A list from Martin Scorsese

Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films

A young filmmaker asked Martin Scorsese where to start. His office sent back a list of 39 films, and it has been passed around ever since.

From Scorsese's list of 39 essential foreign films, Open Culture (October 2014)

The filmmaker was Colin Levy, who met Scorsese and asked for advice on where to begin. Kurosawa and Fassbinder get three films each. Bergman and Fellini aren’t on it at all.

  1. Metropolis1927, IMDb 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes 97%
  2. Nosferatu1922, IMDb 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes 97%
  3. Dr. Mabuse: The Gambler1922, IMDb 7.8, Rotten Tomatoes 94%
  4. Napoleon1927, IMDb 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes 87%
  5. Grand Illusion1937, IMDb 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes 97%
  6. The Rules of the Game1939, IMDb 7.9, Rotten Tomatoes 97%
  7. Children of Paradise1945, IMDb 8.3, Rotten Tomatoes 98%
  8. Rome, Open City1945, IMDb 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes 100%
  9. Paisan1946, IMDb 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes 100%
  10. Bicycle Thieves1948, IMDb 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes 99%
  11. Umberto D.1952, IMDb 8.1, Rotten Tomatoes 98%
  12. Seven Samurai1954, IMDb 8.6, Rotten Tomatoes 100%
  13. The 400 Blows1959, IMDb 8.0, Rotten Tomatoes 99%
  14. Breathless1960, IMDb 7.6, Rotten Tomatoes 95%
  15. Rocco and His Brothers1960, IMDb 8.2, Rotten Tomatoes 91%
  16. Il Sorpasso1962, IMDb 8.2
  17. Death by Hanging1968, IMDb 7.5, Rotten Tomatoes 86%