Accompanying note: It is really tough to nail down ten films definitively, and one’s personality certainly plays a part in picking them. For instance, I still wanted to choose Vertigo or Citizen Kane but somehow these other (and newer) films kept raising their hands for inclusion. I have tried my best. I look foward to the results.
- In the Mood for Love
Year: 2000
Director(s): Wong Kar Wai
Comment: This is a period film that feels timeless. This is a film set in a very particular geography, and yet feels universal. This is a film about the futility of a love affair, and is yet, it speaks to everyone who has been in love. It’s one of the saddest films ever made, and yet, oddly, one of the most hopeful – with one of the greatest film-endings of all time. - The Godfather
Year: 1972
Director(s): Francis Ford Coppola
Comment: A gangster movie about family, or a family movie about gangsters? A film about the corruption of a soul should feel tragic – Michael is a gangster, after all. So why do we feel so bad for him at the end, when the door closes on Kay? The sympathetic face may belong to her, but the sympathies are all his. It was tough choosing this over Apocalypse Now, but I guess I just did. - Alice Doesn’t Live Here Anymore
Year: 1974
Director(s): Martin Scorsese
Comment: Scorsese is considered such a “male” filmmaker that it’s stunning how much emotional violence erupts from Ellen Burstyn’s extraordinary performance as an Everywoman who wants to find herself and become someone special. Seen today, the “simpler” Scorsese seems so much purer a filmmaker than the more dynamic, kinetic filmmaker he became later. He’s always been great but I feel this is him at his greatest. - East of Eden
Year: 1955
Director(s): Elia Kazan
Comment: Yes, the theme of broken love, broken families continues. James Dean’s first major role has him wrestling with demons all of us have to some extent, and what better mode for a director to express this than melodrama? We seem to have become contemptuous of the genre, but its strengths are at their most glorious in this gorgeously shot movie. - 8 1/2
Year: 1963
Director(s): Federico Fellini
Comment: Who among us has not gotten stuck? But trust Fellini to visualise this mental state with one astounding set piece after another. The surrealism makes the film feel timeless and almost like a movie cave we enter to see what the inside of a mind looks like. - Red Beard
Year: 1965
Director(s): Akira Kurosawa
Comment: Not too many films offer such a vast (and wholly visual) commentary on human life. Behind the “simplicity” of the story and the characters is a depth that keeps you thinking about how interlocked our lives are with those of strangers. - Two English Girls
Year: 1971
Director(s): Francois Truffaut
Comment: One of the greatest “relationship movies”. When I saw Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire, this was the film I kept thinking about (minus the man). I know some will prefer Jules and Jim, but the pain here goes far deeper. - Charulata
Year: 1964
Director(s): Satyajit Ray
Comment: One of the most perfectly “choreographed” films ever made. The rhythm of humdrum daily life staged with the flair of an Ophuls drama. And (like Red Beard) a great example of how a simple story can be told (rather shown) with quiet depth. - Zodiac
Year: 2007
Director(s): David Fincher
Comment: As an investigation turns into a slow-moving, never-ending nightmare, so does this film’s rhythms. Fincher makes the cinema’s first “non-serial killer movie”, stripping the genre of thrills and good-wins-over-evil satisfaction. Instead, he says chaos is the only thing. And the mood is what matters. - Playtime
Year: 1969
Director(s): Jacques Tati
Comment: A brilliant satire on modernism? Maybe. But that is too boring a description of what Tati has achieved in his richest film, with some of the finest comic set pieces since Buster Keaton. The gags are set at the lowest of volumes and it is often easy to miss one or two, but that is why the film bears so much repeat viewing
brangan
December 11, 2022
Context
In 1952, the Sight and Sound team had the novel idea of asking critics to name the greatest films of all time. The tradition became decennial, increasing in size and prestige as the decades passed.
