Sight and Sound Directors Poll 2012 Top Films

The top films as voted by film directors from around the globe for Sight & Sound’s 2012 poll. There’s some notable differences to the critics poll of the same year with Vertigo knocking off Citizen Kane for the number 1 spot while Hitchcock’s masterpiece only placed 7th with directors.

1. Tokyo Story (1953)
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
2. Citizen Kane (1941)
4. 8 1/2 (1963)
5. Taxi Driver (1976)
6. Apocalypse Now (1979)
7. Vertigo (1958)
7. The Godfather (1972)
9. The Mirror (1975)
10. The Bicycle Thief (1948)
11. Breathless (1960)
12. Raging Bull (1980)
13. Persona (1966)
13. The 400 Blows (1959)
13. Andrei Rublev (1966)
16. Fanny and Alexander (1982)
17. The Seven Samurai (1954)
18. Rashomon (1950)
19. Barry Lyndon (1975)
19. Ordet (1955)
21. Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
22. Modern Times (1936)
22. L’Atalante (1934)
22. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
22. The Rules of the Game (1939)
22. Touch of Evil (1958)
26. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
26. The Battle of Algiers (1966)
26. La Strada (1954)
30. Stalker (1979)
30. City Lights (1931)
30. L’Avventura (1960)
30. Amarcord (1973)
30. Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964)
30. The Godfather, Part II (1974)
30. Come And See (1985)
37. Close-Up (1990)
37. Some Like It Hot (1959)
37. La dolce vita (1960)
37. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
37. Playtime (1967)
37. A Man Escaped (1956)
37. Viridiana (1961)
44. Once Upon a Time In the West (1968)
44. Contempt (Le Mépris) (1963)
44. The Apartment (1960)
44. Hour of the Wolf (Vargtimmen) (1968)
48. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
48. The Searchers (1956)
48. Psycho (1960)
48. Man With the Movie Camera (1929)
48. Shoah (1985)
48. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
48. L’Eclisse (1962)
48. Pickpocket (1959)
48. Pather Panchali (1955)
48. Rear Window (1954)
48. Goodfellas (1990)




59. Blowup (1966)
59. The Conformist (1970)
59. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)
59. Gertrud (1964)
59. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
59. The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
59. Blue Velvet (1986)
59. La Grande Illusion (1937)
67. Badlands (1973)
67. Blade Runner (1982)
67. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
67. Ugetsu (1953)
67. Singin’ In the Rain (1952)
67. In the Mood For Love (2000)
67. Journey to Italy (1954)
67. Vivre sa Vie (1962)
75. The Seventh Seal (1957)
75. Cache (Hidden) (2005)
75. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
75. M (1931)
75. There Will Be Blood (2007)
75. The Shining (1980)
75. The General (1927)
75. Mulholland Drive (2001)
75. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
75. Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (1974)
75. Kes (1970)
75. Husbands (1970)
75. The Wild Bunch (1969)
75. Salo Or The 120 Days Of Sodom (1975)
75. Jaws (1975)
75. The Young And The Damned (1950)
91. Pierrot Le Fou (1965)
91. Un Chien Andalou (1929)
91. Chinatown (1974)
91. The Mother and the Whore (1973)
91. Beau Travail (2000)
91. Opening Night (1977)
91. The Gold Rush (1925)
91. Zéro de conduite (Zero For Conduct) (1933)
91. The Deer Hunter (1978)
91. L’argent (1983)
132. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (2010)
132. The Tree of Life (2011)
The Godfather (BFI Film Classics) Paperback
M (BFI Film Classics) Paperback
Sight & Sound ~ May 2018 ~ BFI Film Magazine 120 BPM Lean on Pete Woodfall Films
2001: A Space Odyssey (BFI Film Classics) Paperback
A Long Hard Look at ‘Psycho’ (BFI Silver) Paperback
Blade Runner (BFI Film Classics) Paperback
Seven Samurai (BFI Film Classics) Paperback
Lawrence of Arabia (BFI Film Classics) Paperback
The Shining (BFI Film Classics) Paperback

Critics top 250
All the films
All the voters