The 10 greatest films of all time according to 358 acclaimed filmmakers
For decades now Orson Welles iconic film Citizen Kane has remained top of the pile, the general consensus being that the mystery drama examining the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane is arguably the greatest film ever made. However, in the most recent edition of the director’s poll Welles’ effort had dipped down to third spot with the surprise revelation that Yasujiro Ozu film Tokyo Story has emerged victorious on this occasion.
Ozu’s 1953 film, telling the story of an ageing couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children, is said to be loosely based on the 1937 American film, Make Way for Tomorrow, directed by Leo McCarey.
The film takes place in 1953 post-war Japan, a few years after the new Civil Code at a time when Japan’s bustling re-growth and embraced Western ideals with some older Japanese traditions began to fall by the wayside. Ozu himself called Tokyo Story “the film that tends most strongly to melodrama.”
Here’s the full list which has been decided by 358 directors:
1. Tokyo Story – Yasujiro Ozu, 1953.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey – Stanley Kubrick, 1968.
– 2. Citizen Kane – Orson Welles, 1941.
4. 8 ½ – Federico Fellini, 1963.
5. Taxi Driver – Martin Scorsese, 1976.
6. Apocalypse Now – Francis Ford Coppola, 1979.
7. The Godfather – Francis Ford, Coppola, 1972.
– 7. Vertigo – Alfred Hitchcock, 1958.
9. Mirror – Andrei Tarkovsky, 1974.
10. Bicycle Thieves – Vittorio De Sica, 1949.