In 1958 during the World Fair in Brussels, a list of the 12 best films of
all time were created as a result of questioning of 117 prominent historians
and film critics from 26 countries. Since then, the compilation of such lists
is practiced by many institutions, individuals and the media. However the
Belgian list still remains an important reference point. The date of this
survey has become almost symbolic as it is nearly at the midway between the
present day and the moment of emergence of cinema.
Battleship Potemkin by Sergei Eisenstein is at the top of the list – chosen by
110 of 117 votes.
We are pleased to present a screening program 12 masterpieces of the world
cinema:
1. Battleship Potemkin ( Sergei Eisenstein, USSR, 1925)
2. The Gold Rush (Сharles Chaplin, USA, 1925)
3. Bicycle Thieves (Vittorio De Sica, Italy, 1948)
4. The Passion of Joan of Arc (Carl Theodor Dreyer, France, 1928)
5. The Grand Illusion (Jean Renoir, France, 1937) 6. Greed (Erich von Stroheim,
USA, 1923)
7. Intolerance: Love's Struggle Throughout the Ages (D.W. Griffith, USA,
1916)
8. Mother (Vsevolod Pudovkin, USSR, 1926)
9. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, USA, 1941)
10. Earth (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, USSR, 1930) 11. The Last Laugh (F.W. Murnau,
Germany, 1924)
12. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Robert Wiene, Germany, 1919)
The screening is presented by Nicholay Izvolov, film expert, head of the
historically-theoretical department of the Research Institute of Cinema.
