Films considered the greatest ever

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While there is no agreement upon the greatest film, many publications and organizations have tried to determine the films considered the greatest ever. The films mentioned in this article have all been mentioned in a notable survey — be it a popular poll or critics' poll. Many of these sources focus on American films or were polls of English-speaking film goers, but those considered the greatest within their respective countries are also included here.

None of these citations should be viewed as scientific measures of the film-watching world. All the surveys are flawed in one way or another. They are often influenced by vote stacking or they survey a population with skewed demographics. Internet-based surveys have a self-selecting audience of unknown participants. The methodology of some surveys may be questionable. Sometimes (as in the case of the American Film Institute) voters were asked to select films from a limited list of entries.

Contents

Polls of critics and filmmakers

  • Every decade, the British film monthly Sight & Sound asks an international group of film professionals to vote for their greatest film of all time. The Sight & Sound accolade has come to be regarded as one of the most important of the "greatest ever film" lists. Roger Ebert described it as "by far the most respected of the countless polls of great movies--the only one most serious movie people take seriously."[1] The first poll, in 1952, was topped by The Bicycle Thief (1948).[2]
  • Orson Welles' Citizen Kane (1941) has been consistently voted number one in each of the last five Sight & Sound polls. A separate poll of established film directors, held for the first time in 1992, has also placed Citizen Kane at the top.[2] The film was selected as number one in a Village Voice and in a Time Out critics' poll. It was listed as the greatest American film twice by the American Film Institute, in both the first (1998) and second (2007) versions of its 100 Years... 100 Movies list.
  • The Searchers (1956) is the film most often mentioned in a poll of the favorite films of directors by German language Steadycam magazine in 1995.[3]
  • Tokyo Story (1953) by Yasujirō Ozu topped a critics' poll conducted by Asian film magazine Cinemaya in 1998. It was followed by Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali (1955) and Kenji Mizoguchi's Ugetsu (1953) tied at second place.[4]
  • La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game) (1939) by director Jean Renoir was named the greatest film by the French film magazine Positif in 1991.[5] It also holds the second slot in the Village Voice poll,[6] and is one of only two movies to have appeared in every one of the Sight & Sound polls.[citation needed]
  • The Brussels World’s Fair, organized in 1958, offered the occasion for the organization by thousands of critics and filmmakers from all over the world, of the first universal film poll in history.[7] These were the films chosen as most artistically fulfilled:
Rank Film Director Year
1 Броненосец Потёмкин (The Battleship Potemkin) Sergei Eisenstein 1925
2 The Gold Rush Charles Chaplin 1925
3 Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves) Vittorio De Sica 1948
4 La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc) Carl Theodor Dreyer 1928
5 La Grande Illusion (Grand Illusion) Jean Renoir 1937
6 Greed Erich von Stroheim 1924
7 Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the Ages D. W. Griffith 1916
8 Мать (Mother) Vsevolod Pudovkin 1926
9 Citizen Kane Orson Welles 1941
10 Земля (Earth) Alexander Dovzhenko 1930

Audience polls

Particular genres or media

Action

Animation

Comedy

Comic/Superhero

Crime/Gangster

  • GoodFellas (1990) was chosen as the greatest crime film out of the 25 movies by the IGN website.

Disaster

Documentary

Epic

  • Lawrence of Arabia (1962) was voted best epic by readers of Total Film in May 2004. It was selected as the number one epic movie during the American Film Institute during their Ten Top Ten.[22]

Fantasy

  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) was selected as the best fantasy movie by the American Film Institute during their Ten Top Ten.[22]

Holiday

Horror

Musical

Mystery

  • Vertigo (1958) was selected as the best mystery by the American Film Institute during their Ten Top Ten.[22]

Propaganda

Romance

Science fiction

Sport

War

Western

Countries

Australia

Bangladesh

Belgium

Brazil

  • City of God (2002) is the highest rated Brazilian film according to IMDb users. Brazilian critics, however, have selected Deus e o Diabo na Terra do Sol (1964) as the best film of all several times, such as the 27th edition of Brazilian film magazine Contracampo.[53]

Cambodia

  • The Snake King's Wife:The Snake King's Wife received 6 golden awards at the 19th Asian Movie Awards in Singapore in 1972. Among the greatest Cambodian film on the 20th century.

