The 1,000 Greatest Films: Introduction, A-B, C-D, E-G, H-L, M-N, O-R, S, T-Z, Full List (Sortable Table), By Ranking, By Director, By Title, By Year, By Country, By Ranking History, Ex-1000, Alternative Titles, Sources/Critics, Top 250 Directors, Links, Rags to Riches
INTRODUCTION to the 1,000 Greatest Films
As voted by 3,194 critics, filmmakers, scholars and other likely film types.
Current Version: February 2013
by Bill Georgaris
The 2013 version of TSPDT’s 1,000 Greatest Films is finally here. After months of stop-start, data-building and unhealthy calculation antics, the latest group of 1,000 movie offerings has been assembled once again for your pleasure (or displeasure). Depending on your observation skills, you may have already noticed that there is a new presentation for this ongoing project. Slowly but surely, the rest of They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? will also be upgraded to the new design, but for now, most internal links will flow through to the old website.
This year’s task of putting together TSPDT’s list of the 1,000 Greatest Films has certainly been the most time-consuming, and at times arduous, to date. Courtesy of Sight & Sound’s mammoth 2012 poll, a total of 1,204 top-10 lists (846 critics and 358 directors) were added to the TSPDT database. Additional lists were also added from various sources including The Skuriels poll, Slant Magazine’s poll and more top-5’s from Rotten Tomatoes. The total list of critics/filmmakers polled has risen sharply from 2,161 to 3,194. An increase of 1,033 critic/filmmaker lists (please keep in mind that many voters that participated in the 2012 Sight & Sound poll already had ballots in the TSPDT database from previous polls). Compared to the measly 23 ballots that were added in 2011, 2012 was certainly a momentous year for movie-list-making.
Additionally, approximately 150 miscellaneous lists have been added to the brew taking the complete tally used to 1,600-plus. Some of those added were Slant Magazine’s “100 Best Films of the 1990s”, Time Out Paris’s “100 Best French Films”, Time Out New York’s “100 Best Films Set in New York City”, Martin Scorsese’s “85 Films You Need to See to Know Anything About Film”, and Paste Magazine’s “80 Best Movies of the 1980s.”
In summary, here is the exact breakdown of individual ballots used, or if you like, from where we have begged, borrowed and stolen:
Sight & Sound's 1952-2012 polls (1,627 ballots) +1,006
Senses of Cinema's 2000-2007 Top Tens (128 ballots) -20
Rotten Tomatoes' lists from 2003-2012 (101 ballots) +7
Nickel Odeon's 1994-1998 polls (93 ballots) -7
Time Out's 1995 poll (89 ballots) -17
El Mundo's 1995 poll (70 ballots) -2
Steadycam's 1995 & 2007 polls (66 ballots) -14
Your Movie Database's (YMDB) Critics Corner (66 ballots) -5 Facets’ polls (53 ballots) -15
One-Line Review's 2009 poll (48 ballots) -16
Positif’s 1991 poll (61 ballots) -2
PBS's Independent Lens lists (59 ballots) no change
The Cinematheque's Top 10 Project (56 ballots) -6
Cinematheque Belgique's 1952 poll (52 ballots) no change
Libre Journal du Cinéma's 2009 poll (49 ballots) -1
John Kobal Presents the Top 100 Movies (42 ballots) -2
PopCornQ's 1997 poll (38 ballots) -1
Fifty Filmmakers (2002 book) (28 ballots) -4
The Village Voice's 1999 poll (26 ballots) -11
Plus 442 more ballots from other sources.
On a personal note, I was pleasantly surprised to be invited to provide a ballot for the much-expanded Sight & Sound poll. My entry can be viewed here, and my apologies to the 600-odd other films that were candidates for my top ten, at one time or another.
So what impact did the Sight & Sound poll actually have on the TSPDT 1,000? Well, the answer is quite simple: massive. Not only where there 124 changes to the list, but the movement within the 1,000 resembled that of a pinball machine. Even the normally static top-10 experienced somewhat of a shakeup, especially with Tokyo Story and Sunrise comfortably breaking their way in, knocking out Battleship Potemkin and Singin’ in the Rain in the process. The only sure thing was that Citizen Kane was always going to hold its ground against Vertigo. Something it couldn’t do in Sight & Sound’s critics’ poll. Geographically-speaking, American films took a solid hit. There are now 40 fewer North American films on the list; replaced by 19 European and 22 Asian films. Additionally, one only needs to look at most of the movements within the Top 250 Directors listing to gauge the change in critical perspective that has occurred. Many of you would be happy to see this, however, the imbalance between North American and European cinema (881 films) versus the rest of the world (119 films) continues.
