I'm a film studies student working on a thesis about the evolution of cinematic narrative, and I'm compiling a list of contenders for the best movies of all time to analyze. I'm trying to balance critical consensus from sources like Sight & Sound with groundbreaking technical achievements and cultural impact, which creates some fascinating tensions. For instance, where do you place a film like "Citizen Kane," which is historically monumental but often feels less engaging to modern audiences compared to something like "Parasite"? I'm looking for arguments that go beyond personal taste to define cinematic greatness.
Great question. The gauge isn’t taste so much as impact across tech, culture, and scholarship—the kind of cross-cutting influence you can trace across decades.
Citizen Kane remains a formal pioneer—deep focus, lighting, and a nonlinear narrative—while Parasite delivers a genre-blending, globally resonant social critique. Both are “great” in different axes, which is exactly the point of a robust canon.
A workable rubric might look like: (1) technical innovation, (2) narrative ambition, (3) cultural footprint, (4) international resonance, and (5) staying power in teaching and public discourse. Map Kane and Parasite to these; Kane nails the first, Parasite the last two in today’s climate.
I’d push back on the idea that “engagement” alone decides greatness. Kane’s influence seeps into modern filmmaking—framing, pacing, even newsroom satire—long after its initial reception, while Parasite shows how a film can be both technically savvy and socially urgent for a global audience.
Would you broaden beyond American prestige pictures to include Rashomon, Tokyo Story, or European masters? A global canon is messier but it yields a richer picture of what cinema can accomplish across cultures and histories.
If you want a clean thesis, consider two paired lists: one capturing “greatness through craft” and another “greatness through cultural impact.” Then you can argue how they interact and why some titles outrank others depending on the lens.