100 Best Movies of All Time

One of the greatest screwball comedies of the 1930s, “It Happened One Night” is one of only three movies ever to have won all five of the major Academy Awards (Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay). Clark Gable plays a reporter who falls in love with spoiled heiress Claudette Colbert. Critics gave the Capra classic a 98% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of audiences liked the movie.

The third entry of the spy series based on Robert Ludlum books continued to keep audiences at the edge of their seat. The movie is about a rogue CIA agent (Matt Damon) who searches for his past while avoiding assassins from the government agency he used to work for. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes says “The Bourne Ultimatum” is “is an intelligent, finely tuned non-stop thrill ride.” Critics gave the movie a Freshness rating of 92%, and 91% of audiences liked it.

Based on the life of Polish-Jewish pianist and Holocaust survivor Władysław Szpilman, this saga follows the man’s experiences during the Nazi occupation. The film won three Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Adrien Brody and Best Director for Roman Polanski, himself a Holocaust survivor. Polanski did not attend the ceremony as he fled the U.S. in 1978 after pleading guilty to statutory rape.

A British colonel in a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in Burma in 1943 is ordered to build a bridge to carry munitions. He refuses at first, but eventually agrees, and the project becomes an obsession. Time Magazine called it “a whale of a story,” and Variety described it as “a gripping drama, expertly put together and handled with skill in all departments.” The movie won seven Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor (Guinness).

This Spike Lee film boasts an A-list actor cast of Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, and John Turturro. The film is about a Brooklyn neighborhood simmering with racial tension that finally explodes into violence on a hot summer day. “Do the Right Thing” received a Best Supporting Actor Oscar nomination for Aiello and a Best Writing, Screenplay nomination for Lee. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls the movie “one of the most important films of the 1980s.”

This “intense, inspiring, and well-acted” music-fueled drama (according to critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes) tells the story of an ambitious young would-be jazz drummer and his taskmaster teacher. The Detroit News called it “electric from beginning to end.” The film won three Oscars, including a Best Actor statue for J.K. Simmons.

This film launched the successful action series starring Bruce Willis. In this first installment Willis, as a New York cop John McClane, tries to save the lives of his wife (Bonnie Bedelia) and other people taken hostage by terrorists in Los Angeles. The film catapulted Willis into the action film pantheon, and fans continue to quote his character’s defiant “Yippee-ki-yay” line.

This Federico Fellini film follows a week in the life of a womanizing paparazzo living in Rome. The movie is famous for its scene of Marcello Mastroianni and Anita Ekberg gambolling in the Trevi Fountain. The movie, condemned by the Catholic Church at the time, was a hit with critics and audiences and was nominated for four Academy Awards. It won for Best Costume Design. For trivia fans, the term paparazzi is derived from a character’s name in the movie.

This final film by Sergio Leone was a change of pace for the quintessential “spaghetti Western” director, who helmed “The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.” The epic saga follows the career of a Manhattan-born Jewish gangster (De Niro) over a 40-year span. Time Out called it “languid, lovely and lengthy.”

Alfred Hitchcock’s “Vertigo” takes viewers on a wild psychological ride. James Stewart plays a cop who’s recently retired from police work because he suffers from vertigo. He agrees to follow the wife of a college friend and becomes obsessed with her. “Vertigo” was not considered one of Hitchcock’s greatest films when it was released, but it has grown in stature and is now in the pantheon of the director’s works. Critics gave “Vertigo” a Freshness rating of 95% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of filmgoers liked it.

“Finding Nemo” won over critics, who gave it a 99% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes for its engaging story about a clownfish named Marlin who is separated from his son Nemo in the Great Barrier Reef. Marlin then goes on a perilous quest to find and get Nemo back. The film has grossed more than $871 million worldwide.

George A. Romero’s debut film “Night of the Living Dead” created the template for the modern zombie film. The movie also spawned successful sequels. The film, which was independently produced with only a small budget, is now considered one of the best horror movies ever because of its raw violence, bleak vision, moments of black comedy, and political subtext.

Perhaps the most acclaimed of Woody Allen’s movies, “Annie Hall” was at one point titled “Anhedonia,” a term that refers to a person’s inability to experience pleasure. Allen’s film won four Academy Awards in 1978, including Best Director for Allen, who did not attend the Oscars because he was playing with his jazz group in Manhattan.

