"The Best Films of Iranian and World Cinema" — A Poll

In 1988, Film Monthly, the leading Iranian film journal, invited critics and filmmakers to play the old game of choosing the best films of their lives. Since then, the magazine has returned to the ritual every decade.

The third poll, whose participants included more than 100 Iranian critics from at least five different generations, produced the following results:

Iranian Cinema:

1
The Deer (1976) Masud Kimiai

2
Bashu, the Little Stranger (1989) Bahram Beizai

3
Desiderium (1978) Ali Hatami

4
About Elly (2009) Asghar Farhadi

5
Hamoun (1990) Dariush Mehrjui

6
Strait (1973) Amir Naderi

7
The Cow (1969) Dariush Mehrjui

8
Captain Khorshid (1987) Naser Taghvai

9
Once Upon a Time, Cinema (1992) Mohsen Makhmalbaf

10
Tranquility in the Presence of Others (1973) Naser Taghvai + Kandu (1975) Fereydun Gole


World Cinema:

1
Vertigo (1958)

2
Citizen Kane (1941)

3
Tokyo Story (1953)
Casablanca (1942)

4
Seven Samurai (1954)

5
Bicycle Thieves (1948)

6
La Strada (1954) + Rio Bravo (1959)

7
Wild Strawberries (1957) + La Règle du jeu (1939) + Cinema Paradiso (1988)