The Top 250 Revisited
by dirty_dutchman | created - 27 Oct 2010 | updated - 14 May 2011 | PublicThere are plenty of movies on the IMDb Top 250 that don't belong. Rather than arguing why they shouldn't be there, I'll make my own list. Feel free to complain about my list, but at least it makes sense to me.
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1. Casablanca (1942)
PG | 102 min | Drama, Romance, War
A cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.
Director: Michael Curtiz | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains
Votes: 606,347 | Gross: $1.02M
There is a reason this is considered one of the greatest films of all time. It has everything, and it works so well. The script, the acting, the ending, it all makes this a perfect film.
2. Seven Samurai (1954)
Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama
Farmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Keiko Tsushima, Yukiko Shimazaki
Votes: 367,035 | Gross: $0.27M
Akira Kurosawa was ahead of the Hollywood curve, directing this epic masterpiece that shows of his finest talents as a director and screenwriter.
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 720,062 | Gross: $56.95M
Kubrick was a genius, pure and simple. The visuals are groundbreaking, and the film takes you places you've only seen in your imagination.
4. Apocalypse Now (1979)
R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War
A U.S. Army officer serving in Vietnam is tasked with assassinating a renegade Special Forces Colonel who sees himself as a god.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 710,765 | Gross: $83.47M
Take an incredible story like Heart Of Darkness, transport it into a Vietnam War-era setting, and what you get is one of the most intriguing and captivating films ever made.
5. Bicycle Thieves (1948)
Not Rated | 89 min | Drama
In post-war Italy, a working-class man's bicycle is stolen, endangering his efforts to find work. He and his son set out to find it.
Director: Vittorio De Sica | Stars: Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola, Lianella Carell, Elena Altieri
Votes: 175,262 | Gross: $0.33M
The story is simple, but the emotional charge behind it is remarkable. This isn't a movie, but rather a heart-wrenching portrait of the reality of post-war Italy.
6. Citizen Kane (1941)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 466,180 | Gross: $1.59M
It's impossible to undermine Citizen Kane's impact on cinema. Between story structure and cinematography, it is one of the finest character exploration films.
7. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Passed | 100 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
San Francisco private detective Sam Spade takes on a case that involves him with three eccentric criminals, a gorgeous liar and their quest for a priceless statuette, with the stakes rising after his partner is murdered.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George, Peter Lorre
Votes: 166,646 | Gross: $2.11M
Film noir is a difficult genre to perfect, but The Maltese Falcon is as close as you can get. Bogart brings Sam Spade to life in this tale of greed, betrayal, and mystery.
8. City Lights (1931)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
With the aid of a wealthy erratic tippler, a dewy-eyed tramp who has fallen in love with a sightless flower girl accumulates money to be able to help her medically.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee, Harry Myers
Votes: 196,152 | Gross: $0.02M
Chaplin, the lovable tramp, finds himself torn between two worlds in the big city, which leads to some of the best comedy ever captured on film. And the ending scene is one of absolute best.
9. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 865,907 | Gross: $4.36M
This is a perfect example of how much you can do with nothing more than a room, a situation and twelve actors at each other's throats.
10. Ran (1985)
R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War
In Medieval Japan, an elderly warlord retires, handing over his empire to his three sons. However, he vastly underestimates how the new-found power will corrupt them and cause them to turn on each other...and him.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Terao, Jinpachi Nezu, Daisuke Ryû
Votes: 136,300 | Gross: $4.14M
Kurosawa enjoyed transforming Shakespeare into a samurai bard. Ran is his full color, stunning masterpiece, adapting King Lear into an epic story of war and the madness it brings.
11. Chinatown (1974)
R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A private detective hired to expose an adulterer in 1930s Los Angeles finds himself caught up in a web of deceit, corruption, and murder.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez
Votes: 350,069
Arguably Jack Nicholson's best role in this taut neo-noir thriller from Roman Polanski.
12. Rashomon (1950)
Not Rated | 88 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The rape of a bride and the murder of her samurai husband are recalled from the perspectives of a bandit, the bride, the samurai's ghost and a woodcutter.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Machiko Kyô, Masayuki Mori, Takashi Shimura
Votes: 180,596 | Gross: $0.10M
One of the most intriguing stories of all time, thanks in great part to the visionary Kurosawa.
