Tom Ryan
Film critic
Australia
Voted for
| Film | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Citizen Kane | 1941 | Orson Welles |
| Madame de... | 1953 | Max Ophuls |
| Letter from an Unknown Woman | 1948 | Max Ophuls |
| Make Way for Tomorrow | 1937 | Leo McCarey |
| The Searchers | 1956 | John Ford |
| La Règle du jeu | 1939 | Jean Renoir |
| Singin' in the Rain | 1951 | Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen |
| Tokyo Story | 1953 | Yasujirō Ozu |
| Vertigo | 1958 | Alfred Hitchcock |
| Yi Yi | 1999 | Edward Yang |
Comments
Citizen Kane
Bold, bravura filmmaking at its very best.
Madame de...
Ophuls’ sublime testament to romantic yearnings.
Letter from an Unknown Woman
Style is substance in Ophuls’ exquisite film.
Make Way for Tomorrow
Uncompromising and heartbreaking.
The Searchers
It has me the moment the door opens. Infuriatingly flawed, but beautiful.
La Règle du jeu
Renoir’s crowning achievement.
Singin' in the Rain
Pure joy.
Tokyo Story
A gently tragic film about the wheel turning.
Vertigo
It seduces you, it sweeps you along, and it leaves you breathless.
Yi Yi
Elegant, eloquent, and alive with the music of its making.
Further remarks
Some things change, some stay the same. If I compiled my Top 10 next year, or next week, it’d be different from the above. I first did this for Sight & Sound 30 years ago, but assembled my 2022 list without checking back. Half my choices have gone missing, although only one of the replacements was made during the intervening years. Go figure.