The Top 100 films from the countries of the former Eastern Bloc. 36 Polish, 17 Czech, 17 Hungarian, 13 Serbian/Bosnian, 9 Romanian, 3 Bulgarian/Macedonian, 2 Slovak, one Albanian, one Armenian and one Kazakh film.
1.
Ze soboty na nedeli (1931)
Mána is a young secretary. One evening she and her roommate accompany two wealthy older gentlemen to dinner... (69 mins.)
Director: Gustav Machatý
2.
Valahol Európában (1948)
A band of runaways and orphans of the war scour the countryside in search of food and shelter. They... (100 mins.)
Director: Géza Radványi
3.
Kanal (1957)
A symbolic depiction of hell on Earth, set in the last days of the Warsaw uprising in 1944. Lieutenant... (91 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
4.
Czlowiek na torze (1957)
In 1950, at night, a passenger train kills a man on the tracks. He is Orzechowski, an engineer since 1914... (89 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Munk
5.
Popiól i diament (1958)
During the German occupation noble, bourgeois and worker's partisan groups lived in peace with another. On the first day of freedom they start to fight each other. In these fights is weaved a most tender love story. (103 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
6.
Eroica (1958)
Two sketches covering episodes from the World War II. In the first novel, "Scherzo alla polacca", a shrewd son... (87 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Munk
7.
Pociag (1959)
A man, Jerzy, enters a train set for the Baltic coast. He seems to be on the run from something. He... (99 mins.)
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
8.
Zezowate szczescie (1960)
The story is an odyssey of a little man through Poland of 1930 to 1950. It shows his attempts to cope... (92 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Munk
9.
Matka Joanna od aniolów (1961)
A priest is sent to a small parish in the Polish countryside which is believed to be under demonic possession and there he finds his own temptations awaiting. (110 mins.)
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
10.
Nóz w wodzie (1962)
On their way to a sailing trip, an aging husband and wife invite along an emphatic young hitchhiker out of sheer patronization.(94 mins.)
Director: Roman Polanski
11.
Pasazerka (1963)
The last film of Andrzej Munk, who died in a crash during the filming. A German woman on a ship coming... (62 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Munk, Witold Lesiewicz
12.
Az prijde kocour (1963)
Some people with a strange cat arrive in a small village. The cat wears glasses, and when someone takes them off... (91 mins.)
Director: Vojtech Jasný
13.
Jak byc kochana (1963)
An actress travels from Warsaw to Paris and during the trip reflects on the last few years of her life... (97 mins.)
Director: Wojciech J. Has
14.
Kradetzat na praskovi (1964)
A wife of a Bulgarian Army officer falls in love with a Serbian prisoner at the end of World war II. (84 mins.)
Director: Vulo Radev
15.
Démanty noci (1964)
Diamonds in the night is the tense, brutal story of two Jewish boys who escape from a train transporting them from one concentration camp to another... (63 mins.)
Director: Jan Nemec
16.
Obchod na korze (1965)
Slovakia during WW2. Tono lives a poor life, but the authorities offer him to take over the Jewish widow Lautman's little shop for sewing material... (128 mins.)
Director: Ján Kadár, Elmar Klos
17.
Covek nije tica (1965)
A love romance between older, respectable engineer that came in the industrial town to do some expert... (81 mins.)
Director: Dusan Makavejev
18.
Lásky jedné plavovlásky (1965)
A factory manager in rural Czechoslovakia bargains with the army to send men to the area, to boost the morale of his young female workers... (90 mins.)
Director: Milos Forman
19.
Rekopis znaleziony w Saragossie (1965)
In the Napoleonic wars, an officer finds an old book that relates his grandfather's story, Alfons van Worden... (182 mins.)
Director: Wojciech Has
21.
Intimni osvetleni (1965)
One of the most important images of the Czech New Wave 60s, which was ranked among the top ten domestic films of all time... (71 mins.)
Director: Ivan Passer
22.
Popioly (1965)
Set in the time of Napoleon wars, shows how the wars swept over the unfortunate Polish country at the beginning of the XIX-th century... (234 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
23.
Sedmikrásky (1966)
The life of two girls, Marie I and Marie II, who try to understand the meaning of the world and of their life. (74 mins.)
Director: Vera Chytilová
24.
Ostre sledované vlaky (1966)
An apprentice train dispatcher at a village station seeks his first sexual encounter and becomes despondent when he is unable to perform. (93 mins.)
Director: Jirí Menzel
25.
Szegénylegények (1966)
In Hungary, the national movement led by Kossuth has been crushed and the Austrian hegemony re-established... (90 mins.)
Director: Miklós Jancsó
26.
