The IRAs are a mysterious but august film society that has voted on the best films of the year since 1976. More international and indie focused than the Oscars, more mercurial than the LA Film Critics, more loyal to their favorites than the Golden Globes, the IRAs have just had a weekend in Provincetown, Massachusetts where the winners for the Best Films of 2012 were voted on and announced. The IRAs also followed up months of discussion and debate and balloting and re-watching of DVDs and DVRing of TCM to determine the best films of the 1950s. Below you'll find the list of the Best Films Of The 1950s, followed by our picks for the Top Films Of 2012.
The IRAs began when passionate film students complained about the annual awards shows, declared "We could do better" and had an all-night, knock-down, drag-out fight to establish the very first winners of the IRAs. (One of the members is named Ira but how his name became the name of the award is a story lost in the mist of time.) The rotating group of members have been profiled in the New Yorker and over the years have included Oscar-winning writers, major directors, top studio executives, best-selling and critically acclaimed authors on movies, critics and others. They have no more claim to pronounce the best films of the year than anyone else but they've been doing it for 37 years so hey, it's tradition.
If you're like me, the list will infuriate you -- some movies should be higher up, some should be lower down and some shouldn't be on the list at all. That's half the fun. If you're passionate about movies or TV or books or music or any art form, chances are you've bristled over awards season and known you and your friends have better taste. How come Archer doesn't win Best Comedy? And Breaking Bad Best Drama? Or Borgen? Or The Good Wife?
So why not form your own group? It's not just fun to hand out awards; it's the best way to make certain your youthful enthusiasm for TV or music or books or whatever doesn't lose focus when work and life intrude. When all your friends tell you you have to read such and such a book or listen to a certain CD before the annual get-together, guess what? You do! Sometimes homework can be fun.
IRAs: The Best Movies of 1950s
1. The Earrings of Madame de… (Max Ophüls, 1953) 1058 pts/81 pts
(See note at bottom for explanation of point totals.)
2. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958) 940/55
3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) 820/49
4. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, 1954) 856/49
5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) 801/48
6. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950) 776/45
7. Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, 1959) 787/44
8. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, 1953) 885/44
9. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) 918/41
10. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, 1959) 798/39
11. A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, 1956) 738/61
12. Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, 1958) 773/55
13. Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer, 1955) 776/53
14. Pickup on South Street (Samuel Fuller, 1953) 732/52
15. Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk, 1956) 766/50
16. The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, 1953) 732/50
17. Kiss Me Deadly (Robert Aldrich, 1955) 711/49
18. The River (Jean Renoir, 1951) 713/49
19. Sunset Blvd. (Billy Wilder, 1950) 725/44
20. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)713/32
21. The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, 1953) 693/67
22. Ugetsu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1953) 681/55
23. Night and the City (Jules Dassin, 1950) 656/50
24. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959) 651/48
25. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953) 666/47
26. French Cancan (Jean Renoir, 1954) 681/47
27. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959) 672/47
28. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, 1955) 702/47
29. Rebel Without a Cause (Nicholas Ray, 1955) 667/45
30. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955) 660/42
31. Kanal (Andrzej Wajda, 1956) 608/62
32. On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray, 1952) 600/56
33. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1954) 649/54
34. Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray, 1956) 641/54
35. Early Summer (Yasujiro Ozu, 1951) 604/51
36. Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson, 1951) 605/48
37. Floating Weeds (Yasujiro Ozu, 1959) 628/48
38. Smiles of a Summer Night (Ingmar Bergman, 1955) 607/45
39. All About Eve (Joseph L. Mankiewicz, 1950) 618/40
40. Sweet Smell of Success (Alexander Mackendrick, 1957) 600/37
41. Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, 1951) 580/57
42. The Man From Laramie (Anthony Mann, 1955) 553/56
43. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954) 595/56
44. Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, 1950) 564/54
45. All That Heaven Allows (Douglas Sirk, 1955) 566/51
46. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, 1959) 559/49
47. Lola Montès (Max Ophüls, 1955) 560/49
48. Viaggio in Italia (Roberto Rossellini, 1953) 546/44
49. The Bad and the Beautiful (Vincente Minnelli, 1952) 558/42
50. Bob le Flambeur (Jean-Pierre Melville, 1956) 536/37
51. Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, 1958) 524/68
52. Ride Lonesome (Budd Boetticher, 1959) 532/62
53. Late Chrysanthemums (Mikio Naruse, 1954) 523/55
54. The Asphalt Jungle (John Huston, 1950) 512/51
55. Senso (Luchino Visconti, 1954) 507/51
56. I Vitelloni (Federico Fellini, 1953) 498/48
57. Bend of the River (Anthony Mann, 1952) 497/47
58. The Quiet Man (John Ford, 1952) 495/43
59. A Star Is Born (George Cukor, 1954) 524/38
60. Pyaasa (Guru Dutt, 1957) 494/32
61. The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, 1955) 480/56
62. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (Don Siegel, 1956) 471/55
63. Winchester ’73 (Anthony Mann, 1950) 486/55
64. 99 River Street (Phil Karlson, 1953) 469/54
65. Bonjour Tristesse (Otto Preminger, 1958) 468/53
66. It’s Always Fair Weather (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly,1955) 469/53
67. The Life of Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1952) 459/47
68. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954) 492/41
69. Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, 1955) 474/41
70. Stalag 17 (Billy Wilder, 1953) 463/40
71. Where the Sidewalk Ends (Otto Preminger, 1950) 449/65
72. The Big Combo (Joseph H. Lewis, 1955) 458/62
73. Forty Guns (Samuel Fuller, 1957) 426/60
74. The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, 1957) 456/57
75. Touchez Pas au Grisbi (Jacques Becker, 1954) 436/49
76. Rashomon (Akira Kurosawa, 1950) 445/46
77. Wagon Master (John Ford, 1950) 408/45
78. The Girl Can't Help It (Frank Tashlin, 1956) 418/45
79. East of Eden (Elia Kazan, 1955) 405/40
80. Hiroshima, Mon Amour (Alain Resnais, 1959) 414/32
81. The Man Who Knew Too Much (Alfred Hitchcock, 1956) 396/59
82. Stars in My Crown (Jacques Tourneur, 1950) 402/58
83. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951) 363/53
84. The Phenix City Story (Phil Karlson, 1955) 362/51
85. Rififi (Jules Dassin, 1955) 393/48
86. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, 1957) 389/48
87. The Golden Coach (Jean Renoir, 1952) 361/47
88. Street of Shame (Kenji Mizoguchi, 1956) 402/46
89. 3:10 to Yuma (Delmer Daves, 1957) 370/45
90. The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini, 1950) 363/40
91. Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, 1957) 346/63
92. The Big Knife (Robert Aldrich, 1955) 315/58
93. The Cranes Are Flying (Mikhail Kalatozov, 359/57
94. The Wages of Fear (Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953) 294/56
95. Paths of Glory (Stanley Kubrick, 1957) 341/54
96. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, 1957) 262/54
97. Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, 1958) 276/42
98. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, 1952) 328/40
99. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, 1953) 297/39
100. M. Hulot’s Holiday (Jacques Tati, 1953) 255/36
Note: The first point total is overall points to establish the order on the list. (Many prior ballots determined the Top 100.) This point total determined what “group” it was in (eg. 91-100, 61-70 and so on.) The second point total is for position in that group (eg, among those ten films, which one should be ranked first, which second and so on). Some groups saw very little change in order; others saw substantial fluidity. When two or more films in a group received the same point total, we voted to break the tie. For example, “Ordet” and “In A Lonely Place” were tied for 10th place but the vote to break the tie placed “In A Lonely Place” in the Top 10 and “Ordet” in the #11-20 group. Even though it originally had the most points of any of those films, the final balloting placed “Ordet” at #13 instead of #11. On the other hand, “The Earrings of Madame de…” ranked #1 from beginning to end.
PREVIOUS IRA ALL-TIME BALLOTS
THE IRA TOP 100 MOVIES OF ALL TIME
1. The Rules Of The Game
2. The Magnificent Ambersons
3. Citizen Kane
4. Vertigo
5. The Searchers
6. Letter From An Unknown Woman
7. The Big Sleep
8. Psycho
9. The Man Who Shot LIberty Valance
10. The Apartment
11. Shoah
12. The Earrings Of Madame de...
13. The Shop Around The Corner
14. Tokyo Story
15. Rear Window
16. Notorious
17. Touch Of Evil
18. North By Northwest
19. The Palm Beach Story
20. The General (1926)
21. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
22. The Big Heat
23. Sunset Blvd.
24. Red River
25. Chinatown
26. Sunrise
27. Double Indemnity
28. Laura
29. His Girl Friday
30. Ugetsu
31. Rio Bravo
32. Anatomy Of A Murder
33. The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek
34. Chimes At Midnight
35. All About Eve
36. The Decalogue
37. The Awful Truth
38. Some Like It Hot
39. Danton
40. Imitation Of Life
41. McCabe And Mrs. Miller
42. Sherlock Jr.
43. Once Upon A Time In The West
44. 2001: A Space Odyssey
45. Ordet
46. A Man Escaped
47. Man With A Movie Camera
48. Written On The Wind
49. The Philadelphia Story
50. Kiss Me Deadly
51. Out Of The Past
52. Force Of Evil
53. Advise And Consent
54. Home From The Hill
55. Sweet Smell Of Success
56. The Lady Eve
57. Make Way For Tomorrow
58. Breathless
59. The Third Man
60. Cluny Brown
61. Pickup On South Street
62. Shanghai Express
63. The Passion Of Joan Of Arc
64. The Naked Spur
65. White Heat
66. The Crowd
67. The Crime Of Monsieur Lange
68. Night Of The Hunter
69. The Band Wagon
70. The Scarlet Empress
71. Red (1994)
72. All That Heaven Allows
73. Victor/Victoria
74. Band Of Outsiders
75. Day Of Wrath
76. Rebel Without A Cause
77. In A Lonely Place
78. The Marriage Of Maria Braun
79. It's A Wonderful Life
80. The 400 Blows
81. Metropolis
82. Diary Of A Country Priest
83. Casablanca
84. Lola Montes
85. Raging Bull
86. The Last Picture Show
87. Shock Corridor
88. Meet Me In St. Louis
89. Fanny And Alexander
90. A Star Is Born (1954)
91. Ali: Fear Eats The Soul
92. The Leopard
93. Play Time
94. A Matter Of Life And Death
95. How Green Was My Valley
96. Mildred Pierce
97. What Ever Happened To Baby Jane
98. Travels With My Aunt
99. Days Of Heaven
100. In The Mood For Love
The Best Movies Of The Decade -- The 2000s (Voted in 2010)
1. The Son/Le Fils
2. Zodiac
3. Yi Yi
4. The Assassination Of Jesse James By The Coward Robert Ford
5. The Edge Of Heaven (tie)
In The Mood For Love (tie)
7. The Heart Of The World (short by Guy Maddin)
8. Mysterious Skin (tie)
Bus 174 (tie)
10. The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu (tie)
Head-On (tie)
Spirited Away (tie)
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