The OFFICIAL BOT Top 100 Foreign Films of all Time Ever List Begins...

[chasmmi]

1st: Parasite - Korea (2019)

 1 First, 3 Top 5, 1 top 10

389 pts 

 

Assumed Plot: It is not the best Asian film, it is not the best Korean Film, it is not even the best Bong Joon Ho film, but it is official: The second best film of the second best Korean director is the best foreign language film ever. 

 

Still, of the films in the top 5, this is my favourite so it is not all bad. Parasite is a great film that has hopefully opened up a lot of peoples' eyes to one of the great cinema industries of the 21st century and on a wider scale, foreign language cinema in general. 

 

Maybe one day in the future we can see a glorious era where best of lists for foreign films is hosted by somebody that has seen more than 17% of them, and possibly even has something constructive to say about each entry. 

 

Until that time come though, congratulations Parasite.

 

 

It's also cool to see Song Kang Ho feature in the top spot with his... 5th? No, maybe 9th best acting performance ever (still world class though).  

 

So Korea couldn't quite make it to 10 films, but they did catch Italy at the death and I am going to arbitrarily place them above Italy in the standings because I can.

 

(And also because the 10th highest place Korean film was A Tale of Two Sisters in 117th, compared to Italy's 10th highest placed film which was... bloody hell, it was Black Sabbath all the way down in 220th.

 

Korea also had Good, the bad the Weird (121st), 3 Iron (132nd), A Bittersweet Life (154th), Thirst (179th), Taxi Driver (184th) The wailing (189th), and I saw the Devil (216th) in between then. 

 

From Amazon user, Kristin

 

People are so eager to praise any movie with a modicum of social commentary these days, they are willing to pass off garbage off as gold. Don't believe the other reviewers. I waited so long for the moment I would be impressed (as apparently this is one of the best movies of the decade) but it never came. Also, the ending was not a twist. There are articles telling me that it was a twist. It wasn' a twist. It was such a small blip on a truly predictable plotline that it didn't register that I was supposed to be fool by it. Don't lap up the spittle from empty-headed critics and audience members alike telling you that it is genius; if you want a halfway decent movie, look elsewhere.

 

Films by Nation

 

18 - Japan

17 - France

16 - India

9 - South Korea

9 - Italy

 

 

7 - Hong Kong

4 - Sweden

4 - Germany

3 - Soviet Union

3 - Mexico

 

1 - China

1 - Denmark

1 - Canada

1 - Austria

1 - Lebanon

1 - Poland

1 - Indonesia

1 - Brazil

1 - Taiwan

1 - Iran

[chasmmi]

And there we go. The countdown is over. 

 

Thank you to those of you that stuck with me throughout the reveal (I know I was criminally unqualified to be hosting this one, but I tried to keep it entertaining despite that).

 

I've missed doing these leisurely slow countdown reveals... Maybe I should come up with something else I am unqualified to talk about... 

[4815162342]

Looks like the highest-ranked films on my own list that will miss are:

 

Carlos (France/Germany) (2010)

The Bad Sleep Well (Japan) (1960)

Whisper of the Heart (Japan) (1995)

The White Ribbon (Germany) (2009)

[chasmmi]

1 minute ago, 4815162342 said:

Looks like the highest-ranked films on my own list that will miss are:

 

Carlos (France/Germany) (2010)

The Bad Sleep Well (Japan) (1960)

Whisper of the Heart (Japan) (1995)

The White Ribbon (Germany) (2009)

 

131st

280th

169th

157th

[charlie Jatinder]

Great work @chasmmi. It was entertaining list. Though almost all non-Hindi films in my list made it except The Fool (Russian), Realtos Salvajes (wait a second, this didn't make?). 8 out of Top 10 were in Top 100 while 18 out of 50 were in there.

[Daxtreme]

Quote

So Korea couldn't quite make it to 10 films, but they did catch Italy at the death and I am going to arbitrarily place them above Italy in the standings because I can.

 

Well, having the #1 spot surely deserves beating tie breakers  

 

Thanks a lot for the list, it was great! Glad to see such a varied selection, it wasn't one-dimensional at all.

