Year-End Lists

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]

• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin
• Bernie
  Richard Linklater
• The Eye of the Storm
  Fred Schepisi
• Fat Kid Rules the World
  Matthew Lillard
• Footnote
  Joseph Cedar
• Girl Walk // All Day
  Jacob Krupnick
• Hermano
  Marcel Rasquin
• Holy Motors
  Leos Carax
• The Hunter
  David Nettheim
• In Darkness – Agnieszka Holland
  pictured
• Keep the Lights On
  Ira Sachs
• Klown
  Mikkel Nørgaard
• Life of Pi
  Ang Lee
• Lincoln
  Steven Spielberg
• The Master
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Michael
  Markus Schleinzer
• Moonrise Kingdom
  Wes Anderson
• Natural Selection
  Robbie Pickering
• Oslo, August 31st
  Joachim Trier
• Safety Not Guaranteed
  Colin Trevorrow
• Silver Linings Playbook
  David O. Russell
• Sister
  Ursula Meier
• Skyfall
  Sam Mendes
• 21 Jump Street
  Phil Lord and Chris Miller
• Wreck-It Ralph
  Rich Moore

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 2014 • 2011]

• Lincoln
  Steven Spielberg
• Zero Dark Thirty
  Kathryn Bigelow
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin
• Argo
  Ben Affleck
• This Is 40
  Judd Apatow
• Arbitrage
  Nicholas Jarecki
• Moonrise Kingdom
  Wes Anderson
• The Master
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Detropia
  Heidi Ewing and Rachel Grady
• The Central Park Five
  Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon
• The Gatekeepers
  Dror Moreh

Les Inrockuptibles: 20 Best Films of 2012

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
2. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
3. In Another Country
   Hong Sang-soo
4. Twixt
   Francis Ford Coppola
5. Damsels in Distress
   Whit Stillman
6. 4:44 Last Day on Earth
   Abel Ferrara
7. Camille Rewinds
   Noémie Lvovsky
8. Looper
   Rian Johnson
9. A World Without Women
   Guillaume Brac
10. Atomic Age
    Héléna Klotz
11. Take Shelter
    Jeff Nichols
12. Summer of Giacomo
    Alessandro Comodin
13. The Day He Arrives
    Hong Sang-soo
14. Barbara
    Christian Petzold
15. Fengming: A Chinese Memoir
    Wang Bing
16. Laurence Anyways
    Xavier Dolan
17. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
18. Go Go Tales
    Abel Ferrara
19. Amour
    Michael Haneke
20. Smugglers’ Songs
    Rabah Ameur-Zaïmeche

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

[see also 2019]

1. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
2. The Turin Horse
   Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
3. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
4. Cosmopolis
   David Cronenberg
5. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
6. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
7. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
8. Almayer’s Folly
   Chantal Akerman
9. The Kid with a Bike
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
10. Holy Motors
    Leos Carax

Honorable Mention

• Alps
  Yorgos Lanthimos
• Oslo, August 31st
  Joachim Trier
• Neighboring Sounds
  Kleber Mendonça Filho
• Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
  Nuri Bilge Ceylan
• Bernie
  Richard Linklater
• Goodbye First Love
  Mia Hansen-Løve
• The Day He Arrives
  Hong Sang-soo
• 4:44 Last Day on Earth
  Abel Ferrara
• Lincoln
  Steven Spielberg
• Killer Joe
  William Friedkin

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

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
3. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
4. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
5. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
6. Neighboring Sounds
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
7. Oslo, August 31st
   Joachim Trier
8. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
9. Keep the Lights On
   Ira Sachs
10. Beyond the Black Rainbow
    Panos Cosmatos

Honorable Mention

• The Kid with a Bike
  Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
• The Grey
  Joe Carnahan
• Magic Mike
  Steven Soderbergh
• Moonrise Kingdom
  Wes Anderson
• Photographic Memory
  Ross McElwee
• The Loneliest Planet
  Julia Loktev
• Haywire
  Steven Soderbergh
• 21 Jump Street
  Phil Lord and Chris Miller
• Last Ride
  Glendyn Ivin
• Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
  John Hyams

