Alex Fung's Page > Film Columns/Essays > 1996's Top Films: A Critical Consensus

By ALEX FUNG

PREVIOUS RESULTS:

1995 (Sense And Sensibility)

As last year, I have collected a number of Top 10 lists from various film critics with the help of many generous people, and have attempted to consolidate the data provided into a 'consensus' ordered list of the top films of the year. I used a weighted scale where the critic's Top 10 list was ordered, and where no particular order was used, each of the selections were equally weighted. Each critic's selection was weighted equally, irregardless of my personal opinion of them or their tastes.

Clearly, this is not an ideal system, but it is the best that I could do with the amount of data available. I don't have any major qualms about this method - I think it's nearly irrefutable that the films on the top of the above list received a great deal of critical acclaim, the films in the middle of the list slightly less critical acclaim, and so forth; there's a good correlation here. It is more difficult to split hairs, and state whether or not Lone Star received more critical attention than The English Patient, but I think that's understood.

(Curiously enough, last year, three of the Best Picture Academy Award nominees are in the Top 6 - this year, four out of them are in the Top 6. Last year, four of the Best Picture nominees were among the Top 15 - this year, all five nominees are in the Top 15. Fluke?)

[1] Fargo Joel Coen [2] Secrets & Lies Mike Leigh [3] Breaking The Waves Lars von Trier [4] The English Patient Anthony Minghella [5] Lone Star John Sayles [6] Shine Scott Hicks [7] Trainspotting Danny Boyle [8] Big Night Campbell Scott & Stanley Tucci [9] The People Vs. Larry Flynt Milos Forman [10] The Crucible Nicholas Hytner [11] Flirting With Disaster David O. Russell [12] Dead Man Jim Jarmusch [13] Jerry Maguire Cameron Crowe [14] The Portrait Of A Lady Jane Campion [15] Hamlet Kenneth Branagh [16] Welcome To The Dollhouse Todd Solondz [17] Paradise Lost: The Child Murders At Robin Hood Hills Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky [18] Mother Albert Brooks [19] The White Balloon Jafar Panahi [20] L'America Gianni Amelio [21] Chungking Express Wong Kar-wai [22] Trees Lounge Steve Buscemi [23] The Whole Wide World Dan Ireland [24] Everyone Says I Love You Woody Allen [25] Tim Cup Ron Shelton [26] Emma Douglas McGrath [27] Ridicule Patrice Leconte [28] La Cérémonie Claude Chabrol [29] Land And Freedom Ken Loach [30] When We Were Kings Leon Gast [31] Crash David Cronenberg [32] Microcosmos Claude Nuridsany and Marie Perennou [33] Michael Collins Neil Jordan [34] La Fille Seule Benoît Jacquot [35] Nelly And Monsieur Arnaud Claude Sautet

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I originally planned to, like last year, list the top 50 films. However, I've limited the results to the top 35 films based primarily for relevance - there seemed to be a great deal of commonality between the various Top 10 lists, where the same six or seven films kept repeatedly turning up. Consequently, the top nine films are far off in front, while the films ranking #25 and lower received much less support, are subject to more fluctuation, and are therefore less meaningful. (For example, one or two big supporters of a film - not exactly a huge critical consensus - would be enough to vault it into the top thirty. When one gets into the #40 - #50 range, there's extremely limited consensus acclaim for these films, although they are by and large liked. My feeling is that a film which may have been generally liked but was on only one Top 10 list, or something of that sort, should be considered and listed as a 'consensus' top film.)

Alex Fung (aw220@freenet.carleton.ca).

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