The TOP 3 "best movies of all time" lists by film critics
What are the best movies of all time? That's a difficult question to answer. Delving into the realm of the "best movies of all time" is a formidable challenge, with countless opinions and perspectives to consider. However, by exploring the top three "best movies of all time" lists created by revered film critics, we can gain valuable insights into the cinematic treasures that have stood the test of time. While it's important to acknowledge that these lists are subjective and movie fans may have their own divergent preferences, delving into the selections of critics offers a captivating glimpse into the films that have made an indelible impact on the art of storytelling on the silver screen.
Unveiling the Elite Selection: The Best Movies of All Time According to Film Critics
As an avid cinephile, I've always been intrigued by the endless debates surrounding the "best movies of all time." With countless films released throughout the history of cinema, determining the crème de la crème can be a daunting task. That's why I decided to delve into the insights of film critics, the professionals whose expertise and discerning eyes shape our understanding of exceptional cinema.
In this exploration, I've gathered the most esteemed and influential "best movies of all time" lists created by film critics. These carefully curated rankings offer a fascinating glimpse into the films that have left an indelible mark on the cinematic landscape. By delving into these lists, we can uncover the movies that critics hold in the highest regard, showcasing the artistic achievements, cultural impact, and storytelling prowess that make them stand the test of time.
Join me as we embark on a journey through the top three "best movies of all time" lists by film critics. From the revered classics that continue to inspire generations to the contemporary masterpieces that have redefined the boundaries of storytelling, this exploration promises to be a captivating and enlightening experience.
Let's dive into the world of film criticism and discover the exceptional works that have earned a place on these esteemed lists, as we uncover the cinematic treasures that have captured the hearts and minds of critics around the globe.
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Best Movies of All Time by Sight & Sound, American Film Institute (AFI), and British Film Institute (BFI)
For this article, I have selected the "best movies of all time" lists from Sight & Sound, the American Film Institute (AFI), and the British Film Institute (BFI). These esteemed institutions have meticulously curated their rankings, highlighting cinematic masterpieces that have made an indelible mark on the industry. Below, you will find the comprehensive list of movies as recognized by these organizations and critics. The table provides a clear understanding of what these renowned film critic organizations consider to be the best of the cinema world.
- Sight & Sound: The Sight & Sound list is a highly regarded compilation of the "best movies of all time" created by the British Film Institute's (BFI) monthly magazine, Sight & Sound. Considered one of the most influential film publications, Sight & Sound polls hundreds of international critics, scholars, and filmmakers every decade to determine the greatest films ever made. With its rich history and comprehensive approach, the Sight & Sound list offers a diverse and thought-provoking selection of cinematic masterpieces that have stood the test of time.
- American Film Institute (AFI): The American Film Institute (AFI) is an esteemed organization dedicated to the preservation and celebration of American cinema. The AFI's "best movies of all time" list is a product of extensive research and expert opinion, encompassing the collective expertise of filmmakers, critics, and scholars. The AFI list showcases the most significant and impactful films in American cinema history, highlighting cultural milestones, influential works, and timeless classics that have made a lasting impression on audiences around the world.
- British Film Institute (BFI): The British Film Institute (BFI) is a renowned institution that champions the art of film in the United Kingdom. The BFI's "best movies" list is a reflection of its commitment to preserving and promoting British cinema heritage. The list represents the culmination of expert opinions from filmmakers, critics, and industry professionals, carefully curated to showcase the most significant and influential films in British cinema. With a focus on both classic and contemporary works, the BFI list celebrates the unique storytelling and artistic achievements of British filmmakers.
Below, you will find three esteemed lists that capture the essence of cinematic excellence. The compilation includes the 2022 Sight and Sound Top 100 Films Poll, which showcases the greatest films of all time as voted by critics and industry professionals. Additionally, we have the AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition (2007), a testament to the enduring impact of American cinema. Lastly, we have the BFI 100: A Century of Cinema, a list released by the British Film Institute in 1999, which celebrates the rich history of British filmmaking. These lists collectively offer a diverse selection of films that have left an indelible mark on the world of cinema.
