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Andrew Sarris' Top Ten Lists 1958-1996

1999

(New York Observer)

complete lists contributed by Jeff Anderson

 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. The End of the Affair (Neil Jordan)
02. The Straight Story (David Lynch)
03. Topsy-Turvy (Mike Leigh)
04. My Name Is Joe (Ken Loach)
05. Election (Alexander Payne)
06. The Insider (Michael Mann)
07. Titus (Julie Taymor)
08. Bringing Out the Dead (Martin Scorsese)
09. The Winslow Boy (David Mamet)
10. The Sixth Sense (M. Night Shyamalan)

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

01. Run Lola Run (Tom Tykwer)
02. Autumn Tale (Eric Rohmer)
03. The Dinner Game (Francis Veber)
04. L'Ennui (Cédric Kahn)
05. Late August, Early September (Olivier Assayas)
06. All About My Mother (Pedro Almodovar)
07. After Life (Hirokazu Kore-eda)
08. Rien Sur Robert (Pascal Bonitzer)
09. The Emperor and the Assassin (Chen Kaige)
10. The Same Old Song (Alain Resnais)

 
Previous Years:

(Lists are preferential
unless otherwise noted;
all titles transcribed exactly
as printed; most were
compiled by Mike D'Angelo.)

 - - - - - - - - 1958 1959 -
1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 -
1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 -
1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989 80's
1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 90's

 

1958

(Village Voice) 

(Note: the VILLAGE VOICE asked various critics for their top half-dozen films this year...hence the shorter list. Sarris is embarrassed by this, his first list, in which he excluded VERTIGO and TOUCH OF EVIL)

 01. The Seventh Seal (Ingmar Bergman) 
02. Le Rouge et le Noir (Claude Autant-Lara) 
03. Roots of Heaven (John Huston) 
04. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray) 
05. Horse's Mouth (Ronald Neame)
06. Indiscreet (Stanley Donen) 

 

1959

(Village Voice)		 01. Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman) 
02. The 400 Blows (Francois Truffaut) 
03. Brink of Life (Ingmar Bergman) 
04. The Cousins (Claude Chabrol) 
05. Ivan the Terrible, Part II (Sergei Eisenstein) 
06. The Magician (Ingmar Bergman) 
07. Room at the Top (Jack Clayton) 
08. On the Beach (Stanley Kramer) 
09. The Diary of Anne Frank (George Stevens) 
10. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock)

 

1960

(Village Voice) 

(Note: this list is credited to "Andrew Harris," but I'm [MQD] sure it was a typo...Sarris had not yet begun his long stint as the VOICE's film critic)

 01. Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Alain Resnais) 
02. Night and Fog (Alain Resnais) 
03. Picnic on the Grass (Jean Renoir) 
04. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock) 
05. Dreams (Ingmar Bergman) 
06. Ikiru (Akira Kurosawa) 
07. A Lesson in Love (Ingmar Bergman) 
08. Virgin Spring (Ingmar Bergman) 
09. General della Rovere (Roberto Rossellini) 
10. Archibaldo de la Cruz (Luis Bunuel) 

 

1961

(Village Voice)		 01. Breathless (Jean-Luc Godard) 
02. Two Rode Together (John Ford) 
03. L'Avventura (Michelangelo Antonioni) 
04. King of Kings (Nicholas Ray) 
05. The Young One (Luis Bunuel) 
06. Savage Innocents (Nicholas Ray) 
07. White Nights (Luchino Visconti) 
08. Leda (Claude Chabrol) 
09. Zazie (Louis Malle) 
10. Underworld, U.S.A. (Samuel Fuller) 

 

1962

(Village Voice)		 01. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford) 
02. Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles) 
03. Viridiana (Luis Bunuel) 
04. Advise and Consent (Otto Preminger) 
05. Shoot the Piano Player (Francois Truffaut) 
06. The Concrete Jungle (Joseph Losey) 
07. Partings (Wojciech Has) 
08. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (Robert Aldrich) 
09. The Miracle Worker (Arthur Penn) 
10. Two Weeks in Another Town (Vincente Minnelli)

 

1963

(Village Voice)		 (This list is temporarily unavailable to me due to a gap in NYU's microfilm records...forthcoming when I [MQD] can get to the public library)

