A definitive list of Wes Anderson’s favourite movies
There are few directors in cinema history with a style so uniquely their own. Wes Anderson’s meticulous eye for detail and visual aesthetic has seen him quickly become one of the most beloved filmmakers around. But, like any true artist, his ability to create aesthetic masterpieces isn’t simply derived from his mind but from the countless movies he has seen, ingested and conjured into his own spellbinding set of scenes.
Anderson’s time in the big leagues may be relatively short compared to some of Hollywood’s largest stars. Still, the director has produced ten fantastic feature films over the last two decades. Such is the power of Anderson’s unique style. He can summon the great and good of Hollywood at a moment’s notice, most of which feature regularly.
Whether it’s stop-motion or live-action, Anderson can enact a singular vision that few directors cannot. One of the few filmmakers in history to have a complete picture ready to go before filming begins, more so than any other director, his vision feels like a unique entity. But when looking at the movies listed below, it’s easy to see how multitudes are contained within his work.
Whether it’s French New Wave, animation or simply great movies, Anderson has always leaned on the masters who came before him to guide his style. Below are a selection of those movies that have helped him become a modern icon of cinema.
Wes Anderson’s favourite movies:
Wes Anderson’s 10 favourite anime:
A notable influence on Anderson’s meticulous commitment to style, anime has greatly influenced the American director. On multiple occasions, Anderson has spoken about his influences and cited animated masterpieces that impacted his live-action filmmaking. One of those influences is Studio Ghibli’s resident visionary, Hayao Miyazaki.
While talking about My Neighbour Totoro, Anderson said: “There’s a giant monster and a number of [soot] sprites, but two-thirds of the movie is spent cleaning the house, wandering the property, getting to know the neighbours, taking a bath—and there’s a lot of nature. There’s a different kind of rhythm and emphasis than you’d find in American movies.”
This rhythm has been reflected in Anderson’s animated work with both Fantastic Mr. Fox and Isle of Dogs both benefitting from similar patterns of stylistic linguistics.
- Princess Mononoke – Hayao Miyazaki
- Akira – Katsuhiro Otomo
- My Neighbour Totoro – Hayao Miyazaki
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – Hideaki Anno
- Spirited Away – Hayao Miyazaki
- The End of Evangelion – Hideaki Anno
- Porco Rosso – Hayao Miyazaki
- Only Yesterday – Isao Takahata
Wes Anderson’s favourite horror movie:
Anderson noted only one horror movie in his selection when speaking with Rotten Tomatoes about his five favourite films of all time, and it has had a significant influence on his own work.
The horror film that he chose as his favourite is Roman Polanski’s timeless classic Rosemary’s Baby. Polanski’s classic psychological horror movie stars Mia Farrow as Rosemary, who moves into a new apartment with her husband (played by John Cassavetes). When Mia gets pregnant, things start getting increasingly weird as her neighbours try to control her life and, consequently, her child’s future.
Anderson said: “One movie that I often find myself going back to is Rosemary’s Baby. This has always been a big influence on me, or a source of ideas; and it’s always been one of my favourites. Mia Farrow gives a great, big performance in it, and I’ve read the script and it’s a terrific script. So that’s one I’d say.”
- Rosemary’s Baby – Roman Polanski
Wes Anderson’s favourite musicals:
It might not be the first genre one associates with Wes Anderson, but given his love of musical enhancement to his own pictures, one might not be so surprised to note that musicals rank among some of Anderson’s favourite movies ever made.
In a candid chat with Le Vidéo Club, Anderson delved deep into his fondness for musicals. Holding up The Pajama Game, he shared, “This one I showed my daughter. I was never a huge musical person; I didn’t watch that many musicals, but I’ve started to be because my daughter loves them. This is one I particularly love. There’s a sequence where they do a song called ‘Steam Heat’ that is really unforgettable. But the whole movie is great, and the colours are great.”
While he admitted he wasn’t initially an avid fan of musicals, his daughter’s love for them led him to appreciate and discover gems within the genre. He also picks out Meet Me in St. Louis and Sadie McKee as notable titles in the genre.
