There are films that will remain cult classics for all time. Think Breakfast at Tiffany’s, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and 2001: A Space Odyssey.   

They form part of the Canon – the films that have changed the form, challenged the medium and will most likely outlive us all.

And we’re not talking box-office ratings here, because these are the films that blur the line between art and cinema.

Yes, that shot above is from The Royal Tenenbaums, which also makes the cut. Relax, you hipster.

The Washington Post on their list:

For the most part, the Canon has remained an unchanged list of cinema’s most revered titles; the last time it was even slightly upset was in 2012, when the respected film journal Sight & Sound announced that its Greatest Films of All Time poll of programmers, film professionals and academics had put Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 fever dream “Vertigo” at the top of the list, upending longtime pride-of-place holder “Citizen Kane.”

The rest of the list has remained largely unchanged and tends to privilege older films. That said, 21st-century cinema has produced some great movies that deserve some recognition.

The Washington Post has compiled a list of the ones that they deem worthy of the Canon, accompanied by the following proposal:

…that, when it comes to the Canon, we expand our notions of permanence and connoisseurship to include films that are worthy of appreciation — even veneration — despite being so recent. (As for rankings, this collection is unnumbered, reflecting a loose, intuitive collection rather than a strict hierarchy.) No one is a prophet in their own hometown; sometimes we need reminding that many of the films we’re seeing right now are genuinely timeless.

You can check out the full list here. As a taster, here are our top five picks (in no particular order).

PAN’S LABYRINTH (2006)

With this surrealistic fable — the story of an intrepid young girl in Franco-era Spain finding safety in the most frightening reaches of her imagination — Guillermo del Toro created a film that qualified not only as one of the most dazzling visual pieces of cinema of the early century but also as a superbly effective political allegory regarding fascism, personal expression and the power of finding allies in our most secret monsters.

NO COUNTRY FOR OLD MEN (2007)

With this adaptation of the Cormac McCarthy novel, Joel and Ethan Coen created a technically perfect movie, a one-film master class in every element of cinematic style, from writing and acting to cinematography, editing and sound design. Viewers can be skeptical of the film’s moral universe – conditioned by McCarthy’s weary pessimism and overworked moral rhetoric — and still appreciate the Coens’ impeccable control of the material.

I’M NOT THERE (2007)

Todd Haynes exploded the genre in this composite portrait of Bob Dylan, in which the notoriously mythologized and constantly self-reinventing musician was portrayed by six male and female actors, only a few of whom bore a remote physical resemblance to the real-life analog. The fact that the most spot-on depiction belonged to Cate Blanchett (as the “Dont Look Back”-era Dylan) only reinforced the rightness of an enterprise that subverted the form, but never at the expense of the subject himself.

SPIRITED AWAY (2001)

Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki seems unable to make anything but masterpieces; still, this epic tale of a young girl separated from her parents and thrust into a magical world, stands as his greatest — not only for its transporting visuals but for its bracing sense of adventure, terror, resilience and heroism. Full of whimsy, fantasy and childlike wonder — elements that would otherwise feel overbearing or unforgivably ersatz – Miyazaki’s vision is also earthy and profound, even at its most allegorical.

THERE WILL BE BLOOD (2007)

A wild, unwieldy portrait of greed, aspiration and self-belief, featuring an uncompromising performance by Daniel Day-Lewis, this chronicle of enterprise, exploration and Darwinian capitalism bursts with daring and emotion; even its bizarre final sequence — controversial for its brazen tonal shifts and outright weirdness — acknowledges the fact that the very best movies always have a touch of madness to them.

The most recent entry on the list is Dunkirk, so we will finish with that trailer:

Pretty serious viewing, but you could always start off with The Royal Tenenbaums to get the ball rolling.

[source:washingtonpost]