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. 16 new

    City Lights

    1931, in 34 top lists Check
  2. 22 new

    Tabu: A Story of the South Seas

    1931, in 11 top lists Check
  3. 27 new

    Arrowsmith

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  4. 73 new

    The Struggle

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  5. 140 new

    M - Eine Stadt sucht einen Mörder

    1931 — a.k.a. M, in 35 top lists Check
  6. 159 new

    The Smiling Lieutenant

    1931, in 4 top lists Check
  7. 189 new

    La chienne

    1931 — a.k.a. La Chienne, in 10 top lists Check
  8. 214 new

    Dishonored

    1931, in 4 top lists Check
  9. 215 new

    An American Tragedy

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  10. 245 new

    Bad Girl

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  11. 259 new

    Platinum Blonde

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  12. 273 new

    Tarnished Lady

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  13. 456 new

    Street Scene

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  14. 457 new

    The Champ

    1931, in 3 top lists Check
  15. 614 new

    Strictly Dishonorable

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  16. 652 new

    Corsair

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  17. 685 new

    Le million

    1931 — a.k.a. Le Million, in 8 top lists Check
  18. 686 new

    À nous la liberté

    1931 — a.k.a. À Nous la Liberté, in 6 top lists Check
  19. 707 new

    Die 3 Groschen-Oper

    1931 — a.k.a. The 3 Penny Opera, in 8 top lists Check
  20. 708 new

    Kameradschaft

    1931 — a.k.a. Comradeship, in 4 top lists Check
  21. 771 new

    City Streets

    1931, in 3 top lists Check
  22. 772 new

    Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde

    1931, in 7 top lists Check
  23. 790 new

    The Front Page

    1931, in 3 top lists Check
  24. 808 new

    The Public Enemy

    1931, in 13 top lists Check
  25. 839 new

    A House Divided

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  26. 971 new

    Marius

    1931, in 7 top lists Check
  27. 992 new

    Little Caesar

    1931, in 10 top lists Check
  28. 993 new

    Five Star Final

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  29. 1039 new

    Waterloo Bridge

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  30. 1040 new

    Frankenstein

    1931, in 18 top lists Check
  31. 1196 new

    Dracula

    1931, in 11 top lists Check
  32. 1208 new

    The Guardsman

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  33. 1209 new

    Private Lives

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  34. 1214 new

    Transatlantic

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  35. 1230 new

    Over the Hill

    1931, in 0 top lists Check
  36. 1283 new

    Monkey Business

    1931, in 1 top list Check
  37. 1376 new

    Trader Horn

    1931, in 1 top list Check
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Last updated on Sep 28, 2019;