The Greatest European Films of All Time
European Films that I consider the greatest
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- DirectorFritz LangStarsBrigitte HelmAlfred AbelGustav FröhlichIn a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind falls in love with a working-class prophet who predicts the coming of a savior to mediate their differences.
- DirectorAbel GanceStarsAlbert DieudonnéVladimir RoudenkoEdmond Van DaëleA film about the French general's youth and early military career.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsAleksandr AntonovVladimir BarskiyGrigoriy AleksandrovIn the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
- DirectorMyroslav SlaboshpytskyiStarsHryhoriy FesenkoYana NovikovaRosa BabiyA deaf boy joins a boarding school for similar children. Confronted by the violent and criminal antics of some of the other boys and girls, he struggles to conform and join the 'tribe'.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsRobert De NiroJames WoodsElizabeth McGovernA former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
- DirectorBernardo BertolucciStarsMarlon BrandoMaria SchneiderMaria MichiA young Parisian woman meets a middle-aged American businessman who demands their clandestine relationship be based only on sex.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsPaul RichterMargarete SchönTheodor LoosSiegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, sets off on a treacherous journey to the Kingdom of Burgundy to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Princess Kriemhild.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsMargarete SchönGertrud ArnoldTheodor LoosPrincess Kriemhild vows to avenge her husband's murder but must overcome her brothers who swore allegiance to Hagen. She marries Etzel, King of the Huns, and persuades his army to attack Hagen, but she loses more than she bargained for.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsJohn Phillip LawMarisa MellMichel PiccoliA master thief and his sensual lover pull off heist after heist, all while an envious coalition of cops and gangsters is gunning for them.
- DirectorLuigi ComenciniStarsGiuliano GemmaStefania SandrelliBrizio MontinaroTwo factory workers living in Northern Italy form a romantic connection.
- DirectorCarl Theodor DreyerStarsMaria FalconettiEugene SilvainAndré BerleyIn 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
- DirectorGiovanni PastroneStarsItalia Almirante-ManziniLidia QuarantaBartolomeo PaganoCabiria is a Roman child when her home is destroyed by a volcano. Sold in Carthage to be sacrificed in a temple, she is saved by Fulvio, a Roman spy. But danger lurks, and hatred between Rome and Carthage can only lead to war.
- DirectorFritz LangStarsRudolf Klein-RoggeAud Egede-NissenGertrude WelckerArch-criminal Dr. Mabuse sets out to make a fortune and run Berlin. Detective Wenk sets out to stop him.
- DirectorRobert WieneStarsWerner KraussConrad VeidtFriedrich FeherHypnotist Dr. Caligari uses a somnambulist, Cesare, to commit murders.
- DirectorPaul WegenerCarl BoeseStarsPaul WegenerAlbert SteinrückErnst DeutschIn 16th-century Prague, a rabbi creates the Golem - a giant creature made of clay. Using sorcery, he brings the creature to life in order to protect the Jews of Prague from persecution.
- DirectorF.W. MurnauStarsMax SchreckAlexander GranachGustav von WangenheimVampire Count Orlok expresses interest in a new residence and real estate agent Hutter's wife.
- DirectorWerner HerzogStarsKlaus KinskiIsabelle AdjaniBruno GanzCount Dracula moves from Transylvania to Wismar, spreading the Black Plague across the land. Only a woman pure of heart can bring an end to his reign of horror.
- DirectorMario CaseriniEleuterio RodolfiStarsFernanda Negri PougetEugenia Tettoni FiorUbaldo StefaniTwo love triangles intersect in ancient Pompei.
- DirectorEnrico GuazzoniStarsAmleto NovelliGustavo SerenaCarlo CattaneoAn epic Italian film, "Quo Vadis" influenced many of the later movies.
- DirectorJerzy KawalerowiczStarsPavel DelongMagdalena MielcarzBoguslaw LindaMarcus Vinicius meets Lygia in Rome and falls in love. But she is Christian and doesn't want anything to do with him. Marcus decides to kidnap her but Ursus, her bodyguard, catches Marcus. After that, Lygia falls in love, but Marcus must go to meet Nero. After the meeting somebody told Marcus that Nero burnt Rome. Marcus decides to go back to Rome and find Lygia.
