Věra Chytilová’s surreal Czech classic Daisies (Sedmikrásky) has been listed as the sixth greatest movie directed by a woman in a new BBC poll released today. Jane Campion’s 1994 drama The Piano topped the list at #1.
Agnès Varda’s, Cléo from 5 to 7, Chantal Akerman’s Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles, Claire Denis’ Beau Travail, and Sofia Coppola’s Lost in Translation rounded out the top five ahead of Daisies.
But Chytilová’s classic comedy was ranked ahead of some high profile competition, which included Kathryn Bigelow’s Oscar-winning The Hurt Locker (at #7), Lina Wertmüller’s Seven Beauties (#17, for which Wertmüller became the first female director nominated for an Oscar), and others.
Some of the critics polled by the BBC clearly have an appreciation for Chytilová’s film; it was also selected as one of the top 100 comedies ever made in a 2017 poll. In that list of 100 films, Daisies was one of only four directed by a woman, along with Elaine May’s A New Leaf, Maren Ade’s Toni Erdmann, and Amy Heckerling’s Clueless.
The BBC list of top 100 films directed by women was tallied by 368 critics, journalists, festival programmers and academics from 84 countries around the globe – split evenly between men and women – who voted for a total of 761 films.
Chytilová, who worked with Czech directors like Miloš Forman and Jiří Menzel during the Czech New Wave in the 1960s and had a large influence on their work, is one of two prominent women who made a substantial impact on the history of Czech cinema.
Hermína Týrlová, often called the Mother of Czech Animation, influenced not only contemporaries like Jiří Trnka and Karel Zeman but also modern Czech animators like Jan Švankmajer, Jiří Barta, and others.
While Chytilová never received wide international recognition beyond Daisies – she remained in communist Czechoslovakia while colleagues like Forman emigrated out of the country and into Hollywood success – she created a body of work that was much appreciated at home.
Her subsequent films including Dědictví aneb Kurvahošigutntág (The Inheritance), Kopytem sem, kopytem tam (A Hoof Here, a Hoof There), Kalamita (Calamity), and others are all still beloved in the Czech Republic, if little-seen abroad.
These are BBC’s top 100 films directed by a woman:
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100. The Kids are All Right (Lisa Cholodenko, 2010)
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99. The Souvenir (Joanna Hogg, 2019)
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98. Somewhere (Sofia Coppola, 2010)
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97. Adoption (Márta Mészáros, 1975)
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96. The Meetings of Anna (Chantal Akerman, 1977)
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95. Ritual in Transfigured Time (Maya Deren, 1946)
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94. News From Home (Chantal Akerman, 1977)
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93. Red Road (Andrea Arnold, 2006)
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92. Raw (Julia Ducournau, 2016)
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91. White Material (Claire Denis, 2009)
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90. Fast Times at Ridgemont High (Amy Heckerling, 1982)
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89. The Beaches of Agnes (Agnès Varda, 1977)
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88. The Silences of the Palace (Moufida Tlatli, 1994)
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87. 35 Shots of Rum (Claire Denis, 2008)
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86. Wadjda (Haifaa Al-Mansour, 2012)
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85. One Sings, The Other Doesn’t (Agnès Varda, 1977)
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84. Portrait of Jason (Shirley Clarke, 1967)
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83. Sleepless in Seattle (Nora Ephron, 1993)
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82. At Land (Maya Deren, 1944)
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81. A Girl Walks Home Alone at Night (Ana Lily Amirpour, 2014)
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80. Big (Penny Marshall, 1988)
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79. Shoes (Lois Weber, 1916)
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78. The Apple (Samira Makhmalbaf, 1988)
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77. Tomboy (Céline Sciamma, 2011)
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76. Girlhood (Céline Sciamma, 2014)
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75. Meek’s Cutoff (Kelly Reichardt, 2010)
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74. Chocolat (Claire Denis, 1988)
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73. On Body and Soul (Ildikó Enyedi, 2017)
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72. Europa Europa (Agnieszka Holland, 1980)
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71. The Seashell and the Clergyman (Germaine Dulac, 1928)
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70. Whale Rider (Niki Caro, 2002)
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69. The Connection (Shirley Clarke, 1961)
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68. Eve’s Bayou (Kasi Lemmons, 1997)
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67. The German Sisters (Margarethe von Trotta, 1981)
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66. Ratcatcher (Lynne Ramsay, 1999)
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65. Leave no Trace (Debra Granik, 2018)
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64. The Rider (Chloe Zhao, 2017)
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63. Marie Antoinette (Sofia Coppola, 2006)
