Top Hundred: A Celebration

by svorva | created - 04 Dec 2013 | updated - 21 Aug 2015 | Public

7 years and over 500 hours later, I am finished. Somehow I want to commemorate my recent cough* accomplishment of watching a bunch of movies. With three films remaining, I previously attempted an analysis of the IMDB Top 250. This quickly devolved into a diatribe lamenting the state of humanity by questioning how travesties like Butch Cassidy, Gladiator, and The Help could possibly be taken seriously. Fortunately, my hard drive went supernova and you reader were spared from my cantankerous grumbling. This act of divine intervention forced me in a more positive direction. After all, what is this website? Mostly a collection of people’s opinions, whose sole qualification is having way too much time on their hands. That’s a slight understatement, I guess said people also need the internet. Anywho, I am sure we can all agree that quality film/art is objective and that IMDB simply does not aspire to chase this ideal. That’s fine. In this spirt, I chose to compose a list of my hundred personal favorite films. Not the best ever, just my personal favorite. Hopefully I can inspire some plebeians to quit consuming junk by stimulating them with my superior tastes. Few rules. Feature length only. Second, I only want a semblance of order. The me of now is not the me of yesterday or tomorrow, so a ridged ranking would be senseless. Finally, franchises only take one spot. This will hopefully reduce painful cuts by eliminating repetition. However, I will clarify these franchise selections with brief commentary.

Okay, give me a second.

Hmm, assembling a preliminary list was easier than I thought. I only need to make 50 or so cuts.

Wait a minute, what happened to all the Ozu films? Ozu is one of my biggest discoveries over these last few years. Half the reason I made this list was to show off half a century old+, foreign, critical darlings like Ozu. Oh well, no one can question my authenticity.

Hold up, no horror films? An entire genre just disappeared into the aether. Every Spanish language is gone? That decision didn’t just eliminate a bunch of vibrant emerging cinemas.

Down to ten. This is pure agony.

I hate to evoke the old Sophie’s Choice analogy, but as a clichéd writer I think I am obligated under these circumstances. Honestly, who would really have trouble ranking family members from best to worst? Much more ambiguity with favorite movies. This endeavor requires some serious self-realization. Look at me peeling back my mysterious façade and revealing personal truths. My high school English teacher would be proud.

The results are in. Apparently the personal truth is my opinions are garbage and I need to reconsider my hobbies. I cannot manage to shake off my naive youth. Warding pretentiousness with guilty pleasures is reasonable only up to a point. And oh what a short memory I have. Nebraska only came out a couple of years ago and already I am replacing it with worse films I remember better. Interstellar over 2001! I’m sure that evaluation will stand the test of time. I guess those Nolan fanboy juices finally stuck. Speaking of, I seem to jump on a director’s bandwagon and ride it into the sunset. Ozu cannot get one spot, but it took considerable restraint to not list Miyazaki’s complete filmography. A full third of Tarkovsky’s, Leone’s, and Tarantino’s catalogue are present along with more than a dash of Kurosawa. The auteur theory seems alive and well. So much for seeking out the cinematic unknown. I can just stay home where its safe. What a disaster. The only thing I have accomplished here is providing fodder for those wanting to take me down a peg. My days of smug hipsterdom are over. I guess there is always next decade.





Alright Alright. Butch Cassidy is probably not a travesty. Still, if you like The Help or Gladiator you need to take a minute and think about your life, specifically where it went wrong.

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1. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)

Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Drama, Western

90 Metascore

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: 811,661 | Gross: $6.10M

I count Fist Full, For a Few More, and TGTBATU as part of the Dollars Trilogy. The first two would also appear on this list, although I could not tell you where. Fist Full is difficult to evaluate given Yojimbo as context. For a Few More seems like a standard western, but it is off putting in a way I cannot synthesize.

2. Pulp Fiction (1994)

R | 154 min | Crime, Drama

95 Metascore

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: 2,221,695 | Gross: $107.93M

3. Hero (2002)

PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

85 Metascore

A defense officer, Nameless, was summoned by the King of Qin regarding his success of terminating three warriors.

Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Maggie Cheung, Ziyi Zhang

Votes: 187,685 | Gross: $53.71M

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

PG-13 | 166 min | Western

82 Metascore

A mysterious stranger with a harmonica joins forces with a notorious desperado to protect a beautiful widow from a ruthless assassin working for the railroad.

Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale, Jason Robards

Votes: 349,224 | Gross: $5.32M

5. Princess Mononoke (1997)

PG-13 | 134 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

76 Metascore

On a journey to find the cure for a Tatarigami's curse, Ashitaka finds himself in the middle of a war between the forest gods and Tatara, a mining colony. In this quest he also meets San, the Mononoke Hime.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yôji Matsuda, Yuriko Ishida, Yûko Tanaka, Billy Crudup

Votes: 434,012 | Gross: $2.38M

6. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

PG-13 | 201 min | Action, Adventure, Drama

94 Metascore

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: 1,980,290 | Gross: $377.85M

Fellowship would be high on this list. Two Towers would appear as well, but not nearly as high.

7. Stalker (1979)

Not Rated | 162 min | Drama, Sci-Fi

85 Metascore

A guide leads two men through an area known as the Zone to find a room that grants wishes.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Alisa Freyndlikh, Aleksandr Kaydanovskiy, Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Nikolay Grinko

Votes: 144,835 | Gross: $0.23M

8. Blade Runner (1982)

R | 117 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

84 Metascore

A blade runner must pursue and terminate four replicants who stole a ship in space and have returned to Earth to find their creator.

Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young, Edward James Olmos

Votes: 823,463 | Gross: $32.87M

9. Woodstock (1970)

R | 184 min | Documentary, History, Music

95 Metascore

Oscar-winning musical chronicle that brilliantly captures the three-day rock concert and celebration of peace and love that became a capstone for the Sixties.

Director: Michael Wadleigh | Stars: Joan Baez, Richie Havens, Roger Daltrey, Joe Cocker

Votes: 18,470 | Gross: $50.00M

10. Oldboy (2003)

R | 120 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

78 Metascore

After being kidnapped and imprisoned for fifteen years, Oh Dae-Su is released, only to find that he must track down his captor in five days.

Director: Park Chan-wook | Stars: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jeong, Kim Byeong-Ok

Votes: 636,286 | Gross: $0.71M

I will call Oldboy a spiritual sequel to Sympathy for Mr. Vengeance in order to welch on making a tough cut.

11. The Matrix (1999)

R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi

73 Metascore

When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.

Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving

Votes: 2,054,508 | Gross: $171.48M

A lesser (although more intelligent) man would let the sequels go unmentioned. Not I. Consider both mentioned.

12. Ran (1985)

R | 160 min | Action, Drama, War

97 Metascore

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: 136,278 | Gross: $4.14M

13. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (1972)

Not Rated | 95 min | Action, Adventure, Biography

In the 16th century, the ruthless and insane Don Lope de Aguirre leads a Spanish expedition in search of El Dorado.

Director: Werner Herzog | Stars: Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra, Helena Rojo, Del Negro

Votes: 62,325

14. The Dark Knight (2008)

PG-13 | 152 min | Action, Crime, Drama

84 Metascore

When the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine

Votes: 2,872,411 | Gross: $534.86M

This superhero fad has wasted a lot of my time. The Dark Knight is obviously four levels ahead of the competition. I used to have similar thoughts toward the remainder of the franchise, but I grow less enamored each day.

15. To Live (1952)

Not Rated | 143 min | Drama

92 Metascore

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: 87,624 | Gross: $0.06M

16. V for Vendetta (2005)

R | 132 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

62 Metascore

In a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.

Director: James McTeigue | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea

Votes: 1,179,738 | Gross: $70.51M

17. The Seventh Seal (1957)

Not Rated | 96 min | Drama, Fantasy

88 Metascore

A knight returning to Sweden after the Crusades seeks answers about life, death, and the existence of God as he plays chess against the Grim Reaper during the Black Plague.

Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Bengt Ekerot, Nils Poppe

Votes: 198,577

18. Spirited Away (2001)

PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

96 Metascore

During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi

Votes: 850,100 | Gross: $10.06M

19. Seven Samurai (1954)

Not Rated | 207 min | Action, Drama

98 Metascore

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: 366,995 | Gross: $0.27M

20. Apocalypse Now (1979)

R | 147 min | Drama, Mystery, War

94 Metascore

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: 710,656 | Gross: $83.47M

21. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Approved | 218 min | Adventure, Biography, Drama

100 Metascore

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: 314,519 | Gross: $44.82M

22. Léon: The Professional (1994)

R | 110 min | Action, Crime, Drama

64 Metascore

12-year-old Mathilda is reluctantly taken in by Léon, a professional assassin, after her family is murdered. An unusual relationship forms as she becomes his protégée and learns the assassin's trade.

Director: Luc Besson | Stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman, Danny Aiello

Votes: 1,246,557 | Gross: $19.50M

23. Paris, Texas (1984)

R | 145 min | Drama

81 Metascore

Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.

Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Sam Berry

Votes: 119,133 | Gross: $2.18M

24. City Lights (1931)

G | 87 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

99 Metascore

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: 196,128 | Gross: $0.02M

25. The Big Lebowski (1998)

R | 117 min | Comedy, Crime

71 Metascore

Jeff "The Dude" Lebowski, mistaken for a millionaire of the same name, seeks restitution for his ruined rug and enlists his bowling buddies to help get it.

Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: Jeff Bridges, John Goodman, Julianne Moore, Steve Buscemi

Votes: 860,755 | Gross: $17.50M

26. 12 Angry Men (1957)

Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama

97 Metascore

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: 865,749 | Gross: $4.36M

27. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)

PG | 119 min | Animation, Adventure, Family

82 Metascore

When an unconfident young woman is cursed with an old body by a spiteful witch, her only chance of breaking the spell lies with a self-indulgent yet insecure young wizard and his companions in his legged, walking castle.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Chieko Baishô, Takuya Kimura, Tatsuya Gashûin, Akihiro Miwa

Votes: 449,804 | Gross: $4.71M

28. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)

G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family

86 Metascore

When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi

Votes: 380,573 | Gross: $1.11M

29. Harakiri (1962)

Not Rated | 133 min | Action, Drama, Mystery

85 Metascore

When a ronin requesting seppuku at a feudal lord's palace is told of the brutal suicide of another ronin who previously visited, he reveals how their pasts are intertwined - and in doing so challenges the clan's integrity.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Akira Ishihama, Shima Iwashita, Tetsurô Tanba

Votes: 68,751

30. The Wind Rises (2013)

PG-13 | 126 min | Animation, Biography, Drama

83 Metascore

Jiro Horikoshi studies assiduously to fulfill his aim of becoming an aeronautical engineer. As WWII begins, fighter aircraft designed by him end up getting used by the Japanese Empire against its foes.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hideaki Anno, Hidetoshi Nishijima, Miori Takimoto, Masahiko Nishimura

Votes: 98,870 | Gross: $5.21M

31. (1963)

Not Rated | 138 min | Drama

93 Metascore

A harried movie director retreats into his memories and fantasies.

Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Claudia Cardinale, Sandra Milo

Votes: 125,238 | Gross: $0.05M

32. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)

R | 111 min | Action, Crime, Thriller

69 Metascore

After awakening from a four-year coma, a former assassin wreaks vengeance on the team of assassins who betrayed her.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Uma Thurman, David Carradine, Daryl Hannah, Michael Madsen

Votes: 1,194,735 | Gross: $70.10M

These two can barely be separated. I cannot say I flipped a coin of selecting Vol.1 one over Vol.2, but sense no one is paying me I won't bother explaining why.

