Mega list of movie recommendations by Sharath Bhat Seraje

- Sharath Bhat Seraje

Here is a list of all the movies that I recommended in various different occasions over the last 6-7 years. By no means is this a definitive list, it is just a collection of all the different lists that I prepared(most of them were prepared on request).

Ten very goog Foreign films watched in 2015:

1. Loft(Belgium)
2. Omar(Palestine)
3. Mother of mine(Finland)
4. Halima's path(Bosnia-Croatia-Slovenia)
5. Divided we fall(Czech)
6. Captain Abu Raed(Jordan)
7. Balzac and the Chinese seamstress(China)
8. Barfuss(Germany)
9. He loves me loves me not(France)
10. The Raid 2: Berandal(Indonesia)

For brief descriptions of these films, go to this entry:
Ten Foregin films


Films that made the film festival worth it:

1. King of Devil's Island
2. Kofta
3. Lemon Tree
4. About Elly
5. Adaminte makan Abu
6. Mao's last dancer
7. Colours of the Mountain
8. Flying pigs:
9. Top Floor left wing
10. A separation

You will find the brief introductions here:
Some more foreign films


Recommended Foreign films in Crime/Thriller/Suspense genre:

1. I saw the devil (Korean)
2. El cuerpo (The Body) - Spanish
3. Old Boy (Korean)
4. Loft (Belgian)
5. The Chaser (Korean)
6. Julia's eyes (Spanish)
7. The secret in their eyes(Argentinian)
8. Nine Queens(Argentinian)
9. Sleep Tight (Spanish)
10. Headhunters
11. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo(Swedish)
12. The Hunt (Danish)
13. Memories of Murder(Korean)
14. The Bird with the Crystal Plumage (Italian)
15. Spoorloos
16. Pieta (Korean)
17. High Tension (2003, French)
18. The Best Offer (2013, Italian)

Some very old/black and white films that you must not miss at all:

1. Psycho
2. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
3. Casablanca
4. 12 Angry Men 
5. It's a Wonderful Life
6. Citizen Kane
7. The General (1926)
8. The Apartment 
9. The Maltese Falcon 
10. The Third Man 
11. Witness for the Prosecution 
12. Double Indemnity 
13. Out of the Past 
14. High Noon 
15. Ace in the whole
16. Sunset Boulevard
17. Rebecca
18. Safety Last (1923)
19. White Heat
20. The Ox-Bow Incident 
21. Notorious 
22. Throne of Blood
23. Les Diaboliques
24. Rififi 
25. Umberto D
26. The Big Heat (1953)
27. Night of the Hunter
28. Laura 
29. Bicycle Thieves
30. Metropolis (1927)
31. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
32. The Day the Earth Stood Still(1951)
33. The Wages of Fear
34. Seven Samurai
35. To Be or Not to Be (1942)

Movies with great plot twists:
Some of the most deliciously ironic/poetic twists that I have seen are the ones in TV shows -- The Twilight Zone and Alfred Hitchcock Presents. I Would highly recommend these 2 shows.
Some good movies with plot twists that I liked:

1. Memento
2. Primal fear
3. 6th sense
4. Predestination
5. Planet of Apes
6. House of Games
7. Orphan
8. Saw
9. Saw 2
10. The Spanish prisoner
11. The game
12. The Prestige
13. The Visit
14. The crying game (British)
15. Pieta (Korean)
16. Incendies (Canadian)
17. The illusionist
18. The bird with crystal plumage (Italian)
19. Psycho
20. The Village
21. Unbreakable
22. The Others
23. Loft (Belgian) 
24. The secret in their eyes (Argentinean)
25. Atonement (British)
26. Chinatown
27. The Conversation 
28. Scream
29. Gone baby gone
30. Body Heat
31. The Body (Spanish)
32. Butterfly on a wheel
33. Matchstick men
34. Witness for the prosecution
35. Nine queens(Argentinean)
36. the best offer(Italian)
37. Les diaboliques(French)
38. Dark City 
39. Another Earth 
40. Following
41. Identity

Check the introduction here:
https://sharathbhats.blogspot.com/2018/08/movies-with-good-plot-twists.html

Some films that changed my outlook on cinema:
1. Memento and every other film of Nolan
2. Judgement at Nuremberg
3. Miller's Crossing
4. No Man's Land
5. Before the fall.
6. Saving Private Ryan and Artificial Intelligence by Steven Spielberg
7. Ran by Akira Korosawa
8. Bicycle thieves
9. Umberto D
10. Aguirre the wrath of God
11. A landscape in the mist, Weeping meadows, eternity and day.
12. Hero by Zhang Yimou
13. Cinema of Iran - Children of Heaven, Song of the sparrows, The cyclist, Kandahar
14. Cinema of Jeane Pierre Jeunet - Amelie, Delicatessen.
15. Hotel Rwanda

Bonus: Try to watch everything by these legendary directors:

1. Billy Wilder
2. Preston Sturges
3. Charlie Chaplin
4. Buster Keaton
5. Orson Welles
6. John Huston
7. Fritz Lang
8. John Ford
9. Ernst Lubitsch
10. Alfred Hitchcock
11. John Ford
12. William Wyler
13. Don Siegel
14. Stanley Kramer
15. Vincente Minnelli
16. Sergio Leone
17. Franklin J. Schaffner
18. George Roy Hill
19. Martin Scorsese
20. Stanley Kubrick
21. Brian De Palma
22. Sidney Lumet
23. Francis Ford Coppola
24. Clint Eastwood
25. Werner Herzog
26. John McTiernan
27. Steven Spielberg
28. James Cameron
29. Ridley Scott
30. Christopher Nolan
31. Tony Scott
32. Coen Brothers
33. Michael Mann
34. Terry Gilliam
35. Paul Verhoeven
36. Mel Gibson
37. M. Night Shyamalan
38. Wolfgang Petersen
39. David Mamet
40. David Fincher
41. Alejandro G. Iñárritu
42. Joon-ho Bong
43. Quentin Tarantino
44. Jee-woon Kim
45. Jean Pierre Jeunet
46. Johnnie To
47. Majid Majidi
48. Mohsen Makmalbaf

