The Greatest 100 Movies of All Time
AMC Movie List

The Greatest 100 Movies of All Time

Filmsite.org's Tim Dirks has spotlighted the 100 all-time greatest movies, many of which have improved with time. How would you rank them? Vote below. Want to learn how Tim picked them? Click here.

rank title points votes your vote
1 The Godfather [Film Series]
The first two movies in Francis Ford Coppola's operatic Mafia series (starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino) are genre-defining classics. 1672 9432
2 The Shawshank Redemption
This life-affirming Stephen King adaptation stars Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman as two jailed prisoners who strike up a friendship. 1668 9468
3 Star Wars [Film Series]
The first entry in George Lucas’s much-heralded fantastical space trilogy broke big technological ground as well as box-office records. 1567 8947
4 Casablanca
Michael Curtiz’s critically beloved landmark 1942 romance stars Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman in career-defining turns. 1185 7023
5 Schindler's List
Often considered Spielberg’s masterpiece, this wrenching drama starring Liam Neeson as the titular hero is based on true events. 1180 6916
6 Pulp Fiction
Quentin Tarantino's stylish cult classic interweaves a series of vignettes about low-life criminals, lovers, and thugs. 1149 7037
7 The Wizard of Oz
Victor Fleming’s timeless 1939 musical boasts some of the most loved songs in movie history as well as a star turn by Judy Garland. 1117 7063
8 It's a Wonderful Life
This tale of a stricken average Joe (James Stewart) whose life is saved by an angel made director Frank Capra a household name. 1112 6414
9 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Jack Nicholson as a crazy-sane mental patient is one of many fine performances that anchor Milos Forman’s adaptation. 1102 6108
10 To Kill a Mockingbird
Harper Lee’s story is poignantly reimagined in this 1962 coming-of-age pic with a career-defining performance by Gregory Peck. 1093 6021
11 Gone With the Wind
Victor Fleming’s 1939 star-studded Civil War tour de force finds Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh entangled in a fiery love affair. 1057 6459
12 Psycho
Possibly the most influential thriller ever made, Alfred Hitchcock’s tale of a psychotic mama's boy (Anthony Perkins) hasn’t dimmed with age. 1057 5771
13 Jaws
Steven Spielberg’s unforgettably terrifying flick brings Roy Scheider and Richard Dreyfuss to their knees before a giant mechanical shark. 944 6374
14 Citizen Kane
Director and star Orson Welles’s masterful fictional biopic about the titular tycoon set a new standard for the movies that followed. 941 5791
15 Rear Window
Alfred Hitchcock’s voyeuristic triumph finds James Stewart and Grace Kelly navigating the twists and turns of a nail-biting thriller. 836 4962
16 Apocalypse Now
Coppola’s nightmarish Vietnam epic, starring Marlon Brando and Martin Sheen, redefines the war flick and the dangers of the jungle. 813 5409
17 Taxi Driver
Robert De Niro and Martin Scorsese make movie magic in the tale of a rage-filled New York cabbie bent on correcting the world’s injustices. 805 5329
18 North by Northwest
One of Hitchcock’s finest works of suspense, this mistaken-identity movie boasts crack performances by Cary Grant and James Mason. 676 4474
19 The Bridge on the River Kwai
Based on a true event, this 1957 war drama finds Alec Guinness’s British commander leading a perilous effort in the wilds of Burma. 653 4317
20 Ben-Hur
This 1959 Charlton Heston classic tells the epic story of Judah Ben-Hur on an ambitious scale made evident by its famed chariot race. 652 4694
21 Vertigo
James Stewart stars as the acrophobic detective at the heart of this 1958 tale of obsession also from the Hitchock canon. 539 4403
22 Lawrence of Arabia
Peter O’Toole nabbed the Oscar for his first major role, in David Lean’s breathtakingly gorgeous 1962 biopic. 520 4514
23 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
Spielberg’s feel-good 1982 hit stars Drew Barrymore and Henry Thomas as young siblings who form a powerful bond with a cute alien. 463 5465
24 The Maltese Falcon
