I have now seen 72 movies that were released in 1953. Some of the B pictures were reviewed only here. It was a fairly strong year with 20 of the films rated as 9/10 or higher. The complete list of the movies is here.
Except for the top film, I found these extremely difficult to rank. I should mention that I gave Luis Buñuel’s El a perfect 10/10 when I saw it several years ago. I didn’t remember it well enough to include in my 10 favorites. The other also-rans, in no particular order, were: Little Fugitive; The Naked Spur; The Hitch-Hiker; Ugetsu; Calamity Jane; I Vitelloni; White Mane; Gion Bayashi (A Geisha); and Summer with Monika.
10. Gate of Hell – directed by Teinosuke Kinugasa
9. The Band Wagon – directed by Vicente Minnelli
8. The Heart of the Matter – directed by George More O’Ferrall
7. Mr. Hulot’s Holiday – directed by Jacques Tati
6. The Big Heat – directed by Fritz Lang
5. Pickup on South Street – directed by Samuel Fuller
4. From Here to Eternity – directed by Fred Zinnemann
3. Wages of Fear – directed by Henri-Georges Clouzot
2. The Earrings of Madame de ... – directed by Max Ophüls
1. Tokyo Story – directed by Yasujirô Ozu
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