 

Parasite is gonna be like the Shawshank Redemption of foreign movies - it's gonna top lists because it's universally liked AND popular, not because it's the most ground-breaking. Very few people dislike the movie

[4815162342]

So the films on my list (sent in 75) that did not make this 100 are

 

Carlos (France/Germany) (2010)

The Bad Sleep Well (Japan) (1960)

Whisper of the Heart (Japan) (1995)

The White Ribbon (Germany) (2009)

Porco Rosso (Japan) (1992)

Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (Japan) (1984)

Sanjuro (Japan) (1962)

Howl’s Moving Castle (Japan) (2004)

Yojimbo (Japan) (1961)

Through a Glass Darkly (Sweden) (1961)

Wild Strawberries (Sweden) (1957)

The Raid 2 (Indonesia) (2014)

No Man’s Land (Bosnia) (2001)

When Marnie Was There (Japan) (2014)

Transit (2018) (Germany)

The Hidden Fortress (Japan) (1958)

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (France) (2007)

Red Cliff (China) (2008)

Throne of Blood (Japan) (1957)

Summer Hours (France) (2008)

The Night Comes for Us (Indonesia) (2018)

The Secret in Their Eyes (Argentina) (2009)

A Royal Affair (Denmark) (2012)

Dogtooth (Greece) (2009)

Everybody Knows (Spain) (2019)

The Secret World of Arrietty (Japan) (2010)

Nowhere in Africa (Germany) (2001)

Headhunters (Norway) (2011)

The Baader Meinhof Complex (Germany) (2008)

The Cat Returns (Japan) (2002)

Run Lola Run (Germany) (1998)

 

 

My list was heavily dominated by Kurosawa and Ghibli since those are the two slices of foreign film I am most acquainted with

[charlie Jatinder]

Gonna do Top Indian films. Folks watch some. @grim22 let's do it.

 

@chasmmi enlist top 250 perhaps. 

[RealLyre]

6 minutes ago, Daxtreme said:

 

Well, having the #1 spot surely deserves beating tie breakers  

 

Thanks a lot for the list, it was great! Glad to see such a varied selection, it wasn't one-dimensional at all.

 

Parasite is gonna be like the Shawshank Redemption of foreign movies - it's gonna top lists because it's universally liked AND popular, not because it's the most ground-breaking. Very few people dislike the movie

 more like the godfather of foreign movies in terms of success & awards. haven't really seen that much of praise (relativity to those 2 movies) for Shawshank outside of IMDB.

[Plain Old Tele]

Oh dear. 

[Tower]

Chas could you post the whole list? I wonder how close some of the misses were.

[Tower]

7 hours ago, 4815162342 said:

Looks like the highest-ranked films on my own list that will miss are:

 

Carlos (France/Germany) (2010)

The Bad Sleep Well (Japan) (1960)

Whisper of the Heart (Japan) (1995)

The White Ribbon (Germany) (2009)

 

Like Stars On Earth (India)- I thought this would make it even before I knew that 16 Indian films would make it, this must not be that popular with our Indian posters.

 

Time Of The Gypsies (Yugoslavia)- Kusturica doesn't seem very popular on this forum, and his films are not for everyone, but I still thought it was great and a shame it couldn't make it.

 

Footnote (Israel)- It's an Israeli film so I knew this was never going to make it. In fact it's pretty esoteric even compared to other Israeli films.

 

Wolf Children (Japan)- 18 Japanese films and still no room for this  . Not too surprising, it isn't the most high profile of Japanese anime.

Edited September 2, 2020 by Tower

[Tower]

7 hours ago, 4815162342 said:

So the films on my list (sent in 75) that did not make this 100 are

 

 

Yojimbo (Japan) (1961)

Wild Strawberries (Sweden) (1957)

 

My list was heavily dominated by Kurosawa and Ghibli since those are the two slices of foreign film I am most acquainted with

Wild Strawberries was 80th, Yojimbo was 77th.

[chasmmi]

2 hours ago, Tower said:

 

Like Stars On Earth (India)- I thought this would make it even before I knew that 16 Indian films would make it, this must not be that popular with our Indian posters.

 

Time Of The Gypsies (Yugoslavia)- Kusturica doesn't seem very popular on this forum, and his films are not for everyone, but I still thought it was great and a shame it couldn't make it.

 

Footnote (Israel)- It's an Israeli film so I knew this was never going to make it. In fact it's pretty esoteric even compared to other Israeli films.