“King Kong” pairs blonde beauty (Fay Wray), the original scream queen, with a 50-foot ape in a frightening twist on the Beauty and the Beast tale. The movie’s special effects were revolutionary at the time and continue to deliver a certain creepiness to this day. “King Kong” has a 98% Freshness score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes.

Some movie buffs consider this to be the funniest movie of all time. Maybe it’s because stars Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon spend much of the movie in drag, as members of an all-female band trying to elude mobsters. Or maybe it’s because of Curtis’ imitation of Cary Grant as a lonely millionaire seeking love. Critics appreciated the genius of Billy Wilder by giving the film a 95% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, with 94% of audiences liking the movie.

“Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind” stands out thanks to its relentless creativity, driven by film director Michel Gondry and co-writer Charlie Kaufman. The film won the Best Writing – Screenplay Oscar in 2005. The clever direction and original screenwriting help highlight a story of heartbreak, in which two former lovers attempt to remove all memories of their failed relationship.

Stanley Kubrick’s Stephen King adaptation famously deviates from its source material, and despite its relatively simple premise, “The Shining” is endlessly intriguing. Jack Nicholson plays Jack Torrance, a writer who agrees to oversee a deserted hotel through a long, snowy winter accompanied by his wife and young, psychic son. “The Shining” is yet another horror film that received a lukewarm critical welcome upon its release but has since grown to be loved by critics and audiences alike. It was called the first epic horror film by Newsweek.

Eight Academy Awards honored this gritty waterfront gangster drama, including Best Picture, Best Director, and, for Marlon Brando, Best Actor. He plays a washed-up boxer (his “I coulda been a contendah” speech is famous) who eventually agrees to go up against the crooked union boss. The Hollywood Reporter called it a “brutal, violently realistic drama…[that] packs a terrific wallop that results in topflight entertainment.”

Before it became a box office smash, “The Little Mermaid” was a project of Walt Disney’s that was originally conceived in the 1930s but remained on the shelf until studio execs revived it in 1984, ushering a new era of animation for the Disney studios. The story, about a mermaid princess who makes a dangerous deal with a sea witch to become human, features the voices of comedians Pat Carroll and Buddy Hackett and enjoys a 93% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes

“Toy Story 2” eclipsed the success of the original, grossing nearly $500 million worldwide, compared with about $363 million for “Toy Story.” In the sequel, Buzz Lightyear (Tim Allen) tries to save Woody (Tom Hanks) from a toy collector. The beloved film currently has a 100% Freshness rating from critics and an 86% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

“Raging Bull” was one of the best movies of the 1980s, a brilliant and disturbing look at the life of self-destructive middleweight boxing champion Jake LaMotta. Martin Scorsese shot the film in black and white, which adds to the grimness of LaMotta’s life. Critics gave “Raging Bull” a Freshness rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of audiences liked it.

Few motion pictures resonated more profoundly with audiences in the 1990s as “The Lion King,” the story of a lion cub’s journey to adulthood and leadership of his kingdom. The film features the voices of Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, and James Earl Jones. The Disney animation movie has a 93% score from critics and audience alike on Rotten Tomatoes. It won Oscars for Best Music, Original Song (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”) and for Best Music, Original Score.

“The Third Man” stars Orson Welles as Harry Lime, a black marketer taking advantage of the wreckage and chaos of post-war Vienna. Carol Reed’s masterpiece features Anton Karas’ oddly upbeat zither music and atmospheric cinematography. Critics awarded the movie a 99% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of audiences liked it.

The Disney film “Aladdin,” about a street urchin’s life that is changed when he encounters a shape-shifting genie from a magic lamp, was noteworthy for featuring comedian Robin Williams. Disney execs asked animator Eric Goldberg to draw the genie with Williams in mind. The film was part of Disney’s animation renaissance in the 1990s. It was a critical and financial success and won Academy Awards for Best Original Score and Best Song.

Steven Spielberg’s story about a suburban boy who befriends a lost alien and shields it from the government was one of the most beloved films of the 1980s. It captured four Oscars, including two statues for visual and sound effects. Critic Bruce McCabe of the Boston Globe said, “Steven Spielberg’s E. T., The Extra-Terrestrial is the best cinematic fairy tale since The Wizard of Oz.”

