Don’t get me wrong, I do love “Portrait of a Lady on Fire,” “Get Out” and “Parasite,” but I guess I’m one of those “purists” that believes a film needs to linger in the zeitgeist a bit longer before it is inserted alongside the greats. Having films, released a mere three years ago, pushing out Altman, Coppola, Lubitsch etc. is a tad too sacrilege for me. It took more than 20 years before “Beau Travail,” “Mulhollland Drive” and “In the Mood For Love” finally cracked the top 20. All of that aside, it took 54 years for Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” to finally make it to #1. Prior to that, it was all about “Citizen Kane” and “Tokyo Story.” Also, look at Coppola’s “The Godfather,” now sitting firmly at #3, that’s another big change to the list not many seem to be talking about. Spike Lee’s “Do the Right Thing” has also gained esteem over the last decade. It topped our ‘80s poll and has benefited from a fervent socio-political climate making it even more relevant. SIGHT AND SOUND DIRECTORS’ POLL RESULTS
- 2001: A Space Odyssey2. Citizen Kane3. The Godfather4. Tokyo Story4. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles6. Vertigo6. 8½8. Mirror9. Persona9. In The Mood For Love9. Close-Up
- Taxi Driver12. Barry Lyndon14. Beau Travail14. Seven Samurai14. Breathless14. Stalker18. Apocalypse Now19. A Woman Under the Influence20. Rashomon20. Bicycle Thieves
- The Battle of Algiers22. Mulholland Dr22. Pather Panchali22. Raging Bull26. Andrei Rublev26. The Godfather, Part II28. GoodFellas29. Do The Right Thing30. Ordet30. The Passion of Joan of Arc30. Man With A Movie Camera
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans34. The 400 Blows34. La Jetée34. La Dolce Vita37. Au Hasard Balthazar38. La Strada38. The Rules of the Game38. L’Avventura41. PlayTime41. The Night of the Hunter41. A Man Escaped41. Vagabond41. Come and See
- Contempt46. Once Upon a Time in the West46. City Lights46. L’Atalante46. Psycho46. Dr. Strangelove46. Don’t Look Now53. The Mother and the Whore53. SIngin’ in the Rain53. La Notte53. The Piano53. Ali: Fear Eats The SouL53. Viridiana53. Clèo From 5 to 753. Fanny and Alexander53. Eraserhead
- Late Spring62. Meshes of the Afternoon62. Sunset Blvd62. La Ciénega62. Sátántangó62. Tropical Malady62. Blade Runner62. Lawrence of Arabia62. Some Like It Hot62. Jaws
- Chinatown72. The Seventh Seal72. Ikiru72. L’Argent72. The Conversation72. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom72. A Separation72. Kes72. Where is the Friend’s House?72. The Searchers72. Touki Bouki72. A Brighter Summer Day72. Sans Soleil72. Modern Times72. News From Home72. Blue Velvet72. The Spirit of the Beehive72. Shoah72. Wild Strawberries72. The Red Shoes72. The Ascent
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind93. Moonlight93. The Colour of Pomegranates93. The Conformist93. Caché93. Parasite93. Taste of Cherry93. Wanda93. Battleship Potemkin93. Pickpocket93. Yi Yi93. Throne of Blood Three Scorseses. Three Coppolas. Three Tarkovskys. Two Kubricks. Two Kurosawas. That’s almost half the top 30 composed solely of these five directors. The biggest surprise was, again, Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman” which didn’t even place in the top 100 just ten years ago, now it’s at #4. Although released in France back in 1985, Akerman’s film would not be seen in the United States until 8 years later in 1983. Despite being championed by the European women’s movement of the time, Akerman was reluctant to be seen as a feminist filmmaker, stating that “I don’t think woman’s cinema exists”. One wonders what the late filmmaker would have thought of the honor her film has just received. Scorsese’s “Taxi Driver” has taken a dip from #5 to #12. Coppola’s “Apocalypse Now” from #6 to #18. Bicycle Thieves from #10 to #21. “Raging Bull” from #11 to #25. Bergman’s “Fanny and Alexander” goes from #16 to #53. Chaplin’s “Modern Times” slid from #22 to #72. Meanwhile, “Beau Travail” was #91 in 2012, now it’s #14. “In the Mood For Love” was 67th and is now in the top ten. “Mulholland Drive” was 75th and now sits comfortably at 23. Contribute Hire me
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