These are the 100 best films of our modern century. So says a poll of 177 critics comprised by the BBC. The critics involved in this list come from every continent (except Antarctica). They’re print and web journalists, academics and cinema curators. A project like this is never comprehensive, but the BBC has gathered about as comprehensive a list of critics as is likely to be gathered.
Of course, our century is only 17 years old. Which makes the exercise more of a snapshot than a definitive list of greatness.
But then again, there is no such thing as a definitive list of art. There are just lists that are meant to be argued. So let’s do it. Below is the full list, with a few comments laid in from me.
I have also included my own top 10 of century at the bottom. What are the best movies of the 2000s? Two things are certain: critics don’t care much about comedy, and critics are WAY too into Christopher Nolan.
-100. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)
-100. Requiem for a Dream (Darren Aronofsky, 2000)
-100. Carlos (Olivier Assayas, 2010)
-99. The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000)
-98. Ten (Abbas Kiarostami, 2002)
-97. White Material (Claire Denis, 2009)
-96. Finding Nemo (Andrew Stanton, 2003)
-95. Moonrise Kingdom (Wes Anderson, 2012)
The first of three (3!) Wes Anderson movies. This is the only one I would put on this list.
-94. Let the Right One In (Tomas Alfredson, 2008)
Love it.
-93. Ratatouille (Brad Bird, 2007)
Two Pixars in the bottom 10. Pixar is all over this list, and while it’s hard to argue against any one of them, Ratatouille would be the one I drop. Even though it has the best ‘lesson’ of any Pixar movie.
-92. The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford (Andrew Dominik, 2007)
Love to see Assassination get recognized. An under-appreciated study of violence and in America. There are a whole lot of movies about ‘violence in America’ on this list. But This one Deserves its spot.
-91. The Secret in Their Eyes (Juan José Campanella, 2009)
-90. The Pianist (Roman Polanski, 2002)
Polanski’s only entry is his third or fourth best film. That it is included here is a testament to how beloved the director is.
-89. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)
-88. Spotlight (Tom McCarthy, 2015)
-87. Amélie (Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001)
-86. Far From Heaven (Todd Haynes, 2002)
Love it. Haynes is living up to his model, becoming the Douglas Sirk of the 21st century.
-85. A Prophet (Jacques Audiard, 2009)
-84. Her (Spike Jonze, 2013)
-83. A.I. Artificial Intelligence (Steven Spielberg, 2001)
Great to see A.I. still climbing the ladder of respect. It was misunderstood and undervalued on release. A strange and masterful bit of sci-fi. In 10 years it’ll be in the top 50 of this list.
-82. A Serious Man (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2009)
-81. Shame (Steve McQueen, 2011)
-80. The Return (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2003)
-79. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)
Should be higher.
-78. The Wolf of Wall Street (Martin Scorsese, 2013)
Nope. If you’re slipping a single Scorsese into this list, it should be The Departed. It’s genre, but it’s better than Wolf.
-77. The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Julian Schnabel, 2007)
-76. Dogville (Lars von Trier, 2003)
Nope.
-75. Inherent Vice (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2014)
-74. Spring Breakers (Harmony Korine, 2012)
Nope.
-73. Before Sunset (Richard Linklater, 2004)
A filmmaker whose work I love and who is getting more respect every year. More on that to come.
-72. Only Lovers Left Alive (Jim Jarmusch, 2013)
-71. Tabu (Miguel Gomes, 2012)
Hell yes.
-70. Stories We Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)
Hell. Yes! Should be 20 spots higher.
-69. Carol (Todd Haynes, 2015)
Loved this last year. But probably won’t be long on this list.
-68. The Royal Tenenbaums (Wes Anderson, 2001)
Sure. It’s so well-loved I am surprised it ain’t higher.
-67. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
-66. Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter…and Spring (Kim Ki-duk, 2003)
A beautiful, contemplative film about the life a buddhist monk from one of Korea’s best directors.
-65. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
Michael Fassbender is the secret ingredient of this list.
-64. The Great Beauty (Paolo Sorrentino, 2013)
-63. The Turin Horse (Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky, 2011)
-62. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)
The only QT on the list wouldn’t be my choice. Kill Bill 1-3, if that were an option, would be much higher.
-61. Under the Skin (Jonathan Glazer, 2013)
A top 15. Not for everyone, but one of the best.
-60. Syndromes and a Century (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2006)
-59. A History of Violence (David Cronenberg, 2005)
-58. Moolaadé (Ousmane Sembène, 2004)
Too Low.
-57. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
Love it, and Bigelow. Glad she had both this and Hurt Locker (67).
-56. Werckmeister Harmonies (Béla Tarr, director; Ágnes Hranitzky, co-director, 2000)
-55. Ida (Paweł Pawlikowski, 2013)
-54. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia (Nuri Bilge Ceylan, 2011)
-53. Moulin Rouge! (Baz Luhrmann, 2001)
While I do have a soft spot for this one, top 100 is a bit generous. CUT IT!
