On Monday, the New York Film Critics Circle will their annual awards, launching the Oscar season into high gear. Other critics groups will soon follow and December will be filled with no shortage of lists and accumulated opinions on what was cinema’s finest offerings in 2014. But overseas, Sight & Sound has got the jump on everyone, with the release today of their top twenty films of the year.
To be certain, this has pretty much little bearing on any awards season talk, and it should be noted that many films that opened stateside last year, only debuted abroad in ’14 (hence the inclusion of Martin Scorsese‘s "The Wolf Of Wall Street"). But culled from the top five lists of 50 critics, it does give a very good indication of what films connected in a big way over the last twelve months, and top of the heap is Richard Linklater‘s "Boyhood." And it’s hardly a shock. It’s one of the best reviewed movies of the year, an indie sensation, and one that still has people talking as we head into 2015 — a rare achievement for a movie that debuted all the way back at Sundance in January (though "Whiplash" edges in at the end of the top ten).
Check out the 20 below — thoughts? Anything they missed? Let us know below.
Sight & Sound Top 20 Films Of 2014
1. Boyhood
2. Goodbye To Language 3D
3. Leviathan (tie)
3. Horse Money (tie)
5. Under The Skin
6. The Grand Budapest Hotel
7. Winter Sleep
8. The Tribe
9. Ida (tie)
9. Jauja (tie)
11. Mr. Turner (tie)
11. National Gallery (tie)
11. The Wolf Of Wall Street (tie)
11. Whiplash (tie)
15. The Duke Of Burgundy
16. Birdman (tie)
16. Two Days, One Night (tie)
18. Citizenfour (tie)
18. The Look Of Silence (tie)
18. The Wind Rises (tie)
