The people have spoken: Paddington 2 is the greatest film of all-time.
[checks notes]
Correction: Paddington 2 deserves to be considered the greatest film of all-time, but it was left off the prestigious Sight and Sound list entirely. Instead, the long-running poll, as voted on by “1,639 participating critics, programmers, curators, archivists, and academics,” named Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles the greatest film ever. The 1975 drama, from director Chantal Akerman, follows a widow (Delphine Seyrig) over the course of three days as she does monotonous chores around the house; she also has sex with male clients to provide for her and her son.
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles is the first film directed by a woman to top the list. In the 2012 edition, only two films from female filmmakers made the top 100; there are now 11, including Céline Sciamma’s stunning Portrait of a Lady on Fire at #30. If you want to watch Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, you can do so on Criterion, as well as Amazon Prime Video and Vudu.
Here’s the top 10:
1. Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
2. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
3. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
4. Tokyo Story (Ozu Yasujiro, 1953)
5. In the Mood for Love Wong Kar-wai, 2001)
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
7. Beau travail (Claire Denis, 1998)
8. Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
9. Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov, 1929)
10. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1951)
You can read the full list here.
