The Best Films According to Andrew Sarris's The American Cinema

The Best Films According to Andrew Sarris's The American Cinema's icon

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In Andrew Sarris's The American Cinema, every director in the book has their full filmography listed, and Sarris italicizes the best films of each director. Here is the full collection of every film italicized in the book (with the exception of Out of the Past, which remains unitalicized likely as an error as he calls it Jacques Torneur's masterpiece).

The book has multiple sections, with who Sarris viewed as the pantheon directors at the top, and slowly dwindling in quality as the list goes down. However, there is merit to be found towards the bottom, as he lists a series of oddities, one-shots, and, at the time, newcomers, as well as subjects for further research.

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  1. 119 new

    Vertigo

    1958, in 42 top lists Check
  2. 898 new

    Casablanca

    1942, in 39 top lists Check
  3. 222 new

    Citizen Kane

    1941, in 39 top lists Check
  4. 121 new

    Psycho

    1960, in 39 top lists Check
  5. 1327 new

    The Wizard of Oz

    1939, in 38 top lists Check
  6. 826 new

    Double Indemnity

    1944, in 37 top lists Check
  7. 1087 new

    Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop...

    1964, in 37 top lists Check
  8. 514 new

    Singin' in the Rain

    1952, in 37 top lists Check
  9. 803 new

    The Third Man

    1949, in 37 top lists Check
  10. 138 new

    Metropolis

    1927, in 36 top lists Check
  11. 173 new

    Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

    1927 — a.k.a. Sunrise, in 36 top lists Check
  12. 140 new

    M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder

    1931 — a.k.a. M, in 35 top lists Check
  13. 834 new

    Some Like It Hot

    1959, in 35 top lists Check
  14. 829 new

    Sunset Blvd.

    1950 — a.k.a. Sunset Boulevard, in 35 top lists Check
  15. 16 new

    City Lights

    1931, in 34 top lists Check
  16. 132 new

    The General

    1926, in 34 top lists Check
  17. 1154 new

    The Night of the Hunter

    1955, in 34 top lists Check
  18. 269 new

    It's a Wonderful Life

    1946, in 33 top lists Check
  19. 754 new

    On the Waterfront

    1954, in 32 top lists Check
  20. 1328 new

    Gone with the Wind

    1939, in 31 top lists Check
  21. 114 new

    Rear Window

    1954, in 31 top lists Check
  22. 1093 new

    12 Angry Men

    1957, in 30 top lists Check
  23. 848 new

    The Best Years of Our Lives

    1946, in 30 top lists Check
  24. 17 new

    Modern Times

    1936, in 30 top lists Check
  25. 120 new

    North by Northwest

    1959, in 30 top lists Check
  26. 226 new

    Touch of Evil

    1958, in 30 top lists Check
  27. 14 new

    The Gold Rush

    1925, in 29 top lists Check
  28. 1158 new

    The Graduate

    1967, in 29 top lists Check
  29. 263 new

    It Happened One Night

    1934, in 29 top lists Check
  30. 835 new

    The Apartment

    1960, in 28 top lists Check
  31. 590 new

    Bonnie and Clyde

    1967, in 28 top lists Check
  32. 170 new

    Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens

    1922 — a.k.a. Nosferatu, in 28 top lists Check
  33. 738 new

    The Maltese Falcon

    1941, in 27 top lists Check
  34. 1085 new

    Paths of Glory

    1957, in 26 top lists Check
  35. 726 new

    Les quatre cents coups

    1959 — a.k.a. The 400 Blows, in 26 top lists Check
  36. 53 new

    The Searchers

    1956, in 26 top lists Check
  37. 780 new

    All About Eve

    1950, in 25 top lists Check
  38. 661 new

    Un chien andalou

    1929 — a.k.a. An Andalusian Dog, in 25 top lists Check
  39. 18 new

    The Great Dictator

    1940, in 25 top lists Check
  40. 664 new

    Los olvidados

    1950 — a.k.a. The Young and the Damned, in 25 top lists Check
  41. 1133 new

    The Sound of Music

    1965, in 25 top lists Check
  42. 741 new

    The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

    1948, in 25 top lists Check
  43. 364 new

    Duck Soup

    1933, in 24 top lists Check
  44. 39 new

    The Grapes of Wrath

    1940, in 24 top lists Check
  45. 63 new

    Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages

    1916, in 24 top lists Check
  46. 656 new

    L'avventura

    1960 — a.k.a. L'Avventura, in 24 top lists Check
  47. 108 new

    Notorious

    1946, in 24 top lists Check
  48. 196 new

    La règle du jeu

    1939 — a.k.a. The Rules of the Game, in 24 top lists Check
  49. 129 new

    Sherlock Jr.

    1924, in 24 top lists Check
  50. 445 new

    Sullivan's Travels

    1941, in 24 top lists Check
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Last updated on Sep 28, 2019;