Once a decade, Sight & Sound Magazine reveals its global critics poll of . In 1952, the inaugural list was topped by Vittorio De Sica’s “Bicycle Thieves” (1948), while Orson Welles’ “Citizen Kane” (1941) reigned in 1962, 1972, 1982, 1992 and 2002 before Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” (1958) finally dethroned it in 2012.
On Thursday, the magazine released its latest聽poll of 1,639 critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics, who crowned a聽new champion, one that many 海角精品黑料 listeners probably haven’t seen: the Belgian-French flick (1975) directed by the pivotal feminist filmmaker Chantal Akerman.
The film follows a lonely widow doing her daily chores, taking care of her teenage son and turning tricks for money. At three聽hours and 22 minutes, it won’t be everyone’s cup of tea, but聽like “Kane” and “Vertigo” before it, its newly anointed throne invites viewers to discover a new way of seeing cinema on a deeper academic level than popcorn entertainment.
Keep in mind, Sight & Sound’s picks aren’t bastions of Hollywood glory聽(check out the聽), nor are they聽meant to be watched only once for escapism (try the ). These films are meant to be analyzed like paintings over multiple viewings, revealing more symbolic images, camera angles and thematic layers on each repeat experience.
Here’s the Top 100 list, followed by what I think voters got right and wrong:
Sight & Sound Critics Poll of the Top 100 Greatest Films
1. 鈥淛eanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles鈥� (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
2. 鈥淰ertigo鈥� (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
3. 鈥淐itizen Kane鈥� (Orson Welles, 1941)
4. 鈥淭okyo Story鈥� (Ozu Yasujiro, 1953)
5. 鈥淚n the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
6. 鈥�2001: A Space Odyssey鈥� (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
7. 鈥淏eau travail鈥� (Claire Denis, 1999)
8. 鈥淢ulholland Drive鈥� (David Lynch, 2001)
9. 鈥淢an with a Movie Camera鈥� (Dziga Vertov, 1929)
10. 鈥淪ingin鈥� in the Rain鈥� (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
11. 鈥淪unrise: A Song of Two Humans鈥� (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
12. 鈥淭he Godfather鈥� (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
13. 鈥淟a R猫gle du Jeu鈥� (Jean Renoir, 1939)
14. 鈥淐l茅o from 5 to 7鈥� (Agn猫s Varda, 1962)
15. 鈥淭he Searchers鈥� (John Ford, 1956)
16. 鈥淢eshes of the Afternoon鈥� (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
17. 鈥淐lose-Up鈥� (Abbas Kiarostami, 1990)
18. 鈥淧ersona鈥� (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
19. 鈥淎pocalypse Now鈥� (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
20. 鈥淪even Samurai鈥� (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
21. (TIE) 鈥淭he Passion of Joan of Arc鈥� (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
21. (TIE) 鈥淟ate Spring鈥� (Ozu Yasujiro, 1949)
23. 鈥淧laytime鈥� (Jacques Tati, 1967)
24. 鈥淒o the Right Thing鈥� (Spike Lee, 1989)
25. (TIE) 鈥淎u Hasard Balthazar鈥� (Robert Bresson, 1966)
25. (TIE) “The Night of the Hunter鈥� (Charles Laughton, 1955)
27. 鈥淪hoah鈥� (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)
28. 鈥淒aisies鈥� (V臎ra Chytilov谩, 1966)
29. 鈥淭axi Driver鈥� (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
30. 鈥淧ortrait of a Lady on Fire鈥� (C茅line Sciamma, 2019)
31. (TIE) 鈥淢irror鈥� (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975)
31. (TIE) 鈥�8陆鈥� (Federico Fellini, 1963)
31. (TIE) 鈥淧sycho鈥� (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
34. 鈥淟鈥橝talante鈥� (Jean Vigo, 1934)
35. 鈥淧ather Panchali鈥� (Satyajit Ray, 1955)
36. (TIE) 鈥淐ity Lights鈥� (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)
36. (TIE) 鈥淢鈥� (Fritz Lang, 1931)
