The 100 best films of 2008

4 Months, 3 Weeks & 2 Days
"Greeted with universal approval from the critics, an exceptional, masterful piece of film-making that combines social realism, political comment and nail-biting tension" - Wendy Ide

Babel
"A stunning piece of cinema that hinges on one reckless moment of childish stupidity. The most exhilarating Oscar contender by a long stretch" - James Christopher

Blade Runner: The Final Cut
"It has taken 25 years, three cinema edits and possibly a round trip to Mars for Ridley Scott to arrive with the definitive version of his sci-fi masterpiece" - James Christopher

The Seventh Seal
"Ingmar Bergman’s black and white masterpiece has matured like a great wine over 50 years [and had a welcome re-release a month before the director's death]" - James Christopher

300
"A high-speed ride into the white heat of the battle of Thermopylae in 480BC. The result is something fantastic, voluptuous, bloody, ferocious and sublime" - Cosmo Landesman

3:10 to Yuma
"A thrill-filled ride across a flyblown dustbowl where the heroes are iconic, unwashed and deadly. They spit out killer lines like bullets" - Wendy Ide

12:08 East Of Bucharest
"Droll delight that questions the nature of historical record and the realities of postcommunist Romania with a slyly comic and disarmingly self-mocking tone" - Wendy Ide

Alpha Dog
"Cynics will doubtless fear the film for all the wrong reasons. They will fume about its credibility. They will wonder about the phenomenal number of tattoos on show" - James Christopher

American Gangster
"A gangster epic from Ridley Scott is no Goodfellas, but it has all the right ingredients for a fine crime flick" - Wendy Ide

And When Did You Last See Your Father?
"Blake Morrison’s delicate tear-jerking memoir stars Firth as the embittered son Blake, and Broadbent as the garrulous, insensitive father" - Kevin Maher

The Assassination of Jesse James
"It's 1881 and when Brad Pitt swaggers into view, dressed from head to toe in black, we know we are in the presence of a superior bastard" - James Christopher

Atonement
"Starry, sexy and unmistakably British, Atonement is the kind of film that comes along all too rarely" - Wendy Ide

Beowulf
"The dreary bête noire of English literature students, is given a surprisingly potent makeover by its co-writers Roger Avary and Neil Gaiman" - Kevin Maher

Black Book
"Paul Verhoeven’s Second World War thriller is a remarkable departure for a director best known for Robocop and Basic Instinct" - James Christopher

Blame It on Fidel
"Director Julie Gavras has created a very funny and moving look at the clash between the personal, the political and parental" - Cosmo Landesman

Bobby
"An eloquent requiem for what might have been, and a tragic reminder of how much that bullet cost" - James Christopher

The Bourne Ultimatum
"The latest Jason Bourne film leaves you truly shaken and stirred – but why is he reading The Guardian?" - Cosmo Landesman

Blue Blood
"This assured and highly entertaining film could hold its own against pretty much any sporting documentary you care to name" - Wendy Ide

The Brave One
"We haven’t seen Jodie Foster in a big dramatic role that really had some power to it since The Silence of the Lambs" - Cosmo Landesman

Bridge to Terabithia
"This is a remarkable film for children – and pretty powerful for adults. A sudden and unexpected twist should have all the family weeping together" - Cosmo Landesman

Climates
"It’s a handsomely photographed film. Minutely observed, painfully honest and acutely perceptive, this is a mournful masterpiece" - Wendy Ide

Control
"By fateful coincidence, the Cannes debut of Corbijn’s cinematic homage to Ian Curtis fell just one day short of the anniversary of his suicide" - Stephen Dalton

The Counterfeiters
"Germany seems to be producing a wealth of quality drama at the moment, the latest being a lean, urgent piece based on a real-life Second World War story" - Wendy Ide

Curse of the Golden Flower
"Zhang Yimou’s latest has spectacular, beautified action of the sort he delivered in Hero and House of Flying Daggers, combined with over-the-top melodrama" - Edward Porter

The Darjeeling Limited
"It may not have you weeping in the aisles, but it will be with you for days after you see it" - Kevin Maher

