23. The 400 Blows (1959)
Legendary French director Francois Truffant's The 400 Blows is one of the defining movies of the French New Wave as it portrays a number of the characteristics that became synonymous with the revolutionary movement. Like many of the nouvelle vague movement, Truffant was a film critic-turned-director, and here, in his debut feature he ventures into his own childhood to create an intensely powerful story about a misunderstood young boy falling into a life of crime. Jean-Pierre Leaud is a revelation in the lead role, evoking sympathy from the audience in Truffant's thoroughly unsentimental movie. The 400 Blows is a touching autobiographical story that is authentically poignant, but always with a sense of humour that prevents the film from becoming too bleak or dull. Truffant continued the young Antoine's story over the next twenty years across four movies, creating one of cinema's most touching and brilliant, though overlooked franchises. Francois Truffant directed 21 movies in his career - many of them masterpieces - but for raw power and importance he never topped The 400 Blows.
22. Breathless (1960)
Though Jean-Luc Godard's recent output has been nothing short of woeful, his debut picture, Breathless (or A Bout de Souffle if you're French) is a cool, stylish and exuberant movie and still remains his greatest contribution to cinema. With the aforementioned The 400 Blows, A Bout de Souffle kickstarted the revolutionary nouvelle vague, one of the most important, exciting and progressive times in cinema history. Godard along with Francois Truffant and Claude Chabrol spearheaded a new socially conscious and realistic type of movie from the European arthouses and cinema was changed forever. Jean-Paul Belmondo, lead of A Bout de Souffle possesses a certain amount of Humphrey Bogart about him, all about the charismatic cool with the dark and violent undertones. The film has a great sense of pace and rhythm, something many of Godard's movies lack, and it buzzes along, keeping you gripped and interested for as long as it lasts. Godard rebelled against the system with his unique editing and use of handheld cameras, jumping cinema to the next level in this landmark film of French expressionism.
21. Psycho (1960)
Hitchock's timeless horror flick in many ways birthed a new era of American cinema. It was the start of a new decade - a decade that was going to be marked by social upheaval, presidential assassinations and free love - Psycho was the film that took cinema's innocence. Hitchcock took aim and depraved everything Capitalist Christian America held so dear - family values, money and decency - Hitchcock's cynical contempt is clear to see as he kills the star of the movie within the first half an hour with brutal violence whilst she is naked. Psycho is Hitchcock's most well-known and adored film amongst more casual film fans and homages to it are visible in hundreds of movies. Part of the movies' brilliance was the way it went against traditional narrative structures. For examples, characters were introduced who the audience sympathised with and then they were abruptly killed off. As this played against audience expectations, the movie was more frightening and audiences were uncertain as to what to expect next. Numerous movies have tried to execute something in the same vein but haven't come close to Hitchcock's mastery.