Top 20 Best German Movies Ever Made

Before Hollywood ever dreamed of futuristic cities and dystopian societies, there was Metropolis. Director Fritz Lang created a visually stunning masterpiece that remains influential to this day: a futuristic city where the elite lives high above the working class, a robot with a deadly mission and images that seem straight out of a nightmare. Without this film, no Blade Runner, Star Wars or The Matrix.

Nobody had ever filmed war like this. Das Boot makes you feel the horror and claustrophobia of a German U-boat during WWII. Director Wolfgang Petersen kept the camera close to the crew's faces as their submarine slowly became a floating coffin. Brilliantly acted, hyperrealistic and so intense you almost forget to breathe.

The film that gave the world a new look at Hitler. Bruno Ganz gives a chillingly realistic portrayal of Hitler losing his grip on reality in a bunker beneath Berlin. Downfall is historically detailed, hard-hitting and full of intense scenes, and the scene of Hitler's rant became one of the best-known internet memes ever.

Even before Hitchcock was big, Fritz Lang made this psychological thriller about a child murderer hunted by both the police and the underworld. Peter Lorre's performance as the disturbed killer is legendary and chillingly realistic. M was a blueprint for later films like The Silence of the Lambs and Se7en.

Twenty minutes. Three scenarios. One woman running for her life. Run Lola Run is a hyperactive mix of action, thriller and arthouse, in which Franka Potente tries again and again to save her boyfriend in a race against the clock. Stylish, innovative and like a music video on steroids.

A brilliant concept: what if your mother is a devoted socialist who falls into a coma and wakes up in a new, capitalist Germany? Alex (Daniel Brühl) decides to protect her by making her believe the GDR still exists. The result? A mix of hilarity and deep emotion that gives a unique perspective on German reunification.

In the GDR, the Stasi secret police kept millions of citizens under surveillance. A Stasi officer is assigned to spy on a writer and his girlfriend but becomes increasingly involved in their lives. Slow, intense and gripping, it shows how paranoia can suffocate a society.

An elderly German cleaning woman and a much younger Moroccan guest worker fall in love, but their relationship meets pure hatred and disapproval. Rainer Werner Fassbinder's film is a scathing critique of racism and xenophobia that still feels relevant today. A painfully honest film you won't soon forget.

One take. No cuts, no edits. Victoria follows a Spanish woman in Berlin who, over a single night, goes from a simple encounter at a club to a violent crime. Chaotic, exhilarating and uncannily realistic because everything happens in real time. An unprecedented cinematic achievement.

The strangest father-daughter film you'll ever see. An eccentric father tries to reconnect with his hard, career-driven daughter in the most bizarre ways. Awkward, hilarious and moving at the same time, it'll make you laugh and cry.

Angels hover over Berlin, listening to people's thoughts, until one angel falls in love with a woman and wants to become mortal. Director Wim Wenders created a dreamy, philosophical film about the longing to be human. America made a pale imitation (City of Angels with Nicolas Cage), but the original is magical.

A teacher decides to run an experiment: how easily can he manipulate his students into following an autocratic regime? The answer? Far too easily. The film is based on a real experiment in the US and chillingly shows how quickly group pressure and propaganda work.

1970s Germany: a group of radicals, the Red Army Faction (RAF), begins a campaign of bombings, kidnappings and murders. This film leaves nothing out and shows the harsh reality of political extremism. Intense, violent and brilliantly acted.

A young Turkish-German woman and an older man in Germany marry out of convenience but become trapped in a destructive love. Fatih Akin's film is raw, hard and intensely emotional, with one of the most explosive love stories ever. A film that hurts but won't let you go.

Long before Dracula took over Hollywood, there was Nosferatu. Max Schreck's gaunt, terrifying vampire is far scarier than the slick versions that came later. This silent film is over 100 years old but still pure horror.

At the end of WWII, a group of teenage boys is sent to defend a bridge. What follows is a heartbreaking, intense anti-war drama in which they slowly realize they don't stand a chance. Perhaps the best war film nobody knows.

A twenty-something wanders through Berlin, meets strange people and just tries to get a cup of coffee, but everything goes wrong. A melancholic, dryly comic gem about feeling lost in your own life. Simple concept, brilliantly executed.

An eccentric German man, a prostitute and an old man emigrate to the US for a better life. What they get? Poverty, tragedy and a dancing chicken. Werner Herzog's bizarre mix of realism and absurdism is brilliant and disturbing at the same time.

An ex-convict tries to go straight in 1920s Berlin but sinks ever deeper into crime. Rainer Werner Fassbinder made more than 15 hours of film, split into 14 episodes. Long? Yes. But one of the greatest cinematic achievements in German history.

Inspired by the Stanford Prison Experiment, in which ordinary people were divided into guards and prisoners. What begins as a psychological experiment spirals into madness, violence and abuse of power. Oppressive, suffocating and frighteningly realistic.