The Sight and Sound poll is now a major bellwether of critical opinion on cinema and this year’s edition (its eighth) is the largest ever, with 1,639 participating critics, programmers, curators, archivists and academics each submitting their top ten ballot. What has risen up the ranks? What has fallen? Has 2012’s winner Vertigo held on to its title? Find out below.
https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/greatest-films-all-time
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Sri Prabhuram
December 11, 2022
Out of all the films in your list, I only watched Zodiac. A brilliant one by David Fincher.
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abishekspeare
December 11, 2022
Reading this one realises katradhu Kai alavu
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Raghu Narayanan
December 11, 2022
@BR: Pride in being an Indian makes it difficult to accept that only 1 movie made it to this list.
What do you think is/are the reason(s)?
Is it a question of quality, or the lack or it rather?
Or is it a question of awareness – the west simply does not know?
Or is it a question of the west’s lack of acceptability / understanding / open mindedness?
For the first two above, we can do something in terms of improving ourselves and in terms of better marketing. For the third, we will be better off having our own poll. But I suspect that the reasons will be multidimensional.
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sathyajiit
December 11, 2022
This is a nice list. I have only seen 5 out of the 10 mentioned.
I love that ItMfL representation. I would’ve chosen Fallen Angels instead of ItMfL, but that’s just me. WKW is the GOAT.
It’s so good to see a Satyajit Ray film that’s not Pather Panchali on this list. Charulata is his absolute best (IMO) and Nayak comes close.
I am surprised that a so-called “lesser” Scorsese film (or something pre Mean Streets) was included on the list (I haven’t seen it yet, so I can’t comment on it). As far as I know the only Scorsese films I’ve seen mentioned are The King of Comedy, Raging Bull, Mean Streets, Taxi Driver, Goodfellas, or Silence (I would love it if Hugo got more love).
As for the Godfather, I feel the opposite, I would choose Apocalypse Now (theatrical version, of course) over it any day.
As for 8 1/2 and Zodiac, no comments, I feel like they deserve a spot.
Something else I find interesting is the films of Kurosawa and Truffaut you chose. I have seen neither of them. I would’ve chosen the 400 Blows/Jules and Jim, and Seven Samurai/Ran/Rashomon/Ikiru, so thanks for the two recommendations.
Overall, what do you think of the S&S list? At first, I found it kind of surprising that Jeanne Dielman shot up to the first place, but then I remembered that the film had garnered buzz ever since Criterion made it more accessible by releasing it in Bluray and their streaming service. One analysis I’ve read suggested that JD’s position might’ve been a reaction to the pandemic as well, seeing that people’s mundane routines being disrupted meant that a woman doing normal household activities made for some cathartic viewing. Also The Godfather Part 2 dropping down 70 places and placing out of the list, with Part 1 moving up to 12 seems like voters substituting Part 1 for both films as a whole to me.
I find the Directors’ list more in line with my tastes than the Critics’ list.
What do you think?
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sathyajiit
December 11, 2022
@Raghu Narayanan I think the biggest factor might be the lack of awareness and acceptance, followed by number of films produced in India. If you take a look at Letterboxd, India has only 17k films produced whereas Germany has double the number. Combine this with the stereotype of the Bollywood musical, and I can understand why Indian films are so underrepresented on the world stage.
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vishal yogin
December 11, 2022
I wonder if there’s a similar list(s) for books. Genre specific would be great.
With so much being published (ditto for cinema of course), these lists are handy for making personal choices about what to read/watch.
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H. Prasanna
December 11, 2022
@BR Curious if you considered other films that made it to the list. Did you any choice (by other critics) take you by surprise?
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H. Prasanna
December 11, 2022
I loved Celine Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It reminded me of Titanic! I will write a Readers Write In about that.
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Karthik
December 11, 2022
Lovely list and comments to go along. I hadn’t heard of Jacques Tati before.
With these lists the order hardly matters (at least to me), but I’d imagine it must be brutal to pick just 10 films.
Was a bit surprised (a little bummed too) that the top 100 list didn’t have a Kieslowski film. I’m going to assume thats just an artifact of the “algorithm”.