Days of Glory
"Bouchareb’s film carries its message with dignity and a restraint that never dominates the storytelling. The result is the most powerful war film of the year" - Wendy Ide

The Diving Bell and the Butterfly
"All of Julian Schnabel’s films have been about the struggle to create art. This is a gorgeously atmospheric and deeply affecting piece of work" - Wendy Ide

Dracula
"Hammer’s 1958 account of the blood-sucking Transylvanian is back in cinemas, in a restored print, for Hallowe’en" - Edward Porter

Earth
"Wondrous footage from the BBC natural-history series Planet Earth has been remixed to create this documentary feature" - Edward Porter

Eastern Promises
"A film about the horror and kindness of strangers, and an industry that enslaves young lives. Cronenberg doesn’t paint theme-parks; this is the curb-crawling reality" - James Christopher

Enchanted
"I haven’t been as delighted and surprised by an old-fashioned Disney tale since I was a child" - James Christopher

Far North
"Throw another log on to the fire because the story I’m about to tell blows as cold as an Arctic wind. The tale begins with a curse" - James Christopher

Flanders
"The most potent antidote to a Bruce Willis myth that you could possibly inject. An extraordinary and raw piece of work" - James Christopher

For Your Consideration
"Christopher Guest’s timely comedy about the turmoil of winning an Oscar nomination is tinged with disgust and despair" - Wendy Ide

Funny Ha Ha
"The humour is never forced and the dialogue is completely persuasive. Bujalski is one of the most original film-makers of his generation" - Wendy Ide

Fur: An Imaginary Portrait of Diane Arbus
"Perhaps the biggest surprise is that it is the male director of Secretary who has painted this almost feminist fairytale of Arbus" - James Christopher

The Golden Compass
"That rarest of blockbuster beasts: a film that stretches children’s imaginations and stimulates their intelligence with important ideas and issues" - Cosmo Landesman

The Golden Door
"Gorgeous to look at, unfashionably optimistic and quirkily seductive, certainly one of my favourite releases of the year so far" - Wendy Ide

Hairspray
"John Travolta has made plenty of mistakes as an actor, but he has rejected every film role that could tarnish his 1970s musical legacy" - James Christopher

Half Nelson
"Ryan Gosling gives one of the outstanding performances that only turn up every 10 years or so. A special film, rich with heart and laced with a bittersweet melancholy" - Cosmo Landesman

Hallam Foe
"It’s a testament to Jamie Bell’s growing talent that we can accept this half-crazed boy in a badger-skin headdress and warpaint as the lead" - Wendy Ide

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
"The formulaic structure notwithstanding, the Potter films continue to be one of the most visually inventive and meticulously detailed franchises" - Wendy Ide

The Hitcher
"So similar to the 1986 original you wonder why Meyers bothered. The answer is simple. The ingredients still scare us 20 years on" - James Christopher

The Hoax
"To describe Clifford Irving as a consummate liar would be an understatement. The man elevated bulls*** into an art form" - Wendy Ide

Hot Fuzz
"Pegg and Wright dispense lines crafted from purest comedy gold amongst the cast like sweets. Even the briefest cameo appearance gets a laugh" - Wendy Ide

I Don’t Want to Sleep Alone
"Tsai Ming-Liang brings a dreamlike beauty to his native Malaysia: there’s a languid sensuality to the story" - Wendy Ide

I'm Not There
"Todd Haynes’s film about Bob Dylan is one of the greatest rock’n’roll swindles of all time. The real star is Cate Blanchett" - James Christopher

In The Shadow of the Moon
"For those who grew up with the Moon landings already a fait accompli, the film presses home the excitement, wonder and fear of an incredible journey" - Holden Frith

Infamous
"How many Truman Capotes does it take to nail the myth? Toby Jones defies the odds with an extraordinary impersonation of the author" - James Christopher

Into The Wild
"I’ve always loathed Penn’s films, and suspected that they were given special praise because people love his veneer of I-hate-Hollywood hipness"- Cosmo Landesman

Jindabyne
"The Australian director Ray Lawrence turns a murder chiller into a debate about right and wrong within a marriage" - Wendy Ide

