In Depth:
Danél’s Picks for the Top Ten Films throughout the Decades

Disclaimer (and yes, one will most certainly be needed):   

         It really wasn’t until I sat down to work on this project that I realized how unfair a “top ten list” can be. For starters, why “top ten?” Why not a top eight, or fourteen? There seems to be something about the very nature of “top ten” that compels us to take such a list seriously. The question is, what is it about that term “top ten” that we find so appealing? The alliteration? The sense of roundness, and thus completion, that it creates? The tradition?

         Yes, it must be the tradition. Ever since Moses came trotting down the mountain holding those God-written tablets of ten rules and regulations, it seems to have caught on, and has grown to become quite a phenomenon. Everything, it seems, is counted by tens. Top Ten Lists have existed longer than you or I, and they will no doubt exist much longer afterwards.

          It’s certainly no different in the movies: Box office charts are generally listed in the tens. Film critics have their year-end lists of top ten pictures. Most people (including me) have a (constantly changing) list of their personal favorite top ten films. Certainly there are some exceptions: The Academy likes to dwindle things down to five films per category, but of course, when did the Academy ever do anything that the rest of us agreed with? The A.F.I. thinks significantly bigger and counts by the 100s, but even the “top one-hundred” is a distant cousin of the top ten list: Ten squared is really just a series of tens grouped together. Or close enough.

         So top ten lists are here to stay, but that doesn’t mean that we have to like them all the time. I can name ten personal favorites of mine, but it feels unfair to pick a “top ten best films” list, on the sole basis that there are far, far more than ten films out there that deserve to be on such a list. I am too fascinated by cinema—too captivated by this ever-growing, ever-evolving, ever-intelligent art form—to limit myself to just ten. What’s the point?

         Well, the point is, Tradition does beckon me from the farthest corner of my brain, and no matter how revisionist I might like to think I am, it is difficult to argue with the big “T.” In addition, most critics have published their own official (and differing) lists, and the longer I maintain my website, the more I am pressured by my peers and friends to create one of my own, so that people will have a general idea of my position on the matter. My logical response is that my reviews do a good enough job on their own stating my position, but my peers seem to think that a definitive “list” couldn’t hurt.

         Both of the above reasons are acceptable, I suppose, for making a “top ten list.” But it is another aspect still that compels me to give in—one that, as I considered it, I found myself hopeless to do anything but surrender to the pressure. What finally did it for me was the realization of the sheer challenge and educational experience of such a task. What a long, arduous, and fulfilling endeavor, to truly consider, ponder, and, at last, select films for a “ten best” list. To start with tens of thousands of possibilities, and to dwindle it down, a little bit at a time, until I felt that I had a list that was worth considering, a list worth posting. A part of me is truly curious about whether or not I can pull it off. That part was enough to tip me over the edge. So, I have given in, and you are now reading the result.

         But I refuse to play completely by the rules. I refuse to write down a top ten list of the best films of all time and leave it at that, because frankly, no such list could ever be definite or complete. I can only participate in this game if I am allowed to take it a step farther and post what I believe are the best films of each complete decade, starting with the 1990s and working my way, slowly but surely, to the 1910s. Anything before that is difficult to pinpoint because films were still in their early, developmental stages; therefore, I might also include a final list of best films from the 1880s – 1900s. In any case, at the time of this writing (10/1/04), this article is a work in progress, and I’ll continue to add to it until the task is done. No promises on how long it will take, but hopefully, I’ll make it worth it for you to bear with me.

          To be absolutely fair, I will also include with each decade’s list five “On the Bench” films, listed in alphabetical order. These are films that work as sort of honorable mentions, meaning that even though they did not make it to the official top ten, the list would still not be complete without their titles coming up. I can hear you thinking, “So these are essentially top fifteen lists that we’ll be looking at?” Yes and no—yes in the fact that there are literally fifteen films listed for each decade. No in the fact that the first ten have been carefully numbered from one-to-ten, and the last five are in no particular order, but have been included to indicate that even though I have compiled these lists carefully, there are too many great films in existence to make a truly definitive list, ever. And thank God for that.

