Bleak Cinema

Hi I am looking for some suggestions for films which create the same sort of vibe or atmosphere Kurosawa managed to capture in Rashomon for instance. I don’t mind whether it’s silent non-english or what era it was made in, I’ve just found it quite difficult pinning down such films.
The only film I can think of, of late which has captured that bleak feel of hopeless atmospherically of late is the Iranian film It’s Winter.
I didn’t think it was a wonderful film, but the way the cinematography and sound managed to build this impression of a bleak place impressed me.

Any ideas?

This is a great question. Off the top of my head-

Quintet by Altman
The Lower Depths by Kurosawa
The Wind by Victort Sjostrom
The Wind Will Carry Us by Abbas Kiarostami
The Life of Jesus and Twenty-nine Palms by Bruno Dumont
Fata Morgana by Werner Herzog
Touch of Evil by Orson Welles
Andrei Rublev by Andrei Tarkovsky
Satantango by Bela Tarr
Hour of the Wolf and Shame by Bergman
Beau Travail by Claire Denis
Vidas Secas
A Boy and His Dog

THREADS

Damnation – Bela Tarr
The Little Match Girl – Jean Renoir
Hour of the Wolf – Bergman
Winter Light – Bergman
The Trial of Joan of Arc – Robert Bresson
Three Women – Robert Altman
Rhapsody in August – Kurosawa

a good modern example would be No Country for Old Men

Cheers Sean, I agree with No Country for Old Men. I’m the proud owner of that DVD though and seen it many a time :-)

Also in response to the reply’s cheers, i’m going to checkout the bergman and altman films.