History of Movies
My Library

Jonathan Rosenbaum's Essential Cinema, Ranked

When the AFI published its crowd-pleasing 100, Jonathan Rosenbaum answered with a deliberately global alternative: the 1,000 essential films appended to his book Essential Cinema (2004), unranked and unapologetically personal. Here is his canon ranked by our composite score across 20+ lists, awards and polls.

909 films from this list are in our library; the top 100 by composite score are shown — the ranking is ours, not the list's own order.

  1. 1
    Citizen Kane1941 · Orson Welles · United States · drama, biography, mystery
    9.21

    AFI 100 (2007) #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #2 · AFI 100 (1998) #1

  2. 2
    2001: A Space Odyssey1968 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · adventure, mystery, sci-fi
    7.43

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #6 · AFI 100 (2007) #15

  3. 3
    Apocalypse Now1979 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · war, action, drama
    6.84

    Palme d'Or winner 1979 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #18 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #19

  4. 4
    The Third Man1949 · Carol Reed · United Kingdom · film-noir, mystery, drama
    6.08

    BFI Top 100 British films #1 · Palme d'Or winner 1949 · Cannes Grand Prix winner 1949

  5. 5
    All About Eve1950 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · United States · drama, comedy
    5.87

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1950 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1951 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #1

  6. 6
    Annie Hall1977 · Woody Allen · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    5.55

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1977 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1978 · Siskel's annual top 10 1977 #1

  7. 7
    Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles1975 · Chantal Akerman · Belgium / France · drama
    5.26

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #4 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1978 #1

  8. 8
    12 Angry Men1957 · Sidney Lumet · United States · drama
    5.25

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1957 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1959 #1 · Letterboxd Top 250 #3

  9. 9
    Vertigo1958 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · mystery, thriller, drama
    5.16

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #6 · AFI 100 (2007) #9

  10. 10
    In the Mood for Love2000 · Wong Kar-wai · Hong Kong, China / France / Thailand · romance, drama
    5.13

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #5 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #9

  11. 11
    Tokyo Story1953 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
    4.91

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #4 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1953 #2

  12. 12
    Bicycle Thieves1948 · Vittorio De Sica · Italy · drama
    4.78

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1950 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1950 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #20

  13. 13
    Mulholland Drive2001 · David Lynch · United States · mystery, thriller, crime
    4.61

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2001 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2001 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #8

  14. 14
    8½1963 · Federico Fellini · Italy / France · comedy, drama, fantasy
    4.58

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #6 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1965 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #31

  15. 15
    Sunset Boulevard1950 · Billy Wilder · United States · drama, film-noir
    4.54

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · AFI 100 (2007) #16

  16. 16
    Do the Right Thing1989 · Spike Lee · United States · comedy, drama
    4.39

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1989 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #24 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #29

  17. 17
    The Best Years of Our Lives1946 · William Wyler · United States · war, drama
    4.31

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1946 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1948 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1948 #2

  18. 18
    Singin' in the Rain1952 · Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen · United States · comedy, romance, musical
    4.30

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #10 · AFI 100 (2007) #5 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52

  19. 19
    Brief Encounter1945 · David Lean · United Kingdom · romance, drama
    4.30

    Palme d'Or winner 1946 · BFI Top 100 British films #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1948 #3

  20. 20
    Persona1966 · Ingmar Bergman · Sweden · drama
    4.29

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1967 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #9 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #18

  21. 21
    Ordet1955 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · Denmark · drama
    4.06

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1955 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1955 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #30

  22. 22
    The 400 Blows1959 · François Truffaut · France · drama, crime
    4.04

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #33 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #50 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1959 #5

  23. 23
    Taste of Cherry1997 · Abbas Kiarostami · Iran · drama
    4.03

    Palme d'Or winner 1997 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #93 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243

  24. 24
    Psycho1960 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · thriller, horror, mystery
    4.01

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #31 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #46 · AFI 100 (2007) #14

  25. 25
    Breathless1960 · Jean-Luc Godard · France · drama, crime
    3.95

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #38 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1960 #3

  26. 26
    Barry Lyndon1975 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · drama, war, adventure
    3.95

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #12 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #45 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975

  27. 27
    The Last Emperor1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci · China / France / United Kingdom · drama, biography
    3.94

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1987 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1989 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #1

  28. 28
    Bonnie and Clyde1967 · Arthur Penn · United States · drama, crime, biography
    3.82

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1968 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1967 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1967