Canada

China

Denmark

  • Day of Wrath (Vredens dag) Carl Th. Dreyer's harrowing tale of adultery and repression is often cited in Denmark as the greatest Danish film.[60]
  • Flickering Lights (Blinkende lygter) the 2000 comedy about small-time gangsters was voted the Best Danish Film in a 2007 poll by Ekstra Bladet newspaper. Thomas Vinterberg's The Celebration (Festen) was the runner-up.[61]

Finland

France

Germany

Hong Kong

India

Iran

Ireland

Israel

  • Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona (1976) was voted "Favorite Israeli Film of all time" in a 2004 poll by Ynet, the web site of a popular Israeli newspaper. The film got 25,000 votes.[76]

Italy

Japan

  • Rashomon (羅生門), 1950: This film by Akira Kurosawa was the first Japanese film to gain worldwide acclaim. It is the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film in the Village Voice poll of "Best Films of the Century" (ranked #10).[6] It also tied for the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the Sight and Sound 2002 Directors' Top Ten Poll (ranked #9).[78]
  • Seven Samurai (七人の侍 Shichinin no Samurai), 1954: Also by Kurosawa, this period adventure film is frequently cited as the greatest Japanese film ever; at #12, it is the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the Internet Movie Database's "Top 250 movies" list (as of January 2009).[79] It ranked, for the first time, at #3 in the 1982 Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll,[80] appeared on the Sight & Sound Directors' Top Ten Poll in 1992 (ranked #10),[81] and tied for the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film in 2002 (ranked #9).[78] It is also ranked #2 on Rotten Tomatoes' top 100 foreign films [82] and top 100 action/adventure films.[83] It was also voted the "Best Japanese Film ever" in a 1979 Kinema Junpo critics’ poll.[84]
  • Tokyo Story (東京物語 Tokyo Monogatari), 1953: Directed by Yasujirō Ozu, is the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the 2002 Sight and Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll (ranked #5).[85] It was also declared the greatest film ever by Halliwell's Film Guide in 2005.[86]
  • Ugetsu, 1953: Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, it was the highest-ranking Asian film in the Sight & Sound critics' polls in 1962 (ranked #4)[87] and 1972 (ranked #10).[88]

Mexico

  • El callejón de los milagros (Miracle Alley) is the most awarded film in Mexican history with 49 international awards.[4][citation needed]
  • Pan's Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) is the highest rated film in Spanish on IMDb. While this film is set in Spain and primarily features Spanish actors, it was written and produced in Mexico and is considered a Mexican film.[citation needed]

Netherlands

New Zealand

See : Lord of the Rings in the Films acclaimed in audience polls section above.

Norway

  • Flåklypa Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix - 1975 - Ivo Caprino): The people's choice for "Best Norwegian Film of the Century" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.[90]
  • Ni Liv (Nine Lives - 1957 - Arne Skouen): The critics' choice for "Best Norwegian Film of the Century" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.[90]

Pakistan

  • Baji (1963), directed by S. Suleman, topped the British Film Institute's critics poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time.[91]
  • Aina (1977), directed by Nazr-ul-Islam, topped the user poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time.[92]

Philippines

Poland

  • Sexmission (Seksmisja) is the best Polish film of the last 30 years according to a 2005 poll by readers of three popular film magazines.[97]

Russia

Serbia

  • Who's That Singing Over There (Ko to tamo peva, 1980) was in 1996 voted the best Serbian movie made in the 1947-1995 period by the members of the Yugoslavian Board of the Academy of Film Art and Science (AFUN).[98]

South Korea

Sri Lanka

  • Pura Handa Kaluwara (1997), also known as Death on a Full Moon Day, directed by P. Vithanage and starring Joe Abeywickrama, topped the British Film Institute's poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time.[99]
  • Ananta Rathiriya (1995), directed by P. Vithanage, topped the user poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time.[100]

