Top Five (or less)- By Year
By: Ronald
1922
Nosferatu
1924
Greed
Sherlock Jr.
1925
The Goldrush
1927
The General
Sunrise the Song of Two Humans
1928
The Passion of Joan of Arc
1929
Cocoanuts
1930
Animal Crackers
1931
M
City Lights
Frankenstein
Dracula
1932
Freaks
1933
Duck Soup
King Kong
1934
L’Atalante
1935
The Bride of Frankenstein
A Night at the Opera
1936
Modern Times
1938
The Adventures of Robin Hood
Stagecoach
1940
Pinnochio
Fantasia
1941
Citizen Kane
1942
The Magnificent Ambersons
1944
Woman in the Window
1946
Great Expectations
It’s a Wonderful Life
1947
Kiss of Death
Odd Man Out
Miracle on 34th Street
1948
The Fallen Idol
The Treasure of Sierra Madre
The Red Shoes
Rope
1949
The Third Man
White Heat
1950
Rashomon
1951
Early Summer
The Day the Earth Stood Still
The African Queen
The Lavendar Hill Mob
1952
High Noon
Singin’ in the Rain
1953
The Wages of Fear
Tokyo Story
1954
M. Hulot’s Holiday
La Strada
Seven Samurai
1955
Night of the Hunter
Pather Panchali
Killer’s Kiss
Bad Day at Black Rock
1956
The Killing
Forbidden Planet
1957
Nights of Cabiria
Paths of Glory
The Seventh Seal
The Bridge on the River Kwai
The Sweet Smell of Success
1958
Equinox Flower
1959
The 400 Blows
Last Train from Gun Hill
Hiroshima Mon Amour
1960
Peeping Tom
Psycho
Purple Noon
1961
Through a Glass Darkly
Il Posto
The Day the Earth Caught Fire
Yojimbo
1962
To Kill a Mockingbird
La Jetee
Cleo from 5 to 7
David and Lisa
Zazie dans le Metro
1963
81/2
High and Low
The Girl at the Monceau Bakery
1964
Charulata
Intentions of Murder
Fail-Safe
Red Dessert
1965
The Spy who came in from the Cold
Faster Pussycat Kill! Kill!
1966
Blow-Up
Closely Watched Trains
1967
Hombre
In the Heat of the Night
Play-Time
Bonnie and Clyde
Quartermass and the Pit
1968
Memories of Underdevelopment
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Heart is a Lonely Hunter
The Producers
1969
Army of Shadows
My Night at Maud’s
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Z
1970
Le Boucher
Patton
Do’desu-ka-den
The Ballad of Cable Hogue
1971
La Salamandre
Trafic
The Hired Hand
The Last Picture Show
Walkabout
1972
Solaris
Slaughter-House Five
Harold and Maude
Get Carter!
Sounder
1973
Badlands
Pat Garret and Billy the Kid
Don’t Look Now
Amarcord
1974
The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser
A Woman Under the Influence
The Sugarland Express
The Nickel Ride
Blazing Saddles
1975
The Passenger
Barry Lyndon
Dersu Uzala
Grey Gardens
Day of the Locust/ 7 Beauties
1976
Jonah: Who will be 25 in the Year 2000
The Missouri Breaks
Kings of the Road
1977
Allegro Non Troppo
Star Wars
1978
Gates of Heaven
Watership Down
1979
Orchestra Rehearsal
Heart of Glass
Being There
1980
The Shining
Heaven’s Gate
The Black Stallion
1981
My Dinner with Andre
1982
E.T.
The Border
1983
Zelig
Tender Mercies
Local Hero
Koyaanisqatsi
The Ballad of Narayama
1984
Paris, Texas
Stranger than Paradise
The 4th Man
Stop Making Sense
1985
The Breakfast Club
Mishima
Vagabond
1986
Hannah and Her Sisters
Blue Velvet
The Mission
Aliens
Manhunter
1987
Wings of Desire
My Life as a Dog
Man Facing Southeast
Babette’s Feast
The Glass Menagerie
1988
My Neighbor Totoro
The Last Temptation of Christ
Running on Empty
Talk Radio
1989
Our Town
Dekalog
Twin Peaks Pilot
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife, and Her Lover
1990
My Father’s Glory/ My Mother’s Castle
Dreams
Miller’s Crossing
An Angel at My Table
Avalon
1991
Barton Fink
L.A. Story
Helsinki (from Night on Eath)
The Silence of the Lambs
1992
Orlando
The Crying Game
Un Coeur En Hiver
Flirting
Enchanted April
1993
Fearless
Short Cuts
Far Away, So Close!
The Piano
The Six Degrees of Separation
1994
Three Colors: Red
Vanya on 42nd Street
Smoke!
Kicking and Screaming
Lisbon Story/ The Hudsucker Proxy
1995
Crumb
Beyond the Clouds
The Secret Adventures of Tom Thumb
Nelly and Monseiur Arnaud
Before Sunrise
1996
Breaking the Waves
Secrets and lies
Lumiere and Company
Prisoner of the Mountains
Lone Star
1997
The Apostle
Fire-Works
The End of Violence
Sweet Hereafter
Career Girls
1998
The Last Days of Disco
Pleasantville
The Thin Red Line
The Truman Show
Sonatine/ Henry Fool
1999
The Straight Story
After Life
Last Night
Bringing Out the Dead
The Sixth Sense/ American Beauty
2000
Yi Yi
Jesus’ Son
Wonderland
You Can Count on Me
2001
Code Unknown
The Widow of Saint Pierre
A. I.
Waking Life
Monster’s Ball
2002
All or Nothing
About a Boy
What Time is it There?
I’m Going Home
Russian Ark/ Seeing, Searching, Being
2003
Last Life in the Universe
Elephant
Masked and Anonymous
2004
Bright Leaves
Notre Musique
Finding Neverland
The Piano Tuner of Earthquakes
Birth / Deserted Station
2005
The New World
Border Cafe
Yes
Shop Girl
Batman Begins/ Saraband
2006
A Prairie Home Companion
Casino Royale
Army of Shadows
Iraq in Fragments
Tickets
2007
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
Away from Her
My Best Friend
Dance Party USA
14e Arrondisement (from Paris Je’taime)/ There Will be Blood!
2008
The Class
The Edge of Heaven
Happy-Go-Lucky
A Thousand Years of Good Prayers
The Band’s Visit/ Mad Men: Meditations in an Emergency
2009
Summer Hours
Inglourious Basterds
One who Set Forth: The Early Years of Wim Wenders
The Missing Person
The Messenger
2010
Rabbit-Hole
The Illusionist
Valhalla Rising
Jack Goes Boating
I Am Love
2011
Source-Code
Hanna
The Trip
The Future
Everything Must Go/ Certified Copy
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01F.W. Murnau