Film school snobs, rejoice! Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1970 spectacle El Topo easily secures a spot on this list, remaining to this day one of the most symbolism-stuffed feature films in history. It's difficult to classify or even describe El Topo - Wikipedia would have you believe it's a "western film", but that hardly seems to cover it. The titular character is a black-clad gunslinger making his way through the desert with his naked son, who he apparently wants to ensure gets really sunburned. The first half of the film follows the violent El Topo through shock, anger, guilt, grief, and a surreal western landscape. The second half - which Wikipedia again brands "a love story of redemption and rebirth" - is a fevered and terrifying adventure through the mind of El Topo and the mind of Jodorowsky. The symbolic patterns woven throughout El Topo are impossibly numerous, and impossible to notice upon a single viewing. This is a story very much based in visuals, and the depictions of violence on the screen are very often nearly to much to handle. Ultimately, El Topo opens itself to viewers of any religion, moral inclination, or artistic preference, asserting itself as a slightly juvenile but incredibly passionate gem in Jodorowsky's crown.
