GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #390 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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View Sansho the Bailiff film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Exiled governor's children Zushiō and Anju are separated from their mother and enslaved under the brutal bailiff Sansho.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

After their compassionate governor father is exiled, children Zushiō and Anju travel with mother Tamaki toward him but are betrayed by traffickers. The children are sold to Sansho's estate, while Tamaki is taken elsewhere across the water.

Why it belongs

Mizoguchi makes ethical teaching endure through slavery and separation, deploying gliding distance, landscape, and women's sacrifice with devastating lucidity.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

The camera's restraint makes each act of mercy more powerful. Lakes, reeds, islands, branded bodies, estate compounds, songs carried across distance, and long lateral movement connect family separation to institutional cruelty.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Venice1 win1954 · official Venice 1954 awards ↗

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Film Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound75IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness9.6
Engagement8.4
Ease7.2

Japanese · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Absorbing & Reflective