I was thinking of this topic again today because a friend asked for help stocking up on movie recommendations.
Here is a list I came up with:
Favorite Directors (many of these are slow & subtle, not for everyone):
Jim Jarmusch - especially Down by Law (1986), Mystery Train (1989), Night on Earth (1991), Dead Man (1995), Ghost Dog (1999)
Krzysztof Kieslowski - especially Blue (1993), White (1994), Red (1994), The Double Life of Veronique (1991), and the Dekalog (1989-1990)
Wim Wenders - especially Paris, Texas (1984) and Wings of Desire (1987)
Cohen Bros. - especially Blood Simple (1984), Raising Arizona (1987), Barton Fink (1991), Fargo (1996), The Big Lebowski (1998), O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000), No Country for Old Men (2007)
Neo Noir
Chinatown (1974)
Red Rock West (1992)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Lucky Number Slevin (2006)
Inside Man (2006)
Classics
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
His Girl Friday (1940)
Sullivan's Travels (1941)
Notorious (1946)
The Third Man (1949)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Anything with Powell & Loy, Tracy & Hepburn, or Bogart & anybody
Double Features
The Great Escape (1963) & Chicken Run (2000)
The Philadelphia Story (1940) & High Society (1956)
Other Favorites
Dog Day Afternoon (1973)
Tampopo (1985)
Brazil (1985)
Bagdad Cafe (1987)
Babette's Feast (1987)
Cinema Paradiso (1988)
Europa Europa (1990)
Toto le héros (1991)
Run Lola Run (1998)
Amelie (2001)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)