From: huston@access.digex.com (Herb Huston)
Subject: Re: Movie Top 10 by Sight & Sound (was Re: Top Five Movies of All Time)
Organization: Express Access Online Communications, Greenbelt, MD USA
Date: Thu, 10 Dec 1992 13:47:45 GMT

In article <Byw1M2.4xs@sci.kun.nl> caspar@sci.kun.nl (Caspar Terheggen) writes:
>In Film'92 (BBC) a few weeks ago Barry Norman gave the 1992 Top 10 list
>from the magazine (?) "Sight & Sound".

Thank you.  I have been eagerly awaiting the 1992 list.  The 1952, 1962, and
1972 lists are published in _The Book Of Lists_.  I think that Roger Ebert
included the 1982 list in one of his books along with comments and his own
list (unfortunately I don't have it).

>                                        This list is compiled from the
>votes of a great number of movie critics all over the world and goes as
>follows:
>
> 1. Citizen Kane (1941/USA) Orson Welles. BW-119m (1)

It wasn't on the 1952 list at all (top film then was _Bicycle Thief_).
#1 on my personal list.

> 2. La R`egle du Jeu (1939/F) Jean Renoir. BW-110m

It reached #2 in 1972.

> 3. Tokyo Story [Tokyo Monogatari] (1953/J) Yasujiro Ozu. BW-139m

It wasn't even listed in 1952, 1962, or 1972 (don't have 1982 list at hand).

> 4. Vertigo (1958/USA) Alfred Hitchcock. C-120m V (2)

It first made the list in 1982.  #3 on my personal list.

> 5. The Searchers (1956/USA) John Ford. C-119m V

It also first made the list in 1982.

> 6. L'Atalante (1934/F) Jean Vigo. BW-90m

#10 in 1962, not listed in 1972, don't know about 1982.

> 6. The Passion of Joan of Arc [Le Passion de Jeanne d'Arc] (1927/F)
>    Carl Dreyer. BW-74m (3)

#7 in 1952, not listed in 1962, #7 in 1972, don't know about 1982.

> 6. Pather Panchali (1958/IND) Satyajit Ray. BW-112m

This film was not listed in 1952, 1962, or 1972 (don't know about 1982).

> 6. The Battleship Potemkin [Bronenosets 'Potyomkin'] (1925/SU)
>    Sergei Eisenstein. BW-75m V

This film has made each list from 1952 on.  #2 on my personal list.

>10. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968/GB) Stanley Kubrick. C-139m V (4)

This film was not listed in 1952, 1962, or 1972 (don't know about 1982).

>(1) Number one since first appearance of "Sight & Sound" in 1962.
>(2) Not particularly excellent according to BN.
>(3) Silent.
>(4) Newest entry is from 1968!
>
>Year of release, running time, country of origin, original titles (in
>square brackets), Black&White or Color, and video availability (V) are
>according to the Dutch "Speelfilmencyclopie" (Motion Picture
>Encyclopedia), 5th edition.  Comments are Barry Norman's.
>
>Considering the fact that this list was compiled from the votes by a
>GREAT NUMBER OF people who's job is it to watch and judge movies and
>that the newest entry is from 1968 and the fact that I've seen only
>three of them (1, 4, and 10 in case you are wondering.  Is there
>anyone on the net who has seen 'em all?), I think it would be stupid to
>post a list of a few of my favorite movies and label them the Top Five
>of ALL TIME.  Not that I'm easily awed by the "authority" of our
>beloved movie critics, but they can't possibly all be wrong, can they?

I've seen 1,2,4,5,6(_Passion_ and _Potemkin_), and 10.  As for the critics,
well, each one of them is the world's foremost expert on what he or she
likes (I stole that line from Tom Shales who was commenting on Siskel and
Ebert).

-- Herb Huston
-- huston@access.digex.com