1955 was a remarkable year for film. There is quality across the board, from international films to Hollywood films. Nationalistic film movements were in full swing, and legendary directors were putting out some of their best work. My list for 1954 had a large Japanese representation, where this year is more diverse. It includes one of the best Indian movies ever created, one of my favorite Bergmans, one of the best French noirs (even if by an American director), and key works from Wilder, Dreyer, Resnais, Naruse, Sirk, Ophuls, Hitchcock, and plenty of others.

The toughest part was trimming down this list. The films I have from 20-30 would likely make the list of most other years, and some like East of Eden, Picnic and Samurai Trilogy II could make the top ten in other years. My favorite performance and the Oscar winner was my #20. Of the lists I’ve put together thus far, these were the toughest cuts.

1. Pather Panchali
2. Kiss Me Deadly
3. Smiles of a Summer Night
4. Night and Fog
5. Rififi
6. Night of the Hunter
7. Floating Clouds
8. Les Diaboliques
9. Ordet
10. A Generation
11. All That Heaven Allows
12. The Man From Laramie
13. To Catch a Thief
14. The Grand Maneuver
15. Lola Montes
16. The Ladykillers
17. Richard III
18. Rebel Without a Cause
19. Death of a Cyclist
20. Marty

When reviewing my list for 1965, I was struck by how few Hollywood films I included. Most of the English language films were British productions. I count five of them and only two Hollywood productions: King Rat and A Patch of Blue. My #21 would have been another American film, Flight of the Phoenix. Another English film, Thunderball also barely missed the cut.

Aside from the unusual number of UK films, this list is quite spread out geographically. There’s some French, Spanish, Czech, Italian, and some Japanese round out the end of the list. There is only one documentary, the splendid Tokyo Olympiad.

1. Repulsion
2. Loves of a Blonde
3. Le Bonheur
4. The Hill
5. The Moment of Truth
6. The Shop on Main Street
7. Yoyo
8. The Spy Who Came in From the Cold
9. Fists in the Pocket
10. King Rat
11. Juliet of the Spirits
12. Simon of the Desert
13. Zatoichi and the Chess Expert
14. Story of a Prostitute
15. Red Beard
16. Doctor Zhivago
17. Tokyo Olympiad
18. The Collector
19. Pierrot le Fou
20. A Patch of Blue

The 1950s are a unique decade for film. The studio system was winding down following the Paramount decision, and it faced competition from TV. Meanwhile the Hays code was still in effect, but that did not restrict foreign releases. The quality of films from Japan and Italy were near their peaks, while American films were arguably at their lows, despite a few independent gems. What I found interesting when compiling this year’s list, which I consider a strong year, is that it has a high amount of Japanese films. Kurosawa, Mizoguchi, Naruse, and others were cranking out amazing films, and in my opinion, Sansho the Bailiff ranks among the best Japanese films in history.

1. Sansho the Bailiff
2. On the Waterfront
3. Samurai I: Musashi Miyamoto
4. Senso
5. Seven Samurai
6. Journey to Italy / Voyage to Italy
7. French Cancan
8. Rear Window
9. Chikamatsu Monogatari
10. Touchez Pas Au Grisbi
11. Hobson’s Choice
12. Sound of the Mountain
13. La Strada
14. Johnny Guitar
15. Executive Suite
16. Twenty-Four Eyes
17. Late Chrysanthemums
18. Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome
19. Dial M For Murder
20. Sabrina
21. The Caine Mutiny

1975 was an unusual year in that I have all five Oscar nominees for Best Picture on my list. Since the Academy rarely gets it right (in my opinion), that’s an anomaly that’s unlikely to be repeated. They got it right this year with the nominations and the winner is a solid film, even if it wouldn’t be my choice.

Another anomaly is that the majority of the films that made my list are in the English language. Hollywood was churning out quality content in the 1970s that overshadowed a lot of international products. Rainer Werner Fassbinder actually had three films that barely missed the list: Fox and His Friends, Fear of Fear, and Mother Küsters Goes to Heaven.

It was also a year for guilty pleasures. My #1 choice is a fine film and would make many lists, but maybe not the top spot. The fact that it has remained hilarious after 40 years speaks volumes. Even though it is not my favorite Monty Python (that would be Life of Brian), it is one of the most quotable and funniest comedies that I’ve seen. Rocky Horror Picture Show is another example of a guilty pleasure. I have seen it a number of times in theaters with audience participation and never on it’s own. It is not a good film, but the fact that it is still a great time at the theater gives it some sentimental value.

1. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
2. Nashville
3. Picnic at Hanging Rock
4. Love and Death
5. The Passenger
6. Night Moves
7. The Mirror
8. Dog Day Afternoon
9. Overlord
10. Xala
11. Barry Lyndon
12. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest
13. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce
14. The Man Who Would Be King
15. Three Days of the Condor
16. Deep Red
17. The Story of Adele H
18. Jaws
19. The Great Waldo Pepper
20. Rocky Horror Picture Show

I don’t often think of the 80s as being the pinnacle of cinema. That was the decade of my childhood, so I remember vividly going to see a number of terrible films that I loved then, and have mostly forgotten now. I still feel that the 80s is a relatively weak decade, especially compared to the 60s and 70s, but this year in particular was surprisingly strong. The top three are extremely important films and would be near or the top of the list in any year. I have yet to do a best of the decade, but these films will unquestionably be featured prominently.