 

Wolf Children (Japan)- 18 Japanese films and still no room for this  . Not too surprising, it isn't the most high profile of Japanese anime.

 

I'll see what I can tonight or tomorrow. 

Like Stars on Earth (Tam Zamaan Par or however it is spelt) I know was around 140th (I double checked it as people seemed so convinced it would place but it received 2 votes),

 

Footnote, I am guessing you may be the only voter, same situation with the wave of Hungarian films on the lower edges of the list I am assuming in that they may be fantastic, may be terrrible, but either way, potentially only one person has watched them.

 

Wolf Children - This one does well in the animated countdown so I was surprised to see it miss out here. Same with When Marnie was There and if I am not mistaken I think even Howl's Moving Castle missed out too (although I for one am incredibly happy that Howl didn't do well as i am not a fan) 

[chasmmi]

Okay, gonna post the full list of films: (There may be the odd mistake with the nations etc, as I only super checked things if they made the top 100, but here goes...

[chasmmi]

Also there are a film or two that do not qualify for the list, again, I only sought to double check/remove things like that if they were threatening the main top 100. 

 

Anyhows: 

 

601st and below:

 

The Mirror	Russia	4
matador	Spain	4
Show me love	Swedish	4
The emigrants	Swedish	4
We are the Best	Swedish	4
Pusher 3: The angel of Death	Denmark	2
The Wave	Denmark	2
Chocolat	France	2
Day for Night	France	2
Le Samurai	France	2
OSS 117: Cairo Nest of Spies	France	2
Fearless	Hong Kong	2
Fist of Legend	Hong Kong	2
Magic Crystal	Hong Kong	2
Rumble in the Bronx	Hong Kong	2
The Iron Monkey	Hong Kong	2
Wheels on Meals	Hong Kong	2
Yes Madam	Hong Kong	2
Dreams	India	2
A Girl who walks home at night	iran	2
Children of Heaven	Iran	2
Zero Motivation	Israel	2
Blue is the Warmest Colour	Japan	2
Jiro Dreams of Sushi	Japan	2
Lady Snowblood	Japan	2
Tokyo Drifter	Japan	2
Burning	Korea	2
Brother	Russia	2
Summer Interlude	Swedish	2
Journey to the West	Taiwan	2
Chocolate	Thailand	2
The Protector	Thailand	2
Tu Dors Nicoles	Canada	1
An Elephant Sitting Still	China	1
Ash is Purest White	China	1
Red Sorgum	China	1
Shanghai Triad	China	1
The Flavour of Green Tea Over Rice	China	1
Birds of Passage	colombia	1
Beauty and the Beast	czech	1
4 days in France	France	1
A single Girl	France	1
Alphaville	France	1
Asterix and Obelix Mission Cleopatra	France	1
Fantastic Planet	France	1
Fat Girl	France	1
I stand alone	France	1
Nocturama	France	1
Purple Noon	France	1
The king and the mockingbird	France	1
M	Germany	1
36th Chamber of Shaolin	Hong Kong	1
On the Run	Hong Kong	1
SPL Kill Zone	Hong Kong	1
Spy Games	Hong Kong	1
A Long Goodbye	Russia	1
Brief Encounters	Russia	1
Leviathon	Russia	1
Pretty Village, Pretty Flame	serbia	1

[chasmmi]

501st - 600th:

 

