Best existentialist films?

Badlands is definitely one of the better ones.

Barton Fink, Forrest Gump, Stalker, Nostalghia... you can find them everywhere if you know where to look (just stay away from the action flicks), but I honestly find it a bit reductive to slap an "existentialist" label on an entire movie just because it features those specific segments...

Criterion Collection starter pack

Transcendent Moments of the Ecstatic Truth

Philosophical Ramble

Loneliness, The Great Depression, Alienation, Nihilism

Nihilism / Contemplative Cinema

Contemplative Cinema - A few more additions to the collection

500 Existential Films list

A list from the Criterion Channel, which finally looks like something. Everything you need is right here.

This takes me back to the king of The Great Depression. There are two films here, but you’re missing the third one—the one that almost had me checking myself into an asylum just to recover from watching such a massive downer. A Pigeon sitting on a branch, contemplating existence. The title alone tells you it's a must-watch. Good luck!🍿

Daniel Kelly57 said:This takes me back to the king of The Great Depression. There are two films here, but you’re missing the third one—the one that almost had me checking myself into an asylum just to recover from watching such a massive downer. A Pigeon sitting on a branch, contemplating existence. The title alone tells you it's a must-watch. Good luck!🍿

For me, that Pigeon hit like a ton of bricks... I absolutely adore those unhinged projects where you know exactly what kind of misery is waiting for you before the opening credits even roll.🤣

Amy Jones2 said:Criterion Collection starter pack

Transcendent Moments of the Ecstatic Truth

Philosophical Ramble

Loneliness, The Great Depression, Alienation, Nihilism

Nihilism / Contemplative Cinema

Contemplative Cinema - A few more additions to the collection

500 Existential Films list

A list from the Criterion Channel, which finally looks like something. Everything you need is right here.

I haven't looked at every single title here, but from what I've scanned, some of these don't seem to fit the theme at all. 😁
That list really is a bit of a grab bag. 😁

Monty Python's Meaning of Life 😛

The Sunset Limited http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1510938/

Raymond Anderson4 said:I haven't looked at every single title here, but from what I've scanned, some of these don't seem to fit the theme at all. 😁
That list really is a bit of a grab bag. 😁

I agree.

There’s so much you can cram into that concept, really, depending on how one chooses to experience existentialism itself...

Take, for instance, this relatively recent film about a certain high-strung philosophy professor, Irrational Man

Yeah, Woody Allen hits on those themes all the time. His older comedies are honestly top-tier too: Love and Death, New York City... plus so many others where you just have this awkward intellectual type stumbling through some massive life crisis 😬

My Dinner with Andre — just clear your schedule for this one, seriously. That’s all I’m gonna say.

Raymond Anderson4 said:I haven't looked at every single title here, but from what I've scanned, some of these don't seem to fit the theme at all. 😁
That list really is a bit of a grab bag. 😁

Yeah, that last list was pretty random. I only posted it because of the title, even though I hadn't checked the contents. 😁
The others are definitely on topic, though I'm sure there are some outliers in those too. 😉

Woman in the Dunes (1964) is one of my favorite existential films.

goldenscout14 said:There’s so much you can cram into that concept, really, depending on how one chooses to experience existentialism itself...

Take, for instance, this relatively recent film about a certain high-strung philosophy professor, Irrational Man

Watched it just yesterday. It's good.

Alright, hit me with some movie suggestions. Honestly, Forrest Gump was a total bust—super boring, maybe because I just can't get into the lead actor. I need something that actually makes you want to go out and change the world, you know? Like, gives you that wind at your back feeling. For me, it was *The Devil Wears Prada*. Haha.

*The Boy in the Striped Pyjamas* and *Snowpiercer* were great.

If we're talking closer to home—*Armin*, *Pride and Prejudice*...

electriccanyon26 said:Watched it just yesterday. It's good.

I just finished watching it myself, and I have to agree... it's good.

Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa), The Last Laugh (F.W. Murnau), Nostalghia (Andrei Tarkovsky), Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman), Easy Rider (Edward Hopper), About Schmidt (Alexander Payne)... just a quick list!