''Sight and Sound'' (also spelled ''Sight & Sound'') is a British monthly film magazine published by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery to encourage film production, ...

(BFI). It conducts the well-known, once-a-decade ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time, ongoing since 1952.

History and content

''Sight and Sound'' was first published in Spring 1932 as "A quarterly review of modern aids to learning published under the auspices of the

British Institute of Adult Education The NIACE (National Institute of Adult Continuing Education) was an educational charity in England and Wales, with headquarters in Leicester and Cardiff plus a subsidiary office in London. The organization, founded in 1921 as the ''British ...

". In 1934 management of the magazine was handed to the nascent

(BFI), which still publishes the magazine today. ''Sight and Sound'' was published quarterly for most of its history until the early 1990s, apart from a brief run as a monthly publication in the early 1950s, but in 1991 it merged with another BFI publication, the ''

Monthly Film Bulletin ''The Monthly Film Bulletin'' was a periodical of the British Film Institute published monthly from February 1934 to April 1991, when it merged with ''Sight & Sound''. It reviewed all films on release in the United Kingdom, including those with a ...

'', and started to appear monthly. In 1949,

Gavin Lambert Gavin Lambert (23 July 1924 – 17 July 2005) was a British-born screenwriter, novelist and biographer who lived for part of his life in Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood. His writing was mainly fiction and nonfiction about the film indust ...

, co-founder of film journal ''

Sequence In mathematics, a sequence is an enumerated collection of objects in which repetitions are allowed and order matters. Like a set, it contains members (also called ''elements'', or ''terms''). The number of elements (possibly infinite) is called ...

'', was hired as the editor, and also brought with him ''Sequence'' editor

Penelope Houston Penelope Houston (born December 17, 1958) is an American singer-songwriter best known as the singer for the San Francisco-based punk rock band the Avengers. She was raised in Seattle. In the mid-1970s she attended Fairhaven College in Bellin ...

as assistant editor as well as co-founders and future film directors

Lindsay Anderson Lindsay Gordon Anderson (17 April 1923 – 30 August 1994) was a British feature-film, theatre and documentary director, film critic, and leading-light of the Free Cinema movement and of the British New Wave. He is most widely remembered f ...

and

Karel Reisz Karel Reisz (21 July 1926 – 25 November 2002) was a Czech-born British filmmaker, one of the pioneers of the new realist strain in British cinema during the 1950s and 1960s. Two of the best-known films he directed are '' Saturday Night and S ...

. Lambert edited the journal until 1956, with Houston taking over as editor until 1990. Philip Dodd became the editor following the merging of ''Monthly Film Bulletin'' with Nick James taking over in 1997. James was editor until August 2019. It is currently edited by Mike Williams. The magazine reviews all film releases each month, including those with a limited (

art house An art film (or arthouse film) is typically an independent film, aimed at a niche market rather than a mass market audience. It is "intended to be a serious, artistic work, often experimental and not designed for mass appeal", "made primarily ...

) release, as opposed to most film magazines which concentrate on those films with a general release. ''Sight and Sound'' has in the past been the subject of criticism, notably from Raymond Durgnat, who often accused it of elitism, puritanism and snobbery, although he did write for it in the 1950s, and again in the 1990s. Until 2020, the magazine's American counterpart was ''

Film Comment ''Film Comment'' is the official publication of Film at Lincoln Center. It features reviews and analysis of mainstream, art-house, and avant-garde filmmaking from around the world. Founded in 1962 and originally released as a quarterly, ''Film Co ...

'', a magazine that was published by the

Film Society of Lincoln Center Film at Lincoln Center, previously known as the Film Society of Lincoln Center until 2019,Aridi, Sara (April 28, 2019).. ''The New York Times''. nytimes.com. Retrieved April 29, 2019. is a film society based in New York City, United States. Fou ...

in New York City.

The ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time

Since 1952, ''Sight and Sound'' has asked an international group of film professionals every decade to vote for the ten films they consider

the greatest of all time ''The Greatest of All Time'' (also marketed as ''GOAT'') is a 2024 Indian Tamil-language science fiction action film directed by Venkat Prabhu and produced by AGS Entertainment. The film stars Vijay in dual roles, alongside Prashanth, ...

. Until 1992, the votes of the invited critics and directors were compiled to make one list. However, since 1992, directors have been invited to participate in a separate poll. The ''Sight and Sound'' accolade has come to be regarded as one of the most important of the "greatest ever film" polls. The critic

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

described it as "by far the most respected of the countless polls of great movies—the only one most serious movie people take seriously." ''Sight and Sound'' first ran the poll in 1952 following publication earlier in the year of a list of the Top Ten Films, headed by ''

Battleship Potemkin '' Battleship Potemkin'' (russian: Бронено́сец «Потёмкин», ''Bronenosets Potyomkin''), sometimes rendered as ''Battleship Potyomkin'', is a 1925 Soviet silent drama film produced by Mosfilm. Directed and co-written by S ...

'', based on a poll of mostly directors conducted by the committee of the Festival Mondial du Film et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Following publication of that poll, ''Sight and Sound'' decided to poll film critics for their choices and announced the results in their next issue. 85 critics from Britain, France, the United States, Italy, Germany, Denmark, Sweden, Belgium, Czechoslovakia and Yugoslavia were asked but only 63 responded including

Lotte H. Eisner Lotte H. Eisner (5 March 1896, Berlin – 25 November 1983, Paris) was a German-French writer, film critic, archivist and curator. Eisner worked initially as a film critic in Berlin, then in Paris where in 1936 she met Henri Langlois with whom she ...

, Curtis Harrington,

Henri Langlois Henri Langlois (; 13 November 1914 – 13 January 1977) was a French film archivist and cinephile. A pioneer of film preservation, Langlois was an influential figure in the history of cinema. His film screenings in Paris in the 1950s are often ...

, Friedrich Luft, Claude Mauriac,

Dilys Powell Elizabeth Dilys Powell, CBE (20 July 1901 – 3 June 1995) was a British film critic and travel writer who contributed to ''The Sunday Times'' for more than 50 years. Powell was known for her receptiveness to cultural change in the cinema an ...

, Jean Queval, Terry Ramsaye,

G. W. Stonier George Walter Stonier or G. W. Stonier (1903 – 1985) was an English critic, novelist and radio playwright, and a literary editor of the ''New Statesman''. He wrote a weekly column for the ''New Statesman'' for twenty years until 1961 under the ...

(under the name William Whitebait) and Archer Winsten. Most critics found the question unfair. The first poll was topped by '' Bicycle Thieves'' with 25 out of 63 votes and contained six

silent film A silent film is a film with no synchronized Sound recording and reproduction, recorded sound (or more generally, no audible dialogue). Though silent films convey narrative and emotion visually, various plot elements (such as a setting or era) ...

s. The five subsequent polls (1962–2002) were won by ''

Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...

'' (which finished 13th in 1952). In 1992, an additional poll of 101 directors took place, with ''Citizen Kane'' also receiving the most votes. It also received the most votes from directors in 2002. For the 2012 poll, ''Sight and Sound'' listened to decades of criticism about the lack of diversity of its poll participants and made a huge effort to invite a much wider variety of critics and filmmakers from around the world to participate, taking into account gender, ethnicity, race, geographical region, socioeconomic status, and other kinds of underrepresentation. The list of people polled for the critics' poll expanded significantly from 145 to 846 and also included programmers, curators, archivists, film historians and other academics for the first time. Following the change, ''Citizen Kane'' only received the second highest number of votes, with ''

Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...

