My Criterion Top 10: Dan Heaton

I’m running contributions from some of my favorite film critics, writers, and theorists from around the internet for a few weeks. Each writer is listing their top 10 from the Criterion Collection. Today’s list comes from Dan Heaton, the only contributor I’ve ever accidentally seen in a bar. Dan is a fellow St. Louisan and a fellow Cardinals fan. For good measure, he also graduated from the University of Missouri. This contribution might as well come with a slice of pizza from Shakespeare’s and some Ted Drewes frozen custard. Dan operates Public Transporation Snob (a clever reference to a film on his list), where he writes gobs of sharp film reviews. Frequently, they revolve around a marathon– he chooses a theme, filmmaker, genre, or actor and tackles it all en masse. He has also written movie and TV reviews for both PopMatters and Sound on Sight. He can be found on Twitter @ptsnob.

A List Par Excellence: The Top 50 French Films of All-Time

EDITOR’S NOTE: I made this list in 2010. I updated the list in 2011. The updated list is more complete and puts far less emphasis on personal preference. The new and improved version can be found here.

On the cusp of Bastille Day, and with such a rich history of French cinema, I felt that it was only fitting to create a list of the 50 best French films. Initially, I’d planned on simply listing them in no particular order. However, mon ami, I eventually determined that it wouldn’t be fair to not put forth the extra effort. They’re now listed at least in order of personal preference, with some weight given to overall quality. In other words, there are likely more influential films or higher quality films further down the list. But their higher quality doesn’t overcome my overall enjoyment of the other films higher up on the list.