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The 100 best movies of all time

Silent classics, noirs, space operas and everything in between: Somehow we managed to rank the best movies of all time

In media, a list is a powder keg waiting to explode the moment it’s published, especially if it’s called something like ‘the 100 greatest movies ever made’. If you’re passionate about something, you’re going to feel compelled to fiercely defend your favourites and shout down whatever you think is undeserving. If we’re being honest, inflaming public discussion is one of the reasons anyone decides to do a project like this. Debate gets you thinking, and, when reasoned and civil enough, perhaps even  re thinking.  

But don’t think of this as an attempt to shove our opinions down your throat. We consider this list more of a reference manual: a jumping off point for anyone looking to fill in the gaps of their movie knowledge – or, for more advanced cinephiles, a way to challenge their own preconceived notions. After all, we cover a lot of ground here: over 100 years, multiple countries, and just about every genre imaginable, from massive blockbusters to cult films, comedies to horror, thrillers to action flicks. 

Written by Abbey Bender, Dave Calhoun, Phil de Semlyen, Bilge Ebiri, Ian Freer, Stephen Garrett, Tomris Laffly, Joshua Rothkopf, Anna Smith and Matthew Singer

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Best movies of all time

1.  2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

• Science fiction

The greatest film ever made began with the meeting of two brilliant minds: Stanley Kubrick and sci-fi seer Arthur C Clarke. ‘I understand he’s a nut who lives in a tree in India somewhere,’ noted Kubrick when Clarke’s name came up – along with those of Isaac Asimov, Robert A Heinlein and Ray Bradbury – as a possible writer for his planned sci-fi epic. Clarke was actually living in Ceylon (not in India, or a tree), but the pair met, hit it off, and forged a story of technological progress and disaster (hello, HAL) that’s steeped in humanity, in all its brilliance, weakness, courage and mad ambition. An audience of stoners, wowed by its eye-candy Star Gate sequence and pioneering visuals, adopted it as a pet movie. Were it not for them, 2001 might have faded into obscurity, but it’s hard to imagine it would have stayed there. Kubrick’s frighteningly clinical vision of the future – AI and all – still feels prophetic, more than 50 years on.— Phil de Semlyen

2.  The Godfather (1972)

From the wise guys of Goodfellas to The Sopranos , all crime dynasties that came after The Godfather are descendants of the Corleones: Francis Ford Coppola’s magnum opus is the ultimate patriarch of the Mafia genre. A monumental opening line (“I believe in America”) sets the operatic Mario Puzo adaptation in motion, before Coppola’s epic morphs into a chilling dismantling of the American dream. The corruption-soaked story follows a powerful immigrant family grappling with the paradoxical values of reign and religion; those moral contradictions are crystallized in a legendary baptism sequence, superbly edited in parallel to the murdering of four rivaling dons. With countless iconic details—a horse’s severed head, Marlon Brando’s wheezy voice, Nino Rota’s catchy waltz— The Godfather ’s authority lives on.— Tomris Laffly

3.  Citizen Kane (1941)

Back in the headlines thanks to David Fincher’s brilliantly acerbic making-of drama Mank , Citizen Kane always finds a way to renew itself for a new generation of film lovers. For newbies, the journey of its bulldozer of a protagonist – played with inexhaustible force by actor-director-wunderkind Orson Welles – from unloved child to thrusting entrepreneur to press baron to populist feels entirely au courant (in unconnected news, Donald Trump came out as a superfan). You can bathe in the film’s groundbreaking techniques, like Gregg Toland’s deep-focus photography, or the limitless self-confidence of its staging and its investigation of American capitalism. But it’s also just a damn good story that you definitely don’t need to be a hardened cineaste to enjoy.— Phil de Semlyen

4.  Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)

Long considered a feminist masterpiece, Chantal Akerman’s quietly ruinous portrait of a widow’s daily routine—her chores slowly yielding to a sense of pent-up frustration—should take its rightful place on any all-time list. This is not merely a niche film, but a window onto a universal condition, depicted in a concentrated structuralist style. More hypnotic than you may realize, Akerman’s uninterrupted takes turn the simple acts of dredging veal or cleaning the bathtub into subtle critiques of moviemaking itself. (Pointedly, we never see the sex work Jeanne schedules in her bedroom to make ends meet.) Lulling us into her routine, Akerman and actor Delphine Seyrig create an extraordinary sense of sympathy rarely matched by other movies. Jeanne Dielman represents a total commitment to a woman’s life, hour by hour, minute by minute. And it even has a twist ending.— Joshua Rothkopf

5.  Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

• Action and adventure

Starting with a dissolve from the Paramount logo and ending in a warehouse inspired by Citizen Kane , Raiders of the Lost Ark celebrates what movies can do more joyously than any other film. Intricately designed as a tribute to the craft, Steven Spielberg’s funnest blockbuster has it all: rolling boulders, a barroom brawl, a sparky heroine (Karen Allen) who can hold her liquor and lose her temper, a treacherous monkey, a champagne-drinking villain (Paul Freeman), snakes (“Why did it have to be snakes?”), cinema’s greatest truck chase and a barnstorming supernatural finale where heads explode. And it’s all topped off by Harrison Ford’s pitch-perfect Indiana Jones, a model of reluctant but resourceful heroism (look at his face when he shoots that swordsman). In short, it’s cinematic perfection.— Ian Freer

6.  La Dolce Vita (1960)

Made in the middle of Italy’s boom years, Federico Fellini’s runaway box-office hit came to define heated glamour and celebrity culture for the entire planet. It also made Marcello Mastroianni a star; here, he plays a gossip journalist caught up in the frenzied, freewheeling world of Roman nightlife. Ironically, the movie’s portrayal of this milieu as vapid and soul-corrodingly hedonistic appears to have passed many viewers by. Perhaps that’s because Fellini films everything with so much cinematic verve and wit that it’s often hard not to get caught up in the delirious happenings onscreen. So much of how we view fame still dates back to this film; it even gave us the word paparazzi .— Bilge Ebiri

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7.  Seven Samurai (1954)

It’s the easiest 207 minutes of cinema you’ll ever sit through. On the simplest of frameworks—a poor farming community pools its resources to hire samurai to protect them from the brutal bandits who steal its harvest—Akira Kurosawa mounts a finely drawn epic, by turns absorbing, funny and exciting. Of course the action sequences stir the blood—the final showdown in the rain is unforgettable—but this is really a study in human strengths and foibles. Toshiro Mifune is superb as the half-crazed self-styled samurai, but it’s Takashi Shimura’s Yoda-like leader who gives the film its emotional center. Since replayed in the Wild West ( The Magnificent Seven ), in space ( Battle Beyond the Stars ) and even with animated insects ( A Bug’s Life ), the original still reigns supreme.— Ian Freer

8.  In the Mood for Love (2000)

Can a film really be an instant classic? Anyone who watched In The Mood for Love when it was released in 2000 may have said yes. The second this love story opens, you sense you are in the hands of a master. Wong Kar-wai guides us through the narrow streets and stairs of ’60s Hong Kong and into the lives of two neighbors (Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung) who discover their spouses are having an affair. As they imagine—and partly reenact—how their partners might be behaving, they fall for each other while remaining determined to respect their wedding vows. Loaded with longing, the film benefits from no less than three cinematographers, who together create an intense sense of intimacy, while the faultless performances shiver with sexual tension. This is cinema.— Anna Smith

9.  There Will Be Blood (2007)

On the road to becoming the most significant filmmaker of the last 20 years, Paul Thomas Anderson transformed from a Scorsesian chronicler of debauched L.A. life into a hard-nosed investigator of the American confidence man. The pivotal point was There Will Be Blood , an epic about a certain kind of hustler—the oil baron and prospector. Daniel Plainview is, in the final analysis, an ultra-scary Daniel Day-Lewis who will drink your milkshake. Scored by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood (himself emerging as a major composer), Anderson’s mournful epic is the true heir to Chinatown ’s bone-deep cynicism. As Phantom Thread makes clear, Anderson hasn’t lost his sense of humor, not by a long shot. But there once was a moment when he needed to get serious, and this is it.— Joshua Rothkopf

10.  Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Forget The Artist—sorry Uggie—and relish instead the sheer, serotonin-enhancing verve of MGM’s glorious epitaph to cinema’s silent era. Its trio of dancers—rubber-faced (and heeled) Donald O’Connor, sparkling newcomer Debbie Reynolds and co-director and headline act Gene Kelly—are a triple threat, nailing the stellar songs, intricate and physically demanding dance routines and selling all the comic beats with consummate skill. But kudos also belongs to Betty Comden and Adolph Green, whose effervescent screenplay provides the beat for the spectacle to move to, and Jessica Hagen, whose often-overlooked turn as croaky silent star Lina Lamont is the movie’s funny-sad counterpoint. Not forgetting co-director Stanley Donen, who was always happy to let his stars take the credit but deserves an equal share for a musical that never puts a foot wrong.– Phil de Semlyen

11.  Goodfellas (1990)

‘As far back as I can remember, I always wanted to be a gangster.’ Ray Liotta’s opening line is the crime movie equivalent of ‘Once upon a time…’, and what follows is Martin Scorsese’s version of a fairy tale – the story of a starry-eyed Brooklyn kid who realises his boyhood dream and still comes out a schnook in the end. Based on the true life of mobster Henry Hill, Goodfellas was born in the shadow of The Godfather , but as the years go on, the question of which is more influential becomes mostly a matter of generation. Certainly, the former is more easily rewatchable, owing to its breakneck pacing – its two and a half hours (and three decades) just whiz by. And for a movie about violent career criminals, it’s also strangely relatable. Where Coppola went inside the walls of organised crime’s one percent, Scorsese’s gangsters are more blue collar. And as it turns out, working for the mafia isn’t much different than any other job - you spend 30 years busting your hump to climb the ladder, only to end up face down on a bloody carpet in some tacky house in the burbs. — Matthew Singer  

12.  North by Northwest (1959)

Every film fan intrinsically knows what it means for a movie to be deemed ‘Hitchcockian’, but the truth is that Alfred Hitchcock himself made many different kinds of movies in his career, encompassing many different moods and narratives. Declaring his most ‘definitive’ film is largely a matter of personal preference, but North By Northwest is perhaps the best at encapsulating his particular ability to appeal to mass audiences, critics and dedicated cineastes, all in the same moment. It’s also his most compulsively watchable, a caper that is at once suave, sexy, genuinely suspenseful and frequently, joyfully ridiculous. Cary Grant cranks the Cary Grantness to 11 as Roger Thornhill, a New York ad man mistaken for a spy and pursued across America by a shady cabal, sending him scurrying through cornfields, scaling Mount Rushmore and flirting royally with femme fatale Eva Marie Saint. It ends with a juvenile visual pun, involving a train entering a tunnel, which in the context of the time period plays like Hitch sticking a thumb in the eye of the prudish studio system. In other words, it really might be his defining film – certainly, it’s his most fun. — Matthew Singer    

13.  Mulholland Drive (2001)

Not many movies are known equally for a genuinely erotic lesbian sex scene and a heart-stopping jump scare involving some kind of terrifying trash witch. Then again, this is David Lynch we’re talking about: the man’s entire career is dedicated to doing things most other filmmakers wouldn’t even consider. But Mulholland Drive is where the phrase ‘Lynchian’ earned its definition. What appears, at first, to be a relatively straightforward noir about a gorgeous amnesiac (Laura Harring) trying to piece together the mystery of her own identity plunges, in its third act, into a hallucinatory dream world, effectively undoing everything that came before. The hairpin turn frustrated some critics, who apparently anticipated a movie that would explain itself in the end. Fans knew better – and for those willing to accept the movie as an experience, rather than a riddle to be solved, it’s a gift that reveals new pleasures (and nightmares) with each viewing. — Matthew Singer

14.  Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Vittorio de Sica’s Neorealist masterpiece is set in a world where owning a bicycle is the key to working, but it could just as easily be set in one where the absence of car, or affordable childcare, or a home, or a social security number are insurmountable barriers in the constant slog to put food on the table. That’s what makes simultaneously it a film for postwar Italy and modern-day anywhere-at-all. That’s what makes it such a powerful, enduring landmark in humanist cinema. You can feel it in virtually every social drama you care to mention, from Ken Loach to Kelly Reichardt. — Phil de Semlyen

15.  The Dark Knight (2008)

There’s a new Batman in Gotham, in the shadowy form of Matt Reeves’s The Batman – and this is the bar it has to clear. The middle entry in Christopher Nolan’s Bat-trilogy is an almost flawless case study of how to do a sophisticated superhero epic for modern audiences – and the ‘almost’ is only because the final act refreshingly tries to cram in almost too many ideas, much moral arithmetic. Heath Ledger’s Joker, meanwhile, redefines big-screen villainy: It’s not enough to be sinister, you need a party trick now too.— Phil de Semlyen  

16.  City Lights (1931)

Charlie Chaplin’s total vision remains awe-inspiring: He wrote, directed, produced, edited and starred in his own movies, which he also scored with an orchestra. And when those cameras were rolling, they captured a self-made icon with a global audience. Still, City Lights was something else. Chaplin, reluctant to give up the visual techniques he’d mastered, insisted on making his new comedy a silent film even as viewers were growing thirsty for sound. As ever, the star had the last laugh: Not only was the film a huge commercial success, it also ended on the most heartbreaking close-up in cinema history—the peak of the reaction shot (since cribbed by movies from La Strada to The Purple Rose of Cairo ), no dialogue required.— Joshua Rothkopf

17.  Grand Illusion (1937)

There’s never a bad time to revisit one of Jean Renoir’s great masterpieces (along with The Rules of the Game ), but this current era of populists, nationalists and shouty rabble-rousers feels like a particularly good one. Set in a German POW camp during WWI, the film lays bare the fault lines of class and nationality among a group of French prisoners and their German captors and comes to the conclusion that all that really matters is man’s nobility toward his fellow man.— Phil de Semlyen

18.  His Girl Friday (1940)

Calling this one the peak of screwball comedy may be too limiting: Among the many topflight movies directed by journeyman filmmaker Howard Hawks, His Girl Friday is his most romantic and most verbose (the constant banter feels like foreplay). Though the laconic Hawks would downplay his own proto-feminism throughout his life, the film is also his most liberated; strong women who had jobs and ran with newshounds were simply what he wanted to see. Most wonderfully, this comedy best celebrates the rule of wit: He—or, more often, she —with the sharpest tongue wins. If you love words, you’ll love this movie.— Joshua Rothkopf

19.  The Red Shoes (1948)

You could stick nearly every Powell and Pressburger film on this list; such was the dynamic duo’s stellar output. But for our money—and that of superfan Martin Scorsese—this dazzling ballet-set romance is first among equals. It's a perfect expression of artists’ drive to create, set in a lush Technicolor world shot by the great Jack Cardiff. Scorsese describes it as “the movie that plays in my heart.” We’ll take two seats at the back.— Phil de Semlyen

20.  Vertigo (1958)

A sexy Freudian mind-bender that’s often considered Alfred Hitchcock’s finest triumph, Vertigo is pitched in a world of existential obsession and cunning doubles. Shape-shifting her way through Edith Head’s transformational costumes, Kim Novak haunts in two roles: Madeleine Elster and Judy Barton, both objects of desire for James Stewart’s curious ex-cop. Completing this vivid psychodrama is Bernard Herrmann’s alarmingly duplicitous score, which twists its way to a towering finale.— Tomris Laffly

21.  Beau Travail (1999)

Increasingly a giant of world cinema, France’s Claire Denis continues to confound expectations, making movies in sync with her own offbeat rhythms and thematic preoccupations (colonialism, power, repressed attraction). This one, her celebrated breakout, is something of a spin on Herman Melville’s Billy Budd —but that’s like calling Jaws something of a spin on Moby-Dick . The genius is in Denis’s technique, manifesting itself in images of shattering emotional precision: sinewy silhouettes of soldiers, abstract tests of will in the desert and, most ravishingly, the euphoria of breaking into dance, courtesy of a loose-limbed Denis Lavant and Corona’s ‘Rhythm of the Night’.— Joshua Rothkopf

22.  The Searchers (1956)

Showing some personal growth as well as filmmaking craft, John Ford makes some amends for his appearance in DW Griffith’s virulently racist The Birth of a Nation with this landmark western. It’s a story of hatred slowing giving way to compassion that strips away the toxic myths of the old frontier via the swaggering but broken-down figure of Ethan Edwards (John Wayne). Edwards is no white-hatted Shane type, but an embittered war veteran who hunts his own niece (Natalie Wood) with the intention of killing her for the crime of have been assimilated with the Comanche. The shot of Edwards framed in that doorway is one of the most famous – and most mimicked – in cinema .— Phil de Semlyen

23.  Persona (1966)

Back when David Lynch was still saving up money to buy his first camera, Ingmar Bergman was figuring out how to transmit the vagaries of the subconscious mind to the screen. Persona is a nightmare in the dreamiest and most confounding sense. In terms of plot, it involves two women, one an actress suffering from an unknown affliction (Liv Ullmann), the other her live-in nurse (Bibi Andersson), who retreat to an isolated seaside cabin in order to treat the latter’s disorder and who possibly, maybe start fusing into the same person. But whatever linear narrative exists is consistently upended by seemingly random images – a dead lamb, a crucifixion, a flash of a sudden erect penis – and meta-cinematic references, including a shot of cinematographer Sven Nykvist filming the movie itself. Critics have been dissecting its meaning ever since. But Persona doesn’t exist simply as a challenge to film scholars. If you give up any hope of literal understanding and give yourself over to it, you’ll experience a sense of unease few movies before, and hardly since, have managed to achieve.  — Matthew Singer

24.  Do the Right Thing (1989)

Spike Lee’s bitterly funny, ultimately tragic fresco of a Brooklyn neighborhood during one sweltering summer day was hugely controversial at the time: Critics dinged Lee for his depiction of an uprising in the wake of a police killing. The movie has lost none of its relevance or power; if anything, it’s gained some. But the filmmaking is what makes this a classic, particularly the energy, wit and style with which Lee presents this microcosm and the social forces at play inside it.— Bilge Ebiri

25.  Rashomon (1950)

It’s no exaggeration to say that Akira Kurosawa’s Rashomon redefined cinematic storytelling. With its shifting, unreliable narrative structure—in which four people give differing accounts of a murder—the film is remarkably daring and serves as a reminder of how form itself can beguile us. Flashbacks have never been so thrillingly deployed; nearly 70 years after its release, filmmakers are still trying to catch up to its achievements.— Abbey Bender

26.  The Rules of the Game (1939)

Jean Renoir cemented his virtuosity with this pitch-perfect study of social-strata eruptions among the ditzy, idle rich, about to be blown sideways by WWII. Affairs among aristocrats and servants alike bloom during a weeklong hunting trip at a country manor, where the only crime is to trade frivolity with sincerity. Renoir captures his sparklingly astute ensemble cast with fluid, deep-focus camera movements, innovations that inspired directors from Orson Welles to Robert Altman.— Stephen Garre tt

27.  Jaws (1975)

Steven Spielberg’s immortal blockbuster doesn’t need political prescience to stay relevant: it’s a movie about a big-ass shark eating people. Thanks in large part to the film itself, that’s one irrational fear the public is never letting go of. Over the last two years, though, whenever some elected official has argued against mask mandates and said it’s time to reopen schools, it’s been hard not to think about Mayor Vaughn in his goofy anchor-print suit telling the citizens of Amity Island that it’s safe to go back in the water. And that element – along with the masterful pacing, the get-you-every-time jump scares and that banger of a third act – is what really makes Jaws forever frightening: sharks are scary, but greed and incompetence are far more likely to get you. —  Matthew Singer  

28.  Double Indemnity (1944)

The deliciously dark, stylish genre of film noir simply wouldn’t exist without Double Indemnity . This one truly has it all: flashbacks, murder, shadows and cigarettes galore, and, of course, a devious femme fatale (Barbara Stanwyck). As one of the great directors of Hollywood’s golden age, Billy Wilder excelled across a variety of cinematic types, but this hard-boiled gem is his most influential work.— Abbey Bender

29.  The 400 Blows (1959)

The first in a five-film autobiographical series, Francois Truffaut’s The 400 Blows is the story of Antoine Doinel (Jean-Pierre Léaud)—stuck in an unhappy home life but finding solace in goofing off, smoking and hanging with his friends—and it’s cinema’s greatest evocation of a troubled childhood. Plus, it’s the perfect primer to get kids into subtitled movies.— Ian Freer

30.  Star Wars (1977)

Popcorn pictures hit hyperdrive after George Lucas unveiled his intergalactic Western, an intoxicating gee-whiz space opera with dollops of Joseph Campbell–style mythologizing that obliterated the moral complexities of 1970s Hollywood. This postmodern movie-brat pastiche references a virtual syllabus of genre classics, from Metropolis and Triumph of the Will to Kurosawa’s samurai actioners, Flash Gordon serials and WWII thrillers like The Dam Busters . Luke Skywalker’s quest to rescue a princess instantly elevated B-movie bliss to billion-dollar-franchise sagas.— Stephen Garrett

31.  The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Carl Theodor Dreyer’s classic tale of the trial of Joan of Arc is somehow both austere and maximalist. The director shows restraint with setting and scope; the film focuses largely on the back-and-forth between Joan and her inquisitors. But the intense close-ups give free reign to Maria Falconetti’s marvelously expressive turn as the doomed Maid of Orleans. Made at the close of the silent era, it set new standards in screen acting.— Bilge Ebiri

32.  Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)

The ultimate cult film, Leone’s spaghetti Western is set in a civilizing America—though mostly shot in Rome and Spain—but the real location is an abstract frontier of old versus new, of larger-than-life heroes fading into memory. It’s a triumph of buried political commentary and purest epic cinema. Henry Fonda’s icy stare, composer Ennio Morricone’s twangy guitars of doom and the monumental Charles Bronson as the last gunfighter (“an ancient race…”) are just three reasons of a million to saddle up .— Joshua Rothkopf

33.  Alien (1979)

If all it did was to launch a franchise centered on Sigourney Weaver’s fierce survivor (still among the toughest action heroines of cinema), Ridley Scott’s claustrophobic, deliberately paced sci-fi-horror classic would still be cemented in the film canon. But Alien claims masterpiece status with its subversive gender politics (this is a movie that impregnates men), its shocking chestburster centerpiece and industrial designer H.R. Giger’s strangely elegant double-jawed creature, a nightmarish vision of hostility—and one of cinema’s most unforgettable pieces of pure craft.— Tomris Laffly

34.  Tokyo Story (1951)

Simply spun, Yasujiro Ozu’s domestic drama is small but perfectly formed. Chishu Ryu and Chieko Higashiyama are dignified and moving as parents who visit their children and grandchildren, only to be neglected. Delicately played, beautifully shot (often with the camera hovering just off the ground), Ozu’s masterpiece is the family movie given grandeur and intimacy. If you loved last year’s Shoplifters , you’ll love this.— Ian Freer

35.  Pulp Fiction (1994)

Quentin Tarantino’s second feature still feels like a culmination of cinema’s first century and an explosion of everything we thought we knew about film. A gangster flick where the gangsters chat about cheeseburgers? Where the narrative is like a smashed jigsaw puzzle put back together out of order? With the guy from Look Who’s Talking  as a slick-talking hitman? That can make money, win Oscars and spin off so many imitators it’s practically a genre unto itself? It just took an over-caffeinated ex-video store clerk with the right amount of chutzpah to make it happen. When the aliens pick over our decimated planet and discover a VHS copy among the rubble, they’ll agree that John Travolta was the perfect casting choice, Samuel L Jackson is the baddest motherfucker on the planet, and the true contents of the briefcase really don’t matter. —Matthew Singer

