While his filmography might not be as large as some other big-name directors, the body of work Sam Mendes has built up over the years is impressive for the quality of the titles within. American Beauty (1999) was pretty phenomenal, as far as feature debuts go, with subsequent movies like Road to Perdition (2002), Jarhead (2005), Skyfall (2012), and 1917 (2019) all worthy of being considered among the best releases of their respective years.
He's staying busy into the 2020s, too, given his planned ambitious four-part biopic on The Beatles, with one movie being dedicated to each of the four band members. Mendes also seems to find the time to watch plenty of great movies, with the following - in alphabetical order - being his favorites, which he gave when asked to provide his top 10 for the Sight & Sound film poll in 2012.
1 'Blue Velvet' (1986) Directed by David Lynch Close
Blue Velvet is unusual for David Lynch, because it's rather straightforward on a narrative front, but proves hard to recommend based on how emotionally intense and confronting it can be. Other Lynch films might exist outside the realm of mainstream appeal for their bizarreness, with Blue Velvet actually being quite tame/grounded, as far as that stuff goes. The terror and nightmarish stuff comes from the story, and especially the character played by Dennis Hopper.
It's an undoubtedly unique neo-noir sort of film, following a young man whose curiosity gets the better of him after he discovers a severed ear, and wants to get to the bottom of why it was cut off and who it belonged to. Words can only go so far in expressing how good most David Lynch movies are, and that can be said for Blue Velvet, which should be watched by anyone who's sufficiently prepared for some confronting and uncomfortable stuff.
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Blue Velvet R
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*Availability in US Release Date January 1, 1986 Director David Lynch Cast Isabella Rossellini , Kyle MacLachlan , Dennis Hopper , Laura Dern , Hope Lange , dean stockwell Runtime 120 minutes 2 'Citizen Kane' (1941) Directed by Orson Welles
What needs to be said about Citizen Kane that hasn't already been said? Even people who might not have watched it are probably aware of its lofty reputation, part of that coming about because of the Sight & Sound poll Sam Mendes participated in. Well, admittedly, that year (2012; it's done once a decade) did see Citizen Kane get dethroned from the top spot, but before that, it won the polls held in 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992, and 2002.
It's a classic rise-and-fall kind of story, perfectly told, extremely well-acted, sharply written, and undoubtedly creative on a technical front. Things like the cinematography and editing are on such a high level here for a film that's more than eight decades old, and even if some might be disappointed when watching a film this famous for the first time, Citizen Kane is pretty much required viewing for anyone interested in the history of cinema.
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Citizen Kane PG
Where to Watch stream rent buy *Availability in US Release Date April 17, 1941 Director Orson Welles Cast Orson Welles , Joseph Cotten , Dorothy Comingore , Agnes Moorehead , Ruth Warrick , Ray Collins Runtime 119 minutes 3 'Fanny and Alexander' (1982) Directed by Ingmar Bergman
Ingmar Bergman went big with Fanny and Alexander, a late-career effort for him (considering his earliest features were released in the 1940s), and undeniably one of his very best films. It's a drama that uses a runtime of more than three hours to tell a captivating story about grief, hardships, ghosts, and the unbreakable bonds that can form between members of a family.
There's also a miniseries version of Fanny and Alexander that adds another two hours or so to the runtime, and regardless of which version you pick, time goes by surprisingly fast. Fanny and Alexander functions as both an intimate character-focused drama and a rather sweeping, consistently beautiful-looking epic, being more or less the best of both worlds and standing as one of the most rewarding international films ever made.
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Fanny and Alexander R Drama
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*Availability in US Release Date December 17, 1982 Director Ingmar Bergman Cast Pernilla Allwin , Bertil Guve , Jan Malmsjö , Börje Ahlstedt , Anna Bergman , Gunn Wållgren , Kristina Adolphson , Erland Josephson , Mats Bergman , Jarl Kulle Runtime 188 Minutes 4 'The 400 Blows' (1959) Directed by François Truffaut
Though it's potentially definable as arthouse in nature, The 400 Blows is actually quite approachable, and therefore a great entry point for anyone looking to start exploring the French New Wave. It's got a relatability to it and a simplicity to the story overall that probably makes it timeless, given it's a no-nonsense coming-of-age movie about a young boy continually clashing with the adults in his life.
It's all very natural, almost as though one's watching real life, but naturalness isn't the same as laziness as regards the filmmaking here. The 400 Blows is amazingly well put-together, being an early François Truffaut film, sure, but easily up there as one of his best regardless. Indeed, most coming-of-age movies made since 1959 probably took some influence - be it small or large - from this classic French film.
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The 400 Blows
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*Availability in US Release Date May 4, 1959 Director Francois Truffaut Cast Jean-Pierre Léaud , Albert Remy , Claire Maurier Main Genre International 5 'The Godfather Part II' (1974) Directed by Francis Ford Coppola
It's never surprising to see a Francis Ford Coppola movie show up among another filmmaker's personal favorites, especially if that Coppola film was released in the 1970s. The guy was on fire during that decade, getting acclaim and awards for The Godfather in 1972, and then delivering one of those rare perfect sequels just two years later, with The Godfather Part II, the film in Mendes's top 10.
Everything is so perfectly controlled here, on a directorial front, with The Godfather Part II succeeding as both a sequel and, in part, a prequel, owing to the numerous flashbacks that see Robert De Niro playing a younger version of Marlon Brando's character from the first film. Like with Citizen Kane, everything positive that could be said about The Godfather Part II has already been said. Calling it a classic is, without a doubt, a no-brainer.
