Edgar Wrightis one of the most unique and special directors in Hollywood, someone who is always experimenting, mixing genres, and trying new things. He’s also a scholar of movie history and has seen a ton of films; new and old, American and European, getting inspired by them and adding some of their ideas to his own work.
The filmmaker became known for his “Cornetto Trilogy” with Simon Pegg as the lead, and he’s madesome incredible movies. Be it a comic adaptation that mixes comics, music, and video games, a film where music is as important as the actors, and a horror film that perfectly blends the atmosphere of ’60s British horror with modern sensibilities. All those productions wouldn’t be possible without everything the director has learned from other creators and films. Here are,in no particular order, Edgar Wright’s 10 favorite movies of all time.
102001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2001: A Space Odyssey
2001: A Space Odyssey is one of Stanley Kubrick’s most well-known films. A science-fiction epic, the film tells the story of the journey of Discovery One, a spacecraft operated by a group of scientists, astronauts, and a sentient computer, on a mission to Jupiter to investigate a mysterious monolith. Considered one of the greatest films ever made, Kubrick combines sparse dialogue with the heavy use of scoring and ambiguous imagery to create something that eschews conventional filmmaking.
2001: A Space Odysseyis one of Stanley Kubrick’s best films, as itcaptures the space horror genre perfectly. The film is all about a trip to Jupiter in a spacecraft led by two astronauts and the supercomputer, HAL 9000, creating a sci-fi film that anticipated many of the technological advancements of the next few decades and that, in a moment where AI is more present than ever, still holds up.
Both Directors Tell Genre Stories About Humanity
Both Kubrick and Wright used genre stories to talk about humanity, although Wright’s tone is much funnier and more tongue-in-cheek. In the past, the director has said this movie is one of the films he watches the most on the big screen, as he’s still impressed by the mix of art direction, camera movements, and soundtrack, and how they mix and match in surprising ways. It looks as if Wright has learned that lesson, as he also uses a mix of images and soundtrack like no other director in the industry.Stream on Max.
Related:2001: A Space Odyssey: Does the Sci-Fi Masterpiece Still Holds Up?
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is a Spaghetti Western directed by Sergio Leone, scored by Ennio Morricone, and starring Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, and Eli Wallach as three gunslingers who compete for a cache of Confederate gold during the American Civil War. The 1966 film is regarded as one of the greatest Westerns of all time.
The Good, the Bad and the Uglyis one of the most famous spaghetti Westerns ever made. Directed by Sergio Leone and with Clint Eastwood in one of his most important roles ever. Although the story starts with a man trying to find gold, it becomes the perfect amalgamation of everything the spaghetti Western stands for, including cowboys, standoffs, and shootouts.
Wright’s First Film Was a Spaghetti Western Parody
Wright’s first film was a spaghetti Western parody calledA Fistful of Fingers,so he’s been inspired by the genre and this movie since the beginning of his career. The film might have shown Wright that big is sometimes better and the importance of every shot composition. This film also proves that the mix of well-thought-out shots and an incredible score elevates every scene.Stream on Max.
8Psycho (1960)
Psychois still very famousand might be Alfred Hitchcock’s most memorable movie. The story of Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) and his obsession with Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) was an incredible box office success that also surprised audiences with a never-before-seen structure where the movie changes the lead characters halfway through.
Wright also Subverts Genres and Audiences Expectations
Sometimes a classic is a classic for a reason, and Wright lovesPsychofor everything it did to movie scripts and audiences, while also subverting the genre with some out-of-the-left-field surprises. The director loves mixing genres and using what audiences know about them to surprise them, so it looks like that’s the most important idea he got from this masterpiece.Rent on AppleTV, Amazon Video, and Google Play Movies.
7Singin’ in the Rain (1951)
Singin in the Rain
Singin’ in the Rainis one of the best musicals ever made. It tells the love story between Don (Gene Kelly) and Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) while also talking about the transition in Hollywood between silent films and the talkies. The movie proves the magic of cinema and why the medium exists, creating amazing musical numbers to tell its story.
Wright Always Pays Attention to Soundtracks and Needle-Drops
Nobody pays more attention to songs in his movies than Wright, although he uses needle-drops, so it makes sense that he loves this musical. When the director talks about it, one can sense that he’s still in awe of how it transports you to a happy, magical place. Although the director has dabbled in mixing music and dancing in his films, he’s never done a full-on musical, and that’s something his fans are still waiting for.Stream on Max.
6Don’t Look Now (1973)
Don’t Look Now
Don’t Look Nowis one of thebest British horror movies ever made. This psychological thriller tells the story of John (Donald Sutherland) and Laura (Julie Christie) Baxter, a couple who have just lost their daughter and have moved to Venice. There, weirder and weirder things start happening to them in Nicolas Roeg’s best movie ever.
Inspiration for Wright’sLast Night in Soho
Wright’s most recent film,Last Night in Soho, is his first solidly in the horror genre, as he’s been a fan of it for decades. This movie might be his favorite horror picture, with a good script and incredible performances. What the director loves most is how the editing helps sell the movie’s atmosphere and dissonance, creating every instance and incongruence the couple is feeling, and making the audience feel those same emotions.Stream on fuboTV.