| No/List | Sight & Sound | AFI | BFI |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) | Citizen Kane (1941) | Citizen Kane (1941) |
| 2 | Vertigo (1958) | The Godfather (1972) | The Rules of the Game (1939) |
| 3 | Citizen Kane (1941) | Casablanca (1942) | Tokyo Story (1953) |
| 4 | Tokyo Story (1953) | Raging Bull (1980) | The Godfather (1972) |
| 5 | In the Mood for Love (2000) | Singin' in the Rain (1952) | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) |
| 6 | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | Gone with the Wind (1939) | Battleship Potemkin (1925) |
| 7 | Beau Travail (1999) | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) |
| 8 | Mulholland Drive (2001) | Schindler's List (1993) | 8½ (1963) |
| 9 | Man With a Movie Camera (1929) | Vertigo (1958) | Singin' in the Rain (1952) |
| 10 | Singin’ in the Rain (1952) | The Wizard of Oz (1939) | The Searchers (1956) |
| 11 | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) | City Lights (1931) | Man with a Movie Camera (1929) |
| 12 | The Godfather (1972) | The Searchers (1956) | The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) |
| 13 | The Rules of the Game (1939) | Star Wars (1977) | Vertigo (1958) |
| 14 | Cléo From 5 to 7 (1962) | Psycho (1960) | La Regle du Jeu (1939) |
| 15 | The Searchers (1956) | 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) | The Godfather Part II (1974) |
| 16 | Meshes of the Afternoon (1943) | Sunset Boulevard (1950) | Rashomon (1950) |
| 17 | Close-Up (1990) | The Graduate (1967) | The Seventh Seal (1957) |
| 18 | Persona (1966) | The General (1926) | Persona (1966) |
| 19 | Apocalypse Now (1979) | On the Waterfront (1954) | The Mirror (1975) |
| 20 | Seven Samurai (1954) | It's a Wonderful Life (1946) | The Bicycle Thieves (1948) |
| 21 | (Tied for 21st) The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) | Chinatown (1974) | City Lights (1931) |
| 22 | (Tied for 21st) Late Spring (1949) | Some Like It Hot (1959) | Touch of Evil (1958) |
| 23 | Playtime (1967) | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) | The General (1926) |
| 24 | Do the Right Thing (1989) | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) | The Leopard (1963) |
| 25 | (Tied for 25th) Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) | To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) | Andrei Rublev (1966) |
| 26 | (Tied for 25th) The Night of the Hunter (1955) | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) | Pather Panchali (1955) |
| 27 | Shoah (1985) | High Noon (1952) | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) |
| 28 | Daisies (1966) | All About Eve (1950) | The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) |
| 29 | Taxi Driver (1976) | Double Indemnity (1944) | Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975) |
| 30 | Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019) | Apocalypse Now (1979) | La Dolce Vita (1960) |
| 31 | (Tied for 31st) 8 1/2 (1963) | The Maltese Falcon (1941) | Late Spring (1949) |
| 32 | (Tied for 31st) Mirror (1975) | The Godfather Part II (1974) | Shoah (1985) |
| 33 | (Tied for 31st) Psycho (1960) | One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975) | Chinatown (1974) |
| 34 | L’Atalante (1934) | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) | Some Like It Hot (1959) |
| 35 | Panther Panchali (1955) | Annie Hall (1977) | Blade Runner (1982) |
| 36 | (Tied for 36th) City Lights (1931) | The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) | The Battle of Algiers (1966) |
| 37 | (Tied for 36th) M (1931) | The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) | L'Atalante (1934) |
| 38 | (Tied for 38th) Breathless (1960) | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) | The Third Man (1949) |
| 39 | (Tied for 38th) Some Like It Hot (1959) | Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) | Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) |
| 40 | (Tied for 38th) Rear Window (1954) | The Sound of Music (1965) | Barry Lyndon (1975) |
| 41 | (Tied for 41st) Bicycle Thieves (1948) | King Kong (1933) | Jaws (1975) |
| 42 | (Tied for 41st) Rashomon (1950) | Bonnie and Clyde (1967) | Stalker (1979) |
| 43 | (Tied for 43rd) Stalker (1979) | Midnight Cowboy (1969) | The Night of the Hunter (1955) |
| 44 | (Tied for 43rd) Killer of Sheep (1978) | The Philadelphia Story (1940) | Metropolis (1927) |
| 45 | (Tied for 45th) Barry Lyndon (1975) | Shane (1953) | Wild Strawberries (1957) |
| 46 | (Tied for 45th) The Battle of Algiers (1966) | It Happened One Night (1934) | The Conformist (1970) |
