Canonical List

🎬Sight & Sound — Directors' Poll 2022

The world's leading directors' all-time greatest. Distinct from the critics' choices — heavier on form-defining masterpieces.

88 matched films

#1
2001: A Space Odyssey

2001: A Space Odyssey

19688.3

Stanley Kubrick

AdventureSci-FiAuteur
8.3
#2
Citizen Kane

Citizen Kane

19418.2

Orson Welles

DramaMystery
8.2
#3
The Godfather

The Godfather

19729.2

Francis Ford Coppola

CrimeDramaAuteur
9.2
#4
Tokyo Story

Tokyo Story

Tôkyô monogatari

19538.1

Yasujirô Ozu

Drama
8.1
#6
8½

8½

19638.0

Federico Fellini

DramaAuteur
8.0
#6
Vertigo

Vertigo

19588.2

Alfred Hitchcock

MysteryRomanceThriller
8.2
#8
Mirror

Mirror

Zerkalo

19757.9

Andrei Tarkovsky

BiographyDramaAuteur
7.9
#9
Persona

Persona

19668.0

Ingmar Bergman

DramaThrillerAuteur
8.0
#9
Close-Up

Close-Up

Nema-ye nazdik

19908.2

Abbas Kiarostami

BiographyCrimeDramaAuteur
8.2
#9
In the Mood for Love

In the Mood for Love

Fa yeung nin wah

20008.0

Wong Kar-Wai

DramaRomanceAuteur
8.0
#12
Barry Lyndon

Barry Lyndon

19758.1

Stanley Kubrick

AdventureDramaWarAuteur
8.1
#12
Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver

19768.2

Martin Scorsese

CrimeDramaAuteur
8.2
#14
Stalker

Stalker

19798.0

Andrei Tarkovsky

DramaSci-FiAuteur
8.0
#14
Breathless

Breathless

À bout de souffle

19607.6

Jean-Luc Godard

CrimeDramaAuteur
7.6
#14
Seven Samurai

Seven Samurai

Shichinin no samurai

19548.6

Akira Kurosawa

ActionDramaAuteur
8.6
#18
A Woman Under the Influence

A Woman Under the Influence

19748.0

John Cassavetes

DramaRomance
8.0
#18
Apocalypse Now

Apocalypse Now

19798.4

Francis Ford Coppola

DramaMysteryWarAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
8.4
#20
Rashomon

Rashomon

Rashômon

19508.1

Akira Kurosawa

CrimeDramaMysteryAuteur
8.1
#20
Bicycle Thieves

Bicycle Thieves

Ladri di biciclette

19488.2

Vittorio De Sica

DramaAuteur
8.2
#22
Raging Bull

Raging Bull

19808.1

Martin Scorsese

BiographyDramaSportAuteur
8.1
#22
The Battle of Algiers

The Battle of Algiers

La battaglia di Algeri

19668.1

Gillo Pontecorvo

DramaWar
8.1
#22
Pather Panchali

Pather Panchali

19558.2

Satyajit Ray

DramaHistoryAuteur
8.2
#22
Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Drive

Mulholland Dr.

20017.9

David Lynch

DramaMysteryThrillerAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
7.9
#26
The Godfather Part II

