Monday, 12 October 2015

List Of Films Considered The Best

While there is no general agreement upon the greatest film, many publications and organizations have tried to determine the films considered the best. Each film listed here has been mentioned in a notable survey, whether a popular poll, or a poll among film reviewers. 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. Many films are widely considered among the best ever made, whether they appear at #1 on each list or not. For example, many believe that Orson WellesCitizen Kane is the best movie ever made, and it appears as #1 on AFI's Best Movies list, whereas The Empire Strikes Back is #1 on the Empire magazine's Top 301 List.
None of the surveys that produced these citations should be viewed as a scientific measure of the film-watching world. Each may suffer the effects of vote stacking or skewed demographicsInternet-based surveys have a self-selected 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.

Critics and filmmakers

Sight & Sound poll

Every decade, the British film magazine Sight & Sound asks an international group of film professionals to vote for the 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. The American film critic 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]
  • Citizen Kane (1941) by Orson Welles was voted #1 in the five Sight & Sound critics' polls from 1962 to 2002.[2] A separate Sight & Sound poll of established film directors, held for the first time in 1992, also placed Citizen Kane at the top in 1992 and 2002.[2]
  • Bicycle Thieves (1948) by Vittorio De Sica topped the first Sight & Sound critics' poll, in 1952. It also came #7 in 1962 and #6 in 2002.[2] It also came #10 in the 2012 directors' poll.[3]
  • Tokyo Story (1953) by Yasujirō Ozu topped the Sight & Sound directors' poll in 2012, dethroning Citizen Kane.[3] Tokyo Story also appeared in the Sight & Sound critics' poll at third place in 1992, fifth in 2002, and third in 2012.[4]
  • Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock topped the Sight & Sound critics' poll in 2012, dethroning Citizen Kane.[3] It also came #7 in 1982, #4 in 1992, and #2 in 2002.[2] In the directors' poll, it came #6 in 1992 and 2002,[2] and #7 in 2012.[3]
  • La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game) (1939) by Jean Renoir is the only movie to have appeared in every one of the Sight & Sound critics' polls; its only appearance in the directors' poll was #9 in 2002.
For the full list published in 2012, see The Sight & Sound Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time.

Brussels World's Fair's international poll

The Brussels World's Fair, organized in 1958, offered the occasion for the organization by thousands of critics andfilmmakers from all over the world, of the first universal film poll in history.[5] These were the films chosen as most artistically fulfilled:[6][7][8][9]
RankFilmDirectorYear
1Броненосец Потёмкин (Battleship Potemkin)Sergei Eisenstein1925
2The Gold RushCharles Chaplin1925
3Ladri di biciclette (Bicycle Thieves)Vittorio De Sica1948
4La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc (The Passion of Joan of Arc)Carl Theodor Dreyer1928
5La Grande Illusion (Grand Illusion)Jean Renoir1937
6GreedErich von Stroheim1924
7Intolerance: Love's Struggle Through the AgesD. W. Griffith1916
8Мать (Mother)Vsevolod Pudovkin1926
9Citizen KaneOrson Welles1941
10Земля (Earth)Alexander Dovzhenko1930
11Der letzte Mann (The Last Laugh)F.W. Murnau1924
12Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari (The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari)Robert Wiene1920

Rotten Tomatoes

In the Rotten Tomatoes ranking, The Wizard of Oz (1939) is in 1st place.[10] The top 10 movies with the highest score also compiled in the list—they are:
Top 10 positions from Rotten Tomatoes "Top 100 Movies of All Time"
NMoviesYearRatingNo. of reviews
1The Wizard of Oz193999%107 [11]
2The Third Man1949100%73[12]
3Citizen Kane1941100%69[13]
4A Hard Day's Night196499%101[14]
5All About Eve1950100%63[15]
6The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari1920100%48[16]
7Modern Times1936100%53[17]
8The Godfather197299%84[18]
9E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial198298%111[19]
10Metropolis192799%114[20]
*Eligible movies must have more than 40 reviews from critics. The rankings based on Adjusted Score.