Knocked Up
"The story is hardly revolutionary – boy meets girl, boy gets girl pregnant, and life as we know it is thrown into turmoil" - Kevin Maher

The Last King of Scotland
"Forest Whitaker not only plays Idi Amin, the most celebrated lunatic in African history, he is half-convinced he actually is him" - James Christopher

Last Tango in Paris
"Bernardo Bertolucci’s erotic masterpiece - utterly dominated by a bullish Marlon Brando - still has the unnerving power to shock after 35 years" - James Christopher

Letters from Iwo Jima
"You suspect Eastwood has a sneaking respect for the heroism of the Japanese, who, outnumbered and knowing they would die, fought bravely to the end" - Cosmo Landesman

The Lives of Others
"Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck's Oscar triumph should have earned him a firework display, a team of nubile cheerleaders and a nifty title to add to his preposterous name" - Wendy Ide

Michael Clayton
"Gorgeous George is wonderfully jaundiced as Michael Clayton, an amoral corporate lawyer who has made his name by defending the indefensible, discovers" - James Christopher

A Mighty Heart
"Winterbottom’s harrowing film about Danny Pearl, the reporter kidnapped in Karachi, is a raw account about the frantic efforts to get him back" - James Christopher

Miss Potter
"The thought that Beatrix Potter might actually have enjoyed a sex life will doubtless come as a terrible shock to Mrs Tiggywinkle’s many admirers" - James Christopher

Mr Brooks
"Kevin Costner has come over all Jekyll and Hyde in a preposterously enjoyable thriller. Lead us into temptation" - Cosmo Landesman

Mutual Appreciation
"Shaping up to be the voice of a generation that communicates through dead air and stuttering silences, Bujalski returns with his second film" - Wendy Ide

Oceans 13
"It’s one of the smuggest franchises in cinema, but it’s also a guilty pleasure to watch. You know the score" - James Christopher

Once
"A unique film: a low-budget, low-fi modern musical that is scruffy, soulful and full of beautiful tunes about battered hearts and bruised hopes" - Cosmo Landesman

Raging Bull
"Reissued in a new print, Scorsese’s 1980 portrait of boxer Jake La Motta should still stop younger audiences unfamiliar with it in their tracks" - Peter Whittle

Ratatouille
"Anton Ego, the restaurant critic of The Grim Eater, is one of the greatest performances of Peter O’Toole’s career" - James Christopher

Reprise
"A playfully irreverent take on traditional Scandinavian pursuits such as depression and suicide attempts" - Wendy Ide

Rescue Dawn
"The work of a man who is tired of being a legend and wants to make a living. Herzog’s most accessible, and enjoyable, film to date" - Cosmo Landesman

The Savages
"A satisfying sense of a rite of passage: the characters we leave at the end of the film are still flawed, but perhaps more fulfilled" - Wendy Ide

Sherrybaby
"Maggie Gyllenhaal’s most memorable performance since Secretary. Sherry’s problems are revealed with all the gradual menace of a horror film - Wendy Ide

Sicko
"This is probably the best of Michael Moore’s films, in the sense that you don’t have to share his leftist politics to appreciate it" - Cosmo Landesman

The Simpsons Movie
Homer Simpson, the oafish paterfamilias of America’s favourite dysfunctional family, emerges from his big-screen debut a bona fide Hollywood action hero - James Bone

Sleeping Dogs
"Goldthwait’s inspiration is to coax genuinely affecting performances. Hamilton is wonderful as the bruised victim of an oedipal insanity for truth" - James Christopher

Sparkle
"A bittersweet joy, the film is a delicate daisy chain of unexpected sex and East London manners" - James Christopher

Stardust
"A magical kitchen sink is the only thing not thrown into the mix in this comic fairy tale, mixing humour, action and sweetness" - Edward Porter

Sunshine
"The only thing more dazzling than the star throbbing at the centre of our dying solar system is the design on Danny Boyle’s visually arresting sci-fi pic" - Wendy Ide

Superbad
"Avoids the regular pitfalls of the teen comedy and instead manages to be funny, crude and charming at the same time" - Cosmo Landesman