| 47 | (Tied for 45th) North by Northwest (1959) | A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) | The Apartment (1960) |
| 48 | (Tied for 48th) Ordet (1955) | Rear Window (1954) | The Night Mail (1936) |
| 49 | (Tied for 48th) Wanda (1970) | Intolerance (1916) | Raging Bull (1980) |
| 50 | (Tied for 50th) The 400 Blows (1959) | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) | Persona (1966) |
| 51 | (Tied for 50th) The Piano (1993) | West Side Story (1961) | Mirror (1975) |
| 52 | (Tied for 52nd) Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974) | Taxi Driver (1976) | The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928) |
| 53 | (Tied for 52nd) News From Home (1977) | The Deer Hunter (1978) | Taxi Driver (1976) |
| 54 | (Tied for 54th) Contempt (1963) | MASH (1970) | The Graduate (1967) |
| 55 | (Tied for 54th) Blade Runner (1982) | North by Northwest (1959) | The Decalogue (1988) |
| 56 | (Tied for 54th) Battleship Potemkin (1925) | Jaws (1975) | Rocco and His Brothers (1960) |
| 57 | (Tied for 54th) The Apartment (1960) | Rocky (1976) | The Gold Rush (1925) |
| 58 | (Tied for 54th) Sherlock Jr. (1924) | The Gold Rush (1925) | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972) |
| 59 | Sans Soleil (1983) | Nashville (1975) | It's a Wonderful Life (1946) |
| 60 | (Tied for 60th) La Dolce Vita (1960) | Duck Soup (1933) | Sherlock Jr. (1924) |
| 61 | (Tied for 60th) Moonlight (2016) | Sullivan's Travels (1941) | Playtime (1967) |
| 62 | (Tied for 60th) Daughters of the Dust (1991) | American Graffiti (1973) | The Shop Around the Corner (1940) |
| 63 | (Tied for 63rd) Goodfellas (1990) | Cabaret (1972) | A Matter of Life and Death (1946) |
| 64 | (Tied for 63rd) The Third Man (1949) | Network (1976) | L'Avventura (1960) |
| 65 | (Tied for 63rd) Casablanca (1942) | The African Queen (1951) | Sansho the Bailiff (1954) |
| 66 | Touki Bouki (1973) | Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) | The Best Years of Our Lives (1946) |
| 67 | (Tied for 67th) Andrei Rublev (1966) | Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) | The Lion King (1994) |
| 68 | (Tied for 67th) La Jetée (1962) | Unforgiven (1992) | The Exterminating Angel (1962) |
| 69 | (Tied for 67th) The Red Shoes (1948) | Tootsie (1982) | Children of Paradise (1945) |
| 70 | (Tied for 67th) The Gleaners and I (2000) | A Clockwork Orange (1971) | The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943) |
| 71 | (Tied for 67th) Metropolis (1927) | Saving Private Ryan (1998) | The Wages of Fear (1953) |
| 72 | (Tied for 72nd) L’Avventura (1960) | The Shawshank Redemption (1994) | Goodfellas (1990) |
| 73 | (Tied for 72nd) Journey to Italy (1954) | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) | Annie Hall (1977) |
| 74 | (Tied for 72nd) My Neighbor Totoro (1988) | The Silence of the Lambs (1991) | Solaris (1972) |
| 75 | (Tied for 75th) Spirited Away (2001) | In the Heat of the Night (1967) | Blue Velvet (1986) |
| 76 | (Tied for 75th) Imitation of Life (1959) | Forrest Gump (1994) | Belle de Jour (1967) |
| 77 | (Tied for 75th) Sansho the Bailiff (1954) | All the President's Men (1976) | Les Enfants du Paradis (1945) |
| 78 | (Tied for 78th) Sunset Boulevard (1950) | Modern Times (1936) | Manhattan (1979) |
| 79 | (Tied for 78th) Sátántangó (1994) | The Wild Bunch (1969) | The Seven Samurai (1954) |
| 80 | (Tied for 78th) A Brighter Summer Day (1991) | The Apartment (1960) | The Great Dictator (1940) |
| 81 | (Tied for 78th) Modern Times (1936) | Spartacus (1960) | Aliens (1986) |
| 82 | (Tied for 78th) A Matter of Life and Death (1946) | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927) | Once Upon a Time in America (1984) |
| 83 | (Tied for 78th) Céline and Julie Go Boating (1974) | Titanic (1997) | The Wild Bunch (1969) |
| 84 | (Tied for 84th) Blue Velvet (1986) | Easy Rider (1969) | Journey to Italy (1954) |
| 85 | (Tied for 84th) The Spirit of the Beehive (1973) | A Night at the Opera (1935) | The Story of the Late Chrysanthemums (1939) |
| 86 | (Tied for 84th) Pierrot le Fou (1965) | Platoon (1986) | Blue (1993) |
| 87 | (Tied for 84th) Histoire(s) du Cinéma (1988) | 12 Angry Men (1957) | 12 Angry Men (1957) |
| 88 | (Tied for 88th) The Shining (1980) | Bringing Up Baby (1938) | Out of the Past (1947) |
| 89 | (Tied for 88th) Chungking Express (1994) | The Sixth Sense (1999) | The Red Shoes (1948) |
| 90 | (Tied for 90th) Parasite (2019) | Swing Time (1936) | Rebel Without a Cause (1955) |
