|
The British magazine, Sight & Sound, has done a poll of critics and/or directors every decade since 1952. 12 of those lists have been aggregated here to create this top 100.
1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Rules of the Game (La Règle du Jeu) (1939)
3. Vertigo (1958)
4. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)
5. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)
6. The Godfather (1972)
7. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954)
8. The Passion of Joan of Arc (La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc) (1928)
9. Tokyo Story (Tôkyô Monogatari) (1953)
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
11. The Bicycle Thief, aka “The Bicycle Thieves” (Ladri di Biciclette) (1947)
12. L’Atalante (aka “Le Chaland Qui Passe”) (1934)
13. The Godfather Part II (1974)
14. The Adventure (L’Avventura) (1960)
15. The Searchers (1956)
16. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
17. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
18. Raging Bull (1980)
19. Persona (aka “Masks”) (1966)
20. Apocalypse Now (1979)
21. Rashômon (1950)
22. Man with a Movie Camera (Chelovek s Kinoapparatom) (1929)
23. In the Mood for Love (Dut Yeung Nin Wa) (2000)
24. Close-Up (Nema-ye Nazdik) (1960)
25. The Apu Trilogy: Pather Panchali (1955)
26. The General (1927)
27. Ugetsu (aka “Ugetsu Mongatari” or “Tales of a Pale Moon After the Rain”) (1953)
28. City Lights (1931)
29. Mulholland Drive (2001)
30. The Mirror (Zerkalo) (1974)
31. Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) (1959)
32. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
33. Taxi Driver (1976)
34. Andrei Rublev (1996)
35. La Strada (1954)
36. Stalker (1979)
37. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
38. The Word (Ordet) (1954)
39. The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)
40. The Battle of Algiers (La Battaglia di Algeria) (1966)
41. Modern Times (1936)
42. Le Mépris (1963)
43. The Sweet Life (La Dolce Vita) (1960)
44. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
45. Beau Travail (1999)
46. Playtime (1967)
47. Psycho (1960)
48. Some Like It Hot (1959)
49. Shoah (1985)
50. Greed (1924)
51. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
52. Barry Lyndon (1975)
53. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
54. Cleo from 5 to 7 (Cléo de 5 à 7) (1962)
55. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
56. Fanny and Alexander (Fanny och Alexander) (1982)
57. Come and See (1985)
58. Goodfellas (1990)
59. Late Spring (1949)
60. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
61. Meshes of the Afternoon (1943)
62. A Man Escaped (Un Condamné À Mort S’est Échappé Ou Le Vent Souffle Où Il Veut) (1956)
63. Wild Strawberries (Smultronstället) (1957)
64. The Jetty (La Jetée) (aka “The Pier”) (1962)
65. Viridiana (1961)
66. Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era Una Volta il West) (1968)
67. The Gold Rush (1925)
68. Satan’s Tango (Sátántangó) (1994)
69. Gertrud (1964)
70. Journey to Italy (1954)
71. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Angst Essen Seele Auf) (1974)
72. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
73. Blade Runner (1982)
74. Blue Velvet (1986)
75. Pierrot Goes Wild (or "Crazy Pete") (Pierrot le Fou) (1965)
76. Jaws (1975)
77. Kes (1969)
78. Don’t Look Now (1973)
79. Pickpocket (1959)
80. The Mother and the Whore (La Maman et la Putain) (1973)
81. The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) (1957)
82. Salo, or The 120 days of Sodom (Salò o le centoventi giornate di sodoma) (1975)
83. The Conformist (Il Conformista) (1970)
84. Chinatown (1974)
85. Sunless (Sans Soleil) (1983)
86. Money (L’Argent) (1983)
87. Hidden (Caché) (2004)
88. Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)
89. Louisana Story (1948)
90. Ivan the Terrible (1944)
91. Daybreak (Le Jour Se Lève) (1939)
92. The Earth Trembles (La Terra Trema) (1948)
93. Brief Encounter (1946)
94. Crash (2005)
95. Le Million (1931)
96. Touch of Evil (1958)
97. Do the Right Thing (1989)
98. Amarcord (1972)
99. Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
100. Metropolis (1927)
Resources:
Originally posted 7/28/2019; last updated 5/29/2023. | 
