Year-End Lists

Kenneth Turan: Top 10+ Films of 2012, as published by The Los Angeles Times

[see also 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2015]

1. Amour
   Michael Haneke

The Rest Listed Alphabetically [mostly]

• Argo
  Ben Affleck
• The Dark Knight Rises
  Christopher Nolan
• Footnote
  Joseph Cedar
• The Gatekeepers
  Dror Moreh
• The Law in These Parts
  Ra’anan Alexandrowicz
• Lincoln
  Steven Spielberg
• Rust and Bone
  Jacques Audiard
• Silver Linings Playbook
  David O. Russell
• Sundance Dramas: Middle of Nowhere, Robot & Frank, Safety Not Guaranteed
• Zero Dark Thirty
  Kathryn Bigelow
• The Deep Blue Sea
  Terence Davies

As Submitted to the Sight & Sound Poll

• Amour
  Michael Haneke
• The Gatekeepers
  Dror Moreh
• Lincoln
  Steven Spielberg
• No
  Pablo Larraín
• Silver Linings Playbook
  David O. Russell

This list contributes to:

• Sight & Sound Poll: Top 11 Films of 2012

The L Magazine: 25 Best Films of 2012

[see also 2013]

1. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
3. Bernie
   Richard Linklater
4. Cosmopolis
   David Cronenberg
5. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
6. The Turin Horse
   Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
7. Magic Mike
   Steven Soderbergh
8. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
9. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
10. The Color Wheel
    Alex Ross Perry
11. Killer Joe
    William Friedkin
11. Abendland
    Nikolaus Geyrhalter
13. Lincoln
    Steven Spielberg
14. The Deep Blue Sea
    Terence Davies
15. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Nuri Bilge Ceylan
16. Looper
    Rian Johnson
17. Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Benh Zeitlin
18. Damsels in Distress
    Whit Stillman
19. Miss Bala
    Gerardo Naranjo
20. The Cabin in the Woods
    Drew Goddard
21. Almayer’s Folly
    Chantal Akerman
22. Whores’ Glory
    Michael Glawogger
23. Haywire
    Steven Soderbergh
24. Tabu
    Miguel Gomes
25. Girl Walk // All Day
    Jacob Krupnick

Stephen Holden: Top 11 Films of 2012, as published by The New York Times

[see also 2016 • 2015 • 2013 • 2011]

1. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
2. Amour
   Michael Haneke
3. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
4. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
5. Argo
   Ben Affleck
6. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
7. Elena
   Andrey Zvyagintsev
8. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
   David France
9. The Invisible War
   Kirby Dick
10. The Sessions
    Ben Lewin
11. Rust and Bone
    Jacques Audiard

Manohla Dargis: Top 36 Movies of 2012, as published by The New York Times

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

1. Amour
   Michael Haneke
2. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
3. The Gatekeepers
   Dror Moreh
4. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
5. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
6. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
7. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
8. Searching for Sugar Man
   Malik Bendjelloul
9. Silver Linings Playbook
   David O. Russell
10. Zero Dark Thirty
    Kathryn Bigelow

Rest of the List, Alphabetically

• Ai Weiwei: Never Sorry
  Alison Klayman
• Argo
  Ben Affleck
• August and After
  Nathaniel Dorsky
• Auto-Collider XV
  Ernie Gehr
• Barbara
  Christian Petzold
• Beasts of the Southern Wild
  Benh Zeitlin
• Bernie
  Richard Linklater
• Brooklyn Castle
  Katie Dellamaggiore
• The Dark Knight Rises
  Christopher Nolan
• Departure
  Mr. Gehr
• Footnote
  Joseph Cedar
• The House I Live In
  Eugene Jarecki
• The Kid with a Bike
  Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
• Life of Pi
  Ang Lee
• Magic Mike
  Steven Soderbergh
• A Man Vanishes
  Shohei Imamura
• Middle of Nowhere
  Ava DuVernay
• Miss Bala
  Gerardo Naranjo
• Napoleon (1927)
  Abel Gance, restored by Kevin Brownlow
• Oslo, August 31st
  Joachim Trier
• The Pirates! Band of Misfits
  Peter Lord
• Rust and Bone
  Jacques Audiard
• Skyfall
  Sam Mendes
• Starlet
  Sean Baker
• This is Not a Film
  Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
• The Turin Horse
  Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
• View From the Acropolis
  Lonnie van Brummelen and Siebren de Haan

A.O. Scott: 25 Favorite Films of 2012, as published by The New York Times

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

1. Amour
   Michael Haneke
2. Lincoln
   Steven Spielberg
3. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
4. Footnote
   Joseph Cedar
5. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
6. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
7. Django Unchained
   Quentin Tarantino
8. Goodbye First Love
   Mia Hansen-Løve
9. Neighboring Sounds
   Kleber Mendonça Filho
10. The Grey
    Joe Carnahan

Honorable Mention, Alphabetically

• Argo
  Ben Affleck
• Barbara
  Christian Petzold
• Brave
  Mark Andrews and Brenda Chapman
• Consuming Spirits
  Chris Sullivan
• The Deep Blue Sea
  Terence Davies
• Moonrise Kingdom
  Wes Anderson
• Pitch Perfect
  Jason Moore
• Rust and Bone
  Jacques Audiard
• Take This Waltz
  Sarah Polley
• The Turin Horse
  Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky

Top Five Documentaries

1. The Gatekeepers
   Dror Moreh
2. The Queen of Versailles
   Lauren Greenfield
3. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
   David France
4. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
5. The Central Park Five
   Ken Burns, Sarah Burns, and David McMahon

Slant Magazine: 25 Best Films of 2012

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

1. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
2. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
3. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
4. The Kid with a Bike
   Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
5. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
6. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
7. Oslo, August 31st
   Joachim Trier
8. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
9. The Turin Horse
   Béla Tarr & Agnes Hranitzky
10. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
11. Neighboring Sounds
    Kleber Mendonça Filho
12. The Color Wheel
    Alex Ross Perry
13. Cosmopolis
    David Cronenberg
14. The Day He Arrives
    Hong Sang-soo
15. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
    Nuri Bilge Ceylan
16. Lincoln
    Steven Spielberg
17. How to Survive a Plague: The Inside Story of How Citizens and Science Tamed AIDS
    David France
18. Killer Joe
    William Friedkin
19. Girl Walk // All Day
    Jacob Krupnick
20. Beasts of the Southern Wild
    Benh Zeitlin
21. The Comedy
    Rick Alverson
22. Almayer’s Folly
    Chantal Akerman
23. Attenberg
    Athina Rachel Tsangari
24. Barbara
    Christian Petzold
25. Magic Mike
    Steven Soderbergh

Eric Kohn: 10 Best Movies of 2012, as published by IndieWire

[see also 2023 • 2020 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014]

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
2. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
3. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
5. Amour
   Michael Haneke
6. Your Sister’s Sister
   Lynn Shelton
7. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
8. The Loneliest Planet
   Julia Loktev
9. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia
   Nuri Bilge Ceylan
10. Universal Soldier: Day of Reckoning
    John Hyams

J Hoberman: 12 Best Films of 2012, as published by Artforum

[see also 2021 • 2019 • 2018 • 2017 • 2016 • 2015 • 2014 • 2011]

1. Werner Schroeter retrospective at MOMA
2. Almayer’s Folly
   Chantal Akerman
2. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
3. Il Cinema Ritrovato XVI (annual festival in Bologna)
4. Oskar Fischinger: Space Light Art, Whitney Museum exhibition
5. Lonesome DVD (1928)
   Paul Fejos
6. Beyond the Hills
   Cristian Mungiu
7. Leviathan
   Lucien Castaing-Taylor and Véréna Paravel
8. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
9. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
9. Beasts of the Southern Wild
   Benh Zeitlin
10. Clint Eastwood on YouTube

Richard Brody: 27 Best Movies of 2012, as published by The New Yorker

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

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
1. Moonrise Kingdom
   Wes Anderson
3. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
4. Oki’s Movie
   Hong Sang-soo
4. This is Not a Film
   Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb
6. To Rome with Love
   Woody Allen
7. Tabu
   Miguel Gomes
8. The Color Wheel
   Alex Ross Perry
9. The Deep Blue Sea
   Terence Davies
10. Damsels in Distress
    Whit Stillman
11. We Have a Pope
    Nanni Moretti
12. This Is 40
    Judd Apatow
13. Red Hook Summer
    Spike Lee
14. Magic Mike
    Steven Soderbergh
15. Fake It So Real
    Robert Greene
16. Brenie
    Richard Linklater
17. Chronicle
    Josh Trank
18. Haywire
    Steven Soderbergh
19. The Comedy
    Rick Alverson
20. Bad Fever
    Dustin Guy Defa
21. The Ballad of Genesis and Lady Jaye
    Marie Losier
22. The Day He Arrives
    Hong Sang-soo
23. In Another Country
    Hong Sang-soo
24. Green
    Sophia Takal
25. Almayer’s Folly
    Chantal Akerman
26. The Kid with a Bike
    Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne
27. Jeff, Who Lives at Home
    Jay and Mark Duplass

David Ehrlich: 25 Best Films of 2012 (presented visually at Movies.com)

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

1. Holy Motors
   Leos Carax
2. Like Someone in Love
   Abbas Kiarostami
3. Amour
   Michael Haneke
4. Zero Dark Thirty
   Kathryn Bigelow
5. Django Unchained
   Quentin Tarantino
6. The Master
   Paul Thomas Anderson
7. Something in the Air
   Olivier Assayas
8. The Comedy
   Rick Alverson
9. Anna Karenina
   Joe Wright
10. Girl Walk // All Day
    Jacob Krupnick
11. Alps
    Yorgos Lanthimos
12. Wuthering Heights
    Andrea Arnold
13. Goodbye First Love
    Mia Hansen-Løve
14. The Cabin in the Woods
    Drew Goddard
15. Cloud Atlas
    Lana & Andy Wachowski and Tom Tykwer
16. Skyfall
    Sam Mendes
17. The Deep Blue Sea
    Terence Davies
18. Tabu
    Miguel Gomes
19. Oslo, August 31st
    Joachim Trier
20. Moonrise Kingdom
    Wes Anderson
21. Shut Up and Play the Hits
    Dylan Southern and Will Lovelace
22. The Avengers
    Joss Whedon
23. Policeman
    Nadav Lapid
24. Cosmopolis
    David Cronenberg
25. Sound of Noise
    Ola Simonsson and Johannes Stjärne Nilsson