Most Cynical/Nihilistic Films

by wlea2 | created - 21 Mar 2014 | updated - 16 Jun 2018 | Public

Suggestions are much appreciated! Films not in order

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1. Sweet Smell of Success (1957)

Approved | 96 min | Drama, Film-Noir

100 Metascore

Powerful but unethical Broadway columnist J.J. Hunsecker coerces unscrupulous press agent Sidney Falco into breaking up his sister's romance with a jazz musician.

Director: Alexander Mackendrick | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Tony Curtis, Susan Harrison, Martin Milner

Votes: 35,729

2. 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: 39,178 | Gross: $3.97M

3. Dancer in the Dark (2000)

R | 140 min | Crime, Drama, Musical

63 Metascore

An Eastern European US immigrant with a love for musicals has to cope with the gradual loss of her vision.

Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Björk, Catherine Deneuve, David Morse, Peter Stormare

Votes: 116,868 | Gross: $4.18M

4. Naked (1993)

Not Rated | 131 min | Comedy, Drama

85 Metascore

An unemployed Mancunian vents his rage on unsuspecting strangers as he embarks on a nocturnal London odyssey.

Director: Mike Leigh | Stars: David Thewlis, Lesley Sharp, Katrin Cartlidge, Greg Cruttwell

Votes: 43,986 | Gross: $1.77M

5. Salò, or the 120 Days of Sodom (1975)

TV-MA | 117 min | Drama

In World War II Italy, four fascist libertines round up nine adolescent boys and girls and subject them to 120 days of physical, mental, and sexual torture.

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Paolo Bonacelli, Giorgio Cataldi, Uberto Paolo Quintavalle, Aldo Valletti

Votes: 65,886

6. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi

77 Metascore

In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke

Votes: 881,833 | Gross: $6.21M

7. Badlands (1973)

PG | 94 min | Action, Crime, Drama

93 Metascore

An impressionable teenage girl from a dead-end town, and her older greaser boyfriend, embark on a killing spree in the South Dakota Badlands.

Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Martin Sheen, Sissy Spacek, Warren Oates, Ramon Bieri

Votes: 78,451

8. Antichrist (2009)

Not Rated | 108 min | Drama, Horror, Thriller

49 Metascore

A grieving couple retreat to their cabin in the woods, hoping to repair their broken hearts and troubled marriage, but nature takes its course and things go from bad to worse.

Director: Lars von Trier | Stars: Willem Dafoe, Charlotte Gainsbourg, Storm Acheche Sahlstrøm

Votes: 136,625 | Gross: $0.40M

9. About Schmidt (2002)

R | 125 min | Drama

85 Metascore

A recently retired man embarks on a journey to his estranged daughter's wedding, only to discover more about himself and life than he ever expected.

Director: Alexander Payne | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Hope Davis, Dermot Mulroney, Kathy Bates

Votes: 133,624 | Gross: $65.02M

10. Accattone (1961)

Not Rated | 117 min | Drama

A pimp with no other means to provide for himself finds his life spiraling out of control when his prostitute is sent to prison.

Director: Pier Paolo Pasolini | Stars: Franco Citti, Franca Pasut, Silvana Corsini, Paola Guidi

Votes: 10,165

11. The Killing (1956)

Approved | 84 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

91 Metascore

Crook Johnny Clay assembles a five-man team to plan and execute a daring racetrack robbery.

Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Sterling Hayden, Coleen Gray, Vince Edwards, Jay C. Flippen

Votes: 97,601

12. The Wages of Fear (1953)

Not Rated | 131 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller

85 Metascore

In a decrepit South American village, four men are hired to transport an urgent nitroglycerine shipment without the equipment that would make it safe.

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Folco Lulli

Votes: 66,639

13. Funny Games (1997)

Not Rated | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

69 Metascore

Two violent young men take a mother, father, and son hostage in their vacation cabin and force them to play sadistic "games" with one another for their own amusement.

