Episode 92 – 'Sight & Sound's' 2022 Greatest Films of All-Time Critics' Poll
Sight & Sound magazine and the British Film Institute put out their once-every-decade poll of greatest films. The top ten:
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
2. Vertigo
3. Citizen Kane
4. Tokyo Story
5. In the Mood for Love
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey
7. Beau Travail
8. Mulholland Dr.
9. Man with a Movie Camera
10. Singin’ in the Rain
The poll, which first started in 1952 and had come to be the definitive film list, now has a controversial and brand new #1 film for this decade: Chantal Ackerman’s 1975 piece of slow cinema. And this episode, we discuss:
- the expansion of the voter-base leading to the controversy
- Paul Schrader’s reaction on Facebook decrying the poll being “woke”;
- which titles were dropped between 2012 and 2022;
- and the distinction between polls of “favorites” and “GREATEST.”
Also:
- how the poll ensconced Citizen Kane into the top spot for so long;
- the poll’s history of top tens;
- the age of those top ten titles at the time each decade’s poll;
- and the lists’ preference for titles over filmographies.
The Sight & Sound/BFI list can be found here.