'Vertigo' Tops New Sight and Sound Top 50 List; '2001: A Space Odyssey' Most Recent in Top Ten

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• Anne Thompson | August 2, 2012 1:15 PMReply

  I have seen everything on the list except the following: Yasujiro's 'Late Spring,' all three of the Tarkovsky films, Dreyer's 'Ordet' and 'Gertrud,' Chantal Akerman's 'Jeanne Dielman,' Bela Tarr's 'Satantango' and Kiarostami's 'Close-up.' Firing up my Netflix queue.

• Knative | August 2, 2012 5:00 AMReply

  There are lots of movies people consider masterpieces post-1970s: Pulp Fiction, Fargo, Schindler's List, Brazil, Blade Runner, There Will Be Blood, Pan's Labyrinth, Do The Right Thing, Once Upon a Time in America, Raise The Red Lantern, etc. This list makes cinema seem dead.
  I also think that Cleo from 5 to 7 is as good as any movie, so there is no reason why critics can't at least include that movie in the top ten so that the top ten isn't a complete sausage fest.
  Horror movies don't get enough respect either. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Dawn of the Dead, The Wicker Man, Santa Sangre, Suspiria, Cat People, The Haunting, The Exorcist, Eyes Without a Face are all great movies and classics too.

• Anne Thompson | August 2, 2012 1:32 AMReply

  For Ford, I'd go with "Stagecoach," which was so influential, or "Rio Grande" and "My Darling Clementine." While "The Searchers" is getting dated, with funny bits that fall flat and some hammy acting, John Wayne's obsessive quest and battle between his racist rage and love for Natalie Wood is great stuff. Ford and Kurosawa both have more top films than anyone else, in my view.
  
  Also, the list is so dour and grim and historic...worthy films, but Bergman and Hawks are examples of directors who should not be losing stature over time, but are. And where are the comedies? Billy Wilder's Some Like It Hot squeaks in, as well as the silent comedians Chaplin, Keaton and Tati. But still. Lighten up a tad.

• Joe Beatty | August 1, 2012 11:49 PMReply

  Overall, this is a good list. However, like all lists, this one has its good and bad points. I am very glad to see Hitchcock getting his due from the critics. However, I think Bergman should have done better, and a film of his should have appeared in the top ten. I would rank "Persona" higher than number 17. Moreover, I predict that "The Searchers" will fade in the coming years. I would remove it from the top ten, and replace it with a Bergman film such as "Persona."