The 21st Century's Most Acclaimed Films: Introduction, Films (250-151), Films (150-51), Films (50-1), Full List (Sortable Table), Full List (Ranking History), Ex-Top 250 Films, Alternative Titles, Sources/Critics, Top 50 Directors, Links
INTRODUCTIONBy Bill Georgaris
Welcome to TSPDT’s sixth edition of the 21st Century’s Most Acclaimed Films. For the first time, this year, the list was revealed online gradually throughout February, March and April. Thank you for your positive response to this new approach. My laconically-paced uncovering of these 250 films may have tested your patience at times, but I hope in the end the results were worth the wait.
As most of you would know by now, the 21st Century’s Most Acclaimed Films is an annually-updated compendium of end-of-year, end-of-decade, all-time and miscellaneous lists and ballots. It contains, based on my calculations, the 250 leading films (critically-speaking) from 2000 to 2012. These 250 films were the highest ranked from a starting list of 2,710 contenders.
⊡ Download the list of the 21st Century's most acclaimed 250 films
⊡ Download the starting list of 2,710 films
This year the list has undergone some radical changes, mainly due to the influence of Sight & Sound’s 2012 poll. Films from 2000-2012 that featured in a Sight & Sound ballot (from either a critic or director) have certainly benefitted greatly. A total of 40 films came and went, and from my perspective (in general) the list has improved substantially in terms of quality. Distinctively-talented filmmakers such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Béla Tarr, Michael Haneke, Pedro Costa and Lucrecia Martel(amongst others) were rewarded with many votes in the Sight & Sound poll and that love has been reflected here.
2012 is represented by ten films on the list, with Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty taking home the TSPDT title of the most critically-acclaimed film of the past year, closely followed by Michael Haneke’s Amour and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. From my perspective, the best three ‘new’ films I saw last year were Jafar Panahi’s This is Not a Film, the Dardennes’The Kid with a Bike and Raúl Ruiz’s Mysteries of Lisbon. Three brilliantly conceived and memorable works.
The Mystery of Cross-Pollinating Film Lists or How to Baffle Unsuspecting Cinephiles with One Sharp Paragraph to the Head
It is worth noting that there are now 62 films on the 21st Century list that also appear on the1,000 Greatest Films listing. Which begs the question… Why aren’t these 62 films, simply the films ranked 1 to 62 from the 21st Century list? The answer is simple (my explanation maybe not). Anyway, here goes… The most important fact to remember is that the 21st Century list is compiled and calculated differently to the 1,000 Greatest Films listing. The key difference is that whereas the 21st Century list includes end-of-year lists in its computations, the 1,000 Greatest Films listing does not. This explains, for example, why a film like Far from Heaven (ranked at number 20 on the 21st Century list) is not in the 1,000 Greatest Films listing. Most of Far from Heaven’s votes came from 2002’s end-of-year lists (that have no bearing on the 1,000 Greatest Films calculations), with little action since. On the flipside, La Commune (Paris 1871), for example, is on both lists. La Commune didn’t receive many end-of-year votes (no matter, this had no impact on the 1,000 Greatest Films listing) but faired well in the end-of-decade lists and has featured in some all-time lists since. This has helped films like La Commune make up ground on films like Far from Heaven, and then surpass them. I hope this helps explain why the 110th ranked film on the 21st Century list (La Commune) made the 1,000 Greatest Films cut, whereas the 20th ranked film (Far from Heaven) did not. Baffling? Yes, probably.
⊡ See the 1,000 Greatest Films
I genuinely enjoyed putting together this latest list of the 21st Century’s most acclaimed 250 films, despite the fact that data entry can be a tedious endeavour, and also despite the fact that many of my own personal favourites didn't garner enough points to make the grade. And with that in mind, I’d like to jump on my coffee table, and raise my glass to ten films that should be on the list: The Kid with a Bike (2011), The Beaches of Agnès (2008), Ballast (2008), Bubble (2005), Keane (2004), Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003), Storytelling (2001), The Deep End (2001), The Illusionist (2010), and Tears of the Black Tiger(2000).