Metacritic

Metacritic lists almost 9,000 movies ranked by score.[21] As of October 7th, 2015, the top 10 movies are:
Top 10 positions from Metacritic "Best Movies of All Time"
NMoviesReleased dateScore
1BoyhoodJul 11, 2014100/100[22]
2AnomalisaDec 30, 201599/100[23]
3Pan's LabyrinthDec 29, 200698/100[24]
3Hoop DreamsOct 14, 199498/100[25]
54 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 DaysJan 23, 200897/100[26]
512 Years A SlaveOct 18, 201397/100[27]
7Dr. StrangeloveJan 29, 196496/100[28]
8RatatouilleJan 29, 200796/100[29]
8GravityOct 4, 201396/100[30]
10The Social NetworkOct 1, 201095/100[31]
10CarolDec 18, 201595/100[32]
10Zero Dark ThirtyDec 19, 201295/100[33]
10A SeparationDec 30, 201195/100[34]

Audience polls

Particular genres or media

Action

Animation

Christmas

Comedy

Comic book/superhero

See Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind in the acclaimed animated films section above.
  • Akira (1988) is the highest-ranking animated film on lists of best comic book movies published by Movie Review Query Engine,[130] Film4[131] and Total Film,[132] as well as the highest-ranking comic book adaptation on IGN's top 25 animated movies of all time in 2010,[95] and Complex magazine's Best Animated Movies of All Time list.[133]
  • The Dark Knight Trilogy was collectively ranked as #1 on Newsarama's top ten comic book movies list.[134] The Dark Knight (2008) was voted the greatest superhero movie in a reader's poll conducted by Rolling Stone magazine,[135] and #1 on lists published by Rotten Tomatoes,[136][137] Movie Review Query Engine,[130] AskMen,[138] IGN[139] The Guardian,[140] Total Film,[132] and TheStreet.com.[141] The Dark Knight Rises, the final installment, is considered the best comic book superhero movie in a list published by Forbes in 2012.[142]
  • Death Note (2006) was chosen as the best live-action film based on a manga comic in a Japanese audience poll conducted by the Goo Research online monitor group.[143]
  • Ghost in the Shell (1995) is the highest-ranking film based on a manga comic on Rotten Tomatoes' Comics & Graphic Novels Vs. The Critics list in order of critical approval.[137]
  • Oldboy (2003) is the highest ranking film based on a manga comic on Empire Magazine's lists of the 500 greatest movies of all time,[144] as well as Empire's The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema list.[145] It is the only comic book adaptation to be named one of the ten best Asian films ever made in a 2008 poll conducted by CNN.[146]
  • The Avengers (2012) was ranked #1 in the 2012 edition of SFX's Top 50 Superhero Movies Of All Time list,[147] and the best comic book movie of all time in a list published by Film4 in order of critical approval.[131]
  • The Incredibles (2004) was ranked #1 in Time magazine's list of top ten greatest superhero films in 2011.[148] It is also the highest ranking animated superhero film in a reader's poll conducted by Rolling Stone magazine,[135] and on countdown lists published by media outlets such as IGN in 2010,[95] SFX in 2012,[147] The Guardian in 2013,[140] and theHouston Chronicle in 2014.[149]
  • Persepolis (2007) was the highest ranking graphic novel adaptation on a list of best animated movies ever published by Entertainment Weekly.[150]
  • Spider-Man 2 (2004) was #1 on Rotten Tomatoes' Comix Worst to Best list in 2007.[151]
  • X2 (2003) was voted #1 in Empire Magazine's list of the 20 Greatest Comic Book Movies in 2006.[152]

Courtroom

Crime/gangster

See also The Godfather and The Godfather Part II in the Films acclaimed in audience polls section above.

Disaster

Documentary

Of the first 250 films in the British Film Institute's 2012 Sight & Sound poll, some are documentaries. The first five to appear are as follows:

Epic

Fantasy

High school

Horror/monster/thriller

Musical

Mystery

Political/historical

Propaganda

Religious

Romance

Science fiction


See Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back in the Films acclaimed in audience polls section above.

Sports

War

Western

Classic Western

Spaghetti Western

Main article: Spaghetti Western

Countries

Afghanistan

The highest ranked Afghan film is Osama. The 2003 drama was critically and commercially successful; it gathered a rating of 96% based on 100 reviews collected by Rotten Tomatoes,[221] and grossed $3,888,902 worldwide from a small budget of $46,000.[222] The film won several awards including the Golden Globe Award For Best Foreign Language Film in 2003.

Antigua and Barbuda

Argentina

Two Argentine films have received Academy Awards for best foreign language film: Puenzo's The Official Story in 1985, and Campanella's The Secret in Their Eyes in 2009, both around the topic of the 1976 to 1983 military government in Argentina.
Fabián Bielinsky's Nine Queens earned 92% of positive reviews, based on 93 reviews, with a rating average of 7.5 out of 10 on the review-aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes.[224] Ricardo Darín stars in both Nine Queens and The Secret in Their Eyes.

