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. 14 new

    The Gold Rush

    1925, in 30 top lists Check
  2. 22 new

    Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

    1931, in 11 top lists Check
  3. 28 new

    Air Mail

    1932, in 0 top lists Check
  4. 30 new

    The Lost Patrol

    1934, in 0 top lists Check
  5. 37 new

    Stagecoach

    1939, in 21 top lists Check
  6. 50 new

    Mogambo

    1953, in 0 top lists Check
  7. 53 new

    The Searchers

    1956, in 26 top lists Check
  8. 57 new

    The Horse Soldiers

    1959, in 0 top lists Check
  9. 60 new

    Donovan's Reef

    1963, in 0 top lists Check
  10. 78 new

    Ceiling Zero

    1936, in 1 top list Check
  11. 81 new

    Only Angels Have Wings

    1939, in 10 top lists Check
  12. 84 new

    To Have and Have Not

    1944, in 16 top lists Check
  13. 86 new

    Red River

    1948, in 16 top lists Check
  14. 91 new

    Hatari!

    1962, in 3 top lists Check
  15. 120 new

    North by Northwest

    1959, in 30 top lists Check
  16. 132 new

    The General

    1926, in 33 top lists Check
  17. 136 new

    Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

    1924, in 13 top lists Check
  18. 137 new

    Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache

    1924 — a.k.a. Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge, in 13 top lists Check
  19. 150 new

    Moonfleet

    1955, in 4 top lists Check
  20. 179 new

    The Exile

    1947, in 0 top lists Check
  21. 216 new

    Shanghai Express

    1932, in 9 top lists Check
  22. 231 new

    Vera Cruz

    1954, in 2 top lists Check
  23. 237 new

    The Flight of the Phoenix

    1965, in 2 top lists Check
  24. 238 new

    The Dirty Dozen

    1967, in 8 top lists Check
  25. 265 new

    Lost Horizon

    1937, in 6 top lists Check
  26. 278 new

    The Personal History, Adventures, Experience, &...

    1935 — a.k.a. David Copperfield, in 4 top lists Check
  27. 293 new

    Bhowani Junction

    1956, in 2 top lists Check
  28. 294 new

    Heller in Pink Tights

    1960, in 1 top list Check
  29. 298 new

    Male and Female

    1919, in 5 top lists Check
  30. 302 new

    The Crusades

    1935, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 304 new

    The Buccaneer

    1938, in 0 top lists Check
  32. 306 new

    North West Mounted Police

    1940 — a.k.a. Northwest Mounted Police, in 0 top lists Check
  33. 307 new

    Reap the Wild Wind

    1942, in 0 top lists Check
  34. 308 new

    Unconquered

    1947, in 0 top lists Check
  35. 315 new

    The Great Race

    1965, in 2 top lists Check
  36. 328 new

    Merrill's Marauders

    1962, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 345 new

    Modesty Blaise

    1966, in 0 top lists Check
  38. 348 new

    Reign of Terror

    1949 — a.k.a. The Black Book, in 1 top list Check
  39. 353 new

    The Tall Target

    1951, in 2 top lists Check
  40. 354 new

    Bend of the River

    1952 — a.k.a. Where the River Bends, in 3 top lists Check
  41. 357 new

    The Far Country

    1954, in 1 top list Check
  42. 377 new

    The Island at the Top of the World

    1974, in 0 top lists Check
  43. 378 new

    The Pirate

    1948, in 3 top lists Check
  44. 395 new

    River of No Return

    1954, in 1 top list Check
  45. 412 new

    Wind Across the Everglades

    1958, in 1 top list Check
  46. 413 new

    The Savage Innocents

    1960, in 2 top lists Check
  47. 415 new

    A Scandal in Paris

    1946 — a.k.a. Thieves' Holiday, in 0 top lists Check
  48. 420 new

    Captain Lightfoot

    1955, in 0 top lists Check
  49. 429 new

    Gunga Din

    1939, in 7 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;