36.  The Truman Show (1998)

The late ’90s spawned two prescient satires of reality TV, back when it was still in its pre-epidemic phase: the underrated EDtv and, this, Peter Weir’s profound statement on the way the media has its claws in us. In some ways a kinder, gentler version of Network , The Truman Show is a TV parable in which a meek hero (Jim Carrey) wins back his life. It can also be considered an angrier film, slamming both the controlling TV networks (represented by Ed Harris’s messiahlike Christof) and us, the viewing public, for making a game show of other people’s lives.— Phil de Semlyen

37.  Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Notions of masculinity, conflicted sexuality and tribal identity (or lack of it) boil beneath the surface of David Lean’s historical epic like magma. They seeps through the cracks of its depiction of iconoclastic Edwardian nomad and Arab leader T E Lawrence (Peter O’Toole), locating its huge set pieces within the megalomaniac compass of its hero and lending depth to its intimate moments when the cost of all is laid bare. Amid its sweeping Arabian landscapes, famously captured by cinematographer Freddie Young’s cameras, it’s the interior landscape of Lawrence himself that this great biopic maps out so memorably.— Phil de Semlyen

38.  Psycho (1960)

Alfred Hitchcock had made a few scary movies earlier in his career, but Psycho was something completely different – not just for his personal oeuvre, or the horror genre, but movies in general. It invented the modern slasher flick. It anticipated the moral ambiguity that would become de rigueur in the New Hollywood of the ‘70s. It upturned the established rules of narrative, killing off the supposed heroine midway through, in unprecedentedly shocking fashion. Sure, there are other filmmakers who can claim to have covered some of that ground first; Michael Powell’s Peeping Tom , in fact, arrived a few months earlier and hit on many of the same themes. The difference with Hitch is he knew how to transmit new ideas to the widest possible audience. He didn’t just break the rules – he rewrote the manual. And horror directors are still reading from it today. — Matthew Singer

39.  Sansho the Bailiff (1954)

Japanese cinema has produced no shortage of heavy hitters, but director Kenji Mizoguchi may deserve prime of place. He was able to turn out impeccable ghost stories ( Ugetsu ) and backstage dramas ( The Story of the Last Chrysanthemums ), but his greatest trait was a deep, unshakable empathy for women, beaten down by the patriarchy but heartbreaking in their suffering. These women are central to Sansho the Bailiff , a feudal tale of familial dissolution that will wreck you. Make no apologies for your tears; everyone else will be crying, too.— Joshua Rothkopf

40.  Andrei Rublev (1966)

Mournful, challenging and mesmerizing, Soviet director Andrei Tarkovsky’s epic portrait of the life and times of one of Russia’s most famous medieval icon painters foregrounds qualities such as landscape and mood over story and character. Ultimately, it’s the tale of a man’s attempt to overcome his crisis of faith in a world that seems to have an endless supply of violence and strife—and it’s a remarkable testament to the persistence of artists working under oppressive regimes.— Bilge Ebiri

41.  The Umbrellas of Cherbourg (1964)

The melancholy of Michel Legrand’s glorious score washes over viewers’ hearts from the first moment of Jacques Demy’s nontraditional, sung-through musical. One of the most romantic films ever made about the pains and purity of first love, the immaculately styled The Umbrellas of Cherbourg challenged the lighter Hollywood musicals of the era (like The Sound of Music and My Fair Lady ) and launched the sensational Catherine Deneuve into international stardom. Later, it would be a major influence on La La Land. — Tomris Laffly

42.  Chinatown (1974)

Director Roman Polanski and screenwriter Robert Towne took a modestly sleazy noir setup and turned it into a meditation on the horrors of American history and rapacious capitalism. The film also sports a perfect cast, with a top-of-his-game Jack Nicholson as a cynical private eye, an impossibly alluring Faye Dunaway as the femme fatale with a past so dark her final revelation still shocks, and the legendary John Huston as the monstrous millionaire at the heart of it all.— Bilge Ebiri

43.  The Seventh Seal (1957)

Not just any film gets homaged by Bill and Ted. But Ingmar Bergman’s great treatise on mortality isn’t just any film. Despite becoming somehow synonymous with “difficult art-house statement,” it’s not all weighty themes, plague-strewn landscapes and chess games with the Grim Reaper. As Max von Sydow’s medieval knight travels the land witnessing the apocalypse, loads of life-affirming moments lighten the load. Of course, it’s a work of profound philosophical thought, too, so you’ll feel brainier for having seen it.— Phil de Semlyen

44.  Lost in Translation (2003)

Sofia Coppola’s sublimely restrained second feature pulls off a great trick: it manages to feel like one of cinema’s great romances, despite nothing traditionally romantic happening in it. In fact, not much happens at all. Bill Murray is a washed-up American actor reduced to shooting ads for Japanese whisky in Tokyo while his marriage grows cold back home. One jetlagged night in the hotel bar, he meets a young newlywed (Scarlett Johansson) already growing disillusioned with her own marriage. They bond over their shared alienation, have some drinks and spend one eventful evening out on the town, singing karaoke. Then they part, presumably forever, never consummating their tryst beyond a few trace brushes of the skin. And yet, the film is utterly beguiling, and communicates more about the power of fleeting human connection than just about any other whirlwind dalliance you’ve seen in a capital-R movie romance. That’s in large part due to Murray and Johansson’s subtle, sad-but-hopeful performances, but also Coppola’s framing of Tokyo as a gauzy, neon-lit dreamscape. If you’ve ever felt lonely even once in your life, it’s impossible to resist. — Matthew Singer

45.  Taxi Driver (1976)

A time capsule of a vanished New York and a portrait of twisted masculinity that still stings, Taxi Driver stands at the peak of the vital, gritty auteur-driven filmmaking that defined 1970s New Hollywood. Martin Scorsese’s vision of vigilantism is filled with an uncomfortable ambience, and Paul Schrader’s screenplay probes philosophical depths that are brought to vicious life by Robert De Niro’s unforgettable performance.— Abbey Bender

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46.  Spirited Away (2001)

The jewel in Japanese animation studio Studio Ghibli’s crown, Spirited Away is a glorious bedtime story filled with soot sprites, monsters and phantasms—it’s a movie with the power to coax out the inner child in the most grown-up and jaded among us. A spin on Alice's Adventures in Wonderland (with the same invitation to follow your imagination), Spirited Away has been ushering audiences into its dream world for almost two decades and seems only to grow in stature each year, a tribute to its hand-drawn artistry. Trivia time: It remains Japan’s highest-grossing film ever, just ahead of Titanic .— Anna Smith

47.  Night of the Living Dead (1968)

The first no-budget horror movie to become a bona-fide calling card for its director, George A. Romero’s seminal frightfest begins with a single zombie in a graveyard and builds to an undead army attacking a secluded house. Most modern horror clichés start here. But nothing betters it for style, mordant wit, racial and political undertow, and scaring the bejesus out of you, all some 50 years before Us .— Ian Freer

48.  Battleship Potemkin (1925)

This rousing Russian silent film was conceived in the heat of Soviet propaganda and commissioned by the still-young Communist government to salute an event from 20 years earlier. It tells of a sailors’ revolt that morphs into a full-blown workers’ uprising in the city of Odessa; the movie is most famous for one breathtaking sequence—much copied and parodied since—of a baby carriage tumbling down a huge flight of steps. But Battleship Potemkin is full of powerful images and heady ideas, and director Sergei Eisenstein is rightly considered one of the pioneers of early film language, with his influence felt through the decades.— Dave Calhoun

49.  Modern Times (1936)

The only Charlie Chaplin movie to see the Little Tramp go on a massive cocaine binge, this relentlessly inventive silent classic hardly needs the added kick. The gags come almost as fast as you can process them, with the typically pinpoint Chaplin slapstick conjured here from scenarios that seem purpose-built to end in disaster. The sight of Chaplin literally feeding himself into a massive machine offers a still-germane satire on technological advancement.— Phil de Semlyen

50.  Breathless (1960)

Film critic Jean-Luc Godard’s seismic directing debut is a bravado deconstruction of the gangster picture that also reinvented moviemaking itself. It features Cubistic jump cuts, restless handheld camerawork, location shoots, eccentric pacing (the 24-minute centerpiece is two lovers talking in a bedroom), and self-conscious asides about painting, poetry, pop culture, literature and film. A sexy fling between petty thief Jean-Paul Belmondo and Sorbonne-bound gamine Jean Seberg morphs into an oddly touching, existential meditation. It’s pulp fiction, but alchemically profound.— Stephen Garrett

51.  Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

So much of Stanley Kubrick’s genius was conceptual, and this one asks his most audacious question: What if the world came to an end—and it was hilarious? Nuclear annihilation was a subject in which Kubrick immersed himself, reading virtually every unclassified text. His conclusion was grim: There would be no winning. Via darkest comedy (the only way into the subject) and an unhinged Peter Sellers playing three separate parts, Kubrick made his point.— Joshua Rothkopf

52.  M (1931)

One of those epochal films—there’s only a handful—that sits on the divide between silent cinema and the sound era but taps into the virtues of both, Fritz Lang’s serial-killer thriller burns with deep-etched visual darkness while perking ears with its whistled “In the Hall of the Mountain King” (performed by a purse-lipped Lang himself; his star, Peter Lorre, couldn’t whistle). The movie’s theme is vigilance: We must protect our children, but who will protect society from itself? M is like a sonar listening to a pre-Nazi Germany on the cusp of shedding its humanity.— Joshua Rothkopf

53.  Blade Runner (1982)

Set in (eek!) 2019, Ridley Scott’s vision of a dystopian future is one of the most stylish sci-fi films of all time. With a noir-inspired aesthetic and a haunting synth score by Vangelis (a massive influence on Prince), Blade Runner is iconic not just for its era-defining look, but also for its deeper philosophical examination of what it means to be human. Many have tried to imitate the film’s uncanny vibe, but these rain-slicked streets and seedy vistas possess a singular menace.— Abbey Bender

54.  The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant (1972)

The creative fecundity of Rainer Werner Fassbinder, dead from an overdose at age 37 after completing more than 40 features, deserves enshrinement by a new generation. This film is arguably his sharpest and most psychologically complex; inarguably, it’s his bitchiest. There is so much to love in Fassbinder’s shag-carpeted showdown, which goes beyond the spectacle of two dueling fashionistas into a profound exploration of aging and obsolescence.— Joshua Rothkopf

55.  Rome, Open City (1945)

Few film movements can boast the hit rate of Italian neorealism , a post-World War II wave dedicated to working-class struggle that seems to comprise only masterpieces. Robert Rossellini was responsible for a few of them, including Germany Year Zero and this earlier drama of repression and resistance, which boasts not one but two of the most memorable death scenes in all of cinema.— Phil de Semlyen

56.  Nosferatu (1922)

Brace for the land of phantoms and the call of the Bird of Death: One of the earliest (though unauthorized) adaptations of Dracula is still the most terrifying. Max Schreck’s insectlike performance as the bloodthirsty Count Orlok is just as transfixing and repulsive as it was almost a century ago. German Expressionist director F.W. Murnau’s haunting images of a crepuscular world set the chilling standard for generations of cinematic nightmares.— Stephen Garrett

57.  Airplane! (1980)

Should a movie whose primary function is to make fun of other movies be allowed inclusion on a list of the greatest movies of all time? When it’s as deliriously anarchic, sublimely silly and just plain hilarious as Airplane! , well, surely it should. In their first true feature, directors David and Jerry Zucker, along with partner Jim Abrahams, take aim at the disaster movies that were all the rage at the multiplex in the 1970s, and machine-gun jokes at the screen at such a pace that it requires multiple screenings just to catch them all. The context of the spoof is somewhat lost to time, and its progeny isn’t exactly illustrious – although the first Naked Gun  is a classic in its own right – but that’s only helped the movie stand on its own as a truly transcendent laugh riot. — Matthew Singer  

58.  Under the Skin (2013)

Hypnotic, bewitching, thought-provoking, disturbing, horrifying: However you react to it, you won't forget Jonathan Glazer's startling adaptation of Michel Faber's woman-who-fell-to-earth novel. Using her celebrity in a radical way, Scarlett Johansson is perfectly cast as an alien in human form who roams Glasgow trying to pick up men in her van. It was shot guerrilla-style on the streets of the Scottish city, so look out for the footage of genuinely baffled passersby.— Anna Smith

59.  Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Both a sequel and a reboot, the fourth entry in director George Miller’s series of post-apocalyptic gearhead epics fuses death-defying stunts with modern special effects to give us one of the all-time-great action movies. This one is a nonstop barrage of chases, each more spectacularly elaborate and nightmarish than the last—but it’s all combined with Miller’s surreal, poetic sensibility, which sends it into the realm of art.— Bilge Ebiri

60.  Apocalypse Now (1979)

Francis Ford Coppola’s evergreen Vietnam War classic proves war is swell, as assassin Martin Sheen heads upriver to kill renegade colonel Marlon Brando. En route, there’s surfing, a thrilling helicopter raid, napalm smelling, tigers and Playboy bunnies, until Sheen steps off the boat and into a different zone of madness—or is it genius? Who knows at this point?— Ian Freer

61.  Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Forget what the Oscars crowned as the Best Picture of 2005: Ang Lee’s tragic gay romance is the nominee that stands the test of time. Anchored by Rodrigo Prieto’s swoonworthy cinematography and a wistful Heath Ledger (whose performance toppled societal perceptions of masculinity), Brokeback Mountain is a milestone in LGBTQ art-house cinema. It reimagined the Western genre and became a part of the zeitgeist.— Tomris Laffly

62.  Duck Soup (1933)

Biting political satires don't have to be long and complicated: This 68-minute masterpiece is perfectly pithy, exposing the absurdities of international politics with swift wit and spot-on slapstick. Often regarded as the funniest of the Marx Brothers’ oeuvre, the film is also—sadly—timeless, as its portrayal of a war-mongering dictatorship remains relevant to this day.— Anna Smith

63.  The Blair Witch Project (1999)

In 1997, a group of no-name actors went into the Maryland backwoods with some handheld cameras, a loose script and a budget that wouldn’t cover the catering on most of the other films on this list, and emerged with a blockbuster. Perhaps no movie in history has ever achieved more with less than Daniel Myrick and Eduardo Sánchez’s atmospheric horror classic. For years, though, The Blair Witch Project was discussed as a triumph of marketing more than anything else. It was pushed by an ad campaign that played coy with the veracity of the allegedly ‘found footage’: did an amateur documentary crew really disappear in the woods while investigating a local myth? Sheer curiosity drove audiences to theatres en masse – and it wasn’t uncommon to leave a screening and overhear confused grumbling in the lobby. Twenty-plus years and an oversaturation of lesser imitators later, it’s easier to appreciate Blair Witch as a master class of low-budget cinema. Honestly, if there’s a scarier scene in the last two decades than when those children’s hands imprint on the crew’s tent in the middle of night, it surely cost a hell of a lot more to make. — Matthew Singer

64.  All the President’s Men (1976)

Many movies have been made depicting journalism as it happens. Vanishingly few get the process right, and even fewer manage to convey the obsessiveness, the anxious frustration and the exhilaration of chasing a big story. Alan J Pakula’s movie about two reporters chasing the biggest story in American political history nails every beat. The achievement is especially remarkable considering that, at the time, the story could barely even be considered history: Nixon had resigned from office not even two years prior. But that nearness lends the film a living energy that would’ve dulled with additional hindsight. Even with its unspoilable ending, Pakula and screenwriter William Goldman still managed to build an uncommonly nervy thriller that never digresses from the central narrative. No, you won’t get much of an idea of who Woodward and Bernstein (played with typical ’70s naturalism by Dustin Hoffman and Robert Redford) are apart from their work. Instead, you just see the work – and in this case, that’s more than enough.  —Matthew Singer

65.  The Apu trilogy (1955, 1956, 1959)

We’re cheating by including all three films ( Pather Panchali , Aparajito and The World of Apu ), but really, how do you separate the installments of Satyajit Ray’s magnificent coming-of-age trilogy? The Bengali great follows young Apu (Apurba Kumar Roy) from boyhood to adult life via schooling and a move from his remote village to the big city, as well as loves and losses. Some of the most intimate Indian cinema ever captured, it’s also completely relatable, whether you hail from Kolkata, Kansas or Camden Town.— Phil de Semlyen

66.  The General (1926)

Boy meets train. Boy loses train. Boy chases Union forces who stole train, wins back train and fires off in the opposite direction. It may not sound like your average love story, but that’s exactly what Buster Keaton’s deadpan and death-defying silent comedy is: a majestic demonstration of trick photography, balletic courage and comic timing, all underpinned by genuine heart. Trust us, it’s loco-motional.— Phil de Semlyen

67.  Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

There are countless movies about romantic relationships, yet few explore the subject more creatively than Michel Gondry’s breakthrough, scripted by Charlie Kaufman (who was then becoming a household name with Being John Malkovich and Adaptation ). The sci-fi–inflected tale of two halves of a broken-up couple going through a memory-erasing procedure takes many surprising, poignant turns; the film’s impeccably executed combination of authentically quirky imagery and philosophical inquiry has become a signpost of modern independent cinema.— Abbey Bender

68.  The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)

The title is still a killer piece of marketing, suggesting something much gorier than what you get. That’s not to say Tobe Hooper’s masterpiece doesn’t deliver. A grungy vision of horror captured during a palpably sweaty and stenchy Texas summer, the film has taken its rightful place as a definitive parable of Nixonian class warfare, eat-or-be-eaten social envy and the essentially unknowable nature of some unlucky parts of the world.— Joshua Rothkopf

69.  Come and See (1985)

As unsparing as cinema gets, the influence of Elem Klimov’s sui generis war movie transcends the genre in a way that not even Steven Spielberg’s Saving Private Ryan can match. At its heart it’s a coming-of-age story that follows a young Belarusian boy (Aleksei Kravchenko) through unspeakable horror as Nazi death squads visit an apocalypse on his region. Alongside its historical truths, the film’s grammar and visual language—there are passages that play like an ultra-violent acid trip—are what truly elevates it. Like an Hieronymus Bosch masterpiece, the images here can never be unseen.— Phil de Semlyen

70.  Heat (1995)

Writer-director Michael Mann’s heist masterpiece put two of our greatest actors, Robert De Niro and Al Pacino, together onscreen for the first time—one as a stoic master criminal, the other as the obsessive cop determined to bring him down. In weaving their stories together, Mann presents dueling but equally weighted perspectives, with our allegiance as viewers constantly shifting. The last word on cops-and-robbers movies, it’s suffused with a magic that crime thrillers try to recapture to this day.— Bilge Ebiri

71.  The Shining (1980)

Our list doesn’t lack for Stanley Kubrick movies (nor should it). Still, it’s shocking to remember that The Shining —so redolent of the director’s pet themes of mazelike obsession and the banality of evil—was once considered a minor work. It’s since come to represent the most concentrated blast of Kubrick’s total command; he’s the god of the film, Steadicam-ing around corners and making the audience notice that he was born to redefine horror. Even if we can’t roll with the crackpot fan theories about how Kubrick allegedly faked the Apollo moon landing, we’ll readily admit that this film contains cosmic multitudes.— Joshua Rothkopf

72.  Toy Story (1995)

The one that got Pixar’s (Luxo) ball rolling and still an absolute high-water mark for CG animation, Toy Story reinvented what a family movie could be. On the surface, it’s a simple story about a couple of miniature rivals sizing each other up (Woody was originally going to be a whole mess meaner), before falling into peril at the hands of next-door pyrotechnics genius Sid. But it’s also about jealousy, power dynamics and our relationships with our own childhoods. With it, Pixar took storytelling to infinity and far, far beyond.— Phil de Semlyen

73.  Killer of Sheep (1977)

Shot on 16-millimeter film in sketchy light, Charles Burnett’s UCLA graduate thesis film stitches together seemingly mundane vignettes to form a compelling mosaic of late-’70s African-American life. A landmark of independent black cinema, it’s set to a great soundtrack ranging from blues and classical to Paul Robeson. Poetic, compassionate, angry, ironic: All human life is present here.— Ian Freer

74.  A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

There’s a tendency in these greatest-of-all-time exercises to prioritize the director, the camerawork or the screenplay. But respect must be paid to the performer, too: In a decade of brilliant acting, no turn was quite as galvanizing as the one given by Gena Rowlands in this stunning peek into a fraying mind. A fluky Los Angeles housewife and mother who’s constantly being told to calm down, Rowlands’s Mabel is the apotheosis of John Cassavetes’s improvisatory cinema; our concern for her never flags as she teeters through excruciating scenes of breakdown and regrouping.— Joshua Rothkopf

75.  Annie Hall (1977)

Quotable, endearing and bursting with creative moments, Annie Hall is one of the most revolutionary of romantic comedies. This quintessential New York movie turned countless viewers on to the joys of verbose dialogue (and experimentation in menswear for women), and has long been lauded for both its accessibility and its poignancy, a balance that few movies have since achieved so memorably.— Abbey Bender

76.  Some Like It Hot (1959)

Clocking it at number 15 on our list of the 100 Greatest Comedies Ever Made , Billy Wilder’s classic gangster farce plays like Scarface on helium. Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon make one of cinema’s most delightful double acts as a couple of musicians on the run from the Mob, but Marilyn Monroe steals the picture as the coquettish, breathy and entirely loveable Sugar. Nobody’s perfect but this movie gets pretty darn close. — Phil de Semlyen

77.  Metropolis (1927)

Hugely expensive for its time, Metropolis is Blade Runner , The Terminator and Star Wars all rolled into one (not to mention 50 years prior). Fritz Lang’s silent vision of a totalitarian society still astounds through its stunning cityscapes, groundbreaking special effects and a bewitchingly evil robot (Brigitte Helm). It’s science fiction at its most ambitious and breathtaking—the not-so-modest beginnings of onscreen genre seriousness.— Ian Freer

78.  The Maltese Falcon (1941)

The accepted wisdom is that the noir era really kicked off during the hard-bitten post-WWII years, which makes John Huston’s adaptation of Dashiell Hammett's detective novel a real trailblazer. It’s a template for the swathe of noir flicks that would follow, offering up a jaded-but-noble gumshoe in Humphrey Bogart’s Sam Spade, a femme fatale (Mary Astor), a couple of shifty villains (Sydney Greenstreet, Peter Lorre) and a labyrinthine plot that drags you around by the nose. If the movie were any more hard-boiled, you’d crack your teeth on it.— Phil de Semlyen

79.  This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Exploding drummers, amps that go to 11, tiny Stonehenges, “Dobly”: This spoof rock documentary—rockumentary, if you must—is monumentally influential on cinema, cringe comedy and, possibly, the music industry itself. (There’s not a band out there without at least one Spinal Tap moment to its name.) Christopher Guest, Michael McKean and Harry Shearer are comic royalty, and we can only genuflect in their presence; shortly after this film, Guest kicked off his own directorial brand of humor, directly inspired by Rob Reiner’s heavy-metal satire.— Phil de Semlyen

80.  It Happened One Night (1934)

If only Hollywood made ’em like they used to: crackling romantic comedies that conquered the Oscars. Frank Capra’s hilarious hate-at-first-sight love story is still one of the fastest movies ever made. Claudette Colbert’s spoiled heiress and Clark Gable’s opportunistic reporter hit the road and bicker their way toward a happily-ever-after ending, class barriers be damned. Not only did this smart and suggestively sexy pre-Code screwball shape every rom-com that followed, it still has a leg up on most of them.— Tomris Laffly

81.  Die Hard (1988)

Let’s get this out of the way: Die Hard is a Christmas movie. Deal with it. Another, less controversial statement about John McTiernan’s blockbuster: it’s the platonic ideal of an action movie, and Bruce Willis as wiseass New York cop John McClane is the coolest action hero of all-time. The sequels would stretch the limits of his charisma by getting bigger and stupider, but the original hits the perfect amount of big and brash, as McClane attempts to thwart the plans of a European terrorist group that’s seized an LA high-rise and taken his wife hostage. But the truest reason Die Hard succeeds to the degree it does – aside from the cracking dialogue, spectacular stunts and small details, i.e. McClane being forced to fight a bunch of terrorists in his bare foot – is that McClane has the ideal foil in Alan Rickman’s Hans Gruber, who might also be the best action movie villain of all-time, an erudite pseudo-revolutionary who makes it clear that he reads Forbes and doesn’t much care for garrulous American cowboys.