An abused, downtrodden English boy discovers, trains, and bonds with a kestrel — a kind of falcon — in this classic example of British social realism. Critics gave the movie a 100% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Billy Wilder’s film-noir is about an insurance man (Fred MacMurray) who is lured into a plot to murder a client by his scheming wife (Barbara Stanwyck) to collect the insurance money. “Double Indemnity” was written by Wilder and Raymond Chandler and adapted from a novel by James M. Cain. The movie received a 97% Freshness rating from Rotten Tomatoes, and 95% of audiences like the film.

Jean Renoir’s film about intrigue, rivalry, and petty jealousy among French aristocrats and their servants at a country estate was derided by audiences when it was released in 1939 and suppressed during the German occupation. The movie has eventually come to be considered one of the greatest films of all time. It has a 96% Freshness score among critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Michael Wilmington of the Chicago Tribune perhaps summed up critics’ enthusiasm best by saying, “There are about a dozen genuine miracles in the history of cinema, and one of them is Jean Renoir’s supreme 1939 tragi-comedy The Rules of the Game.”

The anti-war film “La Grande Illusion” was directed by Jean Renoir. It touches on the common humanity of friend and foe alike as it follows the exploits of French prisoners of war who work to escape a German prison camp in World War I. The movie was the first foreign film to receive a Best Picture Oscar nomination. “La Grande Illusion” holds a 97% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of audiences liked the movie.

Winning Academy and Golden Globe awards for Best Animated Feature in 2009, and grossing about $533 million worldwide, this charming Pixar-produced tale of robot love is sentimental, inspiring, and sometimes hilarious.

“The Departed” is director Martin Scorsese’s immersive look at Irish gangster life in Boston. The film took home four Oscars, including Best Picture and Best Director. The film packs the star power of actors Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, and Martin Sheen, but it is Jack Nicholson’s menacing portrayal of the mob boss that dominates the movie. “The Departed” has a 91% Freshness rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 94% of audiences liked the movie.

“Toy Story” launched one of the most successful animated franchises of all time and was a groundbreaking achievement in computer animation as the first fully realized CGI animated feature. After the filmmakers reworked the script to make Tom Hanks’ Woody character more likable, the film became a box-office smash, grossing more than $363 million — it was the top film for five weekends. The film holds a 100% Freshness rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 92% of audiences liked the movie.

This Italian epic from well-regarded director Marco Tullio Giordana traces the lives of two brothers from the 1960s until the early 2000s and touches on the universal themes of family, life choices, and reconciliation of differences. Critic Terry Lawson of the Detroit Free Press said, “few films have ever made better use of combining social and political history with romantic melodrama and suspense.” Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the film a 94% Freshness score, and 98% of audiences liked the movie.

Quentin Tarantino’s debut feature “Reservoir Dogs” is considered by many the definitive work of American independent cinema of the early 1990s. The movie fused arthouse and genre filmmaking and catapulted its director to superstardom.

“North by Northwest” contains some of the most memorable scenes in cinema — a biplane chasing Cary Grant through a cornfield and the climactic scene on Mount Rushmore when mysterious agents working against the United States are thwarted. “North by Northwest” never loses its grip on the audience, 94% of whom liked the Hitchcock classic on Rotten Tomatoes.

Robin Wright stars in the post-modern fairy tale directed by Rob Reiner that appeals to critics and audiences alike. The Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes called “The Princess Bride” a “deft, intelligent mix of swashbuckling, romance, and comedy that takes an age-old damsel-in-distress story and makes it fresh.” The film enjoys a 97% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 94% of audiences liked it.

“To Kill a Mockingbird,” based on Harper Lee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel, stars Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, the deeply principled attorney defending an African American man accused of raping a white woman in the Deep South during the Depression. The American Film Institute in 2003 chose the character of Finch as the greatest hero in movie history. Critics and audiences alike on Rotten Tomatoes gave the movie a 92% score.

The 1970s were a successful period for funnyman Mel Brooks (“Blazing Saddles,” “Silent Movie”), and in 1974 he directed the film “Young Frankenstein,” a humorous homage to horror films of the 1930s. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave the send-up a Freshness rating of 94%, and 92% of audiences enjoyed the movie.

One of the most beloved and watched films of all time tells the story of the Von Trapp Family from Austria and their tutor Maria as the Nazis rise to power just before the start of WWII. The movie is remembered for the star turn of Julie Andrews and memorable songs composed by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II such as “My Favorite Things,” “Edelweiss,” and “Climb Ev’ry Mountain.” The film has an audience score of 91% on Rotten Tomatoes.

Arguably Roman Polanski’s greatest film, this stylish film-noir stars Jack Nicholson as a private detective who, while investigating a case of adultery, stumbles onto a murder plot that includes incest and government corruption. The cynical tone of “Chinatown” reflects the mood of post-Vietnam America. Critics awarded the movie a 98% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 93% of audiences liked the film.

“The 400 Blows” is one of the finest examples of French New Wave cinema. The directorial debut of the acclaimed filmmaker François Truffaut, the film is a semi-autobiographical story about a rebellious adolescent. The motion picture has long been a critics’ favorite, with a Freshness rating of 100% of critics, who appreciate its honest depiction of adolescence. Also, 94% of audiences liked the movie.

George A. Romero’s bigger budget sequel to his groundbreaking “Night of the Living Dead” has the zombies on a rampage at a mall, a wry poke at modern consumerism. Critics Consensus on Rotten Tomatoes calls the film “one of the most compelling and entertaining zombie films ever.”

“Paths of Glory” is Stanley Kubrick’s searing indictment of the incompetent military leadership of the First World War. The film is noted for its realistic battle scenes as well as its unconventional ending of a captured German girl forced to sing for French troops who are moved by her performance. “Paths of Glory” received a 95% rating from critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes.

Charlie Chaplin’s first sound film, “The Great Dictator,” signaled that the actor and director could make the transition to talking films from silent movies. Chaplin, who had worked with dialogue during his music-hall days in England, was a filmmaker with something to say. Originally Chaplin was resistant to working with sound, but he found the idea of satirizing Adolf Hitler too irresistible.

Vittorio De Sica directed this neo-realistic classic about the struggles of everyday Italians in the aftermath of WWII. The film was considered so culturally significant that it was awarded a special Academy Award as “most outstanding foreign film” seven years before the category was created. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave “Bicycle Thieves” a 98% Freshness rating, and the film holds a 94% audience approval score.

The Disney film about a magical nanny stars Julie Andrews and Dick Van Dyke in two of their most iconic roles. The movie combines stunning visuals and memorable songs with winning results. It has a perfect Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 86% of users gave it a positive review.

Historical epic “Gone With the Wind,” the most expensive Hollywood film ever produced at the time, has gone on to become the top grossing film of all time. When looking at its multiple domestic releases, it is the only movie to sell more than 200 million tickets since its debut. The Hollywood classic won eight Oscars, including Best Picture.

The offbeat holiday movie is both humorous and — as the best Christmas movies are — moving. The film also offers up a healthy dose of nostalgia. It won over 89% of critics and 88% of audiences on Rotten Tomatoes, and it has a rating of 8.0 out of 10 on IMDb.

Martin Scorsese’s disturbing classic of urban alienation introduced audiences to one of cinema’s most memorable anti-heros, Travis Bickle. Although the movie didn’t win any of the four Academy Awards it was nominated for in 1977, it did earn the coveted Palme d’Or at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

“Beauty and the Beast,” is an enchanting animated film from Disney about a prince cursed to spend his days alone as a monster who tries to earn the love of a woman. The Oscar for Best Music, Original Song went to the storied songwriting team of Alan Menken and Howard Ashman, and Menken also won for Best Music, Original Score. “Beauty and the Beast” holds a 94% Freshness rating, and 92% of audiences like the motion picture.

This adaptation of Frances Hodgson Burnett’s novel by Oscar-winning director Alfonso Cuarón tells the story of a young girl acclimating to life at a rigid boarding school. It has a 97% Freshness rating from critics, and 88% of Rotten Tomatoes users liked the film, which dabbles in magic realism. Writing for Variety, critic Todd McCarthy described it as “a children’s film that plays equally well to kids and adults.”

