Recent poll top 10's

[sanshodayu]

Senses of Cinema (online magazine-ongoing poll), 2002;
1. Vertigo
2. Citizen Kane
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey
4. La Regle du Jeu
5. Sunrise
6. Seven Samurai
7. The Searchers
The Thin Red Line
Tokyo Story
10. Au Hasard Balthazar

Sight and Sound international critics, 2002;
1. Citizen Kane
2. Vertigo
3. La Regle du Jeu
4. The Godfather 1&2
5. Tokyo Story
6. 2001; A Space Odyssey
7. Battleship Potemkin
8. Sunrise
9. 8 1/2
10. Singin in the Rain

Sight and Sound directors (mainly American and British), 2002;
1.Citizen Kane
2. The Godfather 1&2
3. 8 1/2
4. Lawrence of Arabia
5. Dr Strangelove
6. Bicycle Thieves
Raging Bull
Vertigo
9. La Regle du Jeu
Seven Samurai
Rashomon

Channel 4 (u.k) public poll, 2001;
1. Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back
2. The Godfather 1&2
3. The Shawshank Redemption
4. Pulp Fiction
6. Some Like it Hot
7. It's a Wonderful Life
8. Blade Runner
9. Schindler's List
10.Goodfellas

Editorial Jaguar, Spain, 2001;
1. Citizen Kane
2. The Leopard
3. Ordet
4. Vertigo
5. The Searchers
6. The Godfather 1&2
7. Sunrise
8. Gertrud
9. The Man who Shot Liberty Valance
10.2001: A Space Odyssey

MovieMail (u.k) customers, 2000 (i conducted);
1. Seven Samurai
2. The Third Man
3. Les Enfants du Paradis
4. Blade Runner
5. Casablanca
6. Cinema Paradiso
7. 2001: A Space Odyssey
8. Some Like it Hot
9. La Regle du Jeu
10. Brief Encounter

Village Voice (U.S), 2000;
1. Citizen Kane
2. La Regle du Jeu
3. Vertigo
4. The Searchers
5. The Man with a Movie Camera
6. Sunrise
7. L'Atalante
8. The Passion of Joan of Arc
9. Au Hasard Balthazar
10. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Your opinions., please!

[jlovborg]

I didn't like the way they bundled the votes for the Godfather movies in the S & S poll. Neither of the films should've been in top ten. I also detest the way Citizen Kane dominates these lists. Sure it's a fine film, but its story isn't that great, and as for technical merits, it was revolutionary in 1941, but later on many films have exceeded it. I'd be glad to see eg Vertigo in the top spot in the next S & S poll. I wonder how a movie like Cinema Paradiso found its way to the otherwise sound MailMovie list.

[sanshodayu]

Cinema Paradiso was also voted favourite contemporary film (since 1980) by Guardian readers in 1992, so the MovieMail placing didn't come as a huge shock. It's a good film, but i agree hardly one of the great masterpieces of world cinema. Citizen Kane came 18th, Verrtigo 14th in the Moviemail poll.

Yeah, it would be a refreshing change for Citizen Kane to be toppled. I was disappointed that Sight and Sound failed to include many top international directors (whom i'd suggested to them) and to extend the range of the poll, to have a stronger representation from Africa, South America and various neglected countries.

The S&S directors' poll was dominated by British and American directors. Many seem limited in their viewing- or certainly appreciation- of world cinema; Kurosawa, Bergman, Fellini, Bunuel and classics like Bicycle Thieves and La Regle du Jeu may be known in America, yet Mizoguchi and many of the true greats are terribly neglected. So such polls only reinforce the status quo. I'm pleased to see Sunrise doing so well in critics' polls, though.

I hope more modern and lesser-known films will feature strongly in future.

[Fisting Ackbar]

Don't be mislead by top ten lists...