Starting in 1952, and every ten years since, Sight & Sound Magazine polls critics from around the world to submit their list of the ten best films ever. It's one of the most prestigious lists of its kind (if such a thing can be prestigious).
I first read about the poll in the pre-internet days of the early 1990's. I would buy the annual Roger Ebert "Movie Home Companion" book in my teen years and it was really the only way I could read Roger's print reviews. It also gave me insight into film study, etc. Roger's reference to the '92 poll in the 1993 edition of the book piqued my curiosity.
I tracked down a copy of the 1992 issue and it is a kind of 'film bible'. These lists are like a film school for a person on a budget. Anyway, starting with the 1992 poll, S&S also polled directors and created a separate list. One for the critics and one for the directors. As the subsequent polls have come (2002, 2012) it has become clear to me that the most intriguing lists are those by the directors. There have been some wild swings with the critics.
What will top the #SightAndSoundPoll?
1952: Bicycle Thieves
1962: Citizen Kane
1972: Citizen Kane
1982: Citizen Kane
1992: Citizen Kane
2002: Citizen Kane
2012: Vertigo
2022: ?Just two days until all is revealed https://t.co/7fVryrWYsN
— Sight and Sound magazine (@SightSoundmag) November 29, 2022
2022 issue:
Revealing the four covers of our special collectors edition, celebrating the #SightAndSoundPoll pic.twitter.com/67zdjEu2MO
— Sight and Sound magazine (@SightSoundmag) December 1, 2022
Top 20 from the critics:
The votes are in. Find out what critics have voted the Greatest Film of All Time #SightAndSoundPoll pic.twitter.com/F3cf5PcBb4
— Sight and Sound magazine (@SightSoundmag) December 1, 2022
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
2. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
4. Tokyo Story (Ozu Yasujiro, 1953)
5. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar Wai, 2001)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
7. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1998)
8. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
9. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov,1929)
10. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly, 1951)
11. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (FW Murnau, 1927)
12. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
13. La Règle du jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939)
14. Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)
15. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
16. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren & Alexander Hammid, 1943)
17. Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1989)
18. Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
19. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
20. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
The #1 in this year's critics list is... interesting... to be kind.
Here are the Top 10 films, for 2022, from the Director's:
1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Citizen Kane
3. The Godfather
4. Tokyo Story
4. Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
6. Vertigo
6. 78½
8. Mirror
9. Persona
9. In the Mood for Love
9. Close-Up
One thing I will say is that I'm pleased both critics and directors still recognize the importance of 'Kane' and 'Godfather'. I'm also really surprised and happy to see that one of the most contemporary films is "In the Mood for Love". I saw it at the Drexel Theatre in like 2001 and knew I had just witnessed an all-time great. It has slowly gained momentum and acknowledgement, which is pleasing.
If you are curious, here is my list. It is admittedly only five, but, as Martin Scorsese said in his 1992 ballot, "I can only give five because even just one more opens the floodgates to countless other films".
My list:
Dr. Strangelove (Kubrick, 1964)
Manhattan (Allen, 1979)
Psycho (Hitchcock, 1960)
Raging Bull (Scorsese, 1980)
Touch of Evil (Welles, 1958)
...
Not sure how many cinephiles there are here at 11W but I thought I would start the topic, regardless.