'' receiving the most. The directors' poll also expanded from 108 to 358 directors and '' Tokyo Story'' received the most votes with ''Citizen Kane'' receiving the joint second-most together with '' 2001: A Space Odyssey''. In 2022, the number of people polled for the critics' poll increased even further from 846 to 1,639 and '' Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'' received the most votes, the first film to be directed by a woman to top the list. ''Vertigo'' received the second most and ''Citizen Kane'' third. Nearly 4,000 different films received at least one mention. ''2001: A Space Odyssey'' topped the directors' poll for the first time in 2022 with ''Citizen Kane'' in second place and ''Tokyo Story'' in joint fourth together with ''Jeanne Dielman''. Among the directors that participated were Julie Dash, Barry Jenkins,

Lynne Ramsay Lynne Ramsay (born 5 December 1969) is a Scottish film director, writer, producer, and cinematographer best known for the feature films ''Ratcatcher'' (1999), ''Morvern Callar'' (2002), ''We Need to Talk About Kevin'' (2011), and '' You Were Neve ...

Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

and Apichatpong Weerasethakul. ''La Règle du Jeu ( The Rules of the Game)'' appeared in the first seven of the magazine's decennial polls. ''Citizen Kane'' has appeared in the last seven.

Critics' Top Ten Poll

1952

#'' Bicycle Thieves'' (25 mentions) #'' City Lights'' (19 mentions) #''

The Gold Rush ''The Gold Rush'' is a 1925 American silent comedy film written, produced, and directed by Charlie Chaplin. The film also stars Chaplin in his Little Tramp persona, Georgia Hale, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman, and Malcolm Waite. Ch ...

'' (19 mentions) #''

'' (16 mentions) #'' Intolerance'' (12 mentions) #'' Louisiana Story'' (12 mentions) #''

Greed Greed (or avarice) is an uncontrolled longing for increase in the acquisition or use of material gain (be it food, money, land, or animate/inanimate possessions); or social value, such as status, or power. Greed has been identified as undes ...

'' (11 mentions) #'' Le Jour Se Lève'' (11 mentions) #''

The Passion of Joan of Arc ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (french: link=no, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) is a 1928 French silent historical film based on the actual record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeann ...

'' (11 mentions) #''

Brief Encounter ''Brief Encounter'' is a 1945 British Romance film, romantic Drama (film and television), drama film directed by David Lean from a screenplay by Noël Coward, based on his 1936 one-act play ''Still Life (play), Still Life''. Starring Celia Jo ...

'' (10 mentions) #'' The Rules of the Game'' (10 mentions) #''

Le Million ''Le Million'' is a 1931 French musical comedy film directed by René Clair. The story was adapted by Clair from a play by Georges Berr and Marcel Guillemand. Plot Michel, a debt-ridden artist, is interrupted several times while romancing Va ...

'' (10 mentions) Closest runners-up: ''

'', '' La Grande Illusion'', and ''

The Grapes of Wrath ''The Grapes of Wrath'' is an American realist novel written by John Steinbeck and published in 1939. The book won the National Book Award and Pulitzer Prize for fiction, and it was cited prominently when Steinbeck was awarded the Nobel Priz ...

''. (9 mentions apiece)

1962

#''

'' (22 mentions) #'' L'Avventura'' (20 mentions) #'' The Rules of the Game'' (19 mentions) #''

'' (17 mentions) #'' Ugetsu'' (17 mentions) #''

'' (16 mentions) #'' Bicycle Thieves'' (16 mentions) #''

Ivan the Terrible Ivan IV Vasilyevich (russian: Ива́н Васи́льевич; 25 August 1530 – ), commonly known in English as Ivan the Terrible, was the grand prince of Moscow from 1533 to 1547 and the first Tsar of all Russia from 1547 to 1584. Iv ...

'' (16 mentions) #'' La Terra Trema'' (14 mentions) #'' L'Atalante'' (13 mentions) Closest runners-up: '' Hiroshima mon amour'', '' Pather Panchali'' and '' Zero for Conduct''. (11 mentions apiece) The number of silent films on the list reduced from six to two. Films directed by

Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scre ...

received the most votes with 46 votes followed by

Charles Chaplin Sir Charles Spencer Chaplin Jr. (16 April 188925 December 1977) was an English comic actor, filmmaker, and composer who rose to fame in the era of silent film. He became a worldwide icon through his screen persona, the Tramp, and is consider ...

with 43 and Jean Renoir with 35.

