Frank Ocean’s 100 favourite movies
Frank Ocean’s music has always been of high quality, and he is critically acclaimed as an artist. From his mixtape Nostalgia Ultra to his 2012 album Channel Orange, the singer is one-of-a-kind. However, he is an enigmatic figure and releases music erratically.
Although the vocalist is a New Orleans native, as a member of the legendary LA crew Odd Future, Ocean managed to gather a cult following. As such, following the crew’s dissipation, he efficiently managed to sustain a solo career. Akin to Tyler, The Creator and Earl Sweatshirt, Ocean formed a separate following while still in the crew.
Ocean’s reclusive persona was intriguing and refreshing for fans, but he also had a unique look. Some may have described him as ‘abstract’ or even slightly ‘lonely’ looking, but that was part of his appeal. The ‘Lost’ singer was preppy, perhaps slightly ‘effeminate’, but this was highly exhilarating for many tired of the macho gangster aesthetic.
Although Ocean (real name Christopher Breaux) is loved and still highly sought after, the musician hasn’t been seen for years, and when he re-emerges, it is always briefly, and before fans know it, he has disappeared again. Strangely, nobody has forgotten about him. However, his music is considered a reminder of a bygone era when Tumblr and SoundCloud could propel unknown figures to fame.
In 2022, the enigmatic singer played various snippets of unreleased music on his Apple Music 1 show Blonded Radio. However, no official songs were released. He has dropped a series of one-off singles, including ‘DHL’, ‘In My Room’, ‘Cayendo’ and ‘Dear April’ but fans have ruled out the notion of a full-length project.
In 2016, Ocean released two projects, one visual and another comprised of 17 tracks. The visual series Endless was released a day before Blonde, for which the New Orleans vocalist received much praise.
However, the ‘Pyramids’ singer also released a magazine to accompany his 2016 project entitled Boys Don’t Cry. The magazine featured a range of writings, including a list of Breaux’s favourite movies.’
Many would expect the list to be packed with independent films that no one has heard of, but there are many well-known movies in there, including the likes of 2001: A Space Odyssey and A Clockwork Orange.
There is also a range of well-known directors, such as Quentin Tarantino and Davin Fincher, the mind behind Seven and The Social Network. As well as naming the films, Breaux also highlighted the total running time of all his choices as 207 hours and 23 minutes.
The Boys Don’t Cry magazine was part of the vocalist’s album rollout and was available for purchase in pop-up shops around the world. You can see the full list and all 100 movie titles below.
Frank Ocean’s 100 favourite movies:
- ATL
- Un Chien Andalou
- Blue Velvet
- Barry Lyndon
- Battleship Potemkin
- Eraserhead
- Chungking Express
- Raging Bull
- The Conformist
- The Bicycle Thief
- Taxi Driver
- A Clockwork Orange
- Mean Streets
- Gods Of The Plague
- Persona
- Mulholland Drive
- Happy Together (Wong Kar-Wei)
- Fallen Angels
- Apocalypse Now
- The Last Laugh
- Pi
- Full Metal Jacket
- No Country For Old Men
- Wild At Heart
- Memento
- Metropolis
- Rushmore
- The Royal Tenenbaums
- Miller’s Crossing
- The Discreet Charm Of The Bourgeoisie (Luis Buñuel)
- Blood Simple
- Rashomon
- Orpheus
- LA Confidential
- Reservoir Dogs
- Eastern Promises
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Battle Royale
- The Passion Of Anna
- Bring Me The Head Of Alfredo Garcia
- Oldboy (Park Chan-Wook 2013)
- Django Unchained
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Next
- The Good, The Bad And The Ugly
- The Godfather
- M(Fritz Lang)
- ?Scarface (Howard Hawks 1932)
- Scarface (De Palma 1983)
- Blade Runner
- Citizen Kane
- On The Waterfront
- Annie Hall
- Psycho
- Dr. Strangelove
- The French Connection
- The Deer Hunter
- Wild Strawberries (Bergman)
- Fargo
- The Sacrifice (Andre Tarkovsky)
- El Topo
- The Holy Mountain
- The Shining
- Pulp Fiction
- Fitzcarraldo
- American Beauty
- Solaris (Andre Tarkovsky)
- True Romance
- Elephant Man
- Seven Samurai
- Woyzeck
- Jackie Brown
- Aguirre, The Wrath Of God
- Paris, Texas
- Devil In A Blue Dress
- Inglorious Bastards [sic]
- Serpico
- Alien
- Ed Wood
- Hard Eight
- The Seventh Seal
- Sonatine
- Paths Of Glory
- There Will Be Blood
- Spartacus
- Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
- Fight Club
- Brazil
- Throne Of Blood (Akira Kurosawa)
- The Master
- Dog Day Afternoon
- Rosemary’s Baby
- Phantom Of The Paradise
- Inauguration Of The Pleasure Dome
- Malcolm X
- Scorpio Rising
- The Friends Of Eddie Coyle
- Puce Moment
- Nosferatu
- Basquiat (F.W. Murnau 1929)
- The King Of Comedy