- DirectorJosef von SternbergStarsEmil JanningsMarlene DietrichKurt GerronAn elderly professor's ordered life spins dangerously out of control when he falls for a nightclub singer.
- DirectorLuigi Romano BorgnettoGiovanni PastroneStarsLuigi Romano BorgnettoGiovanni CasaleggioMadame DavesnesOne of the first epics on the History of Movies, it tells the story of the Fall of Troy: Paris seduces Helen, queen of Sparta, and takes her to Troy, city state of his father, King Priam. The Greeks declare war against the Trojans, and after ten years of siege finally manage to invade the city with a wooden horse.
- DirectorArturo AmbrosioLuigi MaggiStarsAlberto CapozziLydia De RobertiMirra PrincipiRoman emperor Nero is used to getting what he wants. He has grown tired of his wife Octavia, and has become infatuated with Poppea. He succeeds in making Poppea the new empress, but soon he faces opposition from an outraged populace.
- DirectorJean-Jacques VierneStarsJean-Pierre TalbotGeorges WilsonGeorges LoriotTintin and Captain Haddock try to discover what is so desirable about their old and apparently worthless ship.
- DirectorPhilippe CondroyerStarsJean BouiseJean-Pierre TalbotFélix FernándezTintin, with the help of his dog Milú, Captain Haddock and a group of children, tries to find the whereabouts of professor Tornasol and a Spanish colleague, who have been kidnapped in Spain after finding a solution to world hunger.
- DirectorRaymond LeblancStarsJacques CareuilGeorges AtlasJacques BalutinTintin and his friends visit Professor Calculus at his country laboratory, only to find him and a pair of local children threatened by criminals after the inventor's work.
- DirectorAnders ØstergaardStarsHergéNuma SadoulMichael FarrA high-profiled documentary about Hergé and his major cartoon success, Tintin, based in part on previously unreleased archive tape footage.
- DirectorCatti EdfeldtStarsEllen FjæstadCarl-Robert Holmer-KårellUlrika BergmanEva and Adam are 14 and have been together for three years, but Eva is slowly invaded by new thoughts.
- DirectorPichaBoris SzulzingerStarsBernard DhéranClaude BertrandRoger CarelShame, the ape man of the jungle, sets off to rescue his woman, June, when a gang of giant penises kidnaps her.
- DirectorPichaStarsRichard DarboisGeorges AminelRoger CarelAdult animated comedy with rock music soundtrack portraying a far-fetched explanation of the Dawn of Man.
- DirectorCate ShortlandStarsSaskia RosendahlKai-Peter MalinaNele TrebsAs the Allies sweep across Germany, Lore leads her siblings on a journey that exposes them to the truth of their parents' beliefs. An encounter with a mysterious refugee forces Lore to rely on a person she has always been taught to hate.
- DirectorMichel HazanaviciusStarsJean DujardinBérénice BejoJohn GoodmanWhen George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsTisa FarrowIan McCullochRichard JohnsonStrangers searching for a young woman's missing father arrive at a tropical island where a doctor desperately seeks the cause and cure of a recent epidemic of the undead.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsGeorges MélièsVictor AndréBleuette BernonA group of astronomers go on an expedition to the Moon.
- DirectorPoul BangSidney W. PinkStarsBent MejdingAsbjørn AndersenPovl WøldikeAfter copper miners discover a piece of the frozen tail of a giant prehistoric reptile in Lapland, scientists inadvertently bring it back to life.
- DirectorCharles BarroisStarsJacques TatiHélène PépéeRhumAn amateur actor, hen-packed loser, signs unwittingly a contract to fight against professional wrestler.
- DirectorRené ClémentStarsJacques TatiMax MartelLouis RoburA boxer is out in the country with his entourage, training for his next fight. Meanwhile, on the farm nearby, Roger is neglecting his chores. As he watches the boxer and his sparring partners at work, Roger starts to fantasize about being a boxer himself. Then, when none of the boxer's sparring partners can continue, he is asked to fill in, although he doesn't know anything about how to box.
