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My exposure to cinema was by watching mainstream Hindi films, with occasional big budget Hollywood products thrown in.
It was not until I was in my late teens that I was introduced to world cinema, first as a student at the Alliance Française in Delhi and later by meeting like-minded people at the Delhi University and Jawaharlal Nehru University.
That early burst of watching films from around the world and different regions of India led me to visit art-house and revival movie theatres in New York City where I saw American, European and Asian classics. Somehow, I managed to store all the information in my head.
Many people make lists of their favourite films.
Some like the ones made by Martin Scorsese and others compiled by Sight & Sound magazine become the holy grail, shared by many, especially in the age of social media.
I began to think of making a list of my favourite films, and started the project as a game, testing my memory.
But the list became longer and stronger.
I challenged myself to add films from different parts of the world, covering decades and genres. As films were added, I had to delete some, so the list stayed at 100.
Here is my list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
The oldest film in this list is 82 years old: Charlie Chaplin's The Great Dictator.
The newest is this year's Best International Film Oscar winner, Ryûsuke Hamaguchi's Drive My Car.
It is by no means a perfect list and I might have missed out some important films but these are films that have entertained me, taught me how to be compassionate, to view the world, and understand people, their histories, behaviour and customs.
100. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
Zhang Yimou
China
99. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Roman Polanski
USA
98. The Third Man (1949)
Carol Reed
UK
97. Y tu mamá también (2001)
Alfonso Cuarón
Mexico
96. Meghe Dhake Tara (1960)
Ritwik Ghatak
India
95. Lebanon (2009)
Samuel Maoz
Israel
94. Junoon (1979)
Shyam Benegal
India
93. Howards End (1992)
James Ivory
UK/ US
92. My Beautiful Launderette (1985)
Stephen Frears
UK
91. Pyaasa (1957)
Guru Dutt
India
90. Kramer vs Kramer (1979)
Robert Benton
USA
89. High Noon (1952)
Fred Zinnemann
USA
88. Paradise Now (2005)
Hany Abu-Assad
Palestine/ Israel/ Netherlands
87. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Guillermo del Toro
Mexico/ Spain
86. Wages of Fear (1953)
Henri-Georges Clouzot
France/ Italy
85. Samskara (1970)
Pattabhi Rama Reddy
India
84. Manhattan (1979)
Woody Allen
USA
83. The Graduate (1967)
Mike Nichols
USA
82. Biutiful (2010)
Alejandro González Iñárritu
Mexico/ Spain
81. Nayakan (1987)
Mani Ratnam
India
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
80. A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Edward Yang
Taiwan
79. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
USA
78. The White Balloon (1995)
Jafar Panahi
Iran
77. Vihir (2009)
Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni
India
76. Do the Right Thing (1989)
Spike Lee
USA
75. Z (1969)
Costa-Gavras
France/ Algeria
74. Brokeback Mountain (2005)
Ang Lee
USA
73. Diva (1981)
Jean-Jacques Beineix
France
72. Le Samourai (1967)
Jean-Pierre Melville
France
71. Casablanca (1942)
Michael Curtiz
USA
70. Elippathayam (1982)
Adoor Gopalakrishnan
India
69. Happy Together (1997)
Wong Kar-Wai
Hong Kong
68. An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
Yasujirō Ozu
Japan
67. The Householder (1963)
James Ivory
India
66. Where Is the Friend's House? (1987)
Abbas Kiarostami
Iran
65. The Lunchbox (2013)
Ritesh Batra
India/ France/ Germany
64. Citizen Kane (1941)
Orson Welles
USA
63. Nobody Knows (2004)
Hirokazu Koreeda