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lurker
December 11, 2022
@vishal yogin – I’ve found reddit to be great for book recos
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Chanakya
December 11, 2022
My list would be pretty similar to yours. ‘In the mood for love’ is number one, for sure. I would switch Godfather 1 with Godfather 2; ‘Charulata’ with ‘Pather Panchali’ (not because it’s a better movie, but because it’s deeply personal to me); ‘Zodiac’ with ‘Memories of Murder.’
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Chanakya
December 11, 2022
I’m glad you picked ‘Playtime’ on your list. Comedies rarely get any recognition on these lists. Jacques Tati is a master of this genre. Mon Oncle is also an absolute treat.
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AlterEgO (@skc89)
December 11, 2022
Disappointed to see no love for Nayagan, Kadal ,VTV or GVM’s movies making it to your list. :((
jk.
Two english Girls by Truffaut is a personal favorite too. One of the later period classic and perfect companion to his earlier film Jules and Jim
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sai16vicky
December 11, 2022
I would put In The Mood For Love (ITMFL) at the top of my list as well. Although I must confess I haven’t seen a fraction of world cinema as you.
Here’s my 10 (actually, an attempt at it :)):
1. ITMFL: A stunning cinematic piece. Very few words are spoken; a lot of emotions are felt. Also has one of the greatest uses of song in film with ‘Qizzas Qizzas ..’ .
2. Autumn Sonata: Usually people point to the superior ‘Persona’ but this is my favorite. Who knew Chopin’s prelude no. 2 would find a suitable home in this touching drama?
3. You’ve Got Mail: I know, I know this doesn’t belong in most of the great lists. Nora Ephron’s beautifully human writing transcends genre and more importantly, the film can be watched anytime anywhere (see (2) above and get the difference :)).
4. Thaniyavarthanam: Starting on a thread loosely based on Kafka’s Metamorphosis, the movie is a meditation on madness. Who is mad after all? Is it the protagonist who experienced a gothic dream? Or his superstitious family who make much more out of it?
5. Elippathayam: Adoor Gopalakrishnan’s drama is about a systemic decay (note the title again!) but dig a bit deeper and you realize that the movie is about why we don’t always respond naturally to events that concern us.
6. Cléo from 5 to 7: I might be in a minority here but I think Agnès Varda is more of a feminist filmmaker than most in that clan today. Only difference is that she was a filmmaker first and a feminist next. Varda takes her own sweet time to let Cléo digest her death and the result is a beauty.
7. Breathless: It is no coincidence that the protagonist is a dangerous criminal in this film. Godard was that crimin of saying F**k you, not just to
8. Mystic River: Great exploration of crime, redemption and the whole idea of karma. Sean Penn’s reaction to his daughter’s death is stuff of legends.
9. Goodfellas: Scorcese’s visual bravura is well known and it is always fun to see him show off. I love how Cream’s Sunshine of your Love is used to foretell a killing.
10. Eyes Wide Shut: Kubrick’s swansong is special because he takes the most generic of genres (contemporary drama) and puts his signature all over it. The resulting movie unfolds like a dream; especially one which we all try to run away from.
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brangan
December 12, 2022
Someone had asked up in the comments why not many Indian films make it to the list. It’s because we make many movies but not many that use “cinema as an art form”. When we take India, directors like Mani Ratnam have been pushing towards this for a long time. But we are still at an infant stage. I love THIRUCHITRAMBALAM to bits, but if you play it on the radio, you will get 90% of it. You cannot do that with IN THE MOOD FOR LOVE, which has to be SEEN to be felt.
To use sai16vicky’s words: “Very few words are spoken; a lot of emotions are felt.”
Hence this list.
Wnich is not to say words are not important. But the “cinema” aspect of it in our films is always compromised by having to cater to a large mainstream audience.
But even this list can keep changing, depending which day you are asked. I also do not believe in the concept of ONE “greatest” or “best” film. But with a gun to the head — yeah, I can live with these choices.