1972

#''

'' (32 mentions) #'' The Rules of the Game'' (28 mentions) #''

'' (16 mentions) #'' 8½'' (15 mentions) #'' L'Avventura'' (12 mentions) #''

Persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...

'' (12 mentions) #''

'' (11 mentions) #'' The General'' (10 mentions) #''

The Magnificent Ambersons ''The Magnificent Ambersons'' is a 1918 novel by Booth Tarkington, the second in his ''Growth'' trilogy after ''The Turmoil'' (1915) and before ''The Midlander'' (1923, retitled ''National Avenue'' in 1927). It won the Pulitzer Prize for fiction ...

'' (10 mentions) #'' Ugetsu'' (9 mentions) #'' Wild Strawberries'' (9 mentions) Closest runners-up: ''

'', '' Hiroshima mon amour'', '' Ikiru'', ''

'', '' Pierrot le Fou'', and ''

''. (8 mentions apiece) Films directed by

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

received the most votes with 46 votes followed by Jean Renoir with 41 and

Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoundly ...

with 37.

1982

#''

'' (45 mentions) #'' The Rules of the Game'' (31 mentions) #''

Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...

'' (15 mentions) #''

Singin' in the Rain ''Singin' in the Rain'' is a 1952 American musical romantic comedy film directed and choreographed by Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, starring Kelly, Donald O'Connor, and Debbie Reynolds and featuring Jean Hagen, Millard Mitchell and Cyd C ...

'' (15 mentions) #'' 8½'' (14 mentions) #''

'' (13 mentions) #'' L'Avventura'' (12 mentions) #''

'' (12 mentions) #''

'' (12 mentions) #'' The General'' (11 mentions) #'' The Searchers'' (11 mentions) Closest runners-up: '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' and ''

Andrei Rublev Andrei Rublev ( rus, Андре́й Рублёв, p=ɐnˈdrʲej rʊˈblʲɵf , also transliterated as ''Andrey Rublyov'') was a Muscovite icon painter born in the 1360s who died between 1427 and 1430 in Moscow. He is considered to be one of the ...

''. (10 mentions apiece)

1992

#''

'' (43 mentions) #'' The Rules of the Game'' (32 mentions) #'' Tokyo Story'' (22 mentions) #''

'' (18 mentions) #'' The Searchers'' (17 mentions) #'' L'Atalante'' (15 mentions) #''

'' (15 mentions) #'' Pather Panchali'' (15 mentions) #''

'' (15 mentions) #'' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (14 mentions) Closest runners-up: '' Bicycle Thieves'' and ''

''. (10 mentions apiece)

2002

#''

'' (46 mentions) #''

'' (41 mentions) #'' The Rules of the Game'' (30 mentions) #''

The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...

'' and ''

The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' se ...

'' (23 mentions) #'' Tokyo Story'' (22 mentions) #'' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (21 mentions) #''

'' (19 mentions) #'' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (19 mentions) #'' 8½'' (18 mentions) #''

'' (17 mentions) Closest runners-up: ''

'' and '' The Searchers''. (15 mentions apiece)

2012

Vertigo 1958 trailer Kim Novak at Golden Gate Bridge Fort Point

A new rule was imposed for this ballot: related films that are considered part of a larger whole (e.g. ''The Godfather'' and ''The Godfather Part II'',

Krzysztof Kieślowski Krzysztof Kieślowski (; 27 June 1941 – 13 March 1996) was a Polish film director and screenwriter. He is known internationally for ''Dekalog'' (1989), ''The Double Life of Veronique'' (1991), and the ''Three Colours'' trilogy (1993 –1994) ...

's ''

Three Colors trilogy The ''Three Colours'' trilogy (french: Trois couleurs, pl, Trzy kolory) is the collective title of three psychological drama films directed by Krzysztof Kieślowski: '' Three Colours: Blue'' (1993), '' Three Colours: White'' (1994), and '' Thre ...

