Papillon

(Franklin J. Schaffner, 1973)

“He liked Papillon, I remember he had that on tape, he loved Papillon. I don’t know whether he would ever have said it was his favourite film of all time but it was one he had on tape and he had very few films on tape.”

— Molly Clarke, Alan’s daughter, speaking in Alan Clarke: His Own Man (2000).

The Third Man

(Carol Reed, 1950)

“He really did like The Third Man.”

— Norma McMinn, Alan’s sister, speaking in Alan Clarke: His Own Man (2000).

Les quatre cent coups (The 400 Blows)

(François Truffaut, 1959)

Jules et Jim

(François Truffaut, 1962)

“We were both stunned by Les quatre cent coups. Alan liked Jules et Jim as well.”

— Jane Harris, Alan’s partner, mother of Gabriel and Molly. In Alan Clarke (Edited by Richard Kelly, 1998), p9.

L’année dernière à Marienbad (Last Year at Marienbad)

(Alain Resnais, 1961)

“I remember us seeing Last Year at Marienbad and Alan was completely taken with those long, elegant dolly shots through the hotel. The very first thing he said when he came out was, ‘God, that tracking shot was really something.’ I think everything that he saw and enjoyed, he logged it away inside himself.”

— Jane Harris, Alan’s partner, mother of Gabriel and Molly. In Alan Clarke (Edited by Richard Kelly, 1998), p9.

Ikiru

(Akira Kurosawa, 1952)

The Seven Samurai

(Akira Kurosawa, 1954)

“Kurosawa was another one he thought was brilliant, because of his grittiness. He loved Ikiru and The Seven Samurai, especially the great battle in the rain.”

— Jane Harris, Alan’s partner, mother of Gabriel and Molly. In Alan Clarke (Edited by Richard Kelly, 1998), p9.

L’avventura

(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)

La notte

(Michelangelo Antonioni, 1961)

“His other big favourite was Antonioni, he’d see them all: La notte, L’avventura he thought was a stunner — partly because of Monica Vitti, I’m sure. But he loved Antonioni’s kind of slow deliberate pacing and the strange relationships in the piece. And the use of space, that sense of people rather wandering through the film. But also the stunning close-ups, he liked those. And I suppose Antonioni didn’t make any great effort to endear the characters to a general audience, and that was impressive to Alan.”

— Jane Harris, Alan’s partner, mother of Gabriel and Molly. In Alan Clarke (Edited by Richard Kelly, 1998), p9.