As I wrote elsewhere on FB - In my view (opinion, not necessarily fact) - The recent trend of being "inclusive" - has come at the expense of universally admired "classics" which - until this list - would show up every time. So many great films were not just "re-ordered" - but KICKED OFF, i.e., "Lawrence of Arabia." There's no value for a point-by-point riposte for the selections - as I think the goal was to signal "how great and more enlightened us younger critics are" - but also - to get boomers and traditional film historians riled up.
"Parasite" making the list just three years after being released is the most obvious example of recency bias. Second most obvious is "Jeanne Dielman" finished "#1" - but finished #36 in the 2012 poll - the biggest jump to #1 in history. (I saw the film last year only because it's now a Criterion issue and it's as arty as it is dull, worthy maybe, but not in my top 25.) Until now, this list had NEVER ranked a film released within ten years prior. I now imagine that when the BFI re-issues its separate list of the "greatest British films ever made" - that classics like "The Third Man," "Brief Encounter," and "Lawrence of Arabia" will all fall out of the top 10. Meanwhile, at least the simultaneously released S&S 2022 DIRECTORS' poll - induces some heartburn, but FAR less: https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/directors-100-greatest-films-all-time Directors’ 100 Greatest Films of All Time | BFI<https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/directors-100-greatest-films-all-time> Every decade since 1992, Sight and Sound has complemented its celebrated critics’ poll by formally sounding out the world’s leading directors on the ten films they believe to be the greatest of all time. Though it has always been global and inclusive in scope, the poll has expanded significantly each decade. In 1992, 101 directors voted; fast-forward to 2012, when 358 filmmakers took part. www.bfi.org.uk ________________________________ From: MoPo List <[email protected]> on behalf of Bruce Hershenson <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, December 3, 2022 5:37 AM To: [email protected] <[email protected]> Subject: Sight & Sound’s top 100 Greatest Films of All Time 2022 I am likely one of the only people here who saw all of the almost 4 HOURS of “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxel” in a theater. and it the ultimate case of The Emperor's New Clothes! How the 1,500 people who made this dreadful pretentious list did so, apparently with a straight face, is beyond me. Oh wait, there are very few comedies on the list, indicating these people completely lack a sense of humor. The order of the movies is flat-out ridiculous. But I am more bothered by the films and directors left off, than the ones included. And they were "bumped" off to make room for recent movies, movies by women, and movies by minorities. Shouldn't a "greatest" list completely ignore those factors? Just admit it is a list that is designed to get people to see many great overlooked movies, and I am fine with it. But a list of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"? Not remotely close on ANY level. Sight & Sound’s top 100 Greatest Films of All Time 2022 1. “Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxel” (Chantal Akerman, 1975) 2. “Vertigo” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) 3. “Citizen Kane” (Orson Welles, 1941) 4. “Tokyo Story” (Ozu Yasujiro, 1953) 5. “In the Mood for Love, Wong Kar-wai, 2001) 6. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) 7. “Beau travail” (Claire Denis, 1998) 8. “Mulholland Dr.” (David Lynch, 2001) 9. “Man with a Movie Camera” (Dziga Vertov, 1929) 10. “Singin’ in the Rain” (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1951) 11. “Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans” (F.W. Murnau, 1927) 12. “The Godfather” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) 13. “La Règle du Jeu” (Jean Renoir, 1939) 14. “Cléo from 5 to 7” (Agnès Varda, 1962) 15. “The Searchers” (John Ford, 1956) 16. “Meshes of the Afternoon” (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943) 17. “Close-Up” (Abbas Kiarostami, 1989) 18. “Persona” (Ingmar Bergman, 1966) 19. “Apocalypse Now” (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) 20. “Seven Samurai” (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) 21. (TIE) “The Passion of Joan of Arc” (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1927) 21. (TIE) “Late Spring” (Ozu