Faraon (1966)
Young Pharaoh Ramses XIII clashes with Egypt's clergy over influence on the affairs of the state and its coffers. (180 mins.)
Director: Jerzy Kawalerowicz
29.
Skupljaci perja (1967)
Bora the Gypsy is married to an older woman, and he falls in love with the younger Tissa, who is being offered in marriage by her father... (94 mins.)
Director: Aleksandar Petrovic
30.
Horí, má panenko (1967)
The fire department in a small town is having a big party when the ex-boss of the department celebrates his 86th birthday...(71 mins.)
Director: Milos Forman
31.
Ljubavni slucaj ili tragedija sluzbenice P.T.T.(1967)
After many adventures, a young female switchboard operator starts a love relationship with a serious young man... (79 mins.)
Director: Dusan Makavejev
32.
Marketa Lazarová (1967)
A minor Czech clan falls afoul of the King in medieval times, against the backdrop of Christianity replacing Paganism. (162 mins.)
Director: Frantisek Vlácil
33.
Csillagosok, katonák (1967)
In 1919, Hungarian Communists aid the Bolsheviks' defeat of Czarists, the Whites. Near the Volga, a... (90 mins.)
Director: Miklós Jancsó
34.
Reconstituirea (1968)
A prosecutor, policemen and teacher bring the students Vuica and Nicu to a restaurant to re-enact their drunken brawl there, and have it filmed to show the effects of alcoholism. (100 mins.)
Director: Lucian Pintilie
35.
Brzezina (1970)
Takes place in a prewar Poland. A tubercular young man comes to stay with his brother on a farm. He... (99 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
36.
Ucho (1970)
Husband (senior ministry official) and wife find their house is riddled with listening devices put there by his own ministry...(94 mins.)
Director: Karel Kachyna
37.
W.R. - Misterije organizma (1971)
A dense film that cuts up footage of a primary plot of two young Yugoslavian girls, one a politico and the other a sexpot...(84 mins.)
Director: Dusan Makavejev
38.
Szerelem (1971)
The wife of a political prisoner tends to her mother-in-law and keeps from the old woman the truth about her son, whom she believes is in New York making a film. (88 mins.)
Director: Károly Makk
39.
Még kér a nép (1972)
Set in the 1890s on the Hungarian plains, a group of farm workers go on strike in-which they face harsh reprisals and the reality of revolt, oppression, morality and violence. (87 mins.)
Director: Miklós Jancsó
40.
Sanatorium pod klepsydra (1973)
Set in pre- World War II era. A young man is on a strange train to see his dying father in a sanatorium... (124 mins.)
Director: Wojciech J. Has
42.
Ziemia obiecana (1975)
At the turn of the century, Lodz, Poland was a quick-paced manufacturing center for textiles, replete... (179 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
43.
Czlowiek z marmuru (1977)
In 1976, a young woman in Krakow is making her diploma film, looking behind the scenes at the life of a 1950s bricklayer...(165 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
44.
Bez znieczulenia (1978)
A famous Polish journalist presents a problem for the powers-that-be when he displays his full political... (131 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
45.
Amator (1979)
Filip buys an eight-millimetre movie camera when his first child is born. Because it's the first camera in town... (117 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
46.
Panny z Wilka (1979)
Set in the late '20s. A thirtyish young man, who heads a small factory, faints at the funeral of a close friend... (118 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
47.
Mephisto (1981)
A German stage actor finds unexpected success and mixed blessings in the popularity of his performance... (144 mins.)
Director: István Szabó
“ A Hungarian-German film ” - minalex
48.
Sjecas li se, Dolly Bell (1981)
A young man grows up in Sarajevo in the 1960s, under the shadow of his good, but ailing father, and... (110 mins.)
Director: Emir Kusturica
49.
Czlowiek z zelaza (1981)
A worker becomes a "man of iron" forged by experience, a son comes to terms with his father, a couple fall in love... (153 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
50.
Danton (1983)
Action opens in November of 1793, with Danton returning to Paris from his country retreat upon learning that the Committee for Public Safety... (136 mins.)
Director: Andrzej Wajda
“ A French-Polish film ” - minalex
51.
Moznosti dialogu (1983 Short Film)
A three-part depiction of various forms of communication. 'Factual Discussion' depicts three heads (made up of fruit... (12 mins.)
Director: Jan Svankmajer
52.
Rok spokojnego slonca (1984)
Shortly after WWII an American soldier (Norman) and a Polish refugee (Emilia) fall in deep love. Eventually... (106 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Zanussi
53.
Otac na sluzbenom putu (1985)
Tito's break-up with Stalin in 1948 marked the beginning of not only confusing, but also very dangerous years for many hard-core Yugoslav communists... (136 mins.)
