ENTER OUR READERS’ POLL! You’ve heard our take on this year’s crop of films. Now it’s your turn to give us your top picks and your takes on the movies of 2011. We’ll print the poll results in our March/April issue and publish your comments on our website—and all entries will automatically be entered in a contest for free DVDs from the Criterion Collection! Stand up and be counted: send your ranked list of the year’s 20 best films (plus your rants, raves, and insights) with your name, address, and phone number, to fcpoll [at] filmlinc.com, mail them to Film Comment Readers’ Poll, 70 Lincoln Center Plaza, New York, NY 10023, or submit them online here. Deadline: February 10, 2012. Prizes: First Prize: your choice of Criterion Collection DVDs, up to $200 in value. Second Prize: up to $120. Third & Fourth Prizes: up to $80. The winners, who will be picked by random draw, will select prizes, subject to availability, from the Criterion Collection catalogue.

BEST FILMS OF 2011

(Released theatrically in the U.S.)

  1. The Tree of Life Terrence Malick, U.S.

  2. Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives Apichatpong Weerasethakul, Thailand/U.K./France/Germany

  3. Melancholia Lars von Trier, Denmark/Sweden/France/Germany

  4. A Separation Asghar Farhadi, Iran

  5. A Dangerous Method David Cronenberg, Canada/Germany

  6. Mysteries of Lisbon Raúl Ruiz, France/Portugal

  7. Certified Copy Abbas Kiarostami, France/Italy/Belgium

  8. Meek’s Cutoff Kelly Reichardt, U.S.

  9. Hugo Martin Scorsese, U.S.

  10. Poetry Lee Chang-dong, South Korea

  11. Film Socialisme Jean-Luc Godard, Switzerland

  12. Le Havre Aki Kaurismäki, Finland/France

  13. The Autobiography of Nicolae Ceausescu Andrei Ujica, Romania

  14. Le quattro volte Michelangelo Frammartino, Italy/Germany/Switzerland

  15. The Descendants Alexander Payne, U.S.

  16. Nostalgia for the Light Patricio Guzmán, Chile/France/Germany

  17. A Brighter Summer Day Edward Yang, Taiwan/Japan

  18. Midnight in Paris Woody Allen, Spain/U.S.

  19. Take Shelter Jeff Nichols, U.S.

  20. Margaret Kenneth Lonergan, U.S.

  21. Shame Steve McQueen, U.K.

  22. Drive Nicolas Winding Refn, U.S.

  23. Cave of Forgotten Dreams Werner Herzog, U.S.

  24. Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy Tomas Alfredson, U.K./France/Germany

  25. To Die Like a Man João Pedro Rodrigues, Portugal/France

  26. The Interrupters Steve James, U.S.

  27. The Artist
 Michel Hazanavicius, France

  28. Tuesday, After Christmas Radu Muntean, Romania

  29. Aurora Cristi Puiu, Romania

  30. Weekend Andrew Haigh, U.K.

  31. The Skin I Live In Pedro Almodóvar, Spain

  32. City of Life and Death
 Lu Chuan, China/Hong Kong

  33. Contagion Steven Soderbergh, U.S.

  34. Of Gods and Men
 Xavier Beauvois, France

  35. Martha Marcy May Marlene Sean Durkin, U.S.

  36. Bridesmaids Paul Feig, U.S.

  37. The Trip Michael Winterbottom, U.K.

  38. Moneyball Bennett Miller, U.S.

  39. The Arbor Clio Barnard, U.K.

  40. The Future
 Miranda July, U.S./Germany

  41. Incendies
 Denis Villeneuve, Canada/France

  42. Super 8 J.J. Abrams, U.S.

  43. United Red Army Koji Wakamatsu, Japan

  44. Road to Nowhere Monte Hellman, U.S.

  45. Tabloid Errol Morris, U.S.

  46. Rise of the Planet of the Apes Rupert Wyatt, U.S.

  47. Terri
 Azazel Jacobs, U.S.

  48. J. Edgar Clint Eastwood, U.S.

  49. Jane Eyre Cary Fukunaga, U.K.

  50. Pina
 Wim Wenders, Germany/France

BEST UNRELEASED FILMS OF 2011

(*Currently without U.S. distribution)

  1. This Is Not a Film Jafar Panahi & Mojtaba Mirtahmasb, Iran
  2. The Turin Horse Béla Tarr, Hungary/France/Switzerland/Germany
  3. Once Upon a Time in Anatolia Nuri Bilge Ceylan, Turkey
  4. The Kid with a Bike Jean-Pierre & Luc Dardenne, Belgium/France
  5. The Loneliest Planet Julia Loktev, U.S./Germany
  6. Miss Bala Gerardo Naranjo, Mexico
  7. Footnote Joseph Cedar, Israel
  8. Kill List Ben Wheatley, U.K.
  9. Sleeping Sickness Ulrich Koehler, Germany*
  10. Play Ruben Östlund, Sweden/France/Denmark*
  11. Policeman Nadav Lapid, Israel*
  12. The Color Wheel Alex Ross Perry, U.S.
  13. Two Years at Sea Ben Rivers, U.K.*
  14. Alps Yorgos Lanthimos, Greece
  15. Goodbye First Love Mia Hansen-Løve, France/Germany
  16. 4:44 Last Day on Earth Abel Ferrara, U.S.
  17. Dreileben Parts 1-3 Christian Petzold, Dominik Graf & Christoph Hochhäusler, Germany*
  18. The Return Nathaniel Dorsky, U.S.
  19. The Deep Blue Sea Terence Davies, U.K.
  20. Wuthering Heights Andrea Arnold, U.K.
  21. Corpo Celeste Alice Rohrwacher, Italy/France/Switzerland
  22. Oslo, August 31st Joachim Trier, Norway*
  23. The Student Santiago Mitre, Argentina
  24. Attenberg Athena Rachel Tsangari, Greece
  25. Elena Andrei Zvyagintsev, Russia
  26. You Are Not I Sara Driver, U.S.
  27. Words of Mercury Jerome Hiler, U.S.
  28. Crazy Horse Frederick Wiseman, France/U.S.
  29. Faust Alexander Sokurov, Russia*
  30. Seeking the Monkey King Ken Jacobs, U.S.
  31. Disorder Huang Weikai, China
  32. Psychohydrography Peter Bo Rappmund, U.S.
  33. Patience (After Sebald) Grant Gee, U.K.
  34. Green Sophia Takal, U.S.
  35. We Can’t Go Home Again Nicholas Ray, U.S.
  36. Killer Joe William Friedkin, U.S.
  37. Damsels in Distress Whit Stillman, U.S.
  38. Slow Action Ben Rivers, U.K.
  39. Bonsai Cristian Jimenez, Chile/France/Argentina/Portugal
  40. Michael Markus Schleinzer, Austria
  41. A Simple Life Ann Hui, Hong Kong*
  42. Take This Waltz Sarah Polley, Canada
  43. Hors Satan Bruno Dumont, France
  44. Dark Horse Todd Solondz, U.S.*
  45. Curling Denis Côté, Canada
  46. Almayer’s Folly Chantal Akerman, France/Belgium*
  47. 20 Cigarettes James Benning, U.S.
  48. Polisse Maïwenn, France
  49. Without Mark Jackson, U.S.*
  50. The Innkeepers Ti West, U.S.