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‘Citizen Kane’ BTS Credit: WB <\/p>\nBefore I got to film school, I was still a bit of a nerd. I loved watching old movies with my Dad and checking out all of the classics. <\/p>\n
But once I got into film school, I was able to take a bunch of curated classics and really dig into the foundations of Hollywood and storytelling, not just from an American perspective, but from the point of view of the whole world. <\/p>\n
This diverse set of movies really opened me up and helped me become a better writer, so I wanted to bring them yhem here today. I went back through my old viewing lists and syllabi to see what movies pre-1960 professors made me watch, and made a list for you here to help you on your way to a more complete filmmaking education. <\/p>\n
Here is a curated glossary of 100 essential films pre-1960 every film lover should cross off their list that will make them better at their desired Hollywood profession. <\/p>\n
Let’s dive in. <\/p>\n
The Silent EraA Trip to the Moon (1902, France) \u2013 Dir. Georges M\u00e9li\u00e8s \u2013 M\u00e9li\u00e8s created the sci-fi genre and special effects through clever theatrical illusions.The Great Train Robbery (1903, USA) \u2013 Dir. Edwin S. Porter \u2013 Porter realized that cuts between different locations built suspense and invented the Western.The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920, Germany) \u2013 Dir. Robert Wiene \u2013 German Expressionism. The jagged, distorted sets reflect a mind that falls apart.Within Our Gates (1920, USA) \u2013 Dir. Oscar Micheaux \u2013 The oldest surviving feature by a Black director. It is a rebuttal to the racism of Birth of a Nation.The Phantom Carriage (1921, Sweden) \u2013 Dir. Victor Sj\u00f6str\u00f6m \u2013 Famous for its eerie double-exposure ghost effects. This film heavily shaped how Ingmar Bergman approached drama.Nosferatu (1922, Germany) \u2013 Dir. F.W. Murnau \u2013 A Dracula adaptation that became a horror milestone. It used real locations and stark shadows to manufacture dread.Nanook of the North (1922, USA\/Canada) \u2013 Dir. Robert J. Flaherty \u2013 The grandfather of documentaries, even if a lot of the Inuit daily life was staged.Our Hospitality (1923, USA) \u2013 Dir. Buster Keaton & John G. Blystone \u2013 A lesson in how to weave death-defying, real-life physical stunts directly into a tight narrative plot.Greed (1924, USA) \u2013 Dir. Erich von Stroheim \u2013 An uncompromising, brutal look at psychological obsession. Infamously butchered by the studio from its original nine-hour cut.The Battleship Potemkin (1925, USSR) \u2013 Dir. Sergei Eisenstein \u2013 Soviet Montage<\/a> theory. The rapid edits during the Odessa Steps sequence still dictate how action works today.The Gold Rush (1925, USA) \u2013 Dir. Charlie Chaplin \u2013 Chaplin blends genuine tragedy with brilliant physical comedy in the frozen Yukon.The Big Parade (1925, USA) \u2013 Dir. King Vidor \u2013 The first massive Hollywood blockbuster to strip the glamour away from World War I and focus instead on the grueling reality of the trenches.Metropolis (1927, Germany) \u2013 Dir. Fritz Lang \u2013 The visual model for every sci-fi dystopia that followed. It used optical mirror tricks (the Sch\u00fcfftan process) to build a massive, terrifying city of the future.Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927, USA) \u2013 Dir. F.W. Murnau \u2013 A gorgeous marriage of German Expressionist camera movement and massive Hollywood studio budgets. Critics often call this the peak of silent cinema.The General (1927, USA) \u2013 Dir. Buster Keaton \u2013 Incredibly clean, readable action cinema. Keaton used real trains and precise spatial geography to create a flawless comedic chase.The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928, France) \u2013 Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer \u2013 Dreyer tells the story almost entirely through bare human faces. He captures pure spiritual and physical agony in extreme close-ups.The Crowd (1928, USA) \u2013 Dir. King Vidor \u2013 A visually daring studio drama. The crew hid cameras on the streets of New York to capture how a massive city makes an individual feel completely invisible.The