  29. 29
    Ikiru1952 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama
    3.78

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1952 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157

  30. 30
    Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans1927 · F. W. Murnau · United States · drama, silent, romance
    3.77

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #11 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #33

  31. 31
    The Conversation1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · thriller, drama, mystery
    3.76

    Palme d'Or winner 1974 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1974

  32. 32
    The Wages of Fear1953 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · France / Italy · drama, adventure
    3.63

    Palme d'Or winner 1953 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1955 · Berlin Golden Bear winner 1953

  33. 33
    Viridiana1961 · Luis Buñuel · Mexico / Spain · comedy, drama
    3.59

    Palme d'Or winner 1961 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1962 #4

  34. 34
    Yi Yi2000 · Edward Yang · Taiwan, China / Japan · drama
    3.56

    Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 2000 #1 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #8

  35. 35
    The Thin Red Line1998 · Terrence Malick · United States · war, drama
    3.46

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1999 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1999 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1998

  36. 36
    The Red Shoes1948 · Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell · United Kingdom · romance, drama, musical
    3.41

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #67 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · BFI Top 100 British films #9

  37. 37
    City Lights1931 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    3.40

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #36 · AFI 100 (2007) #11 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52

  38. 38
    A Man Escaped1956 · Robert Bresson · France · drama, documentary, war
    3.35

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1956 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #41 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #95

  39. 39
    L'Avventura1960 · Michelangelo Antonioni · France / Italy · drama
    3.35

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1960 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #38 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #72

  40. 40
    Au Hasard Balthazar1966 · Robert Bresson · Sweden / France · drama, crime
    3.29

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1966 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #25 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #37

  41. 41
    All That Jazz1979 · Bob Fosse · United States · musical, drama, biography
    3.28

    Palme d'Or winner 1980 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #8

  42. 42
    All Quiet on the Western Front1930 · Lewis Milestone · United States · war, drama
    3.26

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1929 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1930 #1 · AFI 100 (1998) #54

  43. 43
    Beau Travail1999 · Claire Denis · France · drama
    3.23

    Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #7 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14

  44. 44
    Ugetsu1953 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · fantasy, drama
    3.22

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1959 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1953 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #90

  45. 45
    The Searchers1956 · John Ford · United States · western, drama, war
    3.22

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #15 · AFI 100 (2007) #12 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72

  46. 46
    Shoah1985 · Claude Lanzmann · France · documentary
    3.18

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #27 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1985 #1 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1989 #1

  47. 47
    The Wizard of Oz1939 · Victor Fleming, King Vidor · United States · fantasy, musical, adventure
    3.17

    AFI 100 (2007) #10 · AFI 100 (1998) #6 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1939

  48. 48
    Underground1995 · Emir Kusturica · France / Germany / Bulgaria · comedy, drama, war
    3.13

    Palme d'Or winner 1995 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1996 #3 · Kehr's annual top 10 1995 #2

  49. 49
    Vagabond1985 · Agnès Varda · France · drama
    3.12

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1985 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #41 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #101

  50. 50
    Double Indemnity1944 · Billy Wilder · United States · crime, film-noir, drama
    3.11

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1944 · AFI 100 (2007) #29 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #196

  51. 51
    Late Spring1949 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
    3.08

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1949 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #21 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62

  52. 52
    Close-Up1990 · Abbas Kiarostami · Iran / France · documentary
    3.01

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #9 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #17 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1991 #5

  53. 53
    Stranger Than Paradise1984 · Jim Jarmusch · United States / Germany · drama, comedy
    3.00

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1986 #1 · Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1984 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1984 #3

  54. 54
    Contempt1963 · Jean-Luc Godard · France / Italy · drama
    3.00

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1963 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #46 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54

  55. 55
    Sansho the Bailiff1954 · Kenji Mizoguchi · Japan · drama
    3.00

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1960 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #75 · Sarris's annual top 10 1969 #2

  56. 56
    Modern Times1936 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    2.97

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #78 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1938 #4

  57. 57
    The Leopard1963 · Luchino Visconti · France / Italy · drama
    2.94

    Palme d'Or winner 1963 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #90 · Vatican film list

  58. 58
    Atlantic City1980 · Louis Malle · Canada / United States / France · romance, drama, crime
    2.92

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1980 · Sarris's annual top 10 1981 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1981

  59. 59
    Last Year at Marienbad1961 · Alain Resnais · France / Italy / Germany · drama
    2.91

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1961 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1964 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #169

