Essential Films Canon

A ranked list of the best films of all-time.

Filter the all-time list:

1. The Kiss

Directed by: Eadweard Muybridge | Produced by: United States | Released in: 1882

average rating is 5 out of 5

In the search for the earliest moving images of a kiss, we stumble upon Eadweard Muybridge’s The Kiss (1882). Two nude women meet, shake hands and share a loving kiss – imprinting for posterity a moment of homosexual intimacy more often than not torn from the pages of history. Cinema, unlike paintin… →

2. The 1882 Transit of Venus

Directed by: David Peck Todd | Produced by: United States | Released in: 1882

average rating is 4 out of 5

Given the extraordinary space images we have grown used to seeing today, watching The 1882 Transit of Venus (1882), the telescopic chronophotographic work by David Peck Todd, is a remarkable experience, pointing to the invaluable role photography and film have played in astronomy. When Janssen exper… →