 

1964

(Village Voice)		 01. Contempt (Jean-Luc Godard) 
02. The Servant (Joseph Losey) 
03. The Crime of Monsieur Lange (Jean Renoir) 
04. Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi) 
05. Les Dames du Bois de Boulogne (Robert Bresson) 
06. Man's Favorite Sport (Howard Hawks) 
07. A Shot in the Dark (Blake Edwards) 
08. Nothing But the Best (Clive Donner) 
09. A Hard Day's Night (Richard Lester) 
10. A Woman Is a Woman (Jean-Luc Godard)

 

1965

(Village Voice)		 01. Bunny Lake Is Missing (Otto Preminger) 
02. What's New, Pussycat? (Clive Donner) 
03. These Are the Damned (Joseph Losey) 
04. The Fascist (Luciano Salce) 
05. The Red Desert (Michelangelo Antonioni) 
06. The Married Woman (Jean-Luc Godard) 
07. Repulsion (Roman Polanski) 
08. Hush Hush...Sweet Charlotte (Robert Aldrich) 
09. Darling (John Schlesinger) 
10. The Collector (William Wyler)

 

1966

(Village Voice)		 01. Blow-Up (Michelangelo Antonioni) 
02. Gertrud (Carl Theodor Dreyer) 
03. Seven Women (John Ford) 
04. Torn Curtain (Alfred Hitchcock) 
05. Les Bonnes Femmes (Claude Chabrol) 
06. Band of Outsiders (Jean-Luc Godard) 
07. What Did You Do in the War, Daddy? (Blake Edwards)
08. Masculine Feminine (Jean-Luc Godard) 
09. King and Country (Joseph Losey) 
10. Fahrenheit 451 (Francois Truffaut)

 

1967

(Village Voice)		 01. Persona (Ingmar Bergman)
02. Boudu Saved from Drowning (Jean Renoir) 
03. El Dorado (Howard Hawks) 
04. Point Blank (John Boorman) 
05. Gunn (Blake Edwards) 
06. Falstaff (Orson Welles)
07. A Countess from Hong Kong (Charles Chaplin) 
08. The Exterminating Angel (Luis Bunuel) 
09. La Guerre Est Finie (Alain Resnais) 
10. Accident (Joseph Losey)

 

1968

(Village Voice)		 01. Belle de Jour (Luis Bunuel) 
02. China Is Near (Marco Bellocchio) 
03. La Chinoise (Jean-Luc Godard) 
04. Les Biches (Claude Chabrol) 
05. Nazarin (Luis Bunuel) 
06. The Bride Wore Black (Francois Truffaut) 
07. Madigan (Don Siegel) 
08. Charlie Bubbles (Albert Finney) 
09. Faces (John Cassavetes) 
10a. The Fireman's Ball (Milos Forman) 
10b. The Bliss of Mrs. Blossom (Joseph McGrath)

 

1969

(Village Voice)		 01. Lola Montes (Max Ophuls) 
02. The Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi) 
03. La Femme Infidele (Claude Chabrol) 
04. Simon of the Desert (Luis Bunuel) 
05. La Ronde (Max Ophuls) 
06. Pierrot le Fou (Jean-Luc Godard) 
07. Stolen Kisses (Francois Truffaut) 
08. Topaz (Alfred Hitchcock) 
09. Once Upon a Time in the West (Sergio Leone) 
10. Intimate Lighting (Ivan Passer)

 

1970

(Village Voice)		 01. Au Hasard Balthazar (Robert Bresson) 
02. My Night at Maud's (Eric Rohmer) 
03. Tristana (Luis Bunuel) 
04. On a Clear Day You Can See Forever (Vincente Minnelli) 
05. Raven's End (Bo Widerberg) 
06. Brewster McCloud (Robert Altman) 
07. This Man Must Die (Claude Chabrol) 
08. The Ballad of Cable Hogue (Sam Peckinpah) 
09. There Was a Crooked Man (Joseph L. Mankiewicz) 
10. Two Mules for Sister Sara (Don Siegel)

 

