TSPDT - The 1,000 Greatest Films


	The 1,000 Greatest Films
	As voted by 2,161 critics, filmmakers, reviewers, scholars and other likely film types.
	Current Version: January 2012

	• Introduction • The Top 500 Films • The Full List • The Top 250 Directors • PDF Companion • Links
	The Top 500: •1-25 •26-50 •51-75 •76-100 •101-150 •151-200 •201-250 •251-300 •301-350 •351-400 •401-450 •451-500




	The highest-ranked entrant in this year's 1,000 list... Bruce Robinson's "Withnail & I"


	Introduction
	By Bill Georgaris

	Dear Film and List Lovers,

	Welcome to 2012's edition of the 1,000 Greatest Films. This will be the last update prior to the publication of the 'earth-shattering' Sight & Sound poll which will be unfurled later in the year. The Sight & Sound results will no doubt have a major impact on TSPDT's 1,000 Greatest Films listing. It will become the most heavily weighted poll within our calculations. Anyway, that is then, and this is now.

	In last year's introduction (from a much-elevated soapbox) I harped on disappointingly regarding the dearth of non-American/European films on the 1,000 Greatest Films listing. Not much has changed unfortunately in this edition, but I am hoping that the influence of the 2012 Sight & Sound poll will rectify some of this imbalance. Time will tell.

	A small digression if I may. I'd like to pay tribute to the most revealing and enlightening assemblage of 1,000 films I saw during 2011. I refer to Mark Cousins' remarkable 15-hour series The Story of Film (which assembled 1,000 clips from 1,000 films - amongst many interviews - to tell the story of film). Mr. Cousins' highly personal take on the history of cinema was clearly my documentary viewing highlight of the year. Essential viewing.

	Back to the business at hand. The past year, since January 2011's edition, was very quiet on the list-collation front for us. Only a further 23 individual ballots were added to our database taking the total of individual ballots used from 2,138 to 2,161. There was much more activity on the miscellaneous list-front. A further 168 lists were added taking the tally from 1,328 to 1,496 lists used. The net result of our 2011 list-adding adventures is 49 changes to the 1,000 Greatest Films.

	This is - as far as our own official record books are concerned - the seventh version of this list (following on from the March 2006, December 2006, December 2007, December 2008, January 2010, and January 2011 versions). We did publish some 1,000 lists prior to March 2006, however, due to our lack of housekeeping skills as well as crude assemblage practices, these efforts are not considered part of the modern 1,000 Greatest Films era, and are therefore not referenced.

	If you are curious about these earlier efforts, you can visit the Internet Archive: Wayback Machine, or for a more compact view of every film listed since the first edition in 2003, you can go here (thanks to 'flogged' at Listology).

	Once again, we received a tremendous amount of feedback regarding 2011's list, and we hope 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 our 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 our 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. We're in the 'business' of bringing to the fore as many worthwhile films as we can, and the 1,000 Greatest Films list works as a decent enough place to start.

	We've decided to stop naming names, and just dedicate a very warm (and in some cases, spicy hot) 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.





	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 1952-2002 polls (521 ballots)
	Senses of Cinema's 2000-2007 Top Tens (148 ballots)
	Time Out's 1995 poll (106 ballots)
	Nickel Odeon's 1994-1998 polls (100 ballots)
	Rotten Tomatoes' lists from 2003-2011 (94 ballots)
	Steadycam's 1995 & 2007 polls (80 ballots)
	El Mundo's 1995 poll (72 ballots)
	Your Movie Database's (YMDB) Critics Corner (71 ballots)
	Facets’ polls (68 ballots)
	One-Line Review's 2009 poll (64 ballots)
	Positif’s 1991 poll (63 ballots)
	The Cinematheque's Top 10 Project (62 ballots)
	PBS's Independent Lens lists (59 ballots)
	Cinematheque Belgique's 1952 poll (52 ballots)
	Libre Journal du Cinéma's 2009 poll (50 ballots)
	John Kobal Presents the Top 100 Movies (44 ballots)
	PopCornQ's 1997 poll (39 ballots)
	The Village Voice's 1999 poll (37 ballots)
	Fifty Filmmakers (Book) 2002 poll (32 ballots)
	Epoca Online’s 2000 poll (28 ballots)
	Kinema Junpo lists from 1999-2002 (25 ballots)
	Plus 346 more ballots from a variety of other sources.

	As per previous versions we have also factored in (although to a much lesser degree than the aforementioned individual ballots) almost 1,500 magazine polls, film institute polls, individual polls from 'esteemed' critics or filmmakers and many other polls of interest. You can view all the sources used by clicking on the 'Sources' tab on this page.