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brangan
December 12, 2022
Martin Scorsese’s Favorite Movies: 53 Films the Director Wants You to See
https://www.indiewire.com/gallery/martin-scorsese-favorite-films-movies/
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Vazhipokkan
December 12, 2022
“Quizas, Quizás” was indeed the greatest use of a song in a movie. I only consider “Baasha Paaru” as the other one – for the sheer impact of the song and score. Since it is Thalaivar birthday, let me spend a second on it. I still remember the goosebumps from that time. Those days the reel operators used to be reckless when it comes to big day, big star movies. They were under pressure to run 5 sometimes even 6 shows a day to cash in on the mania. So they did not employ finesse in timing the interval. They would recklessly start the movie without waiting even for 75% of the theater to be occupied. But Baasha interval was a tremendous coup. Magical to say the least. The theater I watched in – the theater almost filled up to the hilt after interval. Bang started the song! What a score! The roll on the rototoms (?) was the single most iconic use of percussion and SPB just flawlessly starts it off at that point. After that, I felt the same way when Quizas Quizas started playing. It was almost unexpected. I just went “no way” … the movie was already surreal and magical. And I used to think Nat King Cole was the epitome of surreal. I almost cried.
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Macaulay Perapulla
December 12, 2022
“. I love THIRUCHITRAMBALAM to bits, but if you play it on the radio, you will get 90% of it” This is a very interesting point. I see it as a more cultural phenomenon. Back in the 90s, my neighbourhood cassette shop used to sell audio cassettes of most tamizh movies, especially the AP Nagarajan ones. These days, it has gone out of fashion. Somewhere, with audio, it feels more reassuring (Voice is the theatre of the mind, as we used to say) to let the story flow than to allow visuals. In a recent dialogue, Jeyamohan was alluding to it. Ever since Hari came to tamizh cinema, the scene length has been gradually shrinking and now with Vikram, we could see how quick the scenes were moving at a kinetic pace. At such a pace, perhaps, audio seems a safe bet than visuals.
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vijay
December 12, 2022
“Wnich is not to say words are not important. But the “cinema” aspect of it in our films is always compromised by having to cater to a large mainstream audience.”
but why do you have to restrict yourself to strictly mainstream films like Thiruchitrambalam when picking for this list? there has been some good stuff from not-so-mainstream films in the last 10-20 yrs or even in the 80s.. and not just in Tamil but in other languages as well. Maybe the bigger issue that you or others have is that you feel the styles are inspired or derivatory(?) and not original enough..or that since this is a ‘sight and sound poll’ only internationally film-geek approved movies need to be considered..
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vaprasadvakkalankaprasad
December 12, 2022
Baradwaj, Aren’t you missing the point in “The Godfather” when you say “Michael is a gangster, after all”. No, he isn’t! Michael is an outsider in the family despite his return from war as a hero. The Don doesn’t care for it much. Therefore, it is Michael’s turn to becoming a gangster – a point of no return – that renders it a tragedy. In fact, the first thing the Don enquires about, on his return home from the hospital, is Michael’s whereabouts. His disapproval is visible when informed about the Sollozzo episode. The door closing in on Kay is apt since it is her moment of realisation that her worst fear has come true – it is not a surprise to us as an audience, since we have been privy to Michael’s turn to gangsterism, but not Kay. Her look, even as the door closes, says it all, doesn’t it.
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vijay
December 12, 2022
the list feels like a mix of a few usual suspects(Godfather, 81/2 etc) from critics’s favourites balanced out with some personal choices..
I am not sure about Zodiac on the list though considering the pedigree at stake here of being greatest of all time..
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Madan
December 12, 2022
I totally dig the inclusion of Zodiac, which is underrated even within the Fincher catalogue. But OTOH the list is missing a Kubrick or Hitchcock work. Can’t include them all of course.
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vishal yogin
December 12, 2022
My vote would go to The Wailing (2016) from South Korea.
If ever the supernatural could be elevated to art, this is definitely it.
Don’t read about it or its reviews or watch trailers, just go watch it.
Richest when experienced on the big screen !
