Camille Paglia

Professor, Humanities and Media Studies, University of the Arts, Philadelphia

Voted in the critics’ poll

Voted for

Ben-Hur	1959	William Wyler
dolce vita, La	1960	Federico Fellini
Godfather: Part I, The	1972	Francis Ford Coppola
Godfather: Part II, The	1974	Francis Ford Coppola
Gone with the Wind	1939	Victor Fleming
Lawrence of Arabia	1962	David Lean
North by Northwest	1959	Alfred Hitchcock
Orphée	1950	Jean Cocteau
Persona	1966	Ingmar Bergman
Vertigo	1958	Alfred Hitchcock

Comments

My favorite films combine spectacular photography with strength and depth of character. Their intense emotional resonance is often amplified by superb orchestral scores, more expressive than mere words. A great film creates a world of its own. It can be seen again and again without ever losing its freshness and surprise.