1930s

1930
1. Morocco (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
2. Earth (Aleksandr Dovzhenko, Soviet Union)
3. The Dawn Patrol (Howard Hawks, United States)
4. L'Âge d'or (Luis Buñuel, France)
5. The Blood of a Poet (Jean Cocteau, France)
6. Under the Roofs of Paris (René Clair, France)
7. The Blue Angel (Josef von Sternberg, Germany)
8. City Girl (F. W. Murnau, United States)
9. Murder! (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
10. Walk Cheerfully (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)

1931
1. M (Fritz Lang, Germany)
2. Tabu: A Story of the South Seas (F. W. Murnau and Robert Flaherty, United States)
3. City Lights (Charles Chaplin, United States)
4. À nous la liberté (René Clair, France)
5. Blonde Crazy (Roy Del Ruth, United States)
6. Dishonored (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
7. La Chienne (Jean Renoir, France)
8. Le Million (René Clair, France)
9. Marius (Alexander Korda, France)
10. Other Men's Women (William A. Wellman, United States)

1932
1. Trouble in Paradise (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
2. Scarface (Howard Hawks, United States)
3. Boudu Saved from Drowning (Jean Renoir, France)
4. I Was Born, But... (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
5. La Nuit du carrefour (Jean Renoir, France)
6. Me and My Gal (Raoul Walsh, United States)
7. Love Me Tonight (Rouben Mamoulian, United States)
8. Vampyr (Carl Theodor Dreyer, France)
9. The Man I Killed (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
10. Back Street (John M. Stahl, United States)

1933
1. Woman of Tokyo (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
2. Liebelei (Max Ophüls, Germany/Austria)
3. The Bitter Tea of General Yen (Frank Capra, United States)
4. Zero for Conduct (Jean Vigo, France)
5. The Testament of Dr. Mabuse (Fritz Lang, Germany)
6. Man's Castle (Frank Borzage, United States)
7. Hallelujah, I'm a Bum! (Lewis Milestone, United States)
8. The Sin of Nora Moran (Phil Goldstone, United States)
9. Bombshell (Victor Fleming, United States)
10. Topaze (Harry d’Abbadie d’Arrast, United States)

1934
1. La Signora di tutti (Max Ophüls, Italy)
2. L'Atalante (Jean Vigo, France)
3. The Scarlet Empress (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
4. Twentieth Century (Howard Hawks, United States)
5. Story of Floating Weeds (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
6. Judge Priest (John Ford, United States)
7. Man of Aran (Robert Flaherty, United Kingdom)
8. The Goddess (Wu Yonggang, China)
9. The Merry Widow (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
10. Our Neighbor Miss Yae (Yasujiro Shimazu, Japan)

1935
1. Wife! Be Like a Rose! (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
2. Ruggles of Red Gap (Leo McCarey, United States)
3. The 39 Steps (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
4. The Devil is a Woman (Josef von Sternberg, United States)
5. Steamboat 'Round the Bend (John Ford, United States)
6. An Inn at Tokyo (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
7. Pot Worth a Million Ryo (Yamanaka Sadao, Japan)
8. Bride of Frankenstein (James Whale, United States)
9. A Night at the Opera (Sam Wood, United States)
10. Hands Across the Table (Mitchell Leisen, United States)

1936
1. By the Bluest of Seas (Boris Barnet, Soviet Union)
2. Sisters of the Gion (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
3. The Crime of Monsieur Lange (Jean Renoir, France)
4. A Day in the Country (Jean Renoir, France)
5. Story of a Cheat (Sacha Guitry, France)
6. Ceiling Zero (Howard Hawks, United States)
7. Rose Hobart (Joseph Cornell, United States)
8. Mr. Thank You (Hiroshi Shimizu, Japan)
9. Osaka Elegy (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
10. Modern Times (Charles Chaplin, United States)

1937
1. Make Way for Tomorrow (Leo McCarey, United States)
2. The Awful Truth (Leo McCarey, United States)
3. Angel (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
4. You Only Live Once (Fritz Lang, United States)
5. Humanity and Paper Balloons (Yamanaka Sadao, Japan)
6. Stella Dallas (King Vidor, United States)
7. Young and Innocent (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
8. Easy Living (Mitchell Leisen, United States)
9. Children in the Wind (Hiroshi Shimizu, Japan)
10. History is Made at Night (Frank Borzage, United States)

1938
1. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, United States)
2. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, Germany)
3. The Lady Vanishes (Alfred Hitchcock, United Kingdom)
4. You and Me (Fritz Lang, United States)
5. La Bête humaine (Jean Renoir, France)
6. Holiday (George Cukor, United States)
7. Four Daughters (Michael Curtiz, United States)
8. The Baker's Wife (Marcel Pagnol, France)
9. The Childhood of Maxim Gorky (Mark Donskoi, Soviet Union)
10. Angels with Dirty Faces (Michael Curtiz, United States)

1939
1. The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
2. The Rules of the Game (Jean Renoir, France)
3. Stagecoach (John Ford, United States)
4. Only Angels Have Wings (Howard Hawks, United States)
5. Love Affair (Leo McCarey, United States)
6. Midnight (Mitchell Leisen, United States)
7. Ninotchka (Ernst Lubitsch, United States)
8. Young Mr. Lincoln (John Ford, United States)
9. The Whole Family Works (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
10. The Roaring Twenties (Raoul Walsh, United States)


The Decade's Ten Best (in alphabetical order): L'Atalante (Vigo), By the Bluest of Seas (Barnet), Make Way for Tomorrow (McCarey), The Rules of the Game (Renoir), Scarface (Hawks), The Scarlet Empress (von Sternberg), La Signora di tutti (Ophüls), The Story of the Last Chrysanthemum (Mizoguchi), Trouble in Paradise (Lubitsch), Woman of Tokyo (Ozu).