Hall of Fame
TOP TEN, FILMS OF ALL LENGTHS
American Graffiti (George Lucas 1973) 110m
A Canterbury Tale (Powell & Presburger 1944) 125m
The Elephant Man (David Lynch 1980) 124m
Festen (Thomas Vinterberg 1998) 106m
Gerdy, the Wicked Witch (Ljubomir Šimunić 1976) 14m
Im Lohmgrund (Jürgen Böttcher 1977) 27m
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (Powell & Pressburger 1943) 163m
Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Anderson 2002) 95m
Suspiria (Dario Argento 1977) 97m
Water Wrackets (Peter Greenaway 1975) 12m
SIGHT AND SOUND poll submission 2022
The Brickmakers (Chircales. Marta Rodríguez & Jorge Silva 1972 Colombia) 42m
Fantômas (Louis Feuillade 1913 France) 337m
Gerdy, the Wicked Witch (Gerdy, zločesta vještica. Ljubomir Šimunić 1976 Yugoslavia) 14m
Im Lohmgrund (Jürgen Böttcher 1977 East Germany) 27m
I Am Somebody (Madeline Anderson 1970 USA) 28m
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman 1975 Belgium) 201m
Light Being (Ser de luz. Diana Toucedo 2009 Spain) 5m
Sambizanga (Sarah Maldoror 1972 Angola/France/Republic of Congo [Brazzaville]) 103m
Stray Dogs (Jiaoyou. Tsai Ming Liang 2013 Taiwan/France) 138m
Windy Day (Faith Hubley & John Hubley 1968 USA) 9m
[accompanying/explanatory short text is reproduced at the bottom of this page]
films of 50 minutes and longer:
(films in bold are rated maximum 28 on the 28-point scale)
| TOP 10 | American Graffiti Badlands A Canterbury Tale casting a glance The Elephant Man Festen The Life and Death . of Colonel Blimp Nashville Punch-Drunk Love Suspiria . . . . . |
1973 1973 1944 2007 1980 1998 1943 … 1975 2002 1977 . . . . . |
George Lucas Terrence Malick Powell & Pressburger James Benning David Lynch Thomas Vinterberg Powell & Pressburger … Robert Altman Paul Anderson Dario Argento . . . . . |
|
10/10 |
Annie Hall Araby Bad Company Being John Malkovich Blue Velvet Bride of Frankenstein Chinatown Deseret Distant Voices, Still Lives Dog Star Man (10?/10) eXistenZ Frenzy Funny Games The Game Grand Illusion Heat A History of Violence The Honeymoon Killers The Last Picture Show Master and Commander: . The Far Side of the World* The Passenger Penda’s Fen Robinson in Space Routine Pleasures The Shout Stray Dogs The Third Man Toponymy United 93 The Wrestler |
1977 2017 1972 1999 1986 1935 1974 1995 1988 1964 1999 1972 1997 1997 1937 1995 2005 1970 1971 2003 . 1975 1974 1997 1986 1978 2013 1949 2015 2006 2008 |
Woody Allen Dumans & Uchôa Robert Benton Spike Jonze David Lynch James Whale Roman Polanski James Benning Terence Davies Stan Brakhage David Cronenberg Alfred Hitchcock Michael Haneke David Fincher Jean Renoir Michael Mann David Cronenberg Leonard Kastle Peter Bogdanovich Peter Weir . Michelangelo Antonioni Alan Clarke [TV] Patrick Keiller Jean-Pierre Gorin Jerzy Skolimowski TSAI Ming-Liang Carol Reed Jonathan Perel Paul Greengrass Darren Aronofsky |
| 9/10 | . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . The Act of Killing L’Age d’Or Alien All About My Mother All That Heaven Allows The American Friend An American Werewolf In London Android Archipelago Belle de jour A Bigger Splash The Big Sleep The Birds The Bitter Tears of . Petra Von Kant Black Narcissus Blind Mountain Blood Simple Bone: A Bad Day in Beverly Hills Boogie Nights Breaking the Waves Breathless Bring Me the Head . of Alfredo Garcia Brother The Call of the Wild The California Trilogy Capturing the Friedmans Cargo 200 Casablanca Chappie City of God La Commune (Paris 1871) Control Le Corbeau (The Raven) Cul-de-Sac Culloden David Holzman’s Diary Dead Man’s Shoes The Dead Zone Dillinger is Dead District 9 Dont Look Back Duck Soup Edvard Munch Elena Elephant The Exterminating Angel Excalibur Fantasma Fear Eats the Soul . Figures in a Landscape The Fly The Gambler Get Carter The Godfather GoodFellas Gun Crazy Gunnar Goes Comfortable Habibi Hussein Hail Mary Harlan County, USA Harold and Maude The Hole (Le Trou) The Human Surge 3 Innocent Saturday Irma Vep I Just Can’t Go On Jaguar Johnny Guitar The Killing King Kong Klute The Last of the Mohicans Leave Her To Heaven Lola London The Long Goodbye The Lord of the Rings: . The Return of the King Los Angeles Plays Itself Mafioso The Man on the Track McCabe and Mrs Miller Manhattan Manhunter Man With A Movie Camera Marnie Mean Streets Me Too Miss Kiet’s Children . The Mouth Agape “–only Angels have wings” On the Edge of the World Opening Night Orpheus (Orphée) The Parallax View Passion The Plumber Possession Profit Motive and the . Whispering Wind Profound Desires of the Gods Quatermass and the Pit The Quince Tree Sun Raining in the Mountain Red Psalm René Revolutionary Road Riders The Rise and Fall . of a Small Film Company Rosemary’s Baby Samsara Sirāt Southern Comfort Stardust Memories Starman The State I Am In Strangers on a Train Sunset Blvd. Symbol Tenebrae Ten Skies The Territory The Thing The Thin Red Line 13 Lakes Touchez pas au grisbi Tropic of Cancer Two Lovers Veronika Voss . Volver WALL•E Went the Day Well? Who Is Bozo Texino? Who’ll Stop the Rain With a Girl of Black Soil The Yards |
. . . 2012 1930 1979 1999 1955 1977 1981 1982 2010 1967 1973 1946 1963 1972 .. 1947 2007 1984 1972 1997 1996 1960 1974 .. 1997 2007 2000-2 2003 2007 1942 2015 2002 2000 2007 1943 1966 1964 1967 2004 1983 1969 2009 1967 1933 1974 2011 2003 1962 1981 2006 1974 . 1970 1986 1974 1971 1972 1990 1950 2003 2025 1985 1976 1971 1960 2023 2011 1996 1973 1978 1954 1956 2005 1971 1992 1945 1961 1994 1973 2003 . 2003 1962 1957 1971 1979 1986 1929 1964 1973 2012 2016 . 1974 1939 2013 1977 1950 1974 1982 1979 1981 2007 . 1968 1967 1992 1979 1971 2008 2008 2022 1986 . 1968 2023 2025 1981 1980 1984 2000 1951 1950 2009 1982 2004 1981 1982 1998 2004 1954 2004 2008 1982 . 2006 2008 1942 2005 1978 2007 2000 |
. . . . . Cynn/Oppenheimer/anon Luis Buñuel Ridley Scott Pedro Almodóvar Douglas Sirk Wim Wenders John Landis Aaron Lipstadt Joanna Hogg Luis Buñuel Jack Hazan Howard Hawks Alfred Hitchcock Rainer Werner . Fassbinder Powell & Pressburger LI Yang Coen & Coen Larry Cohen Paul Anderson Lars Trier Jean-Luc Godard Sam Peckinpah .. Alexey Balabanov Ron Lamothe James Benning Andrew Jarecki Alexey Balabanov Michael Curtiz Neill Blomkamp Lund & Meirelles Peter Watkins Anton Corbijn Henri-Georges Clouzot Roman Polanski Peter Watkins [TV] Jim McBride Shane Meadows David Cronenberg Marco Ferreri Neill Blomkamp D A Pennebaker Leo McCarey Peter Watkins Andrei Zvyagintsev Gus Van Sant Luis Buñuel John Boorman Lisandro Alonso Rainer Werner . Fassbinder Joseph Losey David Cronenberg Karel Reisz Mike Hodges Francis Ford Coppola Martin Scorsese Joseph H. Lewis Gunnar Hall Jensen Alex Bakri Jean-Luc Godard Barbara Kopple Hal Ashby Jacques Becker Eduardo Williams Alekandsr Mindadze Olivier Assayas John Cook Lino Brocka Nicholas Ray Stanley Kubrick Peter Jackson Alan J Pakula Michael Mann John M Stahl Jacques Demy Patrick Keiller Robert Altman Peter Jackson . Thom Andersen Alberto Lattuada Andrzej Munk Robert Altman Woody Allen Michael Mann Dziga Vertov Alfred Hitchcock Martin Scorsese Alexey Balabanov Lataster & Lataster-Czisch Maurice Pialat Howard Hawks Claus Drexel John Cassavetes Jean Cocteau Alan J Pakula Jean-Luc Godard Peter Weir (TV) Andrzej Żuławski John Gianvito . Shōhei Imamura Roy Ward Baker Victor Erice King Hu Miklós Jancsó Helena Třeštíková Sam Mendes Dominik Mencej Jean-Luc Godard (TV) . Roman Polanski Lois Patiño Oliver Laxe Walter Hill Woody Allen John Carpenter Christian Petzold Alfred Hitchcock Billy Wilder MATSUMOTO Hitoshi Dario Argento James Benning Raúl Ruiz John Carpenter Terrence Malick James Benning Jacques Becker Eugenio Polgovsky James Gray Rainer Werner . Fassbinder Pedro Almodóvar Andrew Stanton ‘Cavalcanti’ Bill Daniel Karel Reisz JEON Soo-il James Gray |
bold = 28/28
HERE: the above films arranged in chronological order
HERE: the best film and best performance each year 1945 to date
directors
5: James Benning (The California Trilogy, casting a glance, Deseret, TEN SKIES, 13 Lakes)
– – – – –
4: David Cronenberg (The Dead Zone, eXistenZ, The Fly, A History of Violence)
4: Jean-Luc Godard (Breathless, Hail Mary, Passion, The Rise and Fall of a Small Film Company)
4: Alfred Hitchcock (The Birds, Frenzy, Marnie, Strangers on a Train)
– – – – –
3: Woody Allen (Annie Hall, Manhattan, Stardust Memories)
3: Robert Altman (The Long Goodbye, McCabe and Mrs Miller, Nashville)
3: Alexey Balabanov (Brother, Cargo 200, Me Too)
3: Luis Buñuel (L’Age d’or, Belle de Jour, The Exterminating Angel)
3: Rainer Werner Fassbinder (The Bitter Tears of Petra Von Kant, Fear Eats the Soul, Veronika Voss)
3: Michael Mann (Heat, The Last of the Mohicans, Manhunter)
3: Roman Polanski (Chinatown, Cul-de-sac, Rosemary’s Baby)
3: Powell & Pressburger (Black Narcissus, A Canterbury Tale, The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp)
3: Peter Watkins (Culloden {TV}, La Commune [Paris 1871], Edvard Munch)
– – – – –
2: Pedro Almodóvar (All About My Mother, Volver)
2: Paul Anderson (Boogie Nights, Punch-Drunk Love)
2: Dario Argento (Suspiria, Tenebrae)
2: Jacques Becker (Touchez pas au grisbi, Le Trou)
2: Neill Blomkamp (Chappie, District 9)
2: John Carpenter (Starman, The Thing)
2: James Gray (Two Lovers, The Yards)
2: Peter Jackson (King Kong, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King)
2: Patrick Keiller (London, Robinson in Space)
2: David Lynch (Blue Velvet, The Elephant Man)
2: Terrence Malick (Badlands, The Thin Red Line)
2: Alan J Pakula (All the President’s Men, Klute)
2: Karel Reisz (The Gambler, Who’ll Stop the Rain)
2: Martin Scorsese (GoodFellas, Mean Streets)
2: Peter Weir (Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, The Plumber)
bold = active; bold italic = semi-active; italic = alive but retired
ARTICLE WRITTEN TO ACCOMPANY BALLOT FOR “SIGHT & SOUND” POLL 2022
Film began in Paris on 9 May 1913 with Louis Feuillade’s Fantômas and it ended in Venice on 5 September 2013 with Tsai Ming Liang’s Stray Dogs. That’s “film” as opposed to “cinema,” which was born some time earlier and which is somehow yet to expire—despite the strenuous, recently redoubled efforts of its most mortal foe, television. Having established these semi-arbitrary, conveniently century-shaped Alpha-Omega parameters—one the first true celluloid masterpiece, the other the first true digital masterpiece—how best to fill the remaining eight vacancies?
