Letterboxd Top-Rated Palme d’Or Winners
How will Jafar Panahi's It Was Just An Accident fare against these beloved films?
It’s a wrap, folks! As Cannes draws to a close for another year, Jafar Panahi was awarded the coveted Palme d’Or for his film It Was Just An Accident. The first release from the Iranian director since being released from prison follows a man, his heavily pregnant wife, and their young daughter as they get into a minor car accident that sets off a dark chain of events. But will it become as beloved as these ten films - the highest-rated Cannes champions on Letterboxd?
Club Ciné
The Red Thread
Palme D’Or x Letterboxd
Parasite (dir. Bong Joon Ho, 2019)
Palme d’Or 2019; rated 4.5/5
Shocking, hilarious satire of haves-versus-have nots – and a true modern classic.
Apocalypse Now (dir. Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
Palme d’Or 1979, 4.4/5
Won Cannes jointly with The Tin Drum (dir. Volker Schlöndorff), Letterbox rating 3.7.
The Cranes Are Flying (dir. Mikhail Kalatozov, 1957)
Palme d’Or 1958; 4.4/5
Soviet war drama with deeply influential cinematography and handheld camerawork.
The Pianist (dir Roman Polanski, 2002)
Palme d’Or 2002; 4.4/5
Adrian Brody won his first Oscar in this moving tale of survival in second world war Poland.
Paris, Texas (dir. Wim Wenders, 1984)
Palme d’Or 1984; 4.4/5
The 40th-anniversary 4k restoration last year made this cult classic even more beguiling.
Eternity and a Day (dir. Theo Angelopoulos, 1998)
Palme d’Or 1998; 4.4/5
Graceful drama about a writer living out his final days, from a forgotten art-house master.
Farewell My Concubine (dir. Chen Kaige, 1993)
Palme d’Or 1993; 4.3/5
This epic 20th-century historical drama was the first Chinese movie to impact the global box office.
The Wages of Fear (dir. Henri-Georges Clouzot, 1953)
Palme d’Or 1953; 4.3/5
Truly nerve-shredding thriller, remade as Sorcerer (dir. William Friedkin, 1980)
All That Jazz (dir. Bob Fosse, 1979)
Palme d’Or 1980; 4.3/5
Another joint winner, shared with Akira Kurosawa’s epic Kagemusha (4.2 on Letterboxd).
Brief Encounter (dir. David Lean, 1945)
Palme d’Or 1946; 4.3/5
At the first-ever Cannes, 11 films shared top prize, including this immortal romantic drama.
What are your favourites?
Words Paul Wilson and Tom Macklin