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. 129 new

    Sherlock Jr.

    1924, in 24 top lists Check
  2. 136 new

    Die Nibelungen: Siegfried

    1924, in 13 top lists Check
  3. 137 new

    Die Nibelungen: Kriemhilds Rache

    1924 — a.k.a. Die Nibelungen: Kriemhild's Revenge, in 13 top lists Check
  4. 153 new

    Die Puppe

    1919 — a.k.a. The Doll, in 7 top lists Check
  5. 168 new

    Heaven Can Wait

    1943, in 5 top lists Check
  6. 172 new

    Faust: Eine deutsche Volkssage

    1926 — a.k.a. Faust, in 15 top lists Check
  7. 178 new

    La tendre ennemie

    1936, in 0 top lists Check
  8. 265 new

    Lost Horizon

    1937, in 6 top lists Check
  9. 269 new

    It's a Wonderful Life

    1946, in 33 top lists Check
  10. 343 new

    The Damned

    1962 — a.k.a. These Are the Damned, in 2 top lists Check
  11. 373 new

    Cabin in the Sky

    1943, in 3 top lists Check
  12. 376 new

    Yolanda and the Thief

    1945, in 0 top lists Check
  13. 377 new

    The Island at the Top of the World

    1974, in 0 top lists Check
  14. 649 new

    Antinea, l'amante della città sepolta

    1961 — a.k.a. Journey Beneath the Desert, in 0 top lists Check
  15. 669 new

    El ángel exterminador

    1962 — a.k.a. The Exterminating Angel, in 19 top lists Check
  16. 670 new

    Simón del desierto

    1965 — a.k.a. Simon of the Desert, in 5 top lists Check
  17. 687 new

    The Ghost Goes West

    1935, in 1 top list Check
  18. 736 new

    Boccaccio '70

    1962, in 1 top list Check
  19. 761 new

    Blithe Spirit

    1945, in 2 top lists Check
  20. 776 new

    The Ghost and Mrs. Muir

    1947, in 8 top lists Check
  21. 937 new

    Peter Ibbetson

    1935, in 4 top lists Check
  22. 965 new

    Tom, Dick and Harry

    1941, in 0 top lists Check
  23. 1011 new

    Anchors Aweigh

    1945, in 3 top lists Check
  24. 1091 new

    The Picture of Dorian Gray

    1945, in 5 top lists Check
  25. 1092 new

    Pandora and the Flying Dutchman

    1951, in 2 top lists Check
  26. 1102 new

    Morgan: A Suitable Case for Treatment

    1966 — a.k.a. Morgan!, in 1 top list Check
  27. 1140 new

    The Raven

    1963, in 1 top list Check
  28. 1250 new

    Körkarlen

    1921 — a.k.a. The Phantom Carriage, in 16 top lists Check
  29. 1327 new

    The Wizard of Oz

    1939, in 38 top lists Check
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Last updated on Sep 28, 2019;