33. Yojimbo (1961)

Not Rated | 110 min | Action, Drama, Thriller

93 Metascore

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: 131,417

34. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)

Not Rated | 89 min | Animation, Drama, War

94 Metascore

A young boy and his little sister struggle to survive in Japan during World War II.

Director: Isao Takahata | Stars: Tsutomu Tatsumi, Ayano Shiraishi, Akemi Yamaguchi, Yoshiko Shinohara

Votes: 310,690

35. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

R | 133 min | Drama

84 Metascore

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: 1,072,862 | Gross: $112.00M

36. Solaris (1972)

PG | 167 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

93 Metascore

A psychologist is sent to a station orbiting a distant planet in order to discover what has caused the crew to go insane.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Natalya Bondarchuk, Donatas Banionis, Jüri Järvet, Vladislav Dvorzhetskiy

Votes: 98,311

37. Red Beard (1965)

Not Rated | 185 min | Drama

90 Metascore

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: 21,112

38. The Sting (1973)

PG | 129 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

83 Metascore

Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.

Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning

Votes: 280,017 | Gross: $159.60M

39. Lupin III: The Castle of Cagliostro (1979)

102 min | Animation, Action, Adventure

72 Metascore

A dashing thief, his gang of desperadoes and an intrepid cop struggle to free a princess from an evil count, and learn the secret of a treasure that she holds part of the key to.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Yasuo Yamada, Eiko Masuyama, Kiyoshi Kobayashi, Makio Inoue

Votes: 33,592

40. Cinema Paradiso (1988)

R | 174 min | Drama, Romance

80 Metascore

A filmmaker recalls his childhood when falling in love with the pictures at the cinema of his home village and forms a deep friendship with the cinema's projectionist.

Director: Giuseppe Tornatore | Stars: Philippe Noiret, Enzo Cannavale, Antonella Attili, Isa Danieli

Votes: 283,080 | Gross: $11.99M

41. The Road (1954)

Not Rated | 108 min | Drama

A care-free girl is sold to a traveling entertainer, consequently enduring physical and emotional pain along the way.

Director: Federico Fellini | Stars: Anthony Quinn, Giulietta Masina, Richard Basehart, Aldo Silvani

Votes: 66,610

42. The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

97 Metascore

A self-proclaimed preacher marries a gullible widow whose young children are reluctant to tell him where their real dad hid the $10,000 he'd stolen in a robbery.

Director: Charles Laughton | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish, James Gleason

Votes: 97,410 | Gross: $0.65M

43. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

PG | 91 min | Adventure, Comedy, Fantasy

91 Metascore

King Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.

Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones | Stars: Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Eric Idle, Terry Gilliam

Votes: 570,493 | Gross: $1.23M

44. Pirates of the Caribbean: At World's End (2007)

PG-13 | 169 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

50 Metascore

Captain Barbossa, Will Turner and Elizabeth Swann must sail off the edge of the map, navigate treachery and betrayal, find Jack Sparrow, and make their final alliances for one last decisive battle.

Director: Gore Verbinski | Stars: Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, Geoffrey Rush

Votes: 693,921 | Gross: $309.42M

If you thought I had any credibility to begin with, I am sure this is where that silly notion flew out the window. I will defend this film till death, along with the original.

45. Andrei Rublev (1966)

R | 189 min | Biography, Drama, History

The life, times and afflictions of the fifteenth-century Russian iconographer St. Andrei Rublev.

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky | Stars: Anatoliy Solonitsyn, Ivan Lapikov, Nikolay Grinko, Nikolay Sergeev

Votes: 57,073 | Gross: $0.10M

46. Porco Rosso (1992)

PG | 94 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

83 Metascore

In 1930s Italy, a veteran World War I pilot is cursed to look like an anthropomorphic pig.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Shûichirô Moriyama, Tokiko Katô, Bunshi Katsura VI, Tsunehiko Kamijô

Votes: 102,203

47. Millennium Actress (2001)

PG | 87 min | Animation, Drama, Fantasy

70 Metascore

A TV interviewer and his cameraman meet a former actress and travel through her memories and career.