John Huston’s influential noir mystery stars Humphrey Bogart as a hard-drinking gumshoe tracking the elusive titular statue. 398 3954
25 Raging Bull
A visceral black-and-white drama about an aging boxer (Robert De Niro), Martin Scorsese’s 1980 flick is one of the best of its decade. 375 4351
26 The African Queen
Humphrey Bogart and Katharine Hepburn’s odd-couple chemistry anchors John Huston’s 1951 romantic adventure. 365 3927
27 Singin' in the Rain
The inimitable Gene Kelly directs and stars in one of the most beloved musicals of the fifties, opposite Jean Hagen and Debbie Reynolds. 362 4476
28 2001: A Space Odyssey
Stanley Kubrick’s hypnotic, thought-provoking mind bender was revolutionary in 1968 and has been a sci-fi staple ever since. 343 5161
29 King Kong
The pioneering 1933 horror-fantasy favorite stars Fay Wray as the comely blonde who entices the love-struck giant ape to his doom. 341 4233
30 Blade Runner
Ridley Scott’s moody futuristic thriller boasts stunning effects and unmissable performances by Harrison Ford and Sean Young. 308 4842
31 The Grapes of Wrath
John Ford’s adaptation of the Steinbeck novel features one of Henry Fonda’s greatest performances ever. 304 3766
32 Some Like It Hot
Billy Wilder directs Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, and Jack Lemmon in this wonderfully satirical 1959 work about two jazz musicians on the lam. 295 4101
33 Dr. Strangelove or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
In Kubrick’s satire, fears come true when a psychotic general starts an all-out nuclear war. 278 4502
34 High Noon
Gary Cooper and Grace Kelly are the married couple who add romance to this terse 1952 Western, a much-lauded classic of the genre. 278 3720
35 Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
Disney’s first full-length animated masterpiece is a classic fairy tale that won hearts (and an Oscar) in 1937. 276 4418
36 The Searchers
This complex Western, John Ford’s 1956 favorite, features the Duke in Indian territory on the hunt for his missing niece (Natalie Wood). 268 3848
37 On the Waterfront
Elia Kazan’s gritty, evocative drama has Marlon Brando as the former boxing champ who utters the famous line, “I coulda been a contender.” 254 3714
38 The Graduate
Mike Nichols’s 1967 coming-of-age classic stars Anne Bancroft as the rapacious seductress of Dustin Hoffman’s naive Ben Braddock. 214 4362
39 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
This inspiring Frank Capra parable tells the story of a starry-eyed senator (James Stewart) who takes a stand against the political machine. 213 3693
40 Bonnie & Clyde
Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway star as the irresistible outlaws at the heart of Arthur Penn’s controversial, stylish 1967 flick. 196 3714
41 Chinatown
Jack Nicholson’s world-weary gumshoe anchors Roman Polanski’s 1974 noir, also starring Faye Dunaway and John Huston. 187 4131
42 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
John Huston’s 1948 adventure stars Humphrey Bogart as one of three gold prospectors undone by their own good fortune. 144 3418
43 West Side Story
Star-crossed love gets the spotlight via Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, and music by Leonard Bernstein and Stephen Sondheim. 68 3952
44 Shane
A great cast (Alan Ladd, Jack Palance) anchors George Stevens’s 1953 Western about a lone gunman defending a pioneer family. 27 3359
45 Fantasia
Disney’s legendary cartoon fantasy, which animates beloved selections of classical music, is still a freewheeling visual delight to this day. 23 3855
46 A Streetcar Named Desire
Marlon Brando’s portrayal of a brute in Elia Kazan’s intense adaptation of the Tennessee Williams play is the stuff of movie legend. -19 3477
47 The Quiet Man
Lushly filmed on location in Ireland, John Ford’s gorgeous 1952 romance follows John Wayne as he travels to the country and finds a wife. -21 3399
48 Stagecoach
Amazing stuntwork and great turns by John Wayne and Thomas Mitchell drive John Ford’s genre-defining high-stakes 1939 Western. -31 3127
49 Rebel Without a Cause
The drama that made James Dean an anti-hero for decades to come is also an unmissable snapshot of the fifties generation gap. -39 3455