Thanks primarily to the Sight & Sound poll, the following filmmakers (for example) have improved their standings immeasurably within the 1,000 Greatest Films listing: Jean-Luc Godard, Yasujiro Ozu, Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson, Michelangelo Antonioni, David Lynch, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, Jean Vigo, John Cassavetes, Alain Resnais, Wong Kar-wai, Abbas Kiarostami, Terrence Malick, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Dziga Vertov, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Chris Marker, Bela Tarr, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Nicolas Roeg, Chantal Akerman, Gillo Pontecorvo, Edward Yang, Claude Lanzmann, and Lars von Trier. The following filmmakers, on the other hand, saw their films – in the main - take a backward critical step: Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks, Sergei Eisenstein, Steven Spielberg, Max Ophuls, D.W. Griffith, Robert Altman, John Huston, Michael Curtiz, Preston Sturges, Frank Capra, Victor Fleming, Erich von Stroheim, Elia Kazan, Josef von Sternberg, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, George Cukor, David Cronenberg, Jacques Tourneur, William Wyler, Clint Eastwood, Sidney Lumet, King Vidor, Jean Cocteau, and George Lucas.
As you can see from the above comparative lists, only three American filmmakers significantly improved their overall standings (Lynch, Cassavetes, Malick). Whereas, twenty American directors saw their collective filmographies lose critical appeal. It is pretty self-evident that arthouse/experimental cinema has given Hollywood a – and many would suggest a much needed - kick up the bum.
TSPDT’s Top 10 Greatest Films
1. Citizen Kane (1)
2. Vertigo (2)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (4)
4. The Rules of the Game (3)
5. Tokyo Story (11)
6. 8½ (6)
7. Sunrise (12)
8. The Godfather (5)
9. The Searchers (8)
10. The Seven Samurai (7)
And speaking of that pinball machine, listed below are the biggest winners and losers in this year’s edition:
The Winners – Top Climbers within the 1,000
Touki Bouki (1973) 921 to 201 (up 720 spots)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) 879 to 260 (up 619)
Tropical Malady (2004) 981 to 417 (up 564)
Histoire(s) du cinema (1998) 675 to 115 (up 560)
Opening Night (1977) 907 to 351 (up 556)
The Winners – Highest Entrants into the 1,000
The Tree of Life (2011), ranked 355
À nos amours (1983), ranked 375
The Devil, Probably (1977), ranked 396
Tale of Tales (1979), ranked 404*
Blissfully Yours (2002), ranked 406
*This film re-entered the 1,000.
The Losers – Biggest Fallers within the 1,000
The Last Detail (1973) 462 to 918 (down 456)
Ride the High Country (1962) 548 to 963 (down (415)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940) 309 to 720 (down 411)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 382 to 762 (down 380)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) 436 to 811 (down 375)
The Losers – Biggest Fallers from the 1,000
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), formerly ranked 514
Gregory’s Girl (1980), formerly ranked 613
Swing Time (1936), formerly ranked 620
Diner (1982), formerly ranked 641
The Verdict (1982), formerly ranked 667
Once again, I received a tremendous amount of feedback regarding 2012's list, and I'm hoping for the same again this year. I must say that this wacky enterprise (for the most part) is pretty rewarding, and your collective patronage makes my efforts easy to justify and enjoy. Additionally, the pleasant (though extremely modest) level of coverage TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films venture has garnered on the film-side of the internet jungle has been surprising and much appreciated. Many film-bloggers in particular have not only taken on the challenge of watching all 1,000 films but have, more importantly, brought to the attention of their readers a range of films (from the 1,000 list) deserving of everybody's time. This is what it is all about at the end of the day, and it is basically TSPDT's modus operandi. TSPDT is in the 'business' of bringing to the fore as many worthwhile films as it can, and the 1,000 Greatest Films list works as a decent enough place to start.
Thank you to everyone that has contributed lists and/or lent their support towards this venture over the years. I hope your interest and support continues.
Narrowed down from a starting list of 11,336 films, utilizing some rather tricky formulas, we believe that this is quite possibly the most definitive guide to the most-acclaimed movies of all-time. At the very least it is a rather spiffy place for all budding/established film buffs to commence/enhance their cinematic experiences. So what are you waiting for? Start that checklist now!
You Can Help… If you have access to any additional film lists from critics and/or filmmakers (particularly from Asia or Africa) that you think we may have missed, then of course we'd love to see them. Please send all lists to bill@theyshootpictures.com. And, as always, I would love to read any feedback (good, bad, or otherwise) you have on this ongoing project.
Begin browsing the 1,000 Greatest Films.
As voted by 3,194 critics, filmmakers, scholars and other likely film types.