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The Godfather Part II r CrimeDrama
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*Availability in US Release Date December 20, 1974 Director Francis Ford Coppola Cast Al Pacino , Robert De Niro , James Caan , Diane Keaton Runtime 202minutes 6 'Kes' (1969) Directed by Ken Loach
Sam Mendes wasn't content to highlight just one iconic coming-of-age movie when selecting his top 10, because, on top of including The 400 Blows, he also ranked Kes among his favorites. This one's probably even bleaker and more harshly realistic, revolving around the struggles a young working-class boy faces in his life, and how the few things he attains that bring some comfort are often fleeting.
There's not much more to Kes than that; it's a film with a simple title and a simple premise, but a certain kind of rawness and authenticity that makes it all much more powerful in execution than it might sound on paper. It shouldn't be watched if one is in the mood for something upbeat, but anyone after a grounded and perhaps even effortless drama, this one's definitely a winner.
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Kes PG-13 Drama
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*Availability in US Release Date November 18, 1969 Cast David Bradley , Freddie Fletcher , Lynne Perrie , Colin Welland , Brian Glover , Bob Bowes , Bernard Atha , Joey Kaye , Duggie Brown , Robert Naylor , George Speed , Zoe Sunderland , Eric Bolderson , Joe Miller , Bill Dean , Geoffrey Banks , Trevor Hesketh , Harry Markham , David Glover Runtime 111 minutes Expand 7 'Rosemary's Baby' (1968) Directed by Roman Polanski
Religious horror has rarely been more unsettling than it was in Rosemary's Baby, which is one of those miraculous older works of horror that still feels scary, even though so many decades have passed. It's certainly a slow-burn kind of movie, too, with a pervading sense of things being a little off early on, and then they get more and more off, and then things eventually devolve into terror.
Saying anything about the plot is doing Rosemary's Baby a disservice, even if it's super well-known and might well be in the same camp as Psycho and The Sixth Sense, as far as mystery/thriller movies that have twists and turns which are open secrets. Still, even if you know what to expect, Rosemary's Baby remains an incredible blend of horror, thriller, mystery, and drama genres.
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Rosemary's Baby R HorrorDrama
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*Availability in US Release Date June 12, 1968 Director Roman Polanski Cast Ralph Bellamy , Mia Farrow , Sidney Blackmer , Ruth Gordon , John Cassavetes Runtime 137 minutes 8 'Taxi Driver' (1976) Directed by Martin Scorsese
At this point, some may want to criticize Sam Mendes for picking fairly obvious "great" movies for his personal top 10, but hey, not everyone wants to use such an opportunity to flex their knowledge of lesser-known favorites. Something like Taxi Driver really does live up to its reputation, after all, being the first all-out masterpiece Martin Scorsese directed, and holding up as one of his greatest works to this day.
It's an exploration of loneliness, isolation, and alienation, following an unstable Vietnam War veteran as he becomes increasingly disillusioned with the world that he sees around him. Taxi Driver also burns quite slowly, but eventually proves explosive and devastating. It's raw in a way that might well never stop being shocking, and, like The Godfather Part II, contains a phenomenal Robert De Niro performance.
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Taxi Driver R DramaCrime
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*Availability in US Release Date February 9, 1976 Director Martin Scorsese Cast Robert De Niro , Jodie Foster , Cybill Shepherd , Albert Brooks , Harvey Keitel , Victor Argo , Peter Boyle Runtime 114 Minutes 9 'There Will Be Blood' (2007) Directed by Paul Thomas Anderson
There Will Be Blood kind of feels in line with Citizen Kane narratively and thematically, though it is undeniably unique as far as its presentation and overall feel are concerned. It primarily centers on a single man, Daniel Plainview, as he ruthlessly acquires as much land as possible so he can best make use of an oil rush, adding to his personal fortune while continuously alienating himself from everyone else.
It's a straightforward, sometimes slow, but ultimately fascinating exploration of greed, and what pursuing it at all costs can do to a person. It really means a lot to say a film contains what might be Daniel Day-Lewis's single best performance, but There Will Be Blood really might well have just that, and he alone is worth the price of admission.
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There Will Be Blood R EpicDrama
Where to Watch stream rent buy *Availability in US Release Date December 26, 2007 Director Paul Thomas Anderson Cast daniel day-lewis , Russell Harvard , Ciarán Hinds , Dillon Freasier , Paul Dano , Kevin J. O'Connor Runtime 158 minutes 10 'Vertigo' (1958) Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
As mentioned before, Citizen Kane used to be the top dog when it came to the Sight & Sound poll, but 2012 - the year Sam Mendes participated - saw Vertigo take the crown (which it then lost in 2022, when Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles took over). It's perfectly reasonable to put both Citizen Kane and Vertigo in one's top 10, as Mendes did, and hard to compare two movies that are both so great.
Vertigo is one of the most essential - and overall dark - Alfred Hitchcock movies, seeing the director go further than ever in exploring themes surrounding obsession, desire, and paranoia. It's a slow, almost dreamlike film that's easy to fall into and get overwhelmed by, and a truly timeless watch. It holds up when watched almost 70 years later, and there's every chance that it'll still be a masterpiece by the time its 100th anniversary comes around, in 2058 (should the planet still be intact by then!).
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Vertigo PG RomanceMysteryThriller
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*Availability in US Release Date May 9, 1958 Director Alfred Hitchcock Cast Tom Helmore , Barbara Bel Geddes , Kim Novak , James Stewart , Henry Jones Runtime 128 minutes
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