         Before we get to the lists (and extra kudos to you if you actually read all of this nonsense and just didn’t skip down to them), a brief word on my criteria: As I’m researching, viewing, and investigating this massive number of films throughout the decades, I’m working on two different levels in order to make the best possible selections. The first, of course, is as a film critic. On that level, I’m certainly applying my own interpretation and opinions here, based on my preferences. Because of that, I sincerely hope that there are some surprises to be found here. But more specifically, I’m working as a film historian. I have to ask myself, which films were hailed upon their releases? Which films have developed followings and are now regarded as classics? What films have stood the test of time, and are still being watched even after thirty-plus years? All of these elements factor in.

         In addition, I am tempted to include a few brief words on each film, about why I selected them and placed them in the spot that they are in. But if they have made it onto these lists, do they really need explanations? Perhaps the films are better off speaking for themselves, as the truly great movies are. Thus, only the director and year of release will be included with each title. Certainly, my list will differ from everyone else’s on many levels, and that’s why there are so many of us critics and historians, cobbling together our opinions on the matter of the best of the best. There are so many great films that speak for themselves. Do not, then, take my selections as gospel. Many wonderful films are unaccounted for here. I encourage you to read other lists by other “professionals,” and as you consider them, to become a professional on the matter yourself, so that you can create lists of your own and share them, just like I am sharing mine here. In the end, that’s what a list such as this is meant to do—allow you to discover a list of your own. Happy hunting.

          August 29, 2011 note: I've updated this list to include my selections for the best films of the 2000s. I'll let my choices speak for themselves, but in the meantime, just stand in awe with me of one observation: Listed below is literally one hundred years worth of great cinema from which to choose. Here's to another century as promising as the first.

Danél’s Pick for the Ten Best Films Ever Made:

1.   Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
2.   Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
3.   Battleship Potemkin (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1925)
4.   L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)
5.   The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
6.   Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
7.   Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
8.   2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
9.   Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)
10. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)

On the Bench: Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942), Fellini’s 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963), The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928), Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1937), The Searchers (John Ford, 1956).

Throughout the Decades:

Ten Best Films of the 2000s:

1.   City of God (Fernando Meireless, 2002)
2.   Grizzly Man (Werner Herzog, 2005)
3.   Yi Yi (Edward Yang, 2000)
4.   There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
5.   Adaptation. (Spike Jonze, 2002)
6.   Waking Life (Richard Linklater, 2001)
7.   Lost In Translation (Sophia Coppola, 2003)
8.   Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
9.   The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
10. Straight Into Darkness (Jeff Burr, 2004)

On the Bench: Beowulf & Grendel (Sturla Gunnarsson, 2006), In Bruges (Martin McDonagh, 2008), Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch 2001), Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003), Wall-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008).

Ten Best Films of the 1990s:

Ten Best Films of the 1980s:

1.   Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
2.   Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)
3.   Fitzcarraldo (Werner Herzog, 1982)
4.   My Dinner with André ( Louis Malle, 1981)
5.   Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder, 1980)
6.   The Killing Fields (Roland Joffé, 1984)
7.   Kagemusha, The Shadow Warrior (Akira Kurosawa, 1980)
8.   Shoah (Claude Lanzmann, 1985)
9.   Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen, 1986)
10. Once Upon a Time in America (Sergio Leone, 1984)

On the Bench: Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone, 1989), El Norte (Gregory Nava, 1983), Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981), Ran (Akira Kurosawa, 1985), The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1983).

Ten Best Films of the 1970s:

1.   Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
2.   Aguirre, The Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)
3.   Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
4.   Cries and Whispers (Ingmar Bergman, 1972)
5.   Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)
6.   The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
7.   Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)
8.   One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Milos Forman, 1975)
9.   Dawn of the Dead (George A. Romero, 1978)
10. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)

On the Bench: Badlands (Terrence Malick, 1973), Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977), The Deer Hunter (Michael Cimino, 1978), Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976), Walkabout (Nicolas Roeg, 1971).