1971

(Village Voice)		 01. The Taira Clan (Kenji Mizoguchi) 
02. Claire's Knee (Eric Rohmer) 
03. Deep End (Jerzy Skolimowski) 
04. Le Boucher (Claude Chabrol)
05. The Nun (Jacques Rivette) 
06. The Touch (Ingmar Bergman) 
07. The Last Picture Show (Peter Bogdanovich) 
08. McCabe and Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman) 
09. Such Good Friends (Otto Preminger) 
10. Derby (Robert Kaylor)

 

1972

(Village Voice)		 01. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel) 
02. Frenzy (Alfred Hitchcock) 
03. Travels with My Aunt (George Cukor) 
04. Utamaro and His Five Women (Kenji Mizoguchi) 
05. Two English Girls (Francois Truffaut) 
06. The Assassination of Trotsky (Joseph Losey) 
07. The Sorrow and the Pity (Marcel Ophuls) 
08. Ulzana's Raid (Robert Aldrich) 
09. Duck, You Sucker (Sergio Leone) 
10. The Carey Treatment (Blake Edwards) 
11. Mon Oncle Antoine (Claude Jutra) 
12. Avanti! (Billy Wilder) 
13. Bad Company (Robert Benton) 
14. Bartleby (Anthony Friedman) 
15. Images (Robert Altman) 
16. Superfly (Gordon Parks Jr.)

 

1973

(Village Voice)		 01. The Merchant of Four Seasons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
02. A King in New York (Charles Chaplin) 
03. Day for Night (Francois Truffaut) 
04. The Mattei Affair (Francesco Rosi) 
05. The Spider's Strategem (Bernardo Bertolucci) 
06. Charley Varrick (Don Siegel) 
07. The Mackintosh Man (John Huston) 
08. Summer Wishes, Winter Dreams (Gilbert Cates) 
09. An Autumn Afternoon (Yasujiro Ozu) 
10. Kid Blue (James Frawley)

 

1974

(Village Voice)		 01. Wedding in Blood (Claude Chabrol) 
02. Juggernaut (Richard Lester) 
03. Scenes from a Marriage (Ingmar Bergman) 
04. The Little Theatre of Jean Renoir (Jean Renoir) 
05. Chinatown (Roman Polanski) 
06. Ali--Fear Eats the Soul (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
07. Man Is Not a Bird (Dusan Makavejev) 
08. Young Frankenstein (Mel Brooks) 
09. The Front Page (Billy Wilder) 
10. The Last Detail (Hal Ashby)

 

1975

(Village Voice)		 01. La Rupture (Claude Chabrol) 
02. The Passenger (Michelangelo Antonioni) 
03. Nashville (Robert Altman) 
04. Shampoo (Hal Ashby) 
05. The Four Musketeers (Richard Lester) 
06. Night Moves (Arthur Penn) 
07. French Connection II (John Frankenheimer) 
08. The Magic Flute (Ingmar Bergman) 
09. Mystery of Kaspar Hauser (Werner Herzog) 
10. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick)

 

1976

(Village Voice)		 01. A Woman of Paris (Charles Chaplin) 
02. La Chienne (Jean Renoir) 
03. A Piece of Pleasure (Claude Chabrol) 
04. The Marquise of O... (Eric Rohmer) 
05. All the President's Men (Alan J. Pakula) 
06. The Last Woman (Marco Ferreri) 
07. Beware of a Holy Whore (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
08. Robin and Marian (Richard Lester) 
09. Family Plot (Alfred Hitchcock) 
10. Face to Face (Ingmar Bergman)

 

1977

(Village Voice)		 01. That Obscure Object of Desire (Luis Bunuel) 
02. Effi Briest (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
03. 3 Women (Robert Altman) 
04. Annie Hall (Woody Allen) 
05. The Late Show (Robert Benton) 
06. A Woman's Decision (Krzysztof Zanussi) 
07. Looking for Mr. Goodbar (Richard Brooks) 
08. Outrageous! (Richard Benner) 
09. Cria! (Carlos Saura) 
10. Stroszek (Werner Herzog)

 

1978

(Village Voice)		 01. An Unmarried Woman (Paul Mazursky) 
02. Dossier 51 ()
03. California Suite (Herbert Ross) 
04. Women () 
05. The Chess Players (Satyajit Ray) 
06. Perceval (Eric Rohmer) 
07. Violette (Claude Chabrol) 
08. Celine and Julie Go Boating (Jacques Rivette) 
09. King, Queen, Knave (Jerzy Skolimowski) 
10. The Medusa Touch (Jack Gold)

