These are the things that inspire me, that I return to often, and that I enjoy sharing with others; seperated into three Olympic tiers—gold, silver, bronze—in the spirit of Paul Schraeder’s essay, “Canon Fodder.” Read my thoughts on the formation of personal canons here.
Films
The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai Across the 8th Dimension (1984) ★
Beyond the Black Rainbow (2010) ★
Black Robe (1991) ★
Children of Men (2006) ★
Contact (1997) ★
The Cotton Club (1984) ★
Crumb (1995) ★
Dark City (1998) ★
Donnie Darko (2001) ★
Eaten Alive (1976) ★
Fat City (1972) ★
Fearless (1993) ★
First Man (2018) ★
Five Easy Pieces (1970) ★
Fool for Love (1985) ★
Ghost in the Shell (1995) ★
Gimme Shelter (1970) ★
Grizzly Man (2005) ★
Halloween (1978) ★
The Hit (1984) ★
In A Lonely Place (1950) ★
In the Heat of the Night (1967) ★
The Indian Runner (1991) ★
Invasion of the Body Snatchers ★
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946) ★
Lady Snowblood (1973) ★
The Long Goodbye (1973) ★
The Long Riders (1980) ★
The Matrix (1999) ★
Mikey and Nicky (1976) ★
Millennium Actress (2001) ★
The New World (2005) ★
Night of the Comet (1984) ★
The Night of the Hunter (1955) ★
Night of the Living Dead (1968) ★
Outland (1981) ★
Persona (1966) ★
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975) ★
Re-Animator (1985) ★
Rear Window (1954) ★
Reservoir Dogs (1992) ★
RoboCop (1987) ★
Safety Not Guaranteed (2012) ★
Le Samouraï (1967) ★
Solaris (1972) ★
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018) ★
Stay Hungry (1976) ★
Suspiria (1977) ★
The Texas Chainsaw Massacre (1974) ★
Thunderbolt and Lightfoot (1974) ★
To Serve the Gods (1982) ★
Total Recall (1990) ★
Tremors (1990) ★
UHF (1989) ★
The Vanishing (1988) ★
Videodrome (1983) ★
The Wicker Man (1973) ★
Wild Strawberries (1957) ★
Books
John Christensen (Hieromonk Damascene)
Christ the Eternal Tao (1999) ★
Cody Clarke
Kill the Lion (2020) ★
William Faulkner
Light in August (1932) ★
Go Down, Moses (1942) ★
Robert A. Heinlein
The Moon is a Harsh Mistress (1966) ★
Frank Herbert
Dune (1965) ★
God Emperor of Dune (1981) ★
Stanislaw Lem
Solaris (1961) ★
Richard Matheson
I Am Legend (1954) ★
Walter M. Miller Jr.
A Canticle for Leibowtiz (1959) ★
Robert Pirsig
Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance (1974) ★
Francis Schaeffer
Back to Freedom and Dignity (1972) ★
Music
Animal Collective
Feels (2005) ★
Big Star
#1 Record (1972) ★
Bill Callahan
Shepherd in a Sheepskin Vest (2019) ★
Can
Future Days (1973) ★
Fun
Aim & Ignite (2009) ★
Okkervil River
Black Sheep Boy (2005) ★
Purple Mountains
Purple Mountains (2019) ★
Arthur Russell
Another Thought (1994) ★
Elliott Smith
Roman Candle (1994) ★
Games
Alien: Isolation (2014) ★
Batman: Arkham Asylum (2009) ★
The Club (2008) ★
Dead Rising (2006) ★
Doom (1993) ★
James Bond 007: Everything or Nothing (2004) ★
Mirror’s Edge (2008) ★