Every ten years Sight and Sound Magazine publishes a list. In many film circles it’s the list. It is a poll of the most respected critics in the world of what they feel the greatest films ever made. Unlike AFI’s much ballyhooed list of the greatest American films, this list is not limited by country or language.
Until today only two films have ever toped the poll (including the additional poll of Directors which was added in 1992). The list’s first publication in 1952 was topped by a little film from Italy called “The Bicycle Thieves.” Ten years later Orson Well’s masterpiece Citizen Kane claimed the top spot. It remained atop the list for the next half century.
But today two films upset what had become the status quo. Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo earned the most votes on the critics poll, and Yasujirō Ozu’s Tokyo Story was best in the director’s poll.
These lists excite me because it gets us to talk about movies. To think about our favorite films and what they value when they go to the movies. Maybe this list will even get a few people to see and experience some great movies they’ve never seen before (or maybe never even heard of)! You can find the list in the link above.
So let the debate begin. What is the greatest film ever made? What makes a film great? What would you put on your list?
