The Ten Greatest Films of All Time: Sight and Sound Poll

[Frank]

Every decade, Sight and Sound conduct a poll to see which films critics and industry professionals rate most highly. Across both lists, I've only seen nine (the most obvious) of the greatest films of all time, and that doesn't include the critics' number one. Anyone seen them all, do you agree with the rankings, and are they worth seeking out?


Directors' Top Ten Greatest Films of All Time: 

1 Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953)

2 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)

2 Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

4 8 ½ (Fellini, 1963)

5 Taxi Driver (Scorsese, 1980)

6 Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1979)

7 The Godfather (Coppola, 1972)

7 Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)

9 Mirror (Tarkovsky, 1974)

10 Bicycle Thieves (De Sica, 1948)


Critics' Top Ten Greatest Films of All Time:

1 Vertigo (Hitchcock, 1958)

2 Citizen Kane (Welles, 1941)

3 Tokyo Story (Ozu, 1953)

4 La Règle du jeu (Renoir, 1939)

5 Sunrise: a Song for Two Humans (Murnau, 1927)

6 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick, 1968)

7 The Searchers (Ford, 1956)

8 Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)

9 The Passion of Joan of Arc (Dreyer, 1927)

10 8 ½ (Fellini, 1963)

[JOE SOAP]

The same ones appear every year or so. The list more or less shows you the age of the contributors or they'd prefer you to believe there hasn't been a decent film made since 1980.


I've seen all the films that make the list and while they're all worthy*, I don't see why we need a top 10 of anything that can easily be a top 50, 100 or any number you think are equally great.



*Some are just fashionable for people who say they appreciate films but never watch or understand them.

[PreacherCain]

The same ones appear every year or so. The list more or less shows you the age of the contributors or they'd prefer you to believe there hasn't been a decent film made since 1980.

Well... just not as good anyway 

I can't really argue with any of those films very much. I do think Citizen Kane is a better film than Vertigo however. The Director's top ten is actually a better list, in my opinion. The only films in there I think could perhaps be replaced by more modern films are The Godfather and The Searchers. I do think Terence Malick's Badlands deserves be replace either of those

I think it's perfectly understandable that the list is populated by older films as a prerequisite of any "classic" is one that stands the test of time. I think you'll see films from the 90s and 00s in the 2022 or 2032 list 

[WhizzBang]

...there hasn't been a decent film made since 1980.

I pretty much believe this to be the case and I blame Star Wars for the demise of quality in the film industry.

[TordelBack]

...there hasn't been a decent film made since 1980.

I pretty much believe this to be the case and I blame Star Wars for the demise of quality in the film industry.

Absolutely agree.  After all, once you've reached the apex of an art form, it can only be downhill from there...

[JOE SOAP]

...there hasn't been a decent film made since 1980.

I pretty much believe this to be the case and I blame Star Wars for the demise of quality in the film industry.

I'd put Boogie Nights or the early films of Takeshi Kitano up against Mirror (Tarkovsky) anyday.

[JohnMcF]

How can Vertigo be the greatest film of all time?

It's not even the greatest Hitchcock film of all time.

[SmallBlueThing]

Any 'ten greatest films' list that doesnt contain 'house
2: the second storey' and alex de rezny's 'pretty peaches' isnt worth printing out and wiping my arse with.

SBT

[James Stacey]

No Neon Maniacs ? For shame.

[Mudcrab]

...there hasn't been a decent film made since 1980.

I pretty much believe this to be the case and I blame Star Wars for the demise of quality in the film industry.

Absolutely agree.  After all, once you've reached the apex of an art form, it can only be downhill from there...

Uh oh, not that again. Wasn't there a film done in 500 languages that overshadows everything done by anyone who isn't Irish? Or something 

[PreacherCain]

How can Vertigo be the greatest film of all time?

It's not even the greatest Hitchcock film of all time.

The Sight & Sound editor agrees with you there (as do I!)

[Charlie boy]

I agree with PreacherCain that Badlands should be in there, not sure about it replacing Searchers or Godfather tho. Are sequels not allowed to be included in the list? I'm asking only because Godfather II is widely viewed as being better than the original.
If there's going to be a top ten films list, I think there should be more than one list to take the whole indie scene etc or massively overlooked films into account. "Recent" gems including Half Nelson and Wonderboys being two off the top of my head that may not have made huge money at the box office or be in many a household collection but they definitely deserve a mention.

[PreacherCain]

I agree with PreacherCain that Badlands should be in there, not sure about it replacing Searchers or Godfather tho. Are sequels not allowed to be included in the list? I'm asking only because Godfather II is widely viewed as being better than the original.
If there's going to be a top ten films list, I think there should be more than one list to take the whole indie scene etc or massively overlooked films into account. "Recent" gems including Half Nelson and Wonderboys being two off the top of my head that may not have made huge money at the box office or be in many a household collection but they definitely deserve a mention.

I think some people view the first Godfather as more complete or self-contained whilst its sequel requires some knowledge of what happened in the previous film to fully appreciate it. I do prefer Part II myself (if I had to choose) but I can see why the first film would be chosen over its sequel. I don't think there was a "no sequel" rule, however. Pretty sure the poll was very open in that regard.

S&S have done a number of articles leading up to this poll that talks about lists and the baggage that goes with them. And they've pointed out in advance that a lot of the films will be ones from Europe/US as opposed to further afield simply due to availability; people can't vote for films that haven't seen! At this stage it's a tradition for the magazine (and one that garners a lot of attention too!) regardless of how a lot of their writers might feel about categorizing films like this.

I like The Searchers but honestly, I do feel its inclusion is somewhat due to just having to have a John Ford film in there. I suppose you could accuse a lot of the films of that, however. 

[Charlie boy]

After giving it some more thought (yes, I do have quite a lot of spare time on my hands these days...), I think it would be better if there were lists for each decade. After that, all the films can be locked in a room together and we see the ten who come walking out.
Bicycle Thieves deserves to make it into the top ten but Chinatown, Marathon Man, Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands (as mentioned), Blue Velvet or The Third Man to name a few don't?
(sorry if anybody here is a Bicycle Thieves fan but I remember watching that when I was taking A Level Film Studies- where we also watched The Third Man- and I just don't agree at all with that being one of the greatest films of all time).

[JOE SOAP]

After giving it some more thought (yes, I do have quite a lot of spare time on my hands these days...), I think it would be better if there were lists for each decade. After that, all the films can be locked in a room together and we see the ten who come walking out.
Bicycle Thieves deserves to make it into the top ten but Chinatown, Marathon Man, Bonnie and Clyde, Badlands (as mentioned), Blue Velvet or The Third Man to name a few don't?
(sorry if anybody here is a Bicycle Thieves fan but I remember watching that when I was taking A Level Film Studies- where we also watched The Third Man- and I just don't agree at all with that being one of the greatest films of all time).

This is the thing, why should the films we personally like take the place of films that make up someone else's list. There are too many films that are great in their own right for there to be something as limiting as a top 10 or even a top 100.

Some have reason to believe the Third Man is a better film than Bicycle Thieves but for different reasons. They both don't need to be wrong or even compared, they're different films to be enjoyed in different ways.

Same way we don't need to listen to snobby critics who only believe films made in the first half of the last century are best or trust that the dumbest, collective method of measuring the best of our culture - majority voting - is a sound reasoning - we certainly don't get the best politicians that way.