- DirectorJacques BerrStarsRhumJacques TatiTwo friends try to raise money by tricking people into an improvised leisure tour.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiPaul DemangeSchool for Postmen" is a 1947 short film directed and starring Jacques Tati, playing a French postman adamant to prove he can be just as fast as American postmen at delivering mail.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiGuy DecomblePaul FrankeurA village postman with no sense of humour delivers his mail via bicycle on the day the travelling fair comes to town. He is disrupted by a short film about US speed and efficiency and the playful teasing of the village folk.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiNathalie PascaudMicheline RollaMonsieur Hulot comes to a beachside hotel for a vacation and accidentally, but good-naturedly, causes havoc.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiJean-Pierre ZolaAdrienne ServantieMonsieur Hulot visits the technology-driven world of his sister, brother-in-law, and nephew, but he can't quite fit into the surroundings.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiBarbara DennekRita MaidenMonsieur Hulot curiously wanders around a high-tech Paris, paralleling a trip with a group of American tourists. Meanwhile, a nightclub/restaurant prepares its opening night, but it's still under construction.
- DirectorNicolas RibowskiStarsJacques TatiAlain FaynerMarc MonjouJacques Tati teaches an acting class about the subtleties of certain types of people to a group of eager (but not very talented) students.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiMarcel FravalHonoré BostelMr. Hulot drives a recreational vehicle from Paris to Amsterdam in his usual comical, disastrous style.
- DirectorJacques TatiStarsJacques TatiKarl KossmayerPierre BrammaTwo children go behind the scenes of a small circus.
- DirectorSophie TatischeffStarsDominique LavanantDédéGilberte GéniatDirected by Jacques Tati's daughter Sophie Tatischeff, Dégustation maison is a thirteen-minute comic short shot in a café in Sainte-Sévère-sur-indre, the same town where Tati's Jour de fête was filmed. It won the César Award For best short fiction film in 1978.
- DirectorJacques TatiSophie TatischeffA sports documentary short covering the soccer match for the UEFA cup of 1978, with the French Corsican team Bastia playing against the PSV Eindhoven club from the Netherlands.
- DirectorLucien NonguetA dramatization of the uprising in Odessa, Russia in 1905: A ship's crew, tired of being mistreated, mutinies and takes over their ship. When they reach land, a sailor who died during the mutiny is made a martyr, inspiring an uprising in the city. Then the authorities decide to repress the revolt with a brutal show of force.
- DirectorSylvain ChometStarsJean-Claude DondaEilidh RankinDuncan MacNeilA French illusionist finds himself out of work and travels to Scotland, where he meets a young woman. Their ensuing adventure changes both their lives forever.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsGrigoriy AleksandrovMaksim ShtraukhMikhail GomorovA group of oppressed factory workers go on strike in pre-revolutionary Russia.
- DirectorGrigoriy AleksandrovSergei EisensteinStarsBoris LivanovNikolay PopovVasili NikandrovA large-scale view on the events of 1917 in Russia, when the monarchy was overthrown.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodGian Maria VolontèMarianne KochA wandering gunfighter plays two rival families against each other in a town torn apart by greed, pride, and revenge.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodLee Van CleefGian Maria VolontèTwo bounty hunters with the same intentions team up to track down a gang of outlaws led by a psychotic Mexican bandit, who is plotting an audacious bank robbery.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsClint EastwoodEli WallachLee Van CleefA bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
- DirectorDziga VertovStarsMikhail KaufmanElizaveta SvilovaA man travels around a city with a camera slung over his shoulder, documenting urban life with dazzling invention.
- DirectorSergio LeoneStarsHenry FondaCharles BronsonClaudia CardinaleA mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.
- DirectorRúnar RúnarssonStarsAtli Óskar FjalarssonHera HilmarSigurdur Jakob Helgason2 Birds takes place during one bright summer night and follows a group of young teenagers on a journey from innocence to adulthood. The main character is a timid boy who has a typical schoolboy crush on a girl his age, who happens to be a friend of his mate.
- DirectorKatell QuillévéréStarsClara AugardeLioMichel GalabruAnna a young teenager comes home from her Catholic boarding school for the holidays and discovers her father has left. Her mother is devastated and confined in the company of the local priest, who is also a childhood friend. Anna clings to her beloved grandfather. She also grows close to Pierre, a free-spirited teenager who cares little about God. Anna is preparing for her confirmation, but her budding desire for Pierre shakes her faith. She longs to give herself over, body and soul... but doesn't know if it is to God, or something else?