Directors: Satoshi Kon, Kô Matsuo | Stars: Miyoko Shôji, Shôzô Îzuka, Mami Koyama, Fumiko Orikasa

Votes: 32,089 | Gross: $0.19M

48. Duck Soup (1933)

Not Rated | 69 min | Comedy, Musical

93 Metascore

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: 62,757

49. Lost Horizon (1937)

Approved | 132 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy

When a revered diplomat's plane is diverted and crashes in the peaks of Tibet, he and the other survivors are guided to an isolated monastery at Shangri-La, where they wrestle with the invitation to stay.

Director: Frank Capra | Stars: Ronald Colman, Jane Wyatt, Edward Everett Horton, John Howard

Votes: 14,460

50. The Human Condition III: A Soldier's Prayer (1961)

Not Rated | 190 min | Drama, History, War

His ideals challenged by life as a conscript in war-time Japan's military, a pacifist faces ever greater tests in his fight for survival.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Michiyo Aratama, Tamao Nakamura, Yûsuke Kawazu

Votes: 7,336

I think you need to marathon the series to get the full impact of A Soldier's Prayer. I think both prequels would appear on this list.

51. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)

PG | 117 min | Animation, Adventure, Sci-Fi

86 Metascore

Warrior and pacifist Princess Nausicaä desperately struggles to prevent two warring nations from destroying themselves and their dying planet.

Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Sumi Shimamoto, Mahito Tsujimura, Hisako Kyôda, Gorô Naya

Votes: 182,636 | Gross: $0.50M

52. Raise the Red Lantern (1991)

PG | 125 min | Drama, Romance

China in the 1920s. After her father's death, Songlian is forced to marry the wealthy Master Chen. With three wives already, each living in a separate house, there is fierce competition for his attention and the privileges that are gained.

Director: Yimou Zhang | Stars: Gong Li, Jingwu Ma, Saifei He, Cuifen Cao

Votes: 35,366 | Gross: $2.60M

53. Samsara (I) (2011)

PG-13 | 102 min | Documentary, Music

65 Metascore

Filmed over nearly five years in twenty-five countries on five continents, and shot on seventy-millimetre film, Samsara transports us to the varied worlds of sacred grounds, disaster zones, industrial complexes, and natural wonders.

Director: Ron Fricke | Stars: Balinese Tari Legong Dancers, Ni Made Megahadi Pratiwi, Puti Sri Candra Dewi, Putu Dinda Pratika

Votes: 38,060 | Gross: $2.67M

54. Dodes'ka-den (1970)

Not Rated | 140 min | Drama

Various tales in the lives of Tokyo slum dwellers, including a mentally deficient young man obsessed with driving his own commuter trolley.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Yoshitaka Zushi, Kin Sugai, Toshiyuki Tonomura, Shinsuke Minami

Votes: 7,626

55. The Hustler (1961)

Not Rated | 134 min | Drama, Sport

90 Metascore

An up-and-coming pool player plays a long-time champion in a single high-stakes match.

Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Paul Newman, Jackie Gleason, Piper Laurie, George C. Scott

Votes: 86,819 | Gross: $8.28M

56. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)

PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure

65 Metascore

In 1938, after his father goes missing while pursuing the Holy Grail, Indiana Jones finds himself up against the Nazis again to stop them from obtaining its powers.

Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Harrison Ford, Sean Connery, Alison Doody, Denholm Elliott

Votes: 811,253 | Gross: $197.17M

I would have a hard time coming up with a film not improved by the presence of Sean Connery. Obviously original also makes the cut. Equally obvious the Temple is a complete disaster and I rather rip my beating heart out than watch it.

57. Tokyo Godfathers (2003)

PG-13 | 92 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy

75 Metascore

On Christmas Eve, three homeless people living on the streets of Tokyo discover a newborn baby among the trash and set out to find its parents.