38. (TIE) 鈥溍� bout de souffle鈥� (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960)
38. (TIE) 鈥淪ome Like It Hot鈥� (Billy Wilder, 1959)
38. (TIE) 鈥淩ear Window鈥� (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954)
41. (TIE) 鈥淏icycle Thieves鈥� (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
41. (TIE) 鈥淩ashomon鈥� (Akira Kurosawa, 1950)
43. (TIE) 鈥淪talker鈥� (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)
43. (TIE) 鈥淜iller of Sheep鈥� (Charles Burnett, 1977)
45. (TIE) 鈥淣orth by Northwest鈥� (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)
45. (TIE) 鈥淭he Battle of Algiers鈥� (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966)
45. (TIE) 鈥淏arry Lyndon鈥� (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)
48. (TIE) 鈥淲anda鈥� (Barbara Loden, 1970)
48. (TIE) 鈥淥rdet鈥� (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1955)
50. (TIE) 鈥淭he 400 Blows鈥� (Fran莽ois Truffaut, 1959)
50. (TIE) 鈥淭he Piano鈥� (Jane Campion, 1992)
52. (TIE) 鈥淣ews from Home鈥� (Chantal Akerman, 1976)
52. (TIE) 鈥淔ear Eats the Soul鈥� (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974)
54. (TIE) 鈥淭he Apartment鈥� (Billy Wilder, 1960)
54. (TIE) 鈥淏attleship Potemkin鈥� (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925)
54. (TIE) 鈥淪herlock Jr.鈥� (Buster Keaton, 1924)
54. (TIE) 鈥淟e M茅pris鈥� (Jean-Luc Godard 1963)
54. (TIE) 鈥淏lade Runner鈥� (Ridley Scott 1982)
59. 鈥淪ans soleil鈥� (Chris Marker 1982)
60. (TIE) 鈥淒aughters of the Dust鈥� (Julie Dash 1991)
60. (TIE) 鈥淟a dolce vita鈥� (Federico Fellini 1960)
60. (TIE) 鈥淢oonlight鈥� (Barry Jenkins 2016)
63. (TIE) 鈥淐asablanca鈥� (Michael Curtiz 1942)
63. (TIE) 鈥淕oodFellas鈥� (Martin Scorsese 1990)
63. (TIE) 鈥淭he Third Man鈥� (Carol Reed 1949)
66. 鈥淭ouki Bouki” (Djibril Diop Mamb茅ty 1973)
67. (TIE) 鈥淭he Gleaners and I鈥� (Agn猫s Varda 2000)
67. (TIE) 鈥淢etropolis鈥� (Fritz Lang 1927)
67. (TIE) 鈥淎ndrei Rublev鈥� (Andrei Tarkovsky 1966)
67. (TIE) 鈥淭he Red Shoes鈥� (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 1948)
67. (TIE) 鈥淟a Jet茅e鈥� (Chris Marker 1962)
72. (TIE) 鈥淢y Neighbour Totoro鈥� (Miyazaki Hayao 1988)
72. (TIE) 鈥淛ourney to Italy鈥� (Roberto Rossellini 1954)
72. (TIE) 鈥淟鈥檃vventura鈥� (Michelangelo Antonioni 1960)
75. (TIE) 鈥淚mitation of Life鈥� (Douglas Sirk 1959)
75. (TIE) 鈥淪ansho the Bailiff鈥� (Mizoguchi Kenji 1954)
75. (TIE) 鈥淪pirited Away鈥� (Miyazaki Hayao 2001)
78. (TIE) 鈥淎 Brighter Summer Day鈥� (Edward Yang 1991)
78. (TIE) 鈥淪谩t谩ntang贸鈥� (B茅la Tarr 1994)
78. (TIE) 鈥淐茅line and Julie Go Boating鈥� (Jacques Rivette 1974)
78. (TIE) 鈥淢odern Times” (Charlie Chaplin 1936)
78. (TIE) 鈥淪unset Blvd.鈥� (Billy Wilder 1950)
78. (TIE) 鈥淎 Matter of Life and Death鈥� (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 1946)
84. (TIE) 鈥淏lue Velvet鈥� (David Lynch 1986)
84. (TIE) 鈥淧ierrot le fou鈥� (Jean-Luc Godard 1965)
84. (TIE) 鈥淗istoire (s) du cin茅ma鈥� (Jean-Luc Godard 1988-1998)
84. (TIE) 鈥淭he Spirit of the Beehive鈥� (Victor Erice, 1973)
88. (TIE) 鈥淭he Shining鈥� (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)
88. (TIE) 鈥淐hungking Express鈥� (Wong Kar Wai, 1994)
90. (TIE) 鈥淢adame de 鈥︹�� (Max Oph眉ls, 1953)
90. (TIE) 鈥淭he Leopard鈥� (Luchino Visconti, 1962)
90. (TIE) 鈥淯getsu鈥� (Mizoguchi Kenji, 1953)
90. (TIE) 鈥淧arasite鈥� (Bong Joon Ho, 2019)
90. (TIE) 鈥淵i Yi鈥� (Edward Yang, 1999)
95. (TIE) 鈥淎 Man Escaped鈥� (Robert Bresson, 1956)
95. (TIE) 鈥淭he General鈥� (Buster Keaton, 1926)
95. (TIE) 鈥淥nce upon a Time in the West鈥� (Sergio Leone, 1968)
95. (TIE) 鈥淕et Out鈥� (Jordan Peele, 2017)
95. (TIE) 鈥淏lack Girl鈥� (Ousmane Semb猫ne, 1965)
95. (TIE) 鈥淭ropical Malady鈥� (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)
There are so many things that聽make me cheer (and cringe) about this list. Where should we start? Let’s move backwards in time through the different eras of movie history.