Check the detailed post here:
http://sharathbhats.blogspot.com/2018/07/some-films-that-had-big-impact-on-my.html


Movies set in Exotic Locations:
1. Mutluluk(Bliss) - Turkish
2. Nordwand(North Face) - German
3. Around the world in 80 days(the one made in 1956)
4. The Buffalo Boy (2004, Vietnamese)
5. African Queen
6. Dersu Uzala (1975, Japanese)
7. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... And Spring(Korean)
8. Vertical limit
9. Days of Heaven
10. Dreams of dust( French/African)
11. Mountain Patrol (2004, Tibet)
12. Tulpan (Kazakistan)
13. Eight below
14. Medicine Man
15. The way back
16. Lawrence of Arabia
17. The Hunter (Australia)
18. A far off Place
19. Aguirre the wrath of god(German)
Honourable mentions:
20. Blackboards - Iranian.
21. The English Patient (1996)
22. The Flight of the Phoenix (1965)
23. Alive (1993)
24. The Blue Butterfly (2004)
25. Jeremiah Johnson
26. Munyurangabo(Rwanda)
27. Vodka Lemon - Iranian.
28. Kandahar(Iranian)

Yet to watch:

1. Postmen in the Mountains
2. The Thaw (2009)
3. Pathfinder (2007)
4. Sanctum (2011)
5. Black Water (2007)
6. Iron Will (1994)
7. Farewell to the King (1989)
8. Seven Years in Tibet (1997)
9. Jungle Child (2011)

Find the detailed introductions to these movies here:
Movies that you should watch for the locations



Some good Indian films that you might have missed:
1. Kaksparsh
2. Budhia Singh – Born to Run
3. Bey Yaar
4. Baandhon
5. Baise Srabon
6. Antardwand
7. Punjab 1984
8. Lakshmi
Check the details here:
http://sharathbhats.blogspot.com/2018/07/some-good-indian-films.html



Foreign war films:
1. Tae Guk Gi: The Brotherhood of War (2004): Korean.
2. Assembly (2007): Chinese
3. The Front Line (2011) - Korean
4. A Very Long Engagement (2004, French)
5. The Tour (2008): Serbian
6. 9th Company (2005, Russian)
7. Come and See(Russian)
8. The Brest Fortress (2010, Russian)
9. 71 into the fire: Korean
10. Days of Glory (2006)- French
11. Red Cliff(Released as part 1 and part 2): Chinese
12. The Admiral - Roaring Currents (2014): Korean
13. Ran(Japanese)
Some good films about soldiers/the ones set in the war zones that are not action films,ones that do not show combat/battle:
14. Black book
15. No man's land
16. The Burmese Harp (1956)
17. Welcome to Dongmakgol (2005)
18. J.S.A. (2000)
You will find the capsule reviews here:
Foreign War films



Good War movies:

1. The Longest day(1962)
2. A bridge too far(1977)
3. The Dam busters(1955)
4. Saving Private Ryan
5. Twelve O’Clock High (1949)
6. Patton (1970)
7. Enemy at the gates
8. The big red one(1980)
9. Paths of Glory(1957)
10. Full metal jacket
11. Platoon

Honorable mentions:

1. Hell is for heroes(1962)
2. Battle of Britain
3. Cross of Iron 

Find the capsule reviews here:
War Films



Recommended popcorn entertainers and action films for beginners who are not sure as to how to get started:

1. Speed (Concept based action)
2. Alien and Aliens (Suspense + action)
3. Saving Private Ryan (Emotion + Action)
4. Tae guk Gi (Korean, Intense war with sentiment)
5. Rambo 1,2,3 and 4
6. Mission Impossible 1 and 4 (Action)
7. Die Hard 1,2,3 and 4(Action + Heroism)
8. Pursuit of Happyness (Sentiment + Inspiration)
9. Cinema Paradiso(Italian)
10. Amelie(French)
11. Braveheart (Period piece with Emotion + Action)
12. Gladiator (Period drama with Sentiment + Action)
13. The Pianist (Emotional drama with a war background)
14. Cinderella man (Sentiment+ Action)
15. Terminator 1 and 2 - Action
16. Law Abiding Citizen - Crime thriller
17. Mad Max: Fury Road - Visual storytelling + action
18. True Lies(Comedy + Action + heroism)
19. Man on Fire
20. Enemy of the state - Chase thriller
21. Blood Diamond - Sentimental
22. Silence of the lambs – serial killer movie
23. Nolan's Batman trilogy(Batman begins, The Dark Knight and The Dark Knight rises)
24. The Raid redemption and the sequel Raid 2 - Great fights
25. Ong Bak - Action
26. Jackie Chan - Police Story series, Operation Condor, Twin Dragons, Armour of God, Rush Hour series. Action + Visual comedy
27. I saw the Devil(Korean) - Crime thriller
28. Dollars trilogy for a taste of stylised Cowboy films(A fistful of Dollars, For a few dollars more and The good,bad and ugly) 
29. Ocean's Eleven  and Italian Job - Cool heist thrillers
30. A.I: A classic by Steven Spielverg
31. Bourne Series - Watch the first 3. Bourne Identity, Bourne Supremacy and Bourne Ultimatum.
32. Leon the Professional
33. Shooter
34. Enter the dragon