82.  The Conformist (1970)

Is it sacrilege to declare that the best-looking film set in Paris was shot by a couple of Italians? Bernardo Bertolucci and his cinematographer Vittorio Storaro bathe the French capital – as well as the neoclassical edifices of Mussolini’s Rome – in cool blues and shards of light as sharp as the knives wielded against the left-wing professor that Jean-Louis Trintignant’s fascist assassin, Clerici, is ordered to kill. Given a murkier, darker ending than Alberto Moravia’s source novel, it’s an electrifying thriller full of shadowy figures, sex and betrayal. But it’s as a highly charged political screed where its real power lies. A weak, cynical man with repressed desires, Clerici is powerless to resist the violent orthodoxy of fascism. The poisonous allure of authoritarianism has never been so chilling – or stylishly – rendered as this.— Phil de Semlyen

83.  The Thing (1982)

Neither audiences nor critics were ready for John Carpenter’s remake of 1951’s The Thing from Another World , and who could blame them? Its special effects were next level, but even if you appreciated Rob Bottin’s innovative gore, there was a lingering sense that they overshadowed the rest of the film. Decades on, it’s easier to see all the other things that make The Thing not just Carpenter’s masterpiece but one of the greatest achievements in horror: the snowbound claustrophobia; the overwhelming paranoia; Ennio Morricone’s pulsating synth score; the terrific ensemble cast. And yes, the effects remain eye-popping and stomach-turning – in the end, though, it’s the final, quiet image, of two men locking eyes, unsure if the other is actually a human being at all, that lodges deepest in your memory.— Matthew Singer

84.  Daughters of the Dust (1991)

Writer-director Julie Dash should have become an Ava DuVernay-level success after her poetic feature debut, an achievement of otherworldly beauty. The first film made by an African-American woman to receive theatrical distribution, Daughters of the Dust is permeated with pride, history and matriarchal wisdom. Set in 1902, it follows the Gullah, descendents of slaves living off the coast of South Carolina, who painfully reckon with their fading traditions. Singularly ahead of its time, Daughters mourns the enduring tragedy of enslavement. Its tranquil strength later found an echo in Beyoncé’s Lemonade .— Tomris Laffly

85.  Barry Lyndon (1975)

Back in 1975, Stanley Kubrick’s somber adaptation of William Makepeace Thackeray’s novel about a young Irishman’s journey from lovestruck exile to cynical grifter in 18th-century Europe seemed out of step with the gritty, intense output of contemporary cinema. Years later, it’s considered by many to be Kubrick’s masterpiece, and its deliberate, highly aestheticized approach has influenced everybody from Ridley Scott to Yorgos Lanthimos.— Bilge Ebiri

86.  Raging Bull (1980)

Martin Scorsese’s hallucinogenic biography of the tenacious boxer Jake LaMotta (Robert De Niro) is a bold mash-up of neorealist grit and hyperstylized, gossamer beauty. Put on the gloves and LaMotta is in his element; take them off and he’s an insecure sociopath consumed by sexual jealousy. De Niro’s monstrous portrayal is miraculously empathetic, but what’s truly revolutionary is Scorsese’s technique: Like a modern-day Verdi, the Italian-American auteur elevates the profane to the operatic.— Stephen Garrett

87.  Seven (1995)

David Fincher is the most signature director of his era: a crafter of iconic music videos and decade-defining dramas like Zodiac and The Social Network . But his transition to Hollywood was rocky; it was a town that barely understood him. The turning point was Seven , the first time that Fincher’s fearsome vision arrived uncut. Stylistically, the dark movie (shot by an inspired Darius Khondji, working with a silver-nitrate-retention process) has proven more durable than even The Silence of the Lambs , but it’s that meme-able sucker punch of an ending that still rattles audiences.— Joshua Rothkopf

88.  Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

Ever-overshadowed by the Herculean feat that was Fitzcarraldo , Werner Herzog’s other exploration of male vainglory in the remotest parts of South America applies another coolly obversational lens to the malignant madness of out-of-control obsession. It’s colder, greedier here: Klaus Kinski’s conquistador craves gold, not culture. Featuring a river journey, a haunting, synthy Popul Voh score and a bunch of taunting monkeys, it’s Herzog’s Apocalypse Now .— Phil de Semlyen

89.  The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Political thrillers still owe a debt to Gillo Pontecorvo’s ever-timely tour de force. Recounting the Algerian uprising against French colonial occupiers in the 1950s, The Battle of Algiers boldly examines terrorism, racism and even torture as a means of intelligence-gathering. Screened at the Pentagon for its topical significance during the early phases of the Iraq War, Algiers has its rebellious legacy vested in numerous politically charged epics, from Z to Steven Spielberg’s Munich .— Tomris Laffly

90.  No Country for Old Men (2007)

Cormac McCarthy and the Coen brothers are a match made in the most dry, desiccated and violent corner of heaven. The filmmaking duo’s fixation with choice, chance and fate reaches its apex with their adaptation of the late author’s 2005 novel – which began life as a screenplay – an existentialist neo-Western that still functions as a gripping piece of entertainment. Its premise is the stuff of bygone pulp thrillers: a hunter in a West Texas border town circa 1980 stumbles upon the aftermath of a botched drug deal in the desert, decides to take off with a satchel full of money, pursued by both a relentless hitman (Javier Bardem) and an exhausted sheriff (Tommy Lee Jones). But an almost otherworldly sense of mystery hangs over the entire film, while Roger Deakins’ cinematography makes its dusty trailer towns feel like the edge of the Earth. It’s the Coens’ most frightening movie, owing to Bardem’s bravura turn as Anton Chigurh, a psychopath on the level of Jason Voorhees, with a pageboy haircut in place of a hockey mask and a cattle gun as his weapon of choice. It’s one of the great villain performances of all time. — Matthew Singer

91.  Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)

Pedro Almodóvar broke into the mainstream with this gloriously colorful ensemble comedy, an entry point for many into a style of smart, sexually liberated European cinema. Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown offers juicy roles for a range of Spain’s finest female actors (plus a charmingly baby-faced Antonio Banderas) and consistently delights with its creative choices in costuming and interior design. The combination of screwball dynamics and the garishness of the 1980s is perfectly calibrated and fun.— Abbey Bender

92.  The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)

Movies have always been a gateway into radical art; Hollywood may have made them sleek and accessible, but experimentation was there from the start. Luis Buñuel counts among the top rank of dreamers to ever grace the field of filmmaking. Without him, there’s no David Lynch, no Wong Kar-wai—even Alfred Hitchcock was a fan. Of Buñuel’s many seismic features (don’t skip his slicin’-up-eyeballs short, “Un Chien Andalou”), begin with this radical satire of class warfare, which sums up everything he did well. It even won him an unlikely Oscar.— Joshua Rothkopf

93.  Paths of Glory (1957)

An antiwar movie, a courtroom thriller, an upstairs-downstairs study of social status, a religious critique, an absurdist satire and, finally, a heartbreakingly futile plea for compassion in the face of destruction, Stanley Kubrick’s humanist masterpiece dissects all the delusional facets of the male psyche. Battlegrounds abound—psychological, emotional, physical—making the bleakly entrenched soldiers of 1916, and the officers who confuse folly for fame, still feel painfully relevant.— Stephen Garrett

94.  Secrets & Lies (1996)

Actors are the lifeblood of director Mike Leigh’s famous process, a much-discussed method of workshopping, character exploration, group improvisation and collaborative writing. It can often be months before the camera rolls. The results have been consistently exquisite over the years, funneled into period musical-comedies ( Topsy-Turvy ) and brutal contemporary dramas ( Naked ) alike. We recommend Leigh’s critical breakthrough, featuring nervy turns by Brenda Blethyn and Timothy Spall, as the perfect place to begin your deep dive.— Joshua Rothkopf

95.  Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

This smoky, jazzy noir from director Alexander Mackendrick ( The Ladykillers ) is one of the great movies about power, influence and print journalism at its midcentury height. It’s a seedy, intoxicating tale that unfolds in Manhattan’s backroom bar booths, and it features brain-searing performances from Tony Curtis as Sidney Falco, a bottom-feeding gossip monger, and Burt Lancaster as J.J. Hunsecker, a towering, corrupt newspaper columnist. The dialogue is snappy and delicious; the morals are as empty as Times Square at dawn— Dave Calhoun

96.  The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920)

This German Expressionist masterpiece came out in 1920, a long time before the invention of the spoiler warning. We only hope that audience members instinctively knew not to give away cinema’s first ever twist ending and ruin the sting of this fractured horror-fable for their pals. Director Robert Wiene conjured up something truly dark and lingering from its shadows: You can feel Dr. Caligari ’s influence in everything from Tim Burton’s movies to Shutter Island .— Phil de Semlyen

97.  Nashville (1975)

This multilayered epic of country music, politics and relationships is Robert Altman’s signature achievement. With its overlapping dialogue and roving camera, Nashville created an earthy, idiosyncratic panorama of American life, featuring many of the most memorable actors of the decade. The 1970s were U.S. cinema’s most exciting period, and Nashville —broadened by its admirable scope and freewheeling energy—is emblematic of that creativity.— Abbey Bender

98.  Don’t Look Now (1973)

Nicolas Roeg influenced and inspired a generation of filmmakers, from Danny Boyle to Steven Soderbergh – and here’s why. Roeg shrouds Daphne du Maurier’s short story in an icy chill, seeding the idea of supernatural forces at play in a wintry Venice through sheer filmmaking craft and the power of his editing. He finds a deep humanity in the horror, too, with Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland’s grieving parents reconnecting and drifting apart like flotsam on some invisible tide. His masterpiece, Don’t Look Now remains a primal cry of grief that shakes you to the core.— Phil de Semlyen

99.  Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Arthur Penn’s game-changing action film was made in the same spirit of the revisionist Westerns of the ’60s and ’70s—irreverent, fun, morally all over the place, and unafraid of blood and bullets. The movie takes us back to the 1930s during the legendary crime spree of lovers Bonnie Parker (Faye Dunaway) and Clyde Barrow (Warren Beatty), careening around Depression-era America and robbing it blind. Why did this film resonate so well at the end of its decade? With the Vietnam War, inner-city rioting and Nixon on the rise, all bets were off. Add the swoony pair of Beatty and Dunaway, and you’ve got a classic on your hands: a revolution in period dress.— Dave Calhoun

100.  Get Out (2017)

Watch this space: Jordan Peele’s newly minted horror classic is sure to rise in the rankings. Taking cues from grand master George A. Romero and his counterculture-defining Night of the Living Dead , Peele infused white liberal guilt with a scary racial subtext; the “sunken place” is precisely the kind of metaphor that only horror movies can exploit to the fullest. During its theatrical run—which stretched into a summer that also saw the white-supremacist Charlottesville rally— Get Out felt like the only movie speaking to a deepening divide.— Joshua Rothkopf

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1. Dekalog (1988)

2. the leopard (re-release), 4. the conformist, 5. the godfather, 6. lawrence of arabia (re-release), 7. three colors: red, 8. tokyo story, 9. citizen kane, 10. rear window, 11. casablanca, 12. vertigo, 13. notorious, 14. fanny and alexander (re-release), 15. singin' in the rain, 16. playtime, 17. touch of evil, 18. army of shadows, 19. city lights, 20. moonlight, 21. intolerance, 22. the rules of the game, 23. pinocchio, 24. seven samurai.

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The Best Movie Reviews We’ve Ever Written — IndieWire Critics Survey

David ehrlich.

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Every week, IndieWire asks a select handful of film critics two questions and publishes the results on Monday. (The answer to the second, “What is the best film in theaters right now?”, can be found at the end of this post.)

While this survey typically asks smart critics to direct readers toward good movies, we hope that the reverse is also true, and that these posts help movies (good or bad) direct readers towards smart critics. 

In that spirit, we asked our panel of critics to reflect on their favorite piece of film criticism that they’ve ever written (and we encouraged them to put aside any sort of modesty when doing so).

Their responses provide rich and far-reaching insight into contemporary film criticism, and what those who practice it are hoping to achieve with their work.

Siddhant Adlakha (@SidizenKane), Freelance for The Village Voice and /Film

Let’s cut right to the chase. Christopher Nolan is probably my favourite working director, and going five thousand words deep on his career after “Dunkirk” was an itch I’d been waiting to scratch for nearly a decade. “The Dark Knight” was my dorm-room poster movie — I’m part of the generation that explored films through the IMDb Top 250 growing up — though as my cinematic horizons expanded and my understanding of storytelling grew, I didn’t leave Nolan’s work behind as I did the likes of “Scarface” and “The Boondock Saints.” What’s more, each new film by Nolan hits me like a tonne of bricks. I’m waiting, almost eagerly, for him to disappoint me. It hasn’t happened yet, and I needed to finally sit down and figure out why.

In “Convergence At ‘Dunkirk,’” by far the longest piece I’ve ever written, I’d like to think I unpacked a decade worth of my awe and admiration, for a filmmaker who uses the studio canvas to explore human beings through our relationship to time. Tarkovsky referred to cinema as “sculpting in time.” Time disorients. Time connects us. Time travels, at different speeds, depending on one’s relationship to it, whether in dreams or in war or in outer space, and time can be captured, explored and dissected on screen.

What’s more, Nolan’s films manipulate truth as much as time, as another force relative to human perception, determining our trajectories and interpersonal dynamics in fundamental ways. All this is something I think I knew, instinctively, as a teenage viewer, but putting words to these explorations, each from a different time yet connected intrinsically, is the written criticism that I most stand by. It felt like something that I was meant to write, as I interrogated my own evolving emotional responses to art as time went on.

Carlos Aguilar (@Carlos_Film), Freelance for Remezcla

At the 2017 Sundance premiere of Miguel Arteta’s “Beatriz at Dinner,” starring Salma Hayek, I found myself in shock at the reactions I heard from the mostly-white audience at the Eccles Theatre. I was watching a different movie, one that spoke to me as an immigrant, a Latino, and someone who’s felt out of place in spaces dominated by people who’ve never been asked, “Where are you really from?” That night I went back to the condo and wrote a mountain of thoughts and personal anecdotes that mirrored what I saw on screen.

This was a much different piece from what I had usually written up to that point: coverage on the Best Foreign Language Oscar race, pieces on animation, interviews with internationally acclaimed directors, and reviews out of festivals. Those are my intellectual passions, this; however, was an examination on the identity that I had to built as an outsider to navigate a society were people like me rarely get the jobs I want.

My editor at Remezcla, Vanessa Erazo, was aware of the piece from the onset and was immediately supportive, but it would take months for me to mull it over and rework it through multiple drafts until it was ready for publication in time for the film’s theatrical release. In the text, I compared my own encounters with casual racism and ignorance with those Hayek’s character faces throughout the fateful gathering at the center of the film. The reception surpassed all my expectations. The article was shared thousands of times, it was praised, it was criticized, and it truly confronted me with the power that my writing could have.

A few months later in September, when Trump rescinded DACA, I wrote a social media post on my experience as an undocumented person working in the film industry, and how difficult it is to share that struggle in a world were most people don’t understand what it means to live a life in the shadows. The post was picked up by The Wrap and republished in the form of an op-ed, which I hope put a new face on the issue for those who didn’t directly knew anyone affected by it before. Once again that piece on “Beatriz at Dinner” regained meaning as I found myself filled with uncertainty.

Ken Bakely (@kbake_99), Freelance for Film Pulse

Like many writers, I tend to subconsciously disown anything I’ve written more than a few months ago, so I read this question, in practice, as what’s my favorite thing I’ve written recently. On that front, I’d say that the review of “Phantom Thread” that I wrote over at my blog comes the closest to what I most desire to do as a critic. I try to think about a movie from every front: how the experience is the result of each aspect, in unique quantities and qualities, working together. It’s not just that the acting is compelling or the score is enveloping, it’s that each aspect is so tightly wound that it’s almost indistinguishable from within itself. A movie is not an algebra problem. You can’t just plug in a single value and have everything fall into place.

“Phantom Thread” is Paul Thomas Anderson’s dreamy cinematography. It is Jonny Greenwood’s impeccably seductive, baroque music. It is Vicky Krieps’s ability to perfectly shatter our preconceptions at every single turn as we realize that Alma is the movie’s actual main character. We often talk about how good films would be worse-off if some part of it were in any way different. In the case of “Phantom Thread,” you flat-out can’t imagine how it would even exist if these things were changed. When so many hot take thinkpieces try to explain away every ending or take a hammer to delicate illusions, it was a pleasure to try and understand how a movie like this one operates on all fronts to maintain an ongoing sense of mystique.

Christian Blauvelt (@Ctblauvelt), BBC Culture

I don’t know if it’s my best work, but a landmark in my life as a critic was surely a review of Chaplin’s “The Circus,” in time for the release of its restoration in 2010. I cherish this piece , written for Slant Magazine, for a number of reasons. For one, I felt deeply honored to shed more light on probably the least known and least respected of Chaplin’s major features, because it’s a film that demonstrates such technical virtuosity it dispels once and for all any notion that his work is uncinematic. (Yes, but what about the rest of his filmography you ask? My response is that any quibbles about the immobility of Chaplin’s camera suggest an ardent belief that the best directing equals the most directing.) For another, I was happy this review appeared in Slant Magazine, a publication that helped me cut my critical teeth and has done the same for a number of other critics who’ve gone on to write or edit elsewhere. That Slant is now struggling to endure in this financially ferocious landscape for criticism is a shame – the reviews I wrote for them around 2009-10 helped me refine my voice even that much more than my concurrent experience at Entertainment Weekly, where I had my day job. And finally, this particular review will always mean a lot to me because it’s the first one I wrote that I saw posted in its entirety on the bulletin board at Film Forum. For me, there was no surer sign that “I’d made it”.

Richard Brody (@tnyfrontrow), The New Yorker

No way would I dare to recommend any pieces of my own, but I don’t mind mentioning a part of my work that I do with special enthusiasm. Criticism, I think, is more than the three A’s (advocacy, analysis, assessment); it’s prophetic, seeing the future of the art from the movies that are on hand. Yet many of the most forward-looking, possibility-expanding new films are in danger of passing unnoticed (or even being largely dismissed) due to their departure from familiar modes or norms, and it’s one of my gravest (though also most joyful) responsibilities to pay attention to movies that may be generally overlooked despite (or because of) their exceptional qualities. (For that matter, I live in fear of missing a movie that needs such attention.)

But another aspect of that same enthusiasm is the discovery of the unrealized future of the past—of great movies made and seen (or hardly seen) in recent decades that weren’t properly discussed and justly acclaimed in their time.”. Since one of the critical weapons used against the best of the new is an ossified and nostalgic classicism, the reëvaluation of what’s canonical, the acknowledgment of unheralded masterworks—and of filmmakers whose careers have been cavalierly truncated by industry indifference—is indispensable to and inseparable from the thrilling recognition of the authentically new.

Deany Hendrick Cheng (@DeandrickLamar), Freelance for Barber’s Chair Digital

It’s a piece on two of my favorite films of 2017, “Lady Bird” and “Call Me By Your Name”, and about how their very different modes of storytelling speak to the different sorts of stories we tell ourselves. Objectively, I don’t know if this is my best work in terms of pure style and craft, but I do think it’s the most emblematic in terms of what I value in cinema. I think every film is, in some way, a treatise on how certain memories are remembered, and I think cinema matters partly because the best examples of it are prisms through which the human experience is refracted.

Above everything else, every movie has to begin with a good story, and the greatest stories are the ones that mirror not just life, but the ways in which life is distorted and restructured through the process of remembering. Every aspect of a film, from its screenplay on down, must add something to the film’s portrayal of remembering, and “Lady Bird” and “Call Me By Your Name” accomplish this organic unity of theme with such charm yet in such distinct ways, that they were the perfect counterpoints to each other, as well as the perfect stand-ins for cinema as a whole, for me.

Liam Conlon (@Flowtaro), Ms En Scene

My favorite piece of my own work is definitely  “The Shape of Water’s” Strickland as the “Ur-American.”  I’m proud of it because it required me to really take stock of all the things that Americans are taught from birth to take as given. That meant looking at our history of colonialism, imperialism, racism, anticommunism and really diving into how all Americans, whether they’re liberal or conservative, can internalize these things unless they take the time to self-examine. Just as “Pan’s Labyrinth’s” despotic Captain Vidal was a masterful representation of Francisco Franco’s fascism, Richard Strickland represents a distinctly American kind of fascism. Writers Guillermo del Toro and Vanessa Taylor took great care in Strickland’s creation, and my piece was my own way of self-examining to make sure I never become or abide by a person like Strickland ever again.

Robert Daniels (@812filmreviews), Freelance

This is tricky, but “Annihilation” is definitely my favorite piece of film criticism that I’ve written. My writing style is a combination of criticism and gifs, and sometimes the words are better than the gifs, and the gifs are better than the words. With “Annihilation,” I thought the balance was perfect . My favorite portion: “Lena is just an idea, part of an equation that’s been erased from a chalkboard and rewritten with a different solution. The shimmer is part of her, even down to the DNA” is up there as one of my best. It was also a struggle to write because that film had more wild theories than the Aliens in Roswell. Also, the amount of research I had to do, combining Plato’s Ideal Forms, Darwin, the Bible, and Nietzsche, was absurd. However, it did make it easier to find matching gifs. The result made for my most studious, yet lighthearted read.

Alonso Duralde (@ADuralde), The Wrap

I’m the worst judge of my own material; there’s almost nothing I’ve ever written that I don’t want to pick at and re-edit, no matter how much time has passed. But since, for me, the hardest part of film criticism is adequately praising a movie you truly love, then by default my best review would probably be of one of my favorite films of all time, Charlie Kaufman’s “Synecdoche, New York.”

David Ehrlich (@davidehrlich), IndieWire

I can’t summon the strength to re-read it, but I remember thinking that my piece on grief and “Personal Shopper” was emblematic of how I hope to thread individual perspective into arts criticism.

Shelley Farmer (@ShelleyBFarmer), Freelance for RogerEbert.com and Publicist at Film Forum

My favorite piece is a very recent one: For this year’s Women Writers Week on Roger Ebert, I wrote about “Phantom Thread”, “Jane Eyre,” and twisted power dynamics in hetero romance . I loved that it allowed me to dig deep into my personal fixations (19th century literature, gender, romance as power struggle), but – more importantly – it was exciting to be part of a series that highlighted the breadth of criticism by women writers.

Chris Feil (@chrisvfeil), Freelance for The Film Experience, This Had Oscar Buzz Podcast

My answer to this would be kind of a cheat, as my favorite work that I do is my weekly column about movie music called Soundtracking that I write over at The Film Experience. Soundtracks and needle drops have been a personal fascination, so the opportunity to explore the deeper meaning and context of a film’s song choices have been a real labor of love. Because of the demands and time constraints of what we do, it can be easy to spend our all of our energy on assignments and chasing freelance opportunities rather than devoting time to a pet project – but I’ve found indulging my own uncommon fascination to be invaluable in developing my point of view. And serve as a constant check-in with my passion. Pushed for a single entry that I would choose as the best, I would choose the piece I wrote on “Young Adult”‘s use of “The Concept” by Teenage Fanclub for how it posits a single song as the key to unlocking both character and narrative.