Director: Michael Haneke | Stars: Susanne Lothar, Ulrich Mühe, Arno Frisch, Frank Giering

Votes: 84,215

14. Chinatown (1974)

R | 130 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

92 Metascore

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: 350,114

15. Come and See (1985)

Not Rated | 142 min | Drama, Thriller, War

After finding an old rifle, a young boy joins the Soviet resistance movement against ruthless German forces and experiences the horrors of World War II.

Director: Elem Klimov | Stars: Aleksey Kravchenko, Olga Mironova, Liubomiras Laucevicius, Vladas Bagdonas

Votes: 97,441

16. Detour (1945)

Passed | 66 min | Crime, Drama, Film-Noir

The life of Al Roberts, a pianist in a New York nightclub, turns into a nightmare when he decides to hitchhike to Los Angeles to visit his girlfriend.

Director: Edgar G. Ulmer | Stars: Tom Neal, Ann Savage, Claudia Drake, Edmund MacDonald

Votes: 19,730 | Gross: $0.02M

17. 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: 518,599 | Gross: $0.28M

18. Five Easy Pieces (1970)

R | 98 min | Drama

85 Metascore

A dropout from upper-class America picks up work along the way on oil rigs when his life isn't spent in a squalid succession of bars, motels, and other points of interest.

Director: Bob Rafelson | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Karen Black, Billy Green Bush, Fannie Flagg

Votes: 40,581 | Gross: $19.40M

19. Happiness (1998)

NC-17 | 134 min | Comedy, Drama

81 Metascore

The lives of several individuals intertwine as they go about their lives in their own unique ways, engaging in acts which society as a whole might find disturbing in a desperate search for human connection.

Director: Todd Solondz | Stars: Jane Adams, Jon Lovitz, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Dylan Baker

Votes: 74,471 | Gross: $2.81M

20. I Will Buy You (1956)

Not Rated | 111 min | Drama, Sport

A talent scout moves sharply, dead-set on signing a promising athlete to his team.

Director: Masaki Kobayashi | Stars: Keiji Sada, Keiko Kishi, Minoru Ôki, Yûnosuke Itô

Votes: 562

21. Irreversible (2002)

Not Rated | 97 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

51 Metascore

Events over the course of one traumatic night in Paris unfold in reverse-chronological order as the beautiful Alex is brutally raped and beaten by a stranger in an underpass tunnel.

Director: Gaspar Noé | Stars: Monica Bellucci, Vincent Cassel, Albert Dupontel, Philippe Nahon

Votes: 147,796 | Gross: $0.75M

22. Kids (1995)

Unrated | 91 min | Drama

63 Metascore

A day in the life of a group of teens as they travel around New York City skating, drinking, smoking and deflowering virgins.

Director: Larry Clark | Stars: Leo Fitzpatrick, Justin Pierce, Chloë Sevigny, Sarah Henderson

Votes: 84,696 | Gross: $7.42M

23. L'Argent (1983)

Not Rated | 85 min | Crime, Drama

95 Metascore

A counterfeit bill that starts off as a schoolboy prank leads to incarceration and violence.

Director: Robert Bresson | Stars: Christian Patey, Sylvie Van den Elsen, Michel Briguet, Vincent Risterucci

Votes: 11,854

24. Lilya 4-Ever (2002)

R | 109 min | Crime, Drama

83 Metascore

Sixteen-year-old Lilja and her only friend, the young boy Volodja, live in Russia, fantasizing about a better life. One day, Lilja falls in love with Andrej, who is going to Sweden, and invites Lilja to come along and start a new life.

Director: Lukas Moodysson | Stars: Oksana Akinshina, Artyom Bogucharskiy, Pavel Ponomaryov, Lyubov Agapova

Votes: 49,425 | Gross: $0.18M

25. Little Murders (1971)

PG | 108 min | Comedy, Crime

Pitch black comedy about a young nihilistic New Yorker coping with pervasive urban violence, obscene phone calls, rusty water pipes, electrical blackouts, paranoia and ethnic-racial conflict during a typical summer of the 1970s.

