| Rank | Title | Year | Director(s) | Overall Rank |
| 1 | The Rules of the Game | 1939 | Jean Renoir | 58 |
| 2 | Breathless | 1960 | Jean-Luc Godard | 77 |
| 3 | The 400 Blows | 1959 | François Truffaut | 78 |
| 4 | 8 1/21 | 1963 | Federico Fellini | 82 |
| 5 | The Grand Illusion | 1937 | Jean Renoir | 89 |
| 6 | Children of Paradise | 1945 | Marcel Carné | 108 |
| 7 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day2 | 1991 | James Cameron | 126 |
| 8 | La Dolce Vita1 | 1960 | Federico Fellini | 134 |
| 9 | The Passion of Joan of Arc | 1928 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | 139 |
| 10 | Jules and Jim | 1962 | François Truffaut | 154 |
| 11 | Beauty and the Beast | 1946 | Jean Cocteau | 174 |
| 12 | Ran3 | 1985 | Akira Kurosawa | 177 |
| 13 | The Conformist1 4 | 1970 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 184 |
| 14 | Thelma & Louise2 | 1991 | Ridley Scott | 188 |
| 15 | L'Avventura1 | 1960 | Michelangelo Antonioni | 189 |
| 16 | Cinema Paradiso1 | 1988 | Giuseppe Tornatore | 192 |
| 17 | L'Atalante | 1934 | Jean Vigo | 193 |
| 18 | Napoléon | 1927 | Abel Gance | 194 |
| 19 | Wings of Desire4 | 1987 | Wim Wenders | 195 |
| 20 | The Piano5 6 | 1993 | Jane Campion | 203 |
| 21 | Amélie4 | 2001 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | 230 |
| 22 | Three Colors: Red7 8 | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 231 |
| 23 | Fanny and Alexander4 9 | 1982 | Ingmar Bergman | 247 |
| 24 | Belle de Jour1 | 1967 | Luis Buñuel | 261 |
| 25 | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie1 10 | 1972 | Luis Buñuel | 266 |
| 26 | Last Tango in Paris1 | 1972 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 271 |
| 27 | Three Colors: Blue7 8 11 | 1993 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 277 |
| 28 | Hiroshima mon amour3 | 1959 | Alain Resnais | 281 |
| 29 | The Wages of Fear1 | 1953 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | 285 |
| 30 | Amarcord1 | 1973 | Federico Fellini | 291 |
| 31 | The Earrings of Madame De…1 | 1953 | Max Ophüls | 293 |
| 32 | L'Âge d'or | 1930 | Luis Buñuel | 301 |
| 33 | The Professional | 1994 | Luc Besson | 312 |
| 34 | Mr. Hulot's Holiday | 1953 | Jacques Tati | 321 |
| 35 | Day for Night1 | 1973 | François Truffaut | 322 |
| 36 | Diabolique | 1955 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | 327 |
| 37 | City of God12 | 2002 | Fernando Meirelles | 331 |
| 38 | Nanook of the North2 | 1922 | Robert J. Flaherty | 339 |
| 39 | Playtime1 | 1967 | Jacques Tati | 351 |
| 40 | Un chien andalou | 1929 | Luis Buñuel | 369 |
| 41 | Contempt1 | 1963 | Jean-Luc Godard | 373 |
| 42 | Atlantic City2 13 | 1980 | Louis Malle | 374 |
| 43 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg4 | 1964 | Jacques Demy | 377 |
| 44 | Last Year at Marienbad1 4 14 | 1961 | Alain Resnais | 382 |
| 45 | Jean de Florette1 7 | 1986 | Claude Berri | 385 |
| 46 | The Leopard1 | 1963 | Luchino Visconti | 420 |
| 47 | Mulholland Dr.2 | 2001 | David Lynch | 422 |
| 48 | JFK2 | 1991 | Oliver Stone | 424 |
| 49 | Nights of Cabiria1 | 1957 | Federico Fellini | 425 |
| 50 | Paris, Texas4 | 1984 | Wim Wenders | 431 |
| 51 | Secrets & Lies11 | 1996 | Mike Leigh | 436 |
| 52 | Pickpocket | 1959 | Robert Bresson | 447 |
| 53 | Au Revoir, les Enfants4 | 1987 | Louis Malle | 460 |
| 54 | Orpheus | 1950 | Jean Cocteau | 470 |
| 55 | Breaking the Waves9 15 16 17 18 | 1996 | Lars von Trier | 472 |
| 56 | Voyage to the Moon | 1902 | Georges Méliès | 473 |
| 57 | Shoah | 1985 | Claude Lanzmann | 479 |
| 58 | Z19 | 1969 | Costa-Gavras | 483 |
| 59 | Lola Montès4 | 1955 | Max Ophüls | 497 |
| 60 | The Sorrow and the Pity4 7 | 1969 | Marcel Ophüls | 502 |
| 61 | The Last Emperor1 11 20 | 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 504 |
