131 essential movies, according to Martin Scorsese

To be as accomplished and prolific a filmmaker as Martin Scorsese, one would have to be as accomplished and prolific a viewer as Martin Scorsese. The Oscar-winning director would be the first to tell you that he’s as much a student of film as he is a creator, and he regularly shares his ever-growing list of essential movies he thinks every true cinephile should see.

In 2012, fast business published a long interview with Scorsese in which he talked about his 85 films “you must see to know everything about cinema”. Meanwhile, in 2006, a young filmmaker named Colin Levy wrote to the filmmaker, asking him for recommendations on where to start an education in foreign films. Scorsese responded with a list of nearly 40 suggestions. And, of course, Scorsese shared even more of his favorite movies with Sight and sound magazine.

Every film he mentioned is listed below, in chronological order, so you can start your studies at Scorsese Film School as soon as possible.

1. The Hellish Cakewalk (1903)

2. The secrets of the soul (1912)

3. The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse (1921)

4. Nosferatus (1922)

5. Dr Mabuse the player (1922)

6. Metropolis (1927)

seven. Napoleon (1927)

8. power and glory (1933)

9. It happened one night (1934)

ten. Mr. Deeds goes to town (1936)

11. The Great Illusion (1937)

12. Mr. Smith goes to Washington (1939)

13. Diligence (1939)

14. The Roaring Twenties (1939)

15. The game’s rules (1939)

16. Citizen Kane (1941)

17. How green my valley was (1941)

18. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)

19. cat people (1942)

20. Arsenic and old lace (1944)

21. Rome, open city (1945)

22. children of paradise (1945)

23. Dueling in the sun (1946)

24. Gilda (1946)

25. A matter of life or death (1946)

26. Peasant (1946)

27. The beauty and the Beast (1946)

28. The lady from Shanghai (1947)

29. T Men (1947)

30. I walk alone (1947)

31. The Red Shoes (1948)

32. Germany Year Zero (1948)

33. evil force (1948)

34. La Terra Trema (1948)

35. macbeth (1948)

36. raw deal (1948)

37. Bike thieves (1948)

38. Caught (1949)

39. The third man (1949)

40. Stromboli (1950)

41. The Flowers of Saint Francis (1950)

42. mad gun (1950)

43. The night and the city (1950)

44. An American in Paris (1951)

45. River (1951)

46. Ace in the hole (1951)

47. The magic box (1951)

48. The wicked and the beautiful (1952)

49. European ’51 (1952)

50. othello (1952)

51. Umberto D. (1952)

52. Ikiru (1952)

53. The Band Cart (1953)

54. wax house (1953)

55. Julius Caesar (1953)

56. Pickup on South Street (1953)

57. Ugetsu (1953)

58. History of Tokyo (1953)

59. Dial M for murder (1954)

60. Journey to Italie (1954)

61. Senso (1954)

62. Seven Samurai (1954)

63. Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

64. All that heaven allows (1955)

65. kiss me deadly (1955)

66. Researchers (1956)

67. Forty guns (1957)

68. The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

69. Some came running (1958)

70. touch evil (1958)

71. vertigo (1958)

72. Ashes and Diamonds (1958)

73. Big deal on Madonna Street (1958)

74. Shadows (1959)

75. The 400 blows (1959)

76. Voyeur (1960)

77. Rocco and his brothers (1960)

78. Shoot the pianist (1960)

79. Breathless (1960)

80. The Adventure (1960)

81. the scammer (1961)

82. One two three (1961)

83. Cape fear (1962)

84. The trial (1962)

85. Two weeks in another city (1962)

86. Salvatore Giuliano (1962)

87. Il Sorpasso (1962)

88. America, America (1963)

89. Jason and the Argonauts (1963)

90. The leopard (1963)

91. shock corridor (1963)

92. Up and down (1963)

93. 8½ (1963)

94. The fall of the Roman Empire (1964)

95. Bunch of strangers (1964)

96. Before the Revolution (1964)

97. The Ascension of Louis XIV (1966)

98. Explode (1966)

99. Weekend (1967)

100. faces (1968)

101. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

102. Death by hanging (1968)

103. midnight cowboy (1969)

104. The butcher (1970)

105. The American Friend (1970)

106. Klute (1971)

107. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (1971)

108. The Merchant of the Four Seasons (1971)

109. The Godfather (1972)

110. MASH POTATOES (1972)

111. Aguirre, the wrath of God (1972)

112. The conversation (1974)

113. Ali: fear devours the soul (1974)

114. The enigma of Kaspar Hauser (1974)

115. The Messiah (1975)

116. Nashville (1975)

117. kings of the road (1976)

118. Revelation now (1979)

119. Marriage of Maria Braun (1979)

120. Health (1980)

121. The Gate of Paradise (1980)

122. mishima (1985)

123. Born July 4 (1989)

124. do the right thing (1989)

125. The player (1992)