Candice Frederick (@ReelTalker), Freelance for Shondaland, Harper’s Bazaar

“ Mother ” written for Vice. It’s one of my favorites because it conveys how visceral my experience was watching the movie. It’s truly stifling, uncomfortable, and frantic–and that’s what my review explains in detail. I wanted to have a conversation with the reader about specific aspects of the film that support the thesis, so I did.

Luiz Gustavo (@luizgvt), Cronico de Cinema

Well, I recently wrote a piece for Gazeta do Povo, a major outlet at Paraná state in Brazil, about Guillermo del Toro’s “The Shape of Water” (it is not on their site, but they were kind enough to let me replicate on my own website ). I don’t know the extent of the powers of Google Translator from Portugese to english, so you have to rely on my own account: is a text in which I was able to articulate de cinematographic references in the work of Mr. Del Toro, as well his thematic obsessions, the genre bending and social critique. All of this topics were analyzed in a fluid prose. On top of that, it was really fun to write!

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TAGGED AS: Certified Fresh , Classic Film , movies

The 100% Club: An Ode to Movies With a Perfect Tomatometer Score

Welcome to the 100% Club, where every movie isn’t necessarily perfect, but their Tomatometers are. A place where all the critic reviews are Fresh, as far as the eye can see, without a Rotten mark to disrupt all the 1s and their attendant 0s in the percentage scores.

It’s a tough road for a movie to get a 100% with critics, fraught with peril. What if a small plot hole is big enough to irk a persnickety reviewer? What if the cinematographer didn’t show up that one day for a crucial scene? What if there was a bum performance from one of the background extras?

There’s the old industry adage that no one sets out to make out a bad movie. On the flip side, you’re almost jinxing it if you think the one you’re working on is going to be the one that makes every last cynical, benevolent critic crack a smirk and think, “Yeah, that was freaking awesome.” But the movies here have done just that, ranging from masterpieces of the silent era up until the new classics of today that tap into the pulse of the zeitgeist. Because it’s “relatively” easy to get a 100% score after that first handful of reviews (five is the minimum count for a movie to get its Tomatometer), every film listed here has at least crossed the Certified Fresh threshold.  Then we sorted them by movies with more reviews featured higher up.

If you’re a discerning watcher with only time for some of the best movies of all time, you’re come to the right place. It’s time to pack that queue with the legends of cinema with our guide to every Certified Fresh movie with a 100% Tomatometer score! — Alex Vo

Leave No Trace (2018) 100%

Toy Story 2 (1999) 100%

Man on Wire (2008) 100%

Honeyland (2019) 100%

Minding the Gap (2018) 100%

His House (2020) 100%

The Philadelphia Story (1940) 100%

76 Days (2020) 100%

Crip Camp (2020) 100%

Summer 1993 (2017) 100%

The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) 100%

Toy Story (1995) 100%

One Cut of the Dead (2017) 100%

No Bears (2022) 99%

Seven Samurai (1954) 100%

Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) 100%

Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) 100%

Quo vadis, aida (2020) 100%.

Singin' in the Rain (1952) 100%

Welcome to Chechnya (2020) 100%

Hive (2021) 100%

Deliver Us From Evil (2006) 100%

Poetry (2010) 100%

Waste Land (2010) 100%

The Square (2013) 100%

Seymour: An Introduction (2014) 100%

All In: The Fight for Democracy (2020) 100%

The Terminator (1984) 100%

Laura (1944) 100%

Mucho Mucho Amor: The Legend of Walter Mercado (2020) 100%

Still Walking (2008) 100%

Afghan Star (2009) 100%

Dawson City: Frozen Time (2016) 100%

The Last Picture Show (1971) 98%

M (1931) 100%

Slalom (2020) 100%

12 Angry Men (1957) 100%

Athlete A (2020) 100%

Pinocchio (1940) 100%

Only Yesterday (1991) 100%

Three Colors: Red (1994) 100%

The Work (2017) 100%

Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds (2016) 100%

Attica (2021) 100%

Last Train Home (2009) 100%

Tampopo (1985) 100%

A Secret Love (2020) 100%

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) 100%

O.J.: Made in America (2016) 100%

Chained for Life (2018) 100%

Coded Bias (2020) 100%

Cool Hand Luke (1967) 100%

Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 100%

Anatomy of a Murder (1959) 100%

The Gold Rush (1925) 100%

White Riot (2019) 100%

Woodlands Dark and Days Bewitched: A History of Folk Horror (2021) 100%

3 1/2 Minutes, Ten Bullets (2015) 100%

The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) 100%

The Grapes of Wrath (1940) 100%

The Kid (1921) 100%

Slay the Dragon (2019) 100%

Tokyo Story (1953) 100%

The Age of Shadows (2016) 100%

Battleship Potemkin (1925) 100%

Hannah Gadsby: Nanette (2018) 100%

Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) 100%

Before Sunrise (1995) 100%

Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2010) 100%

Nostalgia for the Light (2010) 100%

Strong Island (2017) 100%

Open City (1945) 100%

Sabaya (2021) 100%

Stagecoach (1939) 100%

The Wages of Fear (1953) 100%

Sound City (2013) 100%

A Thousand Cuts (2020) 100%

We Were Here (2011) 100%

Coup 53 (2019) 100%

Fireworks Wednesday (2006) 100%

Ilo Ilo (2013) 100%

Mickey and the Bear (2019) 100%

Nights of Cabiria (1957) 100%

Rewind (2019) 100%

Scream, Queen! My Nightmare on Elm Street (2019) 100%

Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) 100%

Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) 100%

Maedchen in Uniform (1931) 100%

Mayor (2020) 100%

Grave of the Fireflies (1988) 100%

My Journey Through French Cinema (2016) 100%

Paper Spiders (2021) 100%

Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness (2011) 100%

Stalker (1979) 100%

The Woman Who Ran (2019) 98%

Changing the Game (2019) 100%

Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) 100%

Top Hat (1935) 100%

Acasa, My Home (2020) 100%

More Than Honey (2012) 100%

Mystify: Michael Hutchence (2019) 100%

Sugar Cane Alley (1983) 100%

California Typewriter (2016) 100%

The Decline of Western Civilization (1981) 100%

Stop Making Sense (1984) 100%

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What Makes a Movie the Greatest of All Time?

By Eric Grode ,  Weiyi Cai ,  Rumsey Taylor and Josh Williams Dec. 2, 2022

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The much-respected Sight and Sound poll of the best films ever shows that what is valued onscreen has changed over time, sometimes radically.

By Eric Grode . Produced by Weiyi Cai , Rumsey Taylor and Josh Williams . Dec. 2, 2022

What are the greatest films of all time? Everyone from IMDb to the American Film Institute to your favorite podcast has tried to answer this. But for many cineastes, a poll conducted once a decade by the British film magazine Sight and Sound has served as the gold standard since 1952.

Roger Ebert once described the survey as “by far the most respected of the countless polls of great movies — the only one most serious movie people take seriously.”

And for a very long time, the same “serious movies” got taken seriously decade after decade. The new list , however, marks several radical shifts from the accepted wisdom — and maybe, just maybe, from the idea of a “canon” altogether.

1. “Bicycle Thieves”

1. Vittorio De Sica ("De" is capped per iMDB and Wiki)

At the start, when Sight and Sound asked 85 critics to submit their all-time Top 10 lists, just 63 responded. Top honors went to Vittorio De Sica’s neorealist drama “ Bicycle Thieves ,” which had been released a mere four years earlier.

Following it was a curious blend of the popular (two Charlie Chaplin films, “ City Lights ” and “Gold Rush,” tied for No. 2) …

the lavish (“ Intolerance ”) …

and the austere ( “The Passion of Joan of Arc” ).

The list even made room for “ Le Million ,” a French musical comedy about a missing lottery ticket.

In 1962 , Sight and Sound returned with a bigger set of respondents — and a drastically different set of winners.

“ Bicycle Thieves ” still made the cut, as did Sergei Eisenstein’s “ Battleship Potemkin .”

But no more lottery tickets or Little Tramps. And the top spot went to a newcomer that would get pretty comfortable as No. 1 …

“ Citizen Kane ,” Orson Welles’s paper-thinly veiled William Randolph Hearst biopic.

It would sit atop Sight and Sound’s rankings for the next half century. And during that time, a fairly sturdy canon of Great Films settled into place …

with such titans as Jean Renoir (“The Rules of the Game”)…

Yasujir o Ozu (“Tokyo Story”)…

and Federico Fellini (“8½”) taking up seemingly permanent residence on the survey.

If you took a Film 101 class in college in the late 20th century, there’s a decent chance your syllabus looked a lot like the 1972 Top 10 list .

The preponderance of certain directors added to the sometimes clubbish vibe: In 1972, Welles and Ingmar Bergman alone were responsible for more than a third of what the respondents considered the greatest films of all time.

In 1982 Alfred Hitchcock finally made his first appearance. Horror and suspense were (and still are) largely outsiders in Great Film discussions, but here we see “ Vertigo ” enter at No. 7 …

and creep north until, by 2012, it had supplanted “Citizen Kane” in the top spot, generating headlines around the world like Slate’s “Three Theories for How ‘Vertigo’ Dethroned ‘Kane.’”

Still, every film but one in the 2012 Top 10 had appeared on at least one previous list.

But when this year’s Sight and Sound list was unveiled on Dec. 1, the list featured surprises galore.

Nearly half of the elite Top 10 were newcomers , including No. 1 — a title that very few people saw coming …

Chantal Akerman’s “ Jeanne Dielman, 23, Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles .”

It’s a pioneering work of slow cinema — in one unbroken shot, the title character makes a meatloaf for more than three minutes — and represents the first appearance of any female director in any Sight and Sound Top 10.

And she’s not alone. Claire Denis’s “ Beau Travail ” is joining her.

As it happened, those films made their first appearances in 2012, when Sight and Sound’s rankings went well beyond the Top 10.

That transparency was also evident this year, allowing the idiosyncrasies of individual lists to poke through. The two Top 100 lists make room for quirkier titles like “ Blade Runner ” …

and for influential short films like “ La Jetée .”

But the 2022 reshuffle also meant five films from the previous Top 10 list needed to go, among them the only title to have charted every single decade since 1952. Sorry, Renoir, that’s just “ The Rules of the Game .”

Early in the poll’s history, respondents were often willing to honor recently released titles. (You could only go back so far into film history in 1952!)

But not since 1992, when “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968) made the Top 10, had any film less than 25 years old been charted.

That changed in a big way this year, with no fewer than three films from the last quarter-century in the Top 10: “ In the Mood for Love ” (2000), “ Beau Travail ” (1999) and “ Mulholland Drive ” (2001).

Those 63 Sight and Sound voters in 1952 have given way to more than 1,600 in 2022, and the more extensive vote tabulations allow for a deeper look into trends in the Top 100.

Akerman and Denis , the first women to ever appear on the list, made it into the Top 100 in 2012 …

and were joined this year by seven other women : Céline Sciamma, Julie Dash, Maya Deren, Agnès Varda, Vera Chytilova, Barbara Loden and Jane Campion. ( Akerman and Varda were recognized twice.)

Not a single Black American filmmaker made the Top 100 in 2012. This year there are five, led by Spike Lee and “ Do the Right Thing ” at No. 24.

And is directing the 60th-greatest film of all time not sufficient to land Julie Dash , the only Black woman on the list, funding for her subsequent projects?

The French new wave is well represented and Japanese films continue to make a strong showing.

But in addition to being more inclusive, this decade's list is more global, with new entries from New Zealand (“ The Piano ”), Czechoslovakia (“ Daisies ”), South Korea (“ Parasite ”) and Thailand (“ Tropical Malady ”).

The Thai film “ Tropical Malady ,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s enigmatic romantic drama, also reflects an increased recognition of L.G.B.T.Q.-themed films.

Two of those Japanese titles, both from Studio Ghibli, remain the only animated films to make the list. Maybe next decade, Disney and Pixar.

And horror is surprisingly well represented in 2022. (Don’t forget that dumpster scene in “ Mulholland Drive ”!)

For all the arguments over the greatest year in film history — 1939, 1999, etc. — it looks like strong cases could be made for 1960 and 1966 , based on this year’s list.

And if it’s any consolation to Hitchcock after losing the top spot, he is one of the two most honored filmmakers on the list, with “Rear Window” and “North by Northwest” joining “Vertigo” and “ Psycho ” in the Top 100.

He’s tied with Jean-Luc Godard , the “ Breathless ” director, who died in September. Godard once called Hitchcock the “greatest creator of forms of the 20th century.”

By contrast, Godard’s old nemesis Bergman saw three of his four Top 100 titles vanish this year. Only “ Persona ” remains.

Also gone from the Top 100 altogether: Welles’s famously mangled “ The Magnificent Ambersons ,” which was nestled in Top 10 lists as recently as 1982.

And whether it’s Frank Capra or Steven Spielberg, Werner Herzog or Ernst Lubitsch, Quentin Tarantino or Howard Hawks, we can probably all agree that somebody is missing.

(On a personal note, a world where “Dr. Strangelove” is neither a Top 100 film nor even one of Stanley Kubrick’s three best works is not one I care to inhabit.)

There’s always 2032. What will the next list bring? Well, 18 of the directors on this year’s list are still alive , which is encouraging. If this list is any indication, a handful of future entries haven’t been made yet.

And look down at No. 41, near “Rear Window” and “Rashomon.” “ Bicycle Thieves ” is sitting there patiently, perhaps waiting for its time back in the spotlight of serious movie people everywhere.

An earlier version of this article misstated the number of films on the 2012 Top 10 that had previously appeared on a list. Nine titles had ranked in earlier decades, not all 10.

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The 100 Best Movies Of All Time

It’s a big question: what are the best movies of all time? And it’s one with many answers – there are all kinds of reasons why the greatest films ever made endure in the way they do. They create unforgettable images, conjure overwhelming emotions, craft thrilling stories, and deliver characters who leap off the screen. There’s astonishing technical mastery that brings those stories to life, plots that twist and turn in all kinds of unexpected ways, performances that help us fall head-over-heels for people who don’t exist, and transcendent experiences that change our heads and hearts. The best films – from classic movies that have stood the test of time, to contemporary works that changed the game – offer heartwarming comfort, iconic scares, big laughs, and pulse-pounding suspense, becoming firm audience favourites and garnering critical acclaim.

In creating a list of the 100 best movies of all time, Empire asked readers to share their picks – a selection of movies that comfort, challenge, and pioneer. Films that blow your mind, help you see things from a new perspective, and that continue to shape cinema as we know it today. Films that make you feel something. Combining reader votes with critics’ choices from Team Empire, here we have it – read it in full below.

Looking for our list of The 100 Greatest TV Shows Of All Time? Read here .

100 Greatest Movies 2022

100) Reservoir Dogs

Quentin Tarantino 's terrific twist on the heist-gone-wrong thriller ricochets the zing and fizz of its dialogue around a gloriously intense single setting (for the most part) and centres the majority of its action around one long and incredibly bloody death scene. Oh, and by the way: Nice Guy Eddie was shot by Mr. White. Who fired twice. Case closed.

Read Empire's review of Reservoir Dogs

99) Groundhog Day

Bill Murray at the height of his loveable (eventually) schmuck powers. Andie McDowell bringing the brains and the heart. And Harold Ramis (directing and co-writing with Danny Rubin) managing to find gold in the story of a man trapped in a time loop. It might not have been the first to tap this particular trope, but it's head and shoulders above the rest. Murray's snarktastic delivery makes the early going easy to laugh at, but as the movie finds deeper things to say about existence and morals, it never feels like a polemic.

Read Empire's review of Groundhog Day

98) Paddington 2

When the first Paddington was on the way, early trailers didn't look entirely promising. Yet co-writer/director Paul King delivered a truly wonderful film bursting with joy, imagination, kindness and just one or two hard stares. How was he going to follow that? Turns out, with more of the same, but also plenty of fresh pleasures. Paddington (bouncily voiced by Ben Whishaw ) matches wits with washed-up actor Phoenix Buchanan ( Hugh Grant , chewing scenery like fine steak), being framed for theft and getting sent to prison. Like all great sequels, it works superbly as a double bill with the original.

Read Empire's review of Paddington 2

Jean-Pierre Jeunet 's beautifully whimsical Parisian rom-com succeeded not only because he found the perfect lead in Audrey Tautou , but also because his numerous surreal touches truly gave a sense that there is always magic in the world around us — if we only know how to look for it.

Read Empire's review of Amelie

96) Brokeback Mountain

Ang Lee adapts Annie Proulx's short story (with Larry McMurtry and Diana Ossana on script duty) with sensitivity, grace, and differing scope – the intimacy of the relationship between Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger 's shepherds backed by beautiful mountain landscapes. The love between Ennis Del Mar (Ledger) and Jack Twist (Gyllenhaal) is complicated by the mores of the time and their need to marry their respective girlfriends. It'll break your heart and offer hope all at the same time, and the film ended up scoring Best Adapted Screenplay, Music and Directing Oscars.

Read Empire's review of Brokeback Mountain

95) Donnie Darko

Richard Kelly 's time-looping, sci-fi-horror-blending high-school movie is the very definition of a cult classic. It was a struggle to get made, it flopped on release, then found its crowd via word-of-mouth and a palpable sense that its creator really, you know, gets it. And let's not forget how goddamn funny it is, too.

Read Empire's review of Donnie Darko

94) Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World

With Scott Pilgrim Vs. The World , Edgar Wright leaned all the way in to the things that make his directorial style so singular – excellent needle drops, a bold colour palette, whip-pans and whip-smart wit alike. Michael Cera is the put-upon protagonist, but it's Ramona's ( Mary Elizabeth Winstead ) seven deadly exes that set the screen alight, including Chris Evans and Brie Larson – before they were saving half the universe together. With masterful touches of magical realism and stunning shots that stick in the mind throughout, Scott Pilgrim is one of Wright's most memorable.

Read Empire's review of Scott Pilgrim

93) Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

Celine Sciamma 's magnetic, masterful lesbian romance may be a recent addition to this list, but became an instant landmark of queer cinema upon its release. Starring Noumie Merlant as an 18th century painter and Aduele Haenel as her elusive subject, Portrait Of A Lady On Fire is a tale of an epic love developed in the quietest, most delicate way, formed in stolen moments and glances. Sciamma's carefully constructed script is matched by Claire Mathon's cinematography, each shot like a Renaissance painting brought to life. Pure poetry.

Read Empire's review of Portrait Of A Lady On Fire

In some ways, Luc Besson 's first English-language movie is a spiritual spin-off: after all, isn't Jean Reno 's eponymous hitman just Nikita's Victor The Cleaner renamed and fleshed out? Of course, its greatest strength is in Natalie Portman , delivering a luminous, career-creating performance as vengeful 12-year-old Mathilda, whose relationship with the monosyllabic killer is truly affecting, and nimbly stays just on the right side of acceptable.

Read Empire's review of Léon

If you're going to wrap up your tenure as one of the most loved superhero icons in fiction, it's hard to think of a better way than how Hugh Jackman – with James Mangold directing — punched out on the time clock of playing Wolverine. Set in a dark near-future world where an aging Logan is caring for a mentally unstable Professor Xavier ( Patrick Stewart ) and getting mixed up yet again with some very dangerous people , Logan is a truly original superhero tale that is mournful without being morbid. It's so outside the established mold, in fact, it's honestly a wonder the film ever got made.

Read Empire's review of Logan

90) The Terminator

It features time travel and a cyborg, with car chases and shoot-outs, but in James Cameron 's first proper movie (ie. not featuring flying piranhas) it's all packed around the blood-covered endoskeleton of a relentless-killer horror pic. After all, what is Arnold Schwarzenegger 's Uzi-9mm-toting Terminator, if not an upgraded version of Halloween 's Michael Myers?

Read Empire's review of The Terminator

89) No Country For Old Men

The Coen brothers' Cormac McCarthy adaptation is a tension-ratcheting, 1980 Texas-set chase movie, which also thoughtfully considers the question: how can good people ever possibly deal with a world going to shit? It also revealed that Javier Bardem makes an awesome villain; ever since he played No Country 's cold-blooded assassin Anton Chigurh, Hollywood can't stop making him the bad guy.

Read Empire's review of No Country For Old Men

88) Titanic

James Cameron doesn't do things by halves. His movie about the 1912 sinking of the world's biggest cruise liner was the most expensive ever made, suffered a difficult, overrunning shoot, and was predicted to be a career-ending flop. But it turned out to be one of the most successful films of all time (in terms of both box office and Awards), and made him King Of The World.

Read Empire's review of Titanic

87) The Exorcist

William Friedkin 's horror masterwork, in which a 12-year-old girl is possessed by a demon, has a reputation as a shocker (in the good sense), with the pea-soup vomit, head-spin and crucifix abuse moments the most regularly cited. But the reason it chills so deeply is the way it sustains and builds its disquieting atmosphere so craftily and consistently throughout.

Read Empire's review of The Exorcist

86) Black Panther

After his standout introduction in Captain America: Civil War , 2018's Black Panther allowed us to properly meet Chadwick Boseman 's T'Challa, and see his Wakandan kingdom in all its glory. Impeccably directed by Creed 's Ryan Coogler , it's an Afrofuturistic vision oozing with cool, colourful regality, expressed through its Oscar-winning costume design, stunning set pieces and thrumming soundtrack. Soaring to billion dollar-plus box office takings, Black Panther's cultural impact cannot be understated – and after the tragic loss of Boseman in 2020, the film lives on as the defining role for a truly remarkable talent.

Read Empire's review of Black Panther

85) Shaun Of The Dead

Before its release, you might have been forgiven for thinking it would be Spaced: The Movie . But Edgar Wright , Simon Pegg and Nick Frost 's first feature is genuinely stand-alone: a savvy blend of proper-funny comedy and seriously gruesome undead-horror which, funnily enough, played a big part in the zombie-movie resurgence we're still enjoying now.

Read Empire's review of Shaun Of The Dead

84) Lost In Translation

Sofia Coppola 's second film is the ultimate jet lag movie, locating its central almost-romance between listless college grad Scarlett Johansson and life-worn actor Bill Murray amid the woozy, daydreamy bewilderment of being in a very foreign country and a very different time zone. And it's exactly right that we still don't know what he whispered to her at the end.

Read Empire's review of Lost In Translation

83) Thor: Ragnarok

Marvel has cannily employed directors who have more usually made smaller, indie movies, handed them the keys to the giant machine that is their cinematic universe and (within reason) let them do their thing. Among the best to grasp that opportunity is Taika Waititi , who helped find Thor's true funny bone, a more effective weapon than Mjolnir. Ragnarok , which shakes up Thor's entire world (by, er, destroying it) is a hilarious take on a superhero story, full of action, while re-introducing Mark Ruffalo 's Hulk in fantastic fashion and having us meet the likes of Tessa Thompson' s Valkyrie and Jeff Goldblum 's Grandmaster.

Read Empire's review of Thor: Ragnarok

82) The Usual Suspects

While the line-up team-up is a great concept, director Bryan Singer and writer Christopher McQuarrie 's super-twisted, uber-cool crime thriller attains true greatness through its supernatural-horror-style backdrop, conjuring a phantom menace "Keyser Soze" who terrifies even the most hardened criminal.

Read Empire's review of The Usual Suspects

The movie Universal originally didn't want Hitchcock to make not only turned out to be a hands-down masterpiece but also effectively invented a genre: the psycho-killer slasher movie. No longer were movie monsters just big, hairy wolf-men, or vampires, or swampy fish-things. They could now look completely normal. They could be the guy sat right next to you, in fact...

Read Empire's review of Psycho

80) L.A. Confidential

Twenty years on, and still nobody's made a better James Ellroy adaptation than Curtis Hanson and Brian Helgeland 's boldly streamlined take on the heavy-plotted third novel in Ellroy's 'L.A. Quartet'. Its spot-on casting hardly hurt, including Russell Crowe as conscience-discovering bruiser Bud White and Guy Pearce as ramrod rookie Ed Exley.

Read Empire's review of L.A. Confidential

79) E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial

With the "Amblin" style so regularly referenced these days (most successfully in the Duffer brothers' Stranger Things ), it's worth reminding ourselves that it was never more perfectly encapsulated than in E.T .: a children's adventure which carefully beds its supernatural elements in an utterly relatable everykid world, and tempers its cuter, more sentimental moments with a true sense of jeopardy.

Read Empire's review of E.T.

78) In The Mood For Love

Years before battling Shang-Chi in the MCU, Hong Kong acting legend Tony Leung was director Wong Kar-wai 's greatest muse in gorgeous, simmering masterpieces like Chungking Express , Happy Together — and this remarkable romance, perhaps their greatest collaboration. Leung plays a journalist renting an apartment in 1960s Hong Kong; his neighbour, played by Maggie Cheung, appears as lonely and lost as he is. It soon emerges their spouses are having an affair, and a romance of stolen glances and intimate longing begins to emerge. Love stories are rarely as ravishingly beautiful (or deeply influential) as this.

Read Empire's review of In The Mood For Love

77) Star Wars: Return Of The Jedi

In this post- Phantom Menace world, the Ewoks don't seem quite so egregious, do they? Endor's teddy-bear guerillas might have got sneered at, but they shouldn't blind us to Jedi's assets: the explosive team-re-gathering opening; the crazily high-speed forest chase; and that marvellously edited three-way climactic battle that dextrously flipped us between lightsabers, spaceships and a ferocious (albeit fuzzy) forest conflict.

Read Empire's review of Return Of The Jedi

76) Arrival

Denis Villeneuve 's empathic, perception-bending alien visitation drama is a delicately crafted modern rework of The Day The Earth Stood Still , except the extra-terrestrials are truly otherworldly and there's the sky-high obstacle that is the language barrier. With its message that open-minded communication enables us to realise the things we have in common with those who appear vastly different, it feels like genuinely compulsive viewing for these troubled times.

Read Empire's review of Arrival

75) A Quiet Place

Take a simple concept (don't make a sound, or aliens will get you), a stellar cast ( Emily Blunt , Millicent Simmonds, Noah Jupe) and a director with a laser-sharp vision ( John Krasinski ) and what do you get? As it turns out, one of the most innovative, refreshing, unbearably tense horror movies of the 21st century. From the second it starts, the imposed silence of A Quiet Place makes it a revelatory cinematic experience – as the Abbott family pad gently around their home, the store, the woods, you feel in your bones that one wrong step equals disaster. The (loudly) ticking time bomb of imminent childbirth sets the scene for a stellar scary finale, but it's the deeply endearing family dynamic that sets this apart.

Read Empire's review of A Quiet Place

74) Trainspotting

For their follow up to the superb Shallow Grave , Danny Boyle (director), Andrew Macdonald (producer) and John Hodge (screenwriter) foolhardily elected to film the supposedly unfilmable: Irvine Welsh 's scrappy, episodic, multi-perspective novel about Edinburgh low-lives. The result couldn't have been more triumphant: the cinematic incarnation of 'Cool Britannia' came with a kick-ass soundtrack, and despite some dark subject matter, came with a punch-the-air uplifting pay-off.

Read Empire's review of Trainspotting

73) Mulholland Drive

David Lynch messes with Hollywood itself in a mystery tale that's as twisted as the road it's named after, while presenting Tinseltown as both Dream Factory and a realm of Nightmares. It also put Naomi Watts on the map; her audition scene remains as stunning as it was 20 years ago.

Read Empire's review of Mulholland Drive

72) Rear Window

Photographer LB Jeffries ( James Stewart ) is on sick leave, with a broken leg. He's bored to tears, so he starts spying on his neighbours. Then he witnesses a murder. OR DOES HE? Alfred Hitchcock really knew how to take a corker of a premise and spin it into a peerless thriller (that's why they called him The Master Of Suspense), but Rear Window also deserves praise for an astonishing set build: that entire Greenwich Village courtyard was constructed at Paramount Studios, complete with a drainage system that could handle all the rain.

Read Empire's review of Rear Window

A lot has been said about the opening to Pete Docter 's Pixar masterpiece, and rightly so, wringing tears from the hardest of hearts with a wordless sequence set to Michael Giacchino 's lovely, Oscar-winning score that charts the ups and downs of a couple's marriage. Yet while the majority of the film is more of a straight-ahead adventure tale (albeit one with a wacky bird and talking dogs), that doesn't make it any less satisfying. And let's be honest — the story of a man who uses balloons to float his house to a foreign land, accidentally picking up a young wilderness explorer scout as he does, feels perfectly Pixar.

Read Empire's review of Up

70) Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

Having Phil Lord and Chris Miller 's names on a movie is regularly the guarantee of something great, but the full team behind this animated marvel (in both upper- and lower-case senses of the word) is what makes it work. Bob Persichetti , Peter Ramsey , and Rodney Rothman all added something as directors (with Rothman co-writing alongside Lord) and their animators whipped up a visually dynamic, exciting, and heartwarming adventure that literally spans multiverses before the MCU introduced it. Bringing Miles Morales to the screen was a masterstroke, and Shameik Moore 's vocal work gives him buckets of charm.

Read Empire's review of Spider-Man: Into The Spider-Verse

69) Inglourious Basterds

From its Sergio Leone-riffing opening to its insanely OTT, history-rewriting finale, Tarantino' s World War II caper never once fails to surprise and entertain. As ever, though, QT's at his best in claustrophobic situations, with the tavern scene ramping up the tension to almost unbearable levels.

Read Empire's review of Inglourious Basterds

68) Lady Bird

With her directorial debut, the wry wit and emotional potency of Greta Gerwig 's previous work came even sharper into focus – telling a beautifully nuanced coming-of-age story about mothers, daughters, and the hometowns you yearn to leave, only for them to be truly appreciated in the rear-view mirror. Saoirse Ronan is perfectly precocious as the not-always-likeable Christine 'Lady Bird' McPherson, experiencing fractured friendships, first fuckboys, and fateful fumbles in her final year of high school in 2003 Sacramento.

Read Empire's review of Lady Bird

67) Singin' In The Rain

A joyous, vibrant Technicolor celebration of the movies, that's such an essential viewing experience there should perhaps be a law that it feature in every DVD and Blu-ray collection. It's no mere Hollywood self-love exercise, though. As star Don Lockwood, Gene Kelly brings a sense of exasperation at the film industry's diva-indulging daftness, making it a gentle piss-take, too.

Read Empire's review of Singin' In The Rain

66) One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

Ken Kesey's era-defining novel was in good hands with screenwriters Lawrence Hauben and Bo Goldman, not to mention director Milos Forman : five Oscars were testament to that, including one for Jack Nicholson , who's arguably never been better as a man destined to be chewed up by the unfeeling system (ditto Louise Fletcher , who represents that system in the form of Nurse Ratched).

Read Empire's review of One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest

65) Seven Samurai

A film so good they remade it twice — as The Magnificent Seven , then as Battle Beyond The Stars . Or four times, arguably... if you count A Bug's Life and the remake of The Magnificent Seven . You could also make the case that Avengers Assemble is a version, too. The point is this: Akira Kurosawa 's epic, 16th century-set drama about a motley gang of warriors uniting to save a village from bandits couldn't be more influential. Cinema simply wouldn't be the same without it.

Read Empire's review of Seven Samurai

64) La La Land

As much a technical marvel as it is an acting tour-de-force, Damien Chazelle 's Los Angeles love letter proved a ridiculously easy movie to fall in love with, even for those who may have grumbled that they weren't really into musicals before sitting down to watch it. Go on, admit it: You're still humming "Another Day Of Sun", aren't you?

Read Empire's review of La La Land

63) Get Out

Even given the darker tones of a few Key And Peele sketches, no one could have predicted that Jordan Peele would place himself on track to become a modern master of horror. And it all started with this, the Oscar-winning kick-off to his film career in which Daniel Kaluuya 's Chris meets his girlfriend Rose's ( Allison Williams ) parents and discovers some truly shocking secrets. White guilt, specific racism, slavery and more blend into a socially conscious terror tale that rings every note with pitch-perfect accuracy. You'll never look at a cup of tea the same way again.

Read Empire's review of Get Out

62) Lawrence Of Arabia

If you only ever see one David Lean movie... well, don't. Watch as many as you can. But if you really insist on only seeing one David Lean movie, then make sure it's Lawrence Of Arabia , the movie that put both the "sweeping" and the "epic" into "sweeping epic" with its breath-taking depiction of T.E. Lawrence's ( Peter O'Toole ) Arab-uniting efforts against the German-allied Turks during World War I. It's a different world to the one we're in now, of course, but Lean's mastery of expansive storytelling does much to smooth out any elements (such as Alec Guinness playing an Arab) that may rankle modern sensibilities.

Read Empire's review of Lawrence Of Arabia

61) Pan's Labyrinth

Guillermo Del Toro 's fairy tale for grown-ups, as pull-no-punches brutal as it is gorgeously, baroquely fantastical. There's an earthy, primal feel to his fairy-world here, alien and threatening rather than gasp-inducing and 'magical', thanks in no small part to the truly cheese-dream nightmarish demon-things Del Toro conjures up, sans CGI, with the assistance of performer Doug Jones .

Read Empire's review of Pan's Labyrinth

60) Hot Fuzz

Edgar Wright , Simon Pegg and Nick Frost 's tribute to big American cop movies isn't just a great fish-out-of-water comedy, sending high-achieving London policeman Nick Angel (Pegg) to the most boring place in the UK (or so it seems). It also manages to wring every last drip of funny out of executing spot-on bombastic, Bayhem-style action in a sleepy English small-town setting.

Read Empire's review of Hot Fuzz

59) Moonlight

Adapted from Tarell Alvin's play In Moonlight, Black Boys Look Blue , Barry Jenkins ' Oscar-winning drama is the kind of film that seeps under your skin and stays there. Tracking one man's life in three stages, and the love (and lack of it) that made him who he is, Moonlight evokes a sense of intimacy so palpable, the camera's gaze into the characters' eyes so intense, you can't bear to look away. Mahershala Ali and Naomie Harris are impeccable in supporting roles, with Trevante Rhodes and Andre Holland delivering an unforgettable final act.

Read Empire's review of Moonlight.

58) Guardians Of The Galaxy

Marvel took one of its biggest swings with this space-borne adventure, which featured the MCU's freakiest and least-known characters (a talking raccoon, a walking tree, a green assassin lady, a muscleman named after a Bond villain and Star-who!?), starred that schlubby fellah from Parks And Rec , and was directed by the guy who turned Michael Rooker into a giant slug-monster in Slither . Which is pretty cool, when you think about it.

Read Empire's review of Guardians Of The Galaxy

57) Blade Runner 2049

Putting together the director of Arrival with a sci-fi franchise that – for box office performance reasons — hasn't been overexploited the way some others have, seemed like a no-brainer. It's actually a big brainer, with Denis Villeneuve dipping into Philip K. Dick' s universe and constructing a sequel that not only doesn't embarrass Ridley Scott 's original, but builds out that world, adding layers and texture while still feeling of a piece. Audiences still didn't exactly bite, but between Harrison Ford revisiting his iconic replicant hunter and Ryan Gosling grappling with his own identity, 2049 is a triumph of quiet character moments and glorious, sense-enveloping spectacle.

Read Empire's review of Blade Runner 2049

56) The Social Network

Or, I'm Gonna Git You Zuckerberg. Portrayed as an über-ruthless ultra-nerd by Jesse Eisenberg , it's fair to say the Facebook founder came out of David Fincher 's social-media drama smelling less of roses than the stuff you grow them in. But it is great drama, expertly wrought by screenwriter Aaron Sorkin , who exploits the story's central paradox (a guy who doesn't get people makes a fortune getting people together online) to supremely juicy effect.

Read Empire's review of The Social Network

55) Taxi Driver

Martin Scorsese and Paul Schrader 's gripping portrayal of a mentally crumbling Vietnam vet ( Robert De Niro 's Travis Bickle) who ultimately figures the only way to wash the crime-caked streets of New York is with a nice, big bloodbath. Everyone here's at the top of their game: Scorsese, Schrader, De Niro, 14-year-old Jodie Foster and composer Bernard Herrmann . Yes, it's still talkin' to us.

Read Empire's review of Taxi Driver

54) Saving Private Ryan

The sheer bludgeoning, blood-spilling, visceral power of its Omaha Beach, D-Day-landing opening act ensured that Steven Spielberg 's fourth World War II movie set the standard for all future battle depictions. Its shaky-staccato-desaturated style (courtesy of Janusz Kaminski 's ingenious cinematography) newsreel made cinema has been oft-copied, but rarely bettered.

Read Empire's review of Saving Private Ryan

53) Forrest Gump

Robert Zemeckis ' affable stroll through some of America's most turbulent decades, as seen through the childlike eyes of the simple-but-successful Forrest — the role which earned Tom Hanks his second Oscar in two years. And it says a lot about the film's emotional heft that it managed to win an Oscar itself, when it was in competition with both Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption .

Read Empire's review of Forrest Gump

52) Point Break

"Ever fired your gun in the air and gone 'Ahhhh?'" PC Danny Butterman's well-placed reference in Hot Fuzz confirmed, if confirmation were ever needed, that Point Break is a fundamental pillar of '90s pop culture cool, and one of the most memorable action blockbusters ever made. In Keanu Reeves and Patrick Swayze , we get two smouldering sides of the same anti-heroic coin; in W. Peter Iliff's screenplay, we get gems of dialogue like "The correct term is 'babes', sir"; and in Kathryn Bigelow 's frenetic, confident direction, we get intense foot chases, fiery shoot-outs, epic surfing, and a spot of light skydiving. It shouldn't work: extreme sports, bank robberies and male bonding? But it does, every time.

Read Empire's review of Point Break

51) Whiplash

If Damien Chazelle 's semi-autobiographical drama taught us anything, it's that jazz drumming is more hazardous to learn than base jumping. Especially when your mentor is J.K. Simmons ' monstrous Fletcher: a raging bully who makes army drill instructors look like Care Bears. Though, of course, you could always argue that Fletcher's methods certainly got great results out of Miles Teller 's battered but triumphant Andrew...

Read Empire's review of Whiplash

50) Vertigo

If Psycho was Hitchcock 's big shocker, then Vertigo is the one that gets properly under your skin. With James Stewart 's detective stalking Kim Novak's mysterious woman, witnessing her suicide, then becoming obsessed with her double, it's certainly disturbing and most definitely (as the title suggests) disorientating. In the most artful and inventive way.

Read Empire's review of Vertigo

49) Spirited Away

For a Western world raised on Disney movies, Spirited Away was a bracing change of pace – pure, uncut Studio Ghibli. Taking in bathhouses, spirits of Shinto folklore, and morality without clear-cut distinctions of good and evil, Hayao Miyazaki 's major crossover hit is distinctly Japanese. It's the film that brought Studio Ghibli – and anime at large – to mainstream Western audiences, an influence increasingly felt in the likes of Moana and Frozen II .

Read Empire's review of Spirited Away

48) Ghostbusters

As high-concept comedies go, Ghostbusters is positively stratospheric: a story of demonic incursion... with gags! And it manages to wring a fantastic supernatural adventure out of that concept, while never neglecting the opportunity to deliver a great laugh; or, on the flipside, ever allowing the zaniness to swallow up plot coherence. Ray Parker Jr was right. Bustin' did indeed make us feel good.

Read Empire's review of Ghostbusters

47) Do The Right Thing

Spike Lee had already caused a stir with his first two films – She's Gotta Have It and School Daze – but this was the one that changed everything, with Lee at full pelt, fully formed, in full command and full of fury. Over the longest, hottest summer's day in Brooklyn's Bed-Stuy, already boiling tensions between the African-Americans on the block and the Italian-Americans running a pizzeria eventually peak, erupting into violence. It's an absolutely flawless, funny, frightening piece of work, rammed with soon-to-be iconography from start to finish. It hasn't dated a day.

Read Empire's review of Do The Right Thing

46) Schindler's List

Spielberg's masterpiece, hands down. You might say the shark looks fakey in Jaws. You may wonder how Indy clung to the German sub in Raiders. But there's no flaws to be found in his harrowing, (mostly) monochromatic depiction of Nazi persecution of the Jewish community in Krakow. Unless you're the kind of shallow person who only watches movies that are 'entertaining'. In which case, you're missing out.

Read Empire's review of Schindler's List

45) The Big Lebowski

You've got to hand it to the Coen brothers. Not only did they make arguably the funniest movie of the '90s — which has since spawned a genuine film cult — they also managed to construct a kidnap mystery in which the detective isn't a detective and nobody was actually kidnapped. With bowling, marmots and a urine-stained rug.

Read Empire's review of The Big Lebowski

44) It's A Wonderful Life

Frank Capra's Christmas fantasy was the movie that coaxed a war-battered James Stewart back to acting, and a good thing, too: as George Bailey, who's shown a mind-blowing parallel reality in which he never existed, Stewart was never more appealing. And he tempers any potential schmaltz, too, with a sense of underlying world-weariness — one that he no doubt brought back from the conflict in Europe.

Read Empire's review of It's A Wonderful Life

43) There Will Be Blood

If America were a person, then oil man Daniel Plainview ( Daniel Day-Lewis ) is a vampire. (A milkshake-drinking vampire, if you feel like mixing our metaphor with his own.) Which is why it's appropriate that Paul Thomas Anderson gives the film a bit of a horror-movie vibe throughout and Day-Lewis delivers such a deliciously monstrous performance... right up to the point where he spills literal blood in an empty mansion, haunted only by himself.

Read Empire's review of There Will Be Blood

42) 12 Angry Men

Juries most often amount to little more than set dressing in courtroom dramas. But Sidney Lumet 's film finds all its drama outside the courtroom itself and inside a jury deliberation room packed with fantastic character actors, who are forced to re-examine a seemingly straightforward case by lone-voice juror Henry Fonda. It's all about the value of looking at things differently, and a reminder that nothing is more important than great dialogue.

Read Empire's review of 12 Angry Men

41) The Silence Of The Lambs

Not only the first horror to win a Best Picture Oscar, it's also only the third movie to score in all four main categories: Picture, Director (the late, great Jonathan Demme ), Actress ( Jodie Foster ) and Actor ( Anthony Hopkins ) — the latter managing that despite technically being a supporting performer, with a mere 25-ish minutes of screen time. Even so, it feels like Foster's movie more than anybody's: her vulnerable-but-steely Clarice Starling is defined by her ability, not her gender.

Read Empire's review of The Silence Of The Lambs

40) Citizen Kane

Orson Welles ' game-changing fictional biopic, that managed to both launch his film career and ruin it at the same time (turns out it's not a good idea to piss off powerful newspaper magnates by viciously satirising them to a mass audience). Not only did he use impressive new film-making techniques that make it feel like a movie far younger than its 76 years, but its power-corrupts story still resonates loudly. Now more than ever, in fact.

Read Empire's review of Citizen Kane

39) Gladiator

Ridley Scott 's comeback (after a bad run with 1492, White Squall and G.I. Jane). Russell Crowe' s big Hollywood breakthrough. And, thanks to the scope of Scott's visual ambition combined with a leap forward in CGI quality, the movie that showed the industry you could make colossal historical epics commercially viable once more. Yes, we were entertained.

Read Empire's review of Gladiator

38) The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Sergio Leone sets three renegades against each other in a treasure hunt backdropped against the chaos and madness of the American Civil War. The result is the movie on his CV which best balances art and entertainment. Clint Eastwood and Lee Van Cleef are great value as Blondie and Angel Eyes, but it's Eli Wallach's Tuco who steals this Wild West show: "When you have to shoot, shoot. Don't talk."

Read Empire's review of The Good, The Bad And The Ugly

Aka David Fincher 's second debut movie. What sounded like a daft, novelty serial-killer thriller turned out to be a deeply rattling proper-shocker, which had the guts to throw down its biggest narrative twist halfway through, as warped murderer-moralist John Doe gives himself up. A twist made all the more effective thanks to Kevin Spacey 's insistence he wasn't billed until the end credits.

Read Empire's review of Seven

36) Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

Director Michel Gondry and screenwriter Charlie Kaufman deconstruct the relationship drama via a fantastic psycho-sci-fi device, as Jim Carrey 's Joel races through his own mind to reverse a process by which all his memories of his failed relationship with Kate Winslet 's Clementine are to be erased. Which is a brilliantly weird, round-the-houses way of reminding us that heartbreak should be valued as one of the things that makes us. Better to have loved and lost, and all that.

Read Empire's review of Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind

35) The Shining

Stanley Kubrick 's elegant adaptation of Stephen King 's haunted-hotel story, starring a wonderfully deranged Jack Nicholso n, is often cited as The Scariest Horror Movie Ever Made (perhaps tied with The Exorcist ), but it's also the Least Suitable Movie To Watch On Father's Day Ever. Unless you're the kind of Dad who thinks obsessively typing the same sentence over and over then chasing after your wife and kid with an axe constitutes good parenting.

Read Empire's review of The Shining

34) The Lord Of The Rings: The Two Towers

Aside from Boromir, Aragorn and the small-town denizens of Bree, there's not a huge amount of human representation in The Fellowship Of The Ring . So one of the pleasures of The Two Towers is seeing Middle-earth truly open out after the arrival at Rohan, where the series takes on more of a sweeping, Nordic feel... Building up, of course, to Helm's Deep, a ferocious action crescendo which features gratuitous scenes of dwarf-tossing.

Read Empire's review of The Two Towers

33) Casablanca

When you've got such a clear-cut good-vs-evil scenario as World War II, it takes guts to put out a film which lets its (anti-) hero lurk for so long in a grey area of that conflict — while said War was still raging, no less. Of course, Rick ( Humphrey Bogart ) eventually does the right thing, but watching him make both the Resistance and the Nazis squirm right up to the final scene is truly joyous.

Read Empire's review of Casablanca

32) The Thing

Any argument about whether or not modern remakes can ever be better than the 'classic' originals should be ended pretty quickly by mentioning this movie. With the help of SFX genius Rob Bottin , John Carpenter took the bones of Howard Hawks ' 1951 The Thing From Another World and crafted an intense, frosty sci-fi thriller featuring Hollywood's ultimate movie monster: one that could be any of us at any time, before contorting into a genuine biological nightmare.

Read Empire's review of The Thing

31) Interstellar

Christopher Nolan 's tribute to 2001 and The Right Stuff (with a little added The Black Hole ) presents long-distance space travel as realistically as it's possible to with the theoretical physics currently available. From the effects of gravity to the emotional implication of time dilation, it mixes science and sentiment to great effect. And it has a sarcastic robot, too.

Read Empire's review of Interstellar

Michael Mann 's starry upgrade of his TV movie LA Takedown squeezed every last drop of icon-juice out of its heavyweight double-billing, bringing Pacino and De Niro together on screen, sharing scenes for the very first time. The trick was to only do it twice during the entire running time, with that first diner meeting virtually fizzing with alpha-star electricity.

Read Empire's review of Heat

29) Apocalypse Now

The film-maker go-to movie du jour. Gareth Edwards cited Coppola 's vivid and visceral jungle trek as a major influence on Rogue One ; Jordan Vogt-Roberts drew from it extensively for Kong: Skull Island , and Matt Reeves sees War For The Planet Of The Apes as his own simian-related tribute. Hardly surprising; it's both a visually rich war movie and also a powerfully resonant journey into the darkest recesses of the human soul.

Read Empire's review of Apocalypse Now

28) Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

You voted... wisely. There may only be 12 years' difference between Harrison Ford and Sean Connery , but it's hard to imagine two better actors to play a bickering father and son, off on a globetrotting, Nazi-bashing, mythical mystery tour. After all, you've got Spielberg / Lucas ' own version of James Bond... And the original Bond himself.

Read Empire's review of Indiana Jones And The Last Crusade

27) The Lord Of The Rings The Return Of The King

Anyone who bangs on about all those endings is missing the many joys of Peter Jackson 's Academy Award-laden trilogy-closer. It has some of the most colossal and entertaining battle scenes ever mounted; it has an awesome giant spider; it has that fantastic dramatic-ironic twist when Gollum saves the day through his own treachery; and it has that bit where Eowyn says, "I am no man". Deserves. Every. Oscar.

Read Empire's review of The Return Of The King

26) Die Hard

One man using only his wits and whatever he can extract from his environment. A gang of bad guys terrorising the locals. If Die Hard wasn't set in a skyscraper during the 1980s, it could easily be a Western. A Western which, in the form of Bruce Willis , not only convinced the world a TV-comedy star could be an action-hero, but also gave us one of our most seethingly charismatic big-screen villain-players: Alan Rickman .

Read Empire's review of Die Hard

25) Fight Club

After all the pre-release hype about how dark and brutal Fight Club was, one of the most surprising things to discover on seeing it was just how funny it actually was. And just as well; if you weren't laughing at Bob's "bitch-tits" or Tyler Durden's human-fat soap-making antics, it would be pretty hard to process David Fincher 's bravura take on Chuck Palahniuk 's tale of modern masculinity running insanely rampant.

Read Empire's review of Fight Club

24) Terminator 2 Judgment Day

Making Arnie' s T-800 a protector rather than killer for part two could have been a shark-jump moment for the Terminator series, but we're talking about James Cameron here. So it paid off — especially as this Terminator was just as much a student in human behaviour (with John Connor his teacher) as guardian, with some darkly comical results ("He'll live"). Is it really better than the original? In terms of scale and sheer, balls-out action spectacle, yes.

Read Empire's review of Terminator 2: Judgment Day

23) 2001: A Space Odyssey

You've voted it your favourite Kubrick movie, which makes sense to us. It is arguably his greatest gift to cinema, an infinitely ambitious vision of a space-faring future whose narrative centres on the most pivotal moment in human evolution since some ape-man first bashed another ape-man with an old bone. Graceful, gorgeous, unwearied by time's passing. Rather like that monolith.

Read Empire's review of 2001: A Space Odyssey

22) Avengers: Endgame

What does it take to dethrone James Cameron ? A blockbuster of behemothic proportions. The weight of expectations on Endgame — the culmination of 11 years of interweaving stories, following up the greatest cinematic cliffhanger since The Empire Strikes Back — was immense, which only makes it more miraculous that the Russo Brothers (and writers Christopher Markus & Stephen McFeeley) delivered a thrilling, adventurous, emotional time-travelling trip through the entire MCU so far. The character pay-offs are just as staggering as the action — and when Steve Rogers finally proved worthy enough to lift Mjolnir, a stone-cold cultural moment was created.

Read Empire's review of Avengers: Endgame

On the one hand, re-watching Ridley Scott' s deep-space monster-slasher (and it's a movie which can handle as many re-watches as you can throw at it) makes you appreciate why he keeps coming back to that universe: it's so intoxicatingly atmospheric and deeply compelling, it sticks to you like a parasite. On the other hand, it really does make you wonder why he feels the need to keep tinkering with new cuts. After all, he got it perfectly right the first time around.

Read Empire's review of Alien

20) The Matrix

How two sibling indie film-makers with only a slick, sexy little crime film to their name ( Bound ) created their own blockbuster sci-fi franchise. And opened up western audiences to the truth that kung-fu acrobatics are so much more fun than watching American or European muscle-men waving guns around. While also making everyone examine some fundamental philosophical questions about reality. Thanks to the Wachowskis, we all took the red pill, and we've never regretted it.

Read Empire's review of The Matrix

19) Inception

Will Christopher Nolan ever make a Bond movie? Well, with Inception he kind of already has. Except, instead of a British secret agent, we get a freelance corporate dream-thief. And the big climactic action sequence is so huge it takes up almost half the movie and is actually three big action sequences temporally nested inside each other around a surreal, metaphysical-conflict core.

Read Empire's review of Inception

18) Parasite

Few award ceremony moments stick in the mind more than Parasite taking the Best Picture gong at the Oscars in 2020. It's no surprise that it made history as the first non-English language movie to do so – this South Korean genre-defying delight offers some of the biggest twists and expertly mounted tension in recent memory, with a family of excellent performances from Song Kang-ho , Park So-dam, Choi Woo-shik and more. Bitingly satirical, darkly comedic and made with unmatched precision, Parasite doesn't just overcome the 'one inch barrier' of subtitles, as referenced in director Bong Joon-ho 's acceptance speech – it obliterates it entirely.

Read Empire's review of Parasite

The genius of James Cameron 's self-penned Alien follow-up was to not try to top the original as one of the greatest ever horror movies. Instead, he transplanted the Alien (and, significantly, Ripley) to a different genre, and created one of the greatest ever action movies. That's also a Vietnam metaphor. And also one of the most enduringly quotable films.

Read Empire's review of Aliens

16) Blade Runner

Rain-lashed, noodle-bar-packed streets shrouded in perpetual night, with giant adverts and neon signs doing the job you'd usually expect of the sun itself... The not-too-distant future had never looked cooler than in Ridley Scott 's sci-fi gumshoe noir, and we're not sure it ever will.

Read Empire's review of Blade Runner

15) Jurassic Park

When dinosaurs first ruled the movie-Earth, they did so in a herky-jerky stop-motion manner that while charmingly effective, required a fair dose of disbelief-suspension. When Steven Spielberg brought them back on Isla Nublar, we felt for the first time they could be real, breathing animals (as opposed to monsters). And that's as much thanks to Stan Winston 's astonishing animatronics work as to ILM's groundbreaking CGI.

Read Empire's review of Jurassic Park

14) The Godfather Part II

Often cited as the greatest-ever sequel, TGPII , as no-one's ever called it, is more accurately described as a seprequel. In a narrative masterstroke, it parallels Michael's ( Al Pacino ) consolidation of power with the ascendance of his Dad, Vito ( Robert De Niro ); the triumph of one paving the way to the utter corruption of the other.

Read Empire's review of The Godfather Part II

13) Back To The Future

Part science-fiction caper, part generational culture-clash movie, part weirdo family drama (in which the hero has to rescue his own existence after his mother falls in lust with him, eww), Back To The Future still manages to be timeless despite being so rooted in, well, time. And it might just have the best title of anything on this entire list.

Read Empire's review of Back To The Future

12) Mad Max: Fury Road

In which old dog George Miller taught Hollywood some new tricks. Stripping the chase movie down to its raw essentials (the plot is basically: run away... then run back again!), Miller expertly built the narrative through some of the most astonishing and gloriously operatic action scenes we'd seen in yonks. While also ensuring his female characters are the film's strongest; Charlize Theron 's Furiosa and Immortan Joe's ex-brides are inheriting a world "killed" by men... Read Empire's review of Mad Max: Fury Road

11) Star Wars

George Lucas ' cocktail of fantasy, sci-fi, Western and World War II movie remains as culturally pervasive as ever. It's so mythically potent, you sense in time it could become a bona-fide religion...

Read Empire's review of Star Wars

10) Goodfellas

Where Coppola embroiled us in the politics of the Mafia elite, Martin Scorsese drew us into the treacherous but seductive world of the Mob's foot soldiers. And its honesty was as impactful as its sudden outbursts of (usually Joe Pesci -instigated) violence. Not merely via Henry Hill's ( Ray Liotta ) narrative, but also Karen's (Lorraine Bracco) perspective: when Henry gives her a gun to hide, she admits, "It turned me on."

Read Empire's review of Goodfellas

9) Raiders Of The Lost Ark

In '81, it must have sounded like the ultimate pitch: the creator of Star Wars teams up with the director of Jaws to make a rip-roaring, Bond-style adventure starring the guy who played Han Solo, in which the bad guys are the evillest ever (the Nazis) and the MacGuffin is a big, gold box which unleashes the power of God. It still sounds like the ultimate pitch.

Read Empire's review of Raiders Of The Lost Ark

8) Avengers: Infinity War

It was the biggest crossover event in cinematic history, and the biggest cliffhanger we never saw coming. After ten years and eighteen movies, Marvel took superhero filmmaking to a new level when they united all of Earth's mightiest heroes (and several more) against The Mad Titan himself – and incredibly, devastatingly, they lost. Infinity War crashed much-loved characters into each other's orbits, flitting between planets at breakneck speed as the Avengers desperately tried to stop Thanos from clicking his fingers and wiping out half the universe. Spectacular action, punch-the-air moments and big-scale battles are perfectly balanced, as all things should be, with hilarious interplays and aching emotion. Cinema doesn't get much bigger, or better, than this.

Read Empire's review of Avengers: Infinity War

7) Pulp Fiction

If Reservoir Dogs was a blood-spattered calling card, Pulp Fiction saw Quentin Tarantino kick our front door off its hinges — and then get applauded for doing it with such goddamn panache. It wore its numerous influences on its sleeve and yet felt utterly, invigoratingly fresh and new. We happy? Yeah, we happy.

Read Empire's review of Pulp Fiction

Forty-five years young, and Spielberg 's breakthrough remains the touchstone for event-movie cinema. Not that any studio these days would dare put out a summer blockbuster that's half monster-on-the-rampage disaster, half guys-bonding-on-a-fishing-trip adventure. Maybe that's why it's never been rebooted. Or just because it's genuinely unsurpassable.

Read Empire's review of Jaws

5) The Shawshank Redemption

The warm, leathery embrace of Morgan Freeman 's narration... The reassuringly Gary Cooper -ish rumple of Tim Robbins ' face... Odd that a movie which features such harshness and tragedy should remain a feel-good perennial — even odder when you consider it was a box-office flop on release. Few directorial debuts are so deftly constructed; no surprise, then, that Frank Darabont has yet to top it.

Read Empire's review of The Shawshank Redemption

4) The Dark Knight

Easily as influential on the genre as that other summer '08 comic-book movie, Iron Man , Christopher Nolan 's Batman Begins sequel works wonders because he never saw it as a superhero film. It's closer to a Michael Mann crime epic — except instead of Pacino and De Niro in a diner, you get a bloke dressed as a bat and a psychotic clown in a police interrogation room. With, er, Aaron Eckhart as Val Kilmer ...

Read Empire's review of The Dark Knight

3) The Godfather

Stanley Kubrick once described Francis Ford Coppola 's adaptation of Mario Puzo 's novel as the best film ever made – though having previously topped this list, this time it falls to bronze position. At once an art movie and a commercial blockbuster, The Godfather marked the dawn of the age of the mega-movie. An icon of the gangster genre, its imprinted in popular culture – "Luca Brasi sleeps with the fishes", the horse's head in the bed – but the first instalment of Brando's cotton-cheeked patriarch's fight for power is so much more than those moments. With performances, style and substance to savour, it's managed to both smash box office records and live on as a staple of cinematic canon.

Read Empire's review of The Godfather

2) Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back

The original "this one's darker" sequel, and by far the strongest of the saga. Not just because the baddies win (temporarily), or because it Force-slammed us with that twist ("No, I am your father"). Empire super-stardestroys thanks to the way it deepens the core relationships — none more effectively than Han and Leia's. She loves him. He knows. And it still hurts.

Read Empire's review of The Empire Strikes Back

1) The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

A wizard is never late. Nor is he early. He arrives precisely when he... well, you know the rest. It might have taken 20 years for Peter Jackson 's plucky fantasy to clamber, Mount-Doom-style, to the very pinnacle of our greatest-movies pantheon. But here it is, brighter and more resplendent than ever. The Fellowship Of The Ring contains so much movie. Even at the halfway point, as the characters take a breather to bicker in Rivendell, you already feel sated, like you've experienced more thrills, more suspense, more jollity and ethereal beauty than a regular film could possibly muster up. But Jackson is only getting started. Onwards his adventure hustles, to the bravura dungeoneering of Khazad-dum, to the sinisterly serene glades of Lothlorien, to the final requiem for flawed Boromir amidst autumnal leaves. As Fellowship thrums to its conclusion, finally applying the brakes with a last swell of Howard Shore 's heavenly score, you're left feeling euphoric, bereft and hopeful, all at the same time. The Two Towers has the coolest battle. The Return Of The King boasts the most batshit, operatic spectacle. But Fellowship remains the most perfect of the three, matching every genius action beat with a soul-stirring emotional one, as its Middle-earth-traversing gang swells in size in the first act, then dwindles in the third. This oddball suicide squad has so much warmth and wit, they're not just believable as friends of each other — they've come to feel like they're our pals too.An ornately detailed masterwork with a huge, pulsing heart, it's just the right film for our times — full of craft, conviction and a belief that trudging forward, step by step, in dark days is the bravest act of all. Its ultimate heroes aren't the strongest, or those with the best one-liners, but the ones who just keep going. And so Fellowship endures: a miracle of storytelling, a feat of filmmaking and still the gold standard for cinematic experiences. Right, now that's decided, who's up for second breakfast?

Read Empire's review of The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring

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Movie Reviews

Tv/streaming, collections, great movies, chaz's journal, contributors, ten greatest films of all time.

Ebert's Best Film Lists1967 - present

If I must make a list of the Ten Greatest Films of All Time, my first vow is to make the list for myself, not for anybody else. I am sure than Eisenstein's " The Battleship Potemkin " is a great film, but it's not going on my list simply so I can impress people. Nor will I avoid " Casablanca " simply because it's so popular: I love it all the same.

If I have a criterion for choosing the greatest films, it's an emotional one. These are films that moved me deeply in one way or another. The cinema is the greatest art form ever conceived for generating emotions in its audience. That's what it does best. (If you argue instead for dance or music, drama or painting, I will reply that the cinema incorporates all of these arts).

Cinema is not very good, on the other hand, at intellectual, philosophical or political argument. That's where the Marxists were wrong. If a movie changes your vote or your mind, it does so by appealing to your emotions, not your reason. And so my greatest films must be films that had me sitting transfixed before the screen, involved, committed, and feeling.

Therefore, alphabetically:

" Casablanca "

After seeing this film many times, I think I finally understand why I love it so much. It's not because of the romance, or the humor, or the intrigue, although those elements are masterful. It's because it makes me proud of the characters. These are not heroes -- not except for Paul Heinreid's resistance fighter, who in some ways is the most predictable character in the film. These are realists, pragmatists, survivors: Humphrey Bogart's Rick Blaine, who sticks his neck out for nobody, and Claude Rains ' police inspector, who follows rules and tries to stay out of trouble. At the end of the film, when they rise to heroism, it is so moving because heroism is not in their makeup. Their better nature simply informs them what they must do.

The sheer beauty of the film is also compelling. The black-and-white closeups of Ingrid Bergman , the most bravely vulnerable woman in movie history. Bogart with his cigarette and his bottle. Greenstreet and Lorre. Dooley Wilson at the piano, looking up with pain when he sees Bergman enter the room. The shadows. "As Time Goes By." If there is ever a time when they decide that some movies should be spelled with an upper-case M, " Casablanca " should be voted first on the list of Movies.

" Citizen Kane "

I have just seen it again, a shot at a time, analyzing it frame-by-frame out at the University of Colorado at Boulder. We took 10 hours and really looked at this film, which is routinely named the best film of all time, almost by default, in list after list. Maybe it is. It's some movie. It tells of all the seasons of a man's life, shows his weaknesses and hurts, surrounds him with witnesses who remember him but do not know how to explain him. It ends its search for "Rosebud," his dying word, with a final image that explains everything and nothing, and although some critics say the image is superficial, I say it is very deep indeed, because it illustrates the way that human happiness and pain is not found in big ideas but in the little victories or defeats of childhood.

Few films are more complex, or show more breathtaking skill at moving from one level to another. Orson Welles , with his radio background, was able to segue from one scene to another using sound as his connecting link. In one sustained stretch, he covers 20 years between "Merry Christmas" and "A very happy New Year." The piano playing of Kane's young friend Susan leads into their relationship, his applause leads into his campaign, where applause is the bridge again to a political rally that leads to his downfall, when his relationship with Susan is unmasked. We get a three-part miniseries in five minutes.

" Floating Weeds "

I do not expect many readers to have heard of this film, or of Yasujiro Ozu , who directed it, but this Japanese master, who lived from 1903 to 1963 and whose prolific career bridged the silent and sound eras, saw things through his films in a way that no one else saw. Audiences never stop to think, when they go to the movies, how they understand what a close-up is, or a reaction shot. They learned that language in childhood, and it was codified and popularized by D. W. Griffith, whose films were studied everywhere in the world -- except in Japan, where for a time a distinctively different visual style seemed to be developing. Ozu fashioned his style by himself, and never changed it, and to see his films is to be inside a completely alternative cinematic language.

" Floating Weeds ," like many of his films, is deceptively simple. It tells of a troupe of traveling actors who return to an isolated village where their leader left a woman behind many years ago -- and, we discover, he also left a son. Ozu weaves an atmosphere of peaceful tranquility, of music and processions and leisurely conversations, and then explodes his emotional secrets, which cause people to discover their true natures. It is all done with hypnotic visual beauty. After years of being available only in a shabby, beaten-up version usually known as "Drifting Weeds," this film has now been re-released in superb videotape and laserdisc editions.

" Gates of Heaven "

This film, not to be confused in any way with " Heaven's Gate " (or with "Gates of Hell," for that matter) is a bottomless mystery to me, infinitely fascinating. Made in the late 1970s by Errol Morris , it would appear to be a documentary about some people involved in a couple of pet cemeteries in Northern California. Oh, it's factual enough: The people in this film really exist, and so does the pet cemetery. But Morris is not concerned with his apparent subject. He has made a film about life and death, pride and shame, deception and betrayal, and the stubborn quirkiness of human nature.

He points his camera at his subjects and lets them talk. But he points it for hours on end, patiently until finally they use the language in ways that reveal their most hidden parts. I am moved by the son who speaks of success but cannot grasp it, the old man whose childhood pet was killed, the cocky guy who runs the tallow plant, the woman who speaks of her dead pet and says, "There's your dog, and your dog's dead. But there has to be something that made it move. Isn't there?" In those words is the central question of every religion. And then, in the extraordinary centerpiece of the film, there is the old woman Florence Rasmussen, sitting in the doorway of her home, delivering a spontaneous monolog that Faulkner would have killed to have written.

" La Dolce Vita "

Fellini's 1960 film has grown passe in some circles, I'm afraid, but I love it more than ever. Forget about its message, about the "sweet life" along Rome's Via Veneto, or about the contrasts between the sacred and the profane. Simply look at Fellini's ballet of movement and sound, the graceful way he choreographs the camera, the way the actors move. He never made a more "Felliniesque" film, or a better one.

Then sneak up on the subject from inside. Forget what made this film trendy and scandalous more than 30 years ago. Ask what it really says. It is about a man ( Marcello Mastroianni in his definitive performance) driven to distraction by his hunger for love, and driven to despair by his complete inability to be able to love. He seeks love from the neurosis of his fiancee, through the fleshy carnality of a movie goddess, from prostitutes and princesses. He seeks it in miracles and drunkenness, at night and at dawn. He thinks he can glimpse it in the life of his friend Steiner, who has a wife and children and a home where music is played and poetry read. But Steiner is as despairing as he is. And finally Marcello gives up and sells out and at dawn sees a pale young girl who wants to remind him of the novel he meant to write someday, but he is hung over and cannot hear her shouting across the waves, and so the message is lost.

" Notorious "

I do not have the secret of Alfred Hitchcock and neither, I am convinced, does anyone else. He made movies that do not date, that fascinate and amuse, that everybody enjoys and that shout out in every frame that they are by Hitchcock. In the world of film he was known simply as The Master. But what was he the Master of? What was his philosophy, his belief, his message? It appears that he had none. His purpose was simply to pluck the strings of human emotion -- to play the audience, he said, like a piano. Hitchcock was always hidden behind the genre of the suspense film, but as you see his movies again and again, the greatness stays after the suspense becomes familiar. He made pure movies.

" Notorious " is my favorite Hitchcock, a pairing of Cary Grant and Ingrid Bergman, with Claude Rains the tragic third corner of the triangle. Because she loves Grant, she agrees to seduce Rains, a Nazi spy. Grant takes her act of pure love as a tawdry thing, proving she is a notorious woman. And when Bergman is being poisoned, he misreads her confusion as drunkenness. While the hero plays a rat, however, the villain (Rains) becomes an object of sympathy. He does love this woman. He would throw over all of Nazi Germany for her, probably -- if he were not under the spell of his domineering mother, who pulls his strings until they choke him.

" Raging Bull "

Ten years ago, Martin Scorsese's " Taxi Driver " was on my list of the ten best films. I think " Raging Bull " addresses some of the same obsessions, and is a deeper and more confident film. Scorsese used the same actor, Robert De Niro , and the same screenwriter, Paul Schrader , for both films, and they have the same buried themes: A man's jealousy about a woman, made painful by his own impotence, and expressed through violence.

Some day if you want to see movie acting as good as any ever put on the screen, look at a scene two-thirds of the way through " Raging Bull ." It takes place in the living room of Jake LaMotta, the boxing champion played by De Niro. He is fiddling with a TV set. His wife comes in, says hello, kisses his brother, and goes upstairs. This begins to bother LaMotta. He begins to quiz his brother ( Joe Pesci ). The brother says he don't know nothin'. De Niro says maybe he doesn't know what he knows. The way the dialog expresses the inner twisting logic of his jealousy is insidious. De Niro keeps talking, and Pesci tries to run but can't hide. And step by step, word by word, we witness a man helpless to stop himself from destroying everyone who loves him.

" The Third Man "

This movie is on the altar of my love for the cinema. I saw it for the first time in a little fleabox of a theater on the Left Bank in Paris, in 1962, during my first $5 a day trip to Europe. It was so sad, so beautiful, so romantic, that it became at once a part of my own memories -- as if it had happened to me. There is infinite poignancy in the love that the failed writer Holly Martins ( Joseph Cotten ) feels for the woman ( Alida Valli ) who loves the "dead" Harry Lime (Orson Welles). Harry treats her horribly, but she loves her idea of him, he neither he nor Holly can ever change that. Apart from the story, look at the visuals! The tense conversation on the giant ferris wheel. The giant, looming shadows at night. The carnivorous faces of people seen in the bombed-out streets of postwar Vienna, where the movie was shot on location. The chase through the sewers. And of course the moment when the cat rubs against a shoe in a doorway, and Orson Welles makes the most dramatic entrance in the history of the cinema. All done to the music of a single zither.

I have very particular reasons for including this film, which is the least familiar title on my list but one which I defy anyone to watch without fascination. No other film I have ever seen does a better job of illustrating the mysterious and haunting way in which the cinema bridges time. The movies themselves play with time, condensing days or years into minutes or hours. Then going to old movies defies time, because we see and hear people who are now dead, sounding and looking exactly the same. Then the movies toy with our personal time, when we revisit them, by recreating for us precisely the same experience we had before. Then look what Michael Apted does with time in this documentary, which he began more than 30 years ago. He made a movie called "7-Up" for British television. It was about a group of British 7-year-olds, their dreams, fears, ambitions, families, prospects. Fair enough. Then, seven years later, he made "14 Up," revisiting them. Then came "21 Up" and, in 1985. " 28 Up ," and next year, just in time for the Sight & Sound list, will come " 35 Up ." And so the film will continue to grow... 42... 49... 56... 63... until Apted or his subjects are dead.

