Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles 1976
Chantal Akerman's film took the number-one spot this year, up from a much lower ranking in 2012 - a result of the voting pool expanding from 846 critics to over 1,600.
The Big Picture · Discussion · Top Five
The Top Five Movies of 2022
December 6, 2022/ 99 min/ Sean Fennessey · Chris Ryan · Adam Nayman · Amanda Dobbins
Sean Fennessey, Chris Ryan, Adam Nayman, and Amanda Dobbins argue about the 2022 Sight and Sound poll of the greatest films ever made, then each rank their five best movies of the year.
27 films across 5 segments.
AI-generated This episode was transcribed and analyzed with AI models. The matches aren't perfect — expect the occasional misheard title or a link to the wrong film.
The 2022 Sight and Sound Pollthe once-a-decade critics' poll of the greatest films ever made
Citizen Kane 1941
The former number one, now dethroned. Amanda brings up the Sopranos scene where Carmela and the girls watch it and admire the cinematography.
Don't Look Now 1973
Adam's favorite movie of all time and the anchor of his ballot; he built his 10 picks around films that reflect it in some way. Made the directors' top 100 but not the critics'.
2001: A Space Odyssey 1968
Holds steady at number six on the list, one of the few Spielberg-adjacent Gen-X standbys not shut out this cycle.
Pulp Fiction 1994
Its absence from the top 100 stuns Chris, less because it belongs in anyone's personal top 10 than because of its outsized influence on the medium.
Jaws 1975
Also missing from the list. The group debates whether Spielberg's commercial success actually works against him by splitting the vote across too many acclaimed films.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre 1974
Amanda's example of a genre fans lobbied hard for. It shaped where horror filmmaking went for the next 50 years, even if it never had a shot at the top 100.
Adam Nayman's Top 5revealed No. 5 up to No. 1
No. 1
Aftersun 2022
No. 1 - Charlotte Wells's memory piece about a father and daughter on a resort trip. Adam calls it devastating in a way he can't fully articulate; thinks Paul Mescal might be a great actor based on this alone.
No. 2
Saint-Omer 2022
No. 2 - Alice Diop's courtroom drama and France's Oscar submission, its first by a Black female director. Doesn't open commercially until January 13.
No. 3
Nope 2022
No. 3 - Jordan Peele's UFO Western. Adam calls it proof there's substance behind the hype, willing to lose part of his audience by getting stranger and more idea-driven with each film.
No. 4
Decision to Leave 2022
No. 4 - Park Chan-wook's romantic noir. Adam calls the direction flawless and singles out Tang Wei's performance. He wasn't in love with the movie exactly, but was constantly impressed by it.
No. 5
Crimes of the Future 2022
No. 5 - David Cronenberg's return, which Adam gives the auteur bump. He profiled Cronenberg for The New Yorker this year and is grateful the film doesn't feel like a valedictory statement.
Chris Ryan's Top 5revealed No. 5 up to No. 1
No. 1
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
No. 1 - Chris has seen it enough times to have lost count, including with two ex-Navy pilots doing commentary on YouTube. Calls it a love letter to Tom Cruise and to 90s studio blockbusters.
No. 2
The Banshees of Inisherin 2022
No. 2 - Martin McDonagh's film about two friends falling out on an island off the Irish coast. Chris tried and failed to get his wife to watch it over the weekend.
No. 3
Tár 2022
No. 3 - Todd Field's Cate Blanchett vehicle. Chris compares seeing it to front-row seats for peak Daniel Day-Lewis.
No. 4
Speak No Evil 2022
No. 4 - Christian Tafdrup's Danish-Dutch horror film about a vacation friendship gone very wrong. Chris calls it the most effective horror movie of the year, easily.
No. 5
Barbarian 2022
No. 5 - Zach Cregger's horror movie starring Justin Long and Bill Skarsgård. Chris loved walking in knowing nothing, the way people used to see movies in the 90s.
Amanda Dobbins's Top 5revealed No. 5 up to No. 1
No. 1
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
No. 1 - Amanda says it delivered more than she or America dared to imagine: a love letter to Tom Cruise and a theater experience she doesn't get anymore.
No. 2
Tár 2022
No. 2 - a Rorschach-test movie for Amanda; she says she doesn't even find its 45 minutes of endings too long.
No. 3
The Fabelmans 2022
No. 3 - Steven Spielberg's autobiographical film, written with Tony Kushner. Amanda finds it stranger and less sentimental than its marketing suggests, and points to the Michelle Williams performance.
No. 4
Happening 2021
No. 4 - Audrey Diwan's French film about a college student seeking an abortion in 1963, adapted from Annie Ernaux's novel. Amanda almost left it off, tired of another abortion drama on her list, then decided it was simply better than the other films she saw.
No. 5
The Eternal Daughter 2022
No. 5 - Joanna Hogg's film starring Tilda Swinton, shot during COVID and a kind of coda to Hogg's Souvenir project. Amanda calls herself a lock for anything Hogg makes.
Sean Fennessey's Top 5revealed No. 5 up to No. 1
No. 1
Nope 2022
No. 1 - Sean's number one and number two were close enough that he almost tied them. Calls Nope a movie that asks you to think, unlike the blockbuster ride of Top Gun: Maverick.
No. 2
Tár 2022
No. 2 - tied with Amanda's number two. Sean calls Todd Field's return, after a long absence from filmmaking, a great story on its own.
No. 3
Top Gun: Maverick 2022
No. 3 - Sean calls it one of the most tightly engineered blockbusters ever made, and doesn't think it needs to be more than that.
No. 4
All the Beauty and the Bloodshed 2022
No. 4 - Laura Poitras's documentary about photographer and activist Nan Goldin's fight with the Sackler family. Sean interviewed Poitras on the show the week before.
No. 5
Babylon 2022
No. 5 - Damien Chazelle's three-hour portrait of early Hollywood, starring Margot Robbie and Brad Pitt. Sean watched it in a bad mood after leaving a holiday party early and came away blown away; the film isn't out until December 23.
Also mentioned raised along the way
Sight and Sound poll, in passing Beau TravailThe ShiningMeshes of the AfternoonDuck AmuckLa JetéeMulholland DriveIn the Mood for LovePortrait of a Lady on FireGet OutMoonlightCleo from 5 to 7BreathlessRaiders of the Lost ArkWhen Harry Met Sally...NetworkCosmopolis
Also namechecked Basic InstinctThe HandmaidenUsBoogie NightsLa La LandWhiplashFirst ManWest Side StoryPhantom ThreadThe VisitClose Encounters of the Third KindThe Souvenir Part IIConfess FletchThe Neon DemonBlondeJackass ForeverXPearlThe Woman KingShe SaidTicket to ParadiseBrosHalftimeAmbulanceArmageddon TimeTurning RedEverything Everywhere All at OnceThe BatmanDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessMinions: The Rise of Gru
Not films filtered out: TV, games, ads
TV The Kingdom ExodusIrma VepCopenhagen Cowboy
Games FIFA World Cup Launch Edition
Podcasts Bandsplain
Ads FanDuelNOS EnergyBoar's HeadUber