'' and '' Dekalog'', or

Satyajit Ray Satyajit Ray (; 2 May 1921 – 23 April 1992) was an Indian director, screenwriter, documentary filmmaker, author, essayist, lyricist, magazine editor, illustrator, calligrapher, and music composer. One of the greatest auteurs o ...

's '' The Apu Trilogy'') were to be treated as separate films for voting purposes. # ''

'' (191 mentions) # ''

'' (157 mentions) # '' Tokyo Story'' (107 mentions) # '' The Rules of the Game'' (100 mentions) # '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans'' (93 mentions) # '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (90 mentions) # '' The Searchers'' (78 mentions) # ''

Man with a Movie Camera ''Man with a Movie Camera'' (russian: Человек с киноаппаратом, translit=Chelovek s kinoapparatom) is an experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov, filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman, an ...

'' (68 mentions) # ''

'' (65 mentions) # '' 8½'' (64 mentions) Closest runner-up: ''

''. (63 mentions)

2022

The number of participants in this poll nearly doubled to 1,639. Chantal Akerman became the first woman director to win the poll with her 1975 film '' Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles''. The poll reflected greater diversity than previous years with the number of films made by Black filmmakers increasing from one in 2012 to seven in 2022 and the number made by female filmmakers increasing from two in 2012 to eleven in 2022. 480 directors took part and selected

Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...

's '' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' as their greatest film. #'' Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles'' #''

'' #''

'' #'' Tokyo Story'' #'' In the Mood for Love'' #'' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' #'' Beau Travail'' #'' Mulholland Drive'' #''

'' #''

'' Closest runners-up: '' Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans''

Directors' Top Ten Poll

1992

''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
''
'' 8½''
''
Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American Biographical film, biographical Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik ...
''
'' La Strada''
'' L'Atalante''
''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...
''
'' Modern Times''
''
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...
''
''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' se ...
''
''
The Passion of Joan of Arc ''The Passion of Joan of Arc'' (french: link=no, La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc) is a 1928 French silent historical film based on the actual record of the trial of Joan of Arc. The film was directed by Carl Theodor Dreyer and stars Renée Jeann ...
''
''
Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as va ...
''
''
Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...
''

2002

''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' (42 mentions)
''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...
'' and ''
The Godfather Part II ''The Godfather Part II'' is a 1974 American epic crime film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The film is partially based on the 1969 novel ''The Godfather'' by Mario Puzo, who co-wrote the screenplay with Coppola. ''Part II'' se ...
'' (28 mentions)
'' 8½'' (19 mentions)
''
Lawrence of Arabia Thomas Edward Lawrence (16 August 1888 – 19 May 1935) was a British archaeologist, army officer, diplomat, and writer who became renowned for his role in the Arab Revolt (1916–1918) and the Sinai and Palestine Campaign (1915–19 ...
'' (16 mentions)
''
Dr. Strangelove ''Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb'', known simply and more commonly as ''Dr. Strangelove'', is a 1964 black comedy film that satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the Soviet Union and t ...
'' (14 mentions)
'' Bicycle Thieves'' (13 mentions)
''
Raging Bull ''Raging Bull'' is a 1980 American Biographical film, biographical Sports film, sports Drama (film and television), drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, produced by Robert Chartoff and Irwin Winkler and adapted by Paul Schrader and Mardik ...
'' (13 mentions)
''
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...
'' (13 mentions)
''
Rashomon is a 1950 Jidaigeki psychological thriller/crime film directed and written by Akira Kurosawa, working in close collaboration with cinematographer Kazuo Miyagawa. Starring Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Masayuki Mori, and Takashi Shimura as va ...
'' (12 mentions)
'' The Rules of the Game'' (12 mentions)
''
Seven Samurai is a 1954 Japanese epic samurai drama film co-written, edited, and directed by Akira Kurosawa. The story takes place in 1586 during the Sengoku period of Japanese history. It follows the story of a village of desperate farmers who hire seven ...
'' (12 mentions)

