Vertigo named Greatest Film of All time

Sight and Sound Magazine just finished compiling votes from movie critics and directors, with results showing that experts pick Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo as the Greatest Film of All time, surpassing Citizen Kane, which was chosen in the same poll the last time it was taken ten years ago.

Here is the top 10 finalists with a brief description of the film and my opinion about it:

1. Vertigo

(1958, Alfred Hitchcock). A very complex film that wasn't appreciated in its own time, but ever since has built reputation as the greatest movie ever done. Hitchcock tells the story of Scotty, a retired detective who falls in love and becomes obsessed with the wife of one of his friends, who has asked him to follow her.

Vertigo rightfully deserves to be in a top 10 list, and it certainly is in mine. It's a must see for all film lovers.

2. Citizen Kane 

(1939, Orson Wells). An almost perfect film about the media, manipulation, individual achievements and an unexplained death with a confusing hidden message. Like Vertigo, Kane also received mixed reviews and wasn't understood when it was released. Today, it's a mandatory lesson in film school

3. Tokyo Story

(1953, Ozu Yasujiru). I have this film in my library but I haven't seen it yet.

4. La Regle du jeu

(1938, Jean Renoir). A great film based prior World War II that explores the life of bourgeois life in France. The film is directed by Jean Renoir, son of the famous painter Auguste Renoir, and it's by no means short of the quality of art his father produced. Rightfully chosen as well.

5. Sunrise: A song for two humans

(1927, F.W. Murnau). I have this film in my library but I haven't seen it yet.

6. 2001: A space oddysey

(1968, Stanley Kubrick). In my list, this is the greatest film ever made. An exploration of our past, present and future, using the most basic feelings of human nature. Kubrick's master-master-masterpiece.

7. The Searchers

(1955, John Ford). I may offend someone by saying this, but I differ on The Searchers being on the list. Personally, although thematically different but in the same genre, I prefer The Good, The Bad and The Ugly. The Searchers is strong and definitely the best western ever made, but Good, Bad in Ugly transcends in being more than a western, which is why I pick it.

8. Man with a movie camera

(1939, Dziga Vertov). I may offend even more people by saying this, but up until today I had never heard of this film. I will do whatever it takes to obtain it ASAP and watch it.

9. The Passion of Joan of Arc

(1927, Carl Dreyer). This is a true masterpiece of cinema, especially more when considering that it was believed lost forever  after a fire destroyed the master negative and despite attempts of reassembling it using outtakes, director Carl Dreyer dies thinking it would never be recovered. Renee Falconetti gives the performance of a lifetime portraying the heroic french in her final days, being imprisoned, tortured and executed. Once again, a masterpiece.

10. 8 1/2

(1963, Federico Fellini). Fellini's masterpiece. A very emotional and capturing film, with amazing performances by Marcelo Mastroianni and Claudia Cardinale. Visually stunning, compelling and philosophical, 8 1/2 stands on top of any other film ever made in its own right, so there is no waste of ink in including it even in a top three list of best films ever made.

Here is the top 10 list from votes that came from Directors

1. Tokyo Story

2 (tie) 2001: A space oddysey and Citizen Kane

4. 8 1/2

5. Taxi Driver

(1976, Martin Scorsese). There is so much to say about Taxi Driver, it is unfair to summarize it in a simple paragraph, so I will say that it does deserve to be in a top 10 list even if there are eleven films.

6. Apocalypse Now

(1979, Francis Ford Coppola). Apocalypse belongs to the quartet of elite Vietnam films, Full Metal Jacket (Kubrick), Platoon and The Deer Hunter. I honestly believe that Apocalypse and FMJ are in the same level, therefore choosing one over the other is unfair.

7 (tie) Vertigo and The Godfather

(1972, Francis Ford Coppola). How can you have a top 10 list and not have The Godfather in it? Enough said.

9. Mirror

(1975, Andrei Takorskiy). A stunning film that sticks in your mind forever. Expressive, artful, meaningful, tearful, personal... perhaps the most emotional film ever done.

10. Bicycle Thieves

(1948, Vittorio di Sica). I have this film in my library but I haven't seen it yet. I had intended to watch it with my Italian descendant ex-girlfriend, but we broke up... so oh well.

...and... here's my Top 10 list.

8 1/2
2001
Alien
Fantasia
Pulp Fiction
The Godfather
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly
The Passion of Joan de Arc
Vertigo

from which you'll notice three things. The first one is my addition of Alien (1979, Ridley Scott), which I know and understand it's just a horror/sci-fi film, but in my opinion that doesn't mean it has less merit than any other movie, especially when considering that the story is so perfectly told, acted and directed. The second one is my addition of Walt Disney's Fantasia (1940, Walt Disney), a movie that tells the story of our lives in such a subtle way it has yet to be appreciated. And the third one, is that my top 10 list is does not contain 10 films. I purposely do this, because I don't really believe in 5's, 10's or 25's lists. I just rate films in levels and those are the films I believe have the highest rank and are positioned in the highest league of film making and cinema.

and here is the source of the original poll:

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-19078948

So, what are your top 10 films?