Robert Eggers' Favorite Cinematic Masterpieces

This is perhaps the finest Gothic ghost story ever put on screen. It is Jack Clayton and cinematographer Freddie Francis’s masterpiece. The staging is so elegant and efficient. The innovative (and un-credited) sound design by Daphne Oram is eerie and invisible as it weaves itself through the gothic corridors and gardens of Bly Manor. The screenplay, co-written by Truman Capote, sets your imagination aflame with horrors that you never see on screen. And the disturbing climax of the film will be etched into your memory forever. I watch this film once or twice a year and it never ceases to inspire.

Film adaptations of Dostoyevsky are hit and miss. Free adaptations 'inspired' by the master, like Bresson’s Pickpocket, usually fare the best. But Lev Kulidzhanov's Crime and Punishment captures nearly all of the squalor, crippling suspicion, and deeply religious, personality-disordered-melodrama of the novel. The director and actors clearly studied the micro-beats of human psychology articulated in Dostoyevsky’s classic when embarking on this. It’s astonishing to see the detail in the outstanding performances. The art direction, photography, and sound design fully transport you to the bleak, hardscrabble world. And there is a show-stopping scene of grace and sexual tension between Georgy Taratorkin's Raskolnikov and Tatyana Bedova's Sonya that needs to be seen to be believed.

Like Dostoyevsky, cinematic Shakespeare adaptations are also tricky. Shakespeare uses his words to create cinematic images in the minds of the audience, so the film adaptations of the plays can sometimes feel like a hat on a hat. However, Kurosawa’s adaptations of "King Lear" and "Macbeth" have no such issues. The atmosphere of Throne of Blood is instantly enthralling on the foggy and wind-swept slopes of Mount Fuji, underscored by the music of the prolific Masuro Sato. The haunting and fierce performance of Isuzu Yamada as Lady Macbeth/Lady Asaji is iconic in its stillness and power. Macbeth/Washizu’s demise at the hands of Zen archers, who were actually firing real arrows at Toshiro Mifune, is a thing of cinematic legend and it’s also completely un-replicable in today’s filmmaking climate. Pound for pound, it’s my favourite Kurosawa film.

A spiritual forerunner of Lynch’s Inland Empire, it blurs the line between an actor’s work to portray or role or invoking the role to possess them. Centred around a towering performance by Gena Rowlands, this is John Cassavetes’ unflinching horror movie. It’s a film unlike any other and it grabs the audience by the hand and leads them to places they would never expect.

Aside from "Curb Your Enthusiasm," this is probably my favourite TV show. I love Basil Rathbone and Peter Cushing’s interpretations of Holmes. And much to my surprise I truly enjoyed the Guy Ritchie and Moffat-Gatiss adaptations as well. But the Granada TV Sherlock Holmes, with Jeremy Brett, is closest to my heart. Yes, his portrayal is theatrical and a bit camp, but I feel he captures Holmes’ myopic personality and panache the best. These Granada adaptations of Doyle's mysteries are also much closer to the original for the most part. Edward Hardwicke is also, for me, the finest Watson. Nigel Bruce is a blast to watch, but his blundering portrayal of Watson really damaged that side-kick’s reputation. Hardwicke plays the role with intelligence, strength, warmth, and integrity and is a great foil to Brett’s over-the-top emotionless Holmes. It also features surprising and wonderful cameos by the likes of Frank Finlay, Freddie Jones, and a very young Jude Law (a future Watson!), among many others. The budget is small, but the period world-building is huge given the restraints. I find the show infinitely entertaining and cosy. Every Christmas season I watch Ep. 7 "The Blue Carbuncle" (with David Burke as Watson), and I invite you to do the same.

Honorable mentions: "The Return of Sherlock Holmes" "The Case-Book of Sherlock Holmes" "The Memoirs of Sherlock Holmes"