Year-End Lists

Cinema Scope: Top Ten Films of 2015

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Cemetery of Splendor
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
2. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
3. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
4. The Forbidden Room
   Guy Maddin
5. Right Now, Wrong Then
   Hong Sang-soo
6. Visit, or Memories and Confessions
   Manoel de Oliveira
7. Lost and Beautiful
   Pietro Marcello
8. No Home Movie
   Chantal Akerman
9. The Treasure
   Corneliu Porumboiu
10. Kaili Blues
    Bi Gan

Special mentions

• 88:88
  Isiah Medina
• Bring Me the Head of Tim Horton
  Guy Maddin, Evan Johnson, and Galen Johnson
• Carol
  Todd Haynes
• Chevalier
  Athina Rachel Tsangari
• In the Shadow of Women
  Philippe Garrel

Glenn Kenny: 47 Noteworthy Films of 2015 (released in the United States)

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2013 • 2012]

1. Hard to Be a God
   Aleksey German
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. Girlhood
   Céline Sciamma
4. Horse Money
   Pedro Costa
5. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
6. Heart of a Dog
   Laurie Anderson
7. Heaven Knows What
   Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
8. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
9. The Hateful Eight
   Quentin Tarantino
10. Shaun the Sheep Movie
    Mark Burton and Richard Starzak
11. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
12. Phoenix
    Christian Petzold
13. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
14. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    JJ Abrams
15. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
16. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
17. Carol
    Todd Haynes
18. The Mend
    John Magary
19. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
20. Creed
    Ryan Coogler
21. Fort Tilden
    Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers
22. Clouds of Sils Maria
    Olivier Assayas
23. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
24. Magic Mike XXL
    Gregory Jacobs
25. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin
26. Experimenter
    Michael Almereyda
27. Queen of Earth
    Alex Ross Perry
28. Hitchcock/Truffaut
    Kent Jones
29. Democrats
    Camilla Nielsson
30. Field Niggas
    Khalik Allah
31. Bridge of Spies
    Steven Spielberg
32. Eden
    Mia Hansen-Løve
33. Mistress America
    Noah Baumbach
34. Crimson Peak
    Guillermo del Toro
35. Grandma
    Paul Weitz
36. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
    Christopher McQuarrie
37. Trainwreck
    Judd Apatow
38. Blackhat
    Michael Mann
39. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
40. Love & Mercy
    Bill Pohlad
41. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
42. Spotlight
    Tom McCarthy
43. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
44. The Big Short
    Adam McKay
45. Ant-Man
    Peyton Reed
46. I’ll See You in My Dreams
    Brett Haley
47. Ballet 422
    Jody Lee Lipes

Reverse Shot: 10 Best Movies of 2015

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. In Jackson Heights
   Frederick Wiseman
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
4. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
5. Timbuktu
   Abderrahmane Sissako
6. Hard to Be a God
   Aleksey German
7. Arabian Nights
   Miguel Gomes
8. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
9. Eastern Boys
   Robin Campillo
10. Horse Money
    Pedro Costa

David Morgan: The 20 Best Films of 2015, as posted by CBS News (in alphabetical order)

[see also 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

• Amy
  Asif Kapadia
• Carol
  Todd Haynes
• Clouds of Sils Maria
  Olivier Assayas
• Ex Machina
  Alex Garland
• The Forbidden Room
  Guy Maddin
• Inside Out
  Pete Docter
• It Follows
  David Robert Mitchell
• The Look of Silence
  Joshua Oppenheimer
• Mad Max: Fury Road
  George Miller
• The Martian
  Ridley Scott
• Phoenix
  Christian Petzold
• The Revenant
  Alejandro González Iñárritu
• Room
  Lenny Abrahamson
• Son of Saul
  László Nemes
• Spotlight
  Tom McCarthy
• Star Wars: The Force Awakens
  JJ Abrams
• Steve Jobs
  Danny Boyle
• The Wolfpack
  Crystal Moselle
• The Wonders
  Alice Rohrwacher
• What We Do in the Shadows
  Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi

David Hudson: Top 17 Films of 2015, as published by Fandor’s Keyframe Daily

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
2. Carol
   Todd Haynes
3. Inherent Vice
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
   Jafar Panahi
5. Cemetery of Splendor
   Apichatpong Weerasethakul
6. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
7. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
8. 45 Years
   Andrew Haigh
9. Victoria
   Sebastian Schipper
10. The Forbidden Room
    Guy Maddin

Honorable Mentions

• Arabian Nights
  Miguel Gomes
• Mountains May Depart
  Jia Zhang-ke
• Ex Machina
  Alex Garland
• Counting
  Jem Cohen
• Eisenstein in Guanajuato
  Peter Greenaway
• Results
  Andrew Bujalski
• Naz & Maalik
  Jay Dockendorf

