The A List - National Society of Film Critics' 100 Essential Films

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This is the Amazon book description for "The A List", published in 2002:

People love movies. People love lists. So The A-List is a natural. While there are plenty of encyclopedic lists of films, this compulsively readable book of 100 essays—most written expressly for this volume-flags the best of the best as chosen by a consensus of the National Society of Film Critics. The Society is a world-renowned, marquee—name organization embracing some of America's most distinguished critics: more than forty writers who have national followings as well as devoted local constituencies in such major cities as New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Boston, Philadelphia, Atlanta, and Minneapolis. But make no mistake about it: This isn't a collection of esoteric "critic's choice" movies. The Society has made its selections based on a film's intrinsic merits, its role in the development of the motion-picture art, and its impact on culture and society. Some of the choices are controversial. So are some of the omissions. It will be a jumping-off point for discussions for years to come. And since the volume spans all international films from the very beginning, it will act as a balance to recent guides dominated by films of the last two decades (hardly film's golden age). Here is a book that is definitely ready for its close-up.

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  1. 1 new

    2001: A Space Odyssey

    1968, in 45 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    Les quatre cents coups

    1959 — a.k.a. The 400 Blows, in 26 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    42nd Street

    1933, in 12 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    All About Eve

    1950, in 25 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    Annie Hall

    1977, in 34 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    Aparajito

    1956 — a.k.a. The Unvanquished, in 15 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    Apur Sansar

    1959 — a.k.a. The World of Apu, in 19 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    Popiól i diament

    1958 — a.k.a. Ashes and Diamonds, in 17 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    The Bank Dick

    1940, in 8 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Bronenosets Potemkin

    1925 — a.k.a. Battleship Potemkin, in 27 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    The Birth of a Nation

    1915, in 21 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    Blow-Up

    1966, in 20 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    Bonnie and Clyde

    1967, in 28 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    À bout de souffle

    1960 — a.k.a. Breathless, in 29 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    Bride of Frankenstein

    1935, in 19 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    Bringing Up Baby

    1938, in 23 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Casablanca

    1942, in 39 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    The Chant of Jimmie Blacksmith

    1978, in 5 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Les enfants du paradis

    1945 — a.k.a. Children of Paradise, in 21 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Chinatown

    1974, in 31 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Citizen Kane

    1941, in 39 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Close Encounters of the Third Kind

    1977, in 23 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Nema-ye Nazdik

    1990 — a.k.a. Close-Up, in 21 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Ostre sledované vlaky

    1966 — a.k.a. Closely Watched Trains, in 14 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Dance, Girl, Dance

    1940, in 4 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Dekalog

    1989, in 11 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Journal d'un curé de campagne

    1951 — a.k.a. Diary of a Country Priest, in 14 top lists Check
  28. 28 new

    Diner

    1982, in 7 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Do the Right Thing

    1989, in 25 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    La dolce vita

    1960 — a.k.a. La Dolce Vita, in 22 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Double Indemnity

    1944, in 37 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    Duck Soup

    1933, in 24 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    Easy Rider

    1969, in 17 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Enter the Dragon

    1973, in 14 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    The Entertainer

    1960, in 1 top list Check
  36. 36 new

    The Exorcist

    1973, in 27 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Faces

    1968, in 11 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    Fargo

    1996, in 27 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    Frankenstein

    1931, in 18 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    The General

    1926, in 33 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    The Godfather

    1972, in 42 top lists Check
  42. 42 new

    The Godfather Part II

    1974, in 32 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    Gone with the Wind

    1939, in 31 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    Il vangelo secondo Matteo

    1964 — a.k.a. The Gospel According to St. Matthew, in 14 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    The Graduate

    1967, in 29 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    Greed

    1924, in 21 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Chun gwong cha sit

    1997 — a.k.a. Happy Together, in 13 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    High Noon

    1952, in 18 top lists Check
  49. 49 new

    Invasion of the Body Snatchers

    1956, in 19 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    Jailhouse Rock

    1957, in 4 top lists Check
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Last updated on Feb 21, 2013; source