Films considered the greatest ever
(from different countries around the world )
Australia
Bangladesh
Belgium
Brazil
Canada
China
Denmark
- Day of Wrath (Vredens dag) Carl Th. Dreyer's harrowing tale of adultery and repression is often cited in Denmark as the greatest Danish film.[117]
- Flickering Lights (Blinkende lygter) the 2000 comedy about small-time gangsters was voted the Best Danish Film in a 2007 poll by Ekstra Bladet newspaper. Thomas Vinterberg's The Celebration (Festen) was the runner-up.[118]
Estonia
- Kevade (Spring, 1969) received the first place in the Estonian feature films Top Ten Poll in 2002 held by Estonian film critics and journalists.[119]
Finland
France
Germany
Hong Kong
Hungary
In 2000, Hungarian film critics chose the so-called "Budapest 12",
[126] the twelve best films of Hungary:
India
- The Apu Trilogy (1955–1959), a Bengali film trilogy by the acclaimed Indian independent filmmaker Satyajit Ray, appeared on the 1992 edition of the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll (ranked #88)[127] and on The Village Voice's top 250 "Best Films of the Century" critics' poll (ranked #54).[6][128] It is the highest-ranking trilogy in both polls.
- Sholay (Embers) (1975), a "Curry Western" Hindi film directed by Ramesh Sippy, topped the British Film Institute's poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time.[134]
- Gandhi (1982), an Indian English biographical film about Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi directed by Richard Attenborough, is the highest-ranked Indian co-production on the Internet Movie Database's "Top 250 Movies" list.[135]
- Junoon (1978), produced by Shashi Kapoor and directed by acclaimed director Shyam Benegal, is an Indian film about the violent uprising during the year 1857 and a beautiful love story at the backdrop. This film has received the highest acclaims from the reviewers. The film received awards for the best feature film and also swept many other awards such as the best cinematography, best editing, best dialogues and so on. According to Khalid Mehmood, film critic, the film set high standards and was then considered to be an all time epic movie.[136]
- Nayagan (The Leader) (1987), a Tamil film directed by Mani Ratnam, is the highest-ranking Indian film and second highest-ranking Asian film on Time Magazine's "Readers Top Rated" list. Guru Dutt's Pyaasa (1957) is the second highest-ranking Indian film and third highest-ranking Asian film on the list.[115]
Iran
- Bashu, the Little Stranger (1986) was voted "Best Iranian Film of all time" in November 1999 by a Persian movie magazine "Picture world" poll of 150 Iranian critics and professionals.[137]
Ireland
Israel
- Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona (1976) was voted "Favorite Israeli Film of all time" in a 2004 poll by Ynet, the web site of a popular Israeli newspaper. The film got 25,000 votes.[139]
Italy
Japan
- Rashomon (羅生門), 1950: This film by Akira Kurosawa was the first Japanese film to gain worldwide acclaim. It is the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film in the Village Voice poll of "Best Films of the Century" (ranked #10).[6] It also tied for the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the Sight and Sound 2002 Directors' Top Ten Poll (ranked #9).[142]
- Seven Samurai (七人の侍 Shichinin no Samurai), 1954: Also by Kurosawa, this period adventure film is frequently cited as the greatest Japanese film ever; at #12, it is the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the Internet Movie Database's "Top 250 movies" list.[143] It ranked, for the first time, at #3 in the 1982 Sight & Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll,[144] appeared on the Sight & Sound Directors' Top Ten Poll in 1992 (ranked #10),[145] and tied for the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film in 2002 (ranked #9).[142] It is ranked #2 on Rotten Tomatoes' top 100 foreign films,[108] and #1 on their top 100 action/adventure films.[24] It was also voted the "Best Japanese Film ever" in a 1979 Kinema Junpo critics’ poll.[146]
- Tokyo Story (東京物語 Tokyo Monogatari), 1953: Directed by Yasujirō Ozu, is the highest-ranked Japanese and Asian film on the 2002 Sight and Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll (ranked #5).[147] It was also declared the greatest film ever by Halliwell's Film Guide in 2005.[148]
- Ugetsu, 1953: Directed by Kenji Mizoguchi, it was the highest-ranking Asian film in the Sight & Sound critics' polls in 1962 (ranked #4)[149] and 1972 (ranked #10).[150]
Mexico
Netherlands
New Zealand
Norway
- Flåklypa Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix - 1975 - Ivo Caprino): The people's choice for "Best Norwegian Film of the Century" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.[152]
- Ni Liv (Nine Lives - 1957 - Arne Skouen): The critics' choice for "Best Norwegian Film of the Century" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.[152]
Pakistan
- Baji (1963), directed by S. Suleman, topped the British Film Institute's critics poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time.[153]
- Aina (1977), directed by Nazr-ul-Islam, topped the user poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time.[154]
Philippines
Poland
- Sexmission (Seksmisja) is the best Polish film of the last 30 years according to a 2005 poll by readers of three popular film magazines.[161]
- Seksmisja is also on the prominence position in the ranking of Polish movies on portal Filmweb.pl[162]. Other positions from the first ten places are: Polish-French cooproduction The Pianist (2002), comedies: Day of the wacko (2002), Our Folks (1967),How I Unleashed World War II (1969), Teddy Bear (1980), Boys Don't Cry (2000), and dramas showing important social or political problems after 1989: The Debt (1999), Symmetry (2003), and Psy-Pigs (1992).
