Drama could mean more than one thing. But whether it is deemed to be relevant or not, I wonder if anyone would dispute that the most tragic movie ever made is
Blue is the Warmest Colour by Adellatif Kicheche (2013)
I'll keep this rolling...
Lawrence of Arabia
"Did you make coffee...? Make it!"--Cheyenne.
"La régle du jeu" (The Rules of the Game) by Renoir, Jean (France, 1939)
"Les enfants du Paradis" (Children of Paradise) by Carné, Marcel (France, 1945)
[I belong to the sizable minority who think that "Children of Paradise" (Marcel Carné, 1945) is the best film ever produced in any country. And it definitely contains a large number of drama scenes and drama constellations.]
"Brief Encounter" by Lean, David (UK, 1945)
"A Streetcar Named Desire" by Kazan, Elia (USA, 1950)
[Tennessee Williams' play adapted for the screen. I would say this is the best American movie made so far.]
"Fröken Julie" (Miss Julie) by Sjöberg, Alf (Sweden, 1951)
[The first Swedish movie to win the golden palm in Cannes. It was first released in Paris. It became a world success, both artistic and box office.]
"Ikiru" (To Live) by Kurosawa, Akira (Japan, 1952)
"Monpti" by Käutner, Helmuth (Germany, 1957)
"Letiyat zhuravli" (The Cranes Are Flying) by Kalatosov, Mikhail (Russia, 1957)
[Note the strong and active role of the music. In particular the long sequence starting when Boris' cousin plays for his girlfriend and the warning signal of enemy bombing airplanes breaks in, and until Boris' death.]
"Smultronstället" (Wild Strawberries) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1957)
"Les misérables" by Chanois, Jean-Paul de (France, 1958)
"Popiol i diament" (Ashes and Diamonds) by Wajda, Andrzej (Poland, 1958)
"Les dimanches de Ville d'Avray" (Sundays and Cybèle) by Bourguignon, Serge (France, 1961)
[This was a very much loved movie when it was released.
"Såsom i en spegel" (Through a Mirror Darkly) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1961)
"A Taste of Honey" by Richardson, Tony (UK, 1961)
"Seppuku" (Harakiri) by Kobayashi, Masaki (Japan, 1962)
"Les parapluies de Cherbourg" (The Umbrella of Cherbourg) by Demy, Jacques (France, 1963)
"L'immortelle" (The Undeadly One) by Robbe-Grillet, Alain (France, 1963)
"The Servant" by Losey, Joseph (UK, 1963)
"King and Country" by Losey, Joseph (UK, 1964)
"Mickey One" by Penn, Arthur (USA, 1964)
"Utsukushisa to kanashimi to" (With Beauty and Sorrow) by Shinoda, Masahiro (Japan, 1965)
"Repulsion" by Polanski, Roman (UK, 1965)
"Les demoiselles de Rochefort" (The Girls of Rochefort) by Demy, Jacques (France, 1966)
"Vargtimman" (The Hour of the Wolf) by Bergman, Ingmar (Sweden, 1968)
"Professione: reporter" by Antonioni, Michelangelo (Italy/France/Spain, 1972)
"Il portiere di notte" (Night Porter) by Cavani, Liliana (Italy, 1974)
"La dentellière" (The Lace-Maker) by Goretta, Claude (France, 1977)
"Les nuits fauves" (Violent Nights) by Collard, Cyril (France, 1992)
[The director, who also had the main
"Il ladre di bambini" (Stolen Children) by Amelio, Gianni (Italy/France, 1992)
"Priest" by Bird, Antonia (UK, 1994)
"Jeanne et le garcon formidable" (Jeanne and the Perfect Guy) by Ducastel, Olivier & Martineau, Jacques (France, 1997)
"Great Expectations" by Cuarón, Alfonso (USA, 1997)
[I love this adaptation of Dickens' novel more than any other.]
"The End of the Affair" by Jordan, Neil (UK, 1998)
"Les diables" (The Little Devils) by Ruggia, Christophe (France, 2002)
[Brother and sister. The sister is an autist. She does not speak, eat only if she is told to, and scream when she is touched. Sometimes the siblings are on different children homes, sometimes on the same home, and sometimes on the run together. Together with "Blue is the Warmest Colour" I think this is the best movie made in this century.]
"Va, vis et deviens" (Live and Become) by Mihaileanu, Radu (France/Belgium/Israel/Italy, 2005)
[In 1980 Israel recognised the black Falashas in Ethiopia as genuine Jews. They were secretly moved to Israel. The day before the transport the son of a Jewish mother dies. In his place she takes a Christian boy. Almost immediately after arrival to Israel this mother dies, and now the Christian boy has no one who can help him to be familiar with Jewish rituals and thinking.]
"Barfuss" (Barefoot) by Schweiger, Til (Germany, 2005)
[Although there are both action and humour, this is also an intense love movie of a kind that has rarely been made during the last 40 years.]
"Auf der anderen Seite" (At Heaven's Edge) by Akin, Fatih (Germany/Turkey, 2007)
"Pour Elle" (Anything for Her) by Cavayé, Fred (France, 2008)
[In addition to everything this movie is, it is also clearly a love film. The wife has got a 20-year-prison sentence for murder, though she is innocent. Eventually her husband liberate her by violence, after having
"Anita" by Carnevale, Marcos (Argentina, 2009)
[Note: there are two very different versions. I saw one at the Jewish film Festival in Stockholm, and have bought the other from a shop in Taiwan. I think that the first is the best. They are easy to distinguish. In the "Jewish" edition Anita (who suffers from Down syndrome) will meet many people, when she starts her odyssey through the town after a great terrorist act). In the Taiwan edition she will not meet many more than the photographer.]
"Illegal" by Masset-Depasse, Olivier (Belgium/Luxembourg/France/White Russia, 2010)
"La vie d'Adèle " (Blue is the warmest colour) by Kechiche, Abdellatif (Tunisia, 2010)
[Probably most people would agree that this is the best lesbian movie ever made. But after the first half of great happiness, the second half is the most tragic film ever made.]
"Golakani Kirkuk" (The Flowers of Kirkuk) by Kamkari, Fariborz (Italy/Switzerland, 2013)
[In the original version the languages spoken are Kurdish and Arabian, with English subtitles. At present only a DVD can be obtained dubbed and subtitled into English]
Haven (2001)- 10/10
I watched it because Daniel Kash was in it. I'd never thought it would be my second favorite movie. [My most favorite movie is Alice in Wonderland (1985).]
Volker Flenske: (While torturing David) I don't know why you're doing this to yourself!
Apollo 13
perfection
I really recommend Forrest Gump (1994), especially if you are baby-bomber generation.
The second is American Beauty (1999), thanks for Alan Ball as the writer.
The last but not least in my mind is Mary and Max (2009), simply drama.
For other suggestions just check my review on drama-genre-movie.