Robert Eggers’ five favourite movies
Robert Eggers has taken the filmmaking world by storm ever since the release of his 2015 film The Witch, which launched the career of Anya Taylor Joy and marked him as one of the most dangerous modern directors, with a dark cinematic palette that is genius and disturbing in the way he twists otherwise traditional stories.
The director’s sophomore debut, The Lighthouse, remains a hysteric and deliciously crazed addition to his filmography. Many fans eagerly await the release of his Nosferatu adaptation, which looks similar in style and reunites the director with Willem Dafoe, who is now cemented as a staple part of this strange cinematic universe.
His distinct creative style sparks questions about his own personal taste in film, with the director revealing a surprising list of favourite films during a recent press interview for his latest project.
The director was quick to discuss Jane Campion’s titular film The Piano, which follows a mute Scottish woman who moves to a remote town for an arranged marriage, brining nothing with her but a piano and becoming wrapped up in a complicated love affair.
Known for its expressive images and rich characters, The Piano is a complex tale of desire and creativity that soars in its portrayal of patriarchal control and resilience, earning Campion a Palme d’Or and becoming one of the most influential films ever made. Campion is a director who shares stories through slowness and suspense, something that Eggers displays in his own work.
Next up, it is unsurprising that Eggers has highlighted the work of legendary auteur David Lynch, including The Elephant Man in his list of all-time favourites. It follows the story of a man who is forced to join the circus due to having a physical deformity, with Lynch creating a fable about the lack of empathy and need for kindness, with secondary characters who are harsh and cruel towards someone who does not fit in with their expectations about how people should look. The subverted fairy-tale element of the story is something that Eggers carries into his own style, with films like Hansel and Gretal and The Witch spinning a twist on classic tales.
In an unexpected turn, Eggers listed Home Alone and Mary Poppins as his next two favourites, with both remaining as beloved nostalgic classics that have captivated global audiences. Both are known for their old-school charm and sense of playfulness, which is something that we can see traces of in The Lighthouse, with multiple sequences that challenge the darkness of his visual style.
Finally, Eggers said he “had to include” the 1966 film Andrei Rublev, directed by legendary director Andrei Tarkovsky, which is an epic tale about the life of a religious icon painter as he drifts in and out of art after a number of personal crises. The film is revered as one of the greatest pieces of work within Tarkovsky’s filmography, known for blending the personal and political and creating what many have described as a borderline spiritual viewing experience.
The expansive nature of the world building and layered themes are qualities that many directors draw inspiration from, and perhaps something we will see more of from Eggers in Nosferatu, which will be released in theatres on Christmas Day.