“A horror masterpiece that marries its theme of precognition to the beguiling wonders of associative editing,” he wrote. “Colours, shapes, patterns, action and sound all merge to create a beautifully nightmarish palindrome.” - Edgar Wright in a Sight and Sounds interview.
5Taxi Driver (1976)
Taxi Driver
Taxi Drivermight be the most famous film on this whole list, as the story of Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro), directed by Martin Scorsese, is still being watched and loved all over the world. Bickle is alienated inside his own head, and thinks that to save the world, he must kill a presidential candidate, showing how dark New York (and the world) could be in the 1970s.
The Director Loves How You Root for a Darker Character
This pessimistic film is all mood, anchored by De Niro’s incredible performance, something Wright responds to. The director also loves how audiences end up identifying with its lead character, even if he’s going down a darker path every second, making them root for him anyway, and showing a much worse character, Sport (Harvey Keitel).Stream on Tubi TV.
“An existential trip into hell so vividly depicted that you are not only transfixed by the fates of the characters, but concerned for the wellbeing of everyone involved in the making of it,” Wright wrote on his 2022 Sight & Sound ballot. “The enduring enigma of Taxi Driver is how such a dark and ugly spiral is so electrifyingly compelling, pulling the mesmerised viewer willingly into a waking nightmare.” - Edgar Wright in a Sight and Sounds interview.
Related:Taxi Driver: Travis Bickle’s Descent Into Madness, Explained
4The Earrings of Madame de… (1953)
The Earrings of Madame de…
The Earring of Madame de…might be the most unknown movie on Wright’s list. This 1953 film by French director Max Ophüls is one of a kind, as it tells the story of Comptesse Louise de… (Danielle Darrieux) through some earrings she sells to pay some debts, and fate keeps bringing them back to her path, showing how her marriage with General André de… (Charles Boyer) doesn’t work, and being part of the reason why she falls in love with Baron Fabrizio Donati (Vittorio De Sica).
Ophüls Was a Camera Movement Pioneer
Wright is not the only director who loves this movie, as it’s also one ofPaul Thomas Anderson’s favorites. Ophüls mixes a beautiful story, some ostentatious locations, costumes, and characters, and some very modern and trailblazing (at the time) camera movements to tell his love story. TheBaby Driverdirector is still amazed at the sincere emotional power of the movie and its unique style of romanticism. The director has never done a rom-com per se, butScott Pilgrim vs. the Worldmight be his way of telling a unique style of romanticism himself.Stream on Max.
“To only be dazzled by Max Ophüls’ exquisite Fabergé eggs of the screen is to deny not just their sincere emotional power but countless other facets as well. Madame De…’ is a film about love, loss and wild chance that is, all at once, romantic, playful, tragic, strikingly self-reflexive and (yes) about as ornate and breathtakingly elaborate as cinema gets.” - Edgar Wright
3An American Werewolf in London (1981)
An American Werewolf In London
An American Werewolf in Londonis a horror comedy. It tells the story of two American backpackers in England, David (David Naughton) and Jack (Griffin Dune), who are attacked by a werewolf. David is the only one who survives the attack, and when his friend Jack appears to him as a ghost and tells him he’s now a werewolf and should kill himself before the next full moon, David doesn’t believe him.
Wright Also Loves Mixing Genres
This is a surprising pick for a favorite movie until you look into Wright’s filmography. The director loves to mix these two genres, so it makes perfect sense that he loves this film. From its tone and dialogue to themany facts about the movie productionand the incredible Oscar-winning makeup and VFX for the werewolf transformation, everything screams to Edgar Wright’s style.Stream on DIRECTV and The Roku Channel.
2Raising Arizona (1987)
Raising Arizona
Raising Arizonais one of the first Coen Brothers films, a surrealist comedy, almostLooney Tunes-like in his logic, about an ex-convict (Nicolas Cage) and a policewoman (Holly Hunter) who, after falling in love and discovering they can’t have kids of their own, get into some crazy shenanigans to become a mom and dad.
The Director Knows First-Hand How Difficult Making a Comedy Really Is
TheHot Fuzzdirector has done many comedies himself, and knows how difficult they are to make, as being funny is the most difficult thing to do in a movie. That’s why he loves this hilarious film; it has some funny bits, action, and its own internal logic. The movie put the Coens on the map, the same way thatShaun of the Deadput Wright on the map, so thank God for hilarious comedies that open the door for one-of-a-kind directors.Stream on YouTube and DIRECTV.
Mad Max: Fury Road
Mad Max: Fury Roadis a unique action film, where audiences can almost smell the gasoline in the cars and feel the sand of that desert, in what might be the first car chase made film. George Miller’s epic continuation of hisMad Maxsaga is a thrilling ride that surprises you as you never know what’s going to happen next.
Miller and Wright Are Both Editing Magicians
This is the newest movie among Edgar Wright’s favorites as it has some incredible editing, stunts, action scenes, and colors, and no other director could’ve made it. TheHot Fuzzdirector is also a magician at editing his films to create emotions and surprise audiences, but Miller’s film is on another level, creating some of themost intense scenes in movie history.Stream on Max.
