10. CLAIRE’S KNEE
35 LISTS | 6 TOP SPOTS Eric Rohmer | 105 mins | Drama/Romance Jean-Claude Brialy | Aurora Cornu | Beatrice Romand
“When I first saw it in Apri, I was convinced there couldn’t be a better film this year than “Claire’s Knee.” I was right. Though no one’s really noticed it, Eric Rohmer may turn out to be the Flaubert of the cinema. More literate films than Rohmer’s one cannot find, but they are sublimely beautiful and cinematic as well. There are still few films I would be more proud to have made than Claire’s Knee” – Todd McCarthy, Stanford Daily Journal
9. THE CONFORMIST
36 LISTS | 1 TOP SPOT Bernardo Bertolucci | 113 mins | Drama Jean-Louis Trintignant | Stefania Sandrelli | Gastrone Moschin
“The script may leave something to be desired, but then Bernardo Bertolucci may be the only talented disciple of Josef von Sternbert and Max Ophuls working in the cinema today and “The Conformist” proves beyond a doubt his abilities as a stylist with light and color. Visually, perhaps the richest film of the year.” – Todd McCarthy, Stanford Daily Journal
8. SUMMER OF ’42
37 LISTS | 1 TOP SPOT Robert Mulligan | 104 mins | Drama/Romance Jennifer O'Neill | Gary Grimes | Jerry Houser
“A touching, funny, wonderfully nostalgic memoir about a teenager’s sexual awakening in a vanished past when innocence was still part of youth. Beautifully directed by Robert Mulligan from Herman Raucher’s autobiographical script, it centers on the adventures of a 15 year old and two other adolescents spending a peaceful summer on a resort island during World War II.” – Stanley Eichelbaum, San Francisco Examiner
7. MCCABE AND MRS. MILLER
40 LISTS | 3 TOP SPOTS Robert Altman | 120 mins | Drama/Western Warren Beatty | Julie Christie | Rene Auberjonois
“Written by Robert Altman and Brian McKay, directed by Altman. Warren Beatty is his best as a small time gambler in the Old West and Julie Christie is a delight as the big town madam who nudges him into big business.” – Harry MacArthur, Washington Star
6. CARNAL KNOWLEDGE
41 LISTS | 3 TOP SPOTS Mike Nichols | 98 mins | Comedy/Drama Jack Nicholson | Candice Bergen | Art Garfunkel | Ann-Margaret
“Mike Nichols and Jules Feiffer, putting aside the gags for a minute, took a sober look at the male side of the sexual identity crisis, and discovered that men are their own worst enemies. Jack Nicholson was terrific, as usual, but Ann Margret turned from a silicone dumbell into a talent to be taken seriously. That, in itself, is a lot for one movie to accomplish.” – Rex Reed
5. THE GO-BETWEEN
44 LISTS | 2 TOP SPOTS Joseph Losey | 116 mins | Drama/Romance Julie Christy | Alan Bates | Dominic Guard
“Macabre, moving and deadly in its evocations of snobbery and decadence is this electrifying film directed by Josefph Losey from a script by Harold Pinter. Set in Edwardian England, the story involves the victimization of innocence as a young boy from a lower class finds himself used and patronized during a summer’s visit with an artistocratic family. Members of the splendid cast include Dominic Guard, Julie Christie, Alan Bates, Margaret Leighton and Michael Redgrave” – Giles M. Fowler, Kansas City Star
4. SUNDAY, BLOODY SUNDAY
47 LISTS | 2 TOP SPOTS John Schlesinger | 110 mins | Drama Peter Finch | Glenda Jackson | Murray Head
“Sunday Bloody Sunday, directed by John Schlesinger, speaks for tolerance in the presentation of an unusual triangle, a middle-aged doctor and a career woman, both hopelessly in love with a pretty young homosexual who isn’t worth their suffering over his sexual double bill. The English are depicted as highly civilized, which they are, and great liberals, which they are not. I list “Sunday Bloody Sunday” for a fine, restrained performance by Peter Finch as the doctor and a perfectly natural performance by Glenda Jackson, as the jealous, irrational career woman.” – Wanda Hale, New York Daily News
3. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE
55 LISTS | 13 TOP SPOTS Stanley Kubrick | 136 mins | Comedy/Crime/Sci-Fi Malcolm McDowell | Patrick Magee | Michael Bates
“Stanley Kubrick’s new film with Malcolm McDowell and a superb cast, is a brilliant, Witty examination of the nature of life today. The reality f violence is a tool Kubrick uses to expose the elements of society at this moment. The movie is gripping entertainment every minute of its more than two hours.” – Frances Taylor, Chicago Daily News Service
2. THE FRENCH CONNECTION
73 LISTS | 6 TOP SPOTS William Friedkin | 104 mins | Drama/Action/Thriller Gene Hackman | Roy Scheider | Fernando Rey
