Money Control

The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)
Film
The melancholy of Michel Legrand’s glorious score washes over viewers’ hearts from the first moment of Jacques Demy’s nontraditional, sung-through musical. One of the most romantic films ever made about the pains and purity of first love, the immaculately styled The Umbrellas of Cherbourg challenged the lighter Hollywood musicals of the era (like The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady) and launched the sensational Catherine Deneuve into international stardom. Later, it would be a major influence on La La Land.—Tomris Laffly

Pulp Fiction (1994)
Film
Drama
What’s the best part of Pulp Fiction? The twist contest at Jack Rabbit Slim’s? Bruce Willis versus the Gimp? Jules’s Ezekiel 25:17 monologue? Quentin Tarantino’s film earns curiosity with its grabby movie moments but claims all-time status with its spellbinding achronological plotting, insanely quotable dialogue and a proper understanding of the metric system. Pulp Fiction marked its generation as deeply as did Star Wars before it; it’s a flourish of ’90s indie attitude that still feels fresh despite a legion of chatty imitators.—Ian Freer