Sweden

United Kingdom

United States

Since 1998, the American Film Institute has assembled juries of film community leaders and polled them for a series of top 100 lists. Two of the lists from the series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies from 1998 and AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) from 2007, identified Citizen Kane as the best American film ever. In other years, AFI's jury members selected Some Like It Hot the greatest American comedy, Psycho as the most thrilling American movie, Casablanca as the greatest American love story, Singin' in the Rain as the greatest American film musical, and It's a Wonderful Life as the most inspiring American film.[107]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ "'Citizen Kane' fave film of movie elite". rogerebert.com. http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20020811/COMMENTARY/88010305. Retrieved on 2008-01-01. 
  2. ^ a b "Sight & Sound - Top ten". http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/. Retrieved on 2008-11-11. 
  3. ^ Lieblings Filme
  4. ^ Totaro, Donato (January 31, 2003), "The “Sight & Sound” of Canons", Offscreen Journal (Canada Council for the Arts), http://www.horschamp.qc.ca/new_offscreen/canon.html, retrieved on 2009-04-19 
  5. ^ a b c "Lists". Film Journey. http://filmjourney.weblogger.com/lists. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. 
  6. ^ a b c d "Take One: The First Annual Village Voice Film Critics' Poll". The Village Voice. 1999. Archived from the original on 2007-08-26. http://web.archive.org/web/20070826201343/http://www.villagevoice.com/specials/take/one/full_list.php3?category=10. Retrieved on 2006-07-27. 
  7. ^ Władysław Jewsiewicki: "Kronika kinematografii światowej 1895-1964", Warsaw 1967, no ISBN, page 129 (in Polish)
  8. ^ Filmsite.org posting about Entertainment Weekly's book
  9. ^ Filmsite.org posting about Time out reader's poll
  10. ^ Empire Online
  11. ^ a b c IMDb Top 250
  12. ^ 50 Greatest Movies from TV Guide
  13. ^ [1]
  14. ^ Total Film Presents the Top 100 Movies of All Time
  15. ^ Magische Filmmomente Top 100 Filme anno 2000 News & Specials.Alle Specials
  16. ^ Best Films
  17. ^ "Yahoo! Movies - Top 10". http://movies.yahoo.com/mvc/top10. Retrieved on 2008-12-09. 
  18. ^ "Official Top Movie List". filmcrave.com. http://filmcrave.com/list_top_movie.php. Retrieved on 2009-01-14. 
  19. ^ presseportal.de (german)
  20. ^ "Top 100 Animations". Agency for Cultural Affairs. 2007. http://plaza.bunka.go.jp/hundred/bumon_anime.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-15.  (translation: [2])
  21. ^ "Top 500 Best Rated". Anime News Network. http://www.animenewsnetwork.com/encyclopedia/ratings-anime.php?top50=best_bayesian&n=500. Retrieved on 2009-03-01. 
  22. ^ a b c d e f g h i "AFI's 10 Top 10". American Film Institute. 2008-06-17. http://www.afi.com/10top10/default.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-16. 
  23. ^ A. S. Byatt (2005-04-16). "Sweet little mystery". Guardian Unlimited. http://www.guardian.co.uk/arts/features/story/0,11710,1460940,00.html. Retrieved on 2008-02-06. "Tale of Tales has been called the greatest animated film ever. But what does it mean?" 
  24. ^ Malpas, Anna (2005-04-08). "Teller of Tales". The Moscow Times. http://context.themoscowtimes.com/print.php?aid=141447. Retrieved on 2008-02-06. "Some people consider Yury Norshtein the greatest animator in history" 
  25. ^ Top 100 Animated Features of All Time at the Online Film Critics Society website.
  26. ^ [3]
  27. ^ Beck, Jerry (ed.) (1994). The 50 Greatest Cartoons: As Selected by 1,000 Animation Professionals. Atlanta: Turner Publishing.
  28. ^ a b Python's Grail 'best Brit film'. BBC News (2004-2-12)
  29. ^ "Life of Brian tops comedy poll". BBC News. September 29, 2000. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/948331.stm. Retrieved on 2007-04-03. 
  30. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Life of Brian named best comedy
  31. ^ "Channel Five "Greatest Ever Movies - Comedy"". http://www.five.tv/programmes/greatestevermovies/countdown/?list=0. Retrieved on 2008-10-09. 
  32. ^ The last laugh: your favourite 50 | Features | guardian.co.uk Film
  33. ^ http://www.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_genre.php
  34. ^ Poseidon Adventure tops film poll
  35. ^ Documentary.com
  36. ^ "The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993): Rank 1". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/guides/best_christmas_movies/nightmare_before_christmas/. Retrieved on 2008-12-20. 
