10. Ghost Stories (2017)
Ghost Storieswas adapted from Jeremy Dyson and Andy Nyman’s 2010 stage play, with Nyman reprising his starring role as Philip Goodman, a professor who debunks famous psychics.
Professor Philip Goodman is called to investigate three paranormal incidents, which play out separately:
At first, Philip clutches at straws for rational explanations, but they all end up connected in horrifying ways with a clever ending.
Related:The Best Movies About Magicians, Illusionists, and Psychics
9. Paris, Je T’aime (2006)
Paris, Je T’aime(translated asParis, I Love You) is an ode to the most romantic city in the world. The film was originally intended to be 22 short films—one for each Paris arrondissement—but two of them didn’t flow into the narrative smoothly so they got cut.
That said, 22 directors still worked on the project (including Gus Van Sant, Gérard Depardieu, Alfonso Cuarón, and the Coen brothers!), who gifted us with two hours of Parisian bliss.
Paris, Je T’aimewas the first feature film to be mastered in 4K, fully encompassing love stories, comedies, drama, grief, ghosts, mime artists, and heartbreak.
Related:The Best Movies Set in Paris, Ranked
8. New York Stories (1989)
Woody Allen, Francis Ford Coppola, and Martin Scorsese? Uh, yes please! In 1989, these three established directors teamed up to bring us a three-part movie centered in New York City.
First, Scorsese’sLife Lessonsabout an uninspired artist fueled by rage. Second, Coppola’sLife Without Zoëwhere a little girl returns stolen jewelry to an Arab princess. Third, Allen’sOedipus Wrecksstarring himself as a lawyer who accidentally wishes his mother out of existence.
The famed directors set the bar high forNew York Stories, but only partially lived up to expectations. Critics thought Scorsese trumped the other two stories, but the whole film is worth watching just for his!
Related:The Best Movies Set in New York City
7. Black Sabbath (1963)
Black Sabbathis comprised of three stories:The Telephone,The Wurdulak, andThe Drop of Water. Each one is introduced by Boris Karloff, an English actor best known for his portrayal of Frankenstein’s monster inFrankenstein(1931). How fitting for a horror film!
Directed by Italian filmmaker Mario Bava,Black Sabbathtakes us across France, Serbia, and London, where innocent people from across history are tormented by murderers and spirits.
The writers behind this low-budget international movie are hard to find, and it ended up being a commercial flop. It’s only recently thatBlack Sabbathstarted being celebrated as a horror masterpiece.
Related:The Best Classic Indie Movies of the 1960s, Ranked
6. Grand Hotel (1932)
Grand Hotelwas the first anthology movie ever made (alongside Paramount’sIf I Had a Million,released in the same year). Produced by MGM,Grand Hotelstill holds up well today!
Edmund Goulding’s pre-Code drama boasts an all-star cast, including Greta Garbo, John Barrymore, Joan Crawford, and Wallace Beery. It’s set in Berlin’s wealthy Grand Hotel, where the lives of five different guests come together in strange ways.
Grand Hotelhas had a bunch of remakes and musicals since the 1930s, and it even won an Oscar for Best Picture.
Related:The Best Pre-Code Hollywood Movies Still Worth Watching
5. Sin City (2005)
Sin Cityis unique for a lot of reasons. Not only is it an anthology film that combines all of Frank Miller’s individual comic books together, but it’s designed to look like a comic book, too!
The black-and-white neo-noir film animates its ensemble cast—Jessica Alba, Benicio del Toro, Brittany Murphy, Clive Owen, Mickey Rourke, Bruce Willis, and Elijah Wood—into a cartoon/live-action hybrid. Of course, this unusual approach does makeSin Citya niche taste.
That said,Sin Cityis an excellent exploration of the seedy underworld of the fictional Basin City, modeled after New York and Los Angeles.
Related:What Is Film Noir? The Best Noir Movies Worth Watching
4. Twilight Zone: The Movie (1983)
The Twilight Zoneitself, created by Rod Serling, is the quintessential example of anthology television. In the 1980s, John Landis, Steven Spielberg, Joe Dante, and George Miller made a movie spin-off.
Twilight Zone: The Movieis cut into four segments. The first scene was written specifically for the film, which listens in on two men discussing their favorite (and scariest) episodes ofThe Twilight Zone.
Their picks (“A Quality of Mercy,” “Kick the Can,” “It’s a Good Life”) play out as remakes of the originals. But what’s even creepier than the movie? The cursed stories that came from its production…
Related:Movies That Were Cursed (With Tragic Cast and Crew Incidents)
3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
The British comedy troupe Monty Python made three anthology movies akin to their TV sketch shows:Monty Python and the Holy Grail,Monty Python’s Life of Brian(1979), andMonty Python’s The Meaning of Life(1983).
Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin make up the classic British comedy gang, who first graced us with their 1969 TV anthology seriesMonty Python’s Flying Circus.
Most fans agree the first film is the best, which unfolds during medieval times to poke fun at Arthurian legends. Each Monty Python member plays multiple roles in the film, and it’s just a blast to watch.
Related:The Best Movies About the Medieval Times, Ranked
2. The Ballad of Buster Scruggs (2018)
Joel and Ethan Coen take us on a wild journey through the Wild West, in which six vignettes play out against the sandy backdrop of the American Frontier. Some of it is fun and games… the rest of it isn’t.
There are several different characters here:
The star-studded comedy-drama is perfect for any Coens fan for how it brims with all of their trademarks.
Related:The Most Underrated Hollywood Actors of Our Time, Ranked
1. Pulp Fiction (1994)
Pulp Fictionis undoubtedly the most loved and well-known anthology film of all time. The episodic crime movie was Quentin Tarantino’s second feature film, and it solidified his status in Hollywood.
Pulp Fictionexemplifies Tarantino’s signature traits: blood, violence, gangsters, dark humor, lots of dialogue, soundtrack dissonance, and nonlinear storytelling.
The self-referential movie opens with title card definitions of “pulp,” then moves on to tell seven stories in fluctuating order.
The film features an all-star cast of John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman, Tim Roth, Bruce Willis, and Harvey Keitel, many of whom continued to appear throughout Tarantino’s filmography.
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