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62. Strange Days (Kathryn Bigelow, 1995)
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61. India Song (Marguerite Duras, 1975)
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60. A League of their Own (Penny Marshall, 1992)
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59. The Long Farewell (Kira Muratova, 1971)
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58. Desperately Seeking Susan (Susan Seidelman, 1985)
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57. The Babadook (Jennifer Kent, 2014)
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56. 13th (Ava DuVernay, 2016)
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55. Monster (Patty Jenkins, 2003)
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54. Bright Star (Jane Campion, 2009)
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53. The Headless Woman (Lucrecia Martel, 2008)
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52. Happy as Lazzaro (Alice Rohrwacher, 2018)
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51. Harlan County, USA (Barbara Kopple, 1976)
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50. Outrage (Ida Lupino, 1950)
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49. Salaam Bombay! (Mira Nair, 1988)
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48. The Asthenic Syndrome (Kira Muratova, 1989)
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47. An Angel at my Table (Jane Campion, 1990)
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46. Near Dark (Kathryn Bigelow, 1987)
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45. Triumph of the Will (Leni Riefenstahl, 1935)
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44. American Honey (Andrea Arnold, 2016)
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43. The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola, 1999)
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42. The Adventures of Prince Achmed (Lotte Reiniger, 1926)
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41. Capernaum (Nadine Labaki, 2018)
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40. Boys Don’t Cry (Kimberly Peirce, 1999)
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39. Portrait of a Lady on Fire (Céline Sciamma, 2019)
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38. Paris is Burning (Jennie Livingston, 1990)
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37. Olympia (Leni Riefenstahl, 1938)
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36. Wendy and Lucy (Kelly Reichardt, 2008)
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35. The Matrix (Lana and Lilly Wachowski, 1999)
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34. Morvern Callar (Lynne Ramsay, 2002)
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33. You Were Never Really Here (Lynne Ramsay, 2017)
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32. The Night Porter (Liliana Cavani, 1974)
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31. The Gleaners and I (Agnès Varda, 2000)
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30. Zama (Lucrecia Martel, 2017)
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29. Monsoon Wedding (Mira Nair, 2001)
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28. Le Bonheur (Agnès Varda, 1965)
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27. Selma (Ava DuVernay, 2014)
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26. Stories we Tell (Sarah Polley, 2012)
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25. The House is Black (Forugh Farrokhzad, 1963)
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24. Lady Bird (Greta Gerwig, 2017)
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23. The Hitch-Hiker (Ida Lupino, 1953)
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23. We Need to Talk About Kevin (Lynne Ramsay, 2011)
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21. Winter’s Bone (Debra Granik, 2010)
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20. Clueless (Amy Heckerling, 1995)
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19. Orlando (Sally Potter, 1992)
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18. American Psycho (Mary Harron, 2000)
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17. Seven Beauties (Lina Wertmüller, 1975)
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16. Wanda (Barbara Loden, 1970)
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15. The Swamp (Lucrecia Martel, 2001)
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14. Point Break (Kathryn Bigelow, 1991)
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13. Vagabond (Agnès Varda, 1985)
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12. Zero Dark Thirty (Kathryn Bigelow, 2012)
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11. The Ascent (Larisa Shepitko, 1977)
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10. Daughters of the Dust (Julie Dash, 1991)
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9. Fish Tank (Andrea Arnold, 2009)
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8. Toni Erdmann (Maren Ade, 2016)
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7. The Hurt Locker (Kathryn Bigelow, 2008)
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6. Daisies (Věra Chytilová, 1966)
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5. Lost in Translation (Sofia Coppola, 2003)
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4. Beau Travail (Claire Denis, 1999)
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3. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Chantal Akerman, 1975)
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2. Cléo from 5 to 7 (Agnès Varda, 1962)
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1. The Piano (Jane Campion, 1993)