John Kobal (Plume; 1988)
As I write this the furor over the 2022 edition of SIGHT AND SOUND’s Greatest Films poll is still brewing. For context on Great Film listings, and why they tend to inspire such passionate debate (presidential elections don’t even receive the same level of ire), here’s a 1988 book on the subject.
It’s exactly what it promises: a listing of the 100 “best” movies—films, actually—ever made, put together by the Canadian author and archivist John Kobal, who provides brief write-ups on each entry and extensive stills culled from his collection. The writings are knowledgeable and well researched, and at times quite disparaging (with the number 52 entry, Abel Gance’s NAPOLEON, taken to task because “the personal and human element in it are somewhat lacking”).
The rankings were done just like those of the SIGHT AND SOUND polls, with a scattering of film critics around the world contributing “ten best” lists that were then tabulated by Kobal and his editors. Included are a few recognizable names, like Leonard Maltin and Susan Sontag, but the contributors are otherwise quite varied and obscure (ever heard of Haruo Mizuno, Carl Hubert Felix or Callisto Cosulich?).
It seems that in his contributor choices Kobal prized diversity above all else, something that’s very much in vogue today but wasn’t in 1988 (one of the major criticisms this book received, as I recall, was that its contributors weren’t famous enough). Thus it’s all the more galling that the choices are for the most part pretty standard, with all the usual suspects—8½, THE BATTLESHIP POTEMKIN, THE BICYCLE THIEF, THE SEVENTH SEAL and of course CITIZEN KANE (you can guess its ranking)—represented. There are a few unexpected choices, such as the little-known 1955 swashbuckler MOONFLEET as the sole representation of Fritz Lang, the 1968 SIGNS OF LIFE as the only entry by Werner Herzog, and FREAKS and NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (as horror movies were generally considered worthless by 1988 critics), but overall this is an extremely prototypical great films ranking.
The book’s most interesting portion is its final 20 pages, in which the individual listings, together with personal notes from the critics, are revealed. Many interesting choices that don’t make the main ranking are unveiled, including THE COLOR OF POMEGRANATES (chosen by Algerian critic Azzedine Mabrouki, who adds a note calling it “the best film I have seen in my life”), BEYOND THE VALLEY OF THE DOLLS (courtesy of British critic Frances Lynn, who also includes PHANTOM OF THE PARADISE, SUSPIRIA and VIDEODOME among her choices) and SIGHT AND SOUND’S 2022 best film selection JEANNE DIELMAN, 23 QUAI DU COMMERCE, 1080 BRUXELLES (courtesy of Miss Sontag).
Another issue is brought up by Australian critic Evan Williams, who adds a note claiming “Above are favorite films—not necessarily the greatest, the most important, the best, or the most influential—just those that I happen to love!” Several other critics here echo that sentiment, with Kobal admitting his contributors “took care in compiling their top ten best films of all time. Quite different from choosing the ten films one liked the best.”
Clearly, differentiating between greatness and enjoyment was for these critics (as with those polled for the SIGHT AND SOUND rankings) of paramount importance. That explains why SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN and BRINGING UP BABY are the closest this listing gets to commercial cinema, and why the book overall, informative though it is, really isn’t worth going out of one’s way to track down, much less read.