Directors: Shôgo Furuya, Satoshi Kon | Stars: Tôru Emori, Yoshiaki Umegaki, Aya Okamoto, Shôzô Îzuka

Votes: 46,784 | Gross: $0.13M

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

PG | 95 min | Comedy, War

97 Metascore

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: 518,508 | Gross: $0.28M

59. Underground (1995)

Not Rated | 167 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy

79 Metascore

Two underground black marketeers, Marko and Blacky, sell weapons to the Communist resistance in wartime Belgrade, living the good life along the way.

Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Predrag 'Miki' Manojlovic, Lazar Ristovski, Mirjana Jokovic, Slavko Stimac

Votes: 61,277 | Gross: $0.17M

60. Citizen Kane (1941)

PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery

100 Metascore

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: 466,141 | Gross: $1.59M

61. Wild Strawberries (1957)

Not Rated | 91 min | Drama, Romance

88 Metascore

After living a life marked by coldness, an aging professor is forced to confront the emptiness of his existence.

Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Victor Sjöström, Bibi Andersson, Ingrid Thulin, Gunnar Björnstrand

Votes: 115,038

62. Inglourious Basterds (2009)

R | 153 min | Adventure, Drama, War

69 Metascore

In Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Brad Pitt, Diane Kruger, Eli Roth, Mélanie Laurent

Votes: 1,585,331 | Gross: $120.54M

63. Diva (1981)

R | 117 min | Crime, Music, Thriller

Two tapes, two Parisian mob killers, one corrupt policeman, an opera fan, a teenage thief, and the coolest philosopher ever filmed all twist their way through an intricate and stylish French-language thriller.

Director: Jean-Jacques Beineix | Stars: Wilhelmenia Fernandez, Frédéric Andréi, Roland Bertin, Richard Bohringer

Votes: 14,320 | Gross: $0.11M

64. Django Unchained (2012)

R | 165 min | Comedy, Drama, Western

81 Metascore

With the help of a German bounty-hunter, a freed slave sets out to rescue his wife from a brutal plantation owner in Mississippi.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Jamie Foxx, Christoph Waltz, Leonardo DiCaprio, Kerry Washington

Votes: 1,696,369 | Gross: $162.81M

65. Paths of Glory (1957)

Approved | 88 min | Drama, War

90 Metascore

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: 212,381

66. Hamlet (1948)

Approved | 154 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Prince Hamlet struggles over whether or not he should kill his uncle, whom he suspects has murdered his father, the former king.

Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, John Laurie, Esmond Knight

Votes: 18,409 | Gross: $7.09M

67. The Godfather (1972)

R | 175 min | Crime, Drama

100 Metascore

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: 2,013,772 | Gross: $134.97M

68. Ace in the Hole (1951)

Approved | 111 min | Drama, Film-Noir

72 Metascore

A frustrated former big-city journalist now stuck working for an Albuquerque newspaper exploits a story about a man trapped in a cave to rekindle his career, but the situation quickly escalates into an out-of-control circus.

Director: Billy Wilder | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Jan Sterling, Robert Arthur, Porter Hall

Votes: 39,132 | Gross: $3.97M

69. Fight Club (1999)

R | 139 min | Drama

67 Metascore

An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier

Votes: 2,325,555 | Gross: $37.03M

70. Gran Torino (2008)

R | 116 min | Drama

73 Metascore

After a Hmong teenager tries to steal his prized 1972 Gran Torino, a disgruntled, prejudiced Korean War veteran seeks to redeem both the boy and himself.

Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Bee Vang, Christopher Carley, Ahney Her

Votes: 815,242 | Gross: $148.10M

71. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)

PG | 121 min | Action, Adventure, Fantasy

90 Metascore

Luke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.

Director: George Lucas | Stars: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness

Votes: 1,450,358 | Gross: $322.74M

Watching any entrance in this franchise would induce a nostalgic euphoria causing me to claim that the entire original trilogy is perfect. Realistically, the sequels would likely just miss out.

