Sight & Sound

[domino harvey]

What a sick joke

[yoloswegmaster]

Having Portrait of a Lady on Fire in the top 30 is a more sicker joke.

[Glowingwabbit]

I mean all consensus lists are jokes (individual lists are always much more interesting), so at least it went to a surprise pick that's still a great film.

[Luke M]

I just thought I'd say I dread the social media sh*tstorm of a reaction to the list being "overly woke" far more than I dread the list itself being "overly woke".

I’m not on social media anymore, but I’m sure that will happen. I’m halfway expecting Jeanne Dielman to make the top 10, and while I definitely would not refer to that as a “woke” film, it does seem like a choice that would get criticized as “woke” simply because for a lot of people, the mere act of putting a film by a female director in the top 10 would likely be accused of “checking boxes,” especially considering that film in particular already seems to have a reputation among a certain subset of Film Twitter as being the ultimate “art movie that people only pretend to like.”

Top 10 would be fine but at #1 all the "woke" criticism is justified.

[ryannichols7]

I'm sorry but that's going way too far. I even like the movie but there's no way that should be a #1

Portrait being way up there despite the greater impact of Parasite (which is way down the list) kinda says it all really

[beamish14]

Having Portrait of a Lady on Fire in the top 30 is a more sicker joke.

and Mulholland Dr in the top 10

[hearthesilence]

Jeanne Dielman is the new number 1!

Hah, that's awesome! I just wish Akerman was still with us to see this.

EDIT: Wow, I thought there'd be more enthusiasm here. I completely endorse this though - I like the idea of having the most prominent inclusion's central element addressing cinema itself, just as Vertigo did. It's also why I will defend Portrait of a Lady on Fire over Parasite even though I preferred the latter - the former is another film that greatly addresses the medium.

[beamish14]

Would it kill them to recognize some animated features?

[HJackson]

Film critics are out of control.

[Noiretirc]

I'm very happy. I discovered Jeanne Dielman only a year ago, and it changed the way I devour films. If all this poll ever did was get more people talking about and viewing this film, then it's a wonderful poll.

[domino harvey]

EDIT: Wow, I thought there'd be more enthusiasm here.

Not only do I think this is a bad film (which is not a new opinion), but it’s also a terrible introduction to art cinema for newer viewers who will use this increased visibility to seek it out. Utterly unmerited by any metric to be considered the greatest film of all time, so I repeat: what a sick joke

[Jean-Luc Garbo]

I'm just glad Beau travail is in the top ten.

[Drucker]

I actually think the list is pretty great. They were obviously going to take a shot at the canon but all things considered the top 100 is still mostly great. There's a few films I haven't seen (the Vardas) and yes, Portrait of a Lady on Fire has me scratching my head, but it could be so much worse. I've never seen Jeannie Dielman but it's been in the top 50 of these sorts of lists for the decade or so I've been seriously watching films. Unlike Varda, there's really one Akerman film most people are probably to pick as their fave, so her film benefits from that consensus.

Sure, I think every Ford and Welles film is better than say Moonlight, but do I really need to make a federal case that Wagon Master is better than Moonlight? It's fine. List is good.

[Walter Kurtz]

1. I'm sure they meant Dumont's Jeanne... a much better film.
2. (Us) creatives have much better taste than the Get the fuck Out... critics.

[Matt]

Criterion’s got to be pretty satisfied with the list. They made so many of these films available, enhanced their reputations, and will now clean up on new sales.

[yoloswegmaster]

Would it kill them to recognize some animated features?

This is why Criterion should have released WALL*E earlier this year! Then it would have gotten more attention at the time the lists were being made. I like that the 2 Miyazaki films were in the top 100 but it's strange to see no Disney or Pixar titles in there.

I just don't get how you have Portrait of a Lady on Fire, Get Out, Parasite, and Moonlight in the top 100 but not Mad Max: Fury Road, especially when the latter had made more appearances on the "Best of 2010s" lists than any other films. I feel like there is a bias against action and animated titles.

EDIT: Also no Come and See or any Kieslowski title? This really is a sick joke.

[aox]

1 Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is an absolutely wonderful film that deserves to be on this list. It completely changed cinema for me when I saw it in grad school...but I was already down the cinema hole by the time of my encounter. Like Domino said, this is not an entry film for people looking to dip their toes in.

I do not understand the love for Portrait of a Lady on Fire. It was a completely laborious and immemorable experience for me.

[Red Screamer]

I love the Akerman, but I agree with domino this isn't going to do the film/list any favors since it will probably provoke more outrage than introduce uninitiated viewers to new corners of cinema.

[aox]

Criterion’s got to be pretty satisfied with the list. They made so many of these films available

I have to assume that is why Black Girl is here. It's a great film worthy of its own merits, but Criterion has really been pushing Sembene's films in the US.

[Never Cursed]

I mean, it's not like the main factors that correlate to placement on the list aren't obvious. How do films like Cleo From 5 to 7 or Meshes of the Afternoon, or Jeanne Dielman for that matter, move from non-placements to top 20 spots without their blu-ray releases (see also: Celine and Julie, Wanda, Touki Bouki)? I could be wrong on this, but I think there are only 3 movies on the list that are not available on a US blu-ray (Histoire(s) du Cinema, Killer of Sheep, News from Home), all of which have their profile boosted by better-known works from the same directors. The geniuses on Film Twitter that are freaking out over the (incredibly) high placement of a beloved art house film that got a relatively big release and a high-profile blu-ray strike me as far sillier than the critics who listed said film. How do people who so relentlessly follow the opinions of/jockey at being tastemakers fail to recognize the material conditions that shape taste?

All that said, Jeanne Dielman's no. 1 slot is also very silly for a lot of reasons and definitely smacks of a lot of voters making a lot of "outre" choices

EDIT: Tropical Malady and Ordet are also not on blu-ray in the US, thanks beamish14 and rrenault

[Maltic]

EDIT: Also no Come and See or any Kieslowski title? This really is a sick joke.

No Lubitsch, Hawks or Sternberg.

But 3 Wilder films. Yeah, they let the kids vote alright.

[bottlesofsmoke]

I'm always disappointed with how serious these lists are. One musical in the top 100, zero screwball comedies, and precious few non-silent comedies in general... Even the consensus that Vertigo is so much better than North by Northwest.

Maybe humor just doesn't translate as well and musicals are long out of vogue, but it seems like the old bias that serious equals important still lingers. Or maybe I'm just out of step.

[diamonds]

EDIT: Also no Come and See or any Kieslowski title? This really is a sick joke.

No Lubitsch, Hawks or Sternberg.

Or Resnais

[beamish14]

I could be wrong on this, but I think there are only 3 movies on the list that are not available on a US blu-ray (Histoire(s) du Cinema, Killer of Sheep, News from Home), all of which have their profile boosted by better-known works from the same directors.

Tropical Malady isn’t on Blu

It is kind of a joke how Steven Soderbergh’s name is plastered all over the restoration for Killer of Sheep when he single-handedly sunk To Sleep with Anger’s shot at getting the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance in 1990

[rrenault]

Ordet is also not on blu-ray in the US, although it is in the UK.

I prefer the directors's list this time around, and it's going to be hard from now on to take seriously the critics' list as the more 'official' of the two lists.