What Is Sight and Sound's Greatest Films of All Time Issue?

Updated

Sight and Sound's Greatest Films of All Time issue is a special edition of the BFI's film magazine, published once a decade, in which critics are asked to select the best films ever made and the results are collected in that issue. The BFI website presents it as a landmark publication you can explore and subscribe to, rather than a continuously updated list.

What the issue is

The BFI describes the project directly: "Once a decade the magazine asks critics to select the best films ever made. Explore the results in a special edition." That single sentence captures the two defining features:

  • A decadal poll. It is not an annual award or a rolling ranking. The survey happens once every ten years, which is why each edition carries weight as a snapshot of critical opinion at a particular moment.
  • A special edition. The findings are published as a dedicated issue of Sight and Sound, the BFI's magazine, rather than as a standalone report.

Because the poll depends on critics' selections, the issue reflects the tastes and arguments of the critics polled in that cycle. It is a record of critical consensus and debate, not an objective or permanent canon.

Where it sits within the BFI

The issue is part of the BFI's magazine output, so it connects to the wider Sight and Sound ecosystem rather than to the BFI's streaming or cinema operations. On the homepage it appears alongside features, reviews, interviews and news, and the site links the special edition to a subscription call to action ("Subscribe now").

If your interest is the magazine itself, the relevant entry point is the Sight and Sound subscription page linked from the BFI site. If your interest is watching films, that is a separate BFI service.

How to use it

  1. Read about the edition on the BFI homepage, where the Greatest Films of All Time block summarises the poll and links onward.
  2. Explore the results through the special edition itself; the homepage presents it as the place where the critics' selections are published.
  3. Subscribe via the "Subscribe now" link if you want the magazine, including this issue, delivered through a Sight and Sound subscription.

The site does not state a price for the magazine subscription in the material available, so check the subscription page for current terms before committing.

What it is not

  • It is not a streaming catalogue or a list you watch directly on the BFI site.
  • It is not updated between editions; the next set of results comes with the next decadal poll.
  • It is not the same as the BFI's film screenings at BFI Southbank or BFI IMAX, which are separate listings.

If you want the critics' verdict on the greatest films and the reasoning around it, the special edition is the thing to read. If you want to watch films, look to the BFI's streaming service or its cinema listings instead.