Director: Emir Kusturica
54.
Oberst Redl (1985)
Set during the fading glory of the Austro-Hungarian empire, the film tells of the rise and fall of Alfred Redl (Brandauer)... (144 mins.)
Director: István Szabó
“ A Hungarian-German film ” - minalex
55.
Vergeßt Mozart (1985)
In the dead of night, a few hours after Mozart's death, the usual suspects (Konstanze, Salieri, van Swieten... (92 mins.)
Director: Miloslav Luther
56.
Bez konca (1985)
It's 1982: Poland is under martial law, and Solidarity is banned. Ulla, a translator working on Orwell... (109 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
57.
Przypadek (1987)
Witek runs after a train. Three variations follow on how such a seemingly banal incident could influence the rest of Witek's life.(114 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
“ Completed in 1981, released in 1987 ” - minalex
58.
Krótki film o milosci (1988)
An innocent virgin spies on his frontal neighbor and falls in love her, thus starts using tricks on her which he hopes will lead to them meeting. (86 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
59.
Krótki film o zabijaniu (1988)
The plot couldn't be simpler or its attack on capital punishment (and the act of killing in general) more direct - a senseless...(84 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
60.
Dom za vesanje (1988)
In this luminous tale set in the area around Sarajevo and in Italy, Perhan, an engaging young Romany (gypsy) with telekinetic powers, is seduced by the quick-cash world of petty crime, which threatens to destroy him and those he loves. (142 mins.)
Director: Emir Kusturica
61.
Hanussen (1988)
A man's story parallels Hitler's rise. Austrian Klaus Schneider, wounded in World War I, recovers in the care of Dr... (140 mins.)
Director: István Szabó
“ A Hungarian-German film ” - minalex
62.
Neco z Alenky (1988)
A surrealistic revision of Alice in Wonderland. (86 mins.)
Director: Jan Svankmajer
Stars: Kristýna Kohoutová, Camilla Power
63.
Dekalog (1989 Mini-Series)
Ten television drama films, each one based on one of the Ten Commandments. (572 mins.)
64.
Skrivánci na niti (1990)
Set in the late 1940s, the film concerns the treatment of suspect "bourgeois elements", a professor, a saxophonist, and a milkman, who are put to work in a junkyard for rehabilitation. (94 mins.)
Director: Jirí Menzel
“ Completed in 1969, released in 1990 after the collapse of the communist regime ” - minalex
65.
La double vie de Véronique (1991)
Weronika lives in Poland. Véronique lives in Paris. They don't know each other. Weronika gets a place in a music school...(98 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
67.
Videogramme einer Revolution (1992 Documentary)
(106 mins.)
Director: Harun Farocki, Andrei Ujica
Stars: Thomas Schultz
68.
Trois couleurs: Bleu (1993)
A woman struggles to find a way to live her life after the death of her husband and child. (98 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
“ A French-Polish film ” - minalex
69.
Trois couleurs: Blanc (1994)
Second of a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society shows a Polish immigrant who wants to get even with his former wife. (91 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
70.
Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994)
Final entry in a trilogy of films dealing with contemporary French society concerns a model who discovers her neighbour is keen on invading people's privacy. (99 mins.)
Director: Krzysztof Kieslowski
“ A French-Polish film ” - minalex
71.
Before the Rain (1994)
The circularity of violence seen in a story that circles on itself. In Macedonia, during war in Bosnia... (113 mins.)
Director: Milcho Manchevski
72.
Sátántangó (1994)
In a small, dilapidated village in 1990s Hungary, life has come to a virtual stand-still. The Autumn rains have started... (450 mins.)
Director: Béla Tarr
73.
Underground (1995)
The story follows an underground weapons manufacturer in Belgrade during WWII and evolves into fairly surreal situations... (170 mins.)
Director: Emir Kusturica
74.
Crna macka, beli macor (1998)
Matko is a small time hustler, living by the river Danube with his 17 year old son Zare. After a failed... (127 mins.)
Director: Emir Kusturica
75.
Sunshine (1999)
The fate of a Hungarian Jewish family throughout the 20th century. (181 mins.)
Director: István Szabó
76.
Jakob the Liar (1999)
In 1944 Poland, a Jewish shop keeper named Jakob is summoned to ghetto headquarters after being caught out near curfew... (120 mins.)
Director: Peter Kassovitz
77.
Werckmeister harmóniák (2000)
This story takes place in a small town on the Hungarian Plain. In a provincial town, which is surrounded with nothing else but frost... (145 mins.)
Director: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
78.
Musíme si pomáhat (2000)
In Nazi occupied Czechoslovakia, a childless couple agree to hide a Jewish friend at great personal risk of discovery and execution. (120 mins.)
