Films Listed by Year
Click on the name of the film to read more about it. Films that do not have links have not yet been written up. To suggest a film that you think should be added, please leave a comment.
1914
The Second Generation
1920
The Golem
1922
Hungry Hearts
1923
The Ten Commandments
1925
His People
Jewish Luck
1927
The Jazz Singer
1930
Animal Crackers
1933
Counsellor at Law
Duck Soup
1934
Little Man, What Now?
1937
The Dybbuk
Grand Illusion
Green Fields
The Life of Emile Zola
1938
Professor Mamlock
Three Comrades
1939
Tevye
1940
The Great Dictator
The Moral Storm
The Shop Around the Corner
1944
Till We Meet Again
1947
Body and Soul
Crossfire
Gentleman’s Agreement
The Last Stage
1948
Letter from an Unknown Woman
The Search
1951
David and Bathsheba
1955
Night and Fog
1956
A Kid for Two Farthings
The Ten Commandments
1959
The Diary of Anne Frank
Middle of the Night
1960
The Apartment
Esther and the King
Exodus
1963
The Nutty Professor
1964
The Patsy
Sallah
1965
The Pawnbroker
The Shop on Main Street
1966
Cast a Giant Shadow
1967
The Graduate
The Old Man and the Boy
The Producers
1968
Bye, Bye Braverman
Funny Girl
The Producers
1969
Goodbye Columbus
1970
The Garden of the Fitzi-Continis
1971
Fiddler on the Roof
1972
The Heartbreak Kid
1973
The Mad Adventures of Rabbi Jacob
The Way We Were
1974
The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz
Blazing Saddles
1975
Hester Street
Welfare
1976
The Front
Next Stop Greenwich Village
Raid on Entebbe
1977
Annie Hall
Number Our Days
Operation Thunderbolt
1978
Holocaust
1979
The Frisco Kid
1980
The Last Metro
Playing for Time
1981
Chariots of Fire
Raiders of the Lost Ark
The Chosen
1982
Sophie’s Choice
Tootsie
The White Rose
1983
To Be or Not To Be
Yentl
1984
Once Upon a Time in America
1985
Lost in America
Shoah
1986
Alex in Love
An American Tale
Brighton Beach Memoirs
Poor Butterfly
1987
Au Revoir, Les Enfants
Dirty Dancing
Late Summer Blues
Sweet Lorraine
1988
Biloxi Blues
Crossing Delancey
The Tenth Man
Torch Song Trilogy
1989
Crimes and Misdemeanors
Driving Miss Daisy
Enemies, A Love Story
The Plot Against Harry
When Harry Met Sally
1990
Avalon
The Plot Against Harry
Reversal of Fortune
1991
Bugsy
Europa, Europa
Homicide
Intimate Stranger
1992
Birthplace
School Ties
1993
Lost in Yonkers
Me Ivan, You Abraham
Schindler’s List
1994
Like a Bride
Quiz Show
1995
Clueless
1996
Nobody’s Business
1997
Life is Beautiful
1998
A Price Above Rubies
Pi
The Prince of Egypt
1999
Aimée & Jaguar
Liberty Heights
Kadosh
Sunshine
Train of Life
2000
Divided We Fall
Keeping the Faith
Kippur
Into the Arms of Strangers: Stories of the Kindertransport
The Life and Times of Hank Greenberg
2001
Focus
God is Great, I’m Not
Kissing Jessica Stein
Late Marriage
Trembling before God
2002
The Grey Zone
Late Marriage
Local Angel
The Pianist
Punch-Drunk Love
Shanghai Ghetto
2003
The Hebrew Hammer
Monsieur Ibrahim
Rosenstrasse
2004
Anne Frank Remembered
Go for Zucker
The Governess
Paper Clips
Teknolust
The Syrian Bride
Ushpizin
Walk on Water
2005
Everything is Illuminated
Jacob the Liar
Munich
La Petite Jerusalem
Live and Become
The Merchant of Venice
Sarah Silverman: Jesus is Magic
Zero Degrees of Separation
2006
Borat
Dear Mr. Waldman
Lucky Number Slevin
Turn Left at the End of the World
Unsettled
2007
A Mighty Heart
The Band’s Visit
Black Book
The Counterfeiters
Ira & Abby
Jellyfish
Praying with Lior
2008
Blessed is the Match: The Life and Death of Hannah Senesh
The Boy in the Striped Pajamas
The Deal
Defiance
Refusenik
The Reader
Waltz with Bashir
You Don’t Mess With the Zohan
2009
A Serious Man
An Education
Being Jewish in France
The Counterfeiters
Inglourious Basterds
Year One
Yoo-Hoo, Mrs. Goldberg
This site is a wonderful resource, but three films should be added that offer a range of different perspectives of the image of the Jewish mother/ Bubbie both positive and negative. Male Jewish Directors and writers have not been kind to their mothers in American film. To explore that concept I recommend Next Stop Greenwich Village. This is Paul Mazursky’s childhood remembrance of breaking away that features a funny but somewhat offensive nagging and clinging Jewish mother played by Shelly Winters. The perfect companion is Crossing Delancy directed by Joan Micklin Silver, which I like to call a Bubbie empowerment film. This film however has a few things to say about young and confused supposedly liberated young Jewish women. The final piece of the evolution of the American film puzzle can be seen in Kissing Jessica Stein which features a mother who is initially stereotypical but develops into the smartest and most embracing and modern person in the film. There are a lot of conversations to be had about American Jews by viewing this three films in context.
Hi,
I love reading your reviews and guides. If you’re looking for more movies to add, I would suggest “To be or not to be” – a great 1983 Mel Brooks/Ann Bancroft
Thanks, Sheryl! I will add it ASAP.
If you have any other suggestions, I’m all ears (well, in this medium, eyes.)
Lucky Number Slevin has a few characters and references to Judaism. Good Flick and definetly represents us to the wider world…thought it would be good to add.
Shalom, I’m Alexander, director by studio “RIF’.
Shalom, Alexander! I am delighted to learn about your studio, and look forward to acquainting myself with your films.
– Rabbi Adar
The British film, Sixty six, about a boy planning his bar mitzvah can be viewed and enjoyed by the entire family.