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. 120 new

    North by Northwest

    1959, in 30 top lists Check
  2. 103 new

    Rebecca

    1940, in 23 top lists Check
  3. 123 new

    Torn Curtain

    1966, in 1 top list Check
  4. 119 new

    Vertigo

    1958, in 42 top lists Check
  5. 104 new

    Foreign Correspondent

    1940, in 6 top lists Check
  6. 117 new

    The Man Who Knew Too Much

    1956, in 0 top lists Check
  7. 122 new

    The Birds

    1963, in 18 top lists Check
  8. 109 new

    Under Capricorn

    1949, in 3 top lists Check
  9. 114 new

    Rear Window

    1954, in 31 top lists Check
  10. 110 new

    Stage Fright

    1950, in 1 top list Check
  11. 121 new

    Psycho

    1960, in 39 top lists Check
  12. 106 new

    Saboteur

    1942, in 2 top lists Check
  13. 107 new

    Shadow of a Doubt

    1943, in 15 top lists Check
  14. 115 new

    To Catch a Thief

    1955, in 6 top lists Check
  15. 113 new

    Dial M for Murder

    1954, in 9 top lists Check
  16. 118 new

    The Wrong Man

    1956, in 8 top lists Check
  17. 96 new

    Murder!

    1930, in 0 top lists Check
  18. 108 new

    Notorious

    1946, in 24 top lists Check
  19. 111 new

    Strangers on a Train

    1951, in 17 top lists Check
  20. 94 new

    The Farmer's Wife

    1928, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 105 new

    Suspicion

    1941, in 4 top lists Check
  22. 116 new

    The Trouble with Harry

    1955, in 2 top lists Check
  23. 101 new

    The Lady Vanishes

    1938, in 15 top lists Check
  24. 112 new

    I Confess

    1953, in 2 top lists Check
  25. 98 new

    The 39 Steps

    1935, in 16 top lists Check
  26. 99 new

    Secret Agent

    1936, in 0 top lists Check
  27. 95 new

    Blackmail

    1929, in 7 top lists Check
  28. 102 new

    Young and Innocent

    1937 — a.k.a. The Girl Was Young, in 0 top lists Check
  29. 100 new

    Sabotage

    1936, in 3 top lists Check
  30. 97 new

    The Man Who Knew Too Much

    1934, in 2 top lists Check
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Last updated on Sep 28, 2019;