Director: Alan Arkin | Stars: Elliott Gould, Marcia Rodd, Vincent Gardenia, Elizabeth Wilson

Votes: 3,570 | Gross: $0.26M

26. Man Bites Dog (1992)

NC-17 | 95 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

A film crew follows a ruthless thief and heartless killer as he goes about his daily routine. But complications set in when the film crew lose their objectivity and begin lending a hand.

Directors: Rémy Belvaux, André Bonzel, Benoît Poelvoorde | Stars: Benoît Poelvoorde, Jacqueline Poelvoorde-Pappaert, Nelly Pappaert, Hector Pappaert

Votes: 43,755 | Gross: $0.21M

27. Margin Call (2011)

R | 107 min | Drama, Thriller

76 Metascore

Follows the key people at an investment bank over a 24-hour period during the early stages of the 2008 financial crisis.

Director: J.C. Chandor | Stars: Zachary Quinto, Stanley Tucci, Kevin Spacey, Paul Bettany

Votes: 144,536 | Gross: $5.35M

28. Match Point (2005)

R | 124 min | Drama, Romance, Thriller

72 Metascore

At a turning point in his life, a former tennis pro falls for an actress who happens to be dating his friend and soon-to-be brother-in-law.

Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Rhys Meyers, Emily Mortimer, Matthew Goode

Votes: 228,191 | Gross: $23.09M

29. Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

PG-13 | 104 min | Comedy, Drama

77 Metascore

An ophthalmologist's mistress threatens to reveal their affair to his wife while a married documentary filmmaker is infatuated with another woman.

Director: Woody Allen | Stars: Martin Landau, Woody Allen, Bill Bernstein, Claire Bloom

Votes: 60,816 | Gross: $18.25M

30. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

R | 120 min | Drama, Western

93 Metascore

A gambler and a prostitute become business partners in a remote Old West mining town, and their enterprise thrives until a large corporation arrives on the scene.

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois, William Devane

Votes: 27,672 | Gross: $8.20M

31. Monsieur Verdoux (1947)

Passed | 124 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A suave but cynical man supports his family by marrying and murdering rich women for their money, but the job has some occupational hazards.

Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Mady Correll, Allison Roddan, Robert Lewis

Votes: 19,141 | Gross: $0.33M

32. Night Moves (1975)

R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

82 Metascore

Los Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.

Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin

Votes: 17,736

33. Network (1976)

R | 121 min | Drama

83 Metascore

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: 170,758

34. Pale Flower (1964)

Not Rated | 96 min | Action, Crime

A gangster gets released from prison and has to cope with the recent shifts of power between the gangs, while taking care of a thrill-seeking young woman, who got in bad company while gambling.

Director: Masahiro Shinoda | Stars: Ryô Ikebe, Mariko Kaga, Takashi Fujiki, Naoki Sugiura

Votes: 4,398

35. 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: 212,466

36. Requiem for a Dream (2000)

R | 102 min | Drama

71 Metascore

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: 899,409 | Gross: $3.64M

37. Reservoir Dogs (1992)

R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller

81 Metascore

When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.

Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn

Votes: 1,088,995 | Gross: $2.83M

38. Seconds (1966)

R | 106 min | Sci-Fi, Thriller

71 Metascore

An unhappy middle-aged banker agrees to a procedure that will fake his death and give him a completely new look and identity - one that comes with its own price.

Director: John Frankenheimer | Stars: Rock Hudson, Frank Campanella, John Randolph, Frances Reid

Votes: 22,236

39. Shame (2011)

NC-17 | 101 min | Drama

72 Metascore

A sex addict's carefully cultivated private life falls apart after his sister arrives for an indefinite stay.

Director: Steve McQueen | Stars: Michael Fassbender, Carey Mulligan, James Badge Dale, Lucy Walters

Votes: 206,338 | Gross: $4.00M

40. Straight Time (1978)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama

64 Metascore

The difficulties of a career burglar to reinsert himself after being released on parole.

