|
THE MOST
CRITICALLY-ACCLAIMED FILM OF ALL-TIME
|
 Citizen Kane (1941)
|
- Invariably listed as the # 1 greatest film
of all time by film critics
-
ranked # 1 for over 40 years by Sight
& Sound
-
ranked # 1 in the Village
Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th
Century'
-
ranked # 1 in Time
Out's Centenary Critics' Poll taken in 1995
-
ranked # 1 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of
the 100 greatest English-language movies
-
ranked # 1 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of
the 100 greatest English-language movies
-
ranked # 2 in Entertainment
Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book
published in 1999
-
ranked # 19 in Film
Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest
Films of All Time"
|
|
GREATEST 'FOREIGN LANGUAGE'
FILMS
|
Battleship Potemkin (1925, Soviet Union)
and
La Regle du Jeu (1939, Fr.) (aka The Rules of the Game)
Ladri di Biciclette (1948, It.) (aka The Bicycle Thief)
Rashomon (1950, Jp.)
The Seven Samurai (1954, Jp.)
Pather Panchali (1955, India)
|
-
Both Battleship Potemkin and La
Regle du Jeu have regularly appeared in the top 10
of almost every Sight
& Sound polling
-
Battleship Potemkin -
voted the greatest film ever by a panel of experts at the
1958 Brussels World's Fair
-
La Regle du Jeu - ranked # 2 in the Village
Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of the
20th Century'; ranked # 58 in Entertainment
Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book
published in 1999
-
Ladri di Biciclette - ranked # 1 in
the 1952 Sight & Sound polling
-
Rashomon - the
highest-ranked Japanese film (ranked # 10) in the Village
Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of the 20th
Century'
-
The Seven Samurai - consistently the
highest-rated foreign-language film in IMDb's top
250 films rankings, voted upon by site visitors
-
Pather Panchali -
the only Indian film to appear on Sight &
Sound Critics' Top Ten Poll (ranked # 6 in 1992)
|
|
FILM-GOERS' FAVORITE
FILMS
|
Casablanca
(1942)
|
|
Star
Wars (1977): Episode IV - A New Hope
|
- Star Wars (1977)
ranked # 1 by Mr.
Showbiz.com's (Internet website) Readers' Picks
of "100 Best Movies of All Time"
ranked # 1 by Empire
Magazine's "Ultimate Movie Poll" of
the 50 Best Films in late 2001
ranked # 1 by Empire
Magazine's polling of "100 Greatest Movies
of All Time"
in 1999; ranked # 2 in a similar 2003 polling
ranked # 13 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of
the 100 greatest English-language movies
ranked # 15 in AFI's 100 Years...100
Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest
English-language movies
ranked # 1 (along with The Empire Strikes
Back (1980)) in Film Four's compilation
of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time" in
2001
ranked # 1 in Phobos Entertainment's listing
of the "50 Science Fiction Films You Just Have
to See"
ranked # 3 in Guardian Newspapers Limited's listing
of the "Top 10 Sci-Fi Films" taken in
2004
ranked # 16 in Entertainment
Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book
published in 1999
the
# 1 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The
Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time"
in 2011
|
The
Godfather (1972)
and
The
Godfather, Part II (1974)
|
-
The Godfather (1972)
the # 3 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The
Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time"
in 2011
ranked # 2 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling
in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
ranked # 1 in Time Out's Readers'
Top 100 Poll taken in 1998
ranked # 1 in Entertainment
Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book
published in 1999
ranked # 1 (long-time ranking) in IMDb's top
250 films rankings, voted upon by site visitors
ranked
# 2 in the Men's Journal's listing
of
"The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in
2003
ranked
# 2 in Film Four's compilation
of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time" in
2001
ranked # 3 in AFI's 100 Years...100
Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest
English-language movies
-
The Godfather, Part II (1974)
ranked
# 32 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling
in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
ranked
# 1 in TV Guide's "50
Greatest Movies (on TV and Video)" selected in 1998
ranked # 2 in Film Four's compilation
of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"
ranked
# 7 in Entertainment Weekly's "100
Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999
ranked # 31 in the Village Voice's listing
of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'
ranked # 32 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the
100 greatest English-language movies
|
Gone
with the Wind (1939)
|
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
the # 1 best movie
of all time in ABC-TV's "The
Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time"
in 2011
ranked # 6 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of
the 100 greatest English-language movies
ranked # 2 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002
ranked # 4 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of
the 100 greatest English-language movies
ranked # 8 in Entertainment
Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book
published in 1999
|
The
Shawshank Redemption (1994)
|
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
ranked #
72 in AFI's 100
Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling
in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
ranked # 1 (long-time ranking) in IMDb's top
250 films rankings, voted upon by site visitors
voted
the best film never to have won "Best
Picture" in a 2005 BBC poll