Thanks again to everyone who has assisted and/or supported me in this ongoing project to assemble a worthwhile list of worthwhile films.
Begin browsing the 2013 edition of The 21st Century's 250 Most Acclaimed Films.
Directors with the most films in the 21st Century list:
5 - Michael Haneke.
4 - Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Steven Spielberg, Jia Zhangke, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
3 - Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Claire Denis, Clint Eastwood, Peter Jackson, Lucrecia Martel, Christopher Nolan, Jafar Panahi, Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier.
Breakdown of 250 films by Year:
2000 = 28 (no change)
2001 = 28 (+2)
2002 = 31 (+1)
2003 = 24 (-2)
2004 = 24 (-5)
2005 = 14 (-2)
2006 = 19 (-4)
2007 = 16 (no change)
2008 = 16 (-3)
2009 = 11 (no change)
2010 = 15 (no change)
2011 = 14 (+3)
2012 = 10 (+10)
Breakdown of 250 films by Country:
Argentina 4 (+2), Austria 2 (+1), Belgium 2, Brazil 1, Canada 2 (-1), China 4, Denmark 3, Finland 2 (+1), France 40 (+4), Germany 7 (-2), Greece 1, Hong Kong 6 (+1), Hungary 2 (+1), Iran 5 (+1), Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 1 (-1), Japan 3 (-1), Mexico 3, Netherlands 1, Philippines 1, Portugal 3 (+2), Romania 3, Russia 3 (+1), Senegal 1, South Korea 6 (+2), Spain 6 (+1), Sweden 5 (+1), Taiwan 3, Thailand 3 (+2), Turkey 2 (+1), United Kingdom 14 (-8), USA 109 (-8).
Credits; http://www.theyshootpictures.com/21stcentury.htm
Welcome to TSPDT’s sixth edition of the 21st Century’s Most Acclaimed Films. For the first time, this year, the list was revealed online gradually throughout February, March and April. Thank you for your positive response to this new approach. My laconically-paced uncovering of these 250 films may have tested your patience at times, but I hope in the end the results were worth the wait.
As most of you would know by now, the 21st Century’s Most Acclaimed Films is an annually-updated compendium of end-of-year, end-of-decade, all-time and miscellaneous lists and ballots. It contains, based on my calculations, the 250 leading films (critically-speaking) from 2000 to 2012. These 250 films were the highest ranked from a starting list of 2,710 contenders.
⊡ Download the list of the 21st Century's most acclaimed 250 films
⊡ Download the starting list of 2,710 films
This year the list has undergone some radical changes, mainly due to the influence of Sight & Sound’s 2012 poll. Films from 2000-2012 that featured in a Sight & Sound ballot (from either a critic or director) have certainly benefitted greatly. A total of 40 films came and went, and from my perspective (in general) the list has improved substantially in terms of quality. Distinctively-talented filmmakers such as Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Béla Tarr, Michael Haneke, Pedro Costa and Lucrecia Martel(amongst others) were rewarded with many votes in the Sight & Sound poll and that love has been reflected here.
2012 is represented by ten films on the list, with Kathryn Bigelow’s Zero Dark Thirty taking home the TSPDT title of the most critically-acclaimed film of the past year, closely followed by Michael Haneke’s Amour and Paul Thomas Anderson’s The Master. From my perspective, the best three ‘new’ films I saw last year were Jafar Panahi’s This is Not a Film, the Dardennes’The Kid with a Bike and Raúl Ruiz’s Mysteries of Lisbon. Three brilliantly conceived and memorable works.
