| Rank | Title | Year | Director(s) | Overall Rank |
| 1 | The Rules of the Game | 1939 | Jean Renoir | 68 |
| 2 | The 400 Blows | 1959 | François Truffaut | 79 |
| 3 | 8 ½1 | 1963 | Federico Fellini | 84 |
| 4 | Breathless | 1960 | Jean-Luc Godard | 89 |
| 5 | The Grand Illusion | 1937 | Jean Renoir | 105 |
| 6 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day2 | 1991 | James Cameron | 110 |
| 7 | Children of Paradise | 1945 | Marcel Carné | 125 |
| 8 | The Passion of Joan of Arc | 1928 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | 142 |
| 9 | La Dolce Vita1 | 1960 | Federico Fellini | 144 |
| 10 | Jules and Jim | 1962 | François Truffaut | 169 |
| 11 | The Conformist1 3 | 1970 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 179 |
| 12 | Beauty and the Beast | 1946 | Jean Cocteau | 184 |
| 13 | L'Atalante | 1934 | Jean Vigo | 187 |
| 14 | Ran4 | 1985 | Akira Kurosawa | 189 |
| 15 | L'Avventura1 | 1960 | Michelangelo Antonioni | 190 |
| 16 | The Piano5 6 | 1993 | Jane Campion | 202 |
| 17 | Wings of Desire3 | 1987 | Wim Wenders | 206 |
| 18 | Cinema Paradiso1 | 1988 | Giuseppe Tornatore | 207 |
| 19 | Amélie3 | 2001 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | 209 |
| 20 | Thelma & Louise2 | 1991 | Ridley Scott | 216 |
| 21 | Napoléon | 1927 | Abel Gance | 227 |
| 22 | Three Colors: Red7 8 | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 243 |
| 23 | The Wages of Fear1 | 1953 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | 259 |
| 24 | City of God9 | 2002 | Fernando Meirelles | 264 |
| 25 | Belle de Jour1 | 1967 | Luis Buñuel | 282 |
| 26 | Three Colors: Blue7 8 | 1993 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 285 |
| 27 | Fanny and Alexander3 10 | 1982 | Ingmar Bergman | 287 |
| 28 | Hiroshima mon amour4 | 1959 | Alain Resnais | 292 |
| 29 | The Professional | 1994 | Luc Besson | 294 |
| 30 | Mr. Hulot's Holiday | 1953 | Jacques Tati | 299 |
| 31 | Diabolique | 1955 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | 301 |
| 32 | The Earrings of Madame De…1 | 1953 | Max Ophüls | 320 |
| 33 | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie1 11 | 1972 | Luis Buñuel | 326 |
| 34 | Mulholland Dr. 2 | 2001 | David Lynch | 330 |
| 35 | In the Mood for Love12 | 2000 | Kar Wai Wong | 331 |
| 36 | Amarcord1 | 1973 | Federico Fellini | 333 |
| 37 | The Leopard1 | 1963 | Luchino Visconti | 343 |
| 38 | Last Tango in Paris1 | 1972 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 346 |
| 39 | Day for Night1 | 1973 | François Truffaut | 362 |
| 40 | Nanook of the North2 | 1922 | Robert J. Flaherty | 372 |
| 41 | Secrets & Lies13 | 1996 | Mike Leigh | 388 |
| 42 | Last Year at Marienbad1 | 1961 | Alain Resnais | 396 |
| 43 | Playtime1 | 1967 | Jacques Tati | 398 |
| 44 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg3 | 1964 | Jacques Demy | 406 |
| 45 | Pickpocket | 1959 | Robert Bresson | 407 |
| 46 | Un chien andalou | 1929 | Luis Buñuel | 414 |
| 47 | Contempt1 | 1963 | Jean-Luc Godard | 421 |
| 48 | Jean de Florette1 7 | 1986 | Claude Berri | 424 |
| 49 | Atlantic City14 | 1980 | Louis Malle | 426 |
| 50 | Nights of Cabiria1 | 1957 | Federico Fellini | 427 |
| 51 | L'Âge d'or | 1930 | Luis Buñuel | 438 |
| 52 | Paris, Texas3 13 | 1984 | Wim Wenders | 441 |
| 53 | JFK2 | 1991 | Oliver Stone | 445 |
| 54 | Shaun of the Dead13 | 2004 | Edgar Wright | 450 |
| 55 | All about My Mother11 | 1999 | Pedro Almodóvar | 451 |
| 56 | Casino2 | 1995 | Martin Scorsese | 457 |
| 57 | Breaking the Waves10 15 16 17 18 | 1996 | Lars von Trier | 458 |
| 58 | Shoah | 1985 | Claude Lanzmann | 473 |
| 59 | Z19 | 1969 | Costa-Gavras | 487 |
| 60 | A Man Escaped | 1956 | Robert Bresson | 494 |
| 61 | Voyage to the Moon | 1902 | Georges Méliès | 505 |
| 62 | Au Revoir, les Enfants3 | 1987 | Louis Malle | 519 |
| 63 | La Jetée | 1962 | Chris Marker | 522 |
