India Post News Service
RENO, Nevada: "Citizen Kane", created more than 66 years ago, still holds its number one position in the world of movies. A forthcoming book on world cinema, "99 Remarkable Films of the World", by journalist Rajan Zed of Nevada (USA), the excerpts from which were released here, rates "Citizen Kane" (1941) number one among films of the world made so far.
Orson Welles was only 25 years old when he directed, starred and co-wrote his first film about real-life newspaper magnate, William Randolph Hearst. This definitive best of the best list of movie greats, being published by Zyxum Publishing, puts Gene Kelly's musical "Singin' in the Rain" (1952) at number two, while all-time classic "Casablanca" (1942) is number three.
"Compressing about 150,000 feature films into a list of 99 was a gigantic and agonizing exercise and cuts were torturous and painful. It broke my heart to see some great films vanish off the list. Ranking always generates argumentation but there is an eternal allurement to rank and rate," Rajan Zed adds. Director Steven Spielberg has the highest number (five) of films listed, although his top film, "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial" (1982), appears at number 25.
He is followed by Francis Ford Coppola, Billy Wilder, John Ford, Martin Scorsese, Charles Chaplin, and Frank Capra-with three movies each. Robert De Niro tops the list as leading actor appearing in four films, although his top film "Raging Bull" (1980) appears at number 15.
Next to him with three movies each are Humphrey Bogart, James Stewart, and Charles Chaplin. Among female leading actors, Katherine Hepburn is the topmost with two movies in the list. No film from 2000s could make this list. Newest film listed is "Fargo" (1996) at number 54, while the oldest listed is "The Birth of a Nation" (1915) at number 87.
Top decade during last century was 1950s from which 23 films are listed, while 1910s was the lowest with just one film. Year 1939 was the golden year for filmmaking, which brought five films on this list. While no film showed up in the list from 1983 to 1988, consecutive years 1957, 1958, and 1959 brought three films each to the list.
"Drama" as genre far outnumbered any other category with 45 entries, while "comedy" trailed behind at number two with just 14 films listed, and "thriller" was number three with only eight films. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs" (1937) is the only animation film listed at number 72, while "The Bride of Frankenstein" (1935), only horror film to appear on the list, is at number 85.
United States of America (USA) brought highest number (71) of films to the list; with France showing a poor second at number seven and Great Britain is third with six films. Other countries that made the list are Japan, Italy, USSR, Sweden, India, Poland, and Germany. Three films listed were collaborations between two countries.
Ingmar Bergman was the director of both the Swedish movies listed, while Satyajit Ray was the director of both movies from India (Pather Panchali, Aparjito) on the list. "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968, Great Britain) is the topmost non-USA movie on the list at number five.
About 221 minutes in duration, "Lawrence of Arabia" (1962) is the longest film on the list, followed by "Gone with the Wind" (1939) and "Some Like It Hot" (1959) at 220 minutes each. "Duck Soup" (1933) is the shortest film listed at 68 minutes, while 75 minute long "Battleship Potemkin" (1925) is second from the bottom in length.
Top ten films ranked in this book are-Citizen Kane, Singin' in the Rain, Casablanca, The Godfather, 2001: A Space Odyssey, Lawrence of Arabia, Vertigo, La Regle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game), Gone with the Wind, and Some Like It Hot.
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