50 Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder’s dark 1950 comedy features Gloria Swanson as an aging film queen and William Holden as her suitor. -67 3367
51 All Quiet on the Western Front
Lewis Milestone’s hugely popular adaptation of Erich Maria Remarque's novel is the first great antiwar movie to be made with sound. -73 3031
52 The Adventures of Robin Hood
This 1938 swashbuckling costume epic stars Errol Flynn in arguably his greatest role, as the titular prince of thieves. -76 3434
53 Notorious
Alfred Hitchcock’s ninth movie, starring Ingrid Bergman and Cary Grant, features many iconic moments, including that famous marathon kiss. -85 3147
54 Double Indemnity
One of Billy Wilder’s finest works, this classic noir stars Fred MacMurray and Barbara Stanwyck as co-conspirators in marital murder. -96 3160
55 It Happened One Night
Frank Capra’s madcap comedy pairs Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert as a reporter and a socialite who fall in love despite the odds. -98 3168
56 The Philadelphia Story
George Cukor’s sophisticated romantic farce stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart in a battle of societal wits. -174 3166
57 The Third Man
Carol Reed’s haunting 1949 mystery has too many iconic parts to mention plus a sardonic turn by Orson Welles as a man presumed dead. -178 3102
58 The Wild Bunch
This controversial 1969 Western was one of the most brutal of its day with plenty of stomach-turning violence courtesy of Sam Peckinpah. -179 2975
59 Red River
For Montgomery Clift’s first-ever role, he stars as the adoptive son of John Wayne’s vicious rancher in this Howard Hawks Western. -218 2738
60 All About Eve
This acerbic Oscar-sweeping drama stars Bette Davis as an aging Broadway dame and Anne Baxter as a scheming young social climber. -244 3024
61 Easy Rider
In Dennis Hopper’s generation-defining 1969 classic, he, Jack Nicholson, and Peter Fonda hit the road in search of nirvana. -251 3485
62 Rebecca
The only Hitchcock movie with a Best Picture Oscar, this gothic mystery stars Laurence Olivier as a moody widower. -286 2864
63 The Big Sleep
Howard Hawks’s classic noir sets the standard for private-detective flicks, with star turns by Humphrey Bogart and Lauren Bacall. -291 2753
64 Roman Holiday
Audrey Hepburn and Gregory Peck's chemistry drives this old-fashioned courtship story, which was nominated for ten Oscars in 1953. -294 3140
65 Duck Soup
Packed with gags and zany humor, this 1933 comedy is one of the Marx brothers’ funniest, most surreal, and most beloved works. -305 3039
66 Midnight Cowboy
John Schlesinger’s gritty, provocative portrait of two unlikely friends provided career-defining roles for Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight. -311 3069
67 The Best Years of Our Lives
William Wyler’s landmark 1946 drama follows three World War II vets, including Oscar winner Harold Russell, as they return home. -346 2746
68 Modern Times
Charlie Chaplin bids farewell to silent comedy with this laugh-a-minute 1936 satire in which he plays a victimized factory worker. -359 2925
69 Touch of Evil
Orson Welles’s offbeat 1958 thriller follows a narcotics agent (Charlton Heston) out to take down a corrupt old cop (Welles). -376 2760
70 Yankee Doodle Dandy
James Cagney and Walter Huston star in this 1942 flag-waving musical biography of legendary composer George M. Cohan. -379 2737
71 Bringing Up Baby
Katharine Hepburn and Cary Grant shine in the definitive screwball comedy of the thirties, courtesy of ace director Howard Hawks. -380 2878
72 The Night of the Hunter
Robert Mitchum’s performance drives this noirish thriller from director Charles Laughton about a psychopath prowling the Ohio River Valley. -383 2673
73 My Darling Clementine
One of John Ford’s most riveting Westerns, this semi-historical work stars Henry Fonda as Wyatt Earp and Walter Brennan as his foe. -389 2565
74 City Lights
Charlie Chaplin’s final and best silent film finds the Little Tramp helping a blind flower seller (Virginia Cherrill) regain her sight. -427 2885
75 Paths of Glory
Stanley Kubrick delivers a powerfully bleak, predictably intense antiwar drama, starring Kirk Douglas, about a military incursion gone awry. -428 2734