  60. 60
    A Brighter Summer Day1991 · Edward Yang · Taiwan, China · drama
    2.89

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1992 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #78

  61. 61
    Red Desert1964 · Michelangelo Antonioni · France / Italy · drama, romance
    2.83

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1964 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #169 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1964 #6

  62. 62
    L'Argent1983 · Robert Bresson · France · drama, crime
    2.83

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1983 #1 · Kehr's annual top 10 1984 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72

  63. 63
    Belle de Jour1967 · Luis Buñuel · France / Italy · drama
    2.82

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1967 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1967 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 1968 #1

  64. 64
    Rear Window1954 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · crime, mystery, thriller
    2.79

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #38 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1955 #5 · AFI 100 (2007) #48

  65. 65
    A City of Sadness1989 · Hou Hsiao-Hsien · Taiwan, China · drama
    2.77

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1990 #1 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1989 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157

  66. 66
    Love Streams1984 · John Cassavetes · United States · drama
    2.77

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1984 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1985 #5

  67. 67
    The Hustler1961 · Robert Rossen · United States · drama
    2.72

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1962 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1961 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1962 #9

  68. 68
    La Belle Noiseuse1991 · Jacques Rivette · France / Switzerland · drama
    2.67

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1992 #1 · Cannes Grand Prix winner 1991 · Kehr's annual top 10 1992 #2

  69. 69
    A Woman Under the Influence1974 · John Cassavetes · United States · drama
    2.65

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #18 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #114 · Kehr's annual top 10 1975 #3

  70. 70
    The Passion of Joan of Arc1928 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · France · drama, silent
    2.62

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #21 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #30 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #7

  71. 71
    The Mother and the Whore1973 · Jean Eustache · France · comedy, drama
    2.58

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1973 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #104

  72. 72
    The Gold Rush1925 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · silent, comedy, romance
    2.55

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1926 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #58 · AFI 100 (1998) #74

  73. 73
    The Night of the Hunter1955 · Charles Laughton · United States · film-noir, thriller, crime
    2.54

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #25 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #41 · Empire 500 (2008) #71

  74. 74
    La Grande Illusion1937 · Jean Renoir · France · drama
    2.53

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1949 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1938 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #146

  75. 75
    Blade Runner1982 · Ridley Scott · United States / Hong Kong, China · thriller, film-noir, sci-fi
    2.51

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · Empire 500 (2008) #20

  76. 76
    The Grapes of Wrath1940 · John Ford · United States · drama
    2.47

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1962 #3 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1940 · AFI 100 (2007) #23

  77. 77
    The Great Dictator1940 · Charlie Chaplin · United States · comedy, drama, war
    2.46

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1960 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1940 · National Film Registry (inducted 1997)

  78. 78
    Stalker1979 · Andrei Tarkovsky · Soviet Union · sci-fi, drama
    2.42

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #43 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1981 #7

  79. 79
    Touch of Evil1958 · Orson Welles · United States · crime, drama, film-noir
    2.41

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1958 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #108 · National Film Registry (inducted 1993)

  80. 80
    The Rules of the Game1939 · Jean Renoir · France · drama, romance
    2.38

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #13 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #38 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films

  81. 81
    Rebecca1940 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · mystery, drama, romance
    2.35

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1940 · National Film Registry (inducted 2018) · Empire 500 (2008) #318

  82. 82
    Othello1951 · Orson Welles · United States · drama
    2.33

    Palme d'Or winner 1952 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1987 #3 · NYT Best 1,000 Movies

  83. 83
    Hiroshima mon amour1959 · Alain Resnais · France / Japan · drama, romance
    2.31

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1959 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 1960 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #169

  84. 84
    Andrei Rublev1966 · Andrei Tarkovsky · Soviet Union · biography
    2.30

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #26 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #67 · Empire 500 (2008) #36

  85. 85
    The Wild Bunch1969 · Sam Peckinpah · United States · crime, western
    2.30

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #136 · AFI 100 (2007) #79 · AFI 100 (1998) #80

  86. 86
    Playtime1967 · Jacques Tati · France / Italy · comedy, drama
    2.28

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #23 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #41 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1967 #5

  87. 87
    Elephant2003 · Gus Van Sant · United States · drama, thriller
    2.26

    Palme d'Or winner 2003 · Film Comment year-end poll 2003 #3 · Hoberman's annual top 10 2003 #9

  88. 88
    Children of Paradise1945 · Marcel Carné · France · romance, drama
    2.19

