The #1 Movie in the World Right Now 2022: Sight & Sound Shocker
In a stunning result that reverberated through the film world, Chantal Akerman’s groundbreaking 1975 film Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles has been named the winner of Sight and Sound magazine’s prestigious Greatest Films of All Time Critics’ poll for 2022. This marks a historic moment, as it’s the first time a film directed by a woman has secured the coveted number one spot since the poll began in 1952. The outcome positions Akerman’s challenging work arguably as the Number One Movie In The World Right Now 2022, according to this highly influential survey.
Akerman’s film dramatically climbed from 36th place in the previous poll conducted in 2012, showcasing a significant shift in critical consensus over the past decade. This was the eighth iteration of Sight and Sound’s once-a-decade poll, and its most ambitious yet. Over 1,600 leading international film critics, academics, distributors, writers, curators, archivists, and programmers participated, nearly doubling the voter count from 2012.
A Historic Shift in Film Rankings
The 2012 champion, Alfred Hitchcock’s Vertigo (1958), slipped to second place. Orson Welles’ Citizen Kane (1941), which famously held the top position for half a century, now ranks third. Yasujiro Ozu’s poignant Tokyo Story (1953) sits at fourth.
Alfred Hitchcock's Vertigo featured on a Sight and Sound magazine cover
Top 10 Highlights and Changes
Beyond the top spot shuffle, the 2022 poll saw significant movement within the top 10. Wong Kar Wai’s visually lush In the Mood for Love (2001) soared to fifth place from 24th in 2012. Claire Denis’s enigmatic Beau travail (1998) made a remarkable leap to seventh, up from 78th. David Lynch’s surreal masterpiece Mulholland Dr. (2001) entered the top 10 at eighth place, climbing from 28th. Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) holds the sixth spot, Dziga Vertov’s Man with a Movie Camera (1929) is ninth, and Singin’ in the Rain (1951) by Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly rounds out the top ten.
Understanding Jeanne Dielman‘s Significance
Hailed by Le Monde in 1976 as “the first masterpiece of the feminine in the history of the cinema,” Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles offers a mesmerizing, hypnotic portrayal of a middle-aged widow’s meticulous daily routine over three days, performed compellingly by Delphine Seyrig. Akerman was just 25 years old when she directed this experimental and radical film, which has continued to provoke intense analysis and debate for decades. Its patient observation and focus on domestic labor challenged cinematic norms and offered a powerful feminist perspective.
Delphine Seyrig as Jeanne Dielman inspecting something in the 1975 film
Expert Reactions to the Landmark Result
Mike Williams, Sight and Sound Editor in Chief, commented: ”Jeanne Dielman challenged the status quo when it was released in 1975 and continues to do so today. It’s a landmark feminist film, and its position at the top of list is emblematic of better representation in the top 100 for women filmmakers… Jeanne Dielman’s success reminds us that there is a world of under-seen and under-appreciated gems out there to be discovered.”
Jason Wood, BFI Executive Director of Public Programmes and Audiences, added: “As well as being a compelling list, one of the most important elements is that it shakes a fist at the established order. Canons should be challenged and interrogated… it’s so satisfying to see a list that feels quite radical in its sense of diversity and inclusion.”
Filmmaker Joanna Hogg reflected on Akerman’s legacy: “It’s incredible news that Jeanne Dielman has topped the Critics’ poll… What’s important to remember – whatever Chantal thought of the film… it’s been an incredibly influential piece of filmmaking… In a way this film winning represents not just specifically the importance of Jeanne Dielman but the importance of Chantal Akerman as a filmmaker.”
Laura Mulvey, Professor of Film Studies at Birkbeck, University of London, stated: “Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman… has topped the Sight and Sound ten best list in its own right and in recognition of a supreme cinematic achievement… It was the film’s courage that was immediately most striking… One might say that it felt as though there was a before and an after Jeanne Dielman, just as there had once been a before and after Citizen Kane.” Mulvey anticipates the film attracting new audiences “held enthralled by the extraordinarily daring cinema of a great woman director.”