The final film in Peter Jackson’s exceedingly popular Lord of the Rings trilogy won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Writing – Adapted Screenplay. The 201 minute epic is the 45th top-grossing movie of all time at the domestic box office when not adjusting for inflation, having grossed more than $377 million.

The 1951 version of “A Christmas Carol” is considered by many critics and film aficionados as the best. Actor Alastair Sim left an indelible imprint as Scrooge, an interpretation of the character that is equal parts contemptible and vulnerable. Critics on Rotten Tomatoes agree this version is most faithful to the Charles Dickens classic.

Based on Peter Shaffer’s Tony Award-winning play of the same name, this account of the life and successes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart — told through the eyes of his rival, Antonio Salieri –” dominated the 1985 Oscars. “Amadeus” won eight Academy Awards, including those for Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director. It is currently the 85th top-rated movie on IMDb.

“Up” is among the highest rated of the extremely popular animated films from Pixar, with a 98% rating from critics and 90% rating from users on Rotten Tomatoes. The movie follows 78-year-old widower Carl Fredricksen who sets out to South America along with Boy Scout Russell by attaching balloons to his house. The movie was nominated for Best Picture at the Oscars and won Best Animated Feature Film of the Year.

Backstage Hollywood venom tinged with biting wit infuses this much-acclaimed Bette Davis black comedy about an aspiring actress who cold-bloodedly manipulates her way toward stardom. Critics called it “impeccably written,” “gunshot sharp,” and “downright funny.”

In “Rear Window,” James Stewart plays a photojournalist who is homebound because of an injury. He passes the time observing his neighbors, assigning them nicknames like “Miss Lonelyhearts.” He creates a story that one neighbor killed his wife, but then comes to realize he might be right. This Hitchcock gem that also starred the luminous Grace Kelly received a 100% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 95% of audiences liked the movie.

The first entry to Peter Jackson’s epic Lord of the Rings franchise — based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic books — was a massive critical and financial success. The movie grossed more than $315 million at the domestic box office and currently has a 91% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes. Audiences were even more enamored, with 95% liking it.

“Smart, innovating, and thrilling,” is the critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes as it goes on praising this complex sci-fi mystery about a thief who can enter the dreams of others and steal their ideas — and ultimately maybe implant new ones. Critics applied words like “spectacular,” “endlessly fascinating,” and “awesomely original.”

This stop-motion animated film has the gothic fingerprints of the uber-creative Tim Burton (who co-wrote the movie), though it was directed by Henry Selick, who also directed the well-liked “Coraline.” The movie follows Jack Skellington, skeletal king of Halloween Town, who discovers Christmas Town and becomes enchanted by the idea of Christmas. “The Nightmare Before Christmas” has a 95% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 91% of the voting audience liked it.

David Lean’s sprawling epic is about the charismatic British officer who helped rally the Arabs against the Ottoman Empire in World War I. Lean, who had already distinguished himself with films like “The Bridge on the River Kwai,” captivated audiences with his mesmerizing desert scenes. “Lawrence of Arabia” featured some of the greatest actors of the day, including Alec Guinness, Jose Ferrer, and Anthony Quinn. The film received a 98% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and 93% of audiences liked the movie.

The British comedy classic continues to win over legions of fans 45 years after its initial release. The film is sophomoric, but that hasn’t prevented critics from giving it a 97% Freshness rating. Rotten Tomatoes audiences mostly agree, giving it an approval rating of 95%.

The critically praised third entry in the hugely popular Toy Story franchise proved that computer animated movies could be great. Audiences flocked to the film, driving its worldwide box office gross to over $1 billion.

James Cameron’s “Terminator 2” excels in many of the aspects that action movie fans appreciate most, such as visual effects and tense action sequences. It stands apart from the average action flick thanks to its refined characters and philosophically intelligent storyline. The movie –” which received a 93% rating from critics and a 94% rating from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes — is a haunting tale of post-apocalyptic possibilities and a perfect popcorn action movie rolled in one.

This 1953 familial drama from famed Japanese director Yasujirô Ozu has a perfect 100% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes and a 93% approval rating from users. It’s considered a cinematic masterpiece that has maintained its ability to emotionally devastate modern audiences.