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Satya
December 12, 2022
I know Scorcese (and many others here) think that MCU is not cinema, and I see why. But, is there any film or moment in the MCU for you guys that was cinema at its finest? Anything, please comment.
Coming to this list, Zodiac was an unexpected but worthy inclusion. It was Fincher’s middle finger to the conventions of serial killer narratives, and the ending (with Donovan’s Hurdy Gurdy Man playing in the background) always gives me chills.
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Satya
December 12, 2022
I would start first, because I asked for it and therefore I should contribute too: for me, it was the climax fight of Captain America: Civil War intercutting with T’Challa deciding not to avenge his father’s murder.
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Raghu Narayanan
December 12, 2022
@BR: I was the one who had asked why only 1 Indian movie made it to the list (your list as well as the list on the link you had shared in your comment). So, thanks for the response, which actually leads onto further introspection about Indian cinema. And the starting point could be that Indian cinema is not yet Indian cinema. It’s divided by language and each language seems to be a movie ecosystem by itself – financial, technical and artistic, with very marginal cross pollination happening. We can only imagine what a gigantic machine this will be if there is seamless integration of Indian cinema across languages! I think it was Pooja Hegde who made a some sort of similar point in the Galatta Round table which you anchored recently. But, what will be the impetus to drive it in that direction? @Sathyajit mentioned in response to my comment that Germany makes twice the number of movies than we do here. Not sure if that was just Bollywood or across all languages.
Secondly, you mentioned a super point that in India the major focus is on mainstream cinema – which is commercial mass masala, and not enough going into cinema as an art. I think this also ties up to the commercial vs art imbalance which is also a discussion point on some of your other blog posts. So here again is the question as to who will or can afford to take the initiative of doing cinema purely for arts sake and not focus on the commercials overly? When we think of this, another question that comes up is, what has been the give back to cinema by all those, who for generations, have made thousands of crores out of this industry? Has there been any sustained contributions from any of the top production houses, the huge superstars who have made enough wealth to sustain for another 10 generations, towards developing the art of cinema? Or have they merely been taking? What can cause a larger than current focus on cinema as an art in India?
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lurker
December 12, 2022
@Raghu – The problems that you have mentioned pervade all of cinema today, and not only Bollywood/Kollywood. It is quite telling that the most recent movie in BR’s list is 15 years old. If anything, I’d say Indian cinema hasn’t yet slided as far down as Hollywood, what with their corporate -backed templated Marvel-type movies hijacking a disproportionate space there.
That said, I think good Indie movies do keep coming up, even if not worthy of an all-time top 10. Off the top of my head, I can recall Attention Please, Kadaisi Vivasayi, Natchathiram Nagurugirathu, among recently received movies.
I also think that the distinction between arthouse and commercial cinema is sometimes stretched too far, but that’s for another day.
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Yaseen
December 12, 2022
Stanley Kubrick’s barry lyndon movie is definitely treat for eyes and ears.
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ravenus1
December 12, 2022
Nice list, BR. I do think some of the Czech and Polish masterpieces also deserve a place, but that’s the thing with lists, right? You can never please everyone.
sai16vicky: Lots of nice choices, there.
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RK
December 13, 2022
BR: With your level of exposure to world cinema, do you feel that while the number of ‘good’ films are high, the number of ‘great’ or ‘potentially great’ films are coming down, when compared to 1940s or 1960s or 1970s?
When I see a critically acclaimed movie, whether Indian or otherwise, what I see mostly experience is that it is a good movie. There are very few movies that feel great or that they can be potentially great. Portrait of a Woman on Fire, even on the very first viewing, felt great. Subsequent viewings may or may not confirm that initial impression. The same was true about Zodiac. How many great movies or movies that can be potentially great have you seen in 2022?
How many in this forum have actually seen Jeanne Dielmann? In the initial 30-45 mins, I found the film to be sleep inducing. But once passed that mark & the film pulls you in and the whole movie is trance-like. I never wanted the film to end, despite the 3 1/2 hr running time. The violent end felt almost anti-climatic for a film of such hypnotism.
