Top 250 Most-Acclaimed Short Films of All Time

Top 250 Most-Acclaimed Short Films of All Time's icon

Created by mjf314.

Favorited 106 times, disliked 1 time, added to 114 watchlists.

I compiled this list from many different polls, lists, and awards, using a weighted point system to rank the shorts. I'm defining short as any film with a runtime of 45 minutes or less.

This list focuses more on animation than the Brief Encounters list. It includes many acclaimed animated shorts which are missing from Brief Encounters, most notably The Man Who Planted Trees and Ruka.

Missing from IMDb: The Magic Fox (1982) (it would've been ranked #132)

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  1. 181 -

    Paris qui dort

    1925 — a.k.a. At 3:25, in 4 top lists Check
  2. 160 -

    Crin blanc: Le cheval sauvage

    1953 — a.k.a. White Mane, in 1 top list Check
  3. 94 -

    My Childhood

    1972, in 6 top lists Check
  4. 128 -

    Die große Ekstase des Bildschnitzers Steiner

    1974 — a.k.a. The Great Ecstasy of Woodcarver Steiner, in 3 top lists Check
  5. 21 -

    Flaming Creatures

    1963, in 9 top lists Check
  6. 148 -

    Looking for Langston

    1989, in 4 top lists Check
  7. 1 -

    Sherlock Jr.

    1924, in 24 top lists Check
  8. 56 -

    Méditerranée

    1963, in 5 top lists Check
  9. 6 -

    Zéro de conduite: Jeunes diables au collège

    1933 — a.k.a. Zero for Conduct, in 17 top lists Check
  10. 143 -

    Simón del desierto

    1965 — a.k.a. Simon of the Desert, in 5 top lists Check
  11. 114 -

    Superstar: The Karen Carpenter Story

    1988, in 4 top lists Check
  12. 242 -

    Vostochnaya elegiya

    1996, in 1 top list Check
  13. 13 -

    Wavelength

    1967, in 9 top lists Check
  14. 108 -

    Anticipation of the Night

    1958, in 4 top lists Check
  15. 229 -

    The Nazis Strike

    1943, in 3 top lists Check
  16. 149 -

    La coquille et le clergyman

    1928 — a.k.a. The Seashell and the Clergyman, in 4 top lists Check
  17. 69 -

    A Diary for Timothy

    1945, in 5 top lists Check
  18. 4 -

    Partie de campagne

    1946 — a.k.a. A Day in the Country, in 13 top lists Check
  19. 105 -

    Reassemblage: From the Firelight to the Screen

    1983, in 4 top lists Check
  20. 189 -

    Seven Up!

    1964, in 5 top lists Check
  21. 219 -

    Elephant

    1989, in 5 top lists Check
  22. 167 -

    Aru machikado no monogatari

    1962 — a.k.a. Story of a Certain Street Corner, in 0 top lists Check
  23. 99 -

    Inauguration of the Pleasure Dome

    1954, in 4 top lists Check
  24. 158 -

    Ménilmontant

    1926, in 6 top lists Check
  25. 66 -

    The Song of Ceylon

    1934, in 3 top lists Check
  26. 152 -

    Fétiche

    1933 — a.k.a. The Mascot, in 2 top lists Check
  27. 67 -

    Hapax Legomena I: Nostalgia

    1971, in 8 top lists Check
  28. 25 -

    Les maîtres fous

    1955 — a.k.a. The Mad Masters, in 6 top lists Check
  29. 155 -

    The End

    1953, in 3 top lists Check
  30. 47 -

    Le ballon rouge

    1956 — a.k.a. The Red Balloon, in 11 top lists Check
  31. 204 -

    The Grandmother

    1970, in 1 top list Check
  32. 191 -

    Illusions

    1982, in 4 top lists Check
  33. 109 -

    Blonde Cobra

    1963, in 2 top lists Check
  34. 215 -

    Outer and Inner Space

    1966, in 2 top lists Check
  35. 213 -

    Terminus

    1961, in 0 top lists Check
  36. 51 -

    The Act of Seeing with One's Own Eyes

    1971, in 9 top lists Check
  37. 7 -

    Nuit et brouillard

    1956 — a.k.a. Night and Fog, in 17 top lists Check
  38. 91 -

    San Pietro

    1945, in 4 top lists Check
  39. 218 -

    Hapax Legomena II: Poetic Justice

    1972, in 2 top lists Check
  40. 164 -

    A Close Shave

    1995, in 2 top lists Check
  41. 187 -

    Great (Isambard Kingdom Brunel)

    1975, in 1 top list Check
  42. 80 -

    The Immigrant

    1917, in 7 top lists Check
  43. 19 -

    Las Hurdes

    1933 — a.k.a. Land Without Bread, in 12 top lists Check
  44. 12 -

    L'homme qui plantait des arbres

    1987 — a.k.a. The Man Who Planted Trees, in 8 top lists Check
  45. 224 -

    Les statues meurent aussi

    1953 — a.k.a. Statues also Die, in 4 top lists Check
  46. 16 -

    The Wrong Trousers

    1993, in 7 top lists Check
  47. 68 -

    Lucifer Rising

    1972, in 3 top lists Check
  48. 209 -

    The Mothering Heart

    1913, in 1 top list Check
  49. 54 -

    The Music Box

    1932, in 9 top lists Check
  50. 8 -

    Skazka skazok

    1979 — a.k.a. The Tale of Tales, in 6 top lists Check
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Last updated on Dec 31, 2011; source