35. Akira (1988, Japan)
Ground breaking, genre defining cyberpunk animation from the geniuses at Manga. The infamous Japanese animation studio are agreeably not to everyone's tastes but I defy any of you not to be amazed after a single viewing of Katsuhiro Otomo's adaptation of the classic comic book. Typically explaining a film like Akira is no easy task as it would be far easier to just tell you to buy it and watch it to find out exactly what it's all about. Set in a dystopian future - only 6 years from now - the mind blowing plot follows two bikers who come to blows when it is discovered that one of them harbours insanely powerful psychic abilities that could easily lead to the destruction of Tokyo and even the end of the world as we know it. Akira was one of the first pre-internet viral videos that spread throughout the world by word of mouth and tape sharing. For those of us who encountered it before it was as easily available as it is today it was a life changing experience that showed the world that animation was not exclusively a kids medium. In 1986 we hadn't seen anything like it and today - almost 3 decades later - we still haven't.
34. Downfall (2004, Germany)
AKA: Der Untergang Believe it or not even in 2004 - and today - it was a pretty big deal for a German film maker to explore the subject of former Nazi leader Adolf Hitler's final days in his Berlin bunker. The subject of the Second World War and Germany's involvement and war crimes is still considered taboo even in today's modern society meaning it is usually left to Hollywood to tell such stories. Oliver Hirschbiegel's look at the final hours of one of the most despised and evil men in the history of the world is both touching and fascinating and succeeds in humanising someone who is considered inhuman without ever crossing the line into making him heroic. Roger Ebert described Bruno Ganz' hypnotic performance as Hitler as sympathetic but only in the way you'd feel sympathy for a "rabid dog" and as a major contributory factor in the film's nomination at the 77th Academy Awards in 2005. It's pretty heavy viewing and I wouldn't be inclined to show it to your girlfriend on a first date but there's something completely unmissable about this film that cannot be overlooked.
33. Lola und Bilidikid (1999, Germany)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2HQDmbepgy8
AKA: Lola and Billy the Kid Turkish/German migrant culture is a big thing in German cinema and much of it deals with the subjects of sexuality amongst young men. Lola und Bilidikid is one of the prime examples out there although it is relatively unknown outside of the niche audience it appeals to. Murat is a 17 year old Turkish boy living with his family in Berlin. Murat's older brother has assumed the head of the family role after the death of the boys father and sets about trying to make a man out of his younger sibling. Uninterested in the women his brother puts in front of him Murat decides to run away. Once on the run he meets his estranged brother 'Lola' - disowned for being openly gay - and his lover Billy who eventually takes Murat under his wing after Lola is murdered. This is a fascinating look at the underbelly of Turkish culture that remains hidden against a backdrop of masculinity. There are so many interesting stories to be told here and Kutlug Ataman manages to bring out just one of the many extraordinary tales that really do happen in this sub culture every day. Far from comfortable viewing but utterly compelling. Watch now.
32. Rashomon (1950, Japan)
Without Rashomon the world may never have been introduced to the brilliance of Akira Kurosawa. Rashomon was unique for its time in that it told the same story from several different perspectives. It is the story of a woodcutter and a priest who seek shelter from the rain under a bridge and each tell a stranger about how they discovered the body of a deceased Samurai several days earlier. The film also recants the same story in a court case through the eyes of the Samurai's wife as well as the Samurai himself and is considered an under appreciated classic in the director's home country of Japan. The 1964 Western The Outrage starring Paul Newman and bizarrely William Shatner was a Hollywood remake but acknowledged Kurosawa for his work on the original screenplay.
31. M (1931, Germany)
Fritz Lang had made a dozen films before his infamous 1931 'talkie' made its cinematic debut but not even the insanely popular Metropolis could surpass this effort as Lang's most iconic piece ever according to many film goers. At over 80 years old M's subject matter is as topical and controversial as ever focusing on a prolific and frightening child murderer who is snatching children from the streets of Berlin. Not unlike Wes Craven's Nightmare on Elm Street films the local townsfolk capture the film's antagonist and plan to kill him before he is 'saved' by the police. Following his imprisonment the killer argues that he is compelled to carry out his horrendous actions and it is unfair to treat him as a criminal which is a debate that still rages today as child killers etc try to impress on society that they themselves are not to blame and their condition should be treated as a sickness. Lang told reporters that his film should act as a warning to neglectful mother's at a time in Germany's history when the idea of serial killers was on the rise. Quite a bold and controversial statement even in the pre-war years that perhaps rings as true today as it did nearly a century ago.