I have now watched 92 films that were released in 1957. They can be found here.
1957 was a year full of riches. The films proved to be impossible for me to rank so the numbers should be ignored.
Worthy favorites that did not make my list are: Heaven Knows, Mr. Allison; The Lower Depths; The Pajama Game; Curse of the Demon; Le Notti Bianche; 3:10 to Yuma; Tokyo Twilight; and The Incredible Shrinking Man.
10. Kanal – directed by Andrezej Wadja
9. Throne of Blood – directed by Akira Kurosawa
8. 12 Angry Men – directed by Sidney Lumet
7. The Bridge on the River Kwai – directed by David Lean
6. A Face in the Crowd – directed by Elia Kazan
5. Wild Strawberries – directed by Ingmar Bergman
4. Paths of Glory – directed by Stanley Kubrick
3. Sweet Smell of Success – directed by Alexander MacKendrick
2. Nights of Cabiria – directed by Federico Fellini
- The Seventh Seal – directed by Ingmar Bergman
Wise move not to rank this. I think we can agree that most of these would fight for a top spot. Exciting year 1957.
One of the great years I think. Some achievement coming on the heels of 1954, another great one.
Great list!
1957 is a year in which it is very, very easy to come up with one!
I’ve seen nine of your top ten. I think seven or eight of them would probably end up in my top ten from this year. I’m not sure I could rank them, either.
The only one that might (might, mind you) not make my list is Nights of Cabiria, which I like, but don’t love. I haven’t seen Kanal.
Hell of a year!
It really was a great one. If you liked other Wajda films, Kanal is another great one.
Continuing to trawl the back blocks, here’s another one that I’ll bet will appeal
The Smallest Show on Earth (1957)
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0050985/
A real Ealing feel to this one and it ranks with the best of that studio IMO. Don’t read the IMDB member comments till after watching (on the whole very appreciative with some nice olde days UK anecdotes) as they give too much of the story away. The humour will creep up on you but gets better and better as the film goes on. And, outside the overall comedy feel, there’s a magic scene that evokes the old silents that will bring a tear to your eye, it did mine.
This is one the phrase “hidden gem” was created for.
Wow, and what a great cast it has! Sounds right up my alley.