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsJuliette BinocheZbigniew ZamachowskiJulie DelpyA woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsZbigniew ZamachowskiJulie DelpyJanusz GajosAfter his wife divorces him, a Polish immigrant plots to get even with her.
- DirectorKrzysztof KieslowskiStarsIrène JacobJean-Louis TrintignantFrédérique FederA model discovers a retired judge is keen on invading people's privacy.
- DirectorPaolo SorrentinoStarsToni ServilloCarlo VerdoneSabrina FerilliJep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
- DirectorGeorges MélièsStarsBleuette BernonJeanne CalvièreJehanne d'AlcyA divinely inspired peasant woman becomes an army captain for France and then is martyred after she is captured.
- DirectorVittorio De SicaStarsLamberto MaggioraniEnzo StaiolaLianella CarellIn post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
- DirectorLars von TrierStarsKirsten DunstCharlotte GainsbourgKiefer SutherlandTwo sisters find their already strained relationship challenged as a mysterious new planet threatens to collide with Earth.
- DirectorChris MarkerStarsÉtienne BeckerJean NégroniHélène ChatelainThe story of a man forced to explore his memories in the wake of World War III's devastation, told through still images.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsChristopher GeorgeCatriona MacCollCarlo De MejoA reporter and a psychic race to close the Gates of Hell after the suicide of a clergyman caused them to open, allowing the dead to rise from their graves.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsCatriona MacCollDavid WarbeckCinzia MonrealeA young woman inherits an old hotel in Louisiana where, following a series of supernatural "accidents", she learns that the building was built over one of the entrances to Hell.
- DirectorLucio FulciStarsCatriona MacCollPaolo MalcoAnia PieroniA New England home is terrorized by a series of murders, unbeknownst to the guests that a gruesome secret is hiding in the basement.
- DirectorUmberto LenziStarsHugo StiglitzLaura TrotterMaria Rosaria OmaggioAn airplane exposed to radiation lands, and blood drinking zombies emerge armed with knives, guns and teeth! They go on a rampage slicing, dicing, and biting their way across the Italian countryside.
- DirectorAndrea BianchiStarsKarin WellGianluigi ChirizziSimone MattioliAn archaeology professor discovers an ancient crypt which contains living dead corpses. The zombies go on a rampage and attack a group of people which the professor had invited to celebrate his discovery.
- DirectorRuggero DeodatoStarsRobert KermanFrancesca CiardiPerry PirkanenDuring a rescue mission into the Amazon rainforest, a professor stumbles across lost film shot by a missing documentary crew.
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsPaolo BonacelliGiorgio CataldiUberto Paolo QuintavalleIn World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture.
- DirectorLuc BessonStarsBruce WillisMilla JovovichGary OldmanIn the colorful future, a cab driver unwittingly becomes the central figure in the search for a legendary cosmic weapon to keep Evil and Mr. Zorg at bay.
- DirectorJean CocteauRené ClémentStarsJean MaraisJosette DayMila ParélyA beautiful young woman takes her father's place as the prisoner of a mysterious beast, who wishes to marry her.
- DirectorJuraj HerzStarsZdena StudenkováVlastimil HarapesVáclav VoskaIn this gothic rendition of the classic fairy tale, a merchant's youngest daughter is held prisoner by a mysterious winged beast.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsNoah HathawayBarret OliverTami StronachA troubled boy dives into a wondrous fantasy world through the pages of a mysterious book.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinDmitriy VasilevStarsNikolay CherkasovNikolai OkhlopkovAndrei AbrikosovThe story of how a great Russian prince led a ragtag army to battle an invading force of Teutonic Knights.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsNikolay CherkasovLyudmila TselikovskayaSerafima BirmanDuring the early part of his reign, Ivan the Terrible faces betrayal from the aristocracy and even his closest friends as he seeks to unite the Russian people.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsNikolay CherkasovSerafima BirmanPavel KadochnikovAs Ivan the Terrible attempts to consolidate his power by establishing a personal army, his political rivals, the Russian boyars, plot to assassinate their Tsar.
