BFI's List of Greatest Films Leaves Internet Reeling: 'Shame on You' - Newsweek

Sixty years ago, Britain's Sight and Sound mag thought it omniscient to sanction the top films of each time.

The contented has carried for six decades, with an updated database of the 100 champion films ever, published each 10 years.

But wherever applause—and criticism—for such lists started retired arsenic scrawled praise and word-of-mouth complaints, societal media has changed the crippled completely.

In 2012, British Film Institute critics named Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 movie "Vertigo" the top movie of each time. Other classics, including "Citizen Kane," "Tokyo Story" and "2001: A Space Odyssey" besides appeared wrong the 2012 apical 10.

Ten years later, a comparative newcomer has topped the list.

"Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles," a 1975 representation directed by Chantal Akerman, is the top movie of each time, according to the 2022 Sight & Sound poll.

But according to aggregate Twitter users, the film's No. 1 ranking comes arsenic a implicit surprise.

"I'll fto radical click though and find the fig 1 themselves, but isn't this a monolithic shocker?" @3000Elsinore questioned. "Did anyone spot it coming?"

"I definite arsenic hellhole didn't," @GrandKeizer responded.

"It was 37th spot backmost successful 2012. It leap frogged implicit 37 spots," they lamented. "Compare that to Vertigo, which lone made the apical 10 successful 1982, and had to claw its mode up each decennary until 2012."

"I retrieve watching the fig 1 movie astatine uni. There was a fistful of america near by the extremity of the screening," @nathanjcarr interjected. "I recognise its humanities value and beardown themes but 'a top movie of each time' surely needs to captivate an assemblage of movie students."

Twitter idiosyncratic @djxcqtion, however, offered the other opinion.

"Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce 1080 Bruxelles NO 1....," they tweeted. "LETS GOOOOOOOOOOOO."

An aged movie theatre sees a packed house. Britain's Sight & Sound mag updated its picks for the 100 top films of each time, riling up movie buffs connected the internet. Archive Holdings Inc./iStock / Getty Images Plus

While overmuch of the online treatment surrounding Sight & Sound's latest rankings remained focused connected "Jeanne Dielman 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles," different films included passim the database caused stirs of their own.

Spike Lee's 1989 representation "Do The Right Thing," which was antecedently unranked, catapulted to the 24th top movie of each clip successful 2022, much to the appreciation of Twitter idiosyncratic @kmstx78.

"The immense emergence from DO THE RIGHT THING is awesome and well-deserved," they tweeted.

"Love bash the close happening getting it's dues!," @JDGonzales2 echoed.

"Get Out," a 2017 movie written and directed by Jordan Peele, was named the 95th top movie of each time—an grant immoderate Twitter users said was bestowed excessively soon.

"Get Out, errrrrr wtf?" @EdgeOfThePark tweeted.

"Ok movie but wouldn't adjacent beryllium successful my apical 1000 fto unsocial 100," @jeffreyarnold76 agreed.

"I consciousness similar if a movie came retired wrong the past 15 years, captious appraisal hasn't matured capable to propulsion it connected a top of each clip list," @Mrtrick80 wrote. "Just saying."

Despite the earthy inclination to statement particulars of Sight & Sound's astir caller movie rankings, different Twitter users took contented with larger themes associated with the list, commenting connected the glaring deficiency of definite genres and cultures.

"My plea to the critics who ballot successful this poll: delight ticker immoderate animated films. They're truly good," @DisneyMusings23 begged. "Only [two] making the database is criminal."

"Not a azygous Balkan movie made it," @__adn tweeted. "You implicit philistines."

"Not a azygous Latin American movie," @NicolsPrivider1 lamented. "Shame connected you."