Bruce Isaacs
Associate Professor in Film Studies, University of Sydney
Australia
Voted for
| Film | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| The Godfather | 1972 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Apocalypse Now | 1979 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Raiders of the Lost Ark | 1981 | Steven Spielberg |
| There Will Be Blood | 2007 | Paul Thomas Anderson |
| In the Mood for Love | 2000 | Wong Kar Wai |
| Once upon a Time in the West | 1968 | Sergio Leone |
| Taxi Driver | 1976 | Martin Scorsese |
| North by Northwest | 1959 | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood | 2019 | Quentin Tarantino |
| Brokeback Mountain | 2005 | Ang Lee |
Comments
The Godfather
Epic and grandiose, yet stunningly complex in terms of localised identities and cultural expression. The best of genre and arthouse aesthetics.
Apocalypse Now
A scathing indictment of the war, and the perfect melding of an intimate cinema with a grandiose surrealist spectacle.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The best adventure film.
There Will Be Blood
The most ambitious American film of the 21st century, and a worthy successor to the grand narratives of the forging of a modern American identity.
In the Mood for Love
A stunning philosophical meditation of time, loss, and love.
Once upon a Time in the West
Leone's perfection of the meta-western, and the fullest expression of the Leone style.
Taxi Driver
A groundbreaking achievement of political cinema and neo-realist American style.
North by Northwest
The perfection of the form, and Hitchcock's sharpest, most sophisticated entertainment.
Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood
Tarantino's complex philosophical and aesthetic approach to American and global cinema reaches its most mature expression in this film, which is fittingly an exploration of the greatest decade of American cinema.
Brokeback Mountain
An astonishingly subtle adaptation that captures the nuances of Proulx's story.