Yasujiro, 1949) 23. “Playtime” (Jacques Tati, 1967) 24. “Do the Right Thing” (Spike Lee, 1989) 25. (TIE) “Au Hasard Balthazar” (Robert Bresson, 1966) 25. (TIE) The Night of the Hunter” (Charles Laughton, 1955) 27. “Shoah” (Claude Lanzmann, 1985) 28. “Daisies” (Věra Chytilová, 1966) 29. “Taxi Driver” (Martin Scorsese, 1976) 30. “Portrait of a Lady on Fire” (Céline Sciamma, 2019) 31. (TIE) “Mirror” (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1975) 31. (TIE) “8½” (Federico Fellini, 1963) 31. (TIE) “Psycho” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960) 34. “L’Atalante” (Jean Vigo, 1934) 35. “Pather Panchali” (Satyajit Ray, 1955) 36. (TIE) “City Lights” (Charlie Chaplin, 1931) 36. (TIE) “M” (Fritz Lang, 1931) 38. (TIE) “À bout de souffle” (Jean-Luc Godard, 1960) 38. (TIE) “Some Like It Hot” (Billy Wilder, 1959) 38. (TIE) “Rear Window” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) 41. (TIE) “Bicycle Thieves” (Vittorio De Sica, 1948) 41. (TIE) “Rashomon” (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) 43. (TIE) “Stalker” (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979) 43. (TIE) “Killer of Sheep” (Charles Burnett, 1977) 45. (TIE) “North by Northwest” (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) 45. (TIE) “The Battle of Algiers” (Gillo Pontecorvo, 1966) 45. (TIE) “Barry Lyndon” (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) 48. (TIE) “Wanda” (Barbara Loden, 1970) 48. (TIE) “Ordet” (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1955) 50. (TIE) “The 400 Blows” (François Truffaut, 1959) 50. (TIE) “The Piano” (Jane Campion, 1992) 52. (TIE) “News from Home” (Chantal Akerman, 1976) 52. (TIE) “Fear Eats the Soul” (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1974) 54. (TIE) “The Apartment” (Billy Wilder, 1960) 54. (TIE) “Battleship Potemkin” (Sergei Eisenstein, 1925) 54. (TIE) “Sherlock Jr.” (Buster Keaton, 1924) 54. (TIE) “Le Mépris” (Jean-Luc Godard 1963) 54. (TIE) “Blade Runner” (Ridley Scott 1982) 59. “Sans soleil” (Chris Marker 1982) 60. (TIE) “Daughters of the Dust” (Julie Dash 1991) 60. (TIE) “La dolce vita” (Federico Fellini 1960) 60. (TIE) “Moonlight” (Barry Jenkins 2016) 63. (TIE) “Casablanca” (Michael Curtiz 1942) 63. (TIE) “GoodFellas” (Martin Scorsese 1990) 63. (TIE) “The Third Man” (Carol Reed 1949) 66. “Touki Bouki (Djibril Diop Mambéty 1973) 67. (TIE) “The Gleaners and I” (Agnès Varda 2000) 67. (TIE) “Metropolis” (Fritz Lang 1927) 67. (TIE) “Andrei Rublev” (Andrei Tarkovsky 1966) 67. (TIE) “The Red Shoes” (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 1948) 67. (TIE) “La Jetée” (Chris Marker 1962) 72. (TIE) “My Neighbour Totoro” (Miyazaki Hayao 1988) 72. (TIE) “Journey to Italy” (Roberto Rossellini 1954) 72. (TIE) “L’avventura” (Michelangelo Antonioni 1960) 75. (TIE) “Imitation of Life” (Douglas Sirk 1959) 75. (TIE) “Sansho the Bailiff” (Mizoguchi Kenji 1954) 75. (TIE) “Spirited Away” (Miyazaki Hayao 2001) 78. (TIE) “A Brighter Summer Day” (Edward Yang 1991) 78. (TIE) “Sátántangó” (Béla Tarr 1994) 78. (TIE) “Céline and Julie Go Boating” (Jacques Rivette 1974) 78. (TIE) “Modern Times “(Charlie Chaplin 1936) 78. (TIE) “Sunset Blvd.” (Billy Wilder 1950) 78. (TIE) “A Matter of Life and Death” (Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger 1946) 84. (TIE) “Blue Velvet” (David Lynch 1986) 84. (TIE) “Pierrot le fou” (Jean-Luc Godard 1965) 84. (TIE) “Histoire(s) du cinéma” (Jean-Luc Godard 1988-1998) 84. (TIE) “The Spirit of the Beehive” (Victor Erice, 1973) 88. (TIE) “The Shining” (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) 88. (TIE) “Chungking Express” (Wong Kar Wai, 1994) 90. (TIE) “Madame de…” (Max Ophüls, 1953) 90. (TIE) “The Leopard” (Luchino Visconti, 1962) 90. (TIE) “Ugetsu” (Mizoguchi Kenji, 1953) 90. (TIE) “Parasite” (Bong Joon Ho, 2019) 90. (TIE) “Yi Yi” (Edward Yang, 1999) 95. (TIE) “A Man Escaped” (Robert Bresson, 1956) 95. (TIE) “The General” (Buster Keaton, 1926) 95. (TIE) “Once upon a Time in the West” (Sergio Leone, 1968) 95. (TIE) “Get Out” (Jordan Peele, 2017) 95. (TIE) “Black Girl” (Ousmane Sembène, 1965) 95. (TIE) “Tropical Malady” (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004 Visit the MoPo Mailing List Web Site at www.filmfan.com ___________________________________________________________________ How to UNSUBSCRIBE from the MoPo Mailing List Send a message addressed to: [email protected] In the BODY of your message type: SIGNOFF MOPO-L The author of this message is solely responsible for its content.