| 64 | Orpheus | 1950 | Jean Cocteau | 523 |
| 65 | The Last Emperor1 13 20 | 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 524 |
| 66 | The Fifth Element | 1997 | Luc Besson | 526 |
| 67 | Le Samouraï1 | 1967 | Jean-Pierre Melville | 529 |
| 68 | The Pianist3 8 13 | 2002 | Roman Polanski | 530 |
| 69 | Pierrot le Fou1 | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | 542 |
| 70 | Zero for Conduct | 1933 | Jean Vigo | 549 |
| 71 | Au hasard Balthazar10 | 1966 | Robert Bresson | 552 |
| 72 | The Sorrow and the Pity3 7 | 1969 | Marcel Ophüls | 556 |
| 73 | Three Colors: White7 8 | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 559 |
| 74 | Delicatessen | 1991 | Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet | 577 |
| 75 | Rififi | 1955 | Jules Dassin | 590 |
| 76 | Diary of a Country Priest | 1951 | Robert Bresson | 608 |
| 77 | Week End1 | 1967 | Jean-Luc Godard | 619 |
| 78 | A Day in the Country | 1936 | Jean Renoir | 624 |
| 79 | Shoot the Piano Player | 1960 | François Truffaut | 628 |
| 80 | The Tin Drum3 8 21 | 1979 | Volker Schlöndorff | 631 |
| 81 | The Gospel According to St. Matthew1 | 1964 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | 632 |
| 82 | Lola Montès3 22 | 1955 | Max Ophüls | 640 |
| 83 | Manon of the Spring1 7 | 1986 | Claude Berri | 655 |
| 84 | Eyes without a Face1 | 1960 | Georges Franju | 656 |
| 85 | Basic Instinct2 | 1992 | Paul Verhoeven | 675 |
| 86 | Leaving Las Vegas2 13 | 1995 | Mike Figgis | 683 |
| 87 | Central Station9 | 1998 | Walter Salles | 691 |
| 88 | Celine & Julie Go Boating | 1974 | Jacques Rivette | 700 |
| 89 | Alphaville1 | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | 702 |
| 90 | Forbidden Games | 1952 | René Clément | 704 |
| 91 | Bridget Jones's Diary13 23 | 2001 | Sharon Maguire | 709 |
| 92 | In the Realm of the Senses4 | 1976 | Nagisa Oshima | 716 |
| 93 | Diva | 1981 | Jean-Jacques Beineix | 725 |
| 94 | Army in the Shadows1 | 1969 | Jean-Pierre Melville | 730 |
| 95 | Cyrano de Bergerac | 1990 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | 736 |
| 96 | Mon Oncle1 | 1958 | Jacques Tati | 741 |
| 97 | The Straight Story2 13 | 1999 | David Lynch | 746 |
| 98 | Jeanne Dielman24 | 1975 | Chantal Akerman | 767 |
| 99 | Les Vampires | 1915 | Louis Feuillade | 787 |
| 100 | À Nous la Liberté | 1931 | René Clair | 793 |
1 Joint production with Italy.
2 Joint production with the United States.
3 Joint production with (West) Germany.
4 Joint production with Japan.
5 Joint production with Australia.
6 Joint production with New Zealand.
7 Joint production with Switzerland.
8 Joint production with Poland.
9 Joint production with Brazil.
10 Joint production with Sweden.
11 Joint production with Spain.
12 Joint production with Hong Kong.
13 Joint production with the United Kingdom.
14 Joint production with Canada.
15 Joint production with the Netherlands.
16 Joint production with Norway.
17 Joint production with Denmark.
18 Joint production with Iceland.
19 Joint production with Algeria.
20 Joint production with China.
21 Joint production with Yugoslavia.
22 Joint production with Luxembourg.
23 Joint production with Ireland.
24 Joint production with Belgium.
25 Joint production with Finland.
26 Joint production with Iran.
27 Joint production with India.
28 Joint production with Austria.
29 Joint production with Russia.
30 Joint production with Burkina Faso and Mali.
31 Joint production with Hungary.
32 Joint production with Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
33 Joint production with Czechoslovakia.
34 Joint production with Cuba.
35 Joint production with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia.
36 Joint production with Morocco.
37 Joint production with Macedonia.
38 Joint production with Mexico.
39 Joint production with Portugal.
40 Joint production with Turkey.
