# Top 10 Greatest Films According To 358 Directors **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 27, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147 "2019-04-27T22:15:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![MortSahlFan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/3bc359/32.png) [@MortSahlFan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MortSahlFan)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 10:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/1 "2019-04-27T22:15:03Z")
> **[The Ten Greatest Films of All Time According to 358 Filmmakers](https://www.openculture.com/2019/04/the-ten-greatest-films-of-all-time-according-to-358-filmmakers.html)** > > Every ten years, film journal Sight and Sound conducts a worldwide survey of film critics to decide which films are considered the best ever made. Started in 1952, the poll is now widely regarded as the most important and respected out there. 1. Tokyo Story - Yasujiro Ozu (1953) = 2. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Stanley Kubrick (1968) = 2. Citizen Kane – Orson Welles (1941) 2. 8 ½ - Federico Fellini (1963) 3. Taxi Driver – Martin Scorsese (1976) 4. Apocalypse Now – Francis Ford Coppola (1979) = 7. The Godfather – Francis Ford Coppola (1972) = 7. Vertigo – Alfred Hitchcock (1958) 5. Mirror – Andrei Tarkovsky (1974) 6. Bicycle Thieves – Vittorio De Sica (1949) ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 11:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/2 "2019-04-27T23:17:17Z")
So all of the 10 greatest films were all made between 1941 and 1979 and none before and none in the 40 years after? That doesn’t really make sense. ---
**Author:** ![PastTense](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pasttense/32/14550_2.png) [@PastTense](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PastTense)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/3 "2019-04-27T23:19:05Z")
duplicate ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 11:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/4 "2019-04-27T23:39:53Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > So all of the 10 greatest films were all made between 1941 and 1979 and none before and none in the 40 years after? > > That doesn’t really make sense. I agree. I mean…I can get behind the idea that movies have gotten progressively worse over the years but I cannot think that the only good movies were made prior to 1980. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 11:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/5 "2019-04-27T23:50:25Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > I agree. > > I mean…I can get behind the idea that movies have gotten progressively worse over the years but I cannot think that the only good movies were made prior to 1980. This list isn’t saying that only these 10 are good. Or is it? I didn’t click the link. ---
**Author:** ![Whack-a-Mole](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/whack-a-mole/32/141_2.png) [@Whack-a-Mole](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Whack-a-Mole)\ **Post date:** [April 27, 2019, 11:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/6 "2019-04-27T23:59:36Z")
> [@snfaulkner](#): > > This list isn’t saying that only these 10 are good. Or is it? I didn’t click the link. It is titled: [The Ten Greatest Films of All Time According to 358 Filmmakers](http://www.openculture.com/2019/04/the-ten-greatest-films-of-all-time-according-to-358-filmmakers.html) Take that as you will. None on the list were made past the 70s. ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/7 "2019-04-28T00:24:50Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > So all of the 10 greatest films were all made between 1941 and 1979 and none before and none in the 40 years after? > > That doesn’t really make sense. Well, these were the 10 films that **filmmakers** were most impressed by. It may be that, to be really impressed by a film, you have to first see it when you’re at the right age or stage in your life, and more recent films didn’t have a chance to be encountered by many of those filmmakers when they were at their most impressionable. Or it may be that that was the time period when the art/craft of filmmaking was ripe for groundbreaking, seminal work. Maybe it’s not any harder to make good or even great movies nowadays, but it is harder to make great movies that do something new. Or it may be that those are the movies that have had time to build up reputations as classics. ---
**Author:** ![Ukulele\_Ike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/df788c/32.png) [@Ukulele\_Ike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ukulele_Ike)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/8 "2019-04-28T00:30:03Z")
> [@PastTense](#): > > So all of the 10 greatest films were all made between 1941 and 1979 and none before and none in the 40 years after? Hell, in MY opinion, the ten greatest films were all made BEFORE 1941. ---
**Author:** ![snfaulkner](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/snfaulkner/32/433_2.png) [@snfaulkner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/snfaulkner)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/9 "2019-04-28T00:30:56Z")
> [@Whack-a-Mole](#): > > It is titled: [The Ten Greatest Films of All Time According to 358 Filmmakers](http://www.openculture.com/2019/04/the-ten-greatest-films-of-all-time-according-to-358-filmmakers.html) > > Take that as you will. None on the list were made past the 70s. Yeah, I dont take it to mean #11 and on are all garbage. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/10 "2019-04-28T00:55:35Z")