The Godfather Part II

19749.0

Francis Ford Coppola

CrimeDramaAuteur
9.0
#26
Andrei Rublev

Andrei Rublev

Andrey Rublyov

19668.0

Andrei Tarkovsky

BiographyDramaHistoryAuteur
8.0
#28
GoodFellas

GoodFellas

19908.7

Martin Scorsese

BiographyCrimeDramaAuteur
Prime
Prime
8.7
#29
Do the Right Thing

Do the Right Thing

19897.9

Spike Lee

ComedyDramaAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
7.9
#30
Ordet

Ordet

19558.2

Carl Theodor Dreyer

DramaAuteur
8.2
#30
The Passion of Joan of Arc

The Passion of Joan of Arc

La passion de Jeanne d'Arc

19288.1

Carl Theodor Dreyer

BiographyDramaHistoryAuteur
8.1
#30
Man with a Movie Camera

Man with a Movie Camera

Chelovek s kino-apparatom

19298.3

Dziga Vertov

Documentary
8.3
#33
The 400 Blows

The 400 Blows

Les quatre cents coups

19598.0

François Truffaut

CrimeDramaAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
8.0
#33
Sunrise

Sunrise

Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

19278.1

F.W. Murnau

DramaRomance
8.1
#35
La Dolce Vita

La Dolce Vita

La dolce vita

19608.0

Federico Fellini

ComedyDramaAuteur
8.0
#37
Au hasard Balthazar

Au hasard Balthazar

19667.7

Robert Bresson

DramaAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
7.7
#38
La Strada

La Strada

La strada

19548.0

Federico Fellini

DramaAuteur
8.0
#38
L'Avventura

L'Avventura

L'avventura

19607.7

Michelangelo Antonioni

DramaMysteryRomanceAuteur
7.7
#38
The Rules of the Game

The Rules of the Game

La règle du jeu

19397.9

Jean Renoir

ComedyDrama
7.9
#41
Come and See

Come and See

Idi i smotri

19858.3

Elem Klimov

DramaThrillerWarAuteur
8.3
#41
Vagabond

Vagabond

Sans toit ni loi

19857.6

Agnès Varda

DramaAuteur
7.6
#41
A Man Escaped

A Man Escaped

Un condamné à mort s'est échappé ou Le vent souffle où il veut

19568.1

Robert Bresson

DramaThrillerWarAuteur
8.1
#41
The Night of the Hunter

The Night of the Hunter

19558.0
CrimeDramaThriller
8.0
#46
Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

19648.3

Stanley Kubrick

ComedyWarAuteur
8.3
#46
Once Upon a Time in the West

Once Upon a Time in the West

C'era una volta il West

19688.5

Sergio Leone

DramaWestern
8.5
#46
Vivre sa vie

Vivre sa vie

Vivre sa vie: Film en douze tableaux

19627.8

Jean-Luc Godard

DramaAuteur
7.8
#46
L'Atalante

L'Atalante

19347.7

Jean Vigo

AdventureDramaRomance
7.7
#46
Psycho

Psycho

19608.5

Alfred Hitchcock

DramaHorrorMystery
8.5
#52
Viridiana

Viridiana

19618.0

Luis Buñuel

DramaAuteur
8.0
#52
La Notte

La Notte

La notte

19617.9

Michelangelo Antonioni

DramaAuteur
7.9
#52
Fanny and Alexander

Fanny and Alexander

Fanny och Alexander

19828.1

Ingmar Bergman

DramaAuteur
8.1
#52
The Mother and the Whore

The Mother and the Whore

La maman et la putain

19737.7

Jean Eustache

DramaRomance
7.7
#52
Fear Eats the Soul

Fear Eats the Soul

Angst essen Seele auf

19748.0

Rainer Werner Fassbinder

DramaRomanceAuteur
8.0
#52
The Piano

The Piano

19937.5

Jane Campion

DramaMusicRomance
Max
Max
7.5
#52
City Lights

City Lights

19318.5

Charles Chaplin

ComedyDramaRomance
Max
Max
8.5
#52
Cleo from 5 to 7

Cleo from 5 to 7

Cléo de 5 à 7

19627.8

Agnès Varda

ComedyDramaMusicAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
7.8
#52
Singin' in the Rain

Singin' in the Rain

19528.3

Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

ComedyMusicalRomance
8.3
#62
Lawrence of Arabia

Lawrence of Arabia

19628.3

David Lean

AdventureBiographyDrama
MUBI
MUBI
8.3
#62
Jaws

Jaws

19758.1

Steven Spielberg

AdventureHorrorThriller
8.1
#62
Satantango

Satantango

Sátántangó

19948.2

Béla Tarr

DramaAuteur
8.2
#62
Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Boulevard

Sunset Blvd.

