The Best Films Ever Made - 1959
The rules: My rating x 3, 6 male/female rating ( 18, 30, 45), 1000 voters rating, US- and Non-US voters rating. Only films with a better rating than 7,00
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- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaChikage AwashimaA Japanese pacifist, unable to face the dire consequences of conscientious objection, is transformed by his attempts to compromise with the demands of war-time Japan.8,83
- DirectorMasaki KobayashiStarsTatsuya NakadaiMichiyo AratamaKokinji KatsuraAs a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist struggles to maintain his determination to keep his ideals.8,81
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.8,79
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsMarilyn MonroeTony CurtisJack LemmonAfter two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.8,71
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsSergey BondarchukPavel BoriskinZinaida KirienkoA Soviet soldier, Andrei Sokolov, has been separated from his family by World War II. Suffering in German captivity, he dreams of meeting his darlings after the victory. But cruel fate turned out otherwise.8,50
- DirectorGrigoriy ChukhrayStarsVladimir IvashovZhanna ProkhorenkoAntonina MaksimovaYoung Russian soldier Alyosha earns a medal, but asks to visit his mother instead. His journey recounts various kinds of love during wartime.8,28
- DirectorJoseph L. MankiewiczStarsElizabeth TaylorKatharine HepburnMontgomery CliftA surgeon is assigned the case of a young woman whose aunt wants her lobotomized to cover up a family secret.8,26
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeSharmila TagoreAlok ChakravartyThis final installment in Satyajit Ray's Apu Trilogy follows Apu's life as an orphaned adult aspiring to be a writer.8,23
- DirectorHoward HawksStarsJohn WayneDean MartinRicky NelsonA small-town sheriff in the American West enlists the help of a disabled man, a drunk, and a young gunfighter in his efforts to hold in jail the brother of the local bad guy.8,23
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraMachiko KyôHaruko SugimuraThe head of a Japanese theatre troupe returns to a small coastal town where he left a son who thinks he is his uncle, and tries to make up for the lost time, but his current mistress grows jealous.8,15
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsKeiji SadaYoshiko KugaChishû RyûTwo boys begin a silence strike to press their parents into buying them a television set.8,15
- DirectorRoberto RosselliniStarsVittorio De SicaHannes MessemerSandra MiloBardone, a petty con man, is arrested by the Gestapo and coerced into impersonating a partisan leader in order to expose another resistance organizer.8,03
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsHayley MillsHorst BuchholzJohn MillsA twelve-year-old tomboy witnesses the murder of a woman by her Polish merchant marine boyfriend, but bonds with him and thwarts the police in their investigation.8,00
- DirectorBert SternAram AvakianStarsLouis ArmstrongMahalia JacksonChuck BerryThe highlights of the 1958 Newport Jazz Festival.7,99
- DirectorBernhard GrzimekStarsBernhard GrzimekHolger HagenHermann RockmannThe borders of the Serengeti National Park in Tanzania were initially drawn without considering the herds of grass-eating wild animals. The recording of seasonal animal movements by the film team at the end of the 1950s forms the framework for action, so that based on this work, new boundaries of the park could be determined in such a way, that the most important animal populations are protected all year round. The beauty of the savannah landscape and the sideways glance at numerous wild animal species living there, some of which were presented to a broader audience for the first time in this film, fill this nature documentary.7,95
- DirectorJerzy KawalerowiczStarsLucyna WinnickaLeon NiemczykTeresa SzmigielównaJerzy enters a train set for the Baltic coast. He seems to be on the run from something - as does the strange woman with whom he must share a sleeping compartment.7,88
- DirectorBernhard WickiStarsVolker BohnetFritz WepperMichael HinzIn 1945, Germany is being overrun, and nobody is left to fight but teenagers.7,83
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsFrancisco RabalMarga LópezRita MacedoA priest in a poor community lives a charitable life in accordance with his religious principles, but many others do not return the favor.7,83
- DirectorMario MonicelliStarsAlberto SordiVittorio GassmanBernard BlierThe Italian Army fought against the Austrians during World War I.7,80
- DirectorOtto PremingerStarsJames StewartLee RemickBen GazzaraAn upstate Michigan lawyer defends a soldier who claims he killed an innkeeper due to temporary insanity after the victim raped his wife. What is the truth, and will he win his case?7,79
- DirectorValerio ZurliniStarsEleonora Rossi DragoJean-Louis TrintignantLilla BrignoneSummer 1943: The war is in full swing in southern Italy. Together with friends, Carlo enjoys a carefree summer in youthful naïveté. He falls in love with Roberta, whose husband was killed in the war.7,74