ranked # 2 in Film
Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest
Films of All Time" in 2001
|
|
MOST ACADEMY AWARD-WINNING
FILMS
|
Gone
with the Wind (1939)
From Here to Eternity (1953)
On
the Waterfront (1954)
Gigi (1958) |
-
Gone With the Wind (1939) - with
13 nominations and 8 Oscar wins - both records for the
time, and it was the first color film to win Best Picture
-
From Here to Eternity (1953) - tied
the record with 8 Oscar wins
-
On the Waterfront (1954) - tied the
record again with 8 Oscar wins
-
Gigi (1958) - won a record-breaking
9 Oscars
|
|
Ben-Hur
(1959) |
-
The first film to win eleven Oscars, a record
it held until tied 38 years later
|
|
Titanic (1997) |
-
The second film to win eleven Oscars
|
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the
King (2003) |
-
The third film in Academy history to win
eleven Academy Awards, and had the biggest sweep (11 of
11) in history as well
-
The earlier film in the trilogy, The Lord
of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), was
the pick of readers in a "Greatest Films" poll
by Empire magazine
in 2003
|
All
About Eve (1950)
Titanic (1997) |
-
The most-nominated films in Oscars history,
each with 14 nominations
|
|
BOX-OFFICE
BLOCKBUSTERS: TIMELINE
|
La Voyage Dans La
Lune (1902)
The
Birth of a Nation (1915)
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925)
Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Gone
with the Wind (1939)
The Sound of Music (1965)
The
Godfather (1972)
Jaws
(1975)
Star
Wars (1977)
E.T.:
The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Jurassic Park (1993)
Titanic (1997)
Avatar (2009)
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Other Top Box-Office Films
Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999)
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
Shrek 2 (2004)
Finding Dory (2016)
The Dark Knight (2008)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Harry Potter and the
Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011)
Skyfall (2012)
Marvel's The Avengers (2012)
Star Wars: Episode VII - The
Force Awakens (2015)
Black Panther (2018) |
All of these films were --
at one time -- the highest grossing film of all time, until
superceded by the next film
- The Birth of a Nation (1915) -
Highest-grossing film until 1925
- Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ (1925) -
Highest grossing silent film, closely followed by The
Big Parade (1925)
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
- Highest grossing until 1939
- Gone With the Wind (1939) - Highest
grossing until 1966
- The Sound of Music (1965) - Highest
grossing from August 1966 until the re-issue of Gone
With The Wind in 1971
- The Godfather (1972) - Highest
grossing until 1975
- Jaws (1975) - Highest grossing
until 1977
- Star Wars (1977) - Highest grossing
until January, 1983
- E.T. : The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) -
Highest grossing until 1993
- Jurassic Park (1993) - Highest
grossing until 1997
- Titanic (1997) - Highest grossing
and most successful US film ever (unadjusted
for inflation) - its worldwide gross was $1.835
billion, and it was the first movie to gross $1 billion
- Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom
Menace (1999) -
Highest grossing Star Wars film to date
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return
of the King (2003) - Highest grossing Lord of the Rings/Middle
Earth film to date
- Shrek 2 (2004) - Highest grossing
(domestic) animated film to date, but then surpassed
by Finding Dory (2016)
- The Dark Knight (2008) - Highest grossing
Batman film to date
- Avatar (2009) - Highest grossing
and most successful film ever (US and worldwide), surpassing
Titanic (1997)
- Toy Story 3 (2010) - the Highest
grossing film (domestic) in the year 2010 and the highest
grossing animated film of all-time (worldwide), surpassing Shrek
2 (2004); but then was surpassed by Frozen (2013) as
the highest grossing animated film of all-time (worldwide);
Toy Story 3 (2010) was the first animated film in history
to gross over $1 billion (worldwide)
- Harry
Potter and the Deathly Hallows, Part 2 (2011) -
Highest grossing Harry Potter film to date
- Skyfall (2012) - Highest grossing James
Bond film to date
- Marvel's The Avengers (2012) -
for six years, the Highest grossing (domestic) Super-Hero
film (and Marvel's Cinematic Universe film) and Comic-Book
Adaptation - until surpassed in 2019 by another Marvel
film, Avengers: Endgame (2019)
- Black Panther (2018) - the current
Highest-grossing (domestic) Super-Hero film and # 1
Comic-Book Adaptation. It was Marvel's first black
superhero standalone film, and an historic achievement
that a film in Marvel's
Cinematic Universe had now won its first three
Oscars
- Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force
Awakens (2015) -
Highest grossing and most successful (domestic) film
ever; Highest Grossing Star Wars film to date
|
Gone
with the Wind (1939)
Star
Wars (1977)
The Sound of Music (1965)
E.T.:
The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Titanic (1997) |
|
1920s: Ben-Hur:
A Tale of the Christ (1925)
1930s: Gone
With The Wind (1939)
1940s: Bambi (1942)
1950s:The Ten Commandments (1956)
1960s: The Sound of Music (1965)
1970s: Star
Wars (1977)
1980s: E.T.:
The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
1990s: Titanic (1997)
2000s: Avatar (2009)
2010s: Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) |
|
Marvel's Cinematic
Universe
Pixar-Disney Animations
"Star Wars" Films
Disney Live-Action Animations
"Harry Potter" Films (Wizarding
World)
"Spider-Man" Films
"James Bond" Films
"Batman" Films
"X-Men" Films
"The Lord of the Rings" (and Middle
Earth Films)
"Fast and Furious" Films
DC Extended Universe
and more...
|
|
|
RECOMMENDED FILMS
OF THE GREATEST DIRECTORS
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of Alfred Hitchcock
Rebecca
(1940)
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
Notorious
(1946)
Strangers on a Train (1951)
Rear
Window (1954)
Vertigo
(1958)
North
by Northwest (1959)
Psycho
(1960) |
-
ranked as the # 1 director
in a listing of "The 50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
-
ranked as the # 1 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 2 director
in a listing of the Top 40 "Greatest Directors of All Time" by Empire
Magazine in 2005
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of D.W. Griffith
The
Birth of a Nation (1915)
Intolerance
(1916)
Broken
Blossoms (1919)
Way Down East (1920) |
-
ranked as the # 2 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 15 director
in a listing of "The
50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of Orson Welles
Citizen
Kane (1941)
The
Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
The Lady from Shanghai (1948)
Touch
of Evil (1958)
|
-
ranked as the # 2 director
in a listing of "The 50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
-
ranked as the # 3 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 9 director
in a listing of the Top 40 "Greatest Directors of All Time" by Empire
Magazine in 2005
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of Jean-Luc Godard
Breathless (1959)
Une Femme est une Femme (1960)
Contempt (1963)
Pierrot le fou (1965)
Masculin Feminin (1966) |
-
ranked as the # 4 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 31 director
in a listing of "The
50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of John Ford
Stagecoach
(1939)
The
Grapes of Wrath (1940)
How Green Was My Valley (1941)
My
Darling Clementine (1946)
The
Quiet Man (1952)
The
Searchers (1956) |
-
ranked as the # 3 director
in a listing of "The 50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
-
ranked as the # 5 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 18 director
in a listing of the Top 40 "Greatest Directors of All Time" by Empire
Magazine in 2005
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of Howard Hawks
Bringing
Up Baby (1938)
Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
His
Girl Friday (1940)
To Have and Have Not (1944)
The
Big Sleep (1946)
Red
River (1948) |
-
ranked as the # 4 director
in a listing of "The 50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
-
ranked as the # 18 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 21 director
in a listing of the Top 40 "Greatest Directors of All Time" by Empire
Magazine in 2005
|
Highly Recommended, Must-See
Films of Stanley Kubrick
Paths
of Glory (1957)
Lolita (1962)
Dr.
Strangelove Or: How I Learned... (1964)
2001:
A Space Odyssey (1968)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
The Shining (1980)
Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Eyes Wide Shut (1999) |
-
ranked as the # 4 director
in a listing of the Top 40 "Greatest Directors of All Time" by Empire
Magazine in 2005
-
ranked as the # 6 director
in a listing of the "25 Most Influential Directors of All-Time" by MovieMaker
Magazine in 2002
-
ranked as the # 23 director
in a listing of "The
50 Greatest Directors and Their 100 Best Movies" by Entertainment
Weekly in 1996
|
The
Top Films of All-Time: This section presents an overview
of the rankings of films regarded as 'greatest' by other
critics and film-makers' polls, box-office totals, awards
organizations, and other tallies. (Not all entries are listed
- these are only a representative sample.) Although this
website doesn't strongly believe in the value of ranking
films, it is nonetheless interesting to see how a certain
number of films often appear at the very top of the rankings
or ratings. 