19508.4

Billy Wilder

DramaFilm-Noir
8.4
#62
Blade Runner

Blade Runner

19828.1

Ridley Scott

ActionDramaSci-FiAuteur
PrimeMax
PrimeMax
8.1
#62
Some Like It Hot

Some Like It Hot

19598.2

Billy Wilder

ComedyMusicRomance
Prime
Prime
8.2
#62
Late Spring

Late Spring

Banshun

19498.2

Yasujirô Ozu

ComedyDrama
8.2
#72
Kes

Kes

19697.9

Ken Loach

DramaFamilyAuteur
7.9
#72
A Separation

A Separation

Jodaeiye Nader az Simin

20118.3

Asghar Farhadi

DramaAuteur
Max
Max
8.3
#72
The Conversation

The Conversation

19747.7

Francis Ford Coppola

DramaMysteryThrillerAuteur
7.7
#72
Where Is the Friend's House?

Where Is the Friend's House?

Khane-ye doust kodjast?

19878.1

Abbas Kiarostami

AdventureDramaFamilyAuteur
8.1
#72
Ikiru

Ikiru

19528.3

Akira Kurosawa

DramaAuteur
8.3
#72
Chinatown

Chinatown

19748.1

Roman Polanski

DramaMysteryThriller
8.1
#72
The Seventh Seal

The Seventh Seal

Det sjunde inseglet

19578.1

Ingmar Bergman

DramaFantasyAuteur
8.1
#72
The Ascent

The Ascent

Voskhozhdenie

19778.2

Larisa Shepitko

DramaWar
8.2
#72
Wild Strawberries

Wild Strawberries

Smultronstället

19578.1

Ingmar Bergman

DramaRomanceAuteur
8.1
#72
Blue Velvet

Blue Velvet

19867.7

David Lynch

CrimeDramaMysteryAuteur
MUBI
MUBI
7.7
#72
The Spirit of the Beehive

The Spirit of the Beehive

El espíritu de la colmena

19737.7

Víctor Erice

DramaFantasy
7.7
#72
A Brighter Summer Day

A Brighter Summer Day

Guling jie shaonian sharen shijian

19918.2

Edward Yang

CrimeDramaRomanceAuteur
8.2
#72
Modern Times

Modern Times

19368.5

Charles Chaplin

ComedyDramaRomance
Max
Max
8.5
#72
The Red Shoes

The Red Shoes

19488.1

Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

DramaMusicRomance
8.1
#72
Sans Soleil

Sans Soleil

Sans soleil

19837.7

Chris Marker

DocumentaryDrama
MUBI
MUBI
7.7
#72
Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles

19757.5

Chantal Akerman

DramaAuteur
7.5
#72
Shoah

Shoah

19858.7

Claude Lanzmann

DocumentaryHistoryWar
8.7
#72
Mister Roberts

Mister Roberts

19557.6

John Ford, Mervyn LeRoy, Joshua Logan

ComedyDramaWar
7.6
#93
Throne of Blood

Throne of Blood

Kumonosu-jô

19578.0

Akira Kurosawa

DramaAuteur
8.0
#93
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

20048.3

Michel Gondry

DramaRomanceSci-Fi
Prime
Prime
8.3
#93
Taste of Cherry

Taste of Cherry

Ta'm e guilass

19977.7

Abbas Kiarostami

DramaAuteur
7.7
#93
Pickpocket

Pickpocket

19597.5

Robert Bresson

CrimeDramaAuteur
7.5
#93
The Conformist

The Conformist

Il conformista

19707.9

Bernardo Bertolucci

Drama
7.9
#93
Parasite

Parasite

Gisaengchung

20198.5

Bong Joon Ho

DramaThrillerAuteur
8.5
#93
Yi Yi

Yi Yi

Yi yi

20008.1

Edward Yang

DramaAuteur
8.1
#93
Battleship Potemkin

Battleship Potemkin

Bronenosets Potyomkin

19257.9

Sergei Eisenstein

DramaHistoryThrillerAuteur
7.9