The miracle of the film is that it shows us that the seeds of the man are indeed in the child. In a sense, the destinies of all of these people can be guessed in their eyes, the first time we see them. Some do better than we expect, some worse, one seems completely bewildered. But the secret and mystery of human personality is there from the first. This ongoing film is an experiment unlike anything else in film history.

" 2001: A Space Odyssey "

Film can take us where we cannot go. It can also take our minds outside their shells, and this film by Stanley Kubrick is one of the great visionary experiences in the cinema. Yes, it was a landmark of special effects, so convincing that years later the astronauts, faced with the reality of outer space, compared it to "2001." But it was also a landmark of non-narrative, poetic filmmaking, in which the connections were made by images, not dialog or plot. An ape uses to learn a bone as a weapon, and this tool, flung into the air, transforms itself into a space ship--the tool that will free us from the bondage of this planet. And then the spaceship takes man on a voyage into the interior of what may be the mind of another species.

The debates about the "meaning" of this film still go on. Surely the whole point of the film is that it is beyond meaning, that it takes its character to a place he is so incapable of understanding that a special room--sort of a hotel room--has to be prepared for him there, so that he will not go mad. The movie lyrically and brutally challenges us to break out of the illusion that everyday mundane concerns are what must preoccupy us. It argues that surely man did not learn to think and dream, only to deaden himself with provincialism and selfishness. "2001" is a spiritual experience. But then all good movies are.

Roger Ebert

Roger Ebert was the film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, he won the Pulitzer Prize for distinguished criticism.

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A Neil deGrasse Tyson-approved list of the best sci-fi movies

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Celebrity astrophysicist Neil deGrasse Tyson has never been shy about expressing his opinion about movies on X/Twitter — and, specifically, weighing in as to whether they got the scientific elements right or not. On a recent episode of his show StarTalk , meanwhile, he decided to actually share a detailed list of the sci-fi movies that he thinks are the best of the best, detailing what they got right, what they missed the mark on, and why some of them are so good that they deserve a “hall pass” for any errors.

At any rate, the list below includes all the movies that Tyson ranks as the best sci-fi gems, and it adds some color from him here and there as to why he’s included these specific picks. And we’ll start with his single favorite movie of all time.

The Matrix (1999) : “You gotta love The Matrix and how deeply thought through those plot lines are,” Tyson says. One plot point he does quibble with: The humans are used by the machines as a source of power, but the humans still need to be fed in order to be kept alive. Tyson mused that the machines could actually derive sufficient energy from what the humans were being fed with, cutting out the middleman entirely.

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The Blob  (1958) : Reaching deep into the past for this one, Tyson gives this old-school creature feature high marks because of the way it imagines aliens looking amoeba-like — totally different, in other words, from almost every other movie in which you see an alien depicted as something like a little green man.

Interstellar (2014) : Tyson has made no secret that he’s basically a Christopher Nolan fanboy. This one is many people’s favorite movie from the director (I’m one of the weirdos who loves Tenet the most, but that’s neither here nor there). Interstellar — in which a team of NASA scientists, engineers, and pilots traverses the universe to find a new home for humanity — earns a spot on Tyson’s list for having “the most authentic physics” compared to any other movie ever made.

Back to the Future (1985) : Gee, I wonder why this all-time classic starring Michael J. Fox is on this list of the best sci-fi movies? Obviously, in Tyson’s words, it’s the best time-travel movie ever made, hands down.

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951) : “No, there’s no weird aliens,” Tyson points out here. No violence, and no blood. “It’s just a suspenseful drama of how we might react, learning that aliens have come to visit.” Watch it, he urges, for how much thought and care was put into the film and the story.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) : Last but not least, we come to director Stanley Kubrick’s classic that’s adapted from a story by Arthur C. Clarke. Tyson puts this one all the way at the very top of his list of the best sci-fi movies. “Yes, it gets weird,” he acknowledges. “What matters is how much influence this film had on everything .”

Check out Tyson’s full remarks in the clip below, in which he not only explains his favorite sci-fi movies but the ones that he thinks are the worst — like Armageddon , which he blasts for “violating more laws of physics per minute” than almost any movie ever made, despite being another entertaining romp in which Bruce Willis gets to save the day.

This article talks about:

Andy Meek is a reporter based in Memphis who has covered media, entertainment, and culture for over 20 years. His work has appeared in outlets including The Guardian, Forbes, and The Financial Times, and he’s written for BGR since 2015. Andy's coverage includes technology and entertainment, and he has a particular interest in all things streaming.

Over the years, he’s interviewed legendary figures in entertainment and tech that range from Stan Lee to John McAfee, Peter Thiel, and Reed Hastings.

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The 23 Best Romance Movies of All Time, Ranked According to IMDb 

Films perfect for a date night.

A romantic film is one that tugs at viewers' heartstrings and makes them feel and experience the things that they wish were in their own lives. Sometimes they remind audiences of the amazing relationships they have had and help us to hold a little tighter to the ones that fans still have in their lives right now.

Thanks to users on IMDb , it's easy to determine the films that top the list of the all-time, most romantic movies to have ever been made. The top 10 romantic movies, in particular, each have an amazing story to tell and do so with masterful grace that shows how truly wonderful love can be. They remind viewers of the importance of cherishing the ones they love, no matter who or what they may be.

23 'Annie Hall' (1977)

Imdb rating: 8.0/10.

The defining romance movie that made Woody Allen a household name and is the clear peak of his career, Annie Hall is the Best Picture-winning romance film that proved to be the quintessential romance film of the 70s. The film stars Allen as Alvy Singer, a New York comedian who has fallen head over heels in love with the titular Annie Hall (Diane Keaton), but sadly it wasn't meant to be, as they broke up a year ago. Singer is still rattling and attempting to figure out the reasons as to why their seemingly perfect relationship ended, as he embarks on a journey of self-reflection for answers.

While the rest of Allen's filmography hasn't particularly aged the best over the years, it's difficult to deny the striking story and brilliant blending of drama, comedy, and romance that made Annie Hall such a cultural phenomenon . The film can easily be seen as popularizing the style of neurotic, nerdy leads in romance films, with this and many other established tropes still having a place in the modern romance film.

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22 'The Graduate' (1967)

One of the most impactful and influential romantic comedies of all time, The Graduate follows Benjamin ( Dustin Hoffman ), a recent college graduate who is still attempting to set a course for his future. As if he didn't already have enough on his plate, he finds himself in an unexpected love triangle with the illustrious older woman, Mrs. Robinson ( Anne Bancroft ), and her daughter, Elaine ( Katharine Ross ). The film was deeply impactful and emblematic of its era in filmmaking and is easily the defining chapter of romance movies of the 60s .

The modern romantic comedy as it is commonly known can easily find its origins in The Graduate , a film that completely redefined the human element while providing a mixture of biding commentary and comedy. Over 50 years after its release, there are still many films that can find direct inspiration from this classic of the genre, with its legendary ending still being in contention as one of the most iconic and sticking endings in film history.

The Graduate

21 'beauty and the beast' (1991).

A beloved rewatchable Disney animated masterpiece , 1991's Beauty and the Beast tells the story of Belle (voiced by Paige O'Hara ), an intelligent and spirited young woman who finds herself in an enchanted castle as a prisoner in exchange for her father's freedom. Her captor is the Beast ( Robby Benson ), a prince cursed to remain in his monstrous form until he learns to love and be loved in return. During her stay in the magical castle, Belle learns that not all is as it seems, with the Beast having a tragic story behind his tough exterior.

This classic tale of Beauty and the Beast with its captivating love story is a visual delight that tells a fantastical story of unexpected romance. Its stunning animation, coupled with Alan Menken 's timeless musical score and iconic characters like the lovable Lumière ( Jerry Orbach ) and the stern but caring Cogsworth ( David Ogden Stiers ) all create a gorgeous and endlessly rewatchable Disney classic that's still adored by fans today.

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

20 'her' (2013).

Director Spike Jonze 's Her is an award-winning film that takes place in a not-so-distant future where technology has progressed far enough that artificial intelligence sounds human-like – sound familiar? In that future, Theodore Twombly ( Joaquin Phoenix ), a lonely and introverted writer, finds solace and love in an unlikely place: an operating system named Samantha (voiced by Scarlett Johansson ).

The unconventional romance that unfolds between the two leads is surprisingly a poignant depiction of love in the modern age, or rather the desperation for connection individuals feel in a world dominated by isolation. Phoenix delivers a mesmerizing performance as the vulnerable Theodore, which is perfectly complemented by Johansson's voice acting , which imbues Samantha with a warmth and charm that make it easy to see why someone could fall for AI.

19 'The Princess Bride' (1987)

A timeless classic set in a whimsical fairytale world, Rob Reiner 's The Princess Bride takes viewers on a humorous adventure alongside the heroic Westley ( Cary Elwes ), who is on a quest to rescue his true love, Princess Buttercup ( Robin Wright ), from an arranged marriage to the nefarious Prince Humperdinck ( Chris Sarandon ).

The quotable film cleverly subverts traditional fairytale tropes through Westley's hilarious journey , where he also meets comical yet unforgettable characters like Inigo Montoya ( Mandy Patinkin ) and Vizzini ( Wallace Shawn ). The Princess Bride is the perfect movie , earning that rare reputation for its seamless combination of an exciting quest, humor, and romance. Of course, the chemistry between Elwes and Wright lends a genuine and enduring charm to their characters' love story, which has stood the test of time.

The Princess Bride

18 'la la land' (2016).

La La Land is a musical masterpiece that pays homage to Hollywood's golden age but adds a modern twist. It's centered on the different stages of the romance between aspiring actress Mia ( Emma Stone ) and jazz musician Sebastian ( Ryan Gosling ), who go through the highs and lows of pursuing their dreams in Los Angeles as best they can. As they inch closer to their goals, however, they realize that they are on entirely different paths and must soon make a tough decision.

With elaborate set pieces and a vibrant color palette, director Damien Chazelle 's La La Land tells its heartbreaking love story against a gorgeous backdrop. Not to mention, the film's songs like "City of Stars" likely have a permanent place in fans' playlists, reminding them of the breakup film's emotional message about what people would do for love (and what they wouldn't).

17 'Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans' (1927)

Imdb rating: 8.1/10.

One of the earliest and most powerful portrayals of love and passion during the height of the golden age of cinema, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans follows a married farmer growing tired of his simple life on the farm with his wife. He finds himself being enchanted by the whims of a woman from the city, who attempts to convince the man to give up on his simple farm life and join her in life in the city, including a plot to murder his current wife.

While the movie is more commonly remembered nowadays for being the Best Picture winner that the academy took away , the film still has a beautiful and poignant portrayal of love , nearly ahead of every other film of its era in terms of emotion and filmmaking capabilities. It makes the fullest out of the limitations of silent filmmaking to create a touching and deeply resonating story of betrayal and humanity at both its best and its worst.

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16 'Three Colors: Red' (1994)

Directed by Polish filmmaker Krzysztof Kieślowski as the final installment of the groundbreaking Three Colours trilogy , Three Colors: Red is a mesmerizing finale centered on fraternity. It follows the story of Valentine ( Irène Jacob ), a young model who collides with a dog while driving, an incident that leads to an unexpected friendship with the dog's owner and retired judge, Joseph Kern ( Jean-Louis Trintignant ).

The profound film depicts their heartfelt conversations and the unconventional bond they begin to form despite not having much in common. An exploration of the human experience, Red is the perfect capstone to the trilogy that reflects French Revolutionary ideals . It's certainly for romantics, as it places emphasis on the value of coincidence and fate, but without being heavy-handed. It's subtle in its depiction of the unusual bond, with each rewatch revealing something new in the film's symbolism.

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15 'It Happened One Night' (1934)

Based on the 1933 short story, "Night Bus," by Samuel Hopkins Adams , It Happened One Night is a rom-com and screwball comedy centered on the enduring tale of romance between a socialite rebelling against her father, Ellie Andrews ( Claudette Colbert ) and a street-smart reporter, Peter Warne ( Clark Gable ). When they both agree to help each other, a series of comical misadventures leads to true love.

With wit, charm, and sparkling chemistry between Colbert and Gable , it’s easy to see why director Frank Capra’s movie has had an enduring legacy as a genre-defining masterpiece . It's credited with many tropes still commonly used in romantic comedies and inspired countless screwball comedies after it premiered. It Happened One Night was also the first film to win all five major Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Writing, Adaptation. Its amusing tale may not have aged well in some aspects, but it’s worth watching for those interested in the history of romance films.

It Happened One Night

14 'before sunset' (2004).

The second installment in director Richard Linklater ’s Before trilogy, Before Sunset continues the story of the 1995 film, but this time shows the two main characters meeting in Paris nine years later. Jesse ( Ethan Hawke ) and Céline ( Julie Delpy ) pick up where they left off in Vienna, and realize new things about themselves and what they truly want out of their futures.

With their limited hour together before Jesse’s flight, the film unfolds in what feels like real-time as the duo seamlessly catch up and reconnect. The spark is somehow even brighter than the first movie and highlights the way that fleeting connections bring out people’s most honest parts – so much so that Jessie and Céline’s saga feels like it’s only just begun . There's a reason why the trilogy gained international acclaim, as Hawke and Delpy's off-the-charts chemistry is hard to match.

Before Sunset

13 'in the mood for love' (2000).

In the Mood for Love is a visually stunning and evocative masterpiece by Wong Kar-Wai . Set in 1960s Hong Kong, the film revolves around the lives of Mr. Chow ( Tony Leung ) and Mrs. Chan ( Maggie Cheung ), two neighbors who find solace in their newly formed and somewhat strange bond after discovering that their spouses are having an affair.

The film follows as the two begin to fall for each other, all subtly captured through small gestures and stolen glances. Despite the clear connection, they're bound by societal norms and their own inhibitions. They want what they cannot have, and that tense atmosphere and desperation are perfectly complemented by the stylistic visuals that seem to reflect the characters’ predicaments. It’s a spell-binding film that should be considered essential viewing for fans of Asian cinema and romance in general.

In the Mood For Love

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12 'Portrait of a Lady on Fire' (2019)

An instant classic LGBTQ+ romance movie directed by Céline Sciamma , Portrait of a Lady on Fire is a deeply emotional masterpiece set in 18th-century France . It tells the story of a forbidden love affair between Marianne ( Noémie Merlant ), a painter, and Héloïse ( Adèle Haenel ), her initially reluctant subject. Although Héloïse is about to be married off to a man she has never met, the connection between the two women deepens as they spend more time together on a remote island.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire 's slow-burning romance is portrayed with authenticity and full of tension viewers can feel through the screen. Sciamma's direction is masterful, capturing the unspoken desires and emotions that simmer beneath the surface. Merlant and Haenel have an electric chemistry that proves they were impeccable cast for the movie. A meditation on love, art, and the nature of desire, it's a hauntingly beautiful film that any fan of the genre should see at least once.

Portrait of a Lady on Fire

11 'before sunrise' (1995).

Director Richard Linklater's first entry into the iconic Before trilogy , Before Sunrise is a legendary and beloved romance movie that's centered on the love that blossoms after a chance encounter on a train between Jesse (Ethan Hawke) and Céline (Julie Delpy). The two strangers decide to take the leap and learn more about each other during one night in Vienna, doing as much as they can before Jesse's flight out of the country the next morning.

Relying heavily on Hawke and Delpy's performance, Before Sunrise is both character and dialogue-driven , with the duo's conversations capturing the magic of meeting someone special for the first time. The film essentially encapsulates what it's like to fall in love at first sight, and then some. Audiences won't be able to help but root for their fleeting romance as time slowly but surely runs out during their magical evening (which thankfully turns into two more beloved film sequels).

Before Sunrise

10 'the handmaiden' (2016).

A psychological drama, erotic thriller, and romance all at once, The Handmaiden is a genre-busting South Korean film by director Park Chan-wook . Set in the 1930s, the film depicts the bizarre experiences of the young Sook-hee ( Kim Tae-ri ), whose new role as a worker for the wealthy Japanese heiress Lady Hideko ( Kim Min-hee ) takes a dark turn.

Weaving together a tale of deception and unexpected romance and alliance, the film depicts the twisty romance that forms between Sook-hee and the heiress (who she was supposed to swindle out of part of her fortune). It effortlessly combines dark humor and sexuality, with its tantalizing story set against a visually exquisite backdrop. The movie’s multi-layered narrative can keep audiences guessing until its impactful yet understandably divisive ending.

The Handmaiden

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9 'Gone with the Wind' (1939)

Imdb rating: 8.2/10.

Based on the renowned eponymous novel by Margaret Mitchell , Gone with the Wind is an epic historical romance film that revolves around the life and relationships of Scarlett O'Hara ( Vivien Leigh ). The strong-willed character's story unfolds as she pursues Ashley Wilkes ( Leslie Howard ), but ends up marrying Rhett Butler ( Clark Gable ).

With its grand setting and epic story, the film has stood the test of time and is widely recognized as one of the greatest romance movies ever made . It's also one of Gable's most important roles, despite the notoriously messy production it took to create the historically significant film. It's worth noting that many of its aspects, most importantly the glorification of slavery, have not aged well. This complicated background doesn't change its mark on cinematic history, though, as it is still undeniably a sweeping epic that tells a romantic tale.

Gone With the Wind

8 'the apartment' (1960), imdb rating: 8.3/10.

Director Billy Wilder 's The Apartment is a critically-acclaimed rom-com that follows the unusual romance that forms between C.C. "Bud" Baxter ( Jack Lemmon ) and Fran Kubelik ( Shirley MacLaine ). Bud is an insurance clerk with an interesting method for career advancement – he lends his apartment to his bosses for their extramarital affairs. When he falls for the elevator operator, Fran, things become complicated when he learns she's involved with his married boss.

Witty, funny, and undeniably bold for its time, The Apartment depicted the messiness and complications around romantic relationships that aren't always seen on the big screen. As Bud and Fran negotiate their roles and places in each other's lives, the palpable tension starts to build, making it easy to root for them. The fantastic chemistry between these two leads also makes it easy to feel invested in their atypical romance, which is now remembered for being among the best from that decade.

The Apartment (1960)

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7 'Singin' in the Rain' (1952)

Set in Hollywood during the 1920s, Singin' in the Rain tells the story of Don Lockwood ( Gene Kelly ), who finds himself (alongside his co-stars) having a challenging time transitioning to "talkies" after the end of the silent film era. Along the way, he falls in love with the aspiring actor Kathy Selden ( Debbie Reynolds ), whose road to stardom comes at the perfect time.

Known for its elaborate musical numbers, light-hearted story, and top-notch performances, Singin' in the Rain is fondly remembered as one of the films that defined the musical genre . Don and Kathy's will-they-won't-they dynamic also elevates the film to its legendary status that it still enjoys today. Despite premiering over 70 years ago, the 1952 movie is still wonderful to see for the first time today, especially for younger audiences who aren't too familiar with the history of silent films.

Singin' in the Rain

6 'amélie' (2001).

In such a beautiful display of lights and colors, Amélie broke into fans' hearts in 2001 and made such a lasting impression, quickly becoming one of the best romantic movies around the globe. The film follows the titular character, who has love and zeal for life as she strives to bring joy and happiness to all those around her. Despite her positive interactions with others, the protagonist has trouble meeting her own needs and wants due to a complicated past.

Ultimately, Amélie is a heartwarming romantic comedy , as after the protagonist works to get others together and bring them love, she finds her own. The film’s journey with Amélie is such a beautiful one, and a clear reason why this film would be recognized as one of the greatest romances – it is a showcase of beautiful, selfless love.

5 'Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind' (2004)

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind is a beloved classic that demonstrates the lengths people will go to find the love of their life . The leads in this film are played expertly by Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet , who both get memories of their relationship erased after a painful breakup. They soon question this decision in the non-linear story.

It is an emotional rollercoaster as fans watch the ups and downs of their love as it blossoms, fades, and is reignited in the most fascinating ways. It is heartbreakingly beautiful to watch this journey they take as they endeavor to find peace and strength and joy despite insurmountable circumstances. One of the greatest things about this film is that it shows that love is not always picture-perfect, and that is okay. Here's to hoping the upcoming Eternal Sunshine TV series does this incredible film justice.

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind

4 'your name' (2016), imdb rating: 8.4/10.

In Your Name , viewers see the two main characters, a high school boy and girl, as they repeatedly swap bodies throughout the gorgeous romantic animated film and learn to live each other's lives. While this understandably starts out as a confusing and scary experience, it soon turns into one that's mutually beneficial as they improve each other's lives in small but meaningful ways. This beautiful confusion ultimately leads to their perfect union in the end.

What is likely one of the most creative and original storylines in recent history, Your Name is one of the best anime movies that really takes the idea of love and romance to an entirely new level as it allows each to walk in the other’s shoes, which then helps them to know and understand each other that much more. Truly beautiful.

Your Name (2016)

‘IF’ Review: John Krasinski’s Ryan Reynolds-Starring Children’s Tale Has a Classical Look, but Messy World-Building

Despite a star-studded voice cast and a terrific lead in Cailey Fleming, this big-hearted animation-live action hybrid doesn’t feel magical like the Pixar films it aspires to emulate.

By Tomris Laffly

Tomris Laffly

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John Krasinski proudly makes movies for and about the whole family. Maybe his vastly successful “A Quiet Place” franchise, with all its screechy monsters, is too much for youngsters to handle. But there’s still an undeniable, innocent loveliness to those movies, with warm moments that lean closely into the bonds of an adoring family that only grow stronger in the face of danger and despair.

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Naturally, Bea joins them too and finds herself at a Coney Island retirement community for all discarded IFs that only she can see. (This superpower of hers feels easier to accept than a 12-year-old kid taking the subway all over New York City, without the knowledge of her grandmother and father.) And once at the center, we realize we are witnessing perhaps the most star-studded ensemble cast of the year, with the IFs voiced by the likes of Louis Gossett Jr., Matt Damon, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Sam Rockwell, Awkwafina, George Clooney and more.(There appears to be no shortage of A-listers who want to have some fun with Krasinski.)

This remarkable lineup of actors aside, the animated IFs never quite impress, enlighten or entertain us enough, even when they launch into an adorable song-and-dance number. Elsewhere, Bea’s regular trips to the hospital to visit his spirited dad (during which we get to meet Alan Kim’s adorable Benjamin) always feel like an uncomfortable afterthought. Krasinski’s concept borrows generously from Pixar films like “Monsters Inc.,” but is so chaotic and half-considered that you don’t feel as inspired as you should be, making it hard to submit to the film’s alternate reality.

The film asks its audience to use unreasonable sums of imagination to decipher why on earth, for instance, a child’s imaginary friend would be an ice-cube in a half-full water glass (Cooper), or an impulsive spy-like figure (Christopher Meloni) or a giant gummy bear (Amy Schumer), next to some of the more credible ones like a teddy bear or a unicorn. Not to mention Bea’s very own (and heavily signposted) IF — once it’s finally revealed, it’s a particular head-scratcher. It’s almost as if some imaginary figures were conceived with little consideration for their narrative purpose, and baked into the script just because they felt cool as ideas. Like many of the film’s attempts at humor, the animated characters fall flat, in desperate need of some coherent world-building.

That’s too bad, because “IF” does have a classical look and feel to its visuals, an old-school and big-hearted quality sorely missed in cinema aimed at younger viewers these days. Everything from the magical lens of frequent Steven Spielberg DP Janusz Kamiński to Jess Gonchor’s opulent production design and Michael Giacchino’s disarmingly melancholic score beg for a film with as much writerly finesse to rise to the occasion. If only.

Reviewed at Regal Union Square, New York City, May 14, 2024. Running time: 104 MIN.

