Vertigo topples Citizen Kane in the 2012 Poll
A Potpourri of Vestiges Feature
Anyone passionate about cinema is ought to know about the Sight & Sound Film Poll that's conducted once in 10 years (since 1952) by the prestigious Sight & Sound magazine—a British monthly film magazine published by the British Film Institute (BFI). Sight & Sound invites film critics from all across the globe to participate in the poll where they are required to pick the greatest (based on their interpretation) films of all time. Based on the poll results a consolidated list is documented which is widely regarded as a touchstone to measure the quality of contemporary world cinema, especially from the critical point of view. The list is also a great means for the masses to get acquainted with the best of cinema.
In, 1952 the top honor went to Vittorio De Sica's neo-realistic masterpiece Bicycle Thieves (1948). From 1962 to 2002, Orson Welles' magnum opus Citizen Kane (1941) topped the charts on five consecutive occasions. For the 2012 edition of the poll, the invitations were extended to over 1,000 participants which included critics, programmers, academics, distributors, writers and other cinephiles. Of the 846 top-ten lists that were received, 191 (the highest number) had Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo (1958) positioned at the numero uno spot.
Sight & Sound Top 10:
1). Vertigo (1958), Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
1). Vertigo (1958), Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
2). Citizen Kane (1941), Directed by Orson Welles
3). Tokyo Story (1953), Directed by Yasujirô Ozu
4). La Règle du jeu (1939), Directed by Jean Renoir
5). Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927), Directed by F.W.Murnau
6). 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Directed by Stanley Kubrick
7). The Searchers (1956), Directed by John Ford
8). Man with a Movie Camera (1929), Directed by Dziga Vertov
9). Passion of Joan of Arc (1928), Directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer
10). 8½ (1963), Directed by Federico Fellini
Speaking of polls, I was recently invited by Mr. Iain Stott of "100 Evenings Illuminated" to participate in the 2012 edition of his annual Film Poll. Renowned personalities like Miguel Marías, Jean-Michel Frodon, Paul Vecchiali, Larry Karaszewski, David Sterritt, etc. have been associated with the previous editions of the poll.
To checkout what I picked, click here
To checkout complete results of the poll, click here
Readers, please feel free to share your opinion by leaving your comments. As always your feedback is highly appreciated!
— Murtaza Ali
Here is the list of remaining films that made it to the Top 100 of the 2012 Sight & Sound List (in alphabetical order):
Aguirre, Wrath of God (1972)
Andrei Rublev (1966)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
L'Atalante (1934)
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
L'Avventura (1960)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Beau Travail (1999)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Breathless (1960)
A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
Casablanca (1942)
Un Chien Andalou (1929)
City Lights (1931)
Close-Up (1990)
The Colour of Pomegranates (1968)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
L'Eclisse (1962)
Les Enfants du Paradis (1945)
Fanny & Alexander (1982)
The 400 Blows (1959)
The General (1927)
Gertrud (1964)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather: Part II (1974)
La Grande Illusion (1937)
Greed (1924)
Histoire(s) du Cinéma (1998)
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Imitation of Life (1959)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Intolerance (1916)
Jeanne Dielman (1975)
La Jetée (1962)
Journey to Italy (1954)
Late Spring (1949)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
The Leopard (1963)
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
M (1931)
Madame de… (1953)
The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
La Maman et la Putain (1973)
A Man Escaped (1956)
A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
Le Mépris (1963)
Metropolis (1927)
Mirror (1975)
Modern Times (1936)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Nashville (1975)
The Night of the Hunter (1955)
North by Northwest (1959)
Once upon a Time in the West (1968)
A One and a Two (2000)
Ordet (1955)
Partie de Campagne (1936)
Pather Panchali (1955)
Persona (1966)
Pickpocket (1959)
Pierrot le Fou (1965)
Play Time (1967)
Psycho (1960)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rashomon (1950)
Rear Window (1954)
Rio Bravo (1959)
Sans Soleil (1983)
Sansho Dayu (1954)
Sátántangó (1994)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Seventh Seal (1957)
Sherlock Jr. (1924)
Shoah (1985)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
The Spirit of the Beehive (1973)
Stalker (1979)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Taxi Driver (1976)
The Third Man (1949)
Tokyo Story (1953)
Touch of Evil (1958)
Touki-Bouki (1973)
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Note: Citizen Kane (1941), 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968), Andrei Rublev (1966), Bicycle Thieves (1948), The Godfather (1972), The Godfather: Part II (1974), Once Upon a Time in the West (1968), Rashomon (1950), Seven Samurai (1954), Stalker (1979), and The Seventh Seal (1957) were reviewed earlier on this blog.
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Great list. Was not aware of your being a contributor to the S&S top 10 list. Kudos.
ReplyDeleteActually, I am not... I only contributed to an independent poll conducted by Mr. Iain Stott.
ReplyDeleteTerrific set of collection... great post thanks for sharing... [www.ajeethboaz.com]
ReplyDeleteThanks for those kind words... I am really glad that you liked it!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteWow! Great work posting this list! And though I have to confess I had a
ReplyDeletedifficult time watching a few of them (Blue Velvet, Mulholland Drive and
Fanny & Alexander, for example), I am happy to see Pather Panchali
and a great selection of some fabulous French films are featured. I
would add to these French films the Marius trilogy (Cesar, Marius &
Fanny) by Pagnol and a couple of Latin American films too (am glad to
see Buñuel in your alternative 100) plus a good selection of Indian
films! Great connecting with you!
Well, the feeling is mutual... I am equally delighted to have got connected to you. I am yet to watch the Marius trilogy... and thank you for bringing it up. Bunuel happens to be an all time favorite of mine... it's quite sad that he isn't as popular as the likes of Bergman, Kurosawa and Fellini. Also, I agree that some movies on the list require a lot of patience, but patience does have its rewards!!! :-)
ReplyDeleteAbsolutely awesome....!!! Great work.
ReplyDeleteI am glad you liked it :-)
ReplyDeleteHey there, the sight & sound poll of 2012, this one, brought me to Tokyo Story (1953), ranked no.3 on the list. You should see this masterpiece that possesses elemental humanity and mighty emotional power imbued with the universal truth, and review it. I did, check it out on mu blog if you got the time.
ReplyDelete