First, I’m thrilled that 21st century films cracked the list: Jordan Peele’s “Get Out” (2017) at No. 95, Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite” (2019) at No. 90, Barry Jenkins’ “Moonlight” (2016) at No. 60, Celine Sciamma’s “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (2019) at No. 30, David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” (2001) at No. 8, Wong Kar-wai’s “In the Mood for Love” (2000) at No. 5.
These picks aren’t a case of recency bias; they are beautifully crafted films with thrilling social statements on class (“Parasite”), racial commentary with double-meaning dialogue and symbolic visuals (“Get Out”), poetic imagery of coming-of-age identity (“Moonlight”) and some of the most sensual cinematography you’ll ever see (“In the Mood for Love”).
While these are all modern masterpieces deserving this distinction, it’s also a statement by global critics against popular fare. You won’t find any聽superhero flicks (Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight”), fantasy franchises (Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings”) or blockbuster CGI wizards like George Lucas (“Star Wars”) and James Cameron (“Titanic”).
Oddly shut out are聽auteurs like Quentin Tarantino (“Pulp Fiction”), Coens (“Fargo”), David Fincher (鈥淪e7en鈥�), P.T. Anderson (“There Will Be Blood”), Wes Anderson (“The Royal Tenenbaums”), Ang Lee (鈥淏rokeback Mountain鈥�), Michael Haneke (“Cache”), Danny Boyle (“Trainspotting”), Darren Aronofsky (“The Wrestler”) and Kelly Reichardt (“First Cow”).
There’s a disappointing bias against modern Latin filmmakers like Pedro Almodovar (“All About My Mother”), Alfonso Cuar贸n (鈥淵 Tu Mama Tambien鈥�), Guillermo del Toro (鈥淧an鈥檚 Labyrinth鈥�) and Alejandro Gonz谩lez I帽谩rritu (鈥淏irdman鈥�), who all made history by winning recently at the Academy Awards, but find no such inclusion here.
Most notably, the list doesn’t include a single Steven Spielberg film, which means voters value the eye over the heart. Perhaps聽“Jaws” (1975), “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981), “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial” (1982) and “Jurassic Park” (1993) were too mainstream, but surely聽“Schindler’s List” (1993) or “Saving Private Ryan” (1998) deserved consideration.
Alas, voters hated the blockbuster ’80s, opting for Stanley Kubrick’s “The Shining” (1980) at No. 88, David Lynch’s “Blue Velvet” (1986) at No. 84, Ridley Scott’s “Blade Runner” (1982) at No. 54 and Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” (1989) at No. 24. I wasn’t expecting Gen X favorites like “Back to the Future” (1985) but where the hell is “Paris Texas” (1984)?
Comparatively, the Hollywood Renaissance of the ’70s fared slightly better with Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Godfather” (1972) at No. 12 and “Apocalypse Now” (1979) at No. 15. Martin Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” (1976) is a worthy No. 29 to go with聽“Goodfellas” (1990) at No. 63, but no “Raging Bull” (1980) is an epic whiff for the best-edited film ever.
Voters ripped聽 cover to cover. Even if you don’t share my love of聽“Rocky” (1976), this era had mise-en-scene by Arthur Penn (“Bonnie & Clyde”), Mike Nichols (“The Graduate”), John Schlesinger (“Midnight Cowboy”), Sam Peckinpah (“The Wild Bunch”), Robert Altman (“Nashville”) and Sidney Lumet (“Network”), but none made it!