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1952 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #136 · TIME All-TIME 100

  89. 89
    Metropolis1927 · Fritz Lang · Weimar Republic · silent, drama, sci-fi
    2.18

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #67 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1929 #4 · TIME All-TIME 100

  90. 90
    Paisà1946 · Roberto Rossellini · Italy · drama, war
    2.17

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1949 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #196 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films

  91. 91
    My Darling Clementine1946 · John Ford · United States · western, drama
    2.17

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1947 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243 · National Film Registry (inducted 1991)

  92. 92
    Distant Voices, Still Lives1988 · Terence Davies · United Kingdom · drama
    2.17

    Locarno Golden Leopard winner 1988 · Kehr's annual top 10 1989 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243

  93. 93
    North by Northwest1959 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · crime, thriller, mystery
    2.15

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #45 · AFI 100 (2007) #55 · AFI 100 (1998) #40

  94. 94
    Rosetta1999 · Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne · Belgium / France · drama
    2.14

    Palme d'Or winner 1999 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1999 #4 · Criterion Collection spine #621

  95. 95
    Man with a Movie Camera1929 · Dziga Vertov · Soviet Union · documentary, silent
    2.13

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #9 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #30 · TIME All-TIME 100

  96. 96
    Gloria1980 · John Cassavetes · United States · crime, drama
    2.12

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1980 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #5 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1981 #10

  97. 97
    The Maltese Falcon1941 · John Huston · United States · crime, mystery, film-noir
    2.11

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1941 · AFI 100 (2007) #31 · AFI 100 (1998) #23

  98. 98
    Full Metal Jacket1987 · Stanley Kubrick · United Kingdom / United States · war, drama
    2.06

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #2 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1987 #6 · Siskel's annual top 10 1987 #2

  99. 99
    My American Uncle1980 · Alain Resnais · France · drama
    2.06

    Cannes Grand Prix winner 1980 · TIME All-TIME 100 · Sarris's annual top 10 1980 #3

  100. 100
    Bande à part1964 · Jean-Luc Godard · France · crime, romance, drama
    2.05

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1964 #1 · TIME All-TIME 100 · Scorsese's 39 essential foreign films

Jonathan Rosenbaum spent his career arguing that the movies most people agree on are rarely the ones that matter most. Born in Florence, Alabama in 1943 — the grandson of a small-town theater owner — he became head film critic of the Chicago Reader in 1987, succeeding Dave Kehr, and held the post until 2008. From that perch he wrote as a globalist and a contrarian, championing the international and the barely-distributed: the sort of films that never reach an American multiplex and rarely trouble a popularity poll.

The counter-canon

Essential Cinema (2004), whose full title promises an argument about "the necessity of film canons," is his answer to a question the American Film Institute had already answered badly. When the AFI unveiled its crowd-pleasing hundred greatest American movies in 1998, Rosenbaum published a rival list — deliberately more diverse, more independent, and pointedly stocked with names the AFI had ignored, among them John Cassavetes and Jim Jarmusch. The book extends that quarrel to a global scale: roughly a thousand titles from every filmmaking nation, unranked, with a hundred starred as the ones he loved most. It is a canon built to correct a canon, and our library carries 909 of its films.

How to read our list

The order here is ours, never Rosenbaum's. Every title qualifies by appearing among his thousand; where it lands is fixed by our composite score across 20-plus lists, awards and polls. So the sequence measures accumulated consensus — precisely the thing his book set out to distrust — and the friction between the two is what makes the page worth reading.

At the top, counter-canon and consensus simply agree. Citizen Kane (1941) leads his picks at composite rank #2, trailed by Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) at #3 and The Third Man (1949) at #9 — pillars so solid that even a professional contrarian keeps them. The argument lives lower down, where Rosenbaum's real heresies sit. Spike Lee's Do the Right Thing (1989) lands at #35, Abbas Kiarostami's Taste of Cherry (1997) at #57, Emir Kusturica's Underground (1995) at #138, Agnès Varda's Vagabond (1985) at #141, and Claude Lanzmann's nine-hour Shoah (1985) at #132 — while Chantal Akerman's three-hour Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975), once the plainest heresy of them all, has since been ratified all the way to #17. These are the structural, documentary and marginal works a consensus score always undervalues — and exactly the ones Rosenbaum put his name behind. The distance between Citizen Kane near the top and Shoah far below it is the distance between what the wider canon has ratified and what one critic insisted we were missing.