Directors: Ulu Grosbard, Dustin Hoffman | Stars: Dustin Hoffman, Theresa Russell, Gary Busey, Harry Dean Stanton

Votes: 10,172 | Gross: $9.90M

41. Synecdoche, New York (2008)

R | 124 min | Drama

67 Metascore

A theatre director struggles with his work, and the women in his life, as he creates a life-size replica of New York City inside a warehouse as part of his new play.

Director: Charlie Kaufman | Stars: Philip Seymour Hoffman, Samantha Morton, Michelle Williams, Catherine Keener

Votes: 98,285 | Gross: $3.08M

42. Syriana (2005)

R | 128 min | Drama, Thriller

76 Metascore

A politically charged epic about the state of the oil industry in the hands of those personally involved in and affected by it.

Director: Stephen Gaghan | Stars: George Clooney, Matt Damon, Amanda Peet, Kayvan Novak

Votes: 134,297 | Gross: $50.82M

43. Taxi Driver (1976)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama

94 Metascore

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: 921,574 | Gross: $28.26M

44. The Big Heat (1953)

Passed | 89 min | Crime, Film-Noir, Thriller

Tough cop Dave Bannion takes on a politically powerful crime syndicate.

Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Glenn Ford, Gloria Grahame, Jocelyn Brando, Alexander Scourby

Votes: 29,212

45. The Friends of Eddie Coyle (1973)

R | 102 min | Crime, Drama

84 Metascore

After his last crime has him looking at a long prison sentence for repeat offenses, a low level Boston gangster decides to snitch on his friends to avoid jail time.

Director: Peter Yates | Stars: Robert Mitchum, Peter Boyle, Richard Jordan, Steven Keats

Votes: 12,213

46. 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: 2,014,536 | Gross: $134.97M

47. The Godfather Part II (1974)

R | 202 min | Crime, Drama

90 Metascore

The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.

Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton

Votes: 1,365,333 | Gross: $57.30M

48. The Last Picture Show (1971)

R | 118 min | Drama, Romance

93 Metascore

In 1951, a group of high schoolers come of age in a bleak, isolated, atrophied North Texas town that is slowly dying, both culturally and economically.

Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd, Ben Johnson

Votes: 52,430 | Gross: $29.13M

49. The Player (1992)

R | 124 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

86 Metascore

A Hollywood studio executive is being sent death threats by a writer whose script he rejected, but which one?

Director: Robert Altman | Stars: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg

Votes: 65,831 | Gross: $21.71M

50. The King of Comedy (1982)

PG | 109 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

73 Metascore

A passionate yet unsuccessful comedian stalks and kidnaps his idol to take the spotlight for himself.

Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Robert De Niro, Jerry Lewis, Diahnne Abbott, Sandra Bernhard

Votes: 119,300 | Gross: $2.50M

51. The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999)

R | 139 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

76 Metascore

In late 1950s New York, a young underachiever named Tom Ripley is sent to Italy to retrieve Dickie Greenleaf, a rich and spoiled millionaire playboy. But when the errand fails, Ripley takes extreme measures.

Director: Anthony Minghella | Stars: Matt Damon, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jude Law, Cate Blanchett

Votes: 243,973 | Gross: $81.30M

52. The Vanishing (1988)

Not Rated | 107 min | Mystery, Thriller

Rex and Saskia, a young couple in love, are on vacation. They stop at a busy service station and Saskia is abducted. After three years and no sign of Saskia, Rex begins receiving letters from the abductor.

Director: George Sluizer | Stars: Bernard-Pierre Donnadieu, Gene Bervoets, Johanna ter Steege, Gwen Eckhaus

Votes: 44,329

53. 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: 641,634 | Gross: $40.22M

54. They Shoot Horses, Don't They? (1969)

M | 129 min | Drama

72 Metascore

The lives of a disparate group of contestants intertwine in an inhumanely grueling dance marathon.

Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Jane Fonda, Michael Sarrazin, Susannah York, Gig Young

Votes: 20,876 | Gross: $12.60M

55. Thief (1981)

R | 123 min | Action, Crime, Drama

78 Metascore

An ace safe cracker wants to do one last big heist for the mob before going straight.

Director: Michael Mann | Stars: James Caan, Tuesday Weld, Willie Nelson, Jim Belushi

Votes: 39,093 | Gross: $11.49M

56. Touchez pas au grisbi (1954)

Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Drama

85 Metascore

An aging, world-weary gangster is double-crossed and forced out of retirement when his best friend is kidnapped and their stash of eight stolen gold bars demanded as ransom.

Director: Jacques Becker | Stars: Jean Gabin, René Dary, Dora Doll, Vittorio Sanipoli

Votes: 8,550 | Gross: $0.13M

57. Traffic (2000)

R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

86 Metascore

A conservative judge is appointed by the President to spearhead America's escalating war against drugs, only to discover that his teenage daughter is a crack addict. Two DEA agents protect an informant. A jailed drug baron's wife attempts to carry on the family business.

Director: Steven Soderbergh | Stars: Michael Douglas, Benicio Del Toro, Catherine Zeta-Jones, Jacob Vargas

Votes: 219,852 | Gross: $124.12M

58. Vengeance Is Mine (1979)

Not Rated | 139 min | Crime, Drama

85 Metascore

Chronological exploits of Iwao Enokizu, a murderous thief on the run.

Director: Shôhei Imamura | Stars: Ken Ogata, Rentarô Mikuni, Chôchô Miyako, Mitsuko Baishô

Votes: 7,301

59. We Need to Talk About Kevin (2011)

R | 112 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

68 Metascore

Kevin's mother struggles to love her strange child despite the increasingly dangerous things he says and does as he grows up. But Kevin is just getting started, and his final act will be beyond anything anyone imagined.

Director: Lynne Ramsay | Stars: Tilda Swinton, John C. Reilly, Ezra Miller, Jasper Newell

Votes: 167,883 | Gross: $1.74M

60. The Mist (2007)

R | 126 min | Horror, Sci-Fi, Thriller

58 Metascore

A freak storm unleashes a species of bloodthirsty creatures on a small town, where a small band of citizens hole up in a supermarket and fight for their lives.

Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Thomas Jane, Marcia Gay Harden, Laurie Holden, Andre Braugher

Votes: 340,769 | Gross: $25.59M

61. The Road (I) (2009)

R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller

64 Metascore

In a dangerous post-apocalyptic world, an ailing father defends his son as they slowly travel to the sea.

Director: John Hillcoat | Stars: Viggo Mortensen, Charlize Theron, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Robert Duvall

Votes: 254,379 | Gross: $0.06M

62. No Country for Old Men (2007)

R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

92 Metascore

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: 1,061,314 | Gross: $74.28M

63. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer (2006)

R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Fantasy

56 Metascore

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille, born with a superior olfactory sense, creates the world's finest perfume. His work, however, takes a dark turn as he searches for the ultimate scent.

Director: Tom Tykwer | Stars: Ben Whishaw, Dustin Hoffman, Alan Rickman, Francesc Albiol

Votes: 265,933 | Gross: $2.22M

64. The Match Factory Girl (1990)

Not Rated | 69 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama

A woman's terribly dull life is upended by a one-night stand pregnancy, causing her to seek retribution.

Director: Aki Kaurismäki | Stars: Kati Outinen, Elina Salo, Esko Nikkari, Vesa Vierikko

Votes: 11,687

65. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)

Not Rated | 131 min | Drama

75 Metascore

A bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.

Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis

Votes: 79,968

66. The Big Red One (1980)

R | 113 min | Drama, War

77 Metascore

A hardened sergeant and the four core members of his infantry unit try to survive World War II as they move from battle to battle throughout Europe.

