BBC Culture requested 177 film critics from around the world to submit their responses for ten films which according to them are the greatest. The time period was limited from January 2000 to June 2016 (when the responses were completely collected). Each film listed in these responses were then given points based on their ranking. For instance, if a film was ranked at #1 in a critic's list, that film would get 10 points, whereas the one ranked at #10 would get 1 point. The list has 102 titles to be exact, due to a tie between Carlos, Requiem for a Dream, and Toni Erdmann for the 100th rank.[1][2] With three each, Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Christopher Nolan, Wes Anderson, Paul Thomas Anderson, Michael Haneke, and the Coen brothers have the largest number of films in the list.
A total of 177 critics from 36 countries participated in the poll, with the largest number (81) from the United States followed by the United Kingdom. Out of the 177, 122 are men and 55 are women, and are primarily newspaper/magazine film reviewers, website film reviewers, academics, and cinema curators.
No. | Title | Director | Country | Year | 1 | Mulholland Drive | David Lynch | United States}} | 2001 | 2 | In the Mood for Love | Wong Kar-wai | Hong Kong}} | 2000 | 3 | There Will Be Blood | Paul Thomas Anderson | United States}} | 2007 | 4 | Spirited Away | Hayao Miyazaki | Japan}} | 2001 | 5 | Boyhood | Richard Linklater | United States}} | 2014 | 6 | Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind | Michel Gondry | United States}} | 2004 | 7 | The Tree of Life | Terrence Malick | United States}} | 2011 | 8 | Yi Yi | Edward Yang | Taiwan}} {{flagicon|Japan}} | 2000 | 9 | A Separation | Asghar Farhadi | Iran}} | 2011 | 10 | No Country for Old Men | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | United States}} | 2007 | 11 | Inside Llewyn Davis | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | United States}} | 2013 | 12 | Zodiac | David Fincher | United States}} | 2007 | 13 | Children of Men | Alfonso Cuarón | United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|United States}} | 2006 | 14 | The Act of Killing | Joshua Oppenheimer | Norway}} {{flagicon|Denmark}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} | 2012 | 15 | 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days | Cristian Mungiu | Romania}} | 2007 | 16 | Holy Motors | Leos Carax | France}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2012 | 17 | Pan's Labyrinth | Guillermo del Toro | Mexico}} {{flagicon|Spain}} | 2006 | 18 | The White Ribbon | Michael Haneke | Austria}} | 2009 | 19 | Fury Road | George Miller | Australia}} {{flagicon|United States}} | 2015 | 20 | Synecdoche, New York | Charlie Kaufman | United States}} | 2008 | 21 | The Grand Budapest Hotel | Wes Anderson | United States}} | 2014 | 22 | Lost in Translation | Sofia Coppola | United States}} | 2003 | 23 | Caché | Michael Haneke | France}} {{flagicon|Austria}} {{flagicon|Germany}} {{flagicon|Italy}} | 2005 | 24 | The Master | Paul Thomas Anderson | United States}} | 2012 | 25 | Memento | Christopher Nolan | United States}} | 2001 | 26 | 25th Hour | Spike Lee | United States}} | 2002 | 27 | The Social Network | David Fincher | United States}} | 2010 | 28 | Talk to Her | Pedro Almodóvar | Spain}} | 2002 | 29 | WALL-E | Andrew Stanton | United States}} | 2008 | 30 | Oldboy | Park Chan-wook | South Korea}} | 2003 | 31 | Margaret | Kenneth Lonergan | United States}} | 2011 | 32 | The Lives of Others | Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck | Germany}} | 2006 | 33 | The Dark Knight | Christopher Nolan | United States}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} | 2008 | 34 | Son of Saul | László Nemes | Hungary}} | 2015 | 35 | Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon | Ang Lee | China}} {{flagicon|Taiwan}} {{flagicon|Hong Kong}} {{flagicon|United States}} | 2000 | 36 | Timbuktu | Abderrahmane Sissako | France}} {{flagicon|Mauritania}} | 2014 | 37 | Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives | Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Thailand}} | 2010 | 38 | City of God | Fernando Meirelles and Kátia Lund | Brazil}} | 2002 | 39 | The New World | Terrence Malick | United States}} | 2005 | 40 | Brokeback Mountain | Ang Lee | United States}} | 2005 | 41 | Inside Out | Pete Docter | United States}} | 2015 | 42 | Amour | Michael Haneke | France}} {{flagicon|Germany}} {{flagicon|Austria}} | 2012 | 43 | Melancholia | Lars von Trier | Denmark}} {{flagicon|Sweden}} {{flagicon|France}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2011 | 44 | 12 Years a Slave | Steve McQueen | United States}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} | 2013 | 45 | Blue Is the Warmest Colour | Abdellatif Kechiche | France}} {{flagicon|Belgium}} {{flagicon|Spain}} | 2013 | 46 | Certified Copy | Abbas Kiarostami | Iran}} | 2010 | 47 | Leviathan | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Russia}} | 2014 | 48 | Brooklyn | John Crowley | United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|Canada}} {{flagicon|Ireland}} | 2015 | 49 | Goodbye to Language | Jean-Luc Godard | France}} {{flagicon|Switzerland}} | 2014 | 50 | The Assassin | Hou Hsiao-hsien | Taiwan}} {{flagicon|China}} {{flagicon|Hong Kong}} | 2015 | 51 | Inception | Christopher Nolan | United States}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} | 2010 | 52 | Tropical Malady | Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Thailand}} | 2004 | 53 | Moulin Rouge! | Baz Luhrmann | Australia}} {{flagicon|United States}} | 2001 | 54 | Once Upon a Time in Anatolia | Nuri Bilge Ceylan | Turkey}} | 2011 | 55 | Ida | Paweł Pawlikowski | Poland}} {{flagicon|Denmark}} {{flagicon|France}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} | 2013 | 56 | Werckmeister Harmonies | Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky | Hungary}} | 2000 | 57 | Zero Dark Thirty | Kathryn Bigelow | United States}} | 2012 | 58 | Moolaadé | Ousmane Sembène | Senegal}} {{flagicon|France}} {{flagicon|Burkina Faso}} {{flagicon|Morocco}} {{flagicon|Tunisia}} | 2004 | 59 | A History of Violence | David Cronenberg | United States}} | 2005 | 60 | Syndromes and a Century | Apichatpong Weerasethakul | Thailand}} | 2006 | 61 | Under the Skin | Jonathan Glazer | United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|United States}} {{flagicon|Switzerland}} | 2013 | 62 | Inglourious Basterds | Quentin Tarantino | United States}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2009 | 63 | The Turin Horse | Béla Tarr and Ágnes Hranitzky | Hungary}} | 2011 | 64 | The Great Beauty | Paolo Sorrentino | Italy}} {{flagicon|France}} | 2013 | 65 | Fish Tank | Andrea Arnold | United Kingdom}} | 2009 | 66 | Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter... and Spring | Kim Ki-duk | South Korea}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2003 | 67 | The Hurt Locker | Kathryn Bigelow | United States}} | 2008 | 68 | The Royal Tenenbaums | Wes Anderson | United States}} | 2001 | 69 | Carol | Todd Haynes | United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|United States}} | 2015 | 70 | Stories We Tell | Sarah Polley | Canada}} | 2012 | 71 | Tabu | Miguel Gomes | Portugal}} {{flagicon|Germany}} {{flagicon|Brazil}}{{flagicon|France}} | 2012 | 72 | Only Lovers Left Alive | Jim Jarmusch | United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2013 | 73 | Before Sunset | Richard Linklater | United States}} | 2004 | 74 | Spring Breakers | Harmony Korine | United States}} | 2012 | 75 | Inherent Vice | Paul Thomas Anderson | United States}} | 2014 | 76 | Dogville | Lars von Trier | Europe}} | 2003 | 77 | The Diving Bell and the Butterfly | Julian Schnabel | France}} {{flagicon|United States}} | 2007 | 78 | The Wolf of Wall Street | Martin Scorsese | United States}} | 2013 | 79 | Almost Famous | Cameron Crowe | United States}} | 2000 | 80 | The Return | Andrey Zvyagintsev | Russia}} | 2003 | 81 | Shame | Steve McQueen | United Kingdom}} | 2011 | 82 | A Serious Man | Joel Coen and Ethan Coen | United States}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom}} {{flagicon|France}} | 2009 | 83 | A.I. Artificial Intelligence | Steven Spielberg | United States}} | 2001 | 84 | Her | Spike Jonze | United States}} | 2013 | 85 | A Prophet | Jacques Audiard | France}} {{flagicon|Italy}} | 2009 | 86 | Far from Heaven | Todd Haynes | United States}} | 2002 | 87 | Amélie | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | France}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2001 | 88 | Spotlight | Tom McCarthy | United States}} | 2015 | 89 | The Headless Woman | Lucrecia Martel | Argentina}} | 2008 | 90 | The Pianist | Roman Polanski | France}} {{flagicon|Germany}} {{flagicon|Poland}} {{flagicon|United Kingdom }} | 2002 | 91 | The Secret in Their Eyes | Juan José Campanella | Argentina}} {{flagicon|Spain}} | 2009 | 92 | The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford | Andrew Dominik | United States}} | 2007 | 93 | Ratatouille | Brad Bird | United States}} | 2007 | 94 | Let the Right One In | Tomas Alfredson | Sweden}} | 2008 | 95 | Moonrise Kingdom | Wes Anderson | United States}} | 2012 | 96 | Finding Nemo | Andrew Stanton | United States}} | 2003 | 97 | White Material | Claire Denis | France}} | 2009 | 98 | Ten | Abbas Kiarostami | Iran}} | 2002 | 99 | The Gleaners and I | Agnès Varda | France}} | 2000 | 100 | Carlos | Olivier Assayas | France}} {{flagicon|Germany}} | 2010 | 100 | Requiem for a Dream | Darren Aronofsky | United States}} | 2000 | 100 | Toni Erdmann | Maren Ade | Germany}} {{flagicon|Austria}} | 2016 |
1. ^{{cite web | url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films | title=The 21st Century's 100 Greatest Films | publisher=BBC | date=23 August 2016 | accessdate=28 August 2016}}
2. ^{{cite web|title=BBC - Culture - The 21st Century's 1-- Greatest Films: Who Voted?|url=http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20160819-the-21st-centurys-100-greatest-films-who-voted|publisher=BBC.Com|accessdate=28 August 2016}}