  37. ^ AMC Poll: The Exorcist Scariest Movie. Multichannel News. 2006-10-23. http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6384063.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-30. 
  38. ^ 25 Best Musicals
  39. ^ West Side Story Tops Best Movie Musical
  40. ^ Leni Riefenstahl, Hitler's favourite film propagandist, dies at 101 | World news | The Guardian
  41. ^ ""2001: A Space Odyssey Named the Greatest Sci-Fi Film of All Time By the Online Film Critics Society"". Online Film Critics Society. http://ofcs.rottentomatoes.com/pages/pr/top100scifi. Retrieved on 2006-12-15. 
  42. ^ Scientists vote Blade Runner best sci-fi film of all time
  43. ^ Alison George (1 October 2008). "New Scientist's favourite sci-fi film". New Scientist. Reed Business Information. http://www.newscientist.com/article/dn14805-new-scientists-favourite-scifi-film-.html. Retrieved on 2008-11-28. 
  44. ^ Alison George (12 November 2008). "Sci-fi special: Your all-time favourite science fiction". New Scientist (Reed Business Information) (2682). http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg20026826.300-scifi-special-your-alltime-favourite-science-fiction.html. 
  45. ^ ET named top Sci-Fi Movie
  46. ^ "Rotten Tomatoes Best Sports Films". Rottentomatoes.com. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/features/special/2007/top_sports/?r=1&mid=1003249. Retrieved on 2007-09-13. 
  47. ^ "Rocky Crowned Best Sports Film". Female First. http://www.femalefirst.co.uk/entertainment/Sylvester+Stallone-50551.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  48. ^ Chris Wilson (14/04/2008). "Top 10: Sports movies". Daily Mirror. http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/more-sport/2008/04/14/mirror-co-uk-top-10-sports-movies-115875-20383249. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  49. ^ "100 Greatest War Films". Channel4.com. http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/W/greatest_warfilms/results/5-1.html. Retrieved on 2008-04-02. 
  50. ^ Hanging Rock
  51. ^ "Top 10 Bangladesh Films". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/bangladesh. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  52. ^ "User Poll: Bangladeshi Top 10". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/userpoll/bangladesh.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  53. ^ Tose, Juliano. "contracampo - revista de cinema" (in Portuguese). http://www.contracampo.com.br/27/frames.htm. Retrieved on 2008-02-06. 
  54. ^ Playback :: Egoyan tops Canada's all-time best movies list
  55. ^ http://www.geocities.com/Hollywood/Theater/6696/Lists/01play15.htm
  56. ^ http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html
  57. ^ "Welcome to the Hong Kong Film Awards". 2004. http://www.hkfaa.com/news/100films.html. Retrieved on 2007-04-04. 
  58. ^ a b c d "Readers Top Rated: Your rankings of our ALL-TIME best films". Time Magazine. http://www.time.com/time/2005/100movies/0,23220,ratethis,00.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-22. 
  59. ^ Wo hu cang long (2000) at the Internet Movie Database
  60. ^ Jensen, Bo Green, De 25 bedste danske film, Rosinante, 2002
  61. ^ Sørensen, Sola Kruchov, [Det er en syg høne, der har lagt det æg], Ekstra Bladet, August 3 2007
  62. ^ http://www.hs.fi/kulttuuri/artikkeli/Tuntematon+sotilas+on+lukijoiden+mielest%C3%A4+yh%C3%A4+paras/1135227575816
  63. ^ http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0098437/
  64. ^ http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0110413
  65. ^ Mou gaan dou (2002) at the Internet Movie Database
  66. ^ The Departed (2006) at the Internet Movie Database
  67. ^ a b Aaron and Mark Caldwell (2004). "Sight and Sound". Top 100 Movie Lists. http://www.geocities.com/aaronbcaldwell/dimsscri.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-19. 
  68. ^ a b "100 Best Films of the 20th Century". Filmsite.org. 2001. http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  69. ^ "The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll: 1992". British Film Institute. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/history/1992.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-15. 
  70. ^ "SUMMARY OF TOP FILMS OF ALL-TIME". Filmsite.org. http://www.filmsite.org/greatfilmssummary.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  71. ^ "Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll 2002: The rest of the critics' list". Sight & Sound. British Film Institute. https://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics-long.html. Retrieved on 2009-04-24. 