Director: Samuel Fuller | Stars: Lee Marvin, Mark Hamill, Robert Carradine, Bobby Di Cicco

Votes: 21,406

67. The Grey Zone (2001)

R | 108 min | Drama, History, War

58 Metascore

A Nazi doctor, along with the Sonderkommando, Jews who are forced to work in the crematoria of Auschwitz against their fellow Jews, find themselves in a moral gray zone.

Director: Tim Blake Nelson | Stars: David Arquette, Velizar Binev, David Chandler, Michael Stuhlbarg

Votes: 11,431 | Gross: $0.52M

68. In the Company of Men (1997)

R | 97 min | Comedy, Drama

80 Metascore

Two business executives--one an avowed misogynist, the other recently emotionally wounded by his love interest--set out to exact revenge on the female gender by seeking out the most innocent, uncorrupted girl they can find and ruining her life.

Director: Neil LaBute | Stars: Aaron Eckhart, Matt Malloy, Stacy Edwards, Michael Martin

Votes: 14,294 | Gross: $2.86M

69. A Woman Under the Influence (1974)

R | 155 min | Drama, Romance

88 Metascore

Although wife and mother Mabel is loved by her husband Nick, her mental illness places a strain on the marriage.

Director: John Cassavetes | Stars: Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk, Fred Draper, Lady Rowlands

Votes: 28,738 | Gross: $13.34M

70. Fail Safe (1964)

Approved | 112 min | Drama, Thriller

75 Metascore

A technical malfunction sends American planes to Moscow to deliver a nuclear attack. Can all-out war be averted?

Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Walter Matthau, Fritz Weaver, Dan O'Herlihy

Votes: 24,428

71. A Serious Man (2009)

R | 106 min | Comedy, Drama

88 Metascore

Larry Gopnik, a Midwestern physics teacher, watches his life unravel over multiple sudden incidents. Though seeking meaning and answers amidst his turmoils, he seems to keep sinking.

Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Michael Stuhlbarg, Richard Kind, Sari Lennick, Fred Melamed

Votes: 150,005 | Gross: $9.19M

72. In Cold Blood (1967)

R | 134 min | Biography, Crime, Drama

89 Metascore

Two ex-cons murder a family in a robbery attempt, before going on the run from the authorities. The police try to piece together the details of the murder in an attempt to track down the killers.

Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Robert Blake, Scott Wilson, John Forsythe, Paul Stewart

Votes: 29,170

73. The Child (2005)

R | 95 min | Crime, Drama, Romance

87 Metascore

Bruno and Sonia, a young couple living off her benefit and the thefts committed by his gang, have a new source of money: their newborn son.

Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Jérémie Renier, Déborah François, Jérémie Segard, Fabrizio Rongione

Votes: 19,405 | Gross: $0.65M

74. Hud (1963)

Passed | 112 min | Drama, Western

62 Metascore

Honest, hard-working Texas rancher Homer Bannon has a conflict with his unscrupulous, selfish, arrogant, egotistical son Hud, who sank into alcoholism after accidentally killing his brother in a car crash.

Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Paul Newman, Melvyn Douglas, Patricia Neal, Brandon De Wilde

Votes: 23,952 | Gross: $10.00M

75. Titus (1999)

R | 162 min | Drama, History, Thriller

57 Metascore

Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family.

Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Osheen Jones, Dario D'Ambrosi

Votes: 21,475 | Gross: $1.92M

76. Sorcerer (1977)

PG | 121 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller

68 Metascore

Four unfortunate men from different parts of the globe agree to risk their lives transporting gallons of nitroglycerin across dangerous Latin American jungle.

Director: William Friedkin | Stars: Roy Scheider, Bruno Cremer, Francisco Rabal, Amidou

Votes: 27,734 | Gross: $12.00M

77. Nine Queens (2000)

R | 114 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

80 Metascore

Two con artists try to swindle a stamp collector by selling him a sheet of counterfeit rare stamps (the "nine queens").

