Theo Robertson

• The Cabinet of Dr Caligari (1920) .. Robert Wiene
  Not as often claimed "the first horror film " but certainly a film that has the power to disturb nevertheless
  
  
• Battleship Potemkin (1925) .. Sergei M. Eisenstein
  You may not agree with the politics but as a propaganda it has few equals
  
  
• King Kong (1933) .. Merian C. Cooper & Ernest B. Schoedsack
  Not even Peter Jackson could come close to equalling this masterpiece
  
  
• Angels with Dirty Faces (1938) .. Michael Curtiz
  A great story of redemption from Hollywood's golden period
  
  
• The Four Feathers (1939) .. Zoltan Korda
  Proves that Hollywood didn't have a monopoly on historical epics
  
  
• The Way Ahead (1944) .. Carol Reed
  a home front propaganda piece , but still remains a British classic
  
  
• A Matter of Life and Death (1946) .. Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
  The trans-Atlantic love hate relationship disguised as a haunting fable
  
  
• The Third Man (1949) .. Carol Reed
  Orson Welles ad-lib alone is enough to make the list never mind the cinematography and incidental music
  
  
• White Heat (1949) .. Raoul Walsh
  When you combine star power with an intelligent screenplay you have a masterpiece
  
  
• The Cruel Sea (1953) .. Charles Frend
  So unrelentingly realistic it can still cause sea sickness
  
  
• Shane (1953) .. George Stevens
  Perhaps the greatest feel good movie ever made
  
  
• The Night of the Hunter (1955) .. Charles Laughton
  Makes you wish Laughton had ignored the critics and directed more films
  
  
• Forbidden Planet (1956) .. Fred M. Wilcox
  The best SF movie of the 1950s
  
  
• 12 Angry Men (1957) .. Sidney Lumet
  So compelling you'll forget that this is based on a live television play
  
  
• Spartacus (1960) .. Stanley Kubrick
  If you only see one of Kubrick's films then let this be the one
  
  
• The Time Machine (1960) .. George Pal
  Just a beautiful film adapted from science fiction's greatest ever writer
  
  
• The Human Condition I (1959) .. Masaki Kobayashi
  The Human Condition II (1959) .. Masaki Kobayashi
  The Human Condition III (1961) .. Masaki Kobayashi
  Despite the overly pious nature of the protagonist every frame is a scene of beauty . I saw it once over twenty years ago and have never forgotten it
  
  
• The Longest Day (1962) .. Ken Annakin & Andrew Marton & Bernhard Wicki
  When Hollywood made films that didn't show the Americans winning wars single handed
  
  
• The Birds (1963) .. Alfred Hitchcock
  Haunting , enigmatic and startling film from the master of suspense
  
  
• Sands of the Kalahari (1965) .. Cy Endfield
  A study of human nature disguised of an action thriller
  
  
• You Only Live Twice (1967) .. Lewis Gilbert
  Bond at its very best
  
  
• Planet of the Apes (1968) .. Franklin J. Schaffner
  The shock ending shouldn't overwhelm the fact that this is a fine piece of science fiction
  
  
• Too Late the Hero (1970) .. Robert Aldrich
  Robert Aldrich makes a statement on the futility of Vietnamlong before anyone else did
  
  
• Dirty Harry (1971) .. Don Siegel
  Andy Robinson plays possibly the most memorable screen villain ever seen
  
  
• Get Carter (1971) .. Mike Hodges
  Classic austere , nihilistic British thriller
  
  
• The Culpepper Cattle Co. (1972) .. Dick Richards
  The greatest of the anti-westerns
  
  
• The Godfather (1972) .. Francis Ford Coppola
  The Godfather: Part II (1974)
  A classic saga. Part three didn't happen
  
  
• Jaws (1975) .. Steven Spielberg
  Little known director takes cinematic suspense to new levels
  
  
• Taxi Driver (1976) .. Martin Scorsese
  Another little known director takes us inside the mind of a alienated sociopath
  
  
• Cross of Iron (1977) .. Sam Peckinpah
  Highly underrated anti war drama full of dubious morality . Even the bad guy can't stand Nazis
  
  
• Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1978) .. Philip Kaufman
  Perhaps the only time a remake has been better than the original
  
  
• Apocalypse Now (1979) .. Francis Ford Coppola
  My all time favourite movie
  
  
• Scum (1979) .. Alan Clarke
  Highly quotable British realist drama
  
  
• Das Boot (1981) .. Wolfgang Petersen
  Put your hand on your heart and tell me you didn't feel sorry for the Germans?
  
  
• Pink Floyd The Wall (1982) .. Alan Parker
  If narcissistic despair and insanity was turned in to sight and sound this is what it would look and sound like
  
  
• The Bounty (1984) .. Roger Donaldson
  A film that originally was to be directed by David Lean . He probably wouldn't have improved on it plus there's famous faces before they became famous
  
  
• The Killing Fields (1984) .. Roland Joffé
  A haunting true story about friendship
  
  
• The Terminator (1984) .. James Cameron
  Shows how a tight script can become a totally compelling film on a relatively small budget
  
  
• Aliens (1986) .. James Cameron
  Sometimes a sequel can improve on the original
  
  
• Platoon (1986) .. Oliver Stone
  An anti-war classic when Oliver Stone didn't overstate his directorial skills
  
  
• Hellraiser (1987) .. Clive Barker
  Look beyond the gore and the protestant ethics will shine through . Everything a horror film should be
  
  
• Goodfellas (1990) .. Martin Scorsese
  Scorsese's masterwork
  
  
• Heavenly Creatures (1994) .. Peter Jackson
  Love makes monsters out of all of us
  
  
• Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) .. Guy Ritchie
  Blackly comical and highly entertaining movie that cost £800,000 to make
  
  
• Unbreakable (2000) .. M. Night Shyamalan
  The premise is daft but the double twist at the end will stop you from noticing it
  
  
• 28 Days Later... (2002) .. Danny Boyle
  An example of a great director covering up the plot holes left by the screenwriter
  
  
• The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) .. Peter Jackson
  The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) .. Peter Jackson
  The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) .. Peter Jackson
  Peter Jackson is a cinematic genius
  
  
• Downfall (2004) .. Oliver Hirschbiegel
  The acting alone marks it out for cinematic greatness
  
  
• The Ten Steps (2004) .. Brendan Muldowney
  Brendan Muldowney's short film causes more frights than many film makers cause in ten decades
  
  
• The Fallen (2008) .. Morgan Mathews
  Morgan Matthews pays tribute to Britain's recent war dead while causing this reviewer to cry like a baby