	As mentioned above, a total of 49 films have come and gone. And, as we say each year, I'm sure you will be - as we are - both delighted and disappointed with many of the comings and goings. To view all the films that fell off the list please go here, and click on the 'Ex-Top1000' tab.

	Barely any movement took place in the top part of the list. The highest ranked 17 films remain the same, and there was no change to the top 50 and only one to the top 100. However, there were some noteworthy movements within the top 100. Here is a handful-:
	• Taxi Driver broke into the top 25 for the first time, moving from 26 to 22.
	• The Wizard of Oz, The Battle of Algiers and Barry Lyndon all climbed nicely, whereas To Be or Not to Be, Voyage in Italy and Pickpocket experienced mini-nose dives.
	• The sharpest risers, however, were Annie Hall and Double Indemnity, both up nine positions.
	• In an exchange of avant-garde classics, Man with a Movie Camera (at the expense of Last Year at Marienbad), was the only change to the top 100, returning for the first time since 2008's edition.

	Some big movers, overall, include Marcel Camus' Black Orpheus (up 235 spots), Alan J. Pakula's All the President's Men (up 204 spots), Sergei Bondarchuk's War and Peace (up 155 spots), Terence Davies' Distant Voices, Still Lives (up 146 spots) and Stanley Kubrick's Eyes Wide Shut (up 143 spots). The five highest-ranked entrants are Bruce Robinson's Withnail & I, George Stevens' Swing Time, Mike Leigh's Secrets & Lies, Shohei Imamura's Vengeance is Mine, and Jules Dassin's Rififi.

	Gone, but not forgotten... On a personal note, some fine films have 'left us' for now. They include F.W. Murnau's City Girl, Jean-Pierre Melville's Les enfants terribles, and Jack Arnold's The Incredible Shrinking Man. Some of the more worthy replacements include Maurice Pialat's L'enfance neu, Barbara Loden's Wanda, and Peter Watkins' Edvard Munch.

	• For the first time Fritz Lang (taking over the reigns from John Ford) leads the way with 16 films on the list, followed by Ford (15), Luis Buñuel (14), Jean-Luc Godard (14), Ingmar Bergman (13), and Alfred Hitchcock (13).
	• The 1960s is still the most heavily represented decade with 182 films on the list. The 2000s tally remains at 37.
	• North America (493 films) and Europe (409 films) continue to dominate the list, leaving only 98 films from the rest of the planet. An imbalance that will hopefully, as I've mentioned above, be addressed by future updates.



	My eyepatch is better than yours... Lang trumps Ford with 16 films on the 1,000 Greatest Films listing.


	Where is the love? Some notable directors without a film in the 1,000 Greatest Films listing include William Wellman, Peter Greenaway, Abel Ferrara, Stephen Frears, Ettore Scola, Chuck Jones, Tsai Ming-liang, Stephen Soderbergh, Derek Jarman, The Dardenne Brothers, Ernie Gehr, Richard Donner, Jules Dassin, Peter Kubelka, Cameron Crowe, Franklin J. Schaffner, Aki Kaurismäki, Walter Hill, Jonas Mekas, Hollis Frampton, Alexander Payne, Jan Svankmajer, William Dieterle, Raul Ruiz, Kathryn Bigelow, and many others.

	Narrowed down from a starting list of 9,954 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!

	See the TSPDT starting list of 9,954 films.

	Please take a look at the updated 452-page PDF Companion to the 1,000 Greatest Films. This document contains every critic's pick that contributed to TSPDT's current 1,000 Greatest Films. Whilst perusing this document please keep in mind that we use a reasonably complicated set of formulas to come up with the Top-1000, from a starting list of 9,954 films. These formulas take into account, amongst other things, the quality/reputation of the critic, the quality/reputation of the poll, the age of the poll (e.g., the 2002 Sight and Sound poll is weighted higher than the 1992 poll), whether a film has stood the test of time (yes, as you may have suspected, we do mark recent films harder), etc, etc.

	As per previous updates we've provided a selection of PDF's and Excel files (including the two files mentioned above) for your enjoyment and statistical pleasure. These can be viewed here on the full list page, under 'additional resources.'





	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, we would love to read any feedback (good, bad, or otherwise) you have on this ongoing project.



	After a period of steady decline, "Black Orpheus" bounces back, rising 235 places to consolidate its place amongst the 1,000 Greatest Films.



	• Introduction • The Top 500 Films • The Full List • The Top 250 Directors • PDF Companion • Links
	The Top 500: •1-25 •26-50 •51-75 •76-100 •101-150 •151-200 •201-250 •251-300 •301-350 •351-400 •401-450 •451-500