| Rank | Title | Year | Director(s) | Overall Rank |
| 1 | The Rules of the Game | 1939 | Jean Renoir | 70 |
| 2 | The 400 Blows | 1959 | François Truffaut | 71 |
| 3 | 8 1/21 | 1963 | Federico Fellini | 80 |
| 4 | Breathless | 1960 | Jean-Luc Godard | 81 |
| 5 | The Grand Illusion | 1937 | Jean Renoir | 90 |
| 6 | Terminator 2: Judgment Day2 | 1991 | James Cameron | 98 |
| 7 | Children of Paradise | 1945 | Marcel Carné | 129 |
| 8 | La Dolce Vita1 | 1960 | Federico Fellini | 134 |
| 9 | The Passion of Joan of Arc | 1928 | Carl Theodor Dreyer | 143 |
| 10 | Jules and Jim | 1962 | François Truffaut | 168 |
| 11 | The Conformist1 3 | 1970 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 169 |
| 12 | Beauty and the Beast | 1946 | Jean Cocteau | 179 |
| 13 | Amélie3 | 2001 | Jean-Pierre Jeunet | 182 |
| 14 | Ran4 | 1985 | Akira Kurosawa | 185 |
| 15 | L'Atalante | 1934 | Jean Vigo | 189 |
| 16 | Cinema Paradiso1 | 1988 | Giuseppe Tornatore | 192 |
| 17 | Wings of Desire3 | 1987 | Wim Wenders | 195 |
| 18 | L'Avventura1 | 1960 | Michelangelo Antonioni | 196 |
| 19 | City of God5 | 2002 | Fernando Meirelles | 227 |
| 20 | Thelma & Louise2 | 1991 | Ridley Scott | 228 |
| 21 | The Wages of Fear1 | 1953 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | 230 |
| 22 | Three Colors: Red6 7 | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 232 |
| 23 | The Piano8 9 | 1993 | Jane Campion | 247 |
| 24 | Napoléon | 1927 | Abel Gance | 264 |
| 25 | In the Mood for Love10 | 2000 | Kar Wai Wong | 271 |
| 26 | Belle de Jour1 | 1967 | Luis Buñuel | 274 |
| 27 | Fanny and Alexander3 11 | 1982 | Ingmar Bergman | 276 |
| 28 | Three Colors: Blue6 7 | 1993 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 278 |
| 29 | The Professional | 1994 | Luc Besson | 282 |
| 30 | Diabolique | 1955 | Henri-Georges Clouzot | 294 |
| 31 | Hiroshima mon amour4 | 1959 | Alain Resnais | 303 |
| 32 | The Earrings of Madame De…1 | 1953 | Max Ophüls | 308 |
| 33 | Mulholland Dr.2 | 2001 | David Lynch | 310 |
| 34 | Mr. Hulot's Holiday | 1953 | Jacques Tati | 311 |
| 35 | The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie1 12 | 1972 | Luis Buñuel | 312 |
| 36 | The Leopard1 | 1963 | Luchino Visconti | 332 |
| 37 | Nanook of the North2 | 1922 | Robert J. Flaherty | 364 |
| 38 | Amarcord1 | 1973 | Federico Fellini | 365 |
| 39 | The Umbrellas of Cherbourg3 | 1964 | Jacques Demy | 368 |
| 40 | Playtime1 | 1967 | Jacques Tati | 378 |
| 41 | Jean de Florette1 6 | 1986 | Claude Berri | 386 |
| 42 | Secrets & Lies13 | 1996 | Mike Leigh | 389 |
| 43 | Shaun of the Dead2 13 | 2004 | Edgar Wright | 394 |
| 44 | Last Tango in Paris1 | 1972 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 397 |
| 45 | Pickpocket | 1959 | Robert Bresson | 400 |
| 46 | All about My Mother12 | 1999 | Pedro Almodóvar | 402 |
| 47 | Un chien andalou | 1929 | Luis Buñuel | 410 |
| 48 | Day for Night1 | 1973 | François Truffaut | 414 |
| 49 | Shoah | 1985 | Claude Lanzmann | 415 |
| 50 | Contempt1 | 1963 | Jean-Luc Godard | 422 |
| 51 | JFK2 | 1991 | Oliver Stone | 423 |
| 52 | L'Âge d'or | 1930 | Luis Buñuel | 428 |
| 53 | Last Year at Marienbad1 | 1961 | Alain Resnais | 439 |
| 54 | Nights of Cabiria1 | 1957 | Federico Fellini | 440 |
| 55 | Breaking the Waves11 12 14 15 16 17 | 1996 | Lars von Trier | 456 |
| 56 | The Pianist3 7 13 | 2002 | Roman Polanski | 470 |
| 57 | Paris, Texas2 3 13 | 1984 | Wim Wenders | 473 |
| 58 | La Jetée | 1962 | Chris Marker | 480 |
| 59 | Casino2 | 1995 | Martin Scorsese | 488 |
| 60 | Z18 | 1969 | Costa-Gavras | 489 |
| 61 | Three Colors: White6 7 | 1994 | Krzysztof Kieslowski | 493 |
| 62 | Le Samouraï1 | 1967 | Jean-Pierre Melville | 504 |