Aruba

  • Musical film Abo So (2013) directed by Aruban filmmaker Juan Francisco Pardo is one of the best films in Papiamentolanguage. It won the Best Feature Film award at 9th Belize International Film Festival.[225]

Australia

The Australian Film Institute, in collaboration with Australia Post, conducted an initiative in 2008 asking the Australian public to vote for their all-time favourite Australian film. Results from the poll indicate the top five Australian films of all time are:[227]

Bangladesh

  • Matir Moina (2002): Winner of the International Critics Prize at Cannes in 2002, internationally acclaimed (and distributed) production that was well received overseas, it was the first Bangladeshi movie nominated for an Oscar.[230]
  • Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (1973): In 2007, A River Called Titas topped the list of 10 best Bangladeshi films, as chosen in the audience and critics' polls conducted by the British Film Institute.[231]

Belgium

Brazil

See also: Cinema of Brazil

Bulgaria

Canada

See also: Cinema of Canada

Czech Republic

Chile

See also: Cinema of Chile

China

See also: Cinema of China
See Raise the Red Lantern (traditional Chinese大紅燈籠高高掛) in the Films acclaimed in audience polls section above.

Croatia

  • Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (One Who Sings Means No Harm, 1970) was voted the best Croatian all time movie by the Croatian Society of Film Critics.

Denmark

  • Day of Wrath (Vredens dagCarl Th. Dreyer's harrowing tale of adultery and repression is often cited in Denmark as the greatest Danish film.[250]
  • Flickering Lights (Blinkende lygter) the 2000 comedy about small-time gangsters was voted the Best Danish Film in a 2007 poll by the Ekstra Bladet tabloid newspaper. Thomas Vinterberg's The Celebration (Festen) was the runner-up.[251]

Egypt

To mark the centennial of Egyptian cinema, Al Ahram daily newspaper asked the country's top 20 critics to choose the best 15 best Egyptian films of all time. This is the result of the poll (first published July 12, 2007):[citation needed]

Estonia

  • Kevade (Spring, 1969) received the first place in the Estonian feature films Top Ten Poll in 2002 held by Estonian film critics and journalists.[252]

Finland

France

See also: Cinema of France

Germany

Greece

See also: Cinema of Greece

Hong Kong

  • A Better Tomorrow (英雄本色) (1986), filmed and produced in Hong Kong, was voted the second best Chinese film ever made by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association in 2005.[255]
  • Drunken Master II (醉拳二) (1994), directed by Jackie Chan and Lau Kar-Leung, is the highest-ranking entirely Hong Kong production and third highest-ranking Asian film on Time Magazine's "Readers Top Rated" list.[70] See theacclaimed action films section above for other martial arts films made in Hong Kong.
  • In the Mood for Love (花樣年華) (2000), directed by Wong Kar-wai, was chosen as the greatest Hong Kong film out of 100 choices by the Hong Kong edition of Time Out.[256] It came #24 on the most recent Sights and Sound poll, and is the only Hong Kong production to make the top 50. Wong Kar-wai's earlier work, Days of Being Wild (阿飛正傳) (1990), ranks #3 on the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures list and is considered the first part of an informal trilogy with In the Mood for Love forming the second part.

Hungary

In 2000, Hungarian film critics chose the so-called "Budapest 12",[257] the twelve best films of Hungary:
Of all Hungarian filmmakers, Béla Tarr has arguably the most recognition among English-language critics; his films Satan's Tango (1994) and Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) both ranked in the British Film Institute's Sight & Sound critics' poll—at #36 and #171 respectively.[258][259]

India

Iran

See also: Cinema of Iran

Ireland

Israel

See also: Cinema of Israel
  • The Policeman (1971) was voted "Best Israeli Film of All Time" in 2008 poll by Cafe The Marker, affiliated with the prestigious Israeli newspaper Haaretz. More than 100 surfers and 7 film experts chose The Policeman. The movie finished ahead of Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona and Blaumilch Canal at a split second place.[286]
  • Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona (1976) was voted "Favorite Israeli Film of All Time" in a 2004 poll by Ynet, the website of a popular Israeli newspaper. The film got votes from 25,000 surfers.[287]

