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

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

Created by TomServo.

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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. 1 new

    One A.M.

    1916, in 4 top lists Check
  2. 2 new

    The Pawnshop

    1916, in 3 top lists Check
  3. 3 new

    The Rink

    1916, in 3 top lists Check
  4. 4 new

    Easy Street

    1917, in 6 top lists Check
  5. 5 new

    The Cure

    1917, in 5 top lists Check
  6. 6 new

    The Immigrant

    1917, in 7 top lists Check
  7. 7 new

    The Adventurer

    1917, in 4 top lists Check
  8. 8 new

    A Dog's Life

    1918, in 4 top lists Check
  9. 9 new

    Shoulder Arms

    1918, in 5 top lists Check
  10. 10 new

    Sunnyside

    1919, in 4 top lists Check
  11. 11 new

    The Kid

    1921, in 17 top lists Check
  12. 12 new

    The Pilgrim

    1923, in 6 top lists Check
  13. 13 new

    A Woman of Paris: A Drama of Fate

    1923, in 4 top lists Check
  14. 14 new

    The Gold Rush

    1925, in 29 top lists Check
  15. 15 new

    The Circus

    1928, in 10 top lists Check
  16. 16 new

    City Lights

    1931, in 34 top lists Check
  17. 17 new

    Modern Times

    1936, in 30 top lists Check
  18. 18 new

    The Great Dictator

    1940, in 25 top lists Check
  19. 19 new

    Monsieur Verdoux

    1947, in 11 top lists Check
  20. 20 new

    Limelight

    1952, in 12 top lists Check
  21. 21 new

    Nanook of the North

    1922, in 17 top lists Check
  22. 22 new

    Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

    1931, in 11 top lists Check
  23. 23 new

    Man of Aran

    1934, in 5 top lists Check
  24. 24 new

    Louisiana Story

    1948, in 5 top lists Check
  25. 25 new

    Men Without Women

    1930, in 0 top lists Check
  26. 26 new

    Up the River

    1930, in 0 top lists Check
  27. 27 new

    Arrowsmith

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  28. 28 new

    Air Mail

    1932, in 0 top lists Check
  29. 29 new

    Doctor Bull

    1933, in 0 top lists Check
  30. 30 new

    The Lost Patrol

    1934, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 31 new

    Judge Priest

    1934, in 3 top lists Check
  32. 32 new

    The Whole Town's Talking

    1935 — a.k.a. Passport to Fame, in 0 top lists Check
  33. 33 new

    The Informer

    1935, in 7 top lists Check
  34. 34 new

    Steamboat Round the Bend

    1935 — a.k.a. Steamboat Bill, in 2 top lists Check
  35. 35 new

    The Prisoner of Shark Island

    1936, in 2 top lists Check
  36. 36 new

    The Hurricane

    1937, in 0 top lists Check
  37. 37 new

    Stagecoach

    1939, in 21 top lists Check
  38. 38 new

    Young Mr. Lincoln

    1939, in 8 top lists Check
  39. 39 new

    The Grapes of Wrath

    1940, in 24 top lists Check
  40. 40 new

    The Long Voyage Home

    1940, in 4 top lists Check
  41. 41 new

    Tobacco Road

    1941, in 2 top lists Check
  42. 42 new

    How Green Was My Valley

    1941, in 11 top lists Check
  43. 43 new

    They Were Expendable

    1945, in 4 top lists Check
  44. 44 new

    My Darling Clementine

    1946, in 20 top lists Check
  45. 45 new

    Fort Apache

    1948, in 5 top lists Check
  46. 46 new

    She Wore a Yellow Ribbon

    1949, in 8 top lists Check
  47. 47 new

    Wagon Master

    1950, in 6 top lists Check
  48. 48 new

    Rio Grande

    1950, in 4 top lists Check
  49. 49 new

    The Quiet Man

    1952, in 15 top lists Check
  50. 50 new

    Mogambo

    1953, in 0 top lists Check
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Last updated on Sep 28, 2019;