The Critics’ Top 20 Greatest Films of All Time
- Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
- Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
- Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
- Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953)
- In the Mood for Love (Wong Kar-wai, 2001)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
- Beau travail (Claire Denis, 1998)
- Mulholland Dr. (David Lynch, 2001)
- Man with a Movie Camera (Dziga Vertov,1929)
- Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1951)
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (F.W. Murnau, 1927)
- The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
- La Règle du jeu (Jean Renoir, 1939)
- Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)
- The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)
- Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)
- Close-Up (Abbas Kiarostami, 1989)
- Persona (Ingmar Bergman, 1966)
- Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
- Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)
Poll Methodology and Growing Diversity
Since 1952, the Sight and Sound Critics’ poll has served as a key barometer of film culture globally. The 2022 poll’s expanded and diversified electorate, drawing over 1,600 participants worldwide who voted for over 4,000 films, reflects the growing influence of international film commentary online and increased access to a wider range of films via streaming, physical media, and curated screenings. Voters were asked to define ‘Greatest’ based on historical importance, aesthetic merit, or personal impact.
This wider participation seems reflected in the list’s increased diversity. In 2012, only two films in the top 100 were directed by women (Jeanne Dielman and Beau travail). The 2022 list features 11 films by women, with four in the top 20. New entries include Agnès Varda’s Cléo from 5 to 7 (#14) and The Gleaners and I (#67), Maya Deren’s Meshes of the Afternoon (#16), Vera Chytilová’s Daisies (#28), Céline Sciamma’s Portrait of a Lady on Fire (#30), Barbara Loden’s Wanda (#48), Jane Campion’s The Piano (#50), Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (#60), and a second Akerman film, News from Home (#52).
Juan teaches Little how to swim in a scene from Moonlight (2016)
Representation of Black filmmakers also increased significantly. In 2012, only Djibril Diop Mambéty’s Touki Bouki (#93) was present. The 2022 poll includes seven films by prominent Black directors: Touki Bouki climbed to 67th, joined by Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing (#24), Charles Burnett’s Killer of Sheep (#43), Julie Dash’s Daughters of the Dust (joint 60th), Barry Jenkins’s Moonlight (joint 60th), Jordan Peele’s Get Out (joint 95th), and Ousmane Sembène’s Black Girl (joint 95th).
Nine films from the last two decades made the top 100 (up from two in 2012), including Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite (#90), Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away (#75), and Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s Tropical Malady (#95), alongside several of the diverse entries mentioned above.
George O'Brien and Margaret Livingston in a scene from the silent film Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
Silent cinema remains represented, with nine films in the top 100. Two made the top 20: F.W. Murnau’s Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (#11) and Dziga Vertov’s documentary Man with a Movie Camera (#9). Other silent era classics include works by Dreyer, Chaplin, Keaton, Eisenstein, and Lang.
Notable Films Exiting the Top 100
The shifts in the list meant some acclaimed films previously included fell out of the top 100. Among these are Erich von Stroheim’s Greed, D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance, Luis Buñuel’s Un chien andalou, Jean Renoir’s La Grande Illusion, Orson Welles’s The Magnificent Ambersons and Touch of Evil, David Lean’s Lawrence of Arabia, Roman Polanski’s Chinatown, Francis Ford Coppola’s The Godfather Part II, and Martin Scorsese’s Raging Bull.
Directors Chose Differently: The Directors’ Poll
Alongside the critics’ poll, Sight and Sound conducted a separate poll asking directors for their greatest films. A record 480 filmmakers, including Martin Scorsese, Barry Jenkins, Sofia Coppola, and Bong Joon Ho, participated. Their collective choice for the greatest film of all time was Stanley Kubrick’s 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). Citizen Kane placed second, followed by The Godfather at third. The critics’ top choice, Jeanne Dielman, tied for fourth place with the 2012 Directors’ Poll winner, Tokyo Story. Hitchcock’s Vertigo tied for sixth with Federico Fellini’s 8½.
An astronaut floats near a pod in space in Stanley Kubrick's 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Conclusion: A New Cinematic Benchmark
The crowning of Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles as the number one film in Sight and Sound’s 2022 critics’ poll signifies a major moment in film history and criticism. It not only breaks barriers by honoring a female director with the top spot for the first time but also reflects a broader trend towards recognizing a more diverse range of cinematic voices and challenging established canons. While classic favorites like Vertigo and Citizen Kane remain highly ranked, the ascent of Akerman’s radical masterpiece, alongside significant gains for other women and filmmakers of color, suggests an evolving landscape of what constitutes cinematic greatness. This landmark poll result invites audiences old and new to engage with a challenging, influential work and signals a dynamic future for film appreciation.