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Random
December 15, 2022
It seems the 2022 list favoured diversity over quality, in keeping with modern times. Every new post-2000 entry is from a non-white or female director (not counting Spirited Away as it is animation).
And increasing the number of voters is a nice idea, but it also means a lot of these voters may not be aware of film history. Portrait of a Lady on Fire at #30, Moonlight ahead of L’Avventura and Journey to Italy!! Nothing for Bunuel or Lubitsch.
The Director’s Poll seems much more credible for me.
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RK
December 15, 2022
@Random: Choosing ONLY 10 films is a very tough choice, even for an on/off film buff like me. I think BR can come up with an alternate list of 10 films that are equal in quality, if needed. I can come with a list of 10 great films entirely from Hollywood, but that would not be really diverse in terms of region, isn’t it? So diversity being a criteria in selection is not that bad.
If diversity is the only criteria by which we can shine light on films like Jeanne Dielmann, then so be it. This film is great as any of the films in BR’s list. One may or not may like it, but it is definitely great ART.
I again repeat, even in a forum with many film buffs, how many have seen Jeanne Dielmann, even heard of it?
PS: This is the only movie of Chantel Ackerman that I have seen.
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sathyajiit
December 15, 2022
@RK I was going to comment the same thing. If diversity was the only way Moonlight, ItMfL, and Miyazaki’s films could make it onto the list, then that’s a win.
@Random Mulholland Drive is at No.8.
There was a similar comment about this years list as well, the lack of Latin American films (City of God was the one that was surprisingly missing). I’d wager its cause even though the voters are diverse, they are still limited to 10 films each, which means a lot are going to leave out a lot of their favorites (The Godfather jumping up and Part 2 dropping out entirely, is likely for the same reason, even in BR’s list there’s only Part 1. Voters seemed to have substituted Part 1 for both films).
Besides, after hearing for years about how its the best film ever, I’m finally motivated to watch Jeanne Dielman.
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Random
December 15, 2022
@sathyajiit Mulholland Drive was in the 2012 list as well. I meant the new post-2000 entries in the 2022 list barring Spirited Away.
@RK I haven’t watched Jeanne Dielmann, but I have heard a lot about it. A lot of critics consider it the greatest feminist film of all time. But I cannot comment if it is suitable without having seen it.
It’s the ones I have seen, like Moonlight, which leave me a bit puzzled, as I didn’t find it better than a few others from the list, or than some others which are now excluded. I am all for diversity, but it shouldn’t score over quality, which I do understand is subjective.
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rsylviana
December 15, 2022
Now even I’m intrigued, where and how can we watch Jeanne Dielmann?
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RK
December 16, 2022
@rsylviana: I saw it in 2020 on Youtube. Check whether it is still available.
@Random: I also consider Moonlight to be a very good film, but definitely not great. I will rate Brokeback Mountain over Moonlight, but even that film was a very good film, not great. Both do not have that extra something that makes some films great.
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sathyajiit
December 17, 2022
@Random Maybe it’s my life experience, but Moonlight was the film that I wish was higher on the list. What a film. That final dialogue between Kevin and Chiron moved me to tears, and made it an instant favorite.
@RK Brokeback Mountain, while being a good film, is not better than Moonlight IMO. Moonlight is just on another level. I’ll write a reader’s write-in about both Brokeback and Moonlight, elaborating my thoughts.
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hari prasad
December 19, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sight_and_Sound_Greatest_Films_of_All_Time_2022
Here are the top 10 movies from Directors poll and the Critics poll
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rd123
March 20, 2023
Mani Ratnam’s Top 10 for Sight and Sound
Citizen Kane (Orson Welles) – 1941
Godfather, The (Francis Ford Coppola) – 1972
À bout de souffle (Jean-Luc Godard) – 1960
Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa) – 1954
Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica) – 1948
Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese) – 1980
City Lights (Charles Chaplin) – 1931
Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski) – 1993
Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg) – 1993
Autumn Sonata (Ingmar Bergman) – 1978
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facebook video downloader
April 29, 2023
facebook video downloader
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