72. Schindler's List (1993)

R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History

95 Metascore

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: 1,451,610 | Gross: $96.90M

73. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

R | 169 min | Drama, War

91 Metascore

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: 1,497,208 | Gross: $216.54M

74. There Will Be Blood (2007)

R | 158 min | Drama

93 Metascore

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: 641,459 | Gross: $40.22M

75. Hoop Dreams (1994)

PG-13 | 170 min | Documentary, Drama, Sport

98 Metascore

A film following the lives of two inner-city Chicago boys who struggle to become college basketball players on the road to going professional.

Director: Steve James | Stars: William Gates, Arthur Agee, Emma Gates, Curtis Gates

Votes: 28,023 | Gross: $7.83M

76. Raging Bull (1980)

R | 129 min | Biography, Drama, Sport

90 Metascore

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: 380,423 | Gross: $23.38M

77. Breathless (2008)

Not Rated | 130 min | Crime, Drama

A bitter loan shark strikes a friendship with a troubled schoolgirl as he faces his own troubled past with his abusive father.

Director: Yang Ik-joon | Stars: Kim Kkobbi, Hwan Lee, Yang Ik-joon, Jeong-soon Park

Votes: 5,563

78. Do the Right Thing (1989)

R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama

93 Metascore

On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.

Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson

Votes: 112,485 | Gross: $27.55M

79. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

R | 142 min | Drama

82 Metascore

Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler

Votes: 2,890,475 | Gross: $28.34M

80. The Green Mile (1999)

R | 189 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

61 Metascore

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: 1,408,330 | Gross: $136.80M

81. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

G | 103 min | Comedy, Musical, Romance

99 Metascore

A silent film star falls for a chorus girl just as he and his delusionally jealous screen partner are trying to make the difficult transition to talking pictures in 1920s Hollywood.

Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly | Stars: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen

Votes: 260,797 | Gross: $8.82M

82. The Artist (I) (2011)

PG-13 | 100 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

89 Metascore

When George, a silent movie superstar, meets Peppy Miller, a dancer, sparks fly between the two. However, after the introduction of talking pictures, their fortunes change, affecting their dynamic.

Director: Michel Hazanavicius | Stars: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell

Votes: 248,661 | Gross: $44.67M

83. Downfall (2004)

R | 156 min | Biography, Drama, History

82 Metascore

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: 375,391 | Gross: $5.51M

84. Cloud Atlas (2012)

R | 172 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi

55 Metascore

An exploration of how the actions of individual lives impact one another in the past, present and future, as one soul is shaped from a killer into a hero, and an act of kindness ripples across centuries to inspire a revolution.

Directors: Tom Tykwer, Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Tom Hanks, Halle Berry, Hugh Grant, Hugo Weaving

Votes: 374,487 | Gross: $27.11M

85. Kagemusha: The Shadow Warrior (1980)

PG | 162 min | Drama, History, War

84 Metascore

A petty thief with an utter resemblance to a samurai warlord is hired as the lord's double. When the warlord later dies the thief is forced to take up arms in his place.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Tatsuya Nakadai, Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken'ichi Hagiwara, Jinpachi Nezu

Votes: 38,198

86. Searching for Sugar Man (2012)

PG-13 | 86 min | Documentary, Biography, Music

79 Metascore

Two South Africans set out to discover what happened to their unlikely musical hero, the mysterious 1970s rock n roller, Rodriguez.

Director: Malik Bendjelloul | Stars: Rodriguez, Stephen 'Sugar' Segerman, Dennis Coffey, Mike Theodore

Votes: 72,923 | Gross: $3.97M

87. City of God (2002)

R | 130 min | Crime, Drama

79 Metascore

In the slums of Rio, two kids' paths diverge as one struggles to become a photographer and the other a kingpin.

Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund | Stars: Alexandre Rodrigues, Leandro Firmino, Matheus Nachtergaele, Phellipe Haagensen

Votes: 801,505 | Gross: $7.56M

88. The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)

Not Rated | 163 min | Drama, Romance, War

From the Boer War through World War II, a soldier rises through the ranks in the British military.