-52. Tropical Malady (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2004)
-51. Inception (Christopher Nolan, 2010)
While I do have a soft spot for this one, top 100 is way way too generous. CUT IT!
-50. The Assassin (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 2015)
-49. Goodbye to Language (Jean-Luc Godard, 2014)
-48. Brooklyn (John Crowley, 2015)
-47. Leviathan (Andrey Zvyagintsev, 2014)
-46. Certified Copy (Abbas Kiarostami, 2010)
-45. Blue Is the Warmest Color (Abdellatif Kechiche, 2013)
Good choice. Probably climb over time.
-44. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)
-43. Melancholia (Lars von Trier, 2011)
-42. Amour (Michael Haneke, 2012)
-41. Inside Out (Pete Docter, 2015)
This stretch of ten films, 50 - 41, are excellent choices all. Brooklyn and Inside Out are a bit high, in my opinion, but everyone is deserving.
-40. Brokeback Mountain (Ang Lee, 2005)
Too low. A great film, and better as it ages.
-39. The New World (Terrence Malick, 2005)
Much higher than I’d expect, though love of Malick only increases as the years pass.
-38. City of God (Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund, 2002)
Yes please.
-37. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2010)
-36. Timbuktu (Abderrahmane Sissako, 2014)
-35. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2000)
Too low. One of the best.
-34. Son of Saul (László Nemes, 2015)
-33. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)
Much too high. I’d pick it for the top 100, but this movie is just way overrated. Ledger will keep this movie important. But the story is a mess, the third act is crap, and Nolan has little eye for direction.
-32. The Lives of Others (Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck, 2006)
-31. Margaret (Kenneth Lonergan, 2011)
Nice.
-30. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)
Way too low. One of the best.
-29. WALL-E (Andrew Stanton, 2008)
Wonderful to see this so high.
-28. Talk to Her (Pedro Almodóvar, 2002)
-27. The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)
-26. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)
Yes.
There’s no Woody Allen on this list (which is fine by me, though I guess there’s a case to be made). 25th Hour can be the walking New York City movie of the 21st century.
-25. Memento (Christopher Nolan, 2000)
Nope. C’mon, guys.
-24. The Master (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2012)
Confounding, excellent cinema.
-23. Caché (Michael Haneke, 2005)
They love Haneke.
-22. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
Love it. Wonderful movie, accurately rated. I bet it climbs in years to come.
-21. The Grand Budapest Hotel (Wes Anderson, 2014)
Too high. Great movie but one 21st best of the century? Nuh-uh.
-20. Synecdoche, New York (Charlie Kaufman, 2008)
Yes.
-19. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)
Love this movie. No WAY is it this high.
-18. The White Ribbon (Michael Haneke, 2009)
They really love Haneke.
There’s no Danny Boyle on this list. Surely one of Haneke’s could have been subbed for 28 Days Later, which deserves its place here.
-17. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
One of the best. Glad it’s here, and I’m glad that Birdman isn’t. It’s a cool movie, wonderfully executed. But it’s hollow and already seems to be fading.
-16. Holy Motors (Leos Carax, 2012)
-15. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Cristian Mungiu, 2007)
-14. The Act of Killing (Joshua Oppenheimer, 2012)
-13. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuarón, 2006)
-12. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)
Another unassailable stretch. Zodiac at 12 shows foresight. Fincher’s masterpiece.
-11. Inside Llewyn Davis (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2013)
It’s fine. It’s fine, really.
This top 10 list is pretty damn good. It doesn’t mirror my own, but there’s something to recommend every film for a spot in this top 10.
-10. No Country for Old Men (Joel and Ethan Coen, 2007)
-9. A Separation (Asghar Farhadi, 2011)
-8. Yi Yi: A One and a Two (Edward Yang, 2000)
-7. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)
-6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
-5. Boyhood (Richard Linklater, 2014)
I like this at 5, right now. I imagine it will drop as the years pass. But Linklater’s achievement in Boyhood is unique and powerful and unlike anything before it.
-4. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
-3. There Will Be Blood (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2007)
-2. In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
-1. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)
This is an inspired choice for #1. It’s not mine-not in my Top 10-but picking the top spot is about more than picking just the best movie. #1 is a movie of the era, and Mulholland Drive pulses with the troubling nature of modernity.
For what it’s worth, here is my own Top 10 of the 21st Century.
-10. Rachel Getting Married (Jonathan Demme, 2008)
-9. In the Mood For Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2000)
-8. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2011)
-7. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (Ang Lee, 2001)
-6. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)
-5. The Tribe (Myroslav Slaboshpytskiy, 2015)
-4. Oldboy (Park Chan-wook, 2003)
-3. Pan’s Labyrinth (Guillermo Del Toro, 2006)
-2. Spirited Away (Hayao Miyazaki, 2001)
-1. Children of Men (Alfonso Cuaron, 2006)
Feel free to let me know where I’m wrong, or what your own Top 10 looks like.
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