Edgar Wright Picks His 1,000 Favorite Films

Edgar Wright (Photo by Chris Pizzello/Invision/AP)

Edgar Wright is responsible for some of modern cinema’s most inventive and hilarious genre-bending works, from his Three Flavours Cornetto trilogy (Shaun of the Dead, Hot Fuzz, The World’s End) to his videogame-loving 2010 gem Scott Pilgrim vs. the World. He’s a director whose uniquely creative work is rooted in classic cinematic traditions — and he’s now assembled a massive list of the movies he most adores.

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At MUBI, a sterling classic-movie subscription site that provides viewers with curated films as well as criticism and features, Wright (with help from Sam DiSalle) goes deep with his top 1,000 favorite films. It is, to be sure, a staggering collection spanning a wide range of genres, and has been arranged in chronological order making it easy to see which favorites did or didn’t make the cut. Beginning with Robert Wiene’s 1920 The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, and ending with Nicolas Winding Refn’s 2016 The Neon Demon, Wright’s rundown is a primer on the past century of film, albeit with a particular focus on the past 50 years, which dominate his picks.

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From well-known blockbusters (Close Encounters of the Third Kind, The Blues Brothers) to more excitingly esoteric choices (The Running Jumping & Standing Still Film, Death Line, The Silent Partner), Wright’s list is an impressive survey of cinema history as well as a thrilling expression of his diverse cinephile tastes. Wright’s next directorial effort — Baby Driver, starring Ansel Elgort, Lily James, Jamie Foxx, Jon Hamm, and Kevin Spacey — debuts on March 17, 2017.

Watch a featurette about Edgar Wright tied to the release of ‘The World’s End’: