But there is no such thing as a “best” film; only favorite films which appeal to people for all sorts of specific reasons. Other qualifications to keep in mind as you groan over my list: I’ve missed a couple of biggies (The Emigrants, Roma); I’ve yet to see the late December releases; and I am unapologetically prejudiced in favor of American films and action flics. Now read ’em and weep.

1 The King of Marvin Gardens (Bob Rafelson) A haunting, low-keyed, and tragic film about the reunion of two brothers in a barren, wintry Atlantic City. Rafelson’s restrained pacing finds poetry in naturalism, and Jacob Brackman’s script contains fond echoes of Salinger. I put it on the top of the list because no other film I saw this year moved me half as much.

2 City (John Huston) A painfully unsentimental view of a boxer slipping into nothingness and the people who surround him. Huston’s best film in a long, long time.

3 The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (Luis Bunuel) A master at the height of his powers. Cruelly witty, sardonic, observant, and everything else you’d ever want a film to be.

4 The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola) A vivid, violent panorama of gangster life that recalls the multi-plot glories of Hollywood’s former epics. Proof that mass entertainment need not be artless.

5 Deliverance (John Boorman) In which the crackerjack British director of Point Blank reasserts his talent for defining violence in terms of environment. Intelligent as it is, the film is still being misused by some as a comment on machismo.

6 Two English Girls (Francois Truffaut) The French director’s finest film since Jules and Jim, adapted from a novel by the same author. Perhaps it’s just a little harder to like than some of his other films because it’s so sad.

7 Duck, You Sucker (Sergio Leone) An Italian western that turns into a grand opera — and a grand movie for film freaks who flip out for daring camerawork and baroque decor.

8 Hickey and Boggs (Robert Culp) The year’s most underrated genre film. A tough, hard-bitten detective flick with a flawless sense of milieu. And novice director Culp has staged and edited the best action sequences since Dirty Harry. If there’s a film God in heaven, it’ll become a cult movie.

9 Straw Dogs (Sam Peckinpah) The old ballbuster coming down the track with some whiplash editing and a lot of ferocious action. Debatable as sociology; unimpeachable as art.

10 Play It As It Lays (Frank Perry) Perry cleverly catches all the glamorous non-sequiturs of Joan Didion’s fine novel, but at the expense of missing on some of the pain. Fortunately,'Tuesday Weld and Tony Perkins are on hand with a couple of great performances.

Runners-up: Bad Company and Jr. Bonner

Best performances: Tuesday Weld and Tony Perkins in Play It As It Lays; Stacy Keach in Fat City; Jack Nicholson, Ellen Burstyn and Bruce Dern in King of Marvin Gardens; Jon Voight in Deliverance; Jeff Bridges in Fat City and Bad Company; Susan Tyrell in Fat City; Dustin Hoffman in Straw Dogs; Everybody in The Godfather; and Austin Pendleton in What’s Up Doc?

Year’s most overrated film: Frenzy

Runner-up: Heat

Most beautiful, misused actress: Katherine Ross in They Only Kill Their Masters

Most overrated director: Ken Russell

Most enjoyable bad movie: Prime Cut

Runner-up: X, Y, and Zee (all credit due to Liz Taylor)

And finally since I started working for American International Pictures this year, I have to slip in a word for the company. Hence:

Year’s best title: Blacula.