Citizen Kane tops new Critics’ Circle poll of greatest films on BFI Player

BFI Player today announces the results of a poll celebrating the greatest films currently available on the subscription streaming service, voted for by members of the London Film Critics’ Circle. Topping the poll is Orson Welles’s landmark Oscar-winning debut Citizen Kane (1941), reaffirming its enduring influence on cinema. Tying in second place are Lynne Ramsay’s extraordinary second feature Morvern Callar (2002) alongside Bong Joon Ho’s Oscar-winning Parasite (2019), Yasujiro Ozu’s Tokyo Story (1953) and Wim Wenders’ Paris, Texas (1984).  

The poll offers a snapshot of the films the UK’s leading critics are championing for audiences today and reflects their enthusiasm for both canonical masterpieces and contemporary classics – works spanning eras, countries and cinematic movements. It also reflects the breadth of BFI Player’s catalogue and expert-led curation by BFI’s programmers. All titles featured in the poll are now available to stream as a dedicated London Critics’ Circle Collection on BFI Player.

The London Critics’ Circle top 20 films on BFI Player are: 

1. Citizen Kane (dir. Orson Welles, 1941) 

2. Parasite (dir. Bong Joon Ho, 2019)  

2. Morvern Callar (dir. Lynne Ramsay, 2002)  

2. Tokyo Story (dir. Yasujirō Ozu, 1953)  

2. Paris, Texas (dir. Wim Wenders, 1984)  

6. The 400 Blows (dir. François Truffaut, 1959) 

7. Metropolis (dir. Fritz Lang, 1927) 

8. Persona (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1966) 

8. Distant Voices, Still Lives (dir. Terence Davies, 1988) 

10. Manhunter (dir. Michael Mann, 1986) 

10. High and Low (dir. Akira Kurosawa, 1963)  

12. Amélie (dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet, 2001) 

12. Crash (dir. David Cronenberg, 1996)  

14. Cléo from 5 to 7 (dir. Agnès Varda, 1962) 

14. After Life (dir. Hirokazu Koreeda, 1998) 

14. Nosferatu (dir. F.W. Murnau, 1922) 

14. Aguirre, Wrath of God (dir. Werner Herzog, 1972) 

14. Fanny and Alexander (dir. Ingmar Bergman, 1982) 

19. The Passion of Joan of Arc (dir. Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1928)  

19. Eyes Without a Face (dir. Georges Franju, 1959) 

Alongside Morvern Callar (2002), British cinema is represented by Terence Davies’s Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988), celebrated recently with a season of Davies’s work at BFI Southbank.  

The results also underline critics’ appetite for bold formal experimentation and distinctive visual storytelling, from Fritz Lang’s silent-era epic Metropolis (1927) and François Truffaut’s The 400 Blows (1959) to Ingmar Bergman’s psychologically intense Persona (1966).  

“With over 200 members across the UK, the London Film Critics’ Circle is a group diverse in backgrounds, tastes and special areas of interest,” says Guy Lodge, Critics’ Circle vice chair, Variety chief critic and Observer film columnist, “so our hope when we collaborated with the BFI on this project was that the poll would yield a similarly wide-ranging list. I’m delighted with the results.  

“It’s a thrill to see canonical classics like Citizen Kane and Tokyo Story sharing space with 21st-century standard-bearers like Parasite and Morvern Callar – the highest-ranked British film on the list. It’s a selection reflective, too, of the far-reaching library of cinema available on the BFI Player, a streaming platform very much aligned with our passions as critics and film lovers.” 

“The London Critics’ Circle Top 20 reflects the breadth, ambition and curiosity that underpin our programming at BFI Player,” says James Rocarols, head of online programme, BFI Player, “and it’s great to give audiences their favourites in one collection. Curation is at the heart of what makes BFI Player distinctive, where classic cinema and vital modern filmmaking can sit side by side. So while the mighty Citizen Kane tops the poll, it’s great to see more contemporary masterpieces like Parasite and Morvern Callar rank so highly and be recognised.” 

Jane Crowther, London Critics’ Circle chair and Hollywood Authentic editor in chief, said of Citizen Kane: “Hugely influential, hugely pastiched, a rebel aesthetic to making it, resonates with relatable regret. There’s a reason it regularly makes the number one spot on lists and continues to speak to our relationship with media despite the decades between inception and now. Could AI make this? Of course not.” 

Rhianna Dhillon, London Film Critics’ Circle member and BFI Player contributor, said: “BFI Player is brilliantly curated and is such a great way for film fans to be introduced to new strands of cinema from all over the world. Joining BFI Player as one of their expert voices has allowed me to delve deep into its impressive catalogue to find films that fit monthly themes with a bit of a twist. It’s so exciting to be able to champion hidden gems alongside classic films and I hope that audiences will have as much fun exploring BFI Player and all it has to offer as much I have!” 

The release of the poll coincides with the Critics’ Circle Film Awards taking place this Sunday 1 February, where BFI Player is the sponsor of the British/Irish Film of the Year Award and BFI CEO Ben Roberts will present the winner with the award on stage.