Director: Fabián Bielinsky | Stars: Ricardo Darín, Gastón Pauls, Graciela Tenenbaum, María Mercedes Villagra

Votes: 57,175 | Gross: $1.22M

78. Insomnia (1997)

Not Rated | 96 min | Crime, Mystery, Thriller

In a Norwegian city with a 24-hour daylight cycle a Swedish murder investigator has been brought in on a special case. Sleep deprived, he makes a horrible mistake which is discovered by the killer he has been hunting.

Director: Erik Skjoldbjærg | Stars: Stellan Skarsgård, Sverre Anker Ousdal, Maria Mathiesen, Gisken Armand

Votes: 15,601 | Gross: $0.22M

79. Investigation of a Citizen Above Suspicion (1970)

R | 115 min | Crime, Drama

89 Metascore

A chief of detectives, homicide section, kills his mistress and deliberately leaves clues to prove his own responsibility for the crime.

Director: Elio Petri | Stars: Gian Maria Volontè, Florinda Bolkan, Gianni Santuccio, Orazio Orlando

Votes: 13,351 | Gross: $0.27M

80. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

PG | 161 min | Adventure, Drama, War

88 Metascore

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: 233,451 | Gross: $44.91M

81. Richard III (1955)

Not Rated | 161 min | Biography, Drama, History

88 Metascore

Shakespeare's powerful tale of the wicked deformed King and his conquests, both on the battlefield and in the boudoir.

Director: Laurence Olivier | Stars: Laurence Olivier, Cedric Hardwicke, Nicholas Hannen, Ralph Richardson

Votes: 5,233

82. Fat City (1972)

PG | 96 min | Drama, Sport

89 Metascore

Two men, working as professional boxers, come to blows when their careers each begin to take different directions.

Director: John Huston | Stars: Stacy Keach, Jeff Bridges, Susan Tyrrell, Candy Clark

Votes: 10,399

83. Othello (1995)

R | 123 min | Drama, Romance

The Moorish General Othello is manipulated into thinking that his new wife Desdemona has been carrying on an affair with his Lieutenant Michael Cassio, when in reality, it is all part of the scheme of a bitter Ensign named Iago.

Director: Oliver Parker | Stars: Laurence Fishburne, Kenneth Branagh, Irène Jacob, Nathaniel Parker

Votes: 10,181 | Gross: $2.11M

84. The Raven (1943)

Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery

A French village doctor becomes the target of poison-pen letters sent to village leaders, accusing him of affairs and practicing abortion.

Director: Henri-Georges Clouzot | Stars: Pierre Fresnay, Ginette Leclerc, Micheline Francey, Héléna Manson

Votes: 10,903 | Gross: $0.03M

85. Safe (1995)

R | 119 min | Drama

76 Metascore

An affluent and unexceptional homemaker in the suburbs develops multiple chemical sensitivity.

Director: Todd Haynes | Stars: Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley, Dean Norris, Julie Burgess

Votes: 17,255 | Gross: $0.51M

86. The Constant Gardener (2005)

R | 129 min | Drama, Mystery, Romance

82 Metascore

A widower's transcontinental quest to find answers about his wife's death leads him to explosive secrets.

Director: Fernando Meirelles | Stars: Ralph Fiennes, Rachel Weisz, Danny Huston, Hubert Koundé

Votes: 148,522 | Gross: $33.58M

87. The Bad Sleep Well (1960)

Not Rated | 151 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

A vengeful young man marries the daughter of a corrupt industrialist in order to seek justice for his father's suicide.

Director: Akira Kurosawa | Stars: Toshirô Mifune, Masayuki Mori, Kyôko Kagawa, Tatsuya Mihashi

Votes: 14,035

88. Blue Ruin (2013)

R | 90 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

78 Metascore

A mysterious outsider's quiet life is turned upside down when he returns to his childhood home to carry out an act of vengeance. Proving himself an amateur assassin, he winds up in a brutal fight to protect his estranged family.