The Mystery of Cross-Pollinating Film Lists or How to Baffle Unsuspecting Cinephiles with One Sharp Paragraph to the Head
It is worth noting that there are now 62 films on the 21st Century list that also appear on the1,000 Greatest Films listing. Which begs the question… Why aren’t these 62 films, simply the films ranked 1 to 62 from the 21st Century list? The answer is simple (my explanation maybe not). Anyway, here goes… The most important fact to remember is that the 21st Century list is compiled and calculated differently to the 1,000 Greatest Films listing. The key difference is that whereas the 21st Century list includes end-of-year lists in its computations, the 1,000 Greatest Films listing does not. This explains, for example, why a film like Far from Heaven (ranked at number 20 on the 21st Century list) is not in the 1,000 Greatest Films listing. Most of Far from Heaven’s votes came from 2002’s end-of-year lists (that have no bearing on the 1,000 Greatest Films calculations), with little action since. On the flipside, La Commune (Paris 1871), for example, is on both lists. La Commune didn’t receive many end-of-year votes (no matter, this had no impact on the 1,000 Greatest Films listing) but faired well in the end-of-decade lists and has featured in some all-time lists since. This has helped films like La Commune make up ground on films like Far from Heaven, and then surpass them. I hope this helps explain why the 110th ranked film on the 21st Century list (La Commune) made the 1,000 Greatest Films cut, whereas the 20th ranked film (Far from Heaven) did not. Baffling? Yes, probably.
⊡ See the 1,000 Greatest Films
I genuinely enjoyed putting together this latest list of the 21st Century’s most acclaimed 250 films, despite the fact that data entry can be a tedious endeavour, and also despite the fact that many of my own personal favourites didn't garner enough points to make the grade. And with that in mind, I’d like to jump on my coffee table, and raise my glass to ten films that should be on the list: The Kid with a Bike (2011), The Beaches of Agnès (2008), Ballast (2008), Bubble (2005), Keane (2004), Los Angeles Plays Itself (2003), Storytelling (2001), The Deep End (2001), The Illusionist (2010), and Tears of the Black Tiger(2000).
Thanks again to everyone who has assisted and/or supported me in this ongoing project to assemble a worthwhile list of worthwhile films.
Begin browsing the 2013 edition of The 21st Century's 250 Most Acclaimed Films.
Directors with the most films in the 21st Century list:
5 - Michael Haneke.
4 - Quentin Tarantino, Martin Scorsese, Hou Hsiao-hsien, Steven Spielberg, Jia Zhangke, Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, and Apichatpong Weerasethakul.
3 - Pedro Almodóvar, Paul Thomas Anderson, Wes Anderson, Darren Aronofsky, Claire Denis, Clint Eastwood, Peter Jackson, Lucrecia Martel, Christopher Nolan, Jafar Panahi, Alexander Payne, Gus Van Sant, Lars von Trier.
Breakdown of 250 films by Year:
2000 = 28 (no change)
2001 = 28 (+2)
2002 = 31 (+1)
2003 = 24 (-2)
2004 = 24 (-5)
2005 = 14 (-2)
2006 = 19 (-4)
2007 = 16 (no change)
2008 = 16 (-3)
2009 = 11 (no change)
2010 = 15 (no change)
2011 = 14 (+3)
2012 = 10 (+10)
Breakdown of 250 films by Country:
Argentina 4 (+2), Austria 2 (+1), Belgium 2, Brazil 1, Canada 2 (-1), China 4, Denmark 3, Finland 2 (+1), France 40 (+4), Germany 7 (-2), Greece 1, Hong Kong 6 (+1), Hungary 2 (+1), Iran 5 (+1), Ireland 1, Israel 1, Italy 1 (-1), Japan 3 (-1), Mexico 3, Netherlands 1, Philippines 1, Portugal 3 (+2), Romania 3, Russia 3 (+1), Senegal 1, South Korea 6 (+2), Spain 6 (+1), Sweden 5 (+1), Taiwan 3, Thailand 3 (+2), Turkey 2 (+1), United Kingdom 14 (-8), USA 109 (-8).
Credits; http://www.theyshootpictures.com/21stcentury.htm
No comments:
Post a Comment