Japan
62. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
Ingmar Bergman
Sweden
61. All About My Mother (1999)
Pedro Almodóvar
Spain
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
60. The Great Dictator (1940)
Charlie Chaplin
USA
59. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Sidney Lumet
USA
58. Raging Bull (1980)
Martin Scorsese
USA
57. Ghattashraddha (1977)
Girish Kasaravalli
India
56. Old Boy (2003)
Park Chan-wook
South Korea
55. The Before Trilogy (1995, 2004, 2013)
Richard Linklater
USA
54. Roman Holiday (1953)
William Wyler
USA
53. Rear Window (1954)
Alfred Hitchcock
USA
52. The Namesake (2006)
Mira Nair
USA/ India
51. Le Dolous (1962)
Jean-Pierre Melville
France
50. Paper Moon (1973)
Peter Bogdanovich
USA
49. Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
Luchino Visconti
Italy/ France
48. Mughal-e-Azam (1960)
K Asif
India
47. Three Colors Trilogy: Blue, Red, White (1993, 1994, 1994)
Krzysztof Kieslowski
France/ Poland/ Switzerland
46. The Year of Living Dangerously (1982)
Peter Weir
Australia/ USA
45. Taxi Driver (1976)
Martin Scorsese
USA
44. La Strada (1954)
Federico Fellini
Italy
43. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
Elia Kazan
USA
42. Apocalypse Now (1979)
Francis Ford Coppola
USA
41. Monsoon Wedding (2001)
Mira Nair
India/ USA
Aseem Chhabra presents his list of 100 best (and must watch) films -- many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
And we're almost getting to the top!
40. The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Jacques Demy
France
39. La Notte (1961)
Michelangelo Antonioni
Italy/ France
38. The French Connection (1971)
William Friedkin
USA
37. Drive My Car (2021)
Ryûsuke Hamaguchi
Japan
36. Nights of Cabiria (1957)
Federico Fellini
Italy/ France
35. My Fair Lady (1964)
George Cukor
USA
34. Breathless (1960)
Jean-Luc Godard
France
33. Amour (2012)
Michael Haneke
Austria/ France/ Germany
32. The Edge of Heaven (2007)
Fatih Akin
Germany/ Turkey/ Italy
31. Almost Famous (2000)
Cameron Crowe
USA
30. Charulata (1964)
Satyajit Ray
India
29. Playtime (1967)
Jacques Tati
France/ Italy
28. Blood Simple (1984)
Joel & Ethan Coen
USA
27. Throne of Blood (1957)
Akira Kurosawa
Japan
26. Something in the Air (2012)
Olivier Assayas
France
25. A Separation (2011)
Asghar Farhadi
Iran
24. The Exterminating Angel (1962)
Luis Buñuel
Mexico
23. Stalker (1979)
Andrei Tarkovsky
Soviet Union
22. Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock
USA
21. The Conformist (1970)
Bernardo Bertolucci
Italy/ France/ Germany
The countdown to the World's Best 100 Movies finally ends here!
Do read Aseem Chhabra's list of must watch films, many classics, some relatively new and several personal favourites.
20. The Apartment (1960)
Billy Wilder
USA
19. The Godfather Part I and II (1972, 1974)
Francis Ford Coppola
USA
18. Cabaret (1972)
Bob Fosse
USA
17. Memories of Murder (2003)
Bong Joon-ho
South Korea
16. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Milos Forman
USA
15. Still Walking (2008)
Hirokazu Koreeda
Japan
14. Chinatown (1974)
Roman Polanski
USA
13. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Vittorio De Sica
Italy
12. 400 Blows (1959)
François Truffaut
France
11. The Apu Trilogy (1955, 1956, 1959)
Satyajit Ray
India
10. The Ascent (1977)
Larisa Shepitko
Soviet Union
9. Annie Hall (1977)
Woody Allen
USA
8. On the Waterfront (1954)
Elia Kazan
USA
7. Garm Hava (1974)
MS Sathyu
India
6. Rashomon (1950)
Akira Kurosawa
Japan
5. Talk to Her (2002)
Pedro Almodóvar
Spain
4. In the Mood for Love (2000)
Wong Kar-Wai
Hong Kong
3. Elevator to the Gallows (1958)
Louis Malle
France
2. Yi Yi: A One and a Two… (2000)
Edward Yang
Taiwan/ Japan
1. Tokyo Story (1953)
Yasujirō Ozu
Japan
