The Ten Greatest Epics
AMC Movie List

The Ten Greatest Epics

It's tough to get more bang for your buck than in an epic movie. So when you're looking at movies that pride themselves on excess, what constitutes the best?

rank title points votes your vote
1 Gone With the Wind
Still the most financially successful film of all time (if figures are adjusted for inflation), the result is nothing less than a cinematic earthquake. 907 2079
2 Ben-Hur
The famous sword-and-sandal epic won eleven Academy Awards and stars Charlton Heston in the greatest chariot race ever filmed. 707 1885
3 Gladiator
Ridley Scott's paean to the Roman empire thrilled audiences with its depiction of Russell Crowe in riveting action sequences. 688 2172
4 Braveheart
Mel Gibson's ultramacho hero became an instant inspiration with his ferocious battle cry ("Freedommmmm!"). 663 2205
5 Lawrence of Arabia
Distinguished by desert scenes photographed in wide-screen, the movie presents a larger-than-life story in grand dimensions. 631 1659
6 Doctor Zhivago
The last of David Lean's signature war movies is arguably the swan song of the epic's heyday. 104 1422
7 Gandhi
Richard Attenborough's Oscar juggernaut made the story of India's nonviolence champion into box-office magic. -106 1392
8 The Last Emperor
Bernardo Bertolucci was literally given the keys to the forbidden kingdom by Chinese authorities when he set out to make his biography of Puyi. -227 1265
9 Alexander
Oliver Stone goes further back in time for his history of the legendary conqueror and stays frank about his sexuality. -771 1497
10 The New World
A romance between John Smith and Pocahontas becomes something transcendent and otherworldly, via Terrence Malick. -777 1329