  72. ^ Ivana Redwine. ""Apu Trilogy" DVD Review". About.com. http://homevideo.about.com/cs/worldfilm/gr/ApuTrilogyDVDRv.htm. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  73. ^ "SIGHT AND SOUND 1982 RANKING OF FILMS". http://www.geocities.com/the7thart/1982.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. 
  74. ^ "Top 10 Indian Films". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/india. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  75. ^ Gandhi (1982) at the Internet Movie Database
  76. ^ poll
  77. ^ http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0060196
  78. ^ a b "Directors' Top Ten Poll". Sight & Sound. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/directors.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  79. ^ Shichinin no samurai (1954) at the Internet Movie Database
  80. ^ "The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll: 1982". Sight & Sound. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/history/1982.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  81. ^ "The Sight & Sound Top Ten Poll: 1992". Sight & Sound. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/history/1992.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  82. ^ "Best of Rotten Tomatoes: Foreign". Rotten Tomatoes. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_genre.php?category=200010. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  83. ^ "Best of Rotten Tomatoes: Action/Adventure". Rotten Tomatoes. http://uk.rottentomatoes.com/top/bestofrt_genre.php. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  84. ^ "Seven Samurai". Film Forum. http://www.filmforum.org/films/7samurai.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. 
  85. ^ "Critics' Top Ten Poll". Sight & Sound. http://www.bfi.org.uk/sightandsound/topten/poll/critics.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-30. 
  86. ^ Peter Bradshaw pays tribute to Tokyo Story | Features | guardian.co.uk Film
  87. ^ "Sight and Sound Poll 1962: Critics". California Institute of Technology. http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/sight/1962.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. 
  88. ^ "Sight and Sound Poll 1972: Critics". California Institute of Technology. http://alumnus.caltech.edu/~ejohnson/sight/1972.html. Retrieved on 2009-05-29. 
  89. ^ http://www.cinema.nl/nff-2008/media/4085225/nff-2008-beste-nederlandse-film-aller-tijden
  90. ^ a b "Norsk film i 100". 2005-10-23. http://www.biff.no/2005/index.php3?ID=Nyhet&Eng=&ID2=Vis&counter=67. 
  91. ^ "Top 10 Pakistani Films". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/pakistan. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  92. ^ "User Poll: Pakistani Top 10". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/userpoll/pakistan.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-15. 
  93. ^ ebroadcast.com.au, ASIA PACIFIC SCREEN AWARDS WINNERS ANNOUNCED
  94. ^ in.reuters.com, Kazakh comedy wins Asia-Pacific best movie award
  95. ^ theaustralian.news.com.au, Balloon Grabs Asia-Pac Screen Award
  96. ^ gmanews.tv/story, Himala is CNN best film of all time in Asia-Pacific
  97. ^ "The Best Polish Film of the Last 30 Years" (results of the poll by "Cinema", "Esensja" and "Stopklatka.pl") (in Polish)"
  98. ^ SERBIAN FILM PRODUCTION - FEATURE FILMS
  99. ^ "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/srilanka. Retrieved on 2009-03-14. 
  100. ^ "User Poll: Sri Lankan Top 10". British Film Institute. 2002. http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/imagineasia/guide/poll/userpoll/srilanka.html. Retrieved on 2009-03-15. 
  101. ^ http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0050976
  102. ^ BFI | Features | The BFI 100 | 1-10
  103. ^ Stars vote Lawrence of Arabia the best British film of all time - Telegraph
  104. ^ Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) at the Internet Movie Database
  105. ^ BBC NEWS | Entertainment | Film | Get Carter tops British film poll
  106. ^ The Dark Knight (2008) at the Internet Movie Database
  107. ^ AFI told their jury to consider "Movies that inspire with characters of vision and conviction who face adversity and often make a personal sacrifice for the greater good. Whether these movies end happily or not, they are ultimately triumphant—both filling audiences with hope and empowering them with the spirit of human potential.

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