Ten Best Films of the 1960s:

1.   L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni, 1960)
2.   2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
3.   Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1963)
4.   Fellini's 8½ (Federico Fellini, 1963)
5.   Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1969)
6.   Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard, 1963)
7.   Bonnie and Clyde (Arthur Penn, 1967)
8.   The Exterminating Angel (Luis Buñuel, 1962)
9.   Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
10. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

On the Bench: The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Pier Paolo Pasolini, 1964), Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone, 1968), Jules and Jim (François Truffaut, 1962), Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960), To Kill a Mockingbird (Robert Mulligan, 1962), The Trial (Orson Welles, 1962).

Ten Best Films of the 1950s:

1.   Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa, 1952)
2.   The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman, 1957)
3.   The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
4.   Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)
5.   Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)
6.   Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
7.   A Streetcar Named Desire (Elia Kazan, 1951)
8.   Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
9.   Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959)
10. Umberto D. (Vittorio De Sica, 1952)

On the Bench: On the Waterfront (Elia Kazan, 1954), Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950), Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954), Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, 1950), Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957).

Ten Best Films of the 1940s:

1.   Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
2.   Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)
3.   The Grapes of Wrath (John Ford, 1940)
4.   The Bicycle Thief (Vittorio De Sica, 1948)
5.   Pinocchio (Hamilton Luske and Ben Sharpsteen, 1940)
6.   Open City (Roberto Rossellini, 1945)
7.   Fantasia (Disney, 1940)
8.   Ivan the Terrible, Part One (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1945)
9.   The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)
10. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)

On the Bench: The Great Dictator (Charlie Chaplin, 1940), Great Expectations (David Lean, 1946), It's a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946), White Heat (Raoul Walsh, 1949), Yankee Doodle Dandy (Michael Curtiz, 1942).

Ten Best Films of the 1930s:

1.   Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, 1937)
2.   Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)
3.   All Quiet on the Western Front (Lewis Milestone, 1930)
4.   The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)
5.   L’Atalante (Jean Vigo, 1934)
6.   Gone with the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)
7.   Olympia Part One: Festivals of Nations and Part Two: Festival of Beauty
      (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938 )  
8.   À nous la liberté (René Clair, 1931)
9.   Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)
10. King Kong (Merican C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack, 1933)

On the Bench: The Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, 1935), Captain Blood (Michael Curtiz, 1935), Dodsworth (William Wyler, 1936), Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (Frank Capra, 1939), Swing Time (George Stevens, 1936).

Ten Best Films of the 1920s:

1.   Battleship Potemkin (Sergei M. Eisenstein, 1925)
2.   The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)
3.   Metropolis (Fritz Lang, 1927)
4.   The General (Buster Keaton, 1927)
5.   Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)
6.   The Kid (Charlie Chaplin, 1921)
7.   Nosferatu, a Symphony of Horror (F.W. Murnau, 1922)
8.   Napoleon (Abel Gance, 1927)
9.   The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Wallace Worsley, 1923)
10. Wings (William A. Wellman, 1927)

On the Bench: The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, 1920), The Golem (Carl Boese and Paul Wegener, 1920), The Jazz Singer (Alan Crosland, 1927), Steamboat Willie (Walt Disney, 1928), Within Our Gates (Oscar Micheaux, 1920).

Ten Best Films of the 1910s:

1.   Intolerance (D.W. Griffith, 1916)
2.   The Birth of a Nation (D.W. Griffith, 1915)
3.   The Tramp (Charlie Chaplin, 1915)
4.   The Doll (Ernst Lubitsch, 1919)
5.   The Squaw Man (Oscar Apfel and Cecil B. DeMille, 1914)
6.   Blind Husband (Erich von Stroheim, 1919)
7.   Frankenstein (J. Searle Dawley and Thomas Edison, 1910)
8.   The Butcher Boy (“Fatty” Arbuckle, 1917)
9.   J’Accuse (Abel Gance, 1919)
10. The Cheat (Cecil B. DeMille, 1915)

Questions? Comments? E-mail me: danel_the_tinman@hotmail.com