Instead, voters hailed the French New Wave masters who inspired them. Jean-Luc Godard has “Breathless” (1960) at No. 38, “Contempt” (1963) at No. 54 and “Pierrot le Fou” (1965) at No. 84. Francois Truffaut has “The 400 Blows” (1959) at No. 50, but no “Jules and Jim” (1962) or “Day for Night” (1973). Alain Resnais’ “Hiroshima Mon Amour” (1959) is a snub.
Their Italian peers landed Sergio Leone’s “Once Upon a Time in the West” (1968) at No. 95, Luchino Visconti’s “The Leopard” (1963) at No. 90 and聽Michelangelo Antonioni’s “L’Avventura” (1960) at No. 72. Federico聽Fellini’s “La Dolce Vita” (1960) and “8 1/2” (1963) are too low at No. 60 and No. 31. Where’s Bernardo Bertolucci’s “The Conformist” (1970)?
#MeToo fallout canned Poland’s Roman Polanski, though “Knife in the Water” (1962), “Repulsion” (1965), “Rosemary’s Baby” (1968) and “Chinatown” (1974) rival any movie on this list. Same with Woody Allen’s “Annie Hall” (1977), “Manhattan” (1979), “Purple Rose of Cairo” (1985), “Hannah and Her Sisters” (1986) and “Crimes and Misdemeanors” (1989).
Allen’s idol, Sweden’s Ingmar Bergman, deserved more than “Persona” (1966) at No. 18 with snubs of “The Seventh Seal” (1957) and “Wild Strawberries” (1957). Thankfully, Germany’s Max Ophuls has “Madam De” (1953) at No. 90, while France’s聽Robert Bresson has “Au Hasard Balthazar” (1966) and “A Man Escaped” (1956) at No. 25 and No 95.
Mid-century Asian cinema had a strong showing. Japanese legend Akira Kurosawa landed two with “The Seven Samurai” (1954) at No. 20 and “Rashomon” (1950) at No. 41 but sadly no 鈥淚kiru鈥� (1952), Yasujiro Ozu scored two with “Tokyo Story” (1953) at No. 4 and “Late Spring” (1949) at No. 21, and Kenji Mizoguchi’s “Ugetsu” (1953) came in at No. 90.
As for the war-torn 1940s, Italian Neorealist Vittorio De Sica has “Bicycle Thieves” (1948) at No. 41 instead of “Umberto D” (1952); Roberto Rossellini’s “Rome Open City” (1945) was snubbed in favor of “Journey to Italy” (1954) at No. 72; and French master聽Jean Renoir has “The Rules of the Game” (1939) at No. 13 but no “La Grand Illusion” (1937).
Voters also hailed post-war British classics like Carol Reed’s noir masterpiece “The Third Man” (1949) at No. 63 and Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger’s “The Red Shoes” (1948) and “A Matter of Life and Death” (1946) at No. 67 and No. 78, but the lack of “The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp” (1943) will surely have critics scratching their heads.
Speaking of British masters, where on earth is the iconic David Lean? Did voters punish “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957), “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962) and “Doctor Zhivago” (1965) for crossover U.S. appeal? Perceived colonialism? Swelling music? Lean is the epitome of epic filmmaking, but also small-scale gems like “Brief Encounter” (1945).
In聽Hollywood’s Golden Age, Alfred Hitchcock rules with four entires: “Vertigo” (1958) at No. 2, “Psycho” (1960) at No. 31, “Rear Window” (1954) at No. 38 and “North By Northwest” (1959) at No. 45. Of course, “Notorious” (1946) is better than just about every movie on this list, not to mention pop-horror like “The Birds” (1963) that is deeper than you think.
Billy Wilder lands three masterpieces: “Some Like It Hot” (1959) at No. 38, “The Apartment” (1960) at No. 54 and “Sunset Blvd” (1950) at No. 78, though I miss “Double Indemnity” (1944). John Ford deserves more than just “The Searchers” (1956) at No. 15 with “Stagecoach” (1939), “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940) and “Liberty Valance” (1962).
Michael Curtiz’s “Casablanca” (1942) is low at No. 63 with zero films by George Stevens (“Giant”), John Huston (“The Maltese Falcon”), Nicholas Ray (“Rebel Without a Cause”), Elia Kazan (“On the Waterfront”), George Cukor (“The Philadelphia Story”), Frank Capra (“It’s a Wonderful Life”), Howard Hawks (“Rio Bravo”) or William Wyler (“Ben-Hur”).
