Rentals
Sight and Sound's Films of the Year
Unmissable films from an essential source: the world’s wisest film magazine, whose annual list sets the standard.
RelicRelic
Horror202090 minsDirector: Natalie Erika James
Three generations of women are plagued by a supernatural presence in one of the year’s most terrifying films.
PossessorPossessor
Horror2020104 minsDirector: Brandon Cronenberg
In the near future, a cool and ruthless assassin who uses other people’s bodies to carry out execution-style killings comes unstuck when her latest vehicle resists.
National GalleryNational Gallery
Documentary2014181 minsDirector: Frederick Wiseman
The inner workings of London’s National Gallery are laid bare in this absorbing, forensic examination by revered filmmaker Frederick Wiseman.
I Am Not Your NegroI Am Not Your Negro
Documentary201694 minsDirector: Raoul Peck
Raoul Peck’s penetrating and acclaimed documentary reconstructs an unfinished manuscript by James Baldwin, chronicler of America’s Civil Rights Movement.
SilenceSilence
Drama2017161 minsDirector: Martin Scorsese
Scorsese’s epic meditation on spiritual strength, with Andrew Garfield and Adam Driver as missionaries on the search for their missing mentor.
The Personal History of David CopperfieldThe Personal History of David Copperfield
Drama2019120 minsDirector: Armando Iannucci
Armando Iannucci brings David Copperfield fizzing to life with all-star collaborators in this exuberant, entertaining and sharply pertinent adaptation.
CollectiveCollective
Documentary2019109 minsDirector: Alexander Nanau
When burn patients begin dying from non-life-threatening injuries a group of investigative journalists uncover a vast healthcare scandal, in this gripping Romanian documentary.
The AssistantThe Assistant
Thriller201987 minsDirector: Kitty Green
Kitty Green's #MeToo drama is a sobering take on life as a film company assistant.
Les MisérablesLes Misérables
Thriller2019104 minsDirector: Ladj Ly
Ladj Ly’s extraordinary Cannes Jury Prize-winning debut obliterates the myth of cultural integration in France.
CensorCensor
Horror202184 minsDirector: Prano Bailey-Bond
A video nasties film censor becomes absorbed in her work in Prano Bailey-Bond's brilliantly adventurous first feature.
The FatherThe Father
Drama202097 minsDirector: Florian Zeller
Anthony Hopkins won the Best Actor Academy Award® for his powerful portrayal of a man dealing with the onset of dementia.
Lady MacbethLady Macbeth
Period drama201789 minsDirector: William Oldroyd
Florence Pugh shines in this exceptional British debut of a young wife's need for freedom, whatever the cost.
The Florida ProjectThe Florida Project
Drama2017112 minsDirector: Sean Baker
Tangerine director Sean Baker presents another visionary take on the wild ups and dangerous downs of life in America’s underbelly, featuring an Oscar-nominated turn from Willem Dafoe.
The AssassinThe Assassin
Action and Adventure2015106 minsDirector: Hou Hsiao-Hsien
Hou Hsiao-Hsien’s mesmerising, visually stunning tale of love and honour was Sight and Sound magazine’s best film of 2015.
CarolCarol
Drama2015119 minsDirector: Todd Haynes
Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara illuminate Todd Haynes’ intoxicating adaptation of Patricia Highsmith’s beloved novel.
Manchester by the SeaManchester by the Sea
Drama2016137 minsDirector: Kenneth Lonergan
Casey Affleck and Michelle Williams shine in this devastating, Oscar-winning drama from Kenneth Lonergan about a man’s painful hometown return.
LovelessLoveless
Drama2017127 minsDirector: Andrey Zvyagintsev
Andrey Zvyagintsev (Elena, Leviathan) delivers a masterpiece in this caustic look at contemporary Russian society, a failed marriage and the disappearance of a child. A major prize winner at both Cannes and BFI London Film Festival.
A Ghost StoryA Ghost Story
Drama201792 minsDirector: David Lowery
David Lowery's haunting exploration of love and loss, with Rooney Mara and Casey Affleck is a high-point of recent independent American cinema.
Toni ErdmannToni Erdmann
Comedy2016162 minsDirector: Maren Ade
A lonely prankster upends the life of his high-powered daughter in a riotous comedy, deep and sharp.
Hell or High WaterHell or High Water
Crime2016102 minsDirector: David Mackenzie
Jeff Bridges and Chris Pine star in David Mackenzie’s acclaimed crime drama about two brothers who rob the banks that seized their ranch, and the sheriff on their heels.
ApostasyApostasy
Drama201895 minsDirector: Dan Kokotajlo
A deeply religious family must decide whether to stick by their relation or abandon her, in this striking debut from Daniel Kokotajlo - a prizewinner at BFI London Film Festival 2017.
PatersonPaterson
Comedy2016118 minsDirector: Jim Jarmusch
Adam Driver excels in this effortlessly charming tale of a bus driver poet in New Jersey, filmed with typically groovy elan by Jim Jarmusch.
45 Years45 Years
Drama201595 minsDirector: Andrew Haigh
One of the most acclaimed British features of recent years, starring Charlotte Rampling and Tom Courtenay as a couple rocked by news from the past.
La La LandLa La Land
Comedy2016128 minsDirector: Damien Chazelle
Ryan Gosling and Emma Stone channel old-school Hollywood glamour in this bright and playful romantic musical from director Damien Chazelle (Whiplash).
Goodbye to LanguageGoodbye to Language
Drama201470 minsDirector: Jean-Luc Godard
Jean-Luc Godard’s typically innovative and playful meditation on technology, love and language was acclaimed one of the best films of 2014.
NerudaNeruda
Biopic2016110 minsDirector: Pablo Larraín
Pablo Larraín's bold, inventive detective thriller offers an electrifying contemplation of the Chilean poet's life on the run in the late 1940s.
Under the SkinUnder the Skin
Horror2014108 minsDirector: Jonathan Glazer
An alien Scarlett Johansson prowls the streets of Glasgow in Jonathan Glazer’s astonishing, mind-bending mixture of existential sci-fi and inner-city realism.
PhoenixPhoenix
Drama201498 minsDirector: Christian Petzold
Nina Hoss is superb as concentration camp survivor who assumes a new identity, in Christian Petzold’s intricate post-WWII thriller.
HostHost
Horror202066 minsDirector: Rob Savage
The lockdown horror sensation from British director Rob Savage follows six friends who disturb a malevolent spirit during a Zoom séance.
You Were Never Really HereYou Were Never Really Here
Thriller201790 minsDirector: Lynne Ramsay
Lynne Ramsay journeys with Joaquin Phoenix into the mind of an ex-soldier gun-for-hire whose own demons are as brutal as the actions of his adversaries.
BabyteethBabyteeth
Drama2019118 minsDirector: Shannon Murphy
Seriously ill Milla (Eliza Scanlen) clashes with her parents, who disapprove when she brings home her sketchy new boyfriend Toby, in this tragicomic debut from Shannon Murphy.