1. Walkabout (1971, Nicolas Roeg). Most underrated film is also my choice for the best film ever made.
2. Make Way for Tomorrow (1937, Leo McCarey).
3. Testament (1983, Lynne Littman).
4. Map of the Human Heart (1993, Vincent Ward). Move over, Casablanca. This is the love story for the ages.
5. Little Big Man (1970, Arthur Penn). Dustin Hoffman magnificent in the Old West, living to age 122.
6. eXistenZ (1999, David Cronenberg). The great mindbender of our time.
7. Damage (1992, Louis Malle).
8. The Falcon and the Snowman (1985, John Schlesinger). Sean Penn's best performance as a druggie who sells top secret information to the enemy.
9. Straight Time (1978, Ulu Grosbard). Dustin Hoffman's best performance as an ex-con.
10. King of the Hill (1993, Steven Soderbergh). Move over Grapes of Wrath, this is the best Great Depression story of them all.
11. The Hudsucker Proxy (1994, Joel & Ethan Coen). A beautiful screwball comedy.
12. Joe vs. the Volcano (1990, John Patrick Shanley). Enchanting and goofy, my favorite Tom Hanks comedy.
13. True Love (1989, Nancy Savoca).
14. Star 80 (1983, Bob Fosse). The most depressing film ever made, that's why it hasn't "lasted." I say essential, nonetheless.
15. Paris, Texas (1984, Wim Wenders). Did this film inspire the thematic ideas of Manchester by the Sea?
16. Sorcerer (1977, William Friedkin). Thinking man's action movie.
17. Grand Canyon (1991, Lawrence Kasdan).
18. Time After Time (1979, Nicholas Meyer).
19. Slap Shot (1977, George Roy Hill). There will never be a better hockey movie.
20. The Hill (1965, Sidney Lumet). A tough prison thriller that ends provocatively, with Sean Connery.
21. Iceman (1984, Fred Schepisi).
22. Runaway Train (1985, Andrei Konchalovsky).
23. Moscow on the Hudson (1984, Paul Mazursky).
24. One False Move (1992, Carl Franklin). Grisly but brilliant police thriller.
25. Fat City (1972, John Huston). A companion piece to Raging Bull? I think so.
26. Love and Death on Long Island (1998, Richard Kwietnioski).

You're not going to hear much elsewhere about these extraordinary films. You heard it from me. One film per director rule, and English language films only (foreign films deserve their own future list). Most titles, not all, can be found on search engine for fuller review.