Italy

See also: Cinema of Italy

Japan

See also: Cinema of 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).[261] It also tied for the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the Sight and Sound 2002 Directors' Top Ten Poll (ranked #9).[290]
  • 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. It ranked #3 in the 1982 Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll,[291] appeared on the Sight & Sound Directors' Top Ten Poll in 1992 (ranked #10),[292] tied for the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film in 2002 (ranked #9),[290] and ranked #17 on the 2012 critics' poll.[293] It is ranked #2 on Rotten Tomatoes' top 100 foreign films,[235] and #1 on their top 100 action/adventure films.[63] It was also voted the "Best Japanese Film ever" in a 1979Kinema Junpo critics' poll.[294] It also topped Empire magazine's "The 100 Best Films Of World Cinema" list.[295]
  • 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).[296] It was also declared the greatest film ever byHalliwell's Film Guide in 2005.[297] In 2012, Tokyo Story topped the Sight & Sound directors' poll, dethroning Citizen Kane for the first time since the directors' poll began in 1992, and has also come third place in the 2012 critics' poll.[3]
  • Ugetsu (雨月物語 Ugetsu Monogatari), 1953: Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, it was the highest-ranking Asian film in theSight & Sound critics' polls in 1962 (ranked #4)[298] and 1972 (ranked #10).[299]

Latvia

See also: Cinema of Latvia

Macedonia

Mali

  • Yeelen is the best African film according to a Mubi poll.[301]

Malta

  • Simshar is the first Maltese film to be submitted for the Best Foreign Language Oscar.

Mexico

See also: Cinema of Mexico
  • Pan's Labyrinth, a 2006 Mexican co-production, is the highest ranked Mexican or Latin American film on Empiremagazine's "100 Best Films Of World Cinema" in 2010.[302]

Netherlands

New Zealand

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

Norway

See also: Cinema of 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.[304]
  • Ni Liv (Nine Lives – 1957 – Arne Skouen): The critics' choice for "Best Norwegian Film of the Century" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.[304]

Pakistan

  • Baji (1963), directed by S. Suleman, topped the British Film Institute's critics poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time.[305]
  • Aina (1977), directed by Nazr-ul-Islam, topped the British Film Institute's user poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time.[306]

Philippines

See Himala in the Films acclaimed in audience polls section above.
  • Maynila: Sa mga Kuko ng Liwanag (Manila in the Claws of Light; 1975) by Lino Brocka was cited in numerous film anthologies and critical polls as the greatest Filipino film ever.[307][308]
  • City After Dark (originally entitled Manila by Night; 1980) by Ishmael Bernal was cited in a poll conducted in 1989 by film scholar Joel David and his UP criticism class as the best Filipino film of all time.[309]

Poland

See also: Cinema of Poland

Romania

Best 10 Romanian films as considered by the Union of Romanian Cineastes and the Film Critics Association[317] (Uniunea Cineaştilor din România şi Asociaţia Criticilor de Film):

Russia

Serbia

Singapore

Slovakia

Slovenia

  • See You in the Next War (Nasvidenje v naslednji vojni, 1980), voted the best Slovenian film of all times in the poll among contemporary film critics, conducted in 2012 by Dnevnik newspaper.[324]

South Africa

  • Tsotsi In 2006 the film won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film, becoming the first South African Film to win an Oscar.
  • Invictus South African, American film about the events in South Africa before and during the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was hosted in that country following the dismantling of apartheid. Received two acting Academy Award Nominations.
  • District 9 An independent science fiction action/thriller film directed by Neill Blomkamp. Adapted from Alive in Joburg, a 2005 short film directed by Blomkamp and produced by Sharlto Copley and Simon Hansen, depicts humanity, xenophobia, and social segregation. Nominated for four Academy Awards in 2010: Best Picture, Best Adapted Screenplay, Best Visual Effects, and Best Editing.

South Korea

See also: Cinema of Korea

Spain

See also: Cinema of Spain
Several lists consider different films as the best made in Spain. The listed ones more often are: Viridiana (1961), Plácido(1961) and El verdugo (1963).[328] Other films listed in the most of these lists are: El Cochecito (1960), Welcome Mr. Marshall! (1953), Calle Mayor (1956), Chimes at Midnight (1965), The Spirit of the Beehive (1973), Surcos (1951) and La Caza (The Hunt, 1966)

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.[329]
  • Ananta Rathiriya (1995), directed by P. Vithanage, topped the user poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time.[330]

Sweden

See also: Cinema of Sweden

Taiwan

See also: Cinema of Taiwan

Turkey

See also: Cinema of Turkey
In 2003 Ankara Sinema Derneği (Ankara Association for Cinema Culture) chose the "Best 10 Turkish films ever" by a poll among people who are interested in cinema professionally:[333]

Ukraine

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, 100 Years... 100 Movies from 1998 and 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 comedyPsycho as the most thrilling American movieCasablanca as thegreatest American love storySingin' in the Rain as the greatest American film musical, and It's a Wonderful Life as themost inspiring American film.[340]
  • Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock topped the Sight & Sound critics' poll in 2012, dethroning Citizen Kane at the top of the critics' poll for the first time in 50 years since 1962. It has also been voted #8 in the directors' poll.[3]