Director: Jan Hrebejk
79.
No Man's Land (2001)
Bosnia and Herzegovina during 1993 at the time of the heaviest fighting between the two warring sides. Two soldiers from opposing sides in the conflict, Nino and Ciki, become trapped in no man's land, whilst a third soldier becomes a living booby trap. (98 mins.)
Director: Danis Tanovic
80.
The Pianist (2002)
A Polish Jewish musician struggles to survive the destruction of the Warsaw ghetto of World War II. (150 mins.)
Director: Roman Polanski
81.
Vodka Lemon (2003)
In a remote, isolated Yazidi Kurdish village in post-Soviet Armenia, Hamo, a widower with a pitiful pension and three worthless sons... (90 mins.)
Director: Hiner Saleem
82.
Zivot je cudo (2004)
What could be better for the village than a scenic railway to bring in the tourists? What could be worse for tourism than war? Luka builds the railway and shuts his eyes to war. Then Luka's wife runs off with a musician and his son is called up to the army. Luka's life is a war zone. Then he meets Sabaha..(155 mins.)
Director: Emir Kusturica
83.
Moartea domnului Lazarescu (2005)
Mr. Lazarescu, a 63 year old lonely man feels sick and calls the ambulance. When it arrives, the paramedic... (150 mins.)
Director: Cristi Puiu
84.
Taxidermia (2006)
Three generations of men, including a pervert that constantly seeks for new kinds of satisfaction, an obese speed eater and a passionate embalmer. (91 mins.)
Director: György Pálfi
85.
Grbavica (2006)
A woman and her daughter struggle to make their way through the aftermath of the Balkan war. (90 mins.)
Director: Jasmila Zbanic
86.
Obsluhoval jsem anglického krále (2006)
A look at the glamorous life at an old-world Prague hotel. (113 mins.)
Director: Jirí Menzel
87.
Eduart (2006)
Based upon true events Eduart, a young man raised in a cruel and oppressive family environment, leaves... (104 mins.)
Director: Angeliki Antoniou
“ A Greek-Albanian film ” - minalex
88.
4 luni, 3 saptamâni si 2 zile (2007)
A woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania. (113 mins.)
Director: Cristian Mungiu
89.
Klopka (2007)
"THE TRAP" is a modern film noir reflecting the true face of Serbian (Eastern European) 'society in transition.' It's a story that could happen to you... (106 mins.)
Director: Srdan Golubovic
90.
California Dreamin' (Nesfarsit) (2007)
A railway chief delays a NATO train transporting military equipment during the war in Kosovo in 1999. (155 mins.)
Director: Cristian Nemescu
91.
Cztery noce z Anna (2008)
A crematorium worker repeatedly breaks into a woman's house at night to help with housework. (87 mins.)
Director: Jerzy Skolimowski
92.
Tulpan (2008)
On the steppes of Kazakhstan, Asa lives in a yurt with his sister Samal, her husband Ondas, and their three children... (100 mins.)
Director: Sergei Dvortsevoy
93.
Zift (2008)
Moth is freed on parole after spending time in prison on wrongful conviction of murder. Jailed shortly before the Bulgarian communist coup of 1944... (92 mins.)
Director: Javor Gardev
94.
Kawasakiho ruze (2009)
Renowned psychiatrist Pavel Josek is singled out to receive a "Memory of the Nation" medal, however... (100 mins.)
Director: Jan Hrebejk
95.
Politist, adjectiv (2009)
A police officer refuses to arrest a young man for offering drugs to his friends. (115 mins.)
Director: Corneliu Porumboiu
96.
Eu cand vreau sa fluier, fluier (2010)
Two weeks before his release, a teenage prisoner learns that his mother has returned home. Meanwhile, he finds himself in love with a student working in the penitentiary as an intern.(94 mins.)
Director: Florin Serban
97.
A torinói ló (2011)
A rural farmer is forced to confront the mortality of his faithful horse. (146 mins.)
Director: Béla Tarr, Ágnes Hranitzky
98.
Dupa dealuri (2012)
The friendship between two young women who grew up in the same orphanage; one has found refuge at a convent in Romania and refuses to leave with her friend, who now lives in Germany. (150 mins.)
Director: Cristian Mungiu
99.
Pozitia copilului (2013)
Seeing a way to reassert control over her adult son's life when he faces manslaughter charges, an affluent... (112 mins.)
Director: Calin Peter Netzer
100.
La Vénus à la fourrure (2013)
An actress attempts to convince a director how she's perfect for a role in his upcoming production. (96 mins.)
Director: Roman Polanski
Stars: Emmanuelle Seigner, Mathieu Amalric
“ A French-Polish film ” - minalex
