Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 thriller 'Vertigo' knocked off Orson Welles 1941 drama 'Citizen Kane' for the first time in 50 years to claim the top spot in the prestigious BFI Sight and Sound poll of 50 greatest films of all time.

Considered Hitchcock's most mysterious film, the James Stewart and Kim Novak starrer clinched the top post with 191 votes while 'Cane', which has been the favourite till now, came second with 157 votes in the poll, which has been carried out every 10 years since 1952.

Japanese filmmaker Yasujiro Ozu's Tokyo Story was third ahead of Jean Renoir's La Regle Du Jeu. Other films in the top 10 include Stanley Kubrick's '2001: A Space Odyssey' and John Ford's classic 1956 western 'The Searchers' about a civil war veteran hunting for his niece after she is snatched in a raid. The 1929 film 'Man With A Movie Camera', 1927's 'The Passion Of Joan Of Arc' and Federico Fellini's '8' rounded off the top ten list.

The 846 critics, programmers, academics and distributors have voted in the poll.