2025

Films of 2025

My favourite films of 2025:

What Does That Nature Say to You (Hong Sang-soo)
Ella McCay (James L. Brooks)
The Ice Tower (Lucile Hadžihalilović)
Ghost Elephants (Werner Herzog)
The Story of “Scénario”/L'histoire de "Scénario" (Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Paul Battaggia, Fabrice Aragno, Nicole Brenez)

Comments:

I saw very few new releases over the past 12 months so this list is more of an early draft for a later, more thorough list.

Have I missed much? Answers on a postcard.

2024 titles that I saw for the first time this year:

By the Stream (Hong Sang-soo)

Exposé du film annonce du film “Scénario” (Jean-Luc Godard, Fabrice Aragno, Jean-Paul Battaggia, Nicole Brenez)

Here (Robert Zemeckis)

Little Shrew (Snowflake) (Kate Bush)

Rust (Joel Souza)

Scénarios (Jean-Luc Godard)

The Unholy Trinity (Richard Gray)

2025 watchlist:

Where to Land (Hal Hartley)

No! YOU’RE WRONG. or: Spooky Action at a Distance (Crispin Glover)

Frontier Crucible (Travis Mills)

No Other Choice (Park Chan-wook)

Father Mother Sister Brother (Jim Jarmusch)

The Sixth Robber (Chris Huo)

Tree Above Volvo (Hong Sang-soo)

Remake (Ross McElwee)

The Ozu Diaries (Daniel Raim)

Megadoc (Mike Figgis)

Boorman and the Devil (David Kittredge)

Thieves Highway (Jesse V. Johnson)

The Shadow’s Edge (Larry Yang)

The Fence (Claire Denis)

Avatar: Fire and Ash (James Cameron)

Good Luck, Have Fun, Don’t Die (Gore Verbinski)

Kontinental ’25 (Radu Jude)

KINKI (Koji Shiraishi)

The Piano Accident (Quentin Dupieux)

Transcending Dimensions (Toshiaki Toyoda)

Hunting Season (Raja Collins)

Audie Murphy, de Colmar à Hollywood (Zouhair Chebbale)

Films that I hope to see in 2026:

At the Middle of Life (Hong Sang-soo)

The Bookie & the Bruiser (S. Craig Zahler)

Flowers from the Ashes (Chen Kaige)

Paper Trail (Don Hertzfeldt)

The Way of the Wind (Terrence Malick)

Mutiny (Jean-François Richet)

The Strangers: Chapter 3 (Renny Harlin)

Send Help (Sam Raimi)

Remain (M. Night Shyamalan)

Shelter (Ric Roman Waugh)

Archangel (William Eubank)

Notable physical media releases:

Godzilla Vs Biollante (Criterion)

Mikey and Nicky (Criterion)

V-Cinema Essentials: Bullets & Betrayal (Arrow)

The Magnificent Chang Cheh (Eureka)

Bumpkin Soup (Third Window)

Mermaid Legend (Third Window)

Scent of a Spell (Third Window)

The Adventurers (Eureka)

A Certain Killer / A Killer's Key (Arrow)

The Shepherd of the Hills (Powerhouse/Indicator)

Little Man, What Now? (Powerhouse/Indicator)

Peter Ibbetson (Powerhouse/Indicator)

The Lives of a Bengal Lancer (Powerhouse/Indicator)

Edge of Eternity (Powerhouse/Indicator)

The Iron Rose (Indicator)

Girls Without Shame (Indicator)

Strange New Worlds : Science Fiction at DEFA (Eureka)

Carnal Knowledge (Powerhouse/Indicator)

The Eel (Radiance)

Hardboiled: Three Pulp Thrillers by Alain Corneau (Radiance)

Je T’Aime Je T’Aime (Radiance)

Sirk In Germany 1934-1935 (Eureka/Masters of Cinema)

Heart Of Stone (Eureka/Masters of Cinema)

The Sons Of Great Bear (Eureka)

The Hireling (Powerhouse)

H.M.S. Defiant (Powerhouse)

Rosa la rose, fille publique (Radiance)

Palindromes (Radiance)

The Tale of Oiwa's Ghost (Radiance)

World Noir Vol 3 (Radiance)

Trouble Every Day (Eureka/Masters of Cinema)

Bonjour Tristesse (Powerhouse)

The Shootist (Arrow)

Nosferatu the Vampyre (BFI)

The Ambulance (Eureka)

The Diablocail Dr. Z (Eureka)

The Island (Eureka/Masters of Cinema)

Ms .45 (Arrow)

In the Mouth of Madness (Arrow)

Bad Lieutenant (101 Films)

Une Femme Douce (Radiance)

Le Notti Biance/White Nights (Radiance)

Rio Lobo (Eureka/Masters of Cinema)

A Confucian Confusion / Mahjong: Two Films by Edward Yang (Criterion)

Castle Freak (101 Films)

Columbia Horror - Limited Edition (Powerhouse/Indicator)

Radical Japan: Cinema and State - Nine Films by Nagisa Oshima (Radiance)

2026 R.I.P

Jerry Adler, Björn Andrésen, George Armitage, Adriana Asti, Joe Don Baker, Brigitte Bardot, Robert Benton, Bertrand Blier, Hark Bohm, Terry Bollea (aka Hulk Hogan), Paolo Bonacelli, Claudia Cardinale, Alf Clausen, Mara Corday, Samantha Eggar, Jules Feiffer, Eleonora Giorgi, Bruce Glover, Adam Greenberg, Graham Greene, Gene Hackman, Wings Hauser, Kathleen Hughes, Jimmy Hunt, Peter Jason, Tchéky Karyo, Diane Keaton, Udo Kier, Val Kilmer, Kim Sae-ron, Ted Kotcheff, Jørgen Leth, Lar Park Lincoln, David Lynch, Michael Madsen, Franco Merli, Tatsuya Nakadai, Mark Peploe, Robert Redford, Tony Roberts, Lalo Schifrin, Masahiro Shinoda, Ueda Shoji, Gerard Soeteman, Terence Stamp, Jeannot Szwarc, Peter Watkins, George Wendt, Brian Wilson, Harris Yulin

Recommended links:

https://www.yearendlists.com/category/2025-movies

https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/polls/best-films-2025-all-votes

https://www.sensesofcinema.com/2026/world-poll/

https://www.imdb.com/list/ls4154278653/