Directors: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger | Stars: Roger Livesey, Deborah Kerr, Anton Walbrook, James McKechnie

Votes: 16,360

89. Inherit the Wind (1960)

Passed | 128 min | Biography, Drama, History

75 Metascore

Based on a real-life case in 1925; two great lawyers argue the case for, and against, a Tennessee science teacher accused of the crime of teaching Darwin's theory of evolution.

Director: Stanley Kramer | Stars: Spencer Tracy, Fredric March, Gene Kelly, Dick York

Votes: 32,791

90. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas (1998)

R | 118 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama

41 Metascore

An oddball journalist and his psychopathic lawyer travel to Las Vegas for a series of psychedelic escapades.

Director: Terry Gilliam | Stars: Johnny Depp, Benicio Del Toro, Tobey Maguire, Michael Lee Gogin

Votes: 301,628 | Gross: $10.68M

91. The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)

R | 164 min | Drama

80 Metascore

The life of Jesus Christ, his journey through life as he faces the struggles all humans do, and his final temptation on the cross.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Harvey Keitel, Barbara Hershey, Paul Greco

Votes: 63,185 | Gross: $7.63M

92. Tootsie (1982)

PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance

88 Metascore

Michael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman

Votes: 114,721 | Gross: $177.20M

93. El Topo (1970)

Not Rated | 125 min | Drama, Western

65 Metascore

A mysterious black-clad gunfighter wanders a mystical Western landscape encountering multiple bizarre characters.

Director: Alejandro Jodorowsky | Stars: Alejandro Jodorowsky, Brontis Jodorowsky, José Legarreta, Alfonso Arau

Votes: 31,408 | Gross: $0.04M

94. My Name Is Nobody (1973)

PG | 116 min | Comedy, Drama, Western

68 Metascore

A young, easy-going gunman worships and competes with a famed gunfighter, insisting that he must face down a gang of 150 outlaws before he can retire.

Director: Tonino Valerii | Stars: Terence Hill, Henry Fonda, Jean Martin, R.G. Armstrong

Votes: 29,584 | Gross: $0.39M

95. Black Cat, White Cat (1998)

R | 127 min | Comedy, Crime, Romance

73 Metascore

Matko and his son Zare live on the banks of the Danube river and get by through hustling and basically doing anything to make a living. In order to pay off a business debt Matko agrees to marry off Zare to the sister of a local gangster.

Director: Emir Kusturica | Stars: Bajram Severdzan, Srdjan 'Zika' Todorovic, Branka Katic, Florijan Ajdini

Votes: 56,409 | Gross: $0.35M

96. Gangs of New York (2002)

R | 167 min | Crime, Drama

72 Metascore

In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent

Votes: 473,144 | Gross: $77.81M

97. Interstellar (2014)

PG-13 | 169 min | Adventure, Drama, Sci-Fi

74 Metascore

When Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.

Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Matthew McConaughey, Anne Hathaway, Jessica Chastain, Mackenzie Foy

Votes: 2,102,164 | Gross: $188.02M

98. Boyhood (I) (2014)

R | 165 min | Drama

100 Metascore

The life of Mason, from early childhood to his arrival at college.

Director: Richard Linklater | Stars: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke, Elijah Smith

Votes: 367,253 | Gross: $25.38M

99. The Samurai (1967)

GP | 101 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

90 Metascore

After professional hitman Jef Costello is seen by witnesses his efforts to provide himself an alibi drive him further into a corner.

Director: Jean-Pierre Melville | Stars: Alain Delon, François Périer, Nathalie Delon, Cathy Rosier

Votes: 57,208 | Gross: $0.04M

100. F for Fake (1973)

PG | 89 min | Documentary

87 Metascore

A documentary about fraud and fakery.

Directors: Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach | Stars: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory

Votes: 18,305



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