Fran'ois Truffaut's name is by now synonymous with the French New Wave. The movement's birth was heralded when Truffaut printed his official manifesto against "le cinema de papa" in the journal Cahiers du Cinema. "A Certain Tendency in French Cinema," appearing in 1954, rocked the French film world's

Epic, French new wave, Lyrical, Psychological, Sensual

Akira Kurosawa fits easily in the pantheon of preeminent directors of the century. His films have exerted unforeseen influences on post-WWII film. George Lucas used his 'Hidden Fortress' as a model for 'Star Wars"; Sergio Leone adapted his samurai tales to the spaghetti western; John Sturges transfor

Classical japanese, Epic, Psychological, Self-reflection, Violent

A razor blade slicing across a woman's eye -- this spine-chilling image is indelibly burned into the brain of anyone who has ever seen "Un Chien Andalou" (1929) by Luis Bunuel and Salvador Dali. This short film -- which also features a man poking at a severed hand and ants emerging from a hole in a m

Dreamy, Fantastic, Psychological, Surreal, Surrealist film

In "Performance," Roeg's first feature film as director, Mick Jagger plays a reclusive rock star who, amid a hedonistic tangle of sex and drugs, insinuates his identity into that of a small-time gangster taking refuge in his home. Making use of his skills as a cinematographer, Roeg splices in images

Avant-garde film, Fantastic, Perceptual, Perverse, Pioneering, Psychological