I am working on the next update, but I am not as far as I hoped I would be at this time. Part of this is because I am usually overly optimistic when estimating how much time it would take to update the site. There are also other issues such as ballots for the 2022 Sight and Sound poll not being released until 2023 and a problem with my spreadsheet that mixed up many of the horror films. Also, I may have to pause work on the update for this site for about six weeks to work on a (mostly) non-film project.
Many different people have used a number of methods to determine what is the best film of all time. Some merely assert that their favorite films are the best. Others take polls. Some poll film fans; others poll critics. However, they come to many different results. Some say that Citizen Kane (1941) is the best film ever made. Others say that Star Wars (1977) or The Godfather (1972) is the best. This site combines data from hundreds of lists containing thousands of films to determine the consensus best film of all time.
This analysis does create a list of greatest films of all time (presented both by rank and alphabetically). However, this site goes beyond just one list. This site has found that there are at least three different tastes in film and looks at the favorite films of each taste. Furthermore, the films on the master list are sorted by director, actor, year and decade, genre, nation of origin, and other means. This site also includes a list of the top films according to regular film fans.
In addition to the FAQ page, there is also the Phi-Phenomenon Philosophy, which describes the assumptions used in the creation of the best film lists, a method section that explains how the lists were made, and an extensive links and references page, presenting many of the top film lists available on the internet and in print.
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