The latest edition of the ‘Greatest Films’ poll by Sight & Sound can mean many things to some people, or nothing to the majority out there. This list should be a feast for cinephiles, a ceremony that occurs every ten years, acting as both a coronation for some films and filmmakers and an elegy for others. Instead, hot-takes and buzzwords rule the day, equipping anyone with a rooting interest—or a social media account—the language to demean the process or reduce its importance.
Defensiveness and disappointment are the median reactions from the Internet, with some exceptions that consider the changes a step forward, instead of a tragic reversal that signals a new movie (or one that rose significantly) in the top 100 is unquestionably a greater achievement than one that was eliminated. Times change, people grow, so shouldn’t the collective opinion about an experience with a given film or filmmaker change, too? Cooler heads don’t seem to ever prevail these days, but once the debate/anger quiets down, the results still stand. Chantal Akerman’s “Jeanne Dielman” is the rank winner, the top film of all time, for now. There’s a new consensus not just at the top, but throughout the list. And in hindsight, it shouldn’t be all that shocking considering how the landscape for film watching, making, and criticism has been upended.
Even my bold predictions for the list look quaint compared to the actual results. Then again, judging against hindsight is always a losing game. So, for now, I’ll celebrate the winners and disregard the losers. That doesn’t apply to how I feel about the list, by the way. My take: celebrate all, and privately mourn the exclusion of some of my favorite films and filmmakers from the list. There’s still much to unpack and analyze, and more time to complain and exclaim. And yet, when that’s done, the sad part is the next list won’t come out until 2032. And I’m sure I’ll overcorrect and go overboard with my predictions then.
Below, I grade my predictions in light of the results of the official Sight & Sound 2022 poll.
Bold prediction 1: L.A. Rebel Yell
Both Burnett’s “Killer of Sheep” and Dash’s “Daughters of the Dust” made their presence felt, at 43rd and 60th, respectively. Those were two of the highest new entrants. They demolished my prediction that “Sheep” would rank in the 80s-90s and “Daughters” in the 90s-100s. For that, I’ll award myself an A- grade.
Not So Bold Prediction 1: The List Gets Younger
Yes, but not how I imagined it. Three films released since 1999 soared into the top 10, with “In the Mood for Love” at 5th (from 24th) “Beau Travail” (1999) reaching 7th (from 78th), and “Mulholland Drive” at 8th (from 28th). And while one of my specific predictions, Jane Campion’s “The Piano” (1992), debuted at 50th, neither Terrance Malick nor Paul Thomas Anderson made the cut. But, recent films from Celine Sciamma, Bong Joon-Ho, Jordan Peele, Barry Jenkins, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Hayao Miyazaki, and Agnes Varda did, bringing down the average age. Grade: B, for gross underestimation and miscalculation.
Bold Prediction 2: Independents Thrive
Kang-ho Song in a scene from “Parasite.” (Photo: CJ Entertainment).
Another instance of accuracy in spirit, but not in magnitude. A few films I called out—“Black Girl” (95th), “Do The Right Thing” (24th) and “Wanda” (48th)—made it to the party. But perhaps I was hedging with the term ‘independent,’ which could apply to a number of new entrants: “Parasite,” “Tropical Malady,” “Chungking Express,” “Spirited Away,” “My Neighbor Totoro,” etc. Grade: B+, half a grade docked for leading with Cassavetes, whose “A Woman Under the Influence” ranked 19th on the directors’ list, but failed to crack the critics’ top 100.
Not So Bold Prediction 2: Westerns Lag
And then there were two: “The Searchers” fell to 15th (from 7th) and “Once Upon a Time in the West” nearly exited the list. It tied at 95th with five other films (previously it was ranked 78th). No new Westerns added, and the other two (“The Wild Bunch” and “Rio Bravo”) departed. Maybe Schrader is just upset that one of his favorites (“The Wild Bunch” is in his top-ten) got the boot. Grade: A-.
Bold-ish Prediction 1: Category-killers Climb
Another subjective designation, although singling out the big winner (Akerman), a new top-10 (David Lynch) and the director who again has tied for the most top 100 films (Godard) is a prediction victory of sorts. Akerman did add one more film (“News from Home,” ranked 52nd), but Lynch still has just two (“Mulholland Drive” and “Blue Velvet,” which ranked 84th, falling 15 spots). And all four (“Breathless,” “Contempt,” “Pierrot le fou,” and “Historie(s) du cinema”) of Godard’s holdovers from 2012 returned, although their rankings slipped significantly. Grade: B+, for missing the mark on Godard.
Not So Bold 3 & 4: Win, Place and Show
Orson Welles (Center) in a scene from “Citizen Kane.” (Photo: RKO Radio Pictures).
It might seem true that, as I wrote, “the tastes of those legacy voters won’t change all that much,” but most participants’ lists won’t be made available on Sight & Sound’s website for a few weeks. Still, 2012’s numbers one and two, “Vertigo” and “Citizen Kane,” slid just one spot, to 2nd and 3rd. Meanwhile, Kubrick’s “2001: A Space Odyssey” topped the directors’ poll for the first time, and held the 6th slot in the critics’ poll. Grade: C.
Bold Prediction: 3/Bold-ish: 2—Additions, Deletions
My predictions fared much better on the deletions (every one of them fell out of the top 100) than on the additions (only half made it), yet I only predicted six changes to the list. If you’re still reading the article, you might have already counted that there were many more than six new additions and deletions. Grade: B-, for the batting average on the deletions.
Top Ten Predictions/My Top 10 Review
Half-on, half-off: five films I predicted in the top ten made it, but the other five fell big. My top 10, however, had a strong showing. “Do The Right Thing” had the second-highest rank among new entrants (to “Meshes of the Afternoon,” new at 14th), with “Goodfellas” unexpectedly rallying from the outside-looking-in to 63rd. Grade: I’m just happy to be here. So long, “Nashville and Wild Strawberries.” Maybe next time, Cassavetes and Ade.
If you have thoughts on the recent Sight & Sound poll, let us know in the comments below. The full results and commentary on the “100 Greatest Films” will be published in a Sight & Sound January double issue.
