I’m an extremely indecisive person. Whenever someone asks me what my favorite movie is, I always list off three or four and say it changes from day to day.
Inspired by ministryoftruthfilmratings, I’ve decided to compile my favorite films once and for all (or at least for today or until my mood changes). The top 20 are pretty solid, though some might shift around depending how I feel.
This truly is a list of favorites and not necessarily what I believe are the best movies of all time, though some of them certainly fall into that category. These are movies I could watch over and over again and never get tired of, movies that I have a nostalgic affection for, movies that have impacted my life in some way — movies that, if I see them on TV, I’m compelled to stop and watch.
1. Sunset Boulevard (1950; director: Billy Wilder; stars: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim)
2. Fargo (1996; directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen; stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare)
3. It Happened One Night (1934; director: Frank Capra; stars: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert)
4. Harold and Maude (1971; director: Hal Ashby; stars: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort)
5. The Shining (1980; director: Stanley Kubrick; stars: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd, Scatman Crothers)
6. Cool Hand Luke (1967; director: Stuart Rosenberg; stars: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin)
7. Hannah and Her Sisters (1986; director: Woody Allen; stars: Mia Farrow, Dianne Wiest, Barbara Hershey, Michael Caine, Woody Allen)
8. The Royal Tennenbaums (2001; director: Wes Anderson; stars: Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Ben Stiller, Gwyneth Paltrow, Luke Wilson, Bill Murray, Danny Glover, Owen Wilson)
9. Young Frankenstein (1974; director: Mel Brooks; stars: Gene Wilder, Madeline Kahn, Peter Boyle, Marty Feldman, Cloris Leachman, Teri Garr)
10. The Silence of the Lambs (1991; director: Jonathan Demme; stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins)
11. Best in Show (2000; director: Christopher Guest; stars: Parker Posey, Michael Hitchcock, Catherine O'Hara, Eugene Levy, Christopher Guest, Michael McKean, John Michael Higgins, Fred Ward, Jennifer Coolidge, Jane Lynch, Ed Begley Jr.)
12. Marty (1955; director: Delbert Mann; stars: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair)
13. Mildred Pierce (1945; director: Michael Curtiz; stars: Joan Crawford, Jack Carson, Ann Blyth, Bruce Bennett, Zachary Scott)
14. The Godfather (1972; director: Francis Ford Coppola; stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Robert Duvall, John Cazale, Diane Keaton, Talia Shire)
15. The Graduate (1967; director: Mike Nichols; stars: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross)
16. The Apartment (1960; director: Billy Wilder; stars: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray)
17. Psycho (1960; director: Alfred Hitchcock; stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, Martin Balsam)
18. On The Waterfront (1954; director: Elia Kazan; stars: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Lee J. Cobb, Karl Malden, Rod Steiger)
19. Stalag 17 (1953; director: Billy Wilder; stars: William Holden, Otto Preminger, Peter Graves, Don Taylor)
20. Night of the Hunter (1955; director: Charles Laughton; stars: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish)
21. Pretty In Pink (1986; director: Howard Deutch; stars: Molly Ringwald, Jon Cryer, Andrew McCarthy, James Spader, Annie Potts, Harry Dead Stanton)
22. High Fidelity (2000; director: Stephen Frears; stars: John Cusack, Iben Hjejle, Todd Louiso, Jack Black, Tim Robbins, Lisa Bonet, Lili Taylor, Catherine Zeta-Jones)
