by Eric Armstrong

Created on: February 10, 2007   Last Updated: May 09, 2007

What truly is the greatest movie of all time? What a question! In order to provide an adequate answer one must understand a few simple things about the art of film.

First, one must understand that there technically can be no definitive right or wrong answer. Most things in this world, but particularly in art, are impossible to be evaluated objectively. Everyone has, and is rightly entitled to, their opinion; however, certain criteria have proven to be valuable in determining a film's redeemable quality and overall artistic credibility.

Second, one cannot rely solely on personal preference as emotion tends to override sound judgment. This exploitation has been utterly mastered by Hollywood. No, a film's ability to elicit emotion must become subordinate (though not totally cast off) in our study of the ingredients that produce a great film.

Of course, for a film to be great it must be abundant with skilled direction, acting, cinematography, writing, and stylization. But, most films that are generally accepted as great among the experts possess that elusive quality of timelessness. This means that although many good films are forgotten, the great ones are still beloved by many. Based on these general and non-definitive criteria let's look at the film that has merited the most praise from industry experts.

Citizen Kane (1941) - This film is widely regarded as the greatest film of all time by most professionals in the industry. Made in 1941 and still beloved by many, it is clearly a timeless work of art. Perhaps the major factor in its high acclaim are the notable advances in lighting, sound, and cinematography displayed in the film. It has also been argued that Orson Welles' direction in this film is among the greatest of all time, thus propelling it to the top of the list.

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