To my Art of Quotation readers,

My self-challenge this year:  to view all 50 Greatest Films from the 2012 British Film Institute’s Sight and Sound poll and find a definitive quote from each. A real challenge with the silent films. Like a truffle hog I seek not the overexposed quotes but some gem that, whenever possible, “feels” like the film. I’ve managed to watch a handful so far. It’s a work in progress. Some I’ve of course seen in the past but will be re-watching, seeking out that tasty morsel.

See below for quotes for each film via the links.

— Douglas

Ranked 1-50, BFI – 50 Greatest Films

Vertigo (1958)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Tokyo Story (1953)
The Rules of the Game (1939)
Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)

Note: I came up short finding the perfect quote from this ground-breaking silent film. I had to rely instead on a quote about the film.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The Searchers (1956)
Man with a Movie Camera (1929)
The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
8½ (1963)
Battleship Potemkin (1925)
L’Atalante (1934)
Breathless (1960)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
Late Spring (1949)
Au Hasard Balthazar (1966)
Seven Samurai (1954)
Persona (1966)
Mirror (1975)
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
L’Avventura (1960)
Contempt (1963)
The Godfather (1972)
Ordet (1955)
In the Mood for Love (2000)
Rashomon (1950)
Andrei Rublev (1966)
Mulholland Dr. (2001)
Stalker (1979)
Shoah (1985)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Taxi Driver (1976)
Bicycle Thieves (1948)
The General (1926)
Metropolis (1927)
Psycho (1960)
Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
Sátántangó (1994)
The 400 Blows (1959)
La Dolce Vita (1960)
Journey to Italy (1954)
Pather Panchali (1955)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
Gertrud (1964)
Pierrot le Fou (1965)
Playtime (1967)
Close-Up (1990)
The Battle of Algiers (1966)
Histoire(s) du cinéma (1988-1998)
City Lights (1931)
Ugetsu Monogatari (1953)
La Jetée (1962)

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