2012

'' Tokyo Story'' (48 mentions)
'' 2001: A Space Odyssey'' (42 mentions)
''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
'' (42 mentions)
'' 8½'' (40 mentions)
''
Taxi Driver ''Taxi Driver'' is a 1976 American film directed by Martin Scorsese, written by Paul Schrader, and starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Harvey Keitel, Peter Boyle, Leonard Harris, and Albert Brooks. Set in a decaying and ...
'' (34 mentions)
''
Apocalypse Now ''Apocalypse Now'' is a 1979 American epic war film produced and directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The screenplay, co-written by Coppola, John Milius and Michael Herr, is loosely based on the 1899 novella '' Heart of Darkness'' by Joseph C ...
'' (33 mentions)
''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...
'' (31 mentions)
''
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...
'' (31 mentions)
''
Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
'' (30 mentions)
'' Bicycle Thieves'' (29 mentions)

2022

'' 2001: A Space Odyssey''
''
Citizen Kane ''Citizen Kane'' is a 1941 American drama film produced by, directed by, and starring Orson Welles. He also co-wrote the screenplay with Herman J. Mankiewicz. The picture was Welles' first feature film. ''Citizen Kane'' is frequently cited ...
''
''
The Godfather ''The Godfather'' is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, who co-wrote the screenplay with Mario Puzo, based on Puzo's best-selling 1969 The Godfather (novel), novel of the same title. The film stars Marlon Brando, Al ...
''
'' Tokyo Story''
'' Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles''
''
Vertigo Vertigo is a condition where a person has the sensation of movement or of surrounding objects moving when they are not. Often it feels like a spinning or swaying movement. This may be associated with nausea, vomiting, sweating, or difficulties ...
''
'' 8½''
''
Mirror A mirror or looking glass is an object that Reflection (physics), reflects an image. Light that bounces off a mirror will show an image of whatever is in front of it, when focused through the lens of the eye or a camera. Mirrors reverse the ...
''
''
Persona A persona (plural personae or personas), depending on the context, is the public image of one's personality, the social role that one adopts, or simply a fictional character. The word derives from Latin, where it originally referred to a theatri ...
''
'' In the Mood for Love''
'' Close-Up''

The Greatest Directors of All Time

This list was put together by assembling the directors of the individual films that the critics and the directors polled voted for. 2002 was the only year ''Sight & Sound'' compiled the list.

Critics' Top Ten Poll

2002

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
Jean-Luc Godard Jean-Luc Godard ( , ; ; 3 December 193013 September 2022) was a French-Swiss film director, screenwriter, and film critic. He rose to prominence as a pioneer of the French New Wave film movement of the 1960s, alongside such filmmakers as Fran ...
Jean Renoir
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dy ...
Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...
John Ford John Martin Feeney (February 1, 1894 – August 31, 1973), known professionally as John Ford, was an American film director and naval officer. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers of his generation. He ...
Sergei Eisenstein Sergei Mikhailovich Eisenstein (russian: Сергей Михайлович Эйзенштейн, p=sʲɪrˈɡʲej mʲɪˈxajləvʲɪtɕ ɪjzʲɪnˈʂtʲejn, 2=Sergey Mikhaylovich Eyzenshteyn; 11 February 1948) was a Soviet film director, scre ...
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...
Yasujiro Ozu