- DirectorClaude ChabrolStarsGérard BlainJean-Claude BrialyJuliette MaynielA pair of cousins share a flat, but animosity begins to build between the two when a woman gets involved.7,73
- DirectorFrançois TruffautStarsJean-Pierre LéaudAlbert RémyClaire MaurierA young boy, left without attention, delves into a life of petty crime.7,70
- DirectorAlain ResnaisStarsEmmanuelle RivaEiji OkadaStella DassasA French actress filming an anti-war film in Hiroshima has an affair with a married Japanese architect as they share their differing perspectives on war.7,70
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsAudrey HepburnPeter FinchEdith EvansAfter leaving a wealthy Belgian family to become a nun, Sister Luke struggles with her devotion to her vows during crisis, disappointment, and World War II.7,68
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsLaurence HarveySimone SignoretHeather SearsAn ambitious young accountant plots to wed a wealthy factory owner's daughter despite falling in love with a married older woman.7,66
- DirectorAnthony AsquithStarsDirk BogardeOlivia de HavillandPaul MassieA shell-shocked World War II veteran with memory problems is accused of being an impostor by a former comrade.7,64
- DirectorRichard FleischerStarsOrson WellesDean StockwellDiane VarsiTwo wealthy law-school students go on trial for murder in this version of the Leopold-Loeb case.7,62
- DirectorRobert WiseStarsHarry BelafonteRobert RyanGloria GrahameIn need of quick money, a fallen former cop recruits a hard-bitten ex-con and a debt-ridden nightclub singer to pull off a bank job. But as the animosity between them boils over, the entire plan threatens to implode.7,59
- DirectorGuy HamiltonAlexander MackendrickStarsBurt LancasterKirk DouglasLaurence OlivierThe black sheep of a family and the local minister discover their true vocations during the Revolutionary War.7,57
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsCharlton HestonJack HawkinsStephen BoydAfter a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.7,54
- DirectorCzeslaw PetelskiStarsZygmunt KestowiczEmil KarewiczTeresa IzewskaBecause of the danger involved and the harsh conditions, wood transport drivers, working in the forests of south-east Poland, are going to quit their jobs. A party activist arrives to make them change their minds.7,53
- DirectorVincent ShermanStarsPaul NewmanBarbara RushAlexis SmithA promising lawyer tries to handle his social and professional problems while climbing the ranks in Philadelphia.7,53
- DirectorPietro GermiStarsPietro GermiClaudia CardinaleFranco FabriziA police detective and his team attempt to solve two crimes committed within a day of each other in neighboring apartment rooms.7,52
- DirectorWolfgang StaudteStarsMartin HeldWalter GillerIngrid van BergenApril 1945. Because he stole two boxes of chocolate, the soldier Rudi is sentenced to death by the court-martial judge Dr. Schramm. Rudi manages to escape from the firing squad at the last minute due to an air force attack, and since the end of the war has been making a meager living as a street peddler. Years later, Dr. Schramm is now a respected public prosecutor. By chance, he runs into Rudi one day on the street. Afraid that Rudi will blow the whistle on him, Dr. Schramm wants to scare him out of town. He has Rudi arrested and bullied by the police. Desperate, Rudi again steals two boxes of chocolate from a store, hoping his old case will be reopened and Dr. Schramm's past brought to light. But Dr. Schramm has Rudi's death sentence removed from his file. During the trial, Schramm defends Rudi as he was his lawyer and not the prosecutor and suspicion rises. Finally his tongue slips and, without fully realizing what he is saying, demands that Rudi be sentenced to death. The trial is stopped, Schramm now only tries to get away and Rudi tries to leave town but finally start a new life with the woman who owns the hotel and who supported him.7,47
- DirectorDaniel MannStarsPaul MuniDavid WayneBetsy PalmerAn aspiring journalist's story of his aged uncle doctor leads to the uncle's life being profiled on TV.7,46
- DirectorMelville ShavelsonStarsDanny KayeBarbara Bel GeddesLouis ArmstrongDanny Kaye cuts loose with his trademark musical clowning. Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong plays his horn and croons in that famed gargling-granite voice. Big Band icons Bob Crosby, Ray Anthony and Shelly Manne join the fun.7,44
- DirectorCarol ReedStarsAlec GuinnessMaureen O'HaraBurl IvesJim Wormold, who is a vacuum cleaner salesman, participates as an Agent in the British Secret Service. But he soon realizes that his plans by lying are going to get him into trouble.7,43
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsKim NovakGlenda FarrellJan NorrisA widowed businessman becomes obsessed with one of his employees, the divorcée Betty Preisser.7,43
