel
Bad Lieutenant, 1987, Abel Ferrara
Bad ma ra khahad bord ("The Wind Will Carry Us"), 1999, Abbas Kiarostami
The Big Kahuna, 1999, John Swanbeck
Blade Runner, 1982, Ridley Scott
Breaking The Waves, 1996, Lars von Trier
Changing Lanes, 2002, Roger Michell
Chariots of Fire, 1981, Hugh Hudson
Code inconnu ("Code Unknown"), 2000, Michael Haneke
Crimes And Misdemeanors, 1989, Woody Allen
Days of Heaven, 1978, Terrence Malick
Dead Man Walking, 1995, Tim Robbins
Dekalog ("The Decalogue"), 1987, Krzysztof Kieslowski
Dersu Uzala, 1975, Akira Kurosawa
Dogma, 1999, Kevin Smith
Dogville, 2003, Lars von Trier
La Dolce vita, 1960, Federico Fellini
The Elephant Man, 1980, David Lynch
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, 2004, Michel Gondry
Fearless, 1993, Peter Weir
Fight Club, 1999, David Fincher
Le Fils ("The Son"), 2002, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
Fuori dal mondo ("Not of This World"), 1999, Giuseppe Piccioni
Grand Canyon, 1991, Lawrence Kasdan
Groundhog Day, 1993, Harold Ramis
Hell House, 2001, George Ratliff
Henry V, 1989, Kenneth Branagh
Der Himmel über Berlin ("Wings of Desire"), 1987, Wim Wenders
Ikiru ("To Live"), 1952, Akira Kurosawa
It's A Wonderful Life, 1946, Frank Capra
Jean de Florette, Manon des sources, 1986, Claude Berri
Jésus De Montréal ("Jesus of Montreal"), 1989, Denys Arcand
Jesus Of Nazareth, 1977, Franco Zeffirelli
Le Journal D'un Curé De Campagne ("The Diary of a Country Priest"), 1951, Robert Bresson
Ladri di biciclette ("The Bicycle Thief"), 1948, Vittorio De Sica
The Last Days of Disco, 1998, Whit Stillman
The Last Temptation Of Christ, 1988, Martin Scorsese
Life of Brian, 1979, Terry Jones
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The Two Towers, The Return of the King, 2001-2003, Peter Jackson
Ma nuit chez Maud ("My Night At Maud's"), 1969, Eric Rohmer
Magnolia, 1999, Paul Thomas Anderson
A Man For All Seasons, 1966, Fred Zinnemann
The Matrix, 1999, Andy & Larry Wachowski
Mies vailla menneisyyttä ("The Man Without A Past"), 2002, Aki Kaurismaki
The Miracle Maker, 2000, Derek W. Hayes & Stanislav Sokolov
The Mission, 1986, Roland Joffé
Nema-ye Nazdik ("Close-Up"), 1990, Abbas Kiarostami
The Night Of The Hunter, 1955, Charles Laughton
Offret—Sacrificatio ("The Sacrifice"), 1986, Andrei Tarkovsky
On The Waterfront, 1954, Elia Kazan
Ordet ("The Word"), 1955, Carl Theodor Dreyer
La Passion De Jeanne D'arc ("The Passion of Joan of Arc"), 1928, C. Dreyer
The Passion Of The Christ, 2004, Mel Gibson
Peter and Paul, 1981, Robert Day
Ponette, 1996, Jacques Doillon
The Prince Of Egypt, 1998, Brenda Chapman, Steve Hickner, Simon Wells
La Promesse, 1996, Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
Punch-Drunk Love, 2002, P.T. Anderson
Roma, città aperta ("Open City"), 1945, Roberto Rossellini
Sansho Dayu ("Sansho the Bailiff"), 1954, Kenji Mizoguchi
Schindler's List, 1993, Steven Spielberg
Secrets & Lies, 1996, Mike Leigh
Shadowlands, 1993, Richard Attenborough
The Shawshank Redemption, 1994, Frank Darabont
Signs, 2002, M. Night Shyamalan
The Sixth Sense, 1999, M. Night Shyamalan
Det Sjunde Inseglet ("The Seventh Seal"), 1957, Ingmar Bergman
Smultronstället ("Wild Strawberries"), 1957, Ingmar Bergman
Solyaris ("Solaris"), 1972, Andrei Tarkovsky
Stalker, 1979, Andrei Tarkovsky
Star Wars, The Empire Strikes Back, Return of the Jedi, 1977, 1980, 1983, George Lucas, Irvin Kershner, Richard Marquand
Stevie, 2002, Steve James
The Straight Story, 1999, David Lynch
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans, 1927, F.W. Murnau
Sånger från andra våningen ("Songs From the Second Floor"), 2000, Roy Andersson
The Sweet Hereafter, 1997, Atom Egoyan
Tender Mercies, 1983, Bruce Beresford
Trois coulers: Bleu, Trzy kolory: Bialy, Trois coulers: Rouge ("Three Colors: Blue, White, Red"), 1993, 1994, 1994, Krzysztof Kieslowski
Tokyo Monogatari ("Tokyo Story"), 1953, Yasujiro Ozu
The Truman Show, 1998, Peter Weir
Unforgiven, 1992, Clint Eastwood
Il Vangelo Secondo Matteo ("The Gospel According to Matthew"), 1964, Pier Paolo Pasolini
Vanya on 42nd Street, 1994, Louis Malle
Le Vent souffle où il veut ("A Man Escaped"), 1956, Robert Bresson
La Vita è bella ("Life is Beautiful"), 1997, Roberto Benigni
Vredens dag ("Day of Wrath"), 1943, Carl Theodor Dreyer
Waking Life, 2001, Richard Linklater
Werckmeister Harmonies, 2000, Béla Tarr
Witness, 1985, Peter Weir
The Year Of Living Dangerously, 1982, Peter Weir
Yi yi ("Yi Yi: A One and a Two"), 2000, Edward Yang
Zerkalo ("The Mirror"), 1975, Andrei Tarkovsky

