San Francisco Chronicle's Scores

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For 9,302 reviews, this publication has graded:
  • 52% higher than the average critic
  • 2% same as the average critic
  • 46% lower than the average critic
On average, this publication grades 2 points lower than other critics. (0-100 point scale)
Average Movie review score: 63
Highest review score: 100 Mansfield Park
Lowest review score: 0 Speed 2: Cruise Control
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5,160 out of 9302
  2. Mixed: 2,656 out of 9302
  3. Negative: 1,486 out of 9302
9302 movie reviews
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  1. The Godfather
    In scene after scene -- the long wedding sequence, John Marley's bloody discovery in his bed, Pacino nervously smoothing down his hair before a restaurant massacre, the godfather's collapse in a garden -- Coppola crafted an enduring, undisputed masterpiece. [21 Mar 1997, Daily Datebook, p.C3]
  2. The Leopard (re-release)
    One of the greatest of all epics.
  3. Three Colors: Red
    Red is the best of the lot: warmer, more accessible, unusually generous toward its characters. A mystical tale of chance encounters and unexpected connections, Red uses a traffic accident as a springboard to discovery.
  4. Boyhood
    I'm as reluctant to stop writing about this movie as I was to stop watching it: At 166 minutes, it flies by, and you don't want to leave that world. But one thing is certain: This isn't the last word. People will be writing about this film for years - and looking at it to discover the lost history of our time.
  5. Vertigo
    The greatest sexual suspense drama ever made has come to be regarded by many Hitchcock admirers as his most accomplished film. It is certainly his most forlorn, and easily his most mesmerizing. [Restored]
  6. Fanny and Alexander (re-release)
    A masterpiece.
    • 99 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Singin' in the Rain
    A wonderful parody of the birth of talkies that has great wit, an intelligent script, terrific music and dancing that can't be beat.
  8. Playtime
    Playtime is sharp and colorful, and visually makes quite an impression.
  9. Touch of Evil
    Touch of Evil is a savvy starter because Welles' astonishing cinematic invention and his persuasive presence as star are prime noir at tractions. The look, a deftly arranged climate of odd shadows and angles, neon lighting and flawlessly choreographed action scenes, keeps interest piqued through a contrived plot and mannered acting.
  10. Army of Shadows
    Everything Melville shows us, he shows us for a reason, and these reasons are never obscure but are rather pertinent to the action and to the moral movement of the world and the characters.
  11. Moonlight
    Every year, we get only a few of these, movies that come out of nowhere, that are different, unexpected and wonderfully right. Moonlight is that kind of movie, one of the gems of 2016.
  12. The Rules of the Game
    Structured like a 17th century comedy of manners, the picture is a social critique of the idle rich that's part comic and part tragic, that's light and airy and yet haunted with meaning. [08 Feb 2004]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  13. The Wild Bunch
    Maybe the best shoot-'em-up ever made, the one that turned meanness into a haunting pictorial poetry and summed up the corruption of guilt, old age and death in the American fantasy of the Old West.
    • 98 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    The Lady Vanishes
    The picture could easily have slipped into pure melodrama, but the blend of comedy, sophistication and political intrigue, as well as excellent character development, puts it in a class by itself. [25 Nov 2007, p.N36]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  15. Pépé le Moko (re-release)
    It turns out that Pepe Le Moko is even better than "Algiers."
  16. Pan's Labyrinth
    Visually stunning, it meshes haunting images with a complex multilevel story about the enchantment of youth.
  17. Hoop Dreams
    Though the movie clocks in at just under three hours, it is -- aside from an occasional slow spot -- fascinating and exciting.
  18. Rashomon
    A penetrating study of the subjectivity of truth and perception, changed cinema forever and inspired the phrase "the Rashomon effect."
  19. The Passion of Joan of Arc
    It’s a great film, but it must be added that it’s also an entertaining film. That is, it’s not at all a chore to sit through. People not only appreciate the film, but also enjoy it — though it’s a sober kind of enjoyment, given the subject matter.
  20. Metropolis (re-release)
    Seeing it is a time-bending experience, a way of visiting the past and glimpsing the past's idea of the future. A masterpiece of art direction, the movie has influenced our vision of the future ever since, with its imposing white monoliths and starched facades.
    • 97 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    My Left Foot
    The anger, the mischief, the humor and the intelligence that flash in Day-Lewis' eyes make Christy Brown the most memorable film figure of the year. The Oscar does not necessarily reflect the pinnacle of success for an actor, but Day-Lewis certainly deserves that honor. [20 Dec 1989, p.E1]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  22. The Night of the Hunter
    Part fairy tale and part bogeyman thriller -- a juicy allegory of evil, greed and innocence, told with an eerie visual poetry.
  23. Ran
    In Ran, the horrors of life are transformed by art into beauty. It is finally so moving that the only appropriate response is silence.
  24. Gone with the Wind
    The most striking effect of the Technicolor process is its subtlety. The viewer is aware of the gradations of flesh tones in Leigh's face and can see the color rise in her cheeks. The exact color of her eyes is a source of fascination (they are gray-blue with flashes of green).
  25. The Third Man
    An admirable film, not a great one -- yet. It drags a bit.[Restored version]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  26. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
    Cool, chiseled and savagely funny, Kubrick's cautionary doomsday farce never ages but gets more relevant with time. [12 March 1999, p.D15]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
    • 97 Metascore
    • 100 Critic Score
    Psycho
    He has very shrewdly interwoven crime, sex and suspense, blended the real and the unreal in fascinating proportions and punctuated his film with several quick, grisly and unnerving surprises.
  28. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days
    First, this movie should be enjoyed. Later, marveled at. And then, once the excitement has faded, 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days really should be studied, because director Cristian Mungiu creates scenes unlike any ever filmed.
    • San Francisco Chronicle
  29. Parasite
    Parasite, Bong Joon-ho’s latest masterpiece and the best film I’ve seen so far this year, is about two families of four at opposite ends of the economic spectrum, and how the one on the lower end systematically takes over the lives of the other.
  30. A Streetcar Named Desire
    Brando's performance is so idiosyncratic -- the nasal delivery, the muffled diction and, of course, the screaming, ''Stel- lahh!'' -- that it's easy to forget its technical brilliance. But from Brando's first scene he exudes menace, even while talking calmly. His eyes always on the lookout for some slight, Stanley is ready to lash out every second he is on screen. He's impossible not to watch -- he's too odd, too dangerous. [Director's Cut; 11 Feb 1994, p.C3]
    • San Francisco Chronicle
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