23. Ghostbusters (1984; director: Ivan Reitman; stars: Bill Murray, Dan Aykroyd, Harold Ramis, Ernie Hudson, Sigourney Weaver, Rick Moranis, Annie Potts)
24. This is Spinal Tap (1984; director: Rob Reiner; stars: Michael McKean, Christopher Guest, Harry Shearer)
25. Amelie (“Le fabuleux destin d'Amélie Poulain”) (2001; director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet; stars: Audrey Tautou)
26. Rosemary’s Baby (1968; director: Roman Polanski; stars: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon, Sidney Blackmer, Ralph Bellamy)
27. Annie Hall (1977; director: Woody Allen; stars: Woody Allen, Dianne Keaton, Tony Roberts)
28. Big Fish (2003; director: Tim Burton; stars: Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney, Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Helena Bonham Carter, Alison Lohman, Marion Cotillard)
29. Jaws (1975; director: Steven Speilberg; stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss)
30. Rebecca (1940; director: Alfred Hitchcock; stars: Laurence Olivier, Joan Fontaine, George Sanders)
31. Almost Famous (2000; Director: Cameron Crowe; stars: Billy Crudup, Patrick Fugit, Kate Hudson, Jason Lee, Frances McDormand)
32. Spartacus (1960; director: Stanley Kubrick; stars: Kirk Douglas, Laurence Olivier, Jean Simmons, Tony Curtis)
33. The Muppet Movie (1979; director: James Frawley; stars: Jim Henson, Frank Oz, Jerry Nelson, Richard Hunt, Dave Goelz, Charles Durning, Austin Pendleton)
34. Goodfellas (1990; director: Martin Scorsese; stars: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco, Paul Sorvino)
35. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981; director: Steven Spielberg; stars: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman, John Rhys-Davies, Denholm Elliott)
36. The Goonies (1985; director: Richard Donner; stars: Sean Astin, Josh Brolin, Jeff Cohen, Corey Feldman, Kerri Green, Martha Plimpton, Jonathan Ke Quan, John Matuszak, Robert Davi, Joe Pantoliano, Anne Ramsey)
37. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969; director: George Roy Hill; stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross)
38. Léon: The Professional (1994; director: Luc Besson; stars: Jean Reno, Gary Oldman, Natalie Portman)
39. Mon Oncle (1958; director: Jacques Tati; stars: Jacques Tati, Jean-Pierre Zola, Adrienne Servantie)
40. Field of Dreams (1989; director: Phil Alden Robinson; stars: Kevin Costner, Amy Madigan, Gaby Hoffmann, Ray Liotta, Timothy Busfield, James Earl Jones, Burt Lancaster)
41. The Virgin Suicides (1999; director: Sofia Coppola; stars: James Woods, Kathleen Turner, Kirsten Dunst, Josh Hartnett)
42. Shaun of the Dead (2004; director: Edgar Wright; stars: Simon Pegg, Kate Ashfield, Nick Frost, Lucy Davis, Dylan Moran)
43. American Splendor (2003; directors: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini; stars: Paul Giamatti, Hope Davis, Harvey Pekar, Shari Springer Berman)
44. Alien (1979; director: Ridley Scott; stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, Veronica Cartwright, Harry Dean Stanton, John Hurt, Ian Holm, Yaphet Kotto)
45. Gregory’s Girl (1981; director: Bill Forsyth; stars: John Gordon Sinclair, Dee Hepburn, Clare Grogan, Caroline Guthrie, Jake D'Arcy)
46. Before Sunrise (1995; director: Richard Linklater; stars: Ethan Hawke; Julie Delpy)
47. Rushmore (1998; director: Wes Anderson; stars: Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Olivia Williams, Seymour Cassel, Brian Cox, Mason Gamble, Sara Tanaka)
48. The Warriors (1979; director: Walter Hill; stars: Michael Beck, James Remar, Dorsey Wright)
49. Boogie Nights (1997; director: Paul Thomas Anderson; stars: Mark Wahlberg, Burt Reynolds, Julianne Moore, John C. Reilly, Heather Graham, William H. Macy, Philip Seymour Hoffman)
50. Big (1988; director: Penny Marshall; stars: Tom Hanks, Elizabeth Perkins, Robert Loggia, John Heard, Jared Rushton)