Considering the previous six poll-results, especially the top tens, a radical response is surely indicated: 58 of those 60 slots (97%) were filled by feature-length fictional (or docufictional) male-directed pictures from North America, Europe or Japan. The exceptions: Pather Panchali in 1992 and Man With a Movie Camera (arguably docufiction) in 2012.
This poll seeks to identify “The Greatest Films.” Not “The Best” (who knows?!), nor simply a collation of arbitrary, taste-dictated personal favourites (who cares?!)—the latter my sole criterion a decade ago. As a corrective to my myopia, and also perhaps in some token fashion to the well-chronicled shortcomings of the poll’s history (symptomatic of severe structural imbalances) this year I decided on a totally different approach.
While retaining a certain personal idiosyncrasy in the choices, I reimagined “greatness” by taking into account the contexts and circumstances of production: what resources were available, and what were they made to yield?
For example, it was (with all due respect) considerably easier for Welles and Hitchcock to make Citizen Kane and Vertigo for opulently-staffed Hollywood studios than it was for Maldoror to make Sambizanga for in central Africa and for Anderson to make I Am Somebody in North Carolina. A case can be made for Citizen Kane and Vertigo being somehow “superior” works of cinematic art to the latter duo (they are, undeniably, massively more influential). I believe such differentials, if they even exist, are so small as to be irrelevant. Same deal re Man With a Movie Camera (product of the Ukrainian monopoly-conglomerate VUFKU) vis á vis The Brickmakers, near-miraculously conjured by its directors at a time when Colombian cinema essentially did not even exist.
My resulting list is, despite my best attempts, still unsatisfactory in terms of balances and representation. Chronologically it skews 60% to the 1970s—admittedly a golden era in terms of the planet’s voiceless finding both cinematic voice and receptive ears—and geographically towards Europe. Half are from from there (representing five different nations) and half from elsewhere: two from the USA, one from South America, Africa and Asia. There are five shorts, four “longs” and one mid-lengther (The Brickmakers); running-times span under six minutes (Light Being) to over six hours (Fantômas).
And—would you Adam ‘n Eve it?—the male-female ratio is neatly 6:6. Among the women, Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman is my only pick that could reach the Top 10. (No woman has ever cracked the Top 25; I include the film in the optimistic hope it could topple Vertigo and thus really throw the cat among the pigeons.)
On principle, I see zero reason to prioritise feature-length works over shorts, nor fictions over documentaries. I sought to recognise animation (Windy Day), silents (Fantômas) and experimenta; They’re all film too. The avant-garde is doubly represented: Gerdy, the Wicked Witch—best film I’ve ever seen!—and Diana Toucedo’s Light Being. Toucedo is 40; her found-footage engagement with colonialism is selected as a sort of vote for the future—and to propose that the precarious power of “cinema” as an art-form can best be sustained by creative engagements with “film” as it existed for that one fleeting, flickering century, 1913-2013.
