50 Best Films of 2012

Nothing like a good battle royal of cinephile cults to whip voting into a frenzy. In our poll’s lucky 13th edition, Leos Carax’s starry-eyed supporters delivered Holy Motors the top spot, out-mobbing not one but two Andersons, Paul Thomas and Wes. Richard Linklater made his triumphant return with Bernie, an under-the-radar success, while the year yielded some provocative odd-couple neighbors in the rankings: dueling historical procedurals (Lincoln/Zero Dark Thirty), psychiatric outcasts (Oslo, August 31st/Silver Linings Playbook), and death trips (Amour/The Turin Horse). Over on the unreleased list, please note the new law of the land (see below), all part of our attempt to spotlight films in need of a pick(-me-)up. A note on the poll’s workings: over 100 North American colleagues ranked their favorites in two categories: 1) those that received theatrical runs and 2) those viewed this year but not receiving U.S. theatrical distribution in 2012 or 2013. For each ballot, a first-place choice was allotted 20 points, 19 for second, and so on.

Readers’ Poll: Readers are invited to stand up and be counted too! All entries will be automatically entered in our contest for free DVDs from the Criterion Collection. We will print the poll results in our March/April issue and publish your comments on the website. Send your ranked list of the year’s 20 best films (plus any rants, raves, and insights) with your name, address, and phone number, to fcpoll [at] filmlinc.com. Deadline: February 8, 2013. First Prize: your choice of Criterion Collection DVDs, up to $200 in value. Second Prize: up to $120. Third & Fourth Prizes: up to $80. The winners, who will be picked by random draw, can select prizes, subject to availability, from the Criterion Collection catalogue (www.criterion.com).

1. Holy Motors 
Leos Carax, France/Germany

2. The Master 
Paul Thomas Anderson, U.S.

3. Moonrise Kingdom 
Wes Anderson, U.S.

4. This Is Not a Film 
Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Iran

5. Amour 
Michael Haneke, France/Germany/Austria

6.  The Turin Horse 
Béla Tarr, Hungary/France/Switzerland/Germany

7. The Kid With a Bike 
Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, France/Belgium

8. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia 
Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey

9. Lincoln 
Steven Spielberg, U.S.

10.  Zero Dark Thirty 
Kathryn Bigelow, U.S.

Don’t see your favorite here? Proceed to the year’s best undistributed list.