What is the best film of 1962?

By IQ Score on TV Intelligentsia, Lawrence of Arabia (184) and To Kill a Mockingbird (182) anchor the year. The Manchurian Candidate, An Autumn Afternoon, Vivre Sa Vie, Cléo from 5 to 7, and L'Eclisse round out the canonical entries.

Why is 1962 considered such a strong year?

1962 was the year prestige Hollywood (Lawrence of Arabia, To Kill a Mockingbird), the French New Wave (Vivre Sa Vie, Cléo from 5 to 7), Italian Antonioni (L'Eclisse), Polish New Wave (Polanski's Knife in the Water debut), and Japanese Ozu (final film An Autumn Afternoon) all peaked simultaneously. The most-canonical single year of the 1960s by global-cinema density.

Which 1962 film is most underrated?

An Autumn Afternoon (Ozu's final film) and L'Eclisse (Antonioni's alienation-trilogy conclusion) are the two most-underrated 1962 films by IQ Score relative to American-distribution cultural-reach. Both score at Masterclass tier.

Cinema · 1962 Ranked

Best Films of 1962, Ranked by IQ Score

The year prestige Hollywood, French New Wave, Italian Antonioni, and Japanese Ozu all peaked simultaneously. The films of 1962, ranked by IQ Score.

1962 is the single year most-frequently cited as the global-cinema convergence peak. Lawrence of Arabia, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Manchurian Candidate — all released alongside Antonioni's L'Eclisse, Godard's Vivre Sa Vie, Varda's Cléo from 5 to 7, and Ozu's An Autumn Afternoon (his final film).

The structural argument for 1962-as-canonical-year: the simultaneous peak of prestige Hollywood (Lawrence of Arabia, Mockingbird), the French New Wave (Vivre Sa Vie, Cléo from 5 to 7), Italian art-cinema (L'Eclisse), Polish New Wave (Knife in the Water — Polanski's debut), and Japanese late-Ozu work. The most-canonical year of the 1960s.

10 titles · ranked by IQ Score