(Italy - 1963) Dog-tired movie director Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) retreats to thoughts of yesteryear when his producers, his wife (Anouk Aimee) and his mistress (Sandra Milo) all pressure him to start making another movie. Director Federico Fellini's semiautobiographical rumination on the joys and rigors of filmmaking -- as well as lovers past and present -- won two Oscars: Best Foreign Language Film and Best Costume Design, Black-and-White. Italian with subtitles. 138 minutes.

(Algeria - 1969) Based on true events, director Costa-Gavras's Oscar-winning film closely parallels the real-life assassination of a Greek doctor and humanist whose 1963 murder led to public scandal and eventual overthrow of the democratic government in Greece. Part mystery and part thriller, the film made its mark as a groundbreaking political roman à clef, and its edge-of-your-seat plot, vérité photography and driving score resonate even today. French with subtitles. 127 minutes.

(Japan : 1954) Akira Kurosawa's heroic tale of honor and duty begins with master samurai Kambei (Takashi Shimura) posing as a monk to save a kidnapped child. Impressed by his bravery, a group of farmers begs him to defend their village from encroaching bandits. Kambei agrees and assembles a group of six other samurai, and together they build a militia with the villagers while the bandits loom nearby. Soon the raids begin, culminating in a bloody battle. Japanese with subtitles. 207 minutes.

(Brazil - 1959) This superb retelling of the Orpheus and Eurydice Greek legend is set against Rio de Janeiro's madness during Carnival. Orpheus (Breno Mello), a trolley car conductor, is engaged to Mira (Lourdes de Oliveira) but in love with Eurydice (Marpessa Dawn). A vengeful Mira and Eurydice's ex-lover, costumed as Death, pursue Orpheus and his new paramour through the feverish Carnival night. Black Orpheus earned an Oscar for Best Foreign Language Film. Portugese with subtitles. 100 minutes.

(India – 1955) The first movie from independent India to attract major international critical attention, Pather Panchali won "Best Human Document" at the 1956 Cannes Film Festival, establishing Satyajit Ray as a major international filmmaker. Sometime in the early years of the century, a boy, Apu, is born to a poor Brahmin family in a village in Bengal. The father, a poet and priest, cannot earn enough to keep his family going. Apu's sister, Durga, is forever stealing guavas from the neighbour's orchards. All these add to the daily struggles of the mother's life, notwithstanding her constant bickering with old aunt who lives with the family. Bengali with subtitles. 122 minutes.

(United Kingdom – 1935) Alfred Hitchcock directs one of the greatest British films of all time. Richard Hannay is a Canadian visitor to 1930's London. After a disturbance at a music hall, he meets Annabella Smith who is on the run from foreign agents. He takes her back to his apartment, but they are followed and later that night Annabella is murdered. Hannay goes on the run to break the spy ring and thus prove his innocence. 86 minutes.

(Sweden – 1957) Academy Award nominee for Original Screenplay. This film explores the disillusionment of an elderly physician, Professor Isak Borg, as he reflects upon his life and begins to perceive his mortality. As he travels to Lund to receive an honorary award after 50 years of medical practice, he finds himself repeatedly affected by intrusive dreams and hallucinations that expose his darkest fears. He slowly comes to realize that the choices he made in the past have created a cold and empty life, devoid of real meaning or value. Swedish and Latin with subtitles. 91 minutes.

(Italy – 1948) This Italian neorealist film directed by Vittorio De Sica tells the story of a poor man searching the streets of Rome for his stolen bicycle, which he needs to be able to work. The film is frequently on critics' and directors' lists of the best films ever made. It was given an Academy Honorary Award in 1950, and, just four years after its release, was deemed the greatest film of all time by the magazine Sight & Sound's poll of filmmakers and critics in 1952. Italian with subtitles. 93 minutes.

(France – 1939) Directed by Jean Renoir about upper-class French society just before the start of World War II; Renoir takes the film far beyond the pleasantries of a typical comedy of manners, creating instead a biting and tragic satire that captured the frenetic emotions of France on the cusp of World War II. The Rules of the Game is often cited as one of the greatest films in the history of cinema. French with subtitles. 110 minutes.

(China – 1993) The film explores the effect of China's political turmoil during the mid-20th century on the lives of individuals, families, and groups, in this case, two stars in a Peking opera troupe and the woman who comes between them. Farewell My Concubine remains to date the only Chinese-language film to win the Cannes Palme d'Or. Mandarin with subtitles. 171 minutes.

(Poland – 1962) Roman Polanski's first feature film. Knife in the Water was nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the 1963 Academy Awards. While driving to sail with his wife Krystyna in his yacht, the arrogant and wealthy Andrzej "stumbles" with a drifter in front of his car hitchhiking on the lonely road. Andrzej gives a ride to the young man with despisal. When they reach the marina, Andrzej unexpectedly and without any reason invites the young man to sail with them, initiating a tense dispute of power with the youth, in a claustrophobic and erotic environment. Polish with subtitles. 94 minutes.