While not fully appreciated upon its release — a Variety review declared that movie to be “about as unfunny as a hospital operating room” — “Sherlock Jr.” is now recognized as one of the greatest films ever made. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry in 1991, 67 years after its initial release.

Peter Jackson’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers” is the second film in the hugely successful franchise. The Academy Award-winning movie’s balance of groundbreaking visuals and epic storytelling won over critics and audiences alike.

“Modern Times” was written, directed, scored, and produced by Charlie Chaplin. Set during the Great Depression, the film spoke to the masses by touching on topics such as poverty, hunger, and unemployment.

The sprawling, visionary Vietnam War drama directed by Francis Ford Coppola is based on Joseph Conrad’s book “Heart of Darkness” and shows how men descend into madness as the result of war. Though not fully embraced by audiences and critics when it was released in 1979, “Apocalypse Now” has gained more recognition, as critics on Rotten Tomatoes gave it a 98% Freshness rating and 94% of audiences liked it.

James Cameron’s powerful follow-up to director Ridley Scott’s sci-fi horror film “Alien” was hailed as “the best monster movie of the year,” “state-of-the-art science fiction,” and “the rarest of sequels” — one that’s at least equal to the original.

More than 50 years after its release, “2001: A Space Odyssey” is still one of the most thought-provoking science fiction films of all time. The film is Stanley Kubrick’s look at the arc of mankind’s existence, from the earliest humans to space travelers, with the implied question of what does it all mean? As perplexing as the movie remains, critics gave it a Freshness rating of 93% on Rotten Tomatoes, and 89% of filmgoers liked it … if not understood it.

“City Lights” is not only frequently considered Charlie Chaplin’s best film, but also one of the greatest films of all time. The silent film — in which Chaplin’s tramp character tries to financially assist a blind girl — was released after talking pictures had been developed and is perhaps the greatest representation of Chaplin’s genius.

Though much lampooned since its release, the sardonic “Sunset Boulevard” remains one of the best movies about fame and Hollywood. As the aging silent film star Norma Desmond, Gloria Swanson, utters one of filmdom’s greatest lines, “All right Mr. DeMille, I’m ready for my closeup.” Critics gave the film a 98% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 95% liked “Sunset Boulevard.”

“Once Upon a Time in the West” stars Henry Fonda and Charles Bronson as dueling gunslingers who briefly team up to help a woman in distress. The film is considered by many to be the greatest Western of all time and has been cited by directors, including George Lucas, Martin Scorsese, and Quentin Tarantino, as an influence.

The tagline for sci-fi horror film “Alien” states: “In space, no one can hear you scream.” Plenty of people could be heard screaming in theaters when the movie was released in 1979, however. Movie-watchers continue to enjoy the tense creeper, with 94% of users giving it a positive score on Rotten Tomatoes.

A dark, satirical comedy about nuclear war, this Stanley Kubrick classic features Peter Sellers playing three roles, including that of the sinister Strangelove. The shot of actor Slim Pickens riding an H-bomb as it falls is one of the most memorable cinematic images of the era.

Sometimes called the greatest film of all time, Orson Welles’ precocious masterpiece (he was 25 when he co-wrote, directed, and starred in it), is the story of Charles Foster Kane, a newspaper tycoon modeled after William Randolph Hearst. Welles played the title role in a performance that has been called “nothing less than astonishing,” and critics found the movie itself “exciting,” “arresting,” and “a visual marvel” that “helped define the language of film.”

Steven Spielberg’s World War II film — most notably its famous D-Day scene — brought an unprecedented realism to Hollywood war movies. In 2001, TV Guide chose the scene as the greatest moment in motion picture history. The film won five of its 11 Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Cinematography. An exceptional 95% of Rotten Tomatoes users liked the film, with nearly 1 million ratings being submitted.

“Jaws” is based on Peter Benchley’s novel about an enormous Great White Shark that terrorizes a fictional New England coast town. The film vaulted Steven Spielberg into the forefront of America’s directors. The cast includes Robert Shaw as the Captain Ahab-esque shark hunter, Roy Scheider as the town’s sheriff, and Richard Dreyfuss as a marine biologist.

With a 100% Freshness rating and a 95% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes, this “clever, incisive, and funny” movie, as the critics consensus on the site calls it, “is a masterpiece of the classical Hollywood musical.” It has been called the best movie musical of all time.

