The A-List
The Beyond the Sight & Sound Canon A-List, which comprises 1,030 films, has been compiled from all the 839 ballots, and has been assembled in a manner to promote diversity.
Explanation of how the 1,030 films were chosen-:
1) To qualify or be in contention for the A-List, each film must have received at least three votes.
2) The most voted-for films from each year were included, apportioned as follows:
1911-1919 - top 2 films per year.
1920-1930 - top 5 films per year.
1931-1950 - top 5 American films and top 5 non-American films per year.
1951-2022 - top 5 English-language films and top 5 non-English language films per year.
3) Adjustment for each decade - the least voted-for film was removed and the most voted 'excluded' film was promoted.
4) The most voted-for film from each unrepresented country was also included in the list.
In summary, these are not the most voted-for films overall (if so, this list would have been heavily biased towards recent cinema). They are essentially the most voted-for films from each year and each country. We suspect that you will be quietly stunned at the number of outstanding films on the A-List that didn't register a single vote in 2022's Sight & Sound poll (including many with a previously solid Sight & Sound voting history). Additionally, there is a fair share of lesser known titles that fully deserve their little bit of limelight.
Please note that 11 films met the A-List criteria, but were excluded as they premiered after August 2022 (in other words, after Sight & Sound voting had got under way). These films were Tár (2022), The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), The Fabelmans (2022), Babylon (2022), Oppenheimer (2023), Anatomy of a Fall (2023), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Afire (2023), Barbie (2023), Fallen Leaves (2023), and Past Lives (2023). We have categorised these films as 'The B-List.'
The number of votes each film received has been included in the below presentation, but there are no rankings. Of course, if you feel compelled to do so, you can derive rankings by delving into the spreadsheets provided on the introduction page.
Also included in the below presentation is the list of critics that selected each entry. Also, for historical context, every pre-2022 Sight & Sound poll appearance is noted.
Explanation of how the 1,030 films were chosen-:
1) To qualify or be in contention for the A-List, each film must have received at least three votes.
2) The most voted-for films from each year were included, apportioned as follows:
1911-1919 - top 2 films per year.
1920-1930 - top 5 films per year.
1931-1950 - top 5 American films and top 5 non-American films per year.
1951-2022 - top 5 English-language films and top 5 non-English language films per year.
3) Adjustment for each decade - the least voted-for film was removed and the most voted 'excluded' film was promoted.
4) The most voted-for film from each unrepresented country was also included in the list.
In summary, these are not the most voted-for films overall (if so, this list would have been heavily biased towards recent cinema). They are essentially the most voted-for films from each year and each country. We suspect that you will be quietly stunned at the number of outstanding films on the A-List that didn't register a single vote in 2022's Sight & Sound poll (including many with a previously solid Sight & Sound voting history). Additionally, there is a fair share of lesser known titles that fully deserve their little bit of limelight.
Please note that 11 films met the A-List criteria, but were excluded as they premiered after August 2022 (in other words, after Sight & Sound voting had got under way). These films were Tár (2022), The Banshees of Inisherin (2022), The Fabelmans (2022), Babylon (2022), Oppenheimer (2023), Anatomy of a Fall (2023), Killers of the Flower Moon (2023), Afire (2023), Barbie (2023), Fallen Leaves (2023), and Past Lives (2023). We have categorised these films as 'The B-List.'
The number of votes each film received has been included in the below presentation, but there are no rankings. Of course, if you feel compelled to do so, you can derive rankings by delving into the spreadsheets provided on the introduction page.
Also included in the below presentation is the list of critics that selected each entry. Also, for historical context, every pre-2022 Sight & Sound poll appearance is noted.
Directors with the most films in the A-List:
8 - Fritz Lang
7 - François Truffaut
6 - Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller, Woody Allen
5 - David Cronenberg, Ernst Lubitsch, Frank Capra, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, René Clair, Steven Spielberg, William Wyler, Yasujiro Ozu
Countries most represented:
USA 404 films, France 128, United Kingdom 79, Japan 75, Italy 47, Germany 31, Hong Kong 22, Spain 15, Canada 14, Sweden 13.
8 - Fritz Lang
7 - François Truffaut
6 - Anthony Mann, Clint Eastwood, Eric Rohmer, John Ford, Samuel Fuller, Woody Allen
5 - David Cronenberg, Ernst Lubitsch, Frank Capra, Ingmar Bergman, Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Melville, René Clair, Steven Spielberg, William Wyler, Yasujiro Ozu
Countries most represented:
USA 404 films, France 128, United Kingdom 79, Japan 75, Italy 47, Germany 31, Hong Kong 22, Spain 15, Canada 14, Sweden 13.
The Beyond the Sight & Sound Canon A-List is presented in chronological order. Original titles have been used, with IMDb links provided.
As per this poll's voting criteria, all films listed did not receive a single vote in the 2022 Sight & Sound poll, and are of feature-film length (longer than 58 minutes).
As per this poll's voting criteria, all films listed did not receive a single vote in the 2022 Sight & Sound poll, and are of feature-film length (longer than 58 minutes).
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