Fall of the House of Usher (1928, France) \u2013 Dir. Jean Epstein \u2013 French Impressionism. It uses slow motion and overlapping exposures to turn Edgar Allan Poe\u2019s story into a poetic nightmare.Man with a Movie Camera (1929, USSR) \u2013 Dir. Dziga Vertov \u2013 It threw every trick at the wall, using freeze frames, split screens, double exposures, to celebrate what the camera eye could do.Un Chien Andalou (1929, France) \u2013 Dir. Luis Bu\u00f1uel & Salvador Dal\u00ed \u2013 The definitive surrealist short film.The 1930sAll Quiet on the Western Front (1930, USA) \u2013 Dir. Lewis Milestone \u2013 An early sound triumph. It matched aggressive tracking shots with loud, concussive audio to put audiences right in the trenches.Earth (Zemlya) (1930, USSR) \u2013 Dir. Alexander Dovzhenko \u2013 A visually poetic hymn to nature and rural life.M (1931, Germany) \u2013 Dir. Fritz Lang \u2013 The classic text for the modern serial killer thriller. Lang used off-screen sound and Peter Lorre\u2019s whistled tune to terrify the audience without any display of actual violence.City Lights (1931, USA) \u2013 Dir. Charlie Chaplin \u2013 Chaplin actively ignored the sound revolution. He stayed silent and relied on pure pantomime to deliver one of cinema’s most heartbroken endings.Frankenstein (1931, USA) \u2013 Dir. James Whale \u2013 Defined the look of American horror by mashing German Expressionist shadows with Boris Karloff’s sympathetic creature design.Vampyr (1932, Germany\/France) \u2013 Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer \u2013 A deeply disorienting horror film. It feels less like a narrative and more like a fever dream because of its strange, subjective camera angles<\/a>.Boudu Saved from Drowning (1932, France) \u2013 Dir. Jean Renoir \u2013 An early showcase for deep-focus photography and sharp social satire. It follows a cynical tramp who completely wrecks a middle-class household.King Kong (1933, USA) \u2013 Dir. Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack \u2013 A massive achievement in stop-motion animation and creature design. It proved Hollywood could build entirely fictional worlds on an epic scale.L’Atalante (1934, France) \u2013 Dir. Jean Vigo \u2013 A beautiful example of poetic realism. It captures the messy, romantic reality of newlyweds who adjust to life on a gritty river barge.It Happened One Night (1934, USA) \u2013 Dir. Frank Capra \u2013 The definitive screwball comedy<\/a>. It established the rules for the cinematic road trip and the “enemies-to-lovers” dynamic.The Goddess (1934, China) \u2013 Dir. Wu Yonggang \u2013 A standout from China’s silent golden age, anchored by Ruan Lingyu\u2019s devastating performance as a mother forced into prostitution to feed her son.The 39 Steps (1935, UK) \u2013 Dir. Alfred Hitchcock \u2013 Hitchcock uses another innocent man on the run who chases a MacGuffin<\/a> he does not fully understand.Modern Times (1936, USA) \u2013 Dir. Charlie Chaplin \u2013 A hilarious but biting critique of the Great Depression, automation, and how modern industry treats human beings like cogs in a machine.The Only Son (1936, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Yasujir\u014d Ozu \u2013 Ozu\u2019s first sound film. It introduces his trademark low-angle framing and his obsession with the quiet life.Grand Illusion (1937, France) \u2013 Dir. Jean Renoir \u2013 A deeply human anti-war film that shows how class, language, and shared humanity matter more than arbitrary national borders inside a POW camp.The Awful Truth (1937, USA) \u2013 Dir. Leo McCarey \u2013 The standard for the comedy of remarriage. It relies entirely on rapid-fire dialogue and the brilliant, improvised chemistry of Cary Grant and Irene Dunne.Street Angel (1937, China) \u2013 Dir. Yuan Muzhi \u2013 A Chinese classic that mixes melodrama<\/a>, musical numbers, and realism.The Wizard of Oz (1939, USA) \u2013 Dir. Victor Fleming \u2013 The ultimate showcase for three-strip Technicolor. It proved that Hollywood studios could manufacture pure fantasy.The Rules of the Game (1939, France) \u2013 Dir. Jean Renoir \u2013 A brilliant ensemble satire of the oblivious French upper class on the eve of WWII, staged with complex, deep-focus choreography.Stagecoach (1939, USA) \u2013 Dir. John Ford \u2013 The film that rescued the Western from B-movie status. It turned the genre into a character study set against the massive geometry of Monument Valley.The 1940sThe Grapes of Wrath (1940, USA) \u2013 Dir. John Ford \u2013 Gregg Toland\u2019s moody photography turns Steinbeck\u2019s Dust Bowl tragedy into a stark, unforgettable visual epic.Citizen Kane (1941, USA) \u2013 Dir. Orson Welles \u2013 The ultimate film school book condensed into two hours. Welles threw out linear plots and used forced perspective, sets with ceilings, and deep focus to change cinema forever.The Maltese Falcon (1941, USA) \u2013 Dir. John Huston \u2013 The film that locked in the American Film Noir template: hard-boiled detectives, cynical worldviews, and fast, witty dialogue.Casablanca (1942, USA) \u2013 Dir. Michael Curtiz \u2013 The studio system’s perfect accident. A flawlessly paced drama where cynical self-preservation collides head-on with wartime morality.To Be or Not to Be (1942, USA) \u2013 Dir. Ernst Lubitsch \u2013 Uses a fast screwball plot to mock the Nazi occupation of Poland while the war was still happening.Ossessione (1943, Italy) \u2013 Dir. Luchino Visconti \u2013 An illegal adaptation of The Postman Always Rings Twice. It birthed Italian Neorealism when Visconti took the camera out of the studio and into the gritty Po Valley.Double Indemnity (1944, USA) \u2013 Dir. Billy Wilder \u2013 Locked down the visual identity of noir: voiceover narration, Venetian blind shadows, and a ruthlessly smart femme fatale.Ivan the Terrible, Part I (1944, USSR) \u2013 Dir. Sergei Eisenstein \u2013 A highly stylized historical epic that relies on exaggerated shadow play and bizarre, theatrical actor movements.Children of Paradise (1945, France) \u2013 Dir. Marcel Carn\u00e9 \u2013 Filmed secretly during the Nazi occupation of France, this movie serves as a defiant tribute to theater, art, and romance.Rome, Open City (1945, Italy) \u2013 Dir. Roberto Rossellini \u2013 Shot on the streets of Rome right after the Germans left. It is raw, urgent, and deeply humanistic cinema at its finest. Brief Encounter (1945, UK) \u2013 Dir. David Lean \u2013 It uses smoky steam trains and Rachmaninoff\u2019s music to frame an extramarital affair.My Darling Clementine (1946, USA) \u2013 Dir. John Ford \u2013 A melancholy, poetic Western that cares less about gunfights and more about a wild frontier town that slowly builds a civilized community.Notorious (1946, USA) \u2013 Dir. Alfred Hitchcock \u2013 Hitchcock uses intimate camera movements, like the famous long crane down to a hidden key, to generate unbearable suspense.The Best Years of Our Lives (1946, USA) \u2013 Dir. William Wyler \u2013 A grounded, honest look at the psychological trauma of soldiers who returned home from WWII, beautifully staged with deep-focus compositions.Black Narcissus (1947, UK) \u2013 Dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger \u2013 A psychological melodrama built entirely on indoor studio sets that stood in for the Himalayas. It pushed Technicolor to its limits.Bicycle Thieves (1948, Italy) \u2013 Dir. Vittorio De Sica \u2013 Italian Neorealism. It uses non-professional actors and a high-stakes plot to deliver a crushing indictment of societal indifference.The Red Shoes (1948, UK) \u2013 Dir. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger \u2013 A gorgeous exploration of artistic obsession, anchored by a surreal ballet sequence that changed what a musical could look like.Spring in a Small Town (1948, China) \u2013 Dir. Fei Mu \u2013 A melancholic post-war work that tracks the awkward emotional tension of a broken marriage inside a ruined courtyard.The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948, USA) \u2013 Dir. John Huston \u2013 A grim, location-shot character study that shows exactly how paranoia and gold fever systematically rot human morality.Late Spring (1949, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Yasujir\u014d Ozu \u2013 Ozu deals with post-war generational rifts and a daughter who tries to avoid marriage, told with quiet, domestic devastation.The Third Man (1949, UK) \u2013 Dir. Carol Reed \u2013 Dutch angles, a haunting zither soundtrack, and a