Tim Grierson
Senior U.S. Critic, Screen International
USA
Voted for
| Film | Year | Director |
|---|---|---|
| Tokyo Story | 1953 | Yasujirō Ozu |
| Persona | 1966 | Ingmar Bergman |
| 2001: A Space Odyssey | 1968 | Stanley Kubrick |
| The Godfather | 1972 | Francis Ford Coppola |
| Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles | 1975 | Chantal Akerman |
| Barry Lyndon | 1975 | Stanley Kubrick |
| Stop Making Sense | 1984 | Jonathan Demme |
| Do the Right Thing | 1989 | Spike Lee |
| Close-up | 1989 | Abbas Kiarostami |
| [Safe] | 1994 | Todd Haynes |
Comments
After weeks of agonizing and extensive rewatching of worthy contenders, these were the 10 films I had to have on this list. So many masterpieces didn’t make the cut — but in the end, there simply wasn’t room for them.
Only four titles from my 2012 ballot are duplicated here, which wasn’t intentional but nonetheless pleased me. I don’t like thinking that my conception of what constitutes the greatest films is set in stone. I want to be open to change, both in my life and in the way art affects me.
I’m sure my list says things about me that I don’t realize. That’s one of the reasons why I love my job: I know my taste, and yet there’s always an element of mystery in terms of discovering what moves me. Figuring out why and then communicating that to my readers is something I never get tired of.