There are some schlocky, silly movies, like Re-Animator, Fletch, Pee Wee, and Return of the Living Dead. A couple of those are guilty pleasures, and some have simply held up. They are like a theme park compared to the serious top three. The 80s may have had some bad mainstream movies, but there is no shortage in cult comedies.

The one title is noticeably absent from this list is Back to the Future. I remember loving the movie as a child, even purchasing the novelization (not exactly high literature) and seeing it a few times. As I’ve grown older and seen it multiple times, I have become less fond of the movie. It just seems yet another one of those formulaic, mainstream adventure comedies. It is still better than most, but not one of the best.

1. Ran
2. Shoah
3. Come and See
4. Brazil
5. Vagabond
6. Purple Rose of Cairo
7. Breakfast Club
8. Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters
9. After Hours
10. Lost in America
11. When Father Was Away on Business
12. My Beautiful Laundrette
13. Re-Animator
14. Fletch
15. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure
16. Tracked
17. My Life as a Dog
18. Return of the Living Dead
19. Pale Rider
20. No End

1995 was an unusual year. My best-of list probably looks a lot different than many others because I’m not as crazy about some revered films (Se7en) and I like others less than other people (Heat, Babe). My list has a couple of relatively obscure titles that are worth seeking out, specifically The White Balloon and Zero Kelvin. I was also surprised by the lack of American indies near the top. The industry was transitioning during the year and trying to keep up with the post-Pulp Fiction market. There were a few gems, but most rounded out the latter part of my list.

1. Before Sunrise
2. La Haine
3. To Die For
4. Underground
5. Toy Story
6. Leaving Las Vegas
7. The White Balloon
8. Casino
9. Sense and Sensibility
10. La Cérémonie
11. Whisper of the Heart
12. Safe
13. Clueless
14. Twelve Monkeys
15. Zero Kelvin
16. Living in Oblivion
17. Heat
18. Kicking and Screaming
19. Welcome to the Dollhouse
20. In the Mouth of Madness

In my opinion, the 1930s were dominated by French cinema. That’s one of the reason I chose that as my independent study (technically resistance films, but used the 1930s to establish the film language and influences of those later films). It is no surprise that I have seven movies in my top 20 that are either directly involved with France or have French connections. My number one is the under-seen adaptation of Les Misérables is the most faithful and highest quality that I’ve seen. In fact, the others, especially the recent musical, pale in comparison. I saw the Eclipse version, but I hear that a restoration has been touring and I hope to re-watch that version someday.

My final cut was, The Black Cat . I have a lot of problems with the film, but the final haunting 20 minutes make up for my reservations. These are dark scenes even by some modern standards, so I felt it almost deserved inclusion.

1. Les Misérables
2. L’Atalante
3. A Story of Floating Weeds
4. Merry Widow
5. Imitation of Life
6. Le Grand Jeu
7. Madame Bovary
8. The Thin Man
9. Man of Aran
10. Rapt
11. The Affairs of Cellini
12. Scarlet Empress
13. La Signora di Tutti
14. Twentieth Century
15. It Happened One Night
16. Marie Chapdelaine
17. The Lost Patrol
18. It’s a Gift
19. The Man Who Knew Too Much
20. The Scarlet Pimpernel

Pickings are slim thanks to the second world war. Compared to other years, European and Asian films are hard to find. Two German films made the list, both technicolor pieces with hints of propaganda, albeit a long ways from Riefenstahl. An early de Sica, early Bergman, and a late Eisenstein were the only other European selections, and there were none from Asia. This is probably one of the few years where a French film wouldn’t make my list. The Woman Who Dared would be somewhere in the 20s.

American and British films dominated the year, specifically noir. It was a dark period and that was reflected in the films. The two at the top are some of the best noir films ever made, in my opinion. Even the movies that aren’t strictly categorized as noir have some of dark elements, like Torment, The Uninvited and even the Sherlock Holmes addition, The Scarlet Claw. The remainder are upbeat wartime crowd pleasers like the two Sturges projects with Eddie Bracken as the lead. Even though there were a lot of them, none of the rah-rah war films made my list. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo would probably be the closest. Others that I’ve seen acclaim for, like The Fighting Sullivans are not my cup of tea just because of their heavy-handedness, even if such strong messages were appropriate.

As a result, 1944 is not the deepest year for film. Numbers 15-20 would probably not make my list most years.

1. Laura
2. Double Indemnity
3. A Canterbury Tale
4. The Children Are Watching Us
5. Ivan the Terrible, Part 1
6. Lifeboat
7. Torment
8. Miracle of Morgan’s Creek
9. Gaslight
10. Ministry of Fear
11. The Uninvited
12. Great Freedom #7
13. Meet Me in St Louis
14. To Have and Have Not
15. Opfergang
16. Curse of the Cat People
17. Bon Voyage
18. The Scarlet Claw
19. Hail the Conquering Hero
20. Henry V