 

1979

(Village Voice) 

(note: #1-5 are in a tie for first; #6-12 are in a tie for second; lists are alphabetical) 

 01. Kramer vs. Kramer (Robert Benton) 
02. Manhattan (Woody Allen) 
03. The Marriage of Maria Braun (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
04. "10" (Blake Edwards) 
05. The Tree of Wooden Clogs (Ermanno Olmi) 
06. Being There (Hal Ashby) 
07. Breaking Away (Peter Yates) 
08. Don Giovanni (Joseph Losey) 
09. Newsfront (Phillip Noyce) 
10. North Dallas Forty (Ted Kotcheff) 
11. Orchestra Rehearsal (Federico Fellini) 
12. The Shout (Jerzy Skolimowski)

 

1980

(Village Voice) 

(Note [English-language list]: #1-3 are in a tie for first; #4-21 are in a tie for second; lists are alphabetical)

 FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

01. Every Man for Himself (Jean-Luc Godard) 
02. Loulou (Maurice Pialat) 
03. Mon Oncle d'Amerique (Alain Resnais) 
04. In the Year of 13 Moons (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
05. From the Life of the Marionettes (Ingmar Bergman) 
06. Kagemusha (Akira Kurosawa) 
07. Angi Vera (Pal Gabor) 
08. The Tin Drum (Volker Schlondorff) 
09. Bye, Bye Brazil (Carlos Diegues) 
10. The Third Generation (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 

ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. Dial M for Murder [3-D] (Alfred Hitchcock) 
02. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp [restored] (Michael Powell/Emeric Pressburger)
03. Macbeth [restored] (Orson Welles) 
04. Altered States (Ken Russell) 
05. American Gigolo (Paul Schrader) 
06. The Big Red One (Samuel Fuller) 
07. Bronco Billy (Clint Eastwood) 
08. Carny (Robert Kaylor) 
09. Coal Miner's Daughter (Michael Apted) 
10. The Competition (Joel Oliansky) 
11. Heart Beat (John Byrum) 
12. The Human Factor (Otto Preminger) 
13. It's My Turn (Claudia Weill) 
14. Melvin and Howard (Jonathan Demme) 
15. My Brilliant Career (Gillian Armstrong) 
16. Ordinary People (Robert Redford) 
17. Popeye (Robert Altman) 
18. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese) 
19. Sam Marlow (Robert Day) 
20. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick) 
21. Wise Blood (John Huston)

 

1981

(Village Voice) 

(Note: lists are alphabetical)

 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. Atlantic City (Louis Malle) 
02. Body Heat (Lawrence Kasdan) 
03. Eye of the Needle (Richard Marquand) 
04. Modern Romance (Albert Brooks) 
05. Pennies from Heaven (Herbert Ross) 
06. Prince of the City (Sidney Lumet) 
07. Reds (Warren Beatty) 
08. Scanners (David Cronenberg) 
09. S.O.B. (Blake Edwards) 
10. Stevie (Robert Enders) 
11. They All Laughed (Peter Bogdanovich) 
12. True Confessions (Ulu Grosbard) 

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

01. The Aviator's Wife (Eric Rohmer) 
02. Beau Pere (Bertrand Blier) 
03. Camouflage (Krzysztof Zanussi) 
04. City of Women (Federico Fellini) 
05. Contract () 
06. The Lady Without Camelias (Michelangelo Antonioni) 
07. Lili Marleen (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
08. Man of Iron (Andrzej Wajda) 
09. Montenegro (Andrzej Wajda) 
10. The Woman Next Door (Francois Truffaut)

 

1982

(Village Voice)		 01. Le Beau Mariage (Eric Rohmer) 
02. Marianne and Juliane (Margarethe von Trotta)
03. A Week's Vacation (Bertrand Tavernier) 
04. Tootsie (Sydney Pollack) 
05. Victor/Victoria (Blake Edwards) 
06. Moonlighting (Jerzy Skolimowski) 
07. Lola (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
08. Smash Palace (Roger Donaldson) 
09. Tragedy of a Ridiculous Man (Bernardo Bertolucci) 
10. Celeste (Percy Adlon) 
11. Richard Pryor on the Sunset Strip (Joe Layton)