Directors' Top Ten Poll

2002

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...
Federico Fellini Federico Fellini (; 20 January 1920 – 31 October 1993) was an Italian film director and screenwriter known for his distinctive style, which blends fantasy and baroque images with earthiness. He is recognized as one of the greatest and most ...
Akira Kurosawa was a Japanese filmmaker and painter who directed thirty films in a career spanning over five decades. He is widely regarded as one of the most important and influential filmmakers in the history of cinema. Kurosawa displayed a bold, dy ...
Francis Ford Coppola Francis Ford Coppola (; ; born April 7, 1939) is an American film director, producer, and screenwriter. He is considered one of the major figures of the New Hollywood filmmaking movement of the 1960s and 1970s. Coppola is the recipient of five ...
Alfred Hitchcock Sir Alfred Joseph Hitchcock (13 August 1899 – 29 April 1980) was an English filmmaker. He is widely regarded as one of the most influential figures in the history of cinema. In a career spanning six decades, he directed over 50 featur ...
Stanley Kubrick Stanley Kubrick (; July 26, 1928 – March 7, 1999) was an American film director, producer, screenwriter, and photographer. Widely considered one of the greatest filmmakers of all time, his films, almost all of which are adaptations of nove ...
Billy Wilder Billy Wilder (; ; born Samuel Wilder; June 22, 1906 – March 27, 2002) was an Austrian-American filmmaker. His career in Hollywood spanned five decades, and he is regarded as one of the most brilliant and versatile filmmakers of Classic Holl ...
Ingmar Bergman Ernst Ingmar Bergman (14 July 1918 – 30 July 2007) was a Swedish film director, screenwriter, producer and playwright. Widely considered one of the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time, his films are known as "profoundly ...
David Lean Sir David Lean (25 March 190816 April 1991) was an English film director, producer, screenwriter and editor. Widely considered one of the most important figures in British cinema, Lean directed the large-scale epics '' The Bridge on the Rive ...
Jean Renoir
Martin Scorsese Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...

Greatest Documentaries of All Time

2014

''
Man with a Movie Camera ''Man with a Movie Camera'' (russian: Человек с киноаппаратом, translit=Chelovek s kinoapparatom) is an experimental 1929 Soviet silent documentary film, directed by Dziga Vertov, filmed by his brother Mikhail Kaufman, an ...
'' (100 votes)
'' Shoah'' (68 votes)
''
Sans Soleil ''Sans Soleil'' (; "Sunless") is a 1983 French documentary film directed by Chris Marker. It is a meditation on the nature of human memory, showing the inability to recall the context and nuances of memory, and how, as a result, the perception of ...
'' (62 votes)
'' Night and Fog'' (56 votes)
'' The Thin Blue Line'' (49 votes)
'' Chronique d'un été'' (32 votes)
'' Nanook of the North'' (31 votes)
'' The Gleaners and I'' (27 votes)
'' Dont Look Back'' (25 votes)
'' Grey Gardens'' (25 mentions)

Greatest film books

In 2010, ''Sight & Sound'' conducted a poll to find the greatest book written on film. *First place: David Thomson's '' The New Biographical Dictionary of Film'' (1975)'' *Second place: Robert Bresson's '' Notes on the Cinematographer'' (1975), Andrew Sarris's ''The American Cinema'' (1968), and

François Truffaut François Roland Truffaut ( , ; ; 6 February 1932 – 21 October 1984) was a French film director, screenwriter, producer, actor, and film critic. He is widely regarded as one of the founders of the French New Wave. After a career of more tha ...

's '' Hitchcock/Truffaut'' (1966) *Fifth place: André Bazin's ''What is Cinema?'' (1958-1962)

References

External links

''Sight & Sound'' official website"Listomania! Why we love best-films lists , Ahead of our Greatest Film of All Time poll, Michael Atkinson anatomises critics’ obsession with enshrining cinema's 'top ten'"
BFI, 17 July 2012.
''Sight & Sound'' September 2012
featuring "The Greatest Films of All Time".
Archived ''Sight & Sound'' magazines
on the

Internet Archive The Internet Archive is an American digital library with the stated mission of "universal access to all knowledge". It provides free public access to collections of digitized materials, including websites, software applications/games, music ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sight and Sound 1932 establishments in the United Kingdom British Film Institute Film magazines published in the United Kingdom Monthly magazines published in the United Kingdom Magazines established in 1932 Magazines published in London Top film lists

History and content

The ''Sight and Sound'' Poll of the Greatest Films of All Time

Critics' Top Ten Poll

1952

1962

1972

1982

1992

2002

2012

2022

Directors' Top Ten Poll

1992

2002

2012

2022

The Greatest Directors of All Time

Critics' Top Ten Poll

2002

Directors' Top Ten Poll

2002

Greatest Documentaries of All Time

2014

Greatest film books

See also

References

Further reading

External links