Since the release of Sight & Sound magazine’s 2022 Top 100 Greatest Films of All Time critics poll, some of us agreed, others were appalled; in particular with the absence of masterworks by Luis Buñuel, Ernst Lubitsch and Howard Hawks. But the positive is that it opens pathways for lists by other cineastes which keeps the importance of cinema on the front burner. …

The genesis of the Best Films of 1971 poll was highly influenced by Christina Newland's thoughtful piece in BBC Culture, "Why 1971 was an extraordinary year in film."