 

1983

(Village Voice)		 01. Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder) 
02. Pauline at the Beach (Eric Rohmer) 
03. Zelig (Woody Allen) 
04. Local Hero (Bill Forsyth) 
05. The King of Comedy (Martin Scorsese) 
06. The Big Chill (Lawrence Kasdan) 
07. Betrayal (David Hugh Jones) 
08. Fanny and Alexander (Ingmar Bergman) 
09. Tender Mercies (Bruce Beresford) 
10. The Draughtsman's Contract (Peter Greenaway) 
11. The Dead Zone (David Cronenberg) 
12. The Man with Two Brains (Carl Reiner)

 

1984

(Village Voice)		 01. After the Rehearsal (Ingmar Bergman) 
02. A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat) 
03. L'Argent (Robert Bresson) 
04. Places in the Heart (Robert Benton) 
05. Entre Nous (Diane Kurys) 
06. That Sinking Feeling (Bill Forsyth) 
07. Sunday in the Country (Bertrand Tavernier) 
08. Man of Flowers (Paul Cox) 
09. My Best Friend's Girl (Bertrand Blier) 
10. Improper Conduct (Néstor Almendros/Orlando Jimenez Leal)

 

1985

(Village Voice)		 01. Prizzi's Honor (John Huston) 
02. Lost in America (Albert Brooks) 
03. To Live and Die in L.A. (William Friedkin) 
04. Wetherby (David Hare) 
05. Sylvia (Michael Firth) 
06. 28 Up (Michael Apted) 
07. Jagged Edge (Richard Marquand) 
08. Sheer Madness (Margarethe von Trotta) 
09. Late Crysanthemums (Mikio Naruse) 
10. The Horse of Pride (Claude Chabrol)

 

1986

(Village Voice)		 01. Summer (Eric Rohmer) 
02. Hannah and Her Sisters (Woody Allen) 
03. Therese (Alain Cavalier) 
04. A Room With a View (James Ivory) 
05. Vagabond (Agnes Varda) 
06. Platoon (Oliver Stone)
07. The Decline of the American Empire (Denys Arcand) 
08. The Fly (David Cronenberg) 
09. Police (Maurice Pialat) 
10. Peggy Sue Got Married (Francis Ford Coppola) 
11. The Sacrifice (Andrei Tarkovsky) 
12. F/X (Robert Mandel)

 

1987

(Village Voice)		 01. Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg) 
02. Housekeeping (Bill Forsyth) 
03. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick) 
04. The Hour of the Star (Suzana Amaral) 
05. No Way Out (Roger Donaldson) 
06. The Good Father (Mike Newell) 
07. Radio Days (Woody Allen) 
08. Broadcast News (James L. Brooks) 
09. My Life as a Dog (Lasse Hallstrom) 
10. Nadine (Robert Benton)

 

1988

(????)		 (There may be no list for 1988, as Sarris was between jobs that year. He'll be getting back to me [MQD] directly with an answer soon, either way...) 

 

1989

(New York Observer)		 01. sex, lies and videotape (Steven Soderbergh) 
02. Story of Women (Claude Chabrol) 
03. The War of the Roses (Danny DeVito) 
04. The Fabulous Baker Boys (Steve Kloves) 
05. Born on the Fourth of July (Oliver Stone) 
06. Drugstore Cowboy (Gus Vant Sant) 
07. Roger & Me (Michael Moore) 
08. Four Adventures of Reinette and Mirabelle (Eric Rohmer) 
09. My Left Foot (Jim Sheridan) 
10. Under the Sun of Satan (Maurice Pialat)

 

Best Films of the 1980s

(from Premiere)

contributed by Jeff Anderson

 01. Berlin Alexanderplatz (Rainer Werner Fassbinder)
02. Boyfriends and Girlfriends (Eric Rohmer)
03. The Singing Detective (Jon Amiel)
04. After the Rehearsal (Ingmar Bergman)
05. A Nos Amours (Maurice Pialat)
06. Therese (Alain Cavalier)
07. L'Argent (Robert Bresson)
08. Empire of the Sun (Steven Spielberg)
09. Housekeeping (Bill Forsyth)
10. Full Metal Jacket (Stanley Kubrick)