- DirectorSergei EisensteinStarsNikolay CherkasovMikhail RommOleg ZhakovEisenstein began work on this third Ivan the Terrible film in 1946, but production was halted when the decision was made not to release the second. More than 20 minutes was filmed, but only a fragment lasting less than 5 minutes exists.
- DirectorTarik SalehStarsVincent GalloJuliette LewisUdo KierA complex story of a misaligned man, though good intent, creating a nightmarish Dystopian existence.
- DirectorMyroslav SlaboshpytskyiStarsOlena BalamutovaIgor BarsegyanYaroslav GavrylukAn elderly forester had planned a peaceful day ahead to enjoy a relaxing warm bath and listening to the radio... His daughter had planned a surprise visit to him to introduce her fiancé. As if from nowhere, an old acquaintance of the forester arrived, with vodka and refreshments... And there were two others...
- DirectorMyroslav SlaboshpytskyiStarsKarina BelovaMaksim KushovOleksandr SemyshkurWhen drug courier Petia and his pregnant girlfriend got into a militia raid, he did not suspect that his conflict with the law was not the least serious problem of his life.
- DirectorMyroslav SlaboshpytskyiStarsOleksand FomichovSergei GavrilyukDmytro SokolA ten-minute episode in the lives of the pupils at a deaf-mute boarding school is reconstructed in real time.
- DirectorMyroslav SlaboshpytskyiStarsSergei GavrilyukSvitlana ShtankoSergiy and Sveta live in Chernobyl. Sergey is a truck-driver at a radioactive wastes utilization plant. Sveta works at a radioactive decontamination laundry. Their work and their life are dictated by one unchangeable rhythm with clockwork precision. But what sets this mechanism in motion - day by day.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsBarbara SteeleJohn RichardsonAndrea ChecchiA vengeful witch and her fiendish servant return from the grave and begin a bloody campaign to possess the body of the witch's beautiful look-alike descendant.
- DirectorMario BavaStarsMichèle MercierLidia AlfonsiBoris KarloffBoris Karloff hosts a trio of horror stories concerning a stalked call girl, a vampire-like monster who preys on his family, and a nurse who is haunted by her ring's rightful owner.
- DirectorJesús FrancoStarsSoledad MirandaDennis PricePaul MullerAn erotic horror tale about a vixen vampiress seducing and killing women to appease her insatiable thirst for female blood.
- DirectorAndrey ZaytsevStarsGleb KalyuzhnyyUlyana VaskovichOlga OzollapinyaA teenage boy feels infatuation for the first time.
- DirectorMarika BeikuAleksandr GordonAndrei TarkovskyStarsYuliy FaytAleksandr GordonValentin VinogradovTwo men besiege a lunch bar looking for a third man they must kill.
- DirectorAleksandr GordonAndrei TarkovskyStarsOleg BorisovAleksey AlekseevPyotr LyubeshkinSoldiers undertake the perilous task of removing a stockpile of World War II bombshells discovered during roadworks under the ground of a small village.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsIgor FomchenkoVladimir ZamanskiyNatalya ArkhangelskayaSeven-year-old Sasha practices violin every day to satisfy the ambition of his parents. Already withdrawn as a result of his routines, Sasha quickly regains confidence when he accidentally meets and befriends worker Sergei, who works on a steamroller in their upscale Moscow neighborhood.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyEduard AbalovStarsNikolay BurlyaevValentin ZubkovEvgeniy ZharikovDuring WWII, Soviet orphan Ivan Bondarev strikes up a friendship with three sympathetic Soviet officers while working as a scout behind the German lines.
- DirectorAndrei TarkovskyStarsNatalya BondarchukDonatas BanionisJüri JärvetA psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.
- DirectorLuc JacquetStarsMorgan FreemanRomane BohringerCharles BerlingIn the Antarctic, every March since the beginning of time, the quest begins to find the perfect mate and start a family.
- DirectorAmando de OssorioStarsLone FlemingCésar BurnerMaría Elena ArpónMedieval knights executed for their black magic rituals come back as zombies to torment a group of vacationing college kids.
- DirectorFernando Di LeoStarsGastone MoschinBarbara BouchetMario AdorfA former gangster is forced to resume his old lifestyle when his violent, jealous ex-colleagues and the police believe that he knows the location of a stolen cache of $300,000.