[mike4bmp]

They also didn't list Les Miserables...which would seem like a given for this list...??

[BZ_Zorro]

[ QUOTE ]
Top 100 Spiritual Films

[/ QUOTE ]
1. What Dreams May Come

[Zeno]

I saw eleven out of the hundred listed movies.

What makes a film spiritual? Is spiritual under the umbrella of Philosophy? Is that how you justify weaseling in film talk in a Science, Math, and Philosophy forum. Have you no shame?

-Zeno

[Cyrus]

No surprise there, although I'm sure Tarkovsky would make some cutting remarks on that list, if he was still around.

[John Cole]

No weasling here. I think I've seen about 70% of those films, with the Tarkovsky and Bresson films being among my favorites. Also, I highly recommend both films by the Dardenne's, The Promise and The Son (English titles). Interesting, too, that Peter Weir (The Truman Show) also has a number of films on the list.

[Zeno]

"No weaseling here."

Sheer Gall.
Very admirable.
Something I can truly respect.

Thanks for the film recommendations. Whenever I get around to purchasing a DVD system (in conjunction with a full audio system), I plan on seeing some of these films you keep raving about. Right now, however, I need to purchase another rifle. I'm sure you understand why.

On a more obtuse note, why question marks? [Note that I neglected one in my previous post but the grammar gods held back on the lighting.] Is it not plain and obvious when a question is being asked. Or are we all assumed to be dunces? Is the question mark some grammarical ritual, added to appease some unknownable prose deity. Are you listening to me. Do you know what I am talking about. Or not?

-Zeno

[John Cole]

Another rifle! or should I say, Another rifle?

I don't know about the question mark, but it's one thing I always need to proofread for since I omit them all the time in first drafts. (Actually, I miss them proofreading, too, so I have someone else help me.)

[kitaristi0]

Hmm, how would one define a 'spiritual film'?

[John Cole]

Damned if I know, but after I watch The Passion of Joan of Arc I wish I were religious.