cynical, war-torn Vienna combine to create the ultimate post-war European noir.The 1950sRashomon (1950, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Akira Kurosawa \u2013 The film that put Japanese cinema on the map. Its multi-perspective, unreliable narrative structure permanently altered how movies handle stories.Sunset Boulevard (1950, USA) \u2013 Dir. Billy Wilder \u2013 Hollywood\u2019s darkest, most cynical look, famously narrated by a dead man who floats in a swimming pool.Los Olvidados (1950, Mexico) \u2013 Dir. Luis Bu\u00f1uel \u2013 A fierce, surrealist spin on neorealism that refuses to sentimentalize the impoverished, violent lives of kids in Mexico City.In a Lonely Place (1950, USA) \u2013 Dir. Nicholas Ray \u2013 A melancholic, deconstructed noir that serves as a harsh critique of toxic masculinity and Hollywood’s violent underbelly.Diary of a Country Priest (1951, France) \u2013 Dir. Robert Bresson \u2013 An austere, deeply spiritual film. Bresson intentionally strips away theatrical style to find a pure, minimalist cinematic language.A Streetcar Named Desire (1951, USA) \u2013 Dir. Elia Kazan \u2013 The moment Method Acting arrived in Hollywood. It changed the vulnerability and raw psychological realism expected from American actors.Singin’ in the Rain (1952, USA) \u2013 Dir. Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly \u2013 The absolute peak of the MGM Technicolor musical. It doubles as a hilarious, incredibly smart satire of Hollywood’s chaotic transition to sound.Ikiru (1952, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Akira Kurosawa \u2013 A profound existential drama about a dull bureaucrat who only learns how to live after he receives a terminal cancer diagnosis.Ugetsu (1953, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi \u2013 A haunting ghost story and anti-war fable, celebrated for its fluid long takes that effortlessly blur the line between reality and the supernatural.The Earrings of Madame de… (1953, France) \u2013 Dir. Max Oph\u00fcls \u2013 Famous for its hyper-elegant, constantly moving camera shots that track the tragic, shifting meaning of a pair of expensive earrings.Wages of Fear (1953, France) \u2013 Dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot \u2013 Pure suspense. A terrifying scenario involves desperate men who drive trucks loaded with highly volatile nitroglycerine over bumpy roads.Tokyo Story (1953, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Yasujir\u014d Ozu \u2013 Ozu\u2019s masterpiece on the inevitable drift between generations, captured with immense patience and heartbreaking emotional restraint.Seven Samurai (1954, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Akira Kurosawa \u2013 Invented the structural framework for the modern action and ensemble movie (assemble a team to defend a village). It utilized telephoto lenses and multi-camera setups.Rear Window (1954, USA) \u2013 Dir. Alfred Hitchcock \u2013 A brilliant thriller confined entirely to one apartment set. It serves as a commentary on voyeurism and why we love to watch movies.On the Waterfront (1954, USA) \u2013 Dir. Elia Kazan \u2013 Marlon Brando\u2019s raw, naturalistic performance anchors this gritty look at union corruption, guilt, and personal morality.Sansho the Bailiff (1954, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Kenji Mizoguchi \u2013 A beautifully shot, emotionally devastating historical drama about human cruelty, empathy, and the struggle to maintain compassion.La Strada (1954, Italy) \u2013 Dir. Federico Fellini \u2013 The bridge where Fellini left traditional neorealism behind. He moved into a more poetic, bittersweet world of circus performers and emotional fables.Pather Panchali (1955, India) \u2013 Dir. Satyajit Ray \u2013 A humanist look at a poor childhood in rural Bengal. It introduced Indian cinema to many people.The Night of the Hunter (1955, USA) \u2013 Dir. Charles Laughton \u2013 A Southern Gothic tale built with German Expressionist lighting. All That Heaven Allows (1955, USA) \u2013 Dir. Douglas Sirk \u2013 Sirk used vibrant, artificial Technicolor melodrama to launch a biting critique of suburban conformity and class snobbery.Ordet (1955, Denmark) \u2013 Dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer \u2013 A demanding but incredible examination of religious faith, which culminates in one of the most transcendent, shocking miracles ever put on film.Bob le Flambeur (1956, France) \u2013 Dir. Jean-Pierre Melville \u2013 The granddad of the French New Wave<\/a>. It mixes cool American gangster tropes with low-budget, handheld location shots around Paris.The Searchers (1956, USA) \u2013 Dir. John Ford \u2013 Ford\u2019s darkest Western. It features a deeply unsettling performance by John Wayne as an obsessive, racist anti-hero isolated by his own hatred.A Man Escaped (1956, France) \u2013 Dir. Robert Bresson \u2013 An absolute lesson in tension. Bresson uses meticulous sound design and zero theatrical fat to document a patient, step-by-step prison break.The Burmese Harp (1956, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Kon Ichikawa \u2013 A deeply moving, spiritual anti-war film about a Japanese soldier who chooses to stay behind in Burma to bury the unrecovered dead of WWII.The Seventh Seal (1957, Sweden) \u2013 Dir. Ingmar Bergman \u2013 The film that made heavy existentialism cool. It created the iconic image of a disillusioned knight who plays chess with Death to buy time.12 Angry Men (1957, USA) \u2013 Dir. Sidney Lumet \u2013 A lesson in claustrophobic staging. Lumet slowly changes focal lengths and camera angles to turn a single jury room into a pressure cooker.Throne of Blood (1957, Japan) \u2013 Dir. Akira Kurosawa \u2013 A kinetic, fog-drenched adaptation of Macbeth that perfectly blends Shakespearean tragedy with the rigid aesthetics of Japanese Noh theater.Nights of Cabiria (1957, Italy) \u2013 Dir. Federico Fellini \u2013 Giulietta Masina gives an unforgettable performance as a fiercely optimistic Roman prostitute who refuses to let life break her spirit.Wild Strawberries (1957, Sweden) \u2013 Dir. Ingmar Bergman \u2013 A road-trip movie through an old man’s memories.Mother India (1957, India) \u2013 Dir. Mehboob Khan \u2013 A colorful epic that functioned as a nationalist allegory for a newly independent India. It set the standard for Bollywood melodrama.The Cranes Are Flying (1957, USSR) \u2013 Dir. Mikhail Kalatozov \u2013 Features kinetic camera movements that feel decades ahead of their time. They capture the trauma of the Soviet homefront.Cairo Station (1958, Egypt) \u2013 Dir. Youssef Chahine \u2013 A psychological thriller that blends gritty realism with classic noir tropes inside a bustling, chaotic train station.Vertigo (1958, USA) \u2013 Dir. Alfred Hitchcock \u2013 Hitchcock’s masterpiece about romantic obsession and manipulation. It is famous because Hitchcock invented the “dolly zoom” to visually simulate panic and delusion.Ashes and Diamonds (1958, Poland) \u2013 Dir. Andrzej Wajda \u2013 A visually striking, tragic look at the immediate post-WWII political fractures in Poland, anchored by Zbigniew Cybulski\u2019s iconic, rock-star performance.The Music Room (1958, India) \u2013 Dir. Satyajit Ray \u2013 A hypnotic look at a proud aristocrat who clings to his fading status, and uses traditional Indian classical music as the core narrative driver.Touch of Evil (1958, USA) \u2013 Dir. Orson Welles \u2013 The breathless, dirty finale of the classic Hollywood Noir era. It famously kicked off with a complex, unbroken three-minute tracking shot.The 400 Blows (1959, France) \u2013 Dir. Fran\u00e7ois Truffaut \u2013 The film that officially lit the fuse on the French New Wave. It used loose location shots and a famous final freeze-frame to tear up the old filmmaking rulebook.Some Like It Hot (1959, USA) \u2013 Dir. Billy Wilder \u2013 A studio comedy that uses cross-dressing musicians to deliver a hilarious look at identity and gender rolesSumming It All Up <\/p>\n These are the movies that made me who I am and showed me a great big movie-making world outside of Hollywood. One that I could use for inspiration and help to inspire other ideas. <\/p>\n So go off and enjoy the visual depth and sumptuous storytelling ahead of you. <\/p>\n Let me know what movies to add in the comments. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Before I got to film school, I was still a bit of a nerd. 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