This is a list made published in 2012 of the choices (that were made in 2011) of a group of 358 directors from around the world. These were not people relatively new to directing in 2011 but ones who were well into their careers at the time. Let’s say that they were 55 years old on average, which is probably an underestimate for their ages. So they were born in 1956 on average. Note that there is a list at the beginning of some of the directors who were polled: Woody Allen, Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Quentin Tarantino, the Dardenne brothers, Terence Davies, Guillermo del Toro, Martin Scorsese, Olivier Assayas, Michael Mann, Guy Maddin, Francis Ford Coppola, Mike Leigh, and Aki Kaurismäki. Do you find it surprising that the movies that a group of film buffs born around 1956 chose for their favorites were all released between 1941 and 1979? Incidentally, I collect lists of favorite films. I have gotten many such lists from books, magazines, newspapers, websites, etc. They are extremely varied. Putting them together, it’s a total of about ten thousand movies. They come from many times, countries, genres, etc. That’s one way to learn about what many people think are the best films. It’s not necessary to rely on any one list. ---
**Author:** ![DigitalC](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ebca7d/32.png) [@DigitalC](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DigitalC)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 12:59am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/11 "2019-04-28T00:59:51Z")
Should be titled “ten best films that influenced current film makers.” It’s no surprise really, ask again in 40 years and none of those films will be on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Wendell\_Wagner](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/8491ac/32.png) [@Wendell\_Wagner](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wendell_Wagner)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 1:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/12 "2019-04-28T01:27:11Z")
Current filmmakers? Well, as I said, it was directors who were well into their careers in 2011. A poll of all directors of any age in 2019 would probably produce a top ten list with films that are somewhat more recent on average. How such a list would change in forty years is unknown. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/13 "2019-04-28T02:06:04Z")
I prefer lists like the one Quentin Tarantino did listing the best movies made since he became a director. He picked \*\*Battle Royale \*\*as the best. I disagree, but he really said he wished he had made that movie and I kind of see how he could feel that way. It could have been his. ---
**Author:** ![BlankSlate](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/blankslate/32/80_2.png) [@BlankSlate](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BlankSlate)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 6:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/14 "2019-04-28T18:25:10Z")
That list could have been titled _The 10 most overrated movies in film history_ and it would have been believable. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/15 "2019-04-28T19:09:09Z")
Not all that surprising that these directors would want to let more recent movies prove their quality over time. I’m not sure which older movies would make the list. Birth of a Nation is right out. Maybe Rules of the Game. I’ve seen them all except for Tokyo Story, Mirror and The Bicycle Thief (not Bicycle Thieves) all of which are going on my list. Can’t argue with any of them. ---
**Author:** ![RTFirefly](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/c77e96/32.png) [@RTFirefly](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RTFirefly)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/16 "2019-04-28T19:21:57Z")
> [@BlankSlate](#): > > That list could have been titled _The 10 most overrated movies in film history_ and it would have been believable. Yeah, I’ve seen four of the top 5, and I’m underimpressed by each of them. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [April 28, 2019, 7:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/17 "2019-04-28T19:35:33Z")
> [@Thudlow\_Boink](#): > > Well, these were the 10 films that **filmmakers** were most impressed by. I see that #1, _Tokyo Story_, which I have never heard of, made the list largely because the director broke cinematic conventions. That also goes for _Citizen Kane_ and _8 1/2_. Of course, directors are going to be impressed by different things than the viewing public. > [@RTFirefly](#): > > Yeah, I’ve seen four of the top 5, and I’m underimpressed by each of them. I’ve seen all of them except _Tokyo Story_ and _Mirror_, and I think they are all great movies. Whether they are the 10 best all time is a different issue. ---
**Author:** ![Banksiaman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/banksiaman/32/3334_2.png) [@Banksiaman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Banksiaman)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 11:20am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/18 "2019-04-29T11:20:58Z")
> [@Voyager](#): > > … > > I’ve seen them all except for … The Bicycle Thief (not Bicycle Thieves) . So, you’re not aware of the sequel? Even better than the original - Adam Sandler OWNS that role. ---
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 11:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/19 "2019-04-29T11:45:01Z")
I haven’t seen “Mirror” and I thought “8 1/2” was lame and self-indulgent, but the rest of those movies were pretty good. ---
**Author:** ![Voyager](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/voyager/32/133_2.png) [@Voyager](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Voyager)\ **Post date:** [April 29, 2019, 12:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147/20 "2019-04-29T12:16:01Z")
> [@Banksiaman](#): > > So, you’re not aware of the sequel? Even better than the original - Adam Sandler OWNS that role. Shhh!!! He’ll hear you! [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/top-10-greatest-films-according-to-358-directors/833147.md?page=2)