Battleship Potempkin	Russia	10
Hard to Be a God	Russia	10
Paper Soldier	Russia	10
Underground	serbia	10
Cries and Whispers	Swedish	10
Winter Light	Swedish	10
The scent of green papaya	vietnam	10
The Virgin Spring		10
The Twelve Tasksof Asterix	Belgium	8
Not One Less	China	8
Red Cliff	China	8
Amores Perros	France	8
Band of Outsiders	France	8
cold water	France	8
Summer Hours	France	8
Devil Hunters	Hong Kong	8
Outlaw Brother	Hong Kong	8
Tiger Cage 2	Hong Kong	8
The Ear	hungary	8
Aparajito	India	8
Guzaarish	India	8
Jallikattu	India	8
Jodhas Akbar	India	8
Virumaandi	India	8
The Salesman	iran	8
The wind will carry you	Iran	8
the leopard	Italy	8
War and Peace	Italy	8
13 Warriors	Japan	8
Drunken Angel	Japan	8
Like someone in Love	Japan	8
One Wonderful Sunday	Japan	8
A man and a woman	Korea	8
the rocket	laos	8
Nightwatch	Russia	8
one hundred days after childhood	Russia	8
A Touch of Zen	Taiwan	8
The Admiral: Roaring Currents	Korea	8
Ju Dou	China	6
A Royal Affair	Denmark	6
ernest and celestine	France	6
Holy Motors	France	6
House of Pleasures	France	6
quest for fire	France	6
Shoot the Piano Player	France	6
The Innocents	France	6
Two Days, One Night	France	6
Nowhere in Africa	Germany	6
Dreaming the Reality	Hong Kong	6
In the Line of duty 3	Hong Kong	6
Magnificent Warriors	Hong Kong	6
Royal Warriors	Hong Kong	6
The Legend	Hong Kong	6
The Seventh Curse	Hong Kong	6
Tiger Cage	Hong Kong	6
Firaaq	India	6
Koi Mil Gaya	India	6
Life of Pi	India	6
Manichitrathazhu	India	6
Super 30	India	6
Leila	IRan	6
La Strada	Italy	6
Departures	Japan	6
Love Exposure	Japan	6
My Neighbours the Yamadas	Japan	6
Stray Dog	Japan	6
The Crucified Lovers	Japan	6
Miss Bala	MExico	6
Headhunters	Norway	6
Wings	Russia	6
Everybody Knows	Spain	6
Paradise: faith	Austria	4
Black Orpheus	Brazil	4
The Demons	Canada	4
The Dance of Reality	Chile	4
Au Revoir Les Enfants	France	4
Belle De Jour	France	4
Juste Une question d'amour	France	4
Kinkou and the sorceress	France	4
The City of Lost Children	France	4
The Baader Meinhof Complex	Germany	4
The Tin Drum	Germany	4
Angel Terminators 2	Hong Kong	4
Come Drink With Me	Hong Kong	4
Fallen Angels	Hong Kong	4
IP Man 3	Hong Kong	4
Iron Monkey	Hong Kong	4
Naked Killer	Hong Kong	4
Agneepath	India	4
Monsoon Wedding	India	4
Fellow Citizen	Iran	4
I vitelloni	Italy	4
In the corner of the world	Japan	4
Kon tiki	Japan	4
The Ball at the Anjo House	Japan	4
The Castle of Cagliostro	Japan	4
The Housemaid	Korea	4
The villainess	Korea	4
Soldier of Orange	netherlands	4
Beanpole	Russia	4

[chasmmi]

401st-500th:

 