- Polish best awarded production are: A Short Film About Killing (European Film Award for Best Film in 1988), Man of Iron (Palme d'Or of 1981 Cannes Film Festival), and The Pianist (Palme d'Or of 2002 Cannes Film Festival).
Romania
Best 10 Romanian films as considered by the Union of Romanian Cineastes and the Film Critics Association
[163] (Uniunea Cineaştilor din România şi Asociaţia Criticilor de Film):
- Reconstituirea (The Reenactment - Lucian Pintilie, 1970)
- Pădurea spânzuraţilor (The Forest of the Hanged - Liviu Ciulei, 1965)
- Moartea domnului Lazarescu (The Death of Mr. Lăzărescu - Cristi Puiu, 2005)
- 4 luni, 3 săptămâni şi 2 zile (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days - Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
- Secvenţe (Alexandru Tatos, 1982)
- Nunta de piatră (The Stone Wedding - Mircea Veroiu, Dan Piţa. 1973)
- La moara cu noroc (Victor Iliu. 1956)
- A fost sau n-a fost? (Corneliu Porumboiu, 2006)
- Probă de microfon (Mircea Daneliuc, 1979)
- Croaziera (Mircea Daneliuc, 1981)
Russia
Serbia
- Who's That Singing Over There (Ko to tamo peva, 1980) was in 1996 voted the best Serbian movie made in the 1947-1995 period by the members of the Yugoslavian Board of the Academy of Film Art and Science (AFUN).[164]
South Korea
Sri Lanka
- Pura Handa Kaluwara (1997), also known as Death on a Full Moon Day, directed by P. Vithanage and starring Joe Abeywickrama, topped the British Film Institute's poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time.[167]
- Ananta Rathiriya (1995), directed by P. Vithanage, topped the user poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time.[168]
Sweden
Turkey
- In 2003 Ankara Sinema Derneği (Ankara Association for Cinema Culture) chose the "Best 10 Turkish films ever" by a poll among people who are interested in cinema professionally:[170]
- Yol (1982), Şerif Gören
- Umut (1970), Yılmaz Güney
- Sürü (1978), Zeki Ökten
- Muhsin Bey (1987), Yavuz Turgul
- Masumiyet (1997), Zeki Demirkubuz
- Selvi Boylum Al Yazmalım (1978), Atıf Yılmaz
- Anayurt Oteli (1986), Ömer Kavur
- Susuz Yaz (1964), Metin Erksan
- Gelin (1973), Ömer Lütfi Akad
- Uzak (2002), Nuri Bilge Ceylan
United Kingdom
United States
Inspired by the director's own struggles with creative block, this seminal, influential masterpiece explores one of the most stressful facets of the entire process. Here, a filmmaker begins succumbing to the frustrating reality of constipated innovation when his science-fiction project stumbles. Oneiric visuals pass in and out of actuality, reflecting the overwhelming mental haze that comes when one's creative process abruptly pauses and hinders productivity for an unknown period of time — not to mention how personal issues often end up exacerbated as a result.