 

1990

(New York Observer)		 01. A Tale of Springtime [also in 1992 list] (Eric Rohmer) 
02. Monsieur Hire (Patrice Leconte) 
03. Miller's Crossing (Joel Coen) 
04. The Cook, the Thief, His Wife & Her Lover (Peter Greenaway)
05. Metropolitan (Whit Stillman) 
06. The Nasty Girl (Michael Verhoeven) 
07. The Hot Spot (Dennis Hopper) 
08. The Godfather, Part III (Francis Ford Coppola) 
09. Cyrano de Bergerac (Jean-Paul Rappeneau) 
10. Ariel (Aki Kaurismaki)

 

1991

(New York Observer)		 01. Trust (Hal Hartley) 
02. Impromptu (James Lapine) 
03. Antonia & Jane (Beeban Kidron) 
04. The Man in the Moon (Robert Mulligan) 
05. City of Hope (John Sayles) 
06. The Vanishing (George Sluizer) 
07. Naked Lunch (David Cronenberg) 
08. Billy Bathgate (Robert Benton) 
09. The Silence of the Lambs (Jonathan Demme) 
10. Cape Fear (Martin Scorsese)

 

1992

(New York Observer)		 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. Passion Fish (John Sayles) 
02. Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood) 
03. Howards End (James Ivory) 
04. Proof (Jocelyn Moorhouse) 
05. A River Runs Through It (Robert Redford) 
06. Simple Men (Hal Hartley) 
07. The Crying Game (Neil Jordan) 
08. Glengarry Glen Ross (James Foley) 
09. The Public Eye (Howard Franklin) 
10. Housesitter (Frank Oz) 
11. Husbands and Wives (Woody Allen) 
12. My Cousin Vinny (Jonathan Lynn) 
13. Memoirs of an Invisible Man (John Carpenter) 
14. Damage (Louis Malle) 
15. One False Move (Carl Franklin) 

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

01. La Discrete (Christian Vincent) 
02. The Best Intentions (Bille August) 
03. A Tale of Springtime [also in 1990 list] (Eric Rohmer) 
04. Raise the Red Lantern (Zhang Yimou) 
05. Lovers (Vicente Aranda) 
06. The Hairdresser's Husband (Patrice Leconte) 
07. Van Gogh (Maurice Pialat) 
08. The Match Factory Girl (Aki Kaurismaki) 
09. Indochine (Regis Wargnier) 
10. Danzon (Maria Novaro) 
11. Toto le heros (Jaco van Dormael) 
12. Intervista (Federico Fellini)

 

1993

(New York Observer)		 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. Bad Behaviour (Les Blair) 
02. Flesh and Bone (Steve Kloves) 
03. The Piano (Jane Campion) 
04. The Long Day Closes (Terence Davies) 
05. Riff-Raff (Ken Loach) 
06. Short Cuts (Robert Altman) 
07. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis) 
08. King of the Hill (Steven Soderbergh) 
09. The Age of Innocence (Martin Scorsese) 
10. The Remains of the Day (James Ivory) 
11. The Last Days of Chez Nous (Gilliam Armstrong) 
12. A Perfect World (Clint Eastwood) 

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

01. The Story of Qiu Ju (Zhang Yimou) 
02. Barjo (Jerome Boivin) 
03. Un Coeur en Hiver (Claude Sautet) 
04. Olivier, Olivier (Agnieszka Holland) 
05. Farewell My Concubine (Chen Kaige) 
06. The Accompanist (Claude Miller) 
07. Like Water for Chocolate (Alfonso Arau) 
08. Betty (Claude Chabrol) 
09. Tito and Me (Goran Markovic) 
10. La Vie de Boheme (Aki Kaurismaki)

 

1994

(New York Observer)		 01. Nobody's Fool (Robert Benton) 
02. Heavenly Creatures (Peter Jackson) 
03. The Boys of St. Vincent (John N. Smith) 
04. To Live (Zhang Yimou) 
05. A Tale of Winter (Eric Rohmer) 
06. Red Rock West (John Dahl) 
07. Vanya on 42nd Street (Louis Malle) 
08. Raining Stones (Ken Loach) 
09. Four Weddings and a Funeral (Mike Newell) 
10. Ed Wood (Tim Burton) 
11. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino) 
12. Speed (Jan De Bont)

