Andreas Beilharz

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The Beyond is the quintessential title on this list, which approaches the outright absurd task of this poll by assembling (and restricting myself to) a handful of theatrical viewing experiences that made a lasting impact on me. But the interesting things start beyond such a small list that can barely cover anything from this vast and largely undiscovered wonderland that is cinema (will any human being ever be able to see a mere 1 per cent or even only 0.1 per cent of what film history has to offer?). In a very beautiful anecdote about cinema, written in his marvellous book The 100 Best Horror Films, legendary critic Hans Schifferle (his death in 2021 will forever leave a huge void) describes how he once, in younger years, intended to go to a Bergman film together with a couple, but on the way to the cinema was intrigued by an advert for a Jess Franco film at another theatre. So he decided to go there instead, concluding: "I didn't just want to see a movie, I had a desire for cinema."