Roger Ebert shares his top 20 films of 2011

December 20th 2011, 8:05pm

Last Updated on August 5, 2021

The end of the year lists are on the way. Not only do I expect to see them from critics, I also anticipate seeing what some of our readers really loved this year in film.

I’m going to begin with Roger Ebert’s top 20 films of 2011. I think he’s really put a good list together here. Nice to see films like DRIVE, SHAME, TAKE SHELTER, among others getting some love from the critic. Check it out below. For his thoughts on each of his choices, head here.

Ebert’s Intro:

“Making lists is not my favorite occupation. They inevitably inspire only reader complaints. Not once have I ever heard from a reader that my list was just fine, and they liked it. Yet an annual Best Ten list is apparently a statutory obligation for movie critics. My best guess is that between six and ten of these movies won’t be familiar. Those are the most useful titles for you, instead of an ordering of movies you already know all about.”

“One recent year I committed the outrage of listing 20 movies in alphabetical order. What an uproar! Here are my top 20 films, in order of approximate preference.”

1. A SEPARATION

2. SHAME

3. THE TREE OF LIFE

4. HUGO

5. TAKE SHELTER

6. KINYARWANDA

7. DRIVE

8. MIDNIGHT IN PARIS

9. LE HAVRE

10. THE ARTIST

11. MELANCHOLIA

12. TERRI