The Best Films Ever Made - 1961
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 AratamaTamao NakamuraHis ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.9,03
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsJames CagneyHorst BuchholzPamela TiffinIn West Berlin during the Cold War, a Coca-Cola executive is given the task of taking care of his boss' socialite daughter.8,39
- DirectorJack ClaytonStarsDeborah KerrPeter WyngardeMegs JenkinsA young governess for two children becomes convinced that the house and grounds are haunted.8,38
- DirectorBryan ForbesStarsAlan BatesBernard LeeHayley MillsWhen an injured wife murderer takes refuge on a remote Lancashire farm, the owner's three children mistakenly believe him to be the Second Coming of Christ.8,33
- DirectorStanley KramerStarsSpencer TracyBurt LancasterRichard WidmarkIn 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.8,20
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsAudrey HepburnGeorge PeppardPatricia NealA young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way.8,06
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneEijirô TônoTatsuya NakadaiA crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.7,98
- DirectorErmanno OlmiStarsSandro PanseriLoredana DettoCorrado AprileBursting with big dreams and plans, an Italian teen goes to Milan to work in a big impersonal corporate office, where he becomes disillusioned and drained of all his individualism.7,98
- DirectorJean-Pierre MelvilleStarsJean-Paul BelmondoEmmanuelle RivaIrène TuncSet during occupied France, a faithless woman finds herself falling in love with a young priest.7,97
- DirectorAllen BaronStarsAllen BaronMolly McCarthyLarry TuckerA hired killer from Cleveland has a job to do on a second-string mob boss in New York, but a special girl from his past and a gun dealer with pet rats get in his way.7,95
- DirectorPietro GermiStarsMarcello MastroianniDaniela RoccaStefania SandrelliA married Sicilian baron falls in love with his cousin and vows to wed her, but with divorce illegal he must concoct a crime of passion to do away with his wife.7,94
- DirectorMichelangelo AntonioniStarsJeanne MoreauMarcello MastroianniMonica VittiA day in the life of an unfaithful married couple and their steadily deteriorating relationship.7,93
- DirectorJacques DemyStarsAnouk AiméeMarc MichelJacques HardenA bored young man meets with his former girlfriend, now a cabaret dancer and single mother, and soon finds himself falling back in love with her.7,92
- DirectorDelbert MannStarsTony CurtisJames FranciscusGregory WalcottTony Curtis plays an Indian (Nicknamed "Chief" by other soldiers) who fights in WWII and helps to raise the flag at Iwo Jima.7,89
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsAudrey HepburnShirley MacLaineJames GarnerA rebellious student at a girls' school accuses two teachers of lesbianism.7,87
- DirectorYasujirô OzuStarsGanjirô NakamuraSetsuko HaraYôko TsukasaThe family of an older man who runs a small sake brewery become concerned with his finances and his health after they discover him visiting an old mistress from his youth.7,85
- DirectorLuis BuñuelStarsSilvia PinalFrancisco RabalFernando ReyViridiana, a young nun about to take her final vows, pays a visit to her widowed uncle at the request of her Mother Superior.7,84
- DirectorHenri ColpiStarsAlida ValliGeorges WilsonCharles BlavetteA Parisian café owner believes her long lost husband has returned but the man suffers from amnesia.7,83
- DirectorVittorio De SetaStarsMichele CossuPeppeddu CuccuVittorina PisanoSardinian shepherds Michele, Peppeddu encounter bandits. Michele evades police, sheep perish. Wrongly charged with murder, impoverished, Michele turns outlaw. He resorts to violence, banditry for survival, fueling a lawless spiral.7,79
- DirectorYasuzô MasumuraStarsAyako WakaoHiroshi KawaguchiEitarô OzawaAyako is charged with murdering her much older academic husband while climbing a mountain. Ayako was having an affair, apparently with her husband's approval, and this complicates the trial.7,73
- DirectorGuy GreenStarsMaria SchellStuart WhitmanRod SteigerA man who served prison time for intent to molest a child tries to build a new life with the help of a sympathetic psychiatrist.7,70
- DirectorJ. Lee ThompsonStarsDavid NivenGregory PeckAnthony QuinnA team of Allied saboteurs is assigned an impossible mission: infiltrate an impregnable Nazi-held Greek island and destroy the two enormous long-range field guns that prevent the rescue of 2,000 trapped British soldiers.7,68
- DirectorAlekos AlexandrakisStarsAlekos AlexandrakisManos KatrakisAliki GeorgouliThe stories of poor people living in a neighborhood in Athens and their difficulties.7,68
- DirectorDino RisiStarsAlberto SordiLea MassariFranco FabriziSilvio refuses to fight for the fascists and joins the resistance with Elena. After the war, his vitriolic newspaper articles cause him to be sentenced to imprisonment.7,68
- DirectorElia KazanStarsNatalie WoodWarren BeattyPat HingleThe love of high school sweethearts Deanie and Bud is weighed down by the oppressive expectations of their parents and society in smalltown Kansas in 1928, threatening the future of their relationship.7,60