• Production: A Paramount Pictures release of a Sunday Night and Maximum Effort production. Producers: Allyson Seeger, John Krasinski, Andrew Form, Ryan Reynolds. Executive producers: John J. Kelly, George Dewey, Kimberly Nelson LoCascio.
• Crew: Director, screenplay: John Krasinski. Camera: Janusz Kamiński. Editors: Andy Canny, Christopher Rouse. Music: Michael Giacchino.
• With: Cailey Fleming, Ryan Reynolds, John Krasinski, Fiona Shaw, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Louis Gossett Jr., Alan Kim, Liza Colón-Zayas, Steve Carell.

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Movie Review: ‘IF,’ imperfect but charming, may have us all checking under beds for our old friends

The Associated Press

May 15, 2024, 3:49 PM

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How do you make a kid’s movie that appeals not only to the kids, but the adults sitting next to them? Most movies try to achieve this by throwing in a layer of wink-wink pop culture references that’ll earn a few knowing laughs from parents but fly nicely over the heads of the young ones.

So let’s credit John Krasinski for not taking the easy way out. Writing and directing (and acting in, and producing) his new kid’s movie, “IF,” Krasinski is doing his darndest to craft a story that works organically no matter the age, with universal themes — imagination, fear, memory — that just hit different depending on who you are.

Or maybe sometimes, they hit the same — because Krasinski, who wanted to make a movie his kids could watch (unlike his “Quiet Place” thrillers), is also telling us that sometimes, we adults are more connected to our childhood minds than we think. A brief late scene that actually doesn’t include children at all is one of the most moving moments of the film – but I guess I would say that, being an adult and all.

There’s only one conundrum: “IF,” a story about imaginary friends (get it?) that blends live action with digital creatures and some wonderful visual effects (and cinematography by Janusz Kaminski), has almost too many riches at its disposal. And we’re not even talking about the Who’s Who of Hollywood figures voicing whimsical creatures: Steve Carell, Matt Damon, Bradley Cooper, Jon Stewart, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, Maya Rudolph, Emily Blunt, Sam Rockwell, and the late Louis Gosset Jr. are just a few who join live stars Ryan Reynolds and Cailey Fleming. Imagining a table read makes the head spin.

The issue is simply that with all the artistic resources and refreshing ideas here, there’s a fuzziness to the storytelling itself. Just who is actually doing what and why they’re doing it — what are the actual mechanics of this half-human, half-digital world? — occasionally gets lost in the razzle-dazzle.

But, still, everything looks so darned lovely, starting with the pretty, brownstone-lined streets of Brooklyn Heights in New York City, where our story is chiefly set. We begin in flashback, with happy scenes of main character Bea as a little girl, playing with her funloving parents (Krasinski and Catharine Daddario). But soon we’re sensing Mom may be sick — she’s wearing telltale headscarves and hats — and it becomes clear what’s happening.

Bea is 12 when she arrives with a suitcase at her grandmother’s Brooklyn apartment, filled with her old paint sets and toys. Grandma (Fiona Shaw, in a deeply warm performance) offers the art supplies, but Bea tells her: “I don’t really do that anymore.”

She says something similar to her father, visiting him in the hospital (it takes a few minutes to figure out that they’ve come to New York, from wherever they live, so Dad can have some sort of heart surgery.) He tells Bea he’s not sick, just broken, and needs to be fixed. Hoping to keep her sense of fun alive, he jokes around, but she says sternly: “Life doesn’t always have to be fun.”

And then the creatures start appearing, visible only to Bea.

We first meet a huge roly-poly bundle of purple fur called “Blue” (Carell.) Yes, we said he was purple. The kid who named him was color-blind. These, we soon understand, are IFs —imaginary friends — who’ve been cut loose, no longer needed. There’s also a graceful butterfly called Blossom who resembles Betty Boop (Waller-Bridge). A winsome unicorn (Blunt). A smooth-voiced elderly teddy bear (Gossett Jr., in a sweet turn.) We’ll meet many more.

Supervising all of them is Cal (Ryan Reynolds.) An ornery type, at least to begin with, he’s feeling rather overworked, trying to find new kids for these IFs. But now that Bea has found Cal living atop her grandmother’s apartment building, she’s the chosen helper.

The pair — Reynolds and the sweetly serious Fleming have a winning chemistry — head to Coney Island on the subway, where Cal shows Bea the IF “retirement home.” This is, hands down, the most delightful part of the movie. Filmed at an actual former retirement residence, the scene has the look down pat: generic wall-to-wall carpeting, activity rooms for CG-creature group therapy sessions, the nail salon. And then the nonagenarian teddy bear gives Bea a key bit of advice: all she need do is use her imagination to transform the place. And she does, introducing everything from a spiffy new floor to a swimming pool with Esther Williams-style dancers to a rock concert with Tina Turner.

The movie moves on to Bea’s matchmaking efforts. A tough nut to crack is Benjamin (Alan Kim), an adorable boy in the hospital who favors screens and seems to have trouble charging his own imagination (spoiler alert: that’ll get fixed).

There are segments here that feel like they go on far too long, particularly when Bea, Cal and Blue track down Blue’s now-adult “kid” (Bobby Moynihan of “Saturday Night Live”), now nervously preparing for a professional presentation.

Still, the idea that adults could still make use of their old “IFs” at difficult times — and, to broaden the thought, summon their dormant sense of whimsy, as a closing scene captures nicely — is a worthwhile one. And by movie’s end, one can imagine more than one adult in the multiplex running home, checking under the bed, hoping to find a trusted old friend.

“IF,” a Paramount release, has been rated PG by the Motion Picture Association “for thematic elements and mild language.” Running time: 104 minutes. Two and a half stars out of four.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

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The 10 best kung fu movie stars of all time.

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• Bruce Lee forever changed Kung Fu movies, leaving behind a legacy that influenced martial arts worldwide.
• Jackie Chan's comedic timing and dangerous stunts solidified his role as the greatest Kung Fu star ever.
• Lesser-known stars like Fung Hak-on and Yuen Biao made significant contributions to the genre as well.

There have been so many incredible Kung Fu movie stars who left their mark on the martial arts genre, but over the years, a select few stood out as the greatest of all time. Following the massive interest in Kung Fu that developed during the 1970s in the wake of Bruce Lee’s incredible success, there were plenty of other stars who made a name for themselves both in Hong Kong and Hollywood productions. With astounding acrobats, fantastic fights, and stunning stunt work, these stars truly stood as the best the world has ever seen.

With roles in action comedies, sword-fighting showdowns, and Wuxia movies, the best Kung Fu stars appeared in hundreds of roles across countless iconic productions. While some Kung Fu stars became household names, others have not received as much mainstream recognition but were well-known by martial arts enthusiasts. The best martial movies ever were awe-inspiring displays of over-the-top spectacle, and it was the greatest Kung Fu stars who ever lived who helped turn run-of-the-mill fighting films into iconic classics that have stood the test of time.

10 Fung Hak-on

Years active: 1962–2014.

The Hong Kong actor Fung Hak-on was a truly underrated Kung Fu star who made a great bad guy or villain in his many martial arts movie roles. Fung began his career in 1962 with a powerful onscreen presence, appearing in movies like The Chinese Boxer , Executioners from Shaolin , Dragon Lord , and Police Story . While he was not as well known as many of his contemporaries, Kung Fu enthusiasts knew Fung as one of the greatest villains in martial arts cinema.

Fung’s consistency throughout the decades and ability to portray a villain like no other performer cemented his reputation as one of the best Kung Fu movie stars ever.

While Fung started his career as a stuntman, he soon gained larger roles and began collaborating with the Golden Harvest production company. Fung continued doing impressive work until shortly before he died in 2016 and had memorable late-career roles like the Baguazhang fighter Master Cheng in Ip Man 2 in 2010. Fung’s consistency throughout the decades and ability to portray a villain like no other performer cemented his reputation as one of the best Kung Fu movie stars ever.

9 Yuen Biao

Years active: 1962–present.

As an actor, stuntman, and action choreographer, Yuen Biao has had an impressive Kung Fu career dating back to the 1970s. As one of the Seven Little Fortunes from the China Drama Academy at the Peking Opera School, Yuen, along with Jackie Chan and Sammo Hung, made up the “Three Dragons,” and the friends have appeared in numerous movies together. With over 130 film roles, Yuen has truly left his mark on martial arts cinema over the past 50 years.

From starting as Bruce Lee’s stunt double on Enter the Dragon to later gaining acclaimed roles in The Prodigal Son and Knockabout , Yuen was an incredible acrobat and one of the great unsung talents of Kung Fu cinema . While discussions around Yuen’s talent often got lost among his contemporaries Chan and Hung, he possessed the same skill and comedic timing as his more well-known peers. With an incredible career behind him, Yuen deserved to be remembered as one of the best Kung Fu movie stars of all time.

8 Angela Mao

Years active: 1970s - 1992.

The Taiwanese martial artist Angela Mao, known as ‘Lady Kung Fu,’ appeared in many martial arts films during the 1970s. A highly skilled fighter who trained in hapkido from a very young age, Mao was discovered at just 17 years old and quickly went on to appear as the leading lady in the fantasy action movie The Angry River . Mao soon gained roles in many Golden Harvest productions, such as Lady Whirlwind and The Fate of Lee Khan .

However, it was in 1973 that Mao truly gained international recognition when she starred opposite Bruce Lee in Enter the Dragon . As the doomed sister of Lee’s character Su-lin, Mao showed off her impressive Kung Fu skills as she fought against the ruthless bodyguard O’Hara. Sadly, due to Lee’s untimely passing, the two never worked together again, but Mao continued to appear in Kung Fu movies through the 1970s and 1980s.

Years active: 1965–2001

The Indonesian martial artist Lo Lieh first came to prominence with his starring role in King Boxer , also known under the title Five Fingers of Death . Lieh’s intense style had a lot in common with Bruce Lee, although Lieh appeared in many martial movies that predated Lee’s incredible international success. With roles in Executioners from Shaolin to the Clan of the White Lotus , Lieh consistently delivered outstanding performances in Kung Fu movies throughout the 1960s and 1970s.

In 1988, Lieh teamed up with other martial arts legends Jackie Chan, Sammo Hung, and Yuen Biao for the acclaimed Kung Fu movie Dragons Forever . As the first martial arts superstar , Lieh often does not get enough credit for his importance to the genre and how trailblazing his earliest roles truly were. Lieh was also credited with popularizing the archetype of the white-haired Kung Fu master seen in many movies through the 1970s, 1980s, and even later in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill .

6 Sammo Hung

Years active: 1961–present.

The legendary Kung Fu star Sammo Hung has appeared in more than 200 movies and was trained in acrobatics, dance, and martial arts. As a pivotal figure in front of and behind the camera, Hung worked as Jackie Chan’s fight choreographer and was one of the most important actors of the Hong Kong New Wave film movement of the 1980s. Hung also started the zombie-like jianshi genre and even appeared in the Bruce Lee classic Enter the Dragon .

However, Hung was best known for his collaborations with Chan and Yuen Biao , as the three martial artists appeared in six movies together. Known as the “Three Dragons," the trio of Chan, Hung, and Yuen was a winning combination whose films like Wheels on Meals and Project A have remained highly beloved. With an astounding career, Hung has earned his place among the greatest Kung Fu stars ever.

5 Donnie Yen

Years active: 1983 - present.

For over 40 years, Donnie Yen has captivated audiences with his incredible Kung Fu skills and impressive proficiency across many different martial arts styles. As the Wing Chun grandmaster Ip Man in the Ip Man series, Yen helped popularize the Wing Chun style across China and led one of the best Hong Kong fighting franchises being made today. From his breakout role in Drunken Tai Chi in 1984 up to collaborations with Jet Li in the acclaimed Wuxia movie Hero , Yen has consistently pushed the boundaries of martial arts movies and maintained his place at the forefront of the industry.

Western audiences would surely recognize Yen for his incredible role as the blind assassin Caine in John Wick 4 .

Western audiences would surely recognize Yen for his incredible role as the blind assassin Caine in John Wick 4 . However, this was not the only Hollywood production where Yen showed off his skillset, as he also appeared in Rogue One , XXX: Return of Xander Cage , and Mulan . That’s not to mention all the incredibly underrated Donnie Yen movies out there waiting to be discovered by Kung Fu and martial enthusiasts.

Years active: 1982–present

As one of the most renowned martial artists of his generation, Jet Li has had a noticeable impact on Kung Fu cinema and found success in both Hong Kong and Hollywood. As a teenage Wushu national champion, Li retired from competitive fighting at 18 and utilized his skill to become one of the greatest Kung Fu stars after his 1982 debut Shaolin Temple, catapulted him to international stardom. With many acclaimed roles under his belt, such as Fist of Legend , Hero , and Fearless , Li helped revitalize the wuxia genre for modern audiences .

Li’s Kung Fu skills were not limited to the Hong Kong Kung Fu industry, as after he played a villain in Lethal Weapon 4 in 1994, he soon found major success in the United States and joined franchises like The Expendables . Li even appeared with his fellow veteran martial arts star Jackie Chan in The Forbidden Kingdom as he solidified his reputation as a martial legend. Still active to this day, Li recently played The Emperor of China in Disney’s live-action Mulan , which blended his passion for Hong Kong cinema, Wuxia, and Hollywood productions.

3 Gordon Liu

Years active: 1973–present.

The martial arts superstar Gordon Liu was best known for appearing in many Shaw Brothers-produced movies like Challenges of the Masters and The 36th Chamber of Shaolin , one of the best Kung Fu movies of the 1970s . As a highly skilled Kung Fu fighter, Liu has taken on over 100 acting roles and has built a legacy over the past 50 years as one of the greatest martial arts performers ever. Active in both film and television, Liu excelled in both comedic parts and more serious roles that utilized his intense skillset and dramatic abilities.

In Western cinema, Liu was best known for this role in Quentin Tarantino’s Kill Bill , which, after being a martial arts star for decades, was his Hollywood debut role. Liu held the honor of being one of the few actors to play multiple roles in the Kill Bill movies, as he portrayed Johnny Mo, the leader of the Crazy 88 yakuza gang in Kill Bill Vol. 1 . In Kill Bill Vol.2 , Liu played the Kung Fu master Pai Mei and was one of the most recognizable martial arts stars who made an appearance in Tarantino’s homage to the genre.

2 Bruce Lee

Years active: 1941 - 1973.

Bruce Lee completely changed the game regarding Kung Fu movies and was a major contributor to the popularity of martial arts in the Western world. With only a brief career due to his tragic death at just 32 years old in 1973, Bruce Lee was primarily known for his roles in five feature films in the early 1970s, including The Big Boss , Fist of Fury , The Way of the Dragon , Enter the Dragon , and The Game of Death . In his short but impressive career, Lee transformed the martial arts industry and influenced the perception of Kung Fu and China worldwide.

Lee was one of the most influential people of the 20th century, and his reputation as a pop culture icon helped bridge the gap between Eastern and Western cultures. With skills in Wing Chun, Tai Chi, boxing, and street fighting, Lee’s career spanned Hong Kong and the United States, where he trained other performers such as Chuck Norris. Sadly, Lee’s career was cut short, and audiences can only imagine the heights it would have reached had he survived, but he left behind an unmatched legacy and stood as one of the most important Kung Fu stars of them all.

1 Jackie Chan

Jackie Chan has been at the forefront of Kung Fu cinema since his breakout roles in Snakes in the Eagle’s Shadow and Drunken Master in 1978. From there, he continued to find success in China and around the world. As a skilled martial artist with impeccable comedic timing, Chan’s persona differed from the more serious nature of other fighters as he developed a unique slapstick style that worked well in action comedy Kung Fu movies. Throughout his career, Chan has performed most of his stunts, gained worldwide respect, and become an important figure in global popular culture.

From Chinese comedy series like Police Story to Hollywood kids' movies such as The Karate Kid , Chan has taken on approximately 150 acting roles and has been a defining figure in martial arts movies. Throughout his career, Chan has experimented with highly elaborate stunts and even holds the record for most takes for a single scene, with it taking 2900 takes needed for the infamously brutal pyramid fight in Dragon Lord (via Guardian .) Beloved by young and old alike, Chan was the greatest Kung Fu star ever .

Source: Guardian

50 BEST MOVIES OF ALL TIME REVIEWED

1. Goodfellas

2. Man Bites Dog

3. To Be or Not to Be

5. Die Hard

6. Spirited Away

7. Magnolia

8. No Man's Land

9. Funny Games

10. The Matrix

13. Starship Troopers

14. Lost Highway

15. The Revolution Will Not Be Televised

16. Groundhog Day

17. Fight Club

18. La haine

20. Blade Runner

21. Kill Bill: Vol. 1

22. Life of Brian

23. The Cabin in the Woods

24. Cool Hand Luke

25. Pulp Fiction

26. How to Train Your Dragon

27. The Third Man

28. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb

29. The Jungle Book

30. Once Upon a Time in the West

31. The Big Lebowski

32. The Godfather

33. Ben-Hur

34. Trainspotting

35. Catch-22

36. Rio Bravo

37. Lord of War

38. Donnie Darko

40. Generation Kill

41. The Wire

42. Breaking Bad

43. True Detective

44. Jodorowsky's Dune

45. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

46. Children of Men

47. O.J.: Made in America

48. The Vietnam War

49. The Pacific

50. Lilo & Stitch

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5 best Netflix movies of 2024 so far, ranked

We’re at the point of the year when enough movies have been released for us to wonder which are the best of them all? Netflix in particular has been very productive in the first half of 2024, releasing a wide variety of movies that have ranged from surprisingly decent ( Damsel ) to downright awful ( Lift ).

5. The Greatest Night in Pop

4. society of the snow, 3. city hunter, 2. orion and the dark.

From a documentary chronicling one of the most well-known songs of all time to a thriller about an ill-fated interview with a member of the British Royal Family, the best Netflix movies of 2024 encompass almost every genre and feature a galaxy of talented stars. You may disagree with the selections on this list, but you can’t deny the sheer creativity and entertainment value that each of these movies possesses.

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A lot of people are fascinated with how major works of art are created. Hell, there’s even an entire Stephen Sondheim musical, Sunday in the Park with George , about that curiosity. Documentaries are the ideal movie genre to showcase this kind of behind-the-scenes action, and there’s no doc more compelling this year than The Greatest Night in Pop , which chronicles the making of one of pop music’s biggest songs ever, We Are the World .

Full confession: I don’t much care for the song, but that didn’t hinder my enjoyment of the documentary. In telling how producers Quincy Jones and Michael Omartian gathered music’s biggest stars to sing on a charity single aimed at fighting world hunger, The Greatest Night in Pop spins a consistently fascinating tale that involves big talent and even bigger egos. One anecdote I particular liked was how Omartian determined the lineup of vocalists involved with the production. Just how do you put Bob Dylan, Huey Lewis, and Cyndi Lauper on the same song, and make it sound good ? That question, and so much more, are asked and answered, and by the end, you’ll have a better appreciation for how one of the most popular songs of all time came together.

On October 13, 1972, a plane carrying 45 passengers crashed in the Andes mountains. Twenty-nine people survived the initial crash. When they were discovered two months later, only 14 people were left alive. This simple, devastating story is told in graphic detail by director J.A. Bayona in Society of the Snow , which debuted in limited release in December 2023 before making its Netflix streaming debut on January 4, 2024. It was nominated for two Oscars, including for Best International Feature and Best Makeup and Hairstyling, and appeared on several “Best of” lists.

Society of the Snow could be accurately described as punishing since it faithfully depicts not only the horrific crash, but the period afterwards when the survivors endured harsh weather conditions and depleting resources that led some of them to resort to cannibalism. Society of the Snow is the kind of movie you watch in a daze and only afterwards feel like you’ve just gone through the tragic event yourself. It’s that good, and that visceral.

Sometimes, you just need a silly action comedy to brighten your mood. And while Hollywood continues to churn out action movies of varying quality like Monkey Man  and Boy Kills World , they don’t hold a candle to the Japanese import City Hunter , which features crazy stunts  and a silly sense of humor that is both wondrous and juvenile at the same time.

Based on a popular 1980s manga and anime series, City Hunter is the name of the detective agency run by Ryo Saeba, a brash, turtleneck-wearing P.I. who likes to bust heads and charm the ladies. When his partner dies, he teams up with his partner’s sister to stop a drug cartel from taking over Tokyo. The narrative is your basic action movie plot, but what makes City Hunter so fun to watch is the sheer energy it exudes through its kinetic filmmaking. It constantly surprises you, and keeps you guessing as to what will happen next.

When you think of Charlie Kaufman, you don’t usually think of kids animated movies. The director/screenwriter, who is best known for his dark comedies like Being John Malkovich and I’m Thinking of Ending Things , may seem like a strange choice to adapt Emma Yarlett’s beloved children’s book Orion and the Dark , but after you’ve watched it, it makes sense. Who better to understand the darkness that lurks within a child’s mind, and the imagination that helps him navigate through it?

Eleven-year-old Orion is afraid of the dark, but his constant complaints about it cause Dark, the embodiment of Orion’s worst fear, to confront him one night and take the child on a journey to nighttime to meet other entities like Sleep, Insomnia, and Sweet Dreams. Things only get more fantastical from there, but one of the great elements about Orion and the Dark is discovering all of its wonderful twists and turns. Like many classic children’s stories, the movie can be dark and serious when it needs to be, but it displays such imaginative visuals and unforgettable characters that you wish Netflix would make more animated movies like this instead of Woody Woodpecker Goes to Camp .

It’s hard to make a thrilling movie when the climax involves two people sitting across from each other talking, but that’s why Scoop works so damn well. In recounting the disastrous 2019 interview Prince Andrew gave to BBC reporter Emily Maitlis about his relationship to convicted sex offender Jeffrey Epstein, Scoop provides a broader context that allows it to comment not only on a society that allows young women to be preyed upon by the rich and powerful, but also on how a changing media industry needs to chase after scoops that will engage an increasingly hungry social media audience.

Directed by Philip Martin, Scoop has a relentless, nervous energy that is aided by a wonderful techno-infused score by Anne Nikitin and Hannah Peel and glossy cinematography by Nanu Segal. This is a slick-looking movie, one that pops out from the rest of  Netflix’s library of original movies , which can often look flat.

But it’s the performances, particularly from Billie Piper as tough-talking talent booker Sam McAlister, The X-Files star Gillian Anderson as Maitlis, and Keeley Hawes as Prince Andrew’s too-trusting private secretary Amanda Thirsk, that makes Scoop the best Netflix movie of 2024 so far. There hasn’t been a movie yet this year that’s provided a wealth of roles and characters like the ones Scoop gives its talented cast of actresses, and it’s a ball to watch Piper, Anderson, and Hawes sink their teeth into the material.

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Whether she's ready or not, Jennifer Lopez is entering the war to save humanity in Atlas, the upcoming sci-fi action film from Netflix.

In a new video from Netflix, Lopez's Atlas Shepherd is talking with Colonel Elias Banks (Sterling K. Brown) when a bomb explodes on their ship. During the fiery chaos, Banks places Atlas in an AI-powered robot suit. Atlas does not know how to use the suit, to which Banks says, "Let's hope you're a quick learner." Atlas' suit detaches from the ship and she's in freefalls as the preview ends.

This week is the fans that romance lovers have been waiting for from Netflix. Bridgeton season 3, part 1 has arrived, and it's unsurprisingly already on top of the list of the most popular shows on Netflix. Fans of this series treat it like it's a Marvel show and watch it as soon as it comes online. That may be why Netflix decided to split this season in two -- to milk it for all of its popularity.

The other new arrival this week is Ashley Madison: Sex, Lies and Scandal, which is firmly in the No. 2 slot behind Bridgerton. That documentary is decidedly unromantic, but it does offer some insight into the men who used the service that explicitly promised them anonymity while helping them cheat on their romantic partners.