Top 20 Transcendental Films
by discipline2008 | created - 23 Jan 2012 | updated - 26 Feb 2014 | PublicAn evolving list of films (in no particular order) that tackle the Big Questions: our relationship with the natural world, finding meaning in a meaningless universe, the fine line between reality and illusion/delusion, the inscrutable mysteries of human psychology. None of these films is 100% perfect, but they do contain moments that have the potential to change your life... if you have an open mind.
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1. The Sacrifice (1986)
PG | 149 min | Drama
At the dawn of World War III, a man searches for a way to restore peace to the world and finds he must give something in return.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Erland Josephson, Susan Fleetwood, Allan Edwall, Guðrún Gísladóttir
Votes: 30,944 | Gross: $0.30M
2. Stalker (1979)
Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi
A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.
Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko
Votes: 144,619 | Gross: $0.23M
3. Winter Light (1963)
Not Rated | 81 min | Drama
A small-town priest struggles with his faith.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand, Gunnel Lindblom, Max von Sydow
Votes: 27,072
4. Cries & Whispers (1972)
R | 91 min | Drama
When a woman dying of cancer in early twentieth-century Sweden is visited by her two sisters, long-repressed feelings between the siblings rise to the surface.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Harriet Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Kari Sylwan, Ingrid Thulin
Votes: 36,958 | Gross: $1.74M
5. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,434 | Gross: $1.72M
6. Baraka (1992)
Not Rated | 96 min | Documentary
A collection of expertly photographed scenes of human life and religion.
Director: Ron Fricke | Star: Patrick Disanto
Votes: 40,962 | Gross: $1.33M
Be sure not to miss "Samsara" (2012) from these same filmmakers.
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 718,899 | Gross: $56.95M
8. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 880,770 | Gross: $6.21M
9. The Tree of Life (2011)
PG-13 | 139 min | Drama, Fantasy
The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken
Votes: 184,052 | Gross: $13.30M
10. Taste of Cherry (1997)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
An Iranian man drives his car in search of someone who will quietly bury him under a cherry tree after he commits suicide.
Director: Abbas Kiarostami | Stars: Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolhosein Bagheri, Afshin Khorshid Bakhtiari, Safar Ali Moradi
Votes: 36,700 | Gross: $0.31M
11. Le Quattro Volte (2010)
Not Rated | 88 min | Drama
An old shepherd lives his last days in a quiet medieval village perched high on the hills of Calabria, at the southernmost tip of Italy. He herds goats under skies that most villagers have ... See full summary »
Director: Michelangelo Frammartino | Stars: Giuseppe Fuda, Bruno Timpano, Nazareno Timpano, Artemio Vallone
Votes: 4,268 | Gross: $0.15M
12. Fantastic Planet (1973)
PG | 72 min | Animation, Sci-Fi
On a faraway planet where blue giants rule, oppressed humanoids rebel against their machine-like leaders.
Director: René Laloux | Stars: Barry Bostwick, Jennifer Drake, Eric Baugin, Jean Topart
Votes: 36,771 | Gross: $0.19M
13. Genesis (2004)
G | 81 min | Documentary
A storyteller relates the creation of the world. A tall tale like all yarns. But this tall tale is a true tale - it is our very own story. The birth of the universe, the formation of the ... See full summary »
Directors: Claude Nuridsany, Marie Pérennou | Star: Sotigui Kouyaté
Votes: 1,513 | Gross: $0.01M
14. De zee die denkt (2000)
100 min | Adventure, Biography, Comedy
Incredible optical illusions in a story in a story in a story helps the surprised viewer finally to find out that he has been watching himself all along.
Director: Gert de Graaff | Stars: Bart Klever, Devika Strooker, Rick de Leeuw, Don Duyns
Votes: 565
15. Why Has Bodhi-Dharma Left for the East? (1989)
Not Rated | 137 min | Drama
About three monks in a remote monastery; an aging master, a small orphan and a young man who left his city life to seek Enlightenment.
Director: Yong-Kyun Bae | Stars: Yi Pan-Yong, Sin Won-Sop, Hae-Jin Huang, Su-Myong Ko
Votes: 1,448
16. Life on Earth (1979)
54 min | Documentary
David Attenborough's groundbreaking study of the evolution of life on our planet.
Star: David Attenborough
Votes: 3,248
17. Cosmos (1980)
TV-PG | 60 min | Documentary
Astronomer Carl Sagan leads us on an engaging guided tour of the various elements and cosmological theories of the universe.
Stars: Carl Sagan, Jaromír Hanzlík, Jonathan Fahn, Jean Charney
Votes: 43,898
18. Brazil (1985)
R | 132 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
A bureaucrat in a dystopic society becomes an enemy of the state as he pursues the woman of his dreams.
Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Jonathan Pryce, Kim Greist, Robert De Niro, Katherine Helmond
Votes: 211,126 | Gross: $9.93M
19. THX 1138 (1971)
R | 86 min | Drama, Sci-Fi, Thriller
In the 25th century, a time when people have designations instead of names, a man, THX 1138, and a woman, LUH 3417, rebel against their rigidly controlled society.
Director: George Lucas | Stars: Robert Duvall, Donald Pleasence, Don Pedro Colley, Maggie McOmie
Votes: 54,594 | Gross: $2.44M
20. The Cave of the Yellow Dog (2005)
G | 93 min | Drama, Family
The little Nansal finds a baby dog in the Mongolian veld, who becomes her best friend against all rejections of her parents.
Director: Byambasuren Davaa | Stars: Batchuluun Urjindorj, Buyandulam Daramdadi, Nansal Batchuluun, Nansalmaa Batchuluun
Votes: 3,533 | Gross: $0.14M
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