Director: Jeremy Saulnier | Stars: Macon Blair, Devin Ratray, Amy Hargreaves, Kevin Kolack

Votes: 78,956 | Gross: $0.26M

89. And Justice for All (1979)

R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

58 Metascore

A lawyer is forced to defend a judge, while defending other clients, and trying to find punishment for the guilty and provide justice for the innocent.

Director: Norman Jewison | Stars: Al Pacino, Jack Warden, John Forsythe, Lee Strasberg

Votes: 39,711

90. 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: 131,447

91. Affliction (1997)

R | 114 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

79 Metascore

A deeply troubled small-town cop investigates a suspicious hunting death while other events jeopardize his sanity.

Director: Paul Schrader | Stars: Nick Nolte, Sissy Spacek, James Coburn, Brigid Tierney

Votes: 19,114 | Gross: $6.30M

92. Tess (1979)

PG | 186 min | Drama, Romance

82 Metascore

A strong-willed young peasant girl attracts the affection of two men.

Director: Roman Polanski | Stars: Nastassja Kinski, Peter Firth, Leigh Lawson, John Collin

Votes: 18,295

93. Closer (I) (2004)

R | 104 min | Drama, Romance

65 Metascore

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts

Votes: 236,223 | Gross: $33.99M

94. Seduced and Abandoned (1964)

Not Rated | 115 min | Comedy, Drama

A desperate Sicilian man, whose 15-year-old daughter was seduced and impregnated by his older daughter's fiancé, tries to find a way to save the family's honor.

Director: Pietro Germi | Stars: Saro Urzì, Stefania Sandrelli, Aldo Puglisi, Lando Buzzanca

Votes: 3,871

95. Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance) (2014)

R | 119 min | Comedy, Drama

87 Metascore

A washed-up superhero actor attempts to revive his fading career by writing, directing, and starring in a Broadway production.

Director: Alejandro G. Iñárritu | Stars: Michael Keaton, Zach Galifianakis, Edward Norton, Andrea Riseborough

Votes: 666,853 | Gross: $42.34M

96. At Close Range (1986)

R | 111 min | Crime, Drama

67 Metascore

Reunited with his career criminal father, tough teen Brad thinks he's found his ticket to an exciting life of crime, only to find out he's wrong.

Director: James Foley | Stars: Sean Penn, Christopher Walken, Mary Stuart Masterson, Chris Penn

Votes: 17,766 | Gross: $2.35M

97. Gone Girl (2014)

R | 149 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller

79 Metascore

With his wife's disappearance having become the focus of an intense media circus, a man sees the spotlight turned on him when it's suspected that he may not be innocent.

Director: David Fincher | Stars: Ben Affleck, Rosamund Pike, Neil Patrick Harris, Tyler Perry

Votes: 1,068,363 | Gross: $167.77M

98. Nightcrawler (2014)

R | 117 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller

76 Metascore

When Louis Bloom, a con man desperate for work, muscles into the world of L.A. crime journalism, he blurs the line between observer and participant to become the star of his own story.

Director: Dan Gilroy | Stars: Jake Gyllenhaal, Rene Russo, Bill Paxton, Riz Ahmed

Votes: 605,064 | Gross: $32.38M

99. Jean de Florette (1986)

PG | 120 min | Comedy, Drama

A greedy landowner and his backward nephew conspire to block the only water source for an adjoining property in order to bankrupt the owner and force him to sell.

Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Yves Montand, Gérard Depardieu, Daniel Auteuil, Elisabeth Depardieu

Votes: 27,555 | Gross: $4.94M

100. Manon of the Spring (1986)

PG | 113 min | Drama

A beautiful but shy shepherdess plots vengeance on the men whose greedy conspiracy to acquire her father's land caused his death years earlier.

Director: Claude Berri | Stars: Yves Montand, Emmanuelle Béart, Daniel Auteuil, Hippolyte Girardot

Votes: 23,966 | Gross: $3.94M



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