Year-End Lists

A hand-curated, browsable index of notable year-end lists. Follow the link for each list to see essential commentary from its author, at the source.

2012

Michael Sicinski: Top 12 Films of 2012

19 January 2013

Holy Motors - Leos Carax

Michael Sicinski: Top 12 Films of 2012 (limited to “poll-eligible” films)

[see also 25 Great Experimental Films of 2023The Best Experimental Films (That I Saw) in 2022The 30 Best Avant-Garde Feature Films of the 2010sTop 50 Films of 2018Top 30 Experimental Films of 2018Top 25 Films of 2017Top 10 Films of 2016Top 12 Films of 2014Top 10 Films of 2013]

Dan Sallitt: Favorite 18 Films of 2012

19 January 2013

Dan Sallitt: Favorite 18 Films of 2012 (limited to films that played at least one week in Manhattan for the first time in 2012)

[see also 2010s201920182017]

Runners-up

Cinema Scope: Top 15 Films of 2012

18 January 2013

Leviathan - Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel

Cinema Scope: Top 15 Films of 2012

[see also 2022202120202010s20192018201720162015201420132011]

Honourable Mentions

New Yorker: Anthony Lane: 8 Best Films of 2012

13 January 2013

Holy Motors - Leos Carax

Anthony Lane: 8 Best Films of 2012 (as extracted from his year-end roundup in The New Yorker, with some reflection of their implied order, and omitting the films that Lane describes as “lustreless” save for a particular performance)

HitFix: Kristopher Tapley: Top 10 Films of 2012

13 January 2013

The Grey - Joe Carnahan

Kristopher Tapley: Top 10 Films of 2012, as published by HitFix

[see also 2011]

San Francisco Bay Guardian: Dennis Harvey: Top 25 Narrative Films of 2012

13 January 2013

Dennis Harvey: Top 25 Narrative Films of 2012 (alphabetically, as published by The San Francisco Bay Guardian, which also includes his top 10 documentaries)

[see also 2011]

New Yorker: David Denby: 11 Best Films of 2012

13 January 2013

David Denby: 11 Best Films of 2012 (as extracted from his year-end roundup in The New Yorker, with some reflection of their implied order)

[see also 20142011]

Les Inrocks: 20 Best Films of 2012

13 January 2013

Holy Motors - Leos Carax

Les Inrockuptibles: 20 Best Films of 2012

[see also 202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132011]

Slant: Fernando F. Croce: Top 20 Films of 2012

13 January 2013

Tabu - Miguel Gomes

Fernando F. Croce: Top 20 Films of 2012, as published by Slant Magazine

[see also 2019]

Honorable Mention

Slant: Nick Schager: Top 20 Films of 2012

13 January 2013

The Master - Paul Thomas Anderson

Nick Schager: Top 20 Films of 2012, as published by Slant Magazine

[see also 202320222021202020192018201720162015201420132011]

Honorable Mention