Discuss Tokyo Story
Discuss → Movies → Tokyo Story → General
Top 50 films of the 1950s
posted by rudely_murraySTAFFMOD on June 28, 2017 at 11:12 PM
I am currently throwing together top 100 lists for each decade from the 1930s onwards - sadly, as of yet, I have not seen enough pre-1930s films to go back any further than this. I won't post the entire 100s on here but here is my top 50 for the '50s. Clearly, ranking on such a list is always relatively arbitrary and, were I to start again tomorrow, it would no doubt look a little different. But, for today, I am reasonably happy with this ranking.
Please feel free to comment or share your own favourites!
- Tokyo Story (1953) Yasujiro Ozu
- The Night of the Hunter (1955) Charles Laughton
- The Seventh Seal (1957) Ingmar Bergman
- Some Like It Hot (1959) Billy Wilder
- From Here to Eternity (1953) Fred Zinnemann
- Seven Samurai (1954) Akira Kurosawa
- Sansho the Bailiff (1954) Kenzi Mizoguchi
- Los Olvidados (1950) Luis Bunuel
- Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Nicholas Ray
- Sunset Blvd. (1950) Billy Wilder
- Pather Panchali (1955) Satyajit Ray
- Ballad of a Soldier (1959) Grigori Chukhrai
- The Red Balloon (1956) Albert Lamorisse
- 12 Angry Men (1957) Sidney Lumet
- Rear Window (1954) Alfred Hitchcock
- Wild Strawberries (1957) Ingmar Bergman
- Ikiru (1952) Akira Kurosawa
- Umberto D. (1952) Vittorio Di Sica
- East of Eden (1955) Elia Kazan
- The 400 Blows (1959) Francois Truffaut
- Day of the Outlaw (1959) Andre De Toth
- All About Eve (1950) Joseph L. Manciewicz
- Night and Fog (1956) Alain Resnais
- Throne of Blood (1957) Akira Kurosawa
- Paths of Glory (1957) Stanley Kubrick
- Crazed Fruit (1956) Ko Nakahira
- The Cranes are Flying (1957) Mikhail Kalatozov
- Summer with Monika (1953) Ingmar Bergman
- North by Northwest (1959) Alfred Hitchcock
- Rashomon (1950) Akira Kurosawa
- 5 Fingers (1952) Joseph L. Manciewicz
- Shane (1953) George Stevens
- The Wages of Fear (1953) Henri-Georges Clouzot
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) David Lean
- The Burmese Harp (1956) Kon Ichikawa
- Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Otto Preminger
- A Night to Remember (1958) Roy Ward Baker
- The 7th Voyage of Sinbad (1956) Nathan Juran
- Beat the Devil (1953) John Huston
- Hiroshima, mon amour (1959) Alain Resnais
- A Man Escaped (1956) Robert Bresson
- Gun Crazy (1950) Joseph H. Lewis
- Pickpocket (1959) Robert Bresson
- Written on the Wind (1956) Douglas Sirk
- The World of Apu (1959) Satyajit Ray
- Sweet Smell of Success (1957) Alexander MacKendrick
- In a Lonely Place (1950) Nicholas Ray
- The Asphalt Jungle (1950) John Huston
- Ace in the Hole (1951) Billy Wilder
- Forbidden Games (1952) Rene Clement
Reply by tmdb53400018
on June 29, 2017 at 12:47 PM
Tokyo Story is an interesting pick for #1. I don't have any problem with it -- the film is excellent. I find it hard to distinguish between Ozu's films as their technique is often overwhelmingly similar from film to film. However, Tokyo Story has a powerful ending that I remember to this very day.
Endings are important.
Reply by rudely_murray
on June 29, 2017 at 8:54 PM
I do feel that Tokyo Story towers above his other 1950s films, and indeed most of his other work (Late Spring comes awfully close), I understand what you are saying about his standard technique - the languid pace, the static camera - but I do find that every time I watch one of his pictures, it has a distinct personality.
I simply feel that Tokyo Story is a breathtakingly moving piece, slow-paced but riveting throughout, and one of the most emotionally devastating films I have ever seen. It's hard to pick the number one film of a wonderful decade, but I didn't really have to think this through too much. And yes, that ending...
Reply by lmao7
on June 30, 2017 at 4:32 AM
hope it's clickable hehe
Anyway I only saw remake of Tokyo Story and liked it..cried a bit, original version is on my list to watch. I love Rashomon and thanks for Pather Panchali - I remember that title and watched it in school, now I have to look for it.
(or make a list and link it here so we can see posters of the film (:
Reply by rudely_murray
on July 4, 2017 at 11:12 PM
I may do that eventually... sounds a lot like hard work!
Reply by genplant29
on January 21, 2018 at 4:03 PM
I don't have a 50 Faves list for the 1950s, but the following (listed chronologically by years) are 10 favourites:
TMDbers' Fave 1940s films lists: https://www.themoviedb.org/movie/1585-it-s-a-wonderful-life/discuss/5a321d3cc3a36814b9010202
Reply by rooprect
on November 9, 2021 at 9:05 AM
Nice list r_m! But like CF above, I'm surprised at Tokyo Story beating so many other amazing films. I'm about to watch Tokyo Story for the 2nd time and was wondering if you or anyone else had some specific points I should look for that'll enhance my appreciation for it. Especially if there are specific scenes or technical points that make it great, I'd love to know about that. I really loved this flick and would definitely put it in my top 250, I'm curious to hear why it would be #1.
Reply by rooprect
on February 24, 2022 at 5:37 AM
Just watched this a 2nd time and enjoyed it, but my initial reaction is reinforced; I’m confused at what would make Tokyo Story the best film of all time. If anyone has some insights I’m all ears. As I was watching I could help being reminded of An Autumn Afternoon which was Ozu’s masterpiece and swansong 10 years later. He revisited so many themes and subplots of Tokyo Story in his final film that it makes me view TS as a sketchpad leading up to the real deal.
For example the bar scene with the bartender resembling the man’s wife was given so much more depth and emotional power in Autumn with the added punch of the patriotic and nostalgic song they sing together. Another subtle yet powerful fleshing out comes in the form of Autumn’s views of the factory smokestacks. In TS’s b&w they seem almost filthy but in Autumn’s glorious colours we see the same shots with equal filth and majesty (not unlike Antonioni’s factory homage in Red Desert).
There are many other examples of Ozu revisiting & expanding on TS in his last film; watching TS has actually given me a heightened appreciation for An Autumn Afternoon, and I would sooner rank that as #1, but I notice it’s not on your list? Is that because you haven’t seen it?
Edit: oh I just realized the list is for 50s movies and Autumn Afternoon was 60s just by a hair. At any rate the rest of my thoughts still apply. What specifically makes TS #1? If I missed something I’ll watch it a 3rd time.