13. The Third Man (1949)
Approved | 93 min | Film-Noir, Mystery, Thriller
Pulp novelist Holly Martins travels to shadowy, postwar Vienna, only to find himself investigating the mysterious death of an old friend, Harry Lime.
Director: Carol Reed | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Trevor Howard
Votes: 181,911 | Gross: $0.45M
This film has it all: mystery, betrayal, tension on an international scale. Who is Harry Lime?
14. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
PG | 95 min | Comedy, War
An unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden, Keenan Wynn
Votes: 518,550 | Gross: $0.28M
This is Cold War satire at its finest. Peter Sellers delivers the best performances of his career.
15. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
PG-13 | 197 min | Drama, Romance, War
The life of a Russian physician and poet who, although married to another, falls in love with a political activist's wife and experiences hardship during World War I and then the October Revolution.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin, Rod Steiger
Votes: 82,127 | Gross: $111.72M
Epic in scope, but the story is intimate and personal, chronicling the life of a great man in a difficult time.
16. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,393 | Gross: $101.16M
It is a Western that defies the genre, trading romanticism for a dark examination of the soul.
17. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 165,030 | Gross: $9.60M
Marlon Brando's greatest performance. Elia Kazan explores the tragic world of the oppressed working class.
18. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
PG | 130 min | Drama, Family, Fantasy
An angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore, Thomas Mitchell
Votes: 499,421
A Christmas classic, but also one of the most uplifting and heartwarming tales from the master of such stories, Frank Capra.
19. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,836 | Gross: $96.90M
A brutal vision of the Holocaust, but also a inspiring story of a man who accidentally became a hero.
20. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
Passed | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Two down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt, Bruce Bennett
Votes: 132,489 | Gross: $5.01M
John Huston directs his father, Walter, and Humphrey Bogart in this suspenseful fable of greed.
21. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
Passed | 129 min | Drama
An Oklahoma family, driven off their farm by the poverty and hopelessness of the Dust Bowl, joins the westward migration to California, suffering the misfortunes of the homeless in the Great Depression.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine, Charley Grapewin
Votes: 100,013 | Gross: $0.06M
John Ford brings to life John Steinbeck's incredible novel, led by the talents of the immortal Henry Fonda.
22. Gone with the Wind (1939)
Passed | 238 min | Drama, Romance, War
A sheltered and manipulative Southern belle and a roguish profiteer face off in a turbulent romance as the society around them crumbles with the end of slavery and is rebuilt during the Civil War and Reconstruction periods.
Directors: Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood | Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell, Barbara O'Neil
Votes: 334,482 | Gross: $198.68M
One of the early experiments with color film, the classic story is memorable for plenty of reasons.
23. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama
The story of T.E. Lawrence, the English officer who successfully united and led the diverse, often warring, Arab tribes during World War I in order to fight the Turks.
Director: David Lean | Stars: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn, Jack Hawkins
Votes: 314,565 | Gross: $44.82M
David Lean flexes his muscles with some of the most beautiful direction ever captured on film.
24. L.A. Confidential (1997)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
As corruption grows in 1950s Los Angeles, three policemen - one strait-laced, one brutal, and one sleazy - investigate a series of murders with their own brand of justice.
Director: Curtis Hanson | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Russell Crowe, Guy Pearce, Kim Basinger
Votes: 618,206 | Gross: $64.62M
A dark, gritty neo-noir with an outstanding cast, not to mention one of the most intriguing screenplays of all time.
25. North by Northwest (1959)
Approved | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Mystery
A New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Jessie Royce Landis
Votes: 346,345 | Gross: $13.28M
No one created suspense like Alfred Hitchcock, and his espionage thriller is a testament to his genius.
26. Network (1976)
R | 121 min | Drama
A television network cynically exploits a deranged former anchor's ravings and revelations about the news media for its own profit, but finds that his message may be difficult to control.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, Robert Duvall
Votes: 170,737
Peter Finch gives the performance of a lifetime, even if it was his farewell performance.
27. The French Connection (1971)
R | 104 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A pair of NYPD detectives in the Narcotics Bureau stumble onto a heroin smuggling ring based in Marseilles, but stopping them and capturing their leaders proves an elusive goal.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey, Tony Lo Bianco
Votes: 135,784 | Gross: $15.63M
William Friedkin borrows much from his French predecessors, but he creates one of the greatest crime thrillers.
28. Duck Soup (1933)
Not Rated | 69 min | Comedy, Musical
Rufus T. Firefly is named the dictator of bankrupt Freedonia and declares war on neighboring Sylvania over the love of his wealthy backer Mrs. Teasdale, contending with two inept spies who can't seem to keep straight which side they're on.
Director: Leo McCarey | Stars: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx, Zeppo Marx
Votes: 62,761
Few could do slapstick as well as the Marx Brothers. Duck Soup is just the kind of insanity that never gets old.
29. Black Hawk Down (2001)
R | 144 min | Action, Drama, History
The story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Josh Hartnett, Ewan McGregor, Tom Sizemore, Eric Bana
Votes: 423,857 | Gross: $108.64M
Ridley Scott brings his gritty flair to a tale of heroism and brotherhood in modern warfare.
30. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,072,990 | Gross: $112.00M
Jack Nicholson is flawless as a hurricane force inside a mental institution.
31. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,761 | Gross: $32.00M
Hitchcock's masterpiece thriller is just as tense as it is disturbing.
32. Taxi Driver (1976)
R | 114 min | Crime, Drama
A mentally unstable veteran works as a nighttime taxi driver in New York City, where the perceived decadence and sleaze fuels his urge for violent action.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd, Albert Brooks
Votes: 921,420 | Gross: $28.26M
Perhaps De Niro's greatest role, as well as Scorcese's best film.
33. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
PG | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, War
British POWs are forced to build a railway bridge across the river Kwai for their Japanese captors in occupied Burma, not knowing that the allied forces are planning a daring commando raid through the jungle to destroy it.
Director: David Lean | Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins, Sessue Hayakawa
Votes: 233,428 | Gross: $44.91M
David Lean captures the madness of war in the depths of a jungle prison camp.
34. The Exorcist (1973)
R | 122 min | Horror
When a young girl is possessed by a mysterious entity, her mother seeks the help of two Catholic priests to save her life.
Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Linda Blair, Lee J. Cobb
Votes: 455,293 | Gross: $232.91M
Modern horror movies simply don't have the stories to back up the terror like The Exorcist.
35. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)
Approved | 179 min | Drama, War
In 1948, an American court in occupied Germany tries four Nazis judged for war crimes.
Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Burt Lancaster, Richard Widmark, Marlene Dietrich
Votes: 85,583
An exceedingly powerful look at the judges who supported the Nazis, and their fates after the war.
36. To Live (1952)
Not Rated | 143 min | Drama
A bureaucrat tries to find meaning in his life after he discovers he has terminal cancer.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Takashi Shimura, Nobuo Kaneko, Shin'ichi Himori, Haruo Tanaka
Votes: 87,647 | Gross: $0.06M
Seldom will you find a more personal and heartbreaking story.
37. The Pianist (2002)
R | 150 min | Biography, Drama, Music
During WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.
Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Adrien Brody, Thomas Kretschmann, Frank Finlay, Emilia Fox
Votes: 913,074 | Gross: $32.57M
Adrien Brody gives a remarkable performance in Roman Polanski's Holocaust biopic.
38. Amadeus (1984)
R | 160 min | Biography, Drama, Music
The life, success and troubles of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, as told by Antonio Salieri, the contemporaneous composer who was deeply jealous of Mozart's talent and claimed to have murdered him.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge, Roy Dotrice
Votes: 428,350 | Gross: $51.97M
The madness and the genius of Mozart is on full display in this magnificent epic.
39. Das Boot (1981)
R | 149 min | Drama, War
A German U-boat stalks the frigid waters of the North Atlantic as its young crew experience the sheer terror and claustrophobic life of a submariner in World War II.
Director: Wolfgang Petersen | Stars: Jürgen Prochnow, Herbert Grönemeyer, Klaus Wennemann, Hubertus Bengsch
Votes: 264,466 | Gross: $11.49M
A truly inspired war tale with one of cinema's most fitting endings.
40. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,222,024 | Gross: $107.93M
On a pop culture level, there are few movies as celebrated as Pulp Fiction.
41. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Passed | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
A screenwriter develops a dangerous relationship with a faded film star determined to make a triumphant return.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim, Nancy Olson
Votes: 236,581
A dark tale of a faded actress clinging to her glory days, and the man who gets trapped in her madness.
42. The Thin Red Line (1998)
R | 170 min | Drama, History, War
Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Kirk Acevedo
Votes: 199,687 | Gross: $36.40M
Terrence Malick presents one of the most beautiful movies ever filmed, and it happens to be a reflection on the evils of war.
43. The Big Sleep (1946)
Passed | 114 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Mystery
Private detective Philip Marlowe is hired by a wealthy family. Before the complex case is over, he's seen murder, blackmail and what might be love.
Director: Howard Hawks | Stars: Humphrey Bogart, Lauren Bacall, John Ridgely, Martha Vickers
Votes: 90,556 | Gross: $6.54M
A brilliantly constructed film noir led by the talented Humphrey Bogart.
44. Raging Bull (1980)
R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport
The life of boxer Jake LaMotta, whose violence and temper that led him to the top in the ring destroyed his life outside of it.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci, Frank Vincent
Votes: 380,466 | Gross: $23.38M
Rocky was the uplifting boxing movie, whereas Raging Bull was the real world.
45. The Deer Hunter (1978)
R | 183 min | Drama, War
An in-depth examination of the ways in which the Vietnam War impacts and disrupts the lives of several friends in a small steel mill town in Pennsylvania.
Director: Michael Cimino | Stars: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale, John Savage
Votes: 362,430 | Gross: $48.98M
A classic and psychologically dark story about the anticipation and after-effects of war.
46. The Fountain (2006)
PG-13 | 97 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
As a modern-day scientist, Tommy is struggling with mortality, desperately searching for the medical breakthrough that will save the life of his cancer-stricken wife, Izzi.
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Hugh Jackman, Rachel Weisz, Sean Patrick Thomas, Ellen Burstyn
Votes: 248,833 | Gross: $10.14M
Darren Aronofsky presents the theme of death with a beautiful, intimate story of two lovers in different times.
47. Modern Times (1936)
G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
The Tramp struggles to live in modern industrial society with the help of a young homeless woman.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford
Votes: 259,635 | Gross: $0.16M
Chaplin gives a fond farewell to silent movies with a touching and funny film.
48. Glory (1989)
R | 122 min | Biography, Drama, History
Robert Gould Shaw leads the U.S. Civil War's first all-black volunteer company, fighting prejudices from both his own Union Army, and the Confederates.
Director: Edward Zwick | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Denzel Washington, Cary Elwes, Morgan Freeman
Votes: 144,541 | Gross: $26.83M
A great cast brings this noble tale of heroism and equality to life.
49. Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)
R | 141 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
The story of the battle of Iwo Jima between the United States and Imperial Japan during World War II, as told from the perspective of the Japanese who fought it.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Ken Watanabe, Kazunari Ninomiya, Tsuyoshi Ihara, Ryô Kase
Votes: 170,114 | Gross: $13.76M
When you look on the other side of the line, you find war is hell for everyone, not just the winners.
50. M (1931)
Passed | 99 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller
When the police in a German city are unable to catch a child-murderer, other criminals join in the manhunt.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke
Votes: 168,550 | Gross: $0.03M
Fritz Lang delves into the twisted world of a man driven by his perversions.
51. Magnolia (1999)
R | 188 min | Drama
An epic mosaic of interrelated characters in search of love, forgiveness and meaning in the San Fernando Valley.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Tom Cruise, Jason Robards, Julianne Moore, Philip Seymour Hoffman
Votes: 328,668 | Gross: $22.46M
P.T. Anderson outdoes himself with this modern fable of coincidences.
52. The Grand Illusion (1937)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama, War
During WWI, two French soldiers are captured and imprisoned in a German P.O.W. camp. Several escape attempts follow until they are eventually sent to a seemingly inescapable fortress.
