Salon.com Presents the 43 Movies Every Film Fan Should See - Page 2

"What films are essential viewing for anybody who wants to understand, & discuss, the art of movies? Importance, influence, the cultural ripples a certain pebble created after hitting the pond: the guiding principle was that movies that made the list had to simultaneously throw light on the past, present & future. The vast majority of these movies are well-established classics, but in every case they either illuminate some dark corner of the filmic past that need rediscovering, or they provide a crucial key to understanding the traditions & genres we find in movies today and where they may be going. Salon decided to do ~20 films in each of two categories: movies you'd darn well better have seen already (first 21), & movies that you might not get around to without benevolent interference & guidance (last 22 with the Apu Trilogy split out). Whatever you have to say about it is probably right. Still, these are some doggone great movies; watch any of them and you won't be sorry." -Salon