- DirectorRoger VadimStarsJeanne MoreauGérard PhilipeAnnette StroybergJuliette Merteuil and Valmont is a sophisticated couple, always looking for fun and excitement. Both have sexual affairs with others and share their experiences with one another. But there is one rule: never fall in love. But this time Valmont falls madly in love with a girl he meets at a ski resort, Marianne.7,42
- DirectorKon IchikawaStarsEiji FunakoshiMantarô UshioYoshihiro HamaguchiIn the closing days of WWII, remnants of the Japanese army in Leyte are abandoned by their command and face certain death by starvation.7,41
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsKenneth MoreLauren BacallHerbert LomSet on the North West Frontier of colonial India in 1905. A British Army Officer, Captain Scott is sent to rescue a five year old Indian Prince and his American governess, Catherine Wyatt from certain death at the hands of rebel tribesman.7,40
- DirectorJohn BoultingStarsIan CarmichaelTerry-ThomasPeter SellersA naive aristocrat in search of a career becomes caught up in the struggles between his profit-minded uncle and an aggressive labor union.7,39
- DirectorAndré De TothStarsRobert RyanBurl IvesTina LouiseBlaise Starrett is a rancher at odds with homesteaders when outlaws hold up the small town. The outlaws are held in check only by their notorious leader, but he is diagnosed with a fatal wound and the town is a powder keg waiting to blow.7,38
- DirectorGeorges FranjuStarsPierre BrasseurPaul MeurisseJean-Pierre MockyIn order to get rid of his troublesome son François, Maître Gérane manages to have him committed to a mental hospital owned by Dr. Varmont, a supporter of traditional treatments, in constant conflict with Dr. Emery, whose therapy takes the psychology of patients into account. François soon makes friends with Heurtevent, a sweet epileptic, and both decide to escape from the place. Their attempt is a failure and Heurtevent, unable to get over what he considers a return to hell, commits suicide. But rebellious François tries again and this time around he is successful. He finds shelter at his friend Stephanie's home...7,38
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsJames CagneyDon MurrayDana WynterIn 1920s Ireland, I.R.A. members are being led by the war mongering Dr. Sean Lenihan (James Cagney), as they fight oppressive British forces.7,33
- DirectorMarcel CamusStarsBreno MelloMarpessa DawnLourdes de OliveiraA retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice myth, set during the time of the Carnaval in Rio de Janeiro.7,33
- DirectorRobert BressonStarsMartin LaSalleMarika GreenJean PélégriMichel passes the time by picking pockets, careful to never be caught despite being watched by the police. His friend Jacques may suspect, while both men may have their eyes on Jeanne, the pretty neighbor of Michel's ailing mother.7,31
- DirectorMauro BologniniStarsRosanna SchiaffinoElsa MartinelliLaurent TerzieffIn Rome, small-time thieves Scinttilone and Ruggeretto steal four rifles and catch prostitutes Anna and Supplizia on the street to mislead the police. They seek the jobber Mosciarella, but he is at a funeral and gives them no attention. But Gino "Bellabella" overhears them and offers to deal the merchandise with another contact. He fails and the whores present a deaf-mute acquaintance who lives on the outskirts of Rome to buy the guns; the prostitute Nicoletta who was with the man returns to Rome with the quintet. When the youngsters propose to have sex in the middle of nowhere, the prostitutes believe that they intend to leave them there. Scinttilone, Ruggeretto, and Bellabella sneak out to the car and leave the women in the countryside. Later they discover that the women stole their money. They seek them out on the streets and fight against another gang. However, when the police arrive, the six youngsters leave the place together and head to the house of one of them, and Ruggeretto falls for the host's sister. However, Bellabella steals the host's bountiful wallet and Ruggeretto fights him to get the wallet and return it to the host. While they are fighting, Scinttilone flees with the wallet to the house of his girlfriend Rossana. Ruggeretto chases Scinttilone along a night of alienation, illusions, and adventures.7,30
- DirectorJohn SturgesStarsKirk DouglasAnthony QuinnCarolyn JonesA marshal tries to bring the son of an old friend, an autocratic cattle baron, to justice for his role in the rape and murder of the marshal's Native American wife.7,28
- DirectorErmanno OlmiStarsNatale RossiRoberto SevesoPaolo QuadrubbiTwo workers at an isolated Alpine dam grow closer when an avalanche traps them in their hut without power or contact.7,27
- DirectorMauro BologniniStarsPeppino De FilippoLaura AdaniCristina GaioniIn post-war Italy during the 1950s, finding a house to rent is so difficult that a family ends up living in a former brothel.7,27
- DirectorRenato CastellaniStarsAnna MagnaniGiulietta MasinaCristina GaioniA harsh study about the grim realities of life in a female prison environment. The story concerns a young girl sent to prison who experiences the entire prison subculture. The inmates she befriends vary from tough dangerous dames to smaller submissive women who are totally lost in prison life.7,23