| 62 | In the Mood for Love21 | 2000 | Kar Wai Wong | 511 |
| 63 | Zero for Conduct | 1933 | Jean Vigo | 518 |
| 64 | Diary of a Country Priest | 1951 | Robert Bresson | 519 |
| 65 | Pierrot le Fou1 | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | 521 |
| 66 | All about My Mother10 | 1999 | Pedro Almodóvar | 534 |
| 67 | Le Samouraï1 | 1967 | Jean-Pierre Melville | 535 |
| 68 | Three Colors: White7 8 | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 542 |
| 69 | Week End1 | 1967 | Jean-Luc Godard | 552 |
| 70 | Casino2 | 1995 | Martin Scorsese | 560 |
| 71 | The Tin Drum4 8 22 | 1979 | Volker Schlöndorff | 561 |
| 72 | Au hasard Balthazar9 | 1966 | Robert Bresson | 562 |
| 73 | A Man Escaped | 1956 | Robert Bresson | 565 |
| 74 | Manon of the Spring1 7 | 1986 | Claude Berri | 572 |
| 75 | The Fifth Element | 1997 | Luc Besson | 579 |
| 76 | The Pianist4 8 11 | 2002 | Roman Polanski | 586 |
| 77 | The Gospel According to St. Matthew1 | 1964 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | 592 |
| 78 | Shoot the Piano Player | 1960 | François Truffaut | 596 |
| 79 | Forbidden Games | 1952 | René Clément | 597 |
| 80 | Leaving Las Vegas2 11 | 1995 | Mike Figgis | 601 |
| 81 | A Day in the Country | 1936 | Jean Renoir | 604 |
| 82 | Rififi | 1955 | Jules Dassin | 623 |
| 83 | Bridget Jones's Diary11 | 2001 | Sharon Maguire | 626 |
| 84 | À Nous la Liberté | 1931 | René Clair | 634 |
| 85 | Shaun of the Dead11 | 2004 | Edgar Wright | 643 |
| 86 | Celine & Julie Go Boating | 1974 | Jacques Rivette | 649 |
| 87 | In the Realm of the Senses3 | 1976 | Nagisa Oshima | 660 |
| 88 | Jeanne Dielman23 | 1976 | Chantal Akerman | 661 |
| 89 | Delicatessen | 1991 | Marc Caro and Jean-Marie Jeunet | 662 |
| 90 | Mon Oncle1 | 1958 | Jacques Tati | 666 |
| 91 | Le Jour se lève | 1939 | Marcel Carné | 676 |
| 92 | La Jetée | 1962 | Chris Marker | 687 |
| 93 | Cyrano de Bergerac | 1990 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | 696 |
| 94 | Les Vampires | 1915 | Louis Feuillade | 697 |
| 95 | Death in Venice1 | 1971 | Luchino Visconti | 703 |
| 96 | The Straight Story2 11 | 1999 | David Lynch | 740 |
| 97 | Central Station12 | 1998 | Walter Salles | 745 |
| 98 | Eyes without a Face1 | 1960 | Georges Franju | 756 |
| 99 | Basic Instinct2 | 1992 | Paul Verhoeven | 762 |
| 100 | Rocco and His Brothers1 | 1960 | Luchino Visconti | 769 |
1 Joint production with Italy.
2 Joint production with the United States.
3 Joint production with Japan.
4 Joint production with (West) Germany.
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 Sweden.
10 Joint production with Spain.
11 Joint production with the United Kingdom.
12 Joint production with Brazil.
13 Joint production with Canada.
14 Joint production with Austria.
15 Joint production with Norway.
16 Joint production with the Netherlands.
17 Joint production with Denmark.
18 Joint production with Iceland.
19 Joint production with Algeria.
20 Joint production with China.
21 Joint production with Hong Kong.
22 Joint production with Yugoslavia.
23 Joint production with Belgium.
24 Joint production with India.
25 Joint production with Iran.
26 Joint production with Hungary.
27 Joint production with Finland.
28 Joint production with Russia.
26 Joint production with Burkina Faso and Mali.
30 Joint production with Morocco.
31 Joint production with Cuba.
32 Joint production with Mexico.
33 Joint production with Argentina, Chile, and Peru.
34 Joint production with Greece.
35 Joint production with Macedonia.
36 Joint production with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia.
37 Joint production with Luxembourg.
38 Joint production with Czechoslovakia.
39 Joint production with Turkey.
40 Joint production with Portugal.
41 Joint production with Senegal.
42 Joint production with Vietnam.
