Is Citizen Kane Still the Greatest Film of All Time? Critics Think So

What makes a film truly timeless? Is it innovation, emotional depth, cultural impact or that indescribable feeling it leaves behind? According to members of the London Film Critics’ Circle, the answer may well be Citizen Kane (1941), which has just been voted the greatest film currently streaming on BFI Player.

But what’s striking about this poll isn’t just the winner it’s the company it keeps. Sharing second place is an extraordinary mix of films that span decades and continents: Bong Joon-ho’s razor-sharp Parasite (2019), Lynne Ramsay’s haunting Morvern Callar (2002), Yasujirō Ozu’s tender Tokyo Story (1953), and Wim Wenders’ atmospheric Paris, Texas (1984). Can any other list so effortlessly move between Hollywood legend, South Korean social satire, Japanese family drama and European arthouse cool?

The wider top 20 digs even deeper into cinema history. From the silent spectacle of Metropolis (1927) to the raw coming-of-age energy of The 400 Blows (1959), and the psychological intensity of Persona (1966), the selection celebrates films that dared to do something different. Isn’t that what truly great cinema does challenges us?

British filmmaking holds its ground too, with Terence Davies’ Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) recognised alongside Ramsay’s work.

So perhaps the real question is this: are we drawn to these films because they’re “the greatest,” or because they continue to speak to us, generation after generation? Maybe the answer lies in pressing play and deciding for yourself.