For all the genius mise-en-scene in聽Douglas Sirk’s “Imitation of Life” (1959) at No. 75 or Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter” (1955) at No. 25, I can point to just as much in “Giant” (1956) or “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946). Also, “All About Eve” (1950) has a better script than most of these picks, while “King Kong” (1933) eats these movies for breakfast.
The Technicolor musicals really suffered. While “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952) made the Top 10, voters axed Vincente Minnelli (“Meet Me in St. Louis,” “An American in Paris”) and Robert Wise (“West Side Story,” “The Sound of Music”). Even if you think “Gone With the Wind” (1939) is problematic, Victor Fleming deserved a spot for “The Wizard of Oz” (1939).
Classic Hollywood comedies got the shaft. The Marx Brothers and Laurel & Hardy are too lowbrow for these voters, as are screwball gems like Capra’s “It Happened One Night” (1934), Hawks’ “Bringing Up Baby” (1938) and “His Girl Friday” (1940), Preston Sturges’ “Sullivan’s Travels” (1941) and Ernst Lubitsch鈥檚 鈥淭he Shop Around the Corner鈥� (1940).
Silent comedies fared better with聽Buster Keaton’s “Sherlock Jr.” (1924) and “The General” (1926) at聽No. 54 and No. 95 and Charlie Chaplin’s “City Lights” (1931) and “Modern Times” (1936) at No. 36 and No. 78. They paved the way for Jacques Tati’s “Playtime” (1967) at No. 23, so I’d rank the original Stoneface and Tramp over Monsieur Hulot’s homage.
Voters loved silent dramas like Dziga Vertov’s “Man with a Movie Camera” (1929) at No. 9, F.W. Murnau’s “Sunrise” (1927) at No. 11, Carl Theodor Dreyer’s “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (1927) at No. 21, Sergei Eisenstein’s “Battleship Potemkin” (1925) at No. 54 and Fritz Lang’s “Metropolis” (1927) at No. 67, while D.W. Griffith is now in the ash heap of history.
It’s a shame there’s no mention of Walt Disney, who pioneered the first sync-sound cartoon “Steamboat Willie” (1928). To not have any Disney (“Snow White,” “Pinocchio,” “Bambi”) is just as academically dishonest as a list that didn’t include Hayao Miyazaki, who thankfully has “My Neighbor Totoro” (1988) at No. 72 and “Spirited Away” (2001) at No. 75 here.
Maybe someday Pixar’s “Toy Story” (1995) or “WALL-E” (2008) will find a spot, but digital animation聽might be the toughest genre for global critics to agree upon. Same with horror (no “The Exorcist,” “Halloween” or “The Silence of the Lambs”) and comedy (Peter Sellers, Robin Williams and Eddie Murphy are nowhere to be found on this ultra-highbrow list).
Ballots lacked the guts to pick “Blazing Saddles” (1974), “Young Frankenstein” (1974), 鈥淢onty Python & The Holy Grail鈥� (1975), “Animal House” (1978), “Airplane!” (1980), 鈥淐addyshack鈥� (1980), “Groundhog Day” (1993), “Austin Powers” (1997), “40-Year-Old Virgin” (2005), “Wedding Crashers” (2005), “Hangover” (2009) or “Bridesmaids” (2011).
Alas, it’s not that kind of list. Nor should it be, necessarily. We have other lists ranking the funniest comedies, the scariest movies and the most beloved animated films. For now, we’ll appreciate Sight & Sound for what it is: the cinephile’s counter to the popular vote.
At least female filmmakers have a spot at the table. In addition to the top slot, we also have Maya Deren’s “Meshes of the Afternoon” (1943) at No. 16, Agnes Varda’s “Cleo from 5 to 7” (1962) at No. 14, Barbara Loden’s “Wanda” (1970) at No. 48, Jane Campion’s “The Piano” (1993) at No. 50 and Julie Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” (1991) at No. 60.
In the end, it’s impossible to make a list for everyone. If your favorite film is missing, check out Sight & Sound’s global , a completely separate list that was also released yesterday as a companion piece to the critics poll. Hint: Spielberg’s “Jaws” is on there. Stay tuned in the coming days as various directors reveal their .
If you’re just beginning your journey through film history, I suggest first diving into the . Once you’ve seen those, you can then expand your horizons to explore the masterpieces of world cinema hailed by Sight & Sound.