| 63 | A Man Escaped | 1956 | Robert Bresson | 511 |
| 64 | Voyage to the Moon | 1902 | Georges Méliès | 517 |
| 65 | Rififi | 1955 | Jules Dassin | 521 |
| 66 | Atlantic City19 | 1980 | Louis Malle | 529 |
| 67 | Au Revoir, les Enfants1 3 | 1987 | Louis Malle | 534 |
| 68 | Au hasard Balthazar11 | 1966 | Robert Bresson | 544 |
| 69 | The Last Emperor1 13 20 | 1987 | Bernardo Bertolucci | 546 |
| 70 | The Fifth Element | 1997 | Luc Besson | 549 |
| 71 | Pierrot le Fou1 | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | 551 |
| 72 | Orpheus | 1950 | Jean Cocteau | 561 |
| 73 | Delicatessen | 1991 | Marc Caro and Jean-Pierre Jeunet | 563 |
| 74 | Zero for Conduct | 1933 | Jean Vigo | 595 |
| 75 | The Sorrow and the Pity3 6 | 1969 | Marcel Ophüls | 599 |
| 76 | Diary of a Country Priest | 1951 | Robert Bresson | 604 |
| 77 | Week End1 | 1967 | Jean-Luc Godard | 613 |
| 78 | In the Realm of the Senses4 | 1976 | Nagisa Oshima | 615 |
| 79 | Manon of the Spring1 6 | 1986 | Claude Berri | 617 |
| 80 | Basic Instinct2 | 1992 | Paul Verhoeven | 636 |
| 81 | The Tin Drum3 7 21 | 1979 | Volker Schlöndorff | 644 |
| 82 | Alphaville1 | 1965 | Jean-Luc Godard | 658 |
| 83 | The Gospel According to St. Matthew1 | 1964 | Pier Paolo Pasolini | 660 |
| 84 | Eyes without a Face1 | 1960 | Georges Franju | 662 |
| 85 | Diva | 1981 | Jean-Jacques Beineix | 669 |
| 86 | Central Station5 | 1998 | Walter Salles | 695 |
| 87 | A Day in the Country | 1936 | Jean Renoir | 696 |
| 88 | Shoot the Piano Player | 1960 | François Truffaut | 699 |
| 89 | Bridget Jones's Diary13 22 | 2001 | Sharon Maguire | 714 |
| 90 | Celine & Julie Go Boating | 1974 | Jacques Rivette | 727 |
| 91 | Cyrano de Bergerac | 1990 | Jean-Paul Rappeneau | 729 |
| 92 | Lola Montès3 23 | 1955 | Max Ophüls | 730 |
| 93 | Barbarella1 | 1968 | Roger Vadim | 734 |
| 94 | Army in the Shadows1 | 1969 | Jean-Pierre Melville | 736 |
| 95 | The Straight Story2 13 | 1999 | David Lynch | 738 |
| 96 | Hate | 1995 | Mathieu Kassovitz | 743 |
| 97 | Night and Fog | 1955 | Alain Resnais | 744 |
| 98 | Billy Elliot13 | 2000 | Stephen Daldry | 749 |
| 99 | Jeanne Dielman24 | 1975 | Chantal Akerman | 751 |
| 100 | Forbidden Games | 1952 | René Clément | 766 |
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 Brazil.
6 Joint production with Switzerland.
7 Joint production with Poland.
8 Joint production with Australia.
9 Joint production with New Zealand.
10 Joint production with Hong Kong.
11 Joint production with Sweden.
12 Joint production with Spain.
13 Joint production with the United Kingdom.
14 Joint production with the Netherlands.
15 Joint production with Norway.
16 Joint production with Denmark.
17 Joint production with Iceland.
18 Joint production with Algeria.
19 Joint production with Canada.
20 Joint production with the People's Republic of China.
21 Joint production with Yugoslavia.
22 Joint production with Ireland.
23 Joint production with Luxembourg.
24 Joint production with Belgium.
25 Joint production with Finland.
26 Joint production with Argentina.
27 Joint production with Iran.
28 Joint production with Austria.
29 Joint production with India.
30 Joint production with Russia.
31 Joint production with the Czech Republic or Czechoslovakia.
32 Joint production with Burkina Faso and Mali.
33 Joint production with Hungary.
34 Joint production with Cuba.
35 Joint production with Chile and Peru.
36 Joint production with Macedonia.
37 Joint production with Bosnia-Herzegovina and Slovenia.
38 Joint production with Morocco.
39 Joint production with Mexico.
40 Joint production with Israel.
41 Joint production with Portugal.
42 Joint production with Turkey.
43 Joint production with Senegal.
44 Joint production with Greece.