- DirectorJohn CassavetesStarsBen CarruthersLelia GoldoniHugh HurdCassavetes' jazz-scored improvisational film explores interracial friendships and relationships in Beat-Era (1950s) New York City.7,22
- DirectorJulien DuvivierStarsDanielle DarrieuxBernard BlierRobert DalbanFifteen years after WWII, a group of ex-resistance fighters are brought together by Marie-Octobre, so that the former members of the network can finally relive one fateful night and find out who betrayed their murdered leader, Castille.7,16
- DirectorHenri VerneuilStarsFernandelPierre-LouisEllen SchwiersIn 1942, a French prisoner of war in Germany decides to escape to France using a cow held by a lunge as a decoy. He crosses all Germany in this way.7,15
- DirectorDouglas SirkStarsLana TurnerJohn GavinSandra DeeAn aspiring white actress takes in an African American widow whose mixed-race daughter is desperate to be seen as white.7,14
- DirectorOtto PremingerRouben MamoulianStarsSidney PoitierDorothy DandridgeSammy Davis Jr.A woman whose past is scorned by nearly everyone around her meets a man who'd love her regardlessly- if only everyone else would allow them to.7,13
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneWilliam HoldenConstance TowersIn 1863, a Union outfit is sent behind Confederate lines in Mississippi to destroy enemy railroads but a captive southern belle and the unit's doctor cause frictions within ranks.7,13
- DirectorJean DelannoyStarsJean GabinMichel AuclairValentine TessierThe Countess de Saint-Fiacre, having received a terrible anonymous letter predicting her imminent death, summons Commissioner Maigret in the hope that he can protect her and save her from a secret ill-wisher.7,11
- DirectorVal GuestStarsStanley BakerGuy RolfeLeo McKernIn World War II, during the Japanese invasion of Burma, the lost remnant of a British Army Brigade HQ, led by the ruthless Captain Alan Langford, escapes through the jungle toward the British lines.7,11
- DirectorMichael GordonStarsRock HudsonDoris DayTony RandallAn interior decorator and a playboy songwriter share a telephone party line and size each other up.7,11
- DirectorDelmer DavesKarl MaldenVincent ShermanStarsGary CooperMaria SchellKarl MaldenUnusual western about a doctor with a dark past, whose life is complicated and ultimately redeemed by a young thief, and a pretty Swiss immigrant whom he nurses back to health.7,10
- DirectorAnatole LitvakStarsDeborah KerrYul BrynnerJason RobardsA British woman trying to escape Hungary with her freedom fighter lover and a group of Westerners, as the Soviet Union moves to crush the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, finds herself the obsession of an enigmatic Communist officer.7,10
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsMillie PerkinsShelley WintersJoseph SchildkrautDuring World War II, a teenage Jewish girl named Anne Frank and her family are forced into hiding in the Nazi-occupied Netherlands.7,09
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsNigel PatrickYvonne MitchellMichael CraigThe murder of a young woman in London exposes deep racial tensions and prejudices inherent in the area.7,08
- DirectorJean RenoirStarsPaul MeurisseCharles BlavetteAndré BrunotEtienne Alexis, a candidate for president of the new Europe, is a scientist promoting artificial insemination for social betterment and therapy to eliminate passion. His wealthy household (his family owns chemical corporations that will profit from his ideas) is stiff, intellectual, and sterile. To celebrate his engagement to a German cousin, he hosts an aseptic picnic, where mother nature asserts herself. A shepherd's flute conjures a windstorm that throws Alexis together with the luscious Nénette, a farm lass who wants to have a baby but is unimpressed with men.7,08
- DirectorRobert HamerStarsAlec GuinnessBette DavisNicole MaureyAn English schoolteacher meets his lookalike, a French count; and unwillingly swaps identities with him.7,08
- DirectorJohn FarrowStarsRobert StackMarisa PavanCharles CoburnThe career of Revolutionary War naval hero from his youth in Scotland through his service to Catherine the Great of Russia.7,05
- DirectorJack ArnoldStarsPeter SellersJean SebergWilliam HartnellAn impoverished backward nation declares a war on the United States of America, hoping to lose, but things don't go according to plan.7,04
- DirectorJules DassinStarsGina LollobrigidaPierre BrasseurMarcello MastroianniIllicit passions pervade an Italian town, where men gather nightly for the cynical "game of the law."7,03
- DirectorFrancesco RosiStarsAlberto SordiBelinda LeeRenato SalvatoriMario is in Hannover to work as a miner but after loosing his job he decides to go back to Italy. When Totonno steals his passport to avoid the police and later on he offers him a new job as "magliaro" (cloth seller), Mario changes his mind and decides to follow Totonno to Hamburg. In Hamburg, Totonno and his friends have to sell Mayer's cloth but they meet with the hostility of a Polish gang and Mario falls in love with Paula Mayer.7,01