1950s

Floating Clouds (1955)

1950
1. The Flowers of St. Francis (Roberto Rossellini, Italy)
2. Orpheus (Jean Cocteau, France)
3. Stars in My Crown (Jacques Tourneur, United States)
4. Wagonmaster (John Ford, United States)
5. Gun Crazy (Joseph H. Lewis, United States)
6. Winchester '73 (Anthony Mann, United States)
7. La Ronde (Max Ophüls, France)
8. Born to Be Bad (Nicholas Ray, United States)
9. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, United States)
10. The Gunfighter (Henry King, United States)

1951
1. Early Summer (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)
2. The River (Jean Renoir, France/India/United States)
3. Diary of a Country Priest (Robert Bresson, France)
4. Awaara (Raj Kapoor, India)
5. Édouard and Caroline (Jacques Becker, France)
6. The Man in the White Suit (Alexander Mackendrick, United Kingdom)
7. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, United States)
8. The Thing From Another World (Christian Nyby, United States)
9. Strangers on a Train (Alfred Hitchcock, United States)
10. The Prowler (Joseph Losey, United States)

1952
1. The Life of Oharu (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
2. Limelight (Charles Chaplin, United States)
3. Él (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
4. Monkey Business (Howard Hawks, United States)
5. Le Plaisir (Max Ophüls, France)
6. Singin’ in the Rain (Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen, United States)
7. Rancho Notorious (Fritz Lang, United States)
8. Lightning (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
9. On Dangerous Ground (Nicholas Ray, United States)
10. Europa '51 (Roberto Rossellini, Italy)

1953
1. Ugetsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
2. Tokyo Story (Yasujiro Ozu, Japan)

3. The Earrings of Madame de... (Max Ophüls, France/Italy)
4. The Sun Shines Bright (John Ford, United States)
5. Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday (Jacques Tati, France)
6. The Big Heat (Fritz Lang, United States)
7. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, United States)
8. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (Howard Hawks, United States)
9. The Golden Coach (Jean Renoir, France/Italy)
10. The Naked Spur (Anthony Mann, United States)

1954
1. Sansho the Bailiff (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
2. Rear Window (Alfred Hitchcock, United States)
3. Voyage in Italy (Roberto Rossellini, Italy/France)
4. A Star is Born (George Cukor, United States)
5. Sound of the Mountain (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
6. Chikamatsu Monogatari (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
7. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, United States)
8. Late Chrysanthemums (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
9. The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, Japan)
10. Track of the Cat (William A. Wellman, United States)

1955
1. Ordet (Carl Theodor Dreyer, Denmark)
2. Floating Clouds (Mikio Naruse, Japan)
3. Pather Panchali (Satyajit Ray, India)
4. Lola Montès (Max Ophüls, France/West Germany)
5. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, United States)
6. Mr. Arkadin (Orson Welles, France/Spain/Switzerland)
7. Wichita (Jacques Tourneur, United States)
8. The Criminal Life of Archibaldo de la Cruz (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
9. To Catch a Thief (Alfred Hitchcock, United States)

10. French Cancan (Jean Renoir, France/Italy)

1956
1. The Searchers (John Ford, United States)
2. A Man Escaped (Robert Bresson, France)
3. Streets of Shame (Kenji Mizoguchi, Japan)
4. Bigger Than Life (Nicholas Ray, United States)
5. Written on the Wind (Douglas Sirk, United States)
6. There's Always Tomorrow (Douglas Sirk, United States)
7. Seven Men from Now (Budd Boetticher, United States)
8. The Girl Can’t Help It (Frank Tashlin, United States)
9. The Killing (Stanley Kubrick, United States)
10. Crazed Fruit (Kô Nakahira, Japan)

1957
1. Pyaasa (Guru Dutt, India)
2. Throne of Blood (Akira Kurosawa, Japan)
3. Wild Strawberries (Ingmar Bergman, Sweden)
4. Forty Guns (Samuel Fuller, United States)
5. A King in New York (Charles Chaplin, United States)
6. Nights of Cabiria (Federico Fellini, Italy/France)
7. Will Success Spoil Rock Hunter? (Frank Tashlin, United States)
8. Le Notti bianche (Luchino Visconti, Italy/France)
9. An Affair to Remember (Leo McCarey, United States)
10. The Tall T (Budd Boetticher, United States)

1958
1. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, United States)
2. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, United States)
3. Mon Oncle (Jacques Tati, France/Italy)
4. Ashes and Diamonds (Andrzej Wajda, Poland)
5. Anticipation of the Night (Stan Brakhage, United States)
6. Madhumati (Bimal Roy, India)
7. Man of the West (Anthony Mann, United States)
8. The Music Room (Satyajit Ray, India)
9. Some Came Running (Vincente Minnelli, United States)
10. Rally 'Round the Flag, Boys! (Leo McCarey, United States)

1959
1. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, United States)
2. Pickpocket (Robert Bresson, France)
3. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, United States)
4. Kaagaz Ke Phool (Guru Dutt, India)
5. The World of Apu (Satyajit Ray, India)
6. Hiroshima mon amour (Alain Resnais, France/Japan)

7. Anatomy of a Murder (Otto Preminger, United States)
8. Nazarin (Luis Buñuel, Mexico)
9. The Sign of Leo (Eric Rohmer, France)
10. The 400 Blows (François Truffaut, France)

Rio Bravo (1959)

The Decade's Ten Best (in alphabetical order): Early Summer (Ozu), The Earrings of Madame de... (Ophüls), Floating Clouds (Naruse), The Flowers of St. Francis (Rossellini), Ordet (Dreyer), Pickpocket (Bresson), Rear Window (Hitchcock), Rio Bravo (Hawks), Sansho the Bailiff (Mizoguchi), The Searchers (Ford).