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