Creative types these days still have to deal with employers, marketers, and distributors who enjoy meddling in their visions, frequently to disastrous ends. So they can fully relate to this partly fictional account of Michelangelo's very real Renaissance woe.The Agony and the Ecstasy adapts the story of his work on the Sistine Chapel and the volatile patronage of Pope Julius II. Like the title states, their relationship mirrors the same emotions experienced when one throws himself into a potentially game-changing project requiring passion, concentration, and a hefty time investment … then watches it all end up dismantled and overanalyzed.
Poor widowed Tampopo only wants to run a fine little ramen stand supporting her and her beloved little son. Unfortunately, she also happens to completely suck at all things culinary. A pair of truck drivers who happen across her stand attempt a veritable Cinderella story as they embark on a whimsical, lighthearted romp to whip up a far more appetizing recipe. It's more fun than heart-wrenchingly, movingly insightful, but still enjoyable viewing all the same, particularly the hilariously bizarre parallel vignettes satirizing both Japanese and foodie cultures.
The eponymous author, a renowned Broadway playwright, winds up on an assignment in Hollywood penning movies about wrestling. Unfamiliar with the new medium, format, and surrounding culture —which he worries might separate him from the more salt-of-the-earth element that so fascinates him —Barton Fink descends into a nasty period of writer's block. Although some of the Coen Brothers' trademark wit and humor wrench things up to a beautifully over-the-top level, their depictions of imagination tug-of-war and mental blockage might very well seem eerily on the mark to many creative types.
Honore de Balzac's "The Unknown Masterpiece" serves as the rather loose inspiration for a Cannes Grand Prix winner about an older painter who ekes out a quiet life with his wife, who once worked as his model. When a new muse and her artist lover (a man much younger than his creative mentor) happen into their lives, the humble home springs forth a wellspring of ideas and passion. The more youthful model's presence encourages the completion of La belle noiseuse, a painting shelved when the aging man lost his will to complete it. While the film unfolds, viewers end up treated to deep analysis of protagonist Edouard Frenhofer's own personal reawakening.
Known also as Dream of Light or Quince Tree of the Sun to international audiences, El Sol del Membrilloconcerns a painter (Antonio Lopez Garcia, as himself) and his persistent failure to relay the true beauty of a quince tree he once planted. In the backyard it sits, tormenting him with its lusty leaves and flirtatious fruit. And no matter how skilled he may prove with a paintbrush or other subject matter, he just can't seem to capture his taunting muse on canvas. It's a beautiful work regarding the pain of never living up to one's own creative expectations, no matter how much pining, passion, and time go into a project.
Fans of breakneck, screwball comedies and showbiz deconstructions must absolutely pick up Noises Off!, which focuses on everything that can and will go wrong backstage — and how these incidents can impact productions right as they happen in front of a live auditorium audience. Creative individuals who must work with others know firsthand how the process can result in almost as much discord as it does harmony. No movie does it better than this hilarious send-up where a dysfunctional theater troupe starts crumbling for multiple reasons, but has to wipe up the hilarious mess before hitting the stage lest it ultimately muss their show.
Adaptation. began life as Charlie Kaufman's attempt to write a screenplay based on Susan Orlean's novelThe Orchid Thief, but ended up an engaging metacommentary on the nature of inspiration. At the center sits a pair of twins (named after the screenwriter himself), one working on an adaptation ofThe Orchid Thief (See? Meta!), the other pooping out cliche Hollywood fare, earning, of course, far more money in the process. The persistent debate over selling out and making a living or staying true to one's artistic inclinations factors quite heavily into this dissection, obviously.
Underground comics sensation Harvey Pekar found his writerly niche chronicling the mundane minutia of his file-clerk life, pairing up with numerous artists for straightforward, frequently insightful stories. Part biopic, part documentary, the film named after his most popular series digs into the creative process of this fantastic figure. Many stereotypes regarding how great authors (and, of course, others in artistic industries) conduct their personal and professional business end up entirely shattered with its protagonist's earnest — albeit cantankerous — approach and everyday background.
Once again, the brilliant Charlie Kaufman dissects all the intricacies of creativity with stark-raving clarity, this time stepping into the director's chair.Synecdoche, New York's intensity unapologetically reflects the ugly, obsessively isolationist component that so often torments great innovators. And, of course, their loved ones. With a postmodern deftness, he traces the trajectory of creative torment and passion's darker corners.