Les Miserables	France	12
Monsieur Hire	France	12
My Mother's Castle	France	12
piano Teacher	France	12
Pola X	France	12
Rules of the Game	France	12
Heidi	Germany	12
Crime Story	Hong Kong	12
Indul a bakterhaz	hungary	12
Kemenykalap es Krumpliorr	hungary	12
Kincsem	hungary	12
Stars of Eger	hungary	12
Angrej	India	12
Bandit Queen	India	12
Barfi	India	12
Bhaag Mikha Bhaag	India	12
Darr	India	12
Mahanadhi	India	12
Nikka Zaildar	India	12
OMG Oh My God	India	12
PK	India	12
Punjab 1984	India	12
Raanjhanaa	India	12
Special 26	India	12
Past Life	Israel	12
Don't Torture a Ducking	Italy	12
Zombie 2	Italy	12
5 centimeters per second	Japan	12
Battle Royale	Japan	12
Deathnote	Japan	12
Grotesque	Japan	12
Pulse	Japan	12
The Blue Sky Maiden	Japan	12
When a Woman ascends the Stairs	Japan	12
Castaway of the Moon	Korea	12
Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter and Spring	Korea	12
The King and the Clown	Korea	12
Turning Gate	Korea	12
Trollhunter	Norway	12
Cold War	Poland	12
bed and Sofa	Russia	12
Dust	Russia	12
Russian Ark	Russia	12
The Motorcycle Diaries	Spain	12
The Skin I live in	Spain	12
Timecrimes	Spain	12
Talk to Her	Swedish	12
Through a Glass Darkly	Swedish	12
Men behind the sun		12
The Wall	Austria	10
No Man's Land	Bosnia	10
Closely Watched Trains	czech	10
The Shop on Main Street	czech	10
A Woman is a woman	France	10
Angel Face	France	10
Asterix and Obelix	France	10
Raw	France	10
Shame	France	10
Touche pas au grisbi	France	10
Alice in the Cities	Germany	10
Fack Ju Gohte	Germany	10
Fitzcarraldo	Germany	10
Transit	Germany	10
A Simple Life	Hong Kong	10
Dragons Forever	Hong Kong	10
Fox Hunter	Hong Kong	10
Madam City Hunter	Hong Kong	10
She Shoots Straight	Hong Kong	10
The Inspector Wears Skirts	Hong Kong	10
Glass Tiger	hungary	10
Hippolit the Butler	hungary	10
Kontroll	hungary	10
Mephisto	hungary	10
The Corporal and the Others	hungary	10
The man of Gold	hungary	10
Apur Sansar	India	10
Badhai Ho	India	10
Devdas	India	10
Enthiran	India	10
Haider	India	10
Nikka Zaildar 2	India	10
Vikram Vedha	India	10
Visaranai	India	10
Sallah	Israel	10
a special day	Italy	10
Black Sunday	Italy	10
Everybody's Woman	Italy	10
swept away	Italy	10
Umberto D	Italy	10
Ghost in the Shell 2: innocence	Japan	10
Kuroneko	Japan	10
Onibaba	Japan	10
shall we dance	Japan	10
The Machine Girl	Japan	10
I'm a Cyborg but it's OK	Korea	10
Shiri	Korea	10
Where do We Go Now	lebanon	10
An Autumn Marathon	Russia	10
Assa	Russia	10

[chasmmi]

301st - 400th

 

Don	India	18
Hera Pheri	India	18
Hindi Medium	India	18
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam	India	18
Kati Patang	India	18
Page 3	India	18
Rab Ne Banadi Jodi	India	18
Satya	India	18
Shatranj Ke Khiladi	India	18
Veer Zaara	India	18
The Big Dig	Israel	18
Marriage Italian Style	Italy	18
Good Morning	Japan	18
Ju'On The Grudge	Japan	18
My Sassy Girl	Korea	18
Welcome to Dongmakgeol	Korea	18
Dersu Uzala	Russia	18
Touki Bouki	senegal	18
The invisible Guest	Spain	18
Elvira Madigen	Swedish	18
A Brighter Summer Day	Taiwan	18
Ong-Bak	Thailand	18
Elite Squad	Brazil	16
Monos	colombia	16
Pickpocket	colombia	16
Babette's Feast	Denmark	16
Cyrano de Bergerac	France	16
Irma Vep	France	16
Anatomie	Germany	16
Victoria	Germany	16
In the line of duty 4	Hong Kong	16
Mirage	Hong Kong	16
Web of Deception	Hong Kong	16
Aurora Borealis	hungary	16
Sleep Tight	hungary	16
The Paul Street Boys	hungary	16
Andaz Apna Apna	India	16
Jaagte Raho	India	16
Kapoor and Sons	India	16
Mungaru Male	India	16
shootout at Lokhandwala	india	16
Super Deluxe	India	16
Thappad	India	16
Vinnaithandi Varuvaya	India	16
Taste of Cherry	Iran	16
Tel Aviv on Fire	israel	16
Caesar	Italy	16
Rome Open City	Italy	16
a silent voice	Japan	16
Confessions	Japan	16
Early Summer	Japan	16
Late Autumn	Japan	16
Mishima: A Life of Four Chapters	Japan	16
Chingu	Korea	16
Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance	Korea	16
The Saragossa Manuscript	Poland	16
Trial on the Road	Russia	16
Twenty Days Without War	Russia	16
A Summer at Grandpas	Taiwan	16
Baskin	Turkey	16
Dead Snow		16
Central Station	Brazil	14
The Wedding Banquet	China	14
Ordet	Denmark	14
Certified Copy	France	14
Heal the Living	France	14
Le Corbeau	France	14
Le Jetee	France	14
Rust and Bone	France	14
Stalingrad	Germany	14
System Crasher	Germany	14
The Cabinet of Dr Caligari	Germany	14
Wings of Desire	Germany	14
Heroic Trio 2: Executioners	Hong Kong	14
Lethal Partner	Hong Kong	14
Project A	Hong Kong	14
A Palacsintas Kiraly	hungary	14
The Little Fox	hungary	14
The Witness	hungary	14
Hey Ram	India	14
Mohabbatein	India	14
Paan Singh Tomar	India	14
La vita e Bella	Italy	14
The Night is Short	Japan	14
Bad Man	Korea	14
Sex is Zero	Korea	14
black cat, white cat	serbia	14
Rec	Spain	14
Relatos Salvajes	Spain	14
Alone	Thailand	14
Dog Days	Austria	12
Maskerade	Austria	12
Bus 174	Brazil	12
Mommy	Canada	12
Long Day's Journey into Night	China	12
The Road Home	China	12
The Green Butchers	Denmark	12
Breath	France	12
Contempt	France	12
inside	France	12

