Director: Akira Kurosawa (1950, Japanese, 88 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.4), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Watch online: YouTube.

Similar movies: crime, intense, suspense.

Summary: A landmark movie by Kurosawa in which four eye witnesses provide wildly varying accounts of the same incident which culminated in the death of a samurai. The film is notable for being the first to have such a plot. The movie ends without truth having been established.

The movie evokes questions about the nature of truth, memory and self image when recalling events. A good movie!

Director: Sergei Eisenstein (1925, Russian, 66 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (100%), IMDB (8.0), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Watch online: YouTube, NetFlix.

Similar movies: intense, silent, suspense.

Summary: A gripping, silent movie. Full of drama and excitement. Set in Russia. The movie presents a dramatized version of a real mutiny against oppressive officers in a battleship named Potemkin in 1905. That mutiny has some connection with the Russian Revolution of 1917.

The movie has no hero or heroine. Only a few characters have names. It is all about groups of people and the masses. The story telling is awesome, scenes are great and the pace is good. The Wikipedia article for the movie points out that the film shocked viewers for the amount of violence, which was too graphic for those times (1925).

Soundtrack is critical for overall experience of the movie. It actually contributes to the drama by generating the right emotions. Most modern movies have unnecessary music, which can be toned down or removed. For Battleship Potemkin, different soundtracks have been developed in different decades. Some screenings have live orchestra, even as late as 2006, which says something about the popularity of this film.

Director: Robert Bresson (1956, French, 99 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (100%), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Sidney Lumet (1957, English, 96 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (100%), IMDB (8.9), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: intense, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Akira Kurosawa (1963, Japanese, 143 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (93%), IMDB (8.3), Wikipedia, Amazon.

Similar movies: suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville (1967, French, 101 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (100%), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: crime, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Frank Darabont (1994, English, 142 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (90%), IMDB (9.3), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: crime, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: William Friedkin (1971, English, 104 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.8), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: suspense.

Director: Hideo Nakata (1998, Japanese, 96 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (97%), IMDB (7.3), Wikipedia, Amazon.

Similar movies: horror, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: M N Shyamalan (1999, English, 107 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (85%), IMDB (8.2), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Sujoy Ghosh (2012, Hindi, 122 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon.

Similar movies: crime, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Coen Brothers (2007, English, 122 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (94%), IMDB (8.1), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: crime, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Sergio Leone (1968, English, 175 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (98%), IMDB (8.7), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Watch online: NetFlix.

Similar movies: suspense, western.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Coen Brothers (1991, English, 116 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (91%), IMDB (7.7), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Similar movies: crime, quirky, suspense.

Summary: Yet to write.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola (1974, English, 113 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (98%), IMDB (8.0), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Watch online: NetFlix.

Similar movies: loneliness, suspense.

Summary: A pretty good suspense movie. Harry Caul is a middle-aged surveillance expert records a conversation between a couple. Based on his recording, he feels that the couple is about to be harmed. His conscience tugs at him. In his private and professional life, Harry Caul is a solitary man who operates alone and does not share hsi secrets with anybody. The movie is interesting for its twists and turns. Gene Hackman is the surveillance expert. His acting is awesome.

Director: Coen Brothers (1996, English, 98 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (94%), IMDB (8.2), Wikipedia, Amazon, Roger Ebert.

Watch online: Amazon Prime.

Similar movies: crime, suspense.

Summary: A well made crime thriller. A man asks two hoodlums to kidnap his own wife to extort money from his father-in-law. Available on Amazon Instant.

Director: Mrinal Sen (1982, Bengali, 95 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (43%), IMDB (7.3), Amazon.

Watch online: YouTube.

Similar movies: death, depressing, family, intense, suspense.

Summary: The story is simple: a servant boy dies in an apartment. What happens next? There is a little bit of suspense as events unfold but the focus is on how various people handle the situation. The social fabric of middle class life is portrayed very well. Even though the theme of the movie is intense, there is no melodrama.

A succinct summary of the movie is here.

Director: Fred Zinnemann (1952, English, 85 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (96%), IMDB (8.2), Wikipedia, Amazon.

Similar movies: suspense, western.

Summary: Simple plot. Great acting. A psychological thriller that slowly builds up. The clock is ticking. Miller and his gang are arriving in a town at noon. They seek revenge. Cain is a proud sheriff who retired and got married only a few hours ago. When Cain learns of Miller's impending arrival, he decides to defend the town. At any cost. He starts seeking help from friends and townsfolk but nobody seems to have courage. What happens finally?

Director: Shawn Christensen (2014, English, 93 mins)

Reviews: RottenTomatoes (N/A), IMDB (7.2), Wikipedia, Amazon.

Similar movies: family, suspense.

Summary: "Before I Disappear" stars a depressed and suicidal drug addict who is called by his sister to take care of his 10-year old niece for a day. The two of them have never met before. The drug addict is a loser looking for redemption by doing one good thing in his life. The niece is precocious; she excels in every subject at school. The movie is about how they establish a bond with each other.