Paul Ryan

Writer; singer; actor

Voted in the critics’ poll

Voted for

Atalante, L'	1934	Jean Vigo
General, The	1926	Buster Keaton
grande illusion, La	1937	Jean Renoir
It's Always Fair Weather	1955	Stanley Donen/Gene Kelly
Listen to Britain	1942	Humphrey Jennings/Stewart McAllister
mépris, Le	1963	Jean-Luc Godard
Night of the Hunter, The	1955	Charles Laughton
Nothing Sacred	1937	William A Wellman
Sporting Life, The	1963	Lindsay Anderson
Sweet Smell of Success	1957	Alexander Mackendrick

Comments

It is absurd at this stage of cinema’s history to come up with a mere ten titles, as so many other films stand behind (and a good number beside) my own choices. While I admire every director I have selected, my list reflects my appreciation of the collaborative nature of the medium and the work of actors as diverse as Gabin, Parlo, Piccoli Harris, Roberts, Mitchum and Gish, cinematographers such as James Wong Howe, Stanley Cortez and Boris Kaufman, the writing talents of Comden and Green, David Storey, James Agee and Clifford Odets, and the sheer magical presence of Carol Lombard, Tony Curtis, Buster Keaton and that choreographic genius Michael Kidd. No room for Cagney, Welles, Cary Grant, Astaire, Chaplin, Roeg and Reisz… we could all go on. We’re going to need a bigger list.