'Citizen Kane' Tops BBC's List of "100 Greatest American Films", Where Does Your Favorite Land?

Leave it to the Brits to compile a list of the best American films of all-time. BBC Culture has published a list of what it calls “The 100 Greatest American Films“, as selected by 62 international film critics in order to “get a global perspective on American film.” As BBC Culture notes, the critics polled represent a combination of broadcasters, book authors and reviewers at various newspapers and magazines across the world. As for what makes an American film? “Any movie that received funding from a U.S. source,” BBC Culture’s publication states, which is to say the terminology was quite loose, but the list contains a majority of the staples you’d expect to see.

Citizen Kane — what else? — comes in at #1, and in typical fashion The Godfather follows at #2. Vertigo, which in 2012 topped Sight & Sound‘s list of the greatest films of all-time, comes in at #3 on BBC Culture’s list. Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001: A Space Odyssey, John Ford‘s The Searchers and F.W. Murnau‘s Sunrise come in at #4, #5 and #6, respectively. Just after that, in the #7 slot, is where the first of my own personal favorites Singin’ in the Rain finds its home.

As for the rest of BBC Culture’s top 10, Alfred Hitchcock makes another appearance with Psycho at #8 (yawn), Casabalanca here’s-looking-at-you-kids its way to #9 (now we’re talkin’!) and The Godfather Part II closes things out at #10. The Godfather Part III is nowhere to be found, but two installments in the top 10 is pretty impressive, certainly better than any other franchise performed on this list.

A few other notable selections, at least in terms of movies I really love, include North by Northwest at #13, Charlie Chaplin‘s The Gold Rush and City Lights sitting back-to-back at #17 and #18, respectively, and a Martin Scorsese double-bill of Taxi Driver and Goodfellas rounding out the top 20. Annie Hall rests at #23, Some Like It Hot at #30, Jaws at #38, Back to the Future at #56 — too low, you guys, too low — and Chaplin’s Modern Times wound up at #67. For all you fans of The Dark Knight, don’t worry, it’s on there: all the way down at #96.

I’m a bit shocked to see not a single David Fincher film made the list, but then I’m what you might call a Fincher fanboy, so if I were to put together a list like this you’d probably see me make a personal plug for Zodiac, far and away his best film in my opinion. Also notably excluded: The Shawshank Redemption, a movie that sits atop the IMDb Top 250 and is heavily regarded across the internet as one of the greatest films of all-time.

Alas, it couldn’t find a spot in the top 100 here, though three other films from 1994 — Pulp Fiction (#28), Forrest Gump (#74) and The Lion King (#86) — did. Speaking of injustices, 12 Angry Men isn’t anywhere on this list either, so if ever there were a time to quote Network‘s “mad as hell” line, this would be it.

In truth, a list like this is bound to leave off any number of great films, but as Brad wrote when Vertigo finally triumphed and topped the Sight & Sound poll, I’d be curious to know how each critic polled for BBC Culture’s list put together their own nominations. Per BBC Culture, “Critics were encouraged to submit lists of the 10 films they feel, on an emotional level, are the greatest in American cinema – not necessarily the most important, just the best.” That still leaves the door pretty wide open, and ultimately the questions become, what makes a film great? and what makes a film “the best”? If anyone out there is looking for ideas for an Honors or Master’s thesis, I think I just found one for you — you’re welcome.

Go ahead and peep through the list below, and as you do, take note of what falls where and let us know what you think. What’s missing? What do you consider the greatest films of all-time? Better yet, what are your favorites? Read the list and then take to the comments below!