76 The Bride of Frankenstein
Boris Karloff’s iconic lurching monster meets his match in Elsa Lanchester in this darkly witty 1935 sequel to the horror classic. -434 2874
77 Annie Hall
Widely considered Woody Allen’s finest work, this bittersweet New York romance posits Diane Keaton as his flighty, adorable foil. -438 3452
78 A Night at the Opera
The first big-budget Marx brothers movie, this 1935 gem, about a group of wisecracking stowaways, is widely considered their best. -468 2732
79 His Girl Friday
This hilarious battle-of-the-sexes romp is vintage Howard Hawks, full of bawdy double entendres quipped by Rosalind Russell and Cary Grant. -483 2659
80 The General
Buster Keaton directs himself in this visually stunning 1926 silent comedy that many consider to be the amazing talent’s finest work. -527 2669
81 Wuthering Heights
Laurence Olivier brings Emily Bronte’s Heathcliff to life in this brooding 1939 adaptation of the famous love story set on the moors. -532 2668
82 Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
Mike Nichols’s directorial debut stars Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton as the acerbic love-hate pair who dominate the story. -582 2730
83 The Gold Rush
Charlie Chaplin’s most critically acclaimed movie, this melodramatic silent work reimagines the Little Tramp as a prospector in the 1800s. -602 2590
84 Meet Me in St. Louis
Some of Judy Garland’s greatest songs are integrated into this upbeat, captivating 1944 musical from director Vincente Minnelli. -659 2649
85 An American in Paris
One of the greatest musicals of the fifties, this colorful toe-tapping classic finds the grace and athleticism of Gene Kelly on full display. -684 2638
86 Top Hat
Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are in fine form for this gem, mixing romantic comedy, endless dancing, and a superb Irving Berlin score. -788 2488
87 A Star Is Born
George Cukor’s classic tearjerker stars Judy Garland as a young singer whose marriage to an alcoholic film star ends in tragedy. -940 2446
88 The Birth of a Nation
The first-ever feature-length silent movie, D. W. Griffith’s sweeping Lillian Gish-starring Civil War drama was a massive technological coup. -985 2709
89 The Magnificent Ambersons
Orson Welles displays a refined touch in this 1942 costume drama about a nineteenth-century family’s struggles with the changing times. -1060 2434
90 Out of the Past
Jacques Tourneur’s beguiling 1947 noir stars Robert Mitchum as a laconic private detective who falls under the spell of a femme fatale. -1100 2316
91 42nd Street
This behind-the-scenes musical tells the story of a flailing producer (Warner Baxter) and a chorus girl (Ruby Keeler) who dreams of fame. -1116 2350
92 The Lady Eve
Barbara Stanwyck and Charles Coburn play the con artists against Henry Fonda’s millionaire in Preston Sturges’s still-fresh romantic comedy. -1119 2335
93 Sunrise
In F. W. Murnau’s American debut, this silent movie with roots in German Expressionism, a deadly love triangle is raised to the level of art. -1149 2363
94 Ninotchka
This sparkling, delightfully witty Ernst Lubitsch romantic comedy was advertised, famously, as the movie in which “Garbo laughs!” -1242 2356
95 Greed
Erich von Stroheim’s notorious silent-era production charts one man’s descent into insanity owing to his wife’s unending greed. -1278 2260
96 Nashville
Robert Altman’s country-music flick finds a colorful cast, including Shelley Duvall and Keith Carradine, converging in the title city. -1326 2486
97 Trouble in Paradise
An exquisite, bubbly work by Ernst Lubitsch, this good-natured 1932 comedy follows a pair of con artists en route to romance. -1368 2290
98 Letter from an Unknown Woman
Max Ophuls’s 1948 tearjerker tells the story of the unspoken love of a woman (Joan Fontaine) for her neighbor (Louis Jourdan). -1419 2429
99 Intolerance
D. W. Griffith’s silent epic starring Lillian Gish is a series of vignettes remarkable for their exquisite sets, photography, and editing. -1427 2403
100 The Crowd
King Vidor’s sad silent masterpiece stars James Murray and Eleanor Boardman as a young couple struggling to make ends meet. -1497 2527