the greatest films of all time

Film Roger Ebert's been asked to include his votes in Sight & Sound's decadal poll for the greatest films of all time. One of the films he's swapped in for this go around is certainly brave and certainly wouldn't be my choice. 

Since I have a spare half hour this evening before the usual fifty minutes of prevarication thinly disguised as current affairs programming (#newsnight) I thought I'd attempt my list.

 Again this isn't just favourite films. This is films which I objectively believe to be the best constructed in film history. Eep.

Citizen Kane (Welles)
Annie Hall (Allen)
The Seventh Seal (Bergman)
Last Year at Marienbad (Resnais)
Hamlet (Branagh)
All The President's Men (Pakula)
Rear Window (Hitchcock)
Blade Runner (Scott)
The Last Temptation of Christ (Scorsese)
Magnolia (Anderson)

Which is bloody outrageous frankly.  No Ozu.  No Coppola.  Nothing silent, what's worse Blade Runner and not Metropolis.  Here's some brief justifications.

Because it's Citizen Kane.
Because it would have been outrageous to include my original choice.
Because it's strangely the most life affirming of Bergman's films.
Because it's Last Year at Marienbad.
Because I needed to include something Shakespeare.
Because it rewrote narrative expectations.
Because it's subtle in its genius.
Because no other film is quite this immersive.
Because I couldn't get away with The Aviator.
Because of the middle hour.

No Tarkovsky either.  But I do still think Solaris is an all round better film than 2001.  Oh I could be at this all night.  Or for the rest of my life.  Should I have picked Wild Strawberries?

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