Taking Liberties
"I came out of this eloquent mugging exhausted and in despair. It’s a film that champions free speech by a director who once championed Blair" - James Christopher

Tell No One
"It’s so rare to find in a thriller a character whose fate you could possibly care about – but you hope against all reason for a happy ending" - Cosmo Landesman

Ten Canoes
"It’s a hypnotically slow-burning, magical piece of film-making, the spell occasionally disrupted by disarmingly ribald humour" - Wendy Ide

This Is England
"I don’t think Shane Meadows set out to shoot a state-of-the-nation parable. This is by far his most personal and powerful testimony" - James Christopher

A Throw of the Dice
"The BFI re-release of Franz Osten’s 1929 Indian melodrama is one of those rare moments when you feel blessed to be sitting in the stalls" - James Christopher

Two Days in Paris
"Reveals the darker side of Julie Delpy, a wonderfully acrid and bleakly funny persona that her previous collaborators (mostly men) have clearly been keen to suppress" - Kevin Maher

The Upside of Anger
"Binder has created a funny and dramatically engaging study of a dysfunctional mother trying to hold her family together as she falls apart" - Cosmo Landesman

Venus
"It’s a romantic comedy with a difference: instead of meeting cute, we get prostate cancer, impotence, incontinence and death." - Cosmo Landesman

The Walker
"Woody Harrelson plays Carter Page, a gay and witty socialite whose “job” involves squiring the wives of the rich and powerful" - James Christopher

When the Road Bends: Tales of a Gypsy Caravan
"On this riotous six-week tour of the US, we are introduced to the fastest violinist in the world; the mother of 47 children; and the daughter of a singer so fat that she looked like a cathedral" - Wendy Ide

Withnail & I
"Timely reminder of how British movies can have impeccable writing, bravura performances and deft direction without once resorting to either sledge-hammer plotting or narrative inanity" - Kevin Maher

The Wicker Man
"Back from the celluloid grave, and no doubt inspired by the failure of last year’s flaccid remake" - Kevin Maher

Zodiac
"So appealing are its characters, and the performances of the cast, so we become participants in a riveting jigsaw puzzle" - Cosmo Landesman

28 Weeks Later
"A blockbuster horror that chimes noisily with local fears: immigration, needy strangers, feral disease and Draconian laws" - James Christopher

Air Guitar Nation
"Instead of portraying her subjects as sad wannabes, Lipsitz focuses on the theatricality, camaraderie and fun that bind the air-guitar community" - Cosmo Landesman

Blades of Glory
"The writing is as slick as the ice rink they train on. This is a script that puts an Olympic effort into making us laugh" - Wendy Ide

My Blueberry Nights
"Cannes celebrates 60 dazzling years with an opener so beautifully painted you can forgive it any number of sins" - James Christopher

Death Proof
"Tarantino's film is an eloquent lament for a sleazy age when drive-in movies were the norm and flea pits were tacky and smoky" - James Christopher

Die Hard 4.0
"He may be bald and on the wrong side of 50, but in Die Hard 4.0 John McClane is a hero for our times" - James Christopher

The Good German
"The first 20 minutes of Soderbergh’s black and white thriller are an old-fashioned sensation. It’s like discovering the missing reel in Casablanca" - James Christopher

La Vie En Rose
"Watching Olivier Dahan’s film about the life of Edith Piaf, it occurred to me that if you’ve seen the life of one tragic artiste, you’ve seen ’em all" - Cosmo Landesman

Rocky Balboa
"Spare a tear for Sylvester Stallone. The vintage beefcake is back for one last shot in Rocky Balboa, and only the most stony-hearted critic would deny him" - James Christopher

The Science of Sleep
"Eccentric, indulgent and yet somehow disarmingly sweet. It’s also the kind of confidently original work that’s almost impossible to summarise" - Wendy Ide

Straightheads
"Has the pornographic ingredients of a first-rate cult thriller. It's cheap. And there is copious footage of Gillian Anderson's naked breasts" - James Christopher

Do you agree with our selection? What have we missed? What were your favourites this year? Have your say

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