Current Version: February 2013
by Bill Georgaris
The 2013 version of TSPDT’s 1,000 Greatest Films is finally here. After months of stop-start, data-building and unhealthy calculation antics, the latest group of 1,000 movie offerings has been assembled once again for your pleasure (or displeasure). Depending on your observation skills, you may have already noticed that there is a new presentation for this ongoing project. Slowly but surely, the rest of They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? will also be upgraded to the new design, but for now, most internal links will flow through to the old website.
This year’s task of putting together TSPDT’s list of the 1,000 Greatest Films has certainly been the most time-consuming, and at times arduous, to date. Courtesy of Sight & Sound’s mammoth 2012 poll, a total of 1,204 top-10 lists (846 critics and 358 directors) were added to the TSPDT database. Additional lists were also added from various sources including The Skuriels poll, Slant Magazine’s poll and more top-5’s from Rotten Tomatoes. The total list of critics/filmmakers polled has risen sharply from 2,161 to 3,194. An increase of 1,033 critic/filmmaker lists (please keep in mind that many voters that participated in the 2012 Sight & Sound poll already had ballots in the TSPDT database from previous polls). Compared to the measly 23 ballots that were added in 2011, 2012 was certainly a momentous year for movie-list-making.
Additionally, approximately 150 miscellaneous lists have been added to the brew taking the complete tally used to 1,600-plus. Some of those added were Slant Magazine’s “100 Best Films of the 1990s”, Time Out Paris’s “100 Best French Films”, Time Out New York’s “100 Best Films Set in New York City”, Martin Scorsese’s “85 Films You Need to See to Know Anything About Film”, and Paste Magazine’s “80 Best Movies of the 1980s.”
In summary, here is the exact breakdown of individual ballots used, or if you like, from where we have begged, borrowed and stolen:
Sight & Sound's 1952-2012 polls (1,627 ballots) +1,006
Senses of Cinema's 2000-2007 Top Tens (128 ballots) -20
Rotten Tomatoes' lists from 2003-2012 (101 ballots) +7
Nickel Odeon's 1994-1998 polls (93 ballots) -7
Time Out's 1995 poll (89 ballots) -17
El Mundo's 1995 poll (70 ballots) -2
Steadycam's 1995 & 2007 polls (66 ballots) -14
Your Movie Database's (YMDB) Critics Corner (66 ballots) -5 Facets’ polls (53 ballots) -15
One-Line Review's 2009 poll (48 ballots) -16
Positif’s 1991 poll (61 ballots) -2
PBS's Independent Lens lists (59 ballots) no change
The Cinematheque's Top 10 Project (56 ballots) -6
Cinematheque Belgique's 1952 poll (52 ballots) no change
Libre Journal du Cinéma's 2009 poll (49 ballots) -1
John Kobal Presents the Top 100 Movies (42 ballots) -2
PopCornQ's 1997 poll (38 ballots) -1
Fifty Filmmakers (2002 book) (28 ballots) -4
The Village Voice's 1999 poll (26 ballots) -11
Plus 442 more ballots from other sources.
On a personal note, I was pleasantly surprised to be invited to provide a ballot for the much-expanded Sight & Sound poll. My entry can be viewed here, and my apologies to the 600-odd other films that were candidates for my top ten, at one time or another.
So what impact did the Sight & Sound poll actually have on the TSPDT 1,000? Well, the answer is quite simple: massive. Not only where there 124 changes to the list, but the movement within the 1,000 resembled that of a pinball machine. Even the normally static top-10 experienced somewhat of a shakeup, especially with Tokyo Story and Sunrise comfortably breaking their way in, knocking out Battleship Potemkin and Singin’ in the Rain in the process. The only sure thing was that Citizen Kane was always going to hold its ground against Vertigo. Something it couldn’t do in Sight & Sound’s critics’ poll. Geographically-speaking, American films took a solid hit. There are now 40 fewer North American films on the list; replaced by 19 European and 22 Asian films. Additionally, one only needs to look at most of the movements within the Top 250 Directors listing to gauge the change in critical perspective that has occurred. Many of you would be happy to see this, however, the imbalance between North American and European cinema (881 films) versus the rest of the world (119 films) continues.