Ed Gonzalez: Top 20 Films of 2012, as published by Slant Magazine

[see also 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2011]

1. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
2. The Kid with a Bike
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
3. Neighboring Sounds
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
4. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
5. Las Acacias
   Pablo Giorgelli
6. Jiro Dreams of Sushi
   David Gelb
7. Girl Walk // All Day
   Jacob Krupnick
8. Oslo, August 31st
   Joachim Trier
9. 5 Broken Cameras
   Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi
10. Sleepless Night
    Frédéric Jardin

Honorable Mention

• The Comedy
  Rick Alverson
• Lincoln
  Steven Spielberg
• Killer Joe
  William Friedkin
• Keep the Lights On
  Ira Sachs
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin
• The Color Wheel
  Alex Ross Perry
• The Five-Year Engagement
  Nicholas Stoller
• The Queen of Versailles
  Lauren Greenfield
• Sister
  Ursula Meier
• This Must Be the Place
  Paolo Sorrentino

Matt Singer: 20 Best Films of 2012, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
2. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
3. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
4. The Cabin in the Woods
   Drew Goddard
5. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
6. Klown
   Mikkel Nørgaard
7. Compliance
   Craig Zobel
8. Argo
   Ben Affleck
9. Looper
   Rian Johnson
10. Girl Walk // All Day
    Jacob Krupnick
11. Cloud Atlas
    Lana & Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer
12. Jeff, Who Lives at Home
    Jay and Mark Duplass
13. Not Fade Away
    David Chase
14. Oslo, August 31st
    Joachim Trier
15. ParaNorman
    Chris Butler & Sam Fell
16. Sleepless Night
    Frédéric Jardin
17. Life of Pi
    Ang Lee
18. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
19. Magic Mike
    Steven Soderbergh
20. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
    John Hyams

Peter Bradshaw: 10 Best Films of 2012, as published by The Guardian

[see also Top 5 Films of 2012 • Best Films of 2011]

1. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Ted
   Seth MacFarlane
3. Amour
   Michael Haneke
4. Silver Linings Playbook
   David O. Russell
5. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
6. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
7. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
8. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
9. Alps
   Yorgos Lanthimos
10. The Queen of Versailles
    Lauren Greenfield

Andrew O’Hehir: 20 Best Movies of 2012, as published by Salon

[see also 2014 • 2011]

1. Wuthering Heights
   Andrea Arnold
2. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
3. Amour
   Michael Haneke
4. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
5. Rust and Bone
   Jacques Audiard
6. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
7. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
8. Whores’ Glory
   Michael Glawogger
9. Oslo, August 31st
   Joachim Trier
10. Take This Waltz
    Sarah Polley

Honorable Mention (in alphabetical order)

• Bachelorette
  Leslye Headland
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin
• Chico & Rita
  Fernando Trueba and Javier Mariscal
• The Dark Knight Rises
  Christopher Nolan
• End of Watch
  David Ayer
• Keep the Lights On
  Ira Sachs
• Marina Abramović: The Artist is Present
  Matthew Akers
• Moonrise Kingdom
  Wes Anderson
• Not Fade Away
  David Chase
• The Turin Horse
  Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky

Ty Burr: Top 26 Movies of 2012, as published by The Boston Globe

[see also 2022 • 2021 • 2020 • 2010s • 2014 • 2011]

1. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
2. Amour
   Michael Haneke
3. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
4. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
5. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
6. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
7. Argo
   Ben Affleck
8. Django Unchained
   Quentin Tarantino
9. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
10. Oslo, August 31st
    Joachim Trier

Honorable Mention

• Bachelorette
  Leslye Headland

Runners-up

• The Sessions
  Ben Lewin
• The Master
  Paul Thomas Anderson
• Silver Linings Playbook
  David O. Russell
• Safety Not Guaranteed
  Colin Trevorrow
• The Central Park Five
  Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon
• Killing Them Softly
  Andrew Dominik
• The House I Live In
  Eugene Jarecki
• Frankenweenie
  Tim Burton
• The Perks of Being a Wallflower
  Stephen Chbosky
• Searching for Sugar Man
  Malik Bendjelloul