51. Batman (1989; director: Tim Burton; stars: Michael Keaton, Jack Nicholson, Kim Basinger, Robert Wuhl)
52. Godfather: Part II (1974; director: Francis Ford Coppola; stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton, John Cazale, Talia Shire)
53. The Princess Bride (1987; director: Rob Reiner; stars: Cary Elwes, Robin Wright, Mandy Patinkin, Wallace Shawn, André the Giant, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest, Fred Savage, Peter Falk)
54. The Elephant Man (1980; director: David Lynch; stars: Anthony Hopkins, John Hurt, Anne Bancroft, John Gielgud)
55. The Matrix (1999; directors: The Wachowskis; stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving, Joe Pantoliano)
56. Breakfast at Tiffany’s (1961; director: Blake Edwards; stars: Audrey Hepburn, George Peppard, Patricia Neal)
57. Manhunter (1986; director: Michael Mann; stars: William Petersen, Kim Greist, Joan Allen, Brian Cox, Tom Noonan)
58. Touch of Evil (1958; director: Orson Welles; stars: Charleton Heston, Janet Leigh, Orson Welles, Marlene Dietrich)
59. Unforgiven (1992; director: Clint Eastwood; stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris)
60. Cape Fear (1962; director: J. Lee Thompson; stars: Gregory Peck, Robert Mitchum, Polly Bergen, Lori Martin, Martin Balsam)
61. The Shawshank Redemption (1994; director: Frank Darabont; stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton)
62. Nosferatu (“Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens”) (1922; director: F.W. Murnau; stars: Max Schreck, Greta Schroder, Ruth Landshoff)
63. Pulp Fiction (1994; director: Quentin Tarantino; stars: Tim Roth, Amanda Plummer, John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis, Ving Rhames, Uma Thurman)
64. The Omen (1976; director: Richard Donner; stars: Gregory Peck, Lee Remick, Harvey Stephens)
65. Shadow of a Doubt (1943; director: Alfred Hitchcock; stars: Teresa Wright, Joseph Cotten, Henry Travers, Hume Cronyn)
66. Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009; director: Wes Anderson; stars: George Clooney, Meryl Streep, Jason Schwartzman, Bill Murray, Wallace Wolodarsky, Eric Chase Anderson)
67. North by Northwest (1959; director: Alfred Hitchcock; stars: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Martin Landau)
68. Rain Man (1988; director: Barry Levinson; stars: Dustin Hoffman, Tom Cruise, Valeria Golino)
69. John and Mary (1969; director: Peter Yates; stars: Dustin Hoffman, Mia Farrow)
70. American History X (1998; director: Tony Kaye; stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Ethan Suplee, Fairuza Balk, Avery Brooks, Elliott Gould, Stacy Keach)
71. Giant (1956; director: George Stevens; stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Dennis Hopper)
72. Before Sunset (2004; director: Richard Linklater, stars: Ethan Hawke, Julie Delpy)
73. Superman 2 (1980; director: Richard Lester; stars: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Margot Kidder)
74. Reservoir Dogs (1992; director: Quentin Tarantino; stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Steve Buscemi, Edward Bunker, Quentin Tarantino, Chris Penn, Lawrence Tierney)
75. The Wicker Man (1973; director: Robin Hardy; stars: Edward Woodward, Christopher Lee, Diane Cilento, Britt Ekland)
76. True Grit (2010; directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen; stars: Jeff Bridges, Hailee Steinfeld, Matt Damon, Josh Brolin, Barry Pepper)
77. The Match Factory Girl (1990; director: Aki Kaurismäki; stars: Kati Outinen, Elina Salo, Esko Nikkari)
78. ¡Three Amigos! (1986; director: John Landis; stars: Steve Martin, Chevy Chase, Martin Short, Alfonso Arau)
79. The Americanization of Emily (1964; director: Arthur Hiller; stars: James Garner, Julie Andrews, Melvyn Douglas, James Coburn)