| 91 | (Tied for 90th) Yi Yi (2000) | Sophie's Choice (1982) | Nashville (1975) |
| 92 | (Tied for 90th) Ugetsu Monogatari (1953) | Goodfellas (1990) | The Wizard of Oz (1939) |
| 93 | (Tied for 90th) The Leopard (1963) | The French Connection (1971) | Sweet Smell of Success (1957) |
| 94 | (Tied for 90th) The Earrings of Madame de… (1953) | Pulp Fiction (1994) | The Shawshank Redemption (1994) |
| 95 | (Tied for 95th) A Man Escaped (1956) | The Last Picture Show (1971) | Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) |
| 96 | (Tied for 95th) Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) | Do the Right Thing (1989) | Wings of Desire (1987) |
| 97 | (Tied for 95th) Tropical Malady (2004) | Blade Runner (1982) | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) |
| 98 | (Tied for 95th) Black Girl (1966) | Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942) | All About Eve (1950) |
| 99 | (Tied for 95th) The General (1926) | Toy Story (1995) | The General (1926) |
| 100 | (Tied for 95th) Get Out (2017) | Ben-Hur (1959) | Sherlock Holmes Baffled (1900) |
Sight & Sound and the British Film Institute (BFI) are related entities, but their "best movies of all time" lists are not exactly the same. Sight & Sound is a film magazine published by the BFI, and they conduct a renowned poll of film critics, directors, and industry professionals every decade to determine the greatest films of all time. The BFI also maintains its own lists and initiatives related to the preservation and celebration of film heritage.
While there may be some overlap between the Sight & Sound and BFI lists, they are separate entities with their own unique rankings. Sight & Sound's poll is highly regarded in the film community and often considered a benchmark for measuring the consensus of critical opinion. The BFI's lists, on the other hand, encompass a broader range of initiatives and curations beyond the specific poll conducted by Sight & Sound.
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Noteworthy "Best Movies of All Time" Lists by Prominent Critics and Institutions
If you're seeking movie recommendations beyond the ones I already provided from Sight & Sound, AFI, and BFI's "best movies of all time" lists, there are several other noteworthy compilations worth exploring. Here are a few additional sources you might want to consider:
- Rotten Tomatoes: Rotten Tomatoes is an online platform that aggregates movie reviews from critics worldwide. While they don't provide a definitive list, they compile "Top Critics" lists based on the highest-rated films according to critics. You can visit their website and explore different genres and time periods to find movies highly regarded by critics.
- IMDb: The Internet Movie Database (IMDb) is a popular online database that also features user ratings and critic reviews. While IMDb's ratings are not exclusive to critics, they can still offer insights into popular opinion and critical acclaim.
- Cahiers du Cinéma: Cahiers du Cinéma is a renowned French film magazine that has published several lists of the best films. Some notable lists include their "100 Most Beautiful Films" and "Top 10 Films of the Year" lists.
- Roger Ebert: The late film critic Roger Ebert was widely respected for his film reviews and compilations of best films. He created several lists, including "Great Movies," where he handpicked movies he considered exceptional in terms of artistry and storytelling.
- Time Magazine: Time Magazine has released various lists of the greatest films, including their "All-Time 100 Movies" list and "100 Best Movies of All Time" list.
- The New York Times: The New York Times has published several lists of the best films, including their "Best Movies of the 21st Century" and "25 Best Films of the 21st Century So Far" lists.
- Empire Magazine: Empire Magazine regularly publishes lists of the greatest films, such as their "500 Greatest Movies of All Time" list, which is compiled based on a combination of reader votes and critics' opinions.
- National Film Registry: The United States National Film Registry, maintained by the Library of Congress, preserves films deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant." Their collection represents a curated list of important films in American cinema.
- Academy Awards (Best Picture Winners): While the Academy Awards do not provide an official comprehensive list, the films that have won the Best Picture category throughout the years are often regarded as some of the finest movies ever made.
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