 

1995

(Film Comment)		 01. Leaving Las Vegas (Mike Figgis) 
02. Exotica (Atom Egoyan) 
03. Lamerica (Gianni Amelio) 
04. Clueless (Amy Heckerling) 
05. Sense and Sensibility (Ang Lee) 
06. Beyond Rangoon (John Boorman) 
07. Carrington (Christopher Hampton) 
08. Wild Reeds (Andre Techine) 
09. Persuasion (Roger Michell) 
10. Shanghai Triad (Zhang Yimou) 
11. The American President (Rob Reiner) 
12. The Secret of Roan Inish (John Sayles)

 

1996

(New York Observer)		 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. Mother (Albert Brooks) 
02. The Whole Wide World (Dan Ireland) 
03. Lone Star (John Sayles) 
04. Fargo (Joel Coen) 
05. Angels and Insects (Philip Haas) 
06. The English Patient (Anthony Minghella) 
07. Everyone Says I Love You (Woody Allen) 
08. Breaking the Waves (Lars von Trier) 
09. The People vs. Larry Flynt (Milos Forman) 
10. Emma (Douglas McGrath) 

FRENCH-LANGUAGE

01. La Ceremonie (Claude Chabrol) 
02. A Single Girl (Benoit Jacquot) 
03. Ridicule (Patrice Leconte) 
04. Nelly & Monsieur Arnaud (Claude Sautet) 
05. Rendezvous in Paris (Eric Rohmer) 
06. Ma Saison Preferee (Andre Techine) 
07. Hate (Mathieu Kassovitz) 
08. Thieves (Les Voleurs) (Andre Techine) 
09. French Twist (Josiane Balasko) 
10. Le Garcu (Maurice Pialat) 

OTHER-LANGUAGE

01. The White Balloon (Jafar Pahani) 
02. Antonia's Line (Marleen Gorris) 
03. Chungking Express (Wong Kar-wai) 
04. The Flower of My Secret (Pedro Almodovar) 
05. Vive L'Amour (Tsai Ming-liang) 
06. Under the Domim Tree (Eli Cohen) 
07. The Monster (Roberto Benigni) 
08. Nueba Yol (Angel Muniz) 
09. Ashes of Time (Wong Kar-wai) 
10. Vukovar (Boro Draskovic) 

NONFICTION

01. Paradise Lost: The Child Murders at Robin Hood Hills (Joe Berlinger/Bruce Sinofsky)
02. Microcosmos (Claude Nuridsany/Marie Perennou) 
03. The Celluloid Closet (Robert Epstein/Jeffrey Friedman) 
04. When We Were Kings (Leon Gast) 
05. The Leopard Son (Hugo Van Lawick) 
06. The Line King: The Al Hirschfeld Story (Susan Warms Dryfoos) 
07. A Personal Journey with Martin Scorsese through American Movies (Martin Scorsese) 
08. Message to Love: The Isle of Wight Music Festival, 1970 (Murray Lerner)
09. Ernesto Che Guevara: The Bolivian Diary (Richard Dindo) 
10. Synthetic Pleasures (Iara Lee)

 

1997

(New York Observer) 

Non-English language lists
contributed by Jeff Anderson

 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. L.A. Confidential (Curtis Hanson) 
02. Gattaca (Andrew Niccol) 
03. My Best Friend's Wedding (P.J. Hogan) 
04. Titanic (James Cameron) 
05. Chasing Amy (Kevin Smith) 
06. Love Serenade (Shirley Barrett)
07. Washington Square (Agnieszka Holland) 
08. Amistad (Steven Spielberg) 
09. The Wings of the Dove (Iain Softley) 
10. Jackie Brown (Quentin Tarantino) 
11. Eve's Bayou (Kasi Lemmons) 
12. Good Will Hunting (Gus Van Sant) 
13. Brassed Off (Mark Herman) 
14. As Good As It Gets (James L. Brooks) 
15. Critical Care (Sidney Lumet) 
16. The Rainmaker (Francis Ford Coppola) 
17. The Full Monty (Peter Cattaneo) 
18. The Quiet Room (Rolf de Heer) 
19. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson) 
20. Paperback Romance (Ben Lewin)

