# The best Orson Welles films

From Citizen Kane to F for Fake: the films Orson Welles directed, as ranked by critics and film lovers (MovieWeb, No Film School, Wikipedia).

- 118 votes · 13 items
- Aug 9, 2025 · N. Clark
- https://even.best/en/l/2367/the-best-orson-welles-films

## Top 12

1. **Touch of Evil (1958)** (12 · ▲12 ▼0) — A border town noir that opens with a famous long take.
2. **Chimes at Midnight (1966)** (10 · ▲13 ▼3) — Welles as Falstaff, and the battle of Shrewsbury.
3. **The Trial (1962)** (10 · ▲10 ▼0) — Anthony Perkins as Josef K.
4. **Citizen Kane (1941)** (8 · ▲9 ▼1) — The rise and fall of a press baron; often called the greatest film ever made.
5. **The Stranger (1946)** (8 · ▲8 ▼0) — Edward G. Robinson hunts a Nazi hiding in a New England town.
6. **Othello (1951)** (7 · ▲10 ▼3) — Shakespeare shot over three years in Morocco and Italy; Cannes Grand Prix.
7. **F for Fake (1973)** (7 · ▲7 ▼0) — An essay film on art forgery and storytelling.
8. **Mr. Arkadin (1955)** (6 · ▲7 ▼1) — A tycoon hires a smuggler to investigate his own past.
9. **The Lady from Shanghai (1947)** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — Rita Hayworth and the hall of mirrors.
10. **Macbeth (1948)** (5 · ▲7 ▼2) — A low-budget Shakespeare on Republic's sets.
11. **The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)** (5 · ▲6 ▼1) — A wealthy Indianapolis family's decline, recut by the studio.
12. **The Immortal Story (1968)** (3 · ▲5 ▼2) — A rich merchant in Macau and a story he wants to make real.
13. **The Other Side of the Wind (2018)** (0 · ▲1 ▼1) — His unfinished last film, completed decades later.

How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.