

It’s official: BBC Culture has named Akira Kurosawa’s Seven Samurai the greatest foreign-language film ever. They arrived to this decision by polling 209 critics in 43 countries.

The top 100 films ended up with no less than four Kurosawa films, with Rashomon, Ikiru and Ran also appearing on the list. In fact, with Rashomon fourth, Kurosawa has two films in the top 5.

Between them, the polled critics apparently speak 41 different languages, making one wonder if “foreign-language” really is the best moniker here. And curiously, but perhaps not unexpectedly, none of the six Japanese critics polled voted for any Kurosawa film.

For more information, including the full top 100 list, see BBC Culture.