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Jean Gabin, Dita Parlo, Pierre Fresnay, Erich von Stroheim
Votes: 38,872 | Gross: $0.17M
Forget Shawshank. Grand Illusion is the original prison break film.
53. Braveheart (1995)
R | 178 min | Biography, Drama, War
Scottish warrior William Wallace leads his countrymen in a rebellion to free his homeland from the tyranny of King Edward I of England.
Director: Mel Gibson | Stars: Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau, Patrick McGoohan, Angus Macfadyen
Votes: 1,091,904 | Gross: $75.60M
Mel Gibson directs and stars in this brutal medieval war epic that set a whole new standard of film violence.
54. 21 Grams (2003)
R | 124 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A freak accident brings together a critically ill mathematician, a grieving mother, and a born-again ex-con.
Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Sean Penn, Benicio Del Toro, Naomi Watts, Danny Huston
Votes: 245,926 | Gross: $16.29M
Perhaps one of the most depressing films you'll ever see, and yet still amazingly beautiful.
55. United 93 (2006)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zayas, J.J. Johnson
Votes: 110,966 | Gross: $31.57M
This is about as close to remembering the real thing as you will get.
56. Patton (1970)
GP | 172 min | Biography, Drama, War
The World War II phase of the career of controversial American general George S. Patton.
Director: Franklin J. Schaffner | Stars: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young, Michael Strong
Votes: 108,004 | Gross: $61.70M
A complicated film that both extols and denounces one of history's most polarizing men.
57. Downfall (2004)
R | 156 min | Biography, Drama, History
Traudl Junge, the final secretary for Adolf Hitler, tells of the Nazi dictator's final days in his Berlin bunker at the end of WWII.
Director: Oliver Hirschbiegel | Stars: Bruno Ganz, Alexandra Maria Lara, Ulrich Matthes, Juliane Köhler
Votes: 375,429 | Gross: $5.51M
By showing the human side of Hitler in his last days, Downfall also shows his true evil.
58. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Approved | 129 min | Crime, Drama
Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy
Votes: 333,040
A touching film about justice and our conceptions of other people.
59. No Country for Old Men (2007)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 1,061,095 | Gross: $74.28M
The Coen brothers load up with an exciting, entertaining and tragic tale of a disillusioned man watching the world sink into violence.
60. There Will Be Blood (2007)
R | 158 min | Drama
A story of family, religion, hatred, oil and madness, focusing on a turn-of-the-century prospector in the early days of the business.
Director: Paul Thomas Anderson | Stars: Daniel Day-Lewis, Paul Dano, Ciarán Hinds, Martin Stringer
Votes: 641,543 | Gross: $40.22M
Daniel Day-Lewis is undeniably brilliant in a film that finds a connection between faith and greed.
61. King Kong (1933)
Passed | 100 min | Adventure, Horror
A film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City.
Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack | Stars: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Frank Reicher
Votes: 91,019 | Gross: $10.00M
The original monster movie that's both funny and exciting.
62. Goodfellas (1990)
R | 145 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
The story of Henry Hill and his life in the mafia, covering his relationship with his wife Karen and his mob partners Jimmy Conway and Tommy DeVito.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco
Votes: 1,258,301 | Gross: $46.84M
Scorcese returns to the world of gangsters with this engaging biopic.
63. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
R | 169 min | Drama, War
Following the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns
Votes: 1,497,383 | Gross: $216.54M
The horrors of war are made more realistic than ever, thanks to Steven Spielberg.
64. Big Fish (2003)
PG-13 | 125 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
A frustrated son tries to determine the fact from fiction in his dying father's life.
Director: Tim Burton | Stars: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange
Votes: 459,052 | Gross: $66.26M
Tim Burton turns down the weird to give us a heart-warming story of a man whose life and dreams are one in the same.
65. The Graduate (1967)
PG | 106 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A disillusioned college graduate finds himself torn between his older lover and her daughter.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross, William Daniels
Votes: 288,567 | Gross: $104.95M
A classic story of a man set out in the world beset by temptations.
