| The wait is over for film buffs. Sight and Sound magazine recently released its lists of the ten greatest films of all time. The magazine has issued a list every ten years since 1952(In 1992 and 2002 S&S published two lists, one voted on by critics, one voted on by directors.). The results are rather surprising in that they don't show much of a change in aggregate film taste since the last lists were computed. Here are this years lists- Critics' Top Ten-1) Citizen Kane 2) Vertigo 3) Rules of the Game 4) The Godfather 5) Tokyo Story 6) 2001: A Space Odyssey 7) Battleship Potemkin 8) Sunrise 9) 81/2 10) Singin' in the Rain Directors' Top Ten-1) Citizen Kane 2) The Godfather(I&II) 3) 8 1/2 4) Lawrence of Arabia 5) Dr. Strangelove 6)(tie) The Bicycle Thief, Raging Bull, Vertigo 9)(tie) Rashomon, Rules of the Game, Seven Samurai In December 2001 I guessed at what the lists might look like(the critic's list, at least). I don't mind saying I did pretty well. By now it's a no-brainer that 'Kane' would lead the pack. I also figured Kurowawa would find support among film intelligencia, and his two most famous films made this year's directors' list. To my mild dissappointment Renoir's 'Rules of the Game' held it's ground, showing on both lists(though I need to see this film on DVD before establishing a final verdict). 'The Godfather'(votes for either 'The Godfather' or 'The Godfather: Part II' were applied to the combined The Godfather I & II'), '8 1/2', and 'Tokyo Story' all showed up on this year's lists. I wasn't sure Kubrick's '2001' would make the team, but Kubrick is relatively well represented this year with his classic futuristic epic showing at number six on the critic's poll and 'Dr. Strangelove', seemingly from out of nowhere, ending up on the directors' list. 'Singin' in the Rain' had enough supporters to vote it on to the critics' top ten, though I can name several films more worthy of the spot. Silent films seem to be out of favor with only one, Murnau's 'Sunrise,' making either list. Bergman and Ford films were snubbed this year. Also, nothing more recent than Scorsese's 'Raging Bull' appeared on either S&S list. By visiting the Sight and Sound website you can find out just about all you'd ever want to know regarding the 2002 lists including the names of everyone lucky enough to be asked to vote, the films selected by each voter, the number of votes each film received, and all the films voted for at least once(over 800 in all). Though 'Citizen Kane' topped both lists again, that only really means it was mentioned in more lists that any other film(actually only about 32 votes from nearly 300 voters). The range of films chosen is remarkable and shows the variety of tastes of different film pundits. Some voters chose very obscure 'camp' films while others chose more mainstream films. Films that don't make the top ten lists aren't necessarily forgotton. For example, I was pleased to see that Stanley Kubrick's little known masterpiece 'Barry Lyndon' was actually favored by several people. Also, to my delight, David Lean was not only represented on the directors' list, but was named one of the ten best directors ever by a list compiled from current directors' votes. Here are some notes of interest regarding this years S&S lists: B-movie mogul Roger Corman's list was composed of "greatest film standards" such as 'Lawrence of Arabia,' 'The Godfather', 'The Grapes of Wrath', and 'On the Waterfront.' Quentin Tarrantino voted for 'Coffy'. Todd McCarthy of Variety voted for Hitchcock's 'Notorious' and Hawks' 'To Have and Have Not,' two films not usually considered for these things, but great films which, perhaps, should be.. Michel Ciment voted for 'Barry Lyndon.' Although, with time, it becomes harder to dethrone the old guard, here are some films which, based on my own film intuition and a study of cast votes, might break in to future S&S lists: Blue Velvet Pulp Fiction Star Wars Casablaca City Lights Apocalypse Now -Billy Six Bears 08/22/02 |
| Now Showing Sight and Sound's 2002 Lists |