30. Run Lola Run (1998, Germany)
AKA: Lola Rennt Lola Rennt is like a music video. It is a time bending adrenaline rush that looks at how every decision and every action we make has an effect on something or someone. The premise of the movie is pretty simple. A woman has 20 minutes to find 100,000 DM to save the life of her idiotic crook boyfriend who left the exact same sum of money on the subway en route to paying off his mobster boss. But time is not on her side and as the minutes pass every move she makes has to be the right one. A keen eye will see this film for what it is - a thrilling extended short that plays itself over and over again until the heroine makes the right choice or does the right thing. It is a master class in film editing with the shot ratio coming out at around 3 seconds per shot which is no easy task for anyone. As a result this Hollywood friendly piece cleaned up at various film festivals and remains one of Germany's proudest film moments. If you're watching this on DVD for the first time I'd recommend the English dub just for a laugh. Terrible cockney accents completely change the tone of the film.
29. Oldboy (2003, Korea)
15 years after being imprisoned without reason in a hotel room come prison cell Oh Dae-Su finds himself mysteriously released with no clue as to how he got there or why any of the events of the last decade and a half have taken place. Confused and angry Dae-Su sets about looking for answers in the hopes that he may find out who imprisoned him and why and also be reunited with his daughter who has believed her father dead since the night he disappeared. Currently being fed through the Hollywood remake machine Oldboy is an ultra violent and often disturbing film but there really isn't another revenge thriller out there quite as extraordinary as this Manga adaptation. Despite its high levels of violence we never call it into question as Dae-Su has more than enough reason to carry out the horrible acts of revenge but will he ever find out why this has happened to him? I guess you'll just have to watch it to find out. By all means watch the reamke, I know I will, but please watch the original first. It will change the way you look at thrillers forever.
28. La Haine (1995, France)
AKA: Hate Vincent Cassel shines in this stark social commentary from acclaimed French director Mathieu Kassovitz who would later go on to make such Hollywood drivel as Gothika. La Haine - which translates as Hate - looks at the struggle in the poorer French suburbs where migrant communities thrive almost as much as suspicion and contempt. A young wannabe gangster (Cassel) wanders the streets of Paris with a .44 Magnum as his friend lays in a hospital bed comatose. He will kill a cop he promises if his friend - who was hospitalised by a police officer who went too far - dies and so the film follows him and his other friends over the course of 24 very intense hours as the threat of violence simmers below the surface of a city on the edge. There is nothing particularly fresh about the concept as it is a story that has been told and retold countless times but La Haine is something special in the world of cinema and launched the career of one of this generations finest actors.
27. Metropolis (1927, Germany)
Much more accessible than 1931's M even if it isn't considered as iconic a film Metropolis looks at the class system in a dystopian Germany a decade before the outbreak of War that changed the country forever. Metropolis is also considered to be a pioneering work in the science fiction genre as well as the first full length sci-fi feature ever made. If that isn't reason enough to make sure you watch it then hang your head in shame. Furthermore not only should Metropolis be considered iconic it's meta human character Maria is also an iconic figure in the history of cinematic robots and should be considered way ahead of its time. Sadly the social metaphors contained within the film were considered too much for censors at the time and large chunks were removed. These same chunks were eventually lost in the annals of time and the film remains somewhat incomplete when compared to the original cut although a definitive restoration was shown in Berlin and Frankfurt in 2010 and is considered the closest edit to the original there will ever be.
26. The Blue Angel (1930, Germany)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MjOxOAsnZbI
AKA: Der Blaue Engel The film that made the stunning and seductive Marlene Dietrich famous remains her finest work. Dietrich stars as Lola a cabaret dancer who's seductive lure proves too much for an ageing professor who falls madly in love with her like "a Moth around a flame". At first the two share a seemingly happy coexistence as man and wife but slowly the once brilliant professor begins to unravel as he is gripped by jealousy and contempt for the admiration his wife receives from other men. The film - which was banned by the Nazi regime - was shot simultaneously in English and German and both versions are must see as there are some subtle differences that are fun to spot. This is also a master class in seduction that all Hollywood starlet's would be wise to follow. Dietrich oozes sex appeal with everything that she does which is a real lost art in today's film making.