“Director William Friedkin and Gene Hackman as Detective Popeye Doyle tell it like it is with the New York narcotics squad as no one has ever done before on the screen. A tension screamer, as real as last night’s desk sergeant blotter.” – Elston Brooks, Fort Worth Star Telegram
1. THE LAST PICTURE SHOW
78 LISTS | 15 TOP SPOTS Peter Bogdanovich | 118 mins | Drama/Romance Timothy Bottoms | Jeff Bridges | Cybill Shepherd | Ben Johnson
“Maybe I’m putting it first because this almost seems a year of last picture shows. Peter Bogdanovich’s evocation of change in life of a small Texas town is a record of the loss of imagination and vitality in America. HIs pioneers and eccentries die or are killed, and ordinary people are left inhabiting a vacuum. The movie is about the loss of a sense of community, and it is about transitions in American life that made conformity a virtue in the 1950s. Part of its motif is the change from an art form of invention and imagination – the movies – to the totalitarian oatmeal of television.” – Philip Wuntch, Dallas News
Full List:
| R | Film | L | #1 | AR | L% | #1% | TCL | TCL1 | TCL% | TCL1% |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | The Last Picture Show | 78 | 15 | 3.2 | 72% | 23% | 56 | 12 | 76% | 25% |
| 2 | The French Connection | 73 | 6 | 3.9 | 68% | 9% | 48 | 5 | 65% | 10% |
| 3 | A Clockwork Orange | 55 | 13 | 3.4 | 51% | 20% | 37 | 8 | 50% | 17% |
| 4 | Sunday, Bloody Sunday | 47 | 2 | 5.6 | 44% | 3% | 35 | 2 | 47% | 4% |
| 5 | The Go-Between | 44 | 2 | 5.2 | 41% | 3% | 32 | 2 | 43% | 4% |
| 6 | Carnal Knowledge | 41 | 3 | 5.0 | 38% | 5% | 26 | 1 | 35% | 2% |
| 7 | McCabe and Mrs. Miller | 40 | 3 | 4.1 | 37% | 5% | 25 | 1 | 34% | 2% |
| 8 | Summer of '42 | 37 | 1 | 6.2 | 34% | 2% | 22 | 0 | 30% | 0% |
| 9 | The Conformist | 36 | 1 | 3.4 | 33% | 2% | 30 | 1 | 41% | 2% |
| 10 | Claire's Knee | 35 | 6 | 5.4 | 32% | 9% | 29 | 5 | 39% | 10% |
| 11 | Klute | 29 | 0 | 6.3 | 27% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 18% | 0% |
| 12 | Fiddler on the Roof | 28 | 0 | 5.8 | 26% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 19% | 0% |
| 13 | Taking Off | 27 | 0 | 6.3 | 25% | 0% | 20 | 0 | 27% | 0% |
| 14 | Death in Venice | 24 | 2 | 5.3 | 22% | 3% | 14 | 2 | 19% | 4% |
| 15 | Straw Dogs | 20 | 1 | 5.3 | 19% | 2% | 12 | 1 | 16% | 2% |
| 16 | The Garden of the Finzi-Continis | 18 | 0 | 6.9 | 17% | 0% | 13 | 0 | 18% | 0% |
| 17 | Le Boucher | 16 | 0 | 4.0 | 15% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 19% | 0% |
| 18 | Walkabout | 15 | 1 | 4.5 | 14% | 2% | 6 | 0 | 8% | 0% |
| 19 | Murmur of the Heart | 15 | 0 | 4.9 | 14% | 0% | 11 | 0 | 15% | 0% |
| 19 | Bed and Board | 15 | 0 | 8.0 | 14% | 0% | 14 | 0 | 19% | 0% |
| 21 | Bananas | 14 | 0 | 8.6 | 13% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 22 | The Clowns | 12 | 0 | 3.3 | 11% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 23 | Derby | 11 | 0 | 6.6 | 10% | 0% | 10 | 0 | 14% | 0% |
| 24 | The Boy Friend | 11 | 0 | 5.8 | 10% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 9% | 0% |
| 24 | Desperate Characters | 11 | 0 | 4.3 | 10% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 24 | Johnny Got His Gun | 11 | 0 | 8.2 | 10% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 27 | Macbeth (1971) | 10 | 1 | 5.6 | 9% | 2% | 4 | 1 | 5% | 2% |
| 27 | The Hellstrom Chronicle | 10 | 1 | 6.0 | 9% | 2% | 7 | 1 | 9% | 2% |
| 29 | A New Leaf | 10 | 0 | 8.2 | 9% | 0% | 8 | 0 | 11% | 0% |
| 29 | One Day in the Life of Ivan Denisovitch | 10 | 0 | 5.0 | 9% | 0% | 7 | 0 | 9% | 0% |
Lists Included 108 | Top Critics’ Lists Included 74
R Rank
L Total number of lists where the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year
AR Average position on ranked top 10 lists
#1 Total number of lists where the film was selected as the best film of the year
L% Percentage of total lists where the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year
#1% Percentage of mentions where the film was selected as the best film of the year
TCL Number of times that the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL1 Number of times that the film was selected as the best film of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL% Percentage of times that the film was selected as one of the top 10 films of the year on top critics’ lists
TCL1% Percentage of lists where the film was selected as the best film of the year on top critics’ lists
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