Thanks primarily to the Sight & Sound poll, the following filmmakers (for example) have improved their standings immeasurably within the 1,000 Greatest Films listing: Jean-Luc Godard, Yasujiro Ozu, Andrei Tarkovsky, Robert Bresson, Michelangelo Antonioni, David Lynch, Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger, Jean Vigo, John Cassavetes, Alain Resnais, Wong Kar-wai, Abbas Kiarostami, Terrence Malick, Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Dziga Vertov, Pier Paolo Pasolini, Chris Marker, Bela Tarr, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Nicolas Roeg, Chantal Akerman, Gillo Pontecorvo, Edward Yang, Claude Lanzmann, and Lars von Trier. The following filmmakers, on the other hand, saw their films – in the main - take a backward critical step: Billy Wilder, Howard Hawks, Sergei Eisenstein, Steven Spielberg, Max Ophuls, D.W. Griffith, Robert Altman, John Huston, Michael Curtiz, Preston Sturges, Frank Capra, Victor Fleming, Erich von Stroheim, Elia Kazan, Josef von Sternberg, Joseph L. Mankiewicz, George Cukor, David Cronenberg, Jacques Tourneur, William Wyler, Clint Eastwood, Sidney Lumet, King Vidor, Jean Cocteau, and George Lucas.
As you can see from the above comparative lists, only three American filmmakers significantly improved their overall standings (Lynch, Cassavetes, Malick). Whereas, twenty American directors saw their collective filmographies lose critical appeal. It is pretty self-evident that arthouse/experimental cinema has given Hollywood a – and many would suggest a much needed - kick up the bum.
TSPDT’s Top 10 Greatest Films
1. Citizen Kane (1)
2. Vertigo (2)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (4)
4. The Rules of the Game (3)
5. Tokyo Story (11)
6. 8½ (6)
7. Sunrise (12)
8. The Godfather (5)
9. The Searchers (8)
10. The Seven Samurai (7)
And speaking of that pinball machine, listed below are the biggest winners and losers in this year’s edition:
The Winners – Top Climbers within the 1,000
Touki Bouki (1973) 921 to 201 (up 720 spots)
Werckmeister Harmonies (2000) 879 to 260 (up 619)
Tropical Malady (2004) 981 to 417 (up 564)
Histoire(s) du cinema (1998) 675 to 115 (up 560)
Opening Night (1977) 907 to 351 (up 556)
The Winners – Highest Entrants into the 1,000
The Tree of Life (2011), ranked 355
À nos amours (1983), ranked 375
The Devil, Probably (1977), ranked 396
Tale of Tales (1979), ranked 404*
Blissfully Yours (2002), ranked 406
*This film re-entered the 1,000.
The Losers – Biggest Fallers within the 1,000
The Last Detail (1973) 462 to 918 (down 456)
Ride the High Country (1962) 548 to 963 (down (415)
The Thief of Bagdad (1940) 309 to 720 (down 411)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) 382 to 762 (down 380)
The Man Who Would Be King (1975) 436 to 811 (down 375)
The Losers – Biggest Fallers from the 1,000
The Man Who Fell to Earth (1976), formerly ranked 514
Gregory’s Girl (1980), formerly ranked 613
Swing Time (1936), formerly ranked 620
Diner (1982), formerly ranked 641
The Verdict (1982), formerly ranked 667
Once again, I received a tremendous amount of feedback regarding 2012's list, and I'm hoping for the same again this year. I must say that this wacky enterprise (for the most part) is pretty rewarding, and your collective patronage makes my efforts easy to justify and enjoy. Additionally, the pleasant (though extremely modest) level of coverage TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films venture has garnered on the film-side of the internet jungle has been surprising and much appreciated. Many film-bloggers in particular have not only taken on the challenge of watching all 1,000 films but have, more importantly, brought to the attention of their readers a range of films (from the 1,000 list) deserving of everybody's time. This is what it is all about at the end of the day, and it is basically TSPDT's modus operandi. TSPDT is in the 'business' of bringing to the fore as many worthwhile films as it can, and the 1,000 Greatest Films list works as a decent enough place to start.
Thank you to everyone that has contributed lists and/or lent their support towards this venture over the years. I hope your interest and support continues.
Narrowed down from a starting list of 11,336 films, utilizing some rather tricky formulas, we believe that this is quite possibly the most definitive guide to the most-acclaimed movies of all-time. At the very least it is a rather spiffy place for all budding/established film buffs to commence/enhance their cinematic experiences. So what are you waiting for? Start that checklist now!
You Can Help… If you have access to any additional film lists from critics and/or filmmakers (particularly from Asia or Africa) that you think we may have missed, then of course we'd love to see them. Please send all lists to bill@theyshootpictures.com. And, as always, I would love to read any feedback (good, bad, or otherwise) you have on this ongoing project.
Begin browsing the 1,000 Greatest Films.
The 1,000 Greatest Films: Introduction, A-B, C-D, E-G, H-L, M-N, O-R, S, T-Z, By Ranking, By Director, By Title, By Year, By Country, By Ranking History, Ex-1000, Alternative Titles, Sources/Critics, Top 250 Directors, Links, Rags to Riches