[chasmmi]

201st -300th

 

Woman in the Dunes	Japan	49
Cure	Japan	48
Sanjuro	Japan	48
Sword the Stranger	Japan	48
tokyo godfathers	Japan	48
ugetsu monogatari	Japan	48
Ivan the Terrible: Part 1	Russia	48
My Life as a dog	Swedish	48
Ghost in the Shell	Japan	47
A very long engagement	France	46
Diary of a country Priest	France	46
La Haine	France	46
The Lovers on the Bridge	France	46
Barbara	Germany	46
Summer Wars	Japan	46
I saw the Devil	Korea	46
Uncle Boonmee Who Can Remember Past Lives	Thailand	46
the hidden fortress	Japan	45
La belle et la Bete	France	44
Black Sabbath	Italy	44
Jules and Jim	France	43
The Dinner Games	France	43
The Act of Killing	Indonesia	43
Adam's Apples	Denmark	42
Elevator to the Gallows	France	42
Rififi	France	42
Dogtooth	greece	42
Once Upon a Time in China	Hong Kong	42
Peking Opera Blues	Hong Kong	42
Gates of Hell	Italy	42
Lust Caution	Hong Kong	41
The Heroic Trio	Hong Kong	40
Ivan's Childhood	Russia	40
The face of another	Japan	37
The Fifth Seal	Hungary	36
Red Beard	Japan	36
The Cat Returns	Japan	35
The girl who leapt through time	Japan	35
Only Yesterday	Japan	34
Drunken Master	Hong Kong	33
To live	China	32
Wolf Warriors 2	China	32
Au Hasard Balthazar	France	32
Friday Night	France	32
Armour of God	Hong Kong	32
Black Robe	Canada	28
Happy Together	Hong Kong	28
My Friend Ivan Lapshin	Russia	28
The Celebration	Denmark	25
Black	India	25
October	India	25
The Terrorist	India	25
Metropolis	Japan	25
Elite Squad 2: The Enemy Within	Brazil	22
Eastern Condors	Hong Kong	22
company	india	22
Gadar	India	22
Offside	Iran	22
The Seven Beauties	Italy	22
Time of the Gypsies	Romany	22
Letter Never Sent	Russia	22
Yi Yi	Taiwan	22
High Tension		22
The Story of Qiu Ju	China	20
Fanny	France	20
Ils	France	20
The Chorus	France	20
Three Colours: White	France	20
Tout Une Nuit	France	20
Cat City	Hungary	20
Children of Glory	Hungary	20
Anand	India	20
Awara	India	20
Baazigar	India	20
Bajrangi Bhaijaan	India	20
Lage Raho Munnabhai	India	20
Mother India	India	20
Mughai e Azam	India	20
Footnote	Israel	20
The Bad Sleep Well	Japan	20
The Chaser	Korea	20
Chapiteau Show	Russia	20
The return	Russia	20
Black Girl	senegal	20
The Method	Spain	20
Who Killed Captain Alex	uganda	20
Salo		20
Shoah		20
The Cremator	czech	18
The Class	Estonia	18
Days for Night	France	18
Jeanne Dielman plus address	France	18
Last year at Marienbad	France	18
Marius	France	18
Pierrot le Fou	France	18
2046	Hong Kong	18
Iron Angels	Hong Kong	18
Prince Bob	hungary	18
The Danube Pilot	hungary	18
Border	India	18