66. The Insider (1999)
R | 157 min | Biography, Drama, Thriller
A research chemist comes under personal and professional attack when he decides to appear in a 60 Minutes exposé on Big Tobacco.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Russell Crowe, Al Pacino, Christopher Plummer, Diane Venora
Votes: 180,320 | Gross: $28.97M
Michael Mann flexes his directorial muscles with this engaging drama.
67. Red Beard (1965)
Not Rated | 185 min | Drama
In 19th-century Japan, a rough-tempered yet charitable town doctor trains a young intern.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Yûzô Kayama, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Reiko Dan
Votes: 21,121
Toshiro Mifune says farewell to Kurosawa films with perhaps his greatest performance.
68. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
PG-13 | 201 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Gandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Viggo Mortensen, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
Votes: 1,980,520 | Gross: $377.85M
A fitting culmination to a trilogy that brings Tolkien's masterpiece to vivid life.
69. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold
Votes: 121,438 | Gross: $9.60M
Only Capra and Stewart could make this cautionary tale work well enough to make it relevant 70 years later.
70. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 727,130 | Gross: $24.61M
Violent and quirky film with amazing dialogue and performances.
71. The Godfather (1972)
R | 175 min | Crime, Drama
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
Votes: 2,014,097 | Gross: $134.97M
The iconic mafia film.
72. The General (1926)
Passed | 78 min | Action, Adventure, Comedy
After being rejected by the Confederate military, not realizing it was due to his crucial civilian role, an engineer must single-handedly recapture his beloved locomotive after it is seized by Union spies and return it through enemy lines.
Directors: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton | Stars: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender, Jim Farley
Votes: 98,211 | Gross: $1.03M
A spectacular silent action-comedy.
73. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
PG-13 | 178 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
Director: Peter Jackson | Stars: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom, Sean Bean
Votes: 2,008,395 | Gross: $315.54M
The beginning of one of the greatest trilogies.
74. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,780 | Gross: $6.10M
Sergio Leone's western masterpiece.
75. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 719,899 | Gross: $67.44M
An explosive and challenging cops and robbers film.
76. The Gold Rush (1925)
Passed | 95 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
A prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Henry Bergman
Votes: 118,711 | Gross: $5.45M
A Chaplin classic set in snowy Alaska.
77. Paths of Glory (1957)
Approved | 88 min | Drama, War
After a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready
Votes: 212,427
One of the best anti-war films of all time.
78. The Green Mile (1999)
R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy
A tale set on death row, where gentle giant John Coffey possesses the mysterious power to heal people's ailments. When the lead guard, Paul Edgecombe, recognizes John's gift, he tries to help stave off the condemned man's execution.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tom Hanks, Michael Clarke Duncan, David Morse, Bonnie Hunt
Votes: 1,408,555 | Gross: $136.80M
An emotional and engaging prison tale.
79. Yojimbo (1961)
Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller
A crafty ronin comes to a town divided by two criminal gangs and decides to play them against each other to free the town.
Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Eijirô Tôno, Tatsuya Nakadai, Yôko Tsukasa
Votes: 131,433
Kurosawa and Mifune shine in this samurai classic.
80. Ben-Hur (1959)
G | 212 min | Adventure, Drama
After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet
Votes: 253,803 | Gross: $74.70M
The chariot race is still one of the greatest action scenes.
81. 8½ (1963)
Not Rated | 138 min | Drama
A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.
Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale, Sandra Milo
Votes: 125,253 | Gross: $0.05M
A unique exploration from Fellini.
82. American History X (1998)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama
Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Votes: 1,186,895 | Gross: $6.72M
An incredibly dark look at racism in America.
83. A Night at the Opera (1935)
Passed | 96 min | Comedy, Music, Musical
A sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
Directors: Sam Wood, Edmund Goulding | Stars: Groucho Marx, Chico Marx, Harpo Marx, Kitty Carlisle
Votes: 34,775 | Gross: $2.54M
Arguably the funniest Marx Bros. film.
84. Life Is Beautiful (1997)
PG-13 | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
When an open-minded Jewish waiter and his son become victims of the Holocaust, he uses a perfect mixture of will, humor and imagination to protect his son from the dangers around their camp.
Director: Roberto Benigni | Stars: Roberto Benigni, Nicoletta Braschi, Giorgio Cantarini, Giustino Durano
Votes: 743,671 | Gross: $57.60M
Touching and powerful film about the Holocaust.
85. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,800,420 | Gross: $100.13M
A gritty crime tale of morality and obsession.
86. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
Passed | 114 min | Biography, Drama, History
In 1431, Jeanne d'Arc is placed on trial on charges of heresy. The ecclesiastical jurists attempt to force Jeanne to recant her claims of holy visions.
Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer | Stars: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz
Votes: 60,712 | Gross: $0.02M
A true masterpiece from the silent era.
87. Gladiator (2000)
R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
Votes: 1,621,457 | Gross: $187.71M
Ridley Scott's groundbreaking Roman epic.
88. Amélie (2001)
R | 122 min | Comedy, Romance
Despite being caught in her imaginative world, Amelie, a young waitress, decides to help people find happiness. Her quest to spread joy leads her on a journey where she finds true love.
Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet | Stars: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Rufus, Lorella Cravotta
Votes: 794,579 | Gross: $33.23M
A smart and funny film from a creative director.
89. Gosford Park (2001)
R | 137 min | Comedy, Drama, Mystery
Set in the 1930s, a group of pretentious rich and famous get together for a weekend of relaxation at a hunting resort. But when a murder occurs, each one of these interesting characters becomes a suspect.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Maggie Smith, Ryan Phillippe, Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas
Votes: 94,054 | Gross: $41.31M
An incredibly well-crafted mystery.
90. Memento (2000)
R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller
A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 1,323,713 | Gross: $25.54M
Original, engaging and creative premise.
91. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
PG | 110 min | Biography, Crime, Drama
In 1890s Wyoming, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid lead a band of outlaws. When a train robbery goes wrong, they find themselves on the run with a posse hard on their heels. After considering their options, they escape to South America.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Strother Martin
Votes: 226,804 | Gross: $102.31M
Paul Newman is perfect as the wily Butch Cassidy.
92. Rebecca (1940)
Approved | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance
A self-conscious woman juggles adjusting to her new role as an aristocrat's wife and avoiding being intimidated by his first wife's spectral presence.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders, Judith Anderson
Votes: 146,847 | Gross: $4.36M
Hitchcock's classic story of paranoia.
93. Miracle (2004)
PG | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The true story of Herb Brooks, the player-turned-coach who led the 1980 U.S. Olympic hockey team to victory over the seemingly invincible Soviet squad.
Director: Gavin O'Connor | Stars: Kurt Russell, Patricia Clarkson, Nathan West, Noah Emmerich
Votes: 58,939 | Gross: $64.38M
One of the greatest sports stories ever retold.
94. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,211,562 | Gross: $130.10M
A funny and smart suburban satire.
95. Double Indemnity (1944)
Passed | 107 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir
A Los Angeles insurance representative lets an alluring housewife seduce him into a scheme of insurance fraud and murder that arouses the suspicion of his colleague, an insurance investigator.
Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson, Byron Barr
Votes: 167,552 | Gross: $5.72M
One of the great thrillers of all time.
96. The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)
PG | 76 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
Jack Skellington, king of Halloween Town, discovers Christmas Town, but his attempts to bring Christmas to his home causes confusion.
Director: Henry Selick | Stars: Danny Elfman, Chris Sarandon, Catherine O'Hara, William Hickey
Votes: 375,313 | Gross: $75.08M
The classic, imaginative holiday crossover.
97. The Usual Suspects (1995)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin
Votes: 1,146,160 | Gross: $23.34M
A smart crime drama with one of the greatest endings.
98. M*A*S*H (1970)
R | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, War
The staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.
Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman
Votes: 76,966 | Gross: $81.60M
Who says war can't be funny?
99. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
R | 102 min | Drama
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Votes: 899,306 | Gross: $3.64M
Depressing, disturbing and amazing all at once.
100. The Fugitive (1993)
PG-13 | 130 min | Action, Crime, Drama
Dr. Richard Kimble, unjustly accused of murdering his wife, must find the real killer while being the target of a nationwide manhunt led by a seasoned U.S. Marshal.
Director: Andrew Davis | Stars: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore
Votes: 318,896 | Gross: $183.88M
One of the best films of the 1990's.
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