- The Pajama Game – Stanley Donen and George Abbot
- Meet Me in St. Louis – Vincente Minnelli
- Sadie McKee – Clarence Brown
Wes Anderson’s 10 favourite French movies:
Musicals may not be the most obvious genre to connect with Anderson’s work. However, the effortless cool of the French new wave is a clear influence in almost everything he’s ever committed to celluloid.
Though his style might appear organic, Anderson was heavily inspired by French cinema in his youth, naming the likes of François Truffaut, Jean-Luc Godard and Louis Malle as particular influences. Enamoured by their experimentation and vibrant creativity during the new wave era of the 1960s, Anderson instilled a similar sense of cinematic revolution in the 1990s with his own distinct style.
Within his list, provided to Sight and Sound, there are notable nods to these influences, including Jean-Luc Godard’s Vivre sa vie and Agnès Varda’s Vagabond.
- La Grande Illusion – Jean Renoir
- Quai des Orfèvres – Henri-Georges Clouzot
- Madam de… – Max Ophüls
- Vivre sa vie – Jean-Luc Godard
- The Man Who Loved Women – François Truffaut
- Loulou – Maurice Pialat
- Vagabond – Agnès Varda
- Olivier, Olivier – Agnieszka Holland
- It All Starts Today – Bertrand Tavernier
- Kings & Queens – Arnaud Desplechin,
Wes Anderson’s favourite movies:
If there’s one thing for certain about Wes Anderson’s character, it is that he’s a true cinephile. And, over the years, he has listed some of the best movies ever made among his favourites. Whether built out of the French New Wave, classic anime, or just pure cinema, Anderson knows what he’s talking about when it comes to movies. Here, we have the most comprehensive list of his favourite movies ever.
It includes nods to the aforementioned areas of interest as well as doffs of the cap to fellow acclaimed directors such as Spike Lee, David Lean and Stanley Kubrick. While Anderson’s stylistic vision has been developed over 20 years of creation, the director has always been open in discussing those that preceded him as inspirations, citing the likes of François Truffaut, Roman Polanski, Woody Allen and more as influences.
Find below 41 of his favourite movies ever made.
- Toni – Jean Renoir,
- Trouble in Paradise – Ernst Lubitsch
- Drunken Angel – Akira Kurosawa,
- Stray Dog – Akira Kurosawa
- The Earrings of Madame de… – Max Ophüls
- Sweet Smell of Success – Alexander Mackendrick
- The 400 Blows – François Truffaut
- The Apartment – Billy Wilder
- Classe Tous Risques – Claude Sautet,
- The Exterminating Angel – Luis Buñuel
- The Spy Who Came in from the Cold – Martin Ritt
- Au Hasard Balthazar – Robert Bresson
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? – Mike Nicholls
- The Taking of Power by Louis XIV – Roberto Rossellini
- Naked Childhood (L’Enfance nue) – Maurice Pialat
- Rosemary’s Baby – Roman Polanski
- A Clockwork Orange – Stanley Kubrick
- The Friends of Eddie Coyle – Peter Yates
- Next Stop, Greenwich Village – Paul Mazursky
- Vengeance Is Mine – Shohei Imamura
- From the Life of the Marionettes – Ingmar Bergman
- Missing – Costa-Gavras
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters – Paul Schrader
- Hannah and Her Sisters – Woody Allen
- Moonstruck – Norman Jewison
- My Neighbor Totoro – Hayao Miyazaki
- New York Stories – Martin Scorsese, Woody Allen, and Francis Ford Coppola
- The Plot Against Harry – Michael Roemer
- Neon Genesis Evangelion – Hideaki Anno
- Terror’s Advocate – Barbet Schroeder
- Alice Adams – George Stevens
- Beat the Devil – John Huston
- Nothing Sacred – William A. Wellman
- Do the Right Thing – Spike Lee
- The Long Voyage Home – John Ford
- A Story from Chikamatsu – Kenji Mizoguchi
- La Grande Bouffe – Marco Ferreri
- The Passionate Friends – David Lean
- Station Six-Sahara – Seth Holt
- What Price Hollywood? – George Cukor
- Winter Kills – William Richert