Alison Willmore: 19 Best Movies of 2015, as published by BuzzFeed

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. Carol
   Todd Haynes
4. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
5. Creed
   Ryan Coogler
6. Jafar Panahi’s Taxi
   Jafar Panahi
7. It Follows
   David Robert Mitchell
8. Ex Machina
   Alex Garland
9. Eden
   Mia Hansen-Løve
10. Spotlight
    Tom McCarthy
11. Heaven Knows What
    Ben Safdie and Joshua Safdie
12. The Martian
    Ridley Scott
13. What We Do in the Shadows
    Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi
14. The Duke of Burgundy
    Peter Strickland
15. Blind
    Eskil Vogt
16. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
17. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
18. Wild Tales
    Damián Szifrón
19. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
    Marielle Heller

Michael Phillips: 10 Best Movies of 2015, as published by The Chicago Tribune

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
2. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
3. Love & Mercy
   Bill Pohlad
4. The Diary of a Teenage Girl
   Marielle Heller
5. Son of Saul
   László Nemes
6. Carol
   Todd Haynes
7. Beasts of No Nation
   Cary Joji Fukunaga
8. Creed
   Ryan Coogler
9. Heart of a Dog
   Laurie Anderson
10. Tangerine
    Sean Baker

Nick Schager: The Best Films of 2015, as published by The A.V. Club

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2014 • 2013 • 2012 • 2011]

1. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
2. The Look of Silence
   Joshua Oppenheimer
3. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
4. Brooklyn
   John Crowley
5. The Assassin
   Hou Hsiao-Hsien
6. Hard to Be a God
   Aleksey German
7. Spotlight
   Tom McCarthy
8. Slow West
   John Maclean
9. James White
   Josh Mond
10. Bone Tomahawk
    S. Craig Zahler
11. The Nightmare
    Rodney Ascher
12. A Pigeon Sat on a Branch Reflecting on Existence
    Roy Andersson
13. Amy
    Asif Kapadia
14. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
15. Crimson Peak
    Guillermo del Toro

This list contributes to:

• Village Voice Film Poll: Top 50 Films of 2015
• Variety: 10 Best Films of 2015
• A.V. Club: 20 Best Films of 2015

Nictate: 15 Favorite Films of 2015, as posted to Letterboxd

[see also 2022 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016]

1. Clouds of Sils Maria
   Olivier Assayas
2. Phoenix
   Christian Petzold
3. The Mend
   John Magary
4. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
5. Amour fou
   Jessica Hausner
6. Irrational Man
   Woody Allen
7. Mustang
   Deniz Gamze Ergüven
8. Results
   Andrew Bujalski
9. If You Don’t, I Will
   Sophie Fillières
10. Tangerine
    Sean Baker
11. Appropriate Behavior
    Desiree Akhavan
12. Fort Tilden
    Sarah-Violet Bliss and Charles Rogers
13. Chi-Raq
    Spike Lee
14. 45 Years
    Andrew Haigh
15. The Thoughts That Once We Had
    Thom Andersen

Paste Magazine: 50 Best Movies of 2015

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2018 • 2017]

1. Chi-Raq
   Spike Lee
2. Cartel Land
   Matthew Heineman
3. The Tribe
   Miroslav Slaboshpitsky
4. White God
   Kornél Mundruczó
5. Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem
   Ronit Elkabetz and Shlomi Elkabetz
6. The End of the Tour
   James Ponsoldt
7. Anomalisa
   Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
8. Time Out of Mind
   Oren Moverman
9. Mad Max: Fury Road
   George Miller
10. Mistress America
    Noah Baumbach
11. Experimenter
    Michael Almereyda
12. Eden
    Mia Hansen-Løve
13. Phoenix
    Christian Petzold
14. Heart of a Dog
    Laurie Anderson
15. Iris
    Albert Maysles
16. The Hateful Eight
    Quentin Tarantino
17. Love & Mercy
    Bill Pohlad
18. Janis: Little Girl Blue
    Amy Berg
19. The Assassin
    Hou Hsiao-Hsien
20. Mississippi Grind
    Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden
21. Seymour: An Introduction
    Ethan Hawke
22. Son of Saul
    László Nemes
23. Inside Out
    Pete Docter
24. Western
    Bill Ross
25. Hard to Be a God
    Aleksey German
26. James White
    Josh Mond
27. Spotlight
    Tom McCarthy
28. Ex Machina
    Alex Garland
29. Amy
    Asif Kapadia
30. Star Wars: The Force Awakens
    JJ Abrams
31. I’ll See You in My Dreams
    Brett Haley
32. Beasts of No Nation
    Cary Joji Fukunaga
33. Room
    Lenny Abrahamson
34. The Mend
    John Magary
35. Brand: A Second Coming
    Ondi Timoner
36. It Follows
    David Robert Mitchell
37. While We’re Young
    Noah Baumbach
38. (T)ERROR
    Lyric R. Cabral and David Felix Sutcliffe
39. Mission: Impossible – Rogue Nation
    Christopher McQuarrie
40. The Big Short
    Adam McKay
41. Listen to Me Marlon
    Stevan Riley
42. Timbuktu
    Abderrahmane Sissako
43. ’71
    Yann Demange
44. Trainwreck
    Judd Apatow
45. Sicario
    Denis Villeneuve
46. The Revenant
    Alejandro González Iñárritu
47. The New Girlfriend
    François Ozon
48. Results
    Andrew Bujalski
49. Dope
    Rick Famuyiwa
50. Tangerine
    Sean Baker