- DirectorIngmar BergmanStarsHarriet AnderssonGunnar BjörnstrandMax von SydowRecently released from a mental hospital, Karin rejoins her emotionally disconnected family in their island home, only to slip from reality as she begins to believe she is being visited by God.7,60
- DirectorValerio ZurliniStarsClaudia CardinaleJacques PerrinLuciana AngiolilloA girl pursues a guy who fooled her, but fascinates his younger brother instead.7,58
- DirectorSamuel FullerStarsCliff RobertsonDolores DornBeatrice KayA teenager who witnesses the murder of his father vows to exact revenge on the four mobsters involved in the killing.7,55
- DirectorPier Paolo PasoliniStarsFranco CittiFranca PasutSilvana CorsiniA pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiraling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.7,55
- DirectorJerzy KawalerowiczStarsLucyna WinnickaMieczyslaw VoitAnna CiepielewskaA priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting.7,55
- DirectorEdgar MorinJean RouchStarsAngeloNadine BallotCatherineA documentary about the everyday lives of ordinary Parisians, done in the style of cinéma vérité.7,53
- DirectorStanislaw RózewiczStarsHenryk HryniewiczBeata BarszczewskaAndrzej BanaszewskiThree episodes dealing with the harsh situation of children at the time of war. They stay at orphanages, wait for their parents to come back, help the soldiers, hide in the forests and do their best to survive.7,53
- DirectorBasil DeardenStarsDirk BogardeSylvia SymsDennis PriceA closeted lawyer risks his career to bring a blackmailer to justice.7,53
- DirectorDaniel PetrieStarsSidney PoitierClaudia McNeilRuby DeeA substantial insurance payment could mean either financial salvation or personal ruin for a poor black family.7,51
- DirectorLuis García BerlangaStarsCassenJosé Luis López VázquezElvira QuintilláIn a small Spanish town, a group of old ladies decides to celebrate Christmas Eve with a "seat a poor man at your table" dinner: each wealthy household of the town will have a homeless person dining with them that night. The celebrations also include a parade, and in its midst is Plácido, the humble owner of a three-wheeler, whose family is forced to live in a public lavatory because they lack the money to pay rent, and who must pay the second bill on his vehicle before midnight or else he will lose it.7,48
- DirectorRobert RossenStarsPaul NewmanJackie GleasonPiper LaurieAn up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.7,47
- DirectorRalph ThomasStarsPeter FinchStanley HollowayMary PeachAfter winning re-election, British Labour Party M.P. Johnnie Byrne faces a series of setbacks in his political career, as well as in his marriage, and must act wisely in order to save both.7,39
- DirectorZoltán FábriStarsImre SinkovitsDezsö GarasLászló MárkusOn Hitler's birthday, the Germans decide to organize a soccer match between prisoners of war and Germans.7,37
- 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.7,34
- DirectorVal GuestStarsEdward JuddJanet MunroLeo McKernWhen the U.S. and Russia unwittingly test atomic bombs at the same time, it alters the nutation (axis of rotation) of the Earth.7,32
- DirectorMauro BologniniStarsJean-Paul BelmondoClaudia CardinalePietro GermiThe original Italian is La Viaccia (the name of the family farm which motivates the plot). The death of a wealthy patriarch in 1885 sets off an interfamily power struggle. Son Ferdinando buys out his other relatives in order to gain full control over the dead man's property. But Ferdinando's nephew Amerigo holds out. Amerigo's stance is weakened when he heads for Florence and meets prostitute Bianca.7,28
- DirectorGottfried ReinhardtStarsKirk DouglasBarbara RüttingChristine KaufmannFour American soldiers stationed near a German village face death in the rape of a local girl, and are defended by outside counsel Major Steve Garrett.7,25
- DirectorJerome RobbinsRobert WiseStarsNatalie WoodGeorge ChakirisRichard BeymerTwo youngsters from rival New York City gangs fall in love, but tensions between their respective friends build toward tragedy.7,21
- DirectorYuriy ChulyukinStarsNadezhda RumyantsevaNikolay RybnikovLyusena OvchinnikovaSeveral romance stories - part funny, part sadly - set in a remote logging camp.7,20
- DirectorLuciano SalceStarsUgo TognazziGeorges WilsonMireille GranelliThe quest of a Fascist soldier, whose mission is to catch a political enemy during at the end of World War II.7,19
- DirectorTony RichardsonStarsRita TushinghamDora BryanRobert StephensA pregnant teenage girl must fend for herself when her mother remarries, leaving the girl with only a new male friend for support.7,18
- DirectorDenys de La PatellièreStarsHardy KrügerLino VenturaMaurice BiraudDuring World War II, French commandos join forces with a German officer in order to survive the African desert.7,13
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsFredric MarchBen GazzaraDick ClarkMedical drama set at one of New York City's hospitals during the early 1960s.7,10
- DirectorQuentin LawrenceStarsPeter CushingAndré MorellRichard VernonA charming but ruthless criminal holds the family of a bank manager hostage as part of a cold-blooded plan to steal 97,000 pounds.7,08
- DirectorJack GarfeinStarsCarroll BakerRalph MeekerMildred DunnockA young rape victim tries desperately to pick up the pieces of her life, only to find herself at the mercy of a would-be rescuer.7,07