Back in the day (high school/upper secondary)... when video were killing cinemas; we were 3 guys that found our way to a filmclub in the neighbouring town.
There was a small projection room at the town library that the club had borrowed. 1-2 times a month there would be a screening with and intro about the director and movie.
Here I was "introduced" to Andrey Tarkovsky
http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0001789/
We saw "
Stalker"... Others movies to recommend are "
Solaris" and his last "Offret" which he filmed while dying of cancer.
Another "introduction" was Akira Kurosawa...
"
Ran"
"Kumonosu-jô" aka "
Throne of Blood"
His movies became a passion of mine and I have seen all that I could get my hands on... other recommendations:
"
Kagemusha"
"Shichinin no samurai"" aka "
Seven samurai"
"
Dersu Uzala"
"Kakushi-toride no san-akunin" aka "
The Hidden Fortress"
"
Sanjuro"
At the same time it was also an introduction to Toshiro Mifune which starred in most of his movies. His presence can be compared to that of John Wayne... see him rule in "Red Beard".
These are the 3 movies that I remember from that small screening room; There were other movies but they drowned in the impression of the others... vague recollection about a brasilian movie about some street kids....
Oh almost forgot Jean-Jacques Beineix's "
Diva" which was my introduction to modern french movies... more was to follow in my student years in a small art cinema in Århus.... "
Betty Blue", "Leon", "
Delicatessen", "
La cité des enfants perdus"
There are others.... my collection can be seen here
http://www.invelos.com/DVDCollection.aspx/slate_dk