FRENCH-LANGUAGE

01. La Promesse (Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne)
02. My Sex Life or: How I Got Into an Argument (Arnaud Desplechin)
03. Ponette (Jacques Doillon)
04. To Have (or Not) (Laetitia Masson)
05. A Self-Made Hero (Jacques Audiard)
06. Ma Vie en Rose (Alain Berliner)
07. Nénette et Boni (Claire Denis)
08. Mon Homme (Bertrand Blier)
09. Capitaine Conan (Bertrand Tavernier)
10a. Beaumarchais the Scoundrel (Edouard Molinaro)
10b. Will It Snow for Christmas? (Sandrine Veysett)

OTHER-LANGUAGE

01. Kolya (Jan Sverak)
02. Shall We Dance? (Masayuki Suo)
03. Gabbeh (Moshen Makhmalbaf)
04. Fire (Deepa Mehta)
05. Temptress Moon (Chen Kaige)
06. Prisoner of the Mountain (Sergei Bodov)
07. Deep Crimson (Arturo Ripstein)
08. Underground (Emir Kusturicka)
09. Happy Together (Wong Kar-Wai)
10. Ulysses Gaze (Theo Angelopoulos)

NONFICTION

01. Riding the Rails (Michael Uys and Lexy Lovell)
02. Gray's Anatomy (Steven Soderbergh)
03. Fast, Cheap & Out of Control (Errol Morris)
04. Suzanne Farrell: Elusive Muse (Anne Belle and Deborah Dickson)
05. Family Name (Macky Alston)

 

1998

(New York Observer) 

contributed by Jeff Anderson

 ENGLISH-LANGUAGE

01. A Simple Plan (Sam Raimi)
02. Out of Sight (Steven Soderbergh)
03. Mrs. Dalloway (Marleen Gorris)
04. Living Out Loud (Richard LaGravenese)
05. The Opposite of Sex (Don Roos)
06. Shakespeare in Love (John Madden)
07. Return to Paradise (Joseph Ruben)
08. Slam (Marc Levin)
09. Clockwatchers (Jill Sprecher)
10. There's Something About Mary (Bobby Farrelly/Peter Farrelly)

FOREIGN-LANGUAGE

Un Air de Famille (Cedric Klapisch)
The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf)
The Celebration (Thomas Vinterberg)
Central Station (Walter Salles)
The Chambermaid on the Titanic (J.J. Bigas Luna)
Character (Mike van Diem)
La Désenchantée (Benoit Jacquot)
The Eel (Shohei Imamura)
Fallen Angels (Wong Kar-wai)
A Friend of the Deceased (Vyacheslav Krishtofovich)
Gadjo Dilo (Tony Gatlif)
Hana-Bi (Takeshi Kitano)
The Inheritors (Stefan Ruzowitzky)
Insomnia (Erik Skjoldbjaerg)
Life Is Beautiful (Roberto Benigni)
Men With Guns (John Sayles)
The Mirror (Jafar Panahi)
Post Coitum (Brigitte Rouan)
La Séparation (Christian Vincent)
Seventh Heaven (Benoit Jacquot)
Shattered Image (Raul Ruiz)
Sonatine (Takeshi Kitano)
The Swindle (Claude Chabrol)
The Thief (Pavel Chukhraj)
Voyage to the Beginning of the World (Manoel de Oliveira)

NONFICTION

Antonio Gaudí (Hiroshi Teshigahara)
Arguing the World (Joseph Dorman)
Ayn Rand, A Sense of Life (Michael Paxton)
The Big One (Michael Moore)
Dont Look Back (D.A. Pennebaker)
The Farm: Angola, U.S.A. (Liz Garbus, Wilbert Rideau, Jonathan Stack)
Frank Lloyd Wright (Ken Burns, Lynn Novick)
Healing by Killing (Nitzan Aviram)
Moon Over Broadway (D.A. Pennebaker, Chris Hegedus)
The Saltmen of Tibet (Ulrike Koch)