80. Notorious (1946; director: Alfred Hitchcock; stars: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains)
81. Night of the Living Dead (1968; director: George A. Romero; stars: Duane Jones, Judith O'Dea, Karl Hardman, Marilyn Eastman, Keith Wayne, Judith Ridley, Kyra Schon)
82. Being John Malkovich (1999; director: Spike Jonze; stars: John Cusack, Cameron Diaz, Catherine Keener, John Malkovich)
83. Niagara (1953; director: Henry Hathaway; stars: Marilyn Monroe, Joseph Cotten, Jean Peters, Max Showalter)
84. Carnival of Souls (1962; director: Herk Harvey; stars: Candace Hilligoss, Frances Feist, Sidney Berger)
85. Frankenstein (1931; director: James Whale; stars: Boris Karloff, Colin Clive, Mae Clarke)
86. The Harder They Fall (1956; director: Mark Robson; stars: Humphrey Bogart, Rod Steiger, Jan Sterling, Mike Lane, Max Baer)
87. Hush … Hush, Sweet Charlotte (1964; director: Robert Aldrich; stars: Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Joseph Cotten)
88. Legends of the Fall (1994; director: Edward Zwick; stars: Brad Pitt, Anthony Hopkins, Aidan Quinn, Julia Ormond, Henry Thomas, Karina Lombard)
89. Labyrinth (1986; director: Jim Henson; stars: David Bowie, Jennifer Connelley, Brian Henson, Dave Goelz)
90. Se7en (1995; director: David Fincher; stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Gwyneth Paltrow, Kevin Spacey)
91. When Harry Met Sally (1989; director: Rob Reiner; stars: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fischer, Bruno Kirby)
92. Tootsie (1982; director: Sydney Pollack; stars: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr, Dabney Coleman, Charles Durning, Bill Murray, Geena Davis)
93. Now, Voyager (1942; director: Irving Rapper; stars: Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains)
94. Playtime (1967; director: Jacques Tati; stars: Jacques Tati, Barbara Dennek, Rita Maiden)
95. Manhattan (1979; director: Woody Allen; stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Mariel Hemingway, Michael Murphy, Meryl Streep)
96. 12 Angry Men (1957; director: Sidney Lumet; stars: Henry Fonda, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall, Jack Klugman, Edward Binns, Jack Warden, Ed Begley, Robert Webber, George Voskovec, Joseph Sweeney)
97. A Perfect Murder (1998; director: Andrew Davis; stars: Michael Douglas, Gwyneth Paltrow, Viggo Mortensen)
98. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942; director: Orson Welles; stars: Joseph Cotten, Dolores Costello, Anne Baxter, Agnes Moorehead, Tim Holt)
99. O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000; directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen; stars: George Clooney, John Turturro, Tim Blake Nelson, John Goodman, Holly Hunter, Charles Durning)
100. Benny & Joon (1993; director: Jeremiah S. Chechik; stars: Johnny Depp, Mary Stuart Masteron, Aidan Quinn, Julianne Moore, Oliver Platt)
I learned a few things while compiling this list. I learned the even though I count certain directors among my favorites — Robert Altman, Whit Stillman, Darren Aronofsky, David Lynch — their films weren’t necessarily well represented on this list. The director that made the most appearances was Alfred Hitchcock with 5. After that, Billy Wilder, Wes Anderson, Stanley Kubrick, Woody Allen and the Coen Brothers each had 3. I was actually a little surprised how many Hitchcock films I included.
Another thing I learned was that I don’t have nearly enough films directed by women and people of color on this list. The list only has 4 films directed or co-directed by women — The Virgin Suicides (Sofia Coppola), American Splendor (Shari Springer Berman), Big (Penny Marshall) and The Matrix (Lana Wachowski). The list has no films directed by people of color. This is something I need to remedy. There are a wealth of great movies directed by women and people of color and I really need to explore them further.
