100 Greatest Films: “Citizen Kane” vs. “The Godfather”
by Mark Juddery
On August 2, the British magazine Sight & Sound will reveal the results of its survey naming the all-time greatest 100 films. Every 10 years since 1952, leading film critics around the world are polled for this list, which is perhaps the premier highbrow list of top films. While the Top 10 continually changes, one thing has long remained unchanged: Citizen Kane is the greatest film ever.
It’s now a cliché. Whenever critics or filmmakers are polled, Citizen Kane (1941) is right there at the head of the list — a position it has held at least since Sight and Sound’s 1962 poll. Kane would appear to be the apex of the art form, like the Mona Lisa and Shakespeare’s collected works.
Or perhaps not. Over the years, The Godfather has gradually risen in eminence — and as it was considered a masterpiece from the moment it hit the theaters in 1972, this is no mean achievement. The Godfather: Part II (1974), probably the best movie sequel (and easily the best prequel) ever made, followed so smoothly that the two movies are often treated as one film. The 2002 Sight and Sound list did exactly that, ranking them fourth place. (In 1992, they were judged as two films, coming sixth and ninth place respectively.)
You could argue that such polls are meaningless hype, but strangely enough, devoted film buffs might disagree. It’s good to celebrate greatness, they would suggest. “But you can’t compare these films!” you might reply. “They’re completely different.”
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