The British magazine Sight & Sound has been asking hundreds of filmmakers andcritics every ten years for seventy years what the best film of all time is.This year it’s that time again, with a striking winner.
With dozens of streaming services at your disposal and thousands of films, thechoice is overwhelming real. Fortunately, the internet is full of lists ofthe best movies by genre, streaming service or by a specific filmmaker. Forexample, we recently listed the best war films on HBO Max, Netflix and Disney+ for you.
Prestigious list of best movies ever
But then again, what does ranking based on IMDb scores really say? That shouldbe better, more serious, even more scientific. Welcome to the pinnacle ofmovie lists: the British film magazine’s prestigious survey Sight & Sound.
Since 1952, they have been asking hundreds of critics, directors and writersabout the best films ever made. They do not do this weekly, monthly orannually, but only every ten years. So a special moment. And if you add tenyears to 1952 each time, you automatically end up in 2022.
Seventy years of winners
When Sight & Sound for the first time held the survey, in 1952, Vittorio deSica’s came Bicycle Thieves out as the best movie of all time. A 1948Italian drama film set during the Great Depression.
Ten years later what Citizen Kane from Orson Welles the big winner. A filmclassic that has topped the prestigious list every ten years since then. Againand again, hundreds of respondents voted the drama film first.
Until 2012. Then became Vertigo voted the greatest movie ever made. A 1958thriller by Alfred Hitchcock about a police detective who becomes completelycaptivated by the woman he has to shadow.
Vertigo(Image: Paramount Pictures)
2022 will deliver a striking newcomer
However, the film classic was only able to sit on the throne for ten years.This year early Sight & Sound for the eighth time to hundreds of filmmakersand critics what they thought were the best films of all time, and this time asurprise winner emerged: the Belgian feature film Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai duCommerce, 1080 Bruxelle s.
That is a French-language drama film from 1975, directed by Chantal Akerman.The film follows Jeanne Dielman, a young widow who lives in a flat with herson Sylvain. Her life is dominated by a strict pattern: while her son is atschool, she takes care of their apartment every day in the same oppressiveroutine way. In addition, however, Dielman has a second life: she alsoreceives customers in her flat who come by for paid love, as the synopsis ofthe film so kindly summarizes.
Magnificent epic
“A magnificent epic of experimental cinema that offers a feminist take onrecurring events in everyday life,” concludes the British film magazine. Youcan check out the complete top 100, including movie descriptions and otherinformation, on the official website of Sight & Sound.
Stream the best movie of all time
And the best movie of all time? Unfortunately, it cannot be found on a’normal’ streaming service at the time of writing. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quaidu Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles however, you can rent it for a few euros onMyLum, a special streaming service for European series and films.