Roger Joseph Ebert was an American film critic, historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert became the first film critic to win the Pulitzer Prize for Criticism. Ebert compiled “best of the year” movie lists beginning in 1967 until 2012, thereby helping provide an overview of his critical preferences.
Below are his picks for the Sight & Sound Critic’s Poll for 2012. There was one change from his ballot for 2002 with Malick’s The Tree of Life replacing Dekalog.
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1968 | Stanley Kubrick |
| Aguirre, Wrath of God | 1972 | Werner Herzog |
| Apocalypse Now | 1979 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Citizen Kane | 1941 | Orson Welles |
La dolce vita |
1960 | Federico Fellini |
The General |
1926 | Buster Keaton |
| Raging Bull | 1980 | Martin Scorsese |
| Tokyo Story | 1953 | Ozu Yasujirô |
| Tree of Life, The | 2010 | Terrence Malick |
| Vertigo | 1958 | Alfred Hitchcock |
Below are his top 10 films submitted for Sight & Sound’s Critic’s Greatest Films of All Time Poll (2002).
- Aguirre, Wrath of God (Herzog)
- Apocalypse Now (Coppola)
- Citizen Kane (Welles)
- Dekalog (Kieslowski)
- La dolce vita (Fellini)
- The General (Keaton)
- Raging Bull (Scorsese)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Kubrick)
- Tokyo Story (Ozu)
- Vertigo (Hitchcock)
The Great Movies II (Paperback)
The Great Movies III (Paperback)
Roger Ebert’s Four-Star Reviews 1967-2007 (Paperback)
The Great Movies IV (Hardcover)
A Horrible Experience of Unbearable Length: More Movies That Suck (Paperback)
Your Movie Sucks (Paperback)
Awake in the Dark: The Best of Roger Ebert: Second Edition (Paperback)