Michael J. Fox stars as Marty McFly, a time-traveling high school student, in this 1980s comedy classic from director Robert Zemeckis. The movie is loved by both critics and audiences for its humor, science fiction-based inventiveness, and irresistible energy.

The murder scene in the shower in “Psycho” almost instantly became a cultural landmark and is among the most famous in movie history. Adding to the tension of this taut thriller that starred Anthony Perkins and Janet Leigh was the music by Bernard Herrmann that projected impending doom. “Psycho” is Hitchcock at his suspenseful best. The motion picture received a 96% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 95% of audiences liked the movie.

South Korean filmmaker Bong Joon Ho’s “Parasite” surprised many by winning Best Picture at the 2020 Academy Awards despite being among the lesser seen nominees. Reception of the film has been near universally positive, however, especially among critics, who have given it a 99% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The film tells the story of a lower-class family that dupes a wealthier family into employing them with unexpected results.

Jonathan Demme’s psychological thriller “The Silence of the Lambs” made a huge cultural impact upon its release in 1991, thanks in large part to its lead actors Jodie Foster and Anthony Hopkins. The two won Academy Awards for their work on the film, which also won best picture.

Confusingly, this is the movie originally released simply as “Star Wars” (it was retitled following the release of “The Empire Strikes Back”). Today a cultural icon, it has been praised as “pure unadulterated entertainment” by critic Vern Perry and lauded by critic Joseph Gelmis for its “technical wizardry, high-velocity storytelling and spirited good humor.”

Frank Capra’s 1946 film “It’s a Wonderful Life” is watched every holiday season by many. The heart-warming story of George Bailey — played by James Stewart — was ranked as the most inspiring film of all time by the American Film Institute.

The Miloš Forman-directed drama about a criminal who encourages rebellion against an oppressive nurse in a mental hospital did exceptionally well at the 1976 Academy Awards, winning the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Screenplay, Best Actor, and Best Actress. Seventeen years later, the movie was deemed “culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant” by the U.S. Library of Congress and added to the National Film Registry.

Sergio Leone’s 161 minute epic “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly” is perhaps the most iconic Western of all time. Rife with memorable long shots and close-ups, the film’s story is told more with imagery than words — a decision made in part due to the ease of shooting a movie with little sound.

“Raiders of the Lost Ark” is Steven Spielberg’s homage to action/adventure movies from Hollywood’s golden age. Harrison Ford plays the swashbuckling archeologist Indiana Jones, who has to prevent Nazis from finding the Ark of the Covenant whose powers could make them invincible. The prototypical summer movie, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” received 95% Freshness rating from critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 96% of audiences liked the movie.

From its music to its pioneering, Technicolor visuals, “The Wizard of Oz” is among the most iconic movies ever. Victor Fleming directed the bulk of the film before he was reassigned to direct “Gone With the Wind,” which would ultimately win Best Picture at the Academy Awards over fellow nominee “The Wizard of Oz.” “Oz” did win two Oscars related to music, including Best Original Song for “Over the Rainbow.”

Martin Scorsese and Robert De Niro are paired once again in this mob story narrated by gangster and FBI informant Henry Hill, played by Ray Liotta, and adapted from Nicholas Pileggi’s book “Wiseguy.” “Goodfellas” is not for the faint of heart because of the mob violence, but it does provide great insight into the culture of organized crime. Critics gave the film a 96% Freshness rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and 97% of audiences liked the film.

“Dark, complex and unforgettable,” according to critics consensus on Rotten Tomatoes, this sequel to “Batman Begins” pits Batman against his arch-enemy, The Joker, played here by the late Heath Ledger, whose performance won him an Academy Award for best actor in a supporting role. “[P]robably the smartest and most stylish action movie since ‘The Matrix,'” said the Orange County Register.

“Here’s lookin’ at you, kid,” is one of Hollywood’s most famous lines. Its source — wartime melodrama “Casablanca” — is just as iconic. The movie set a standard for romance and atmosphere that everything released after strived to match.

This quintessential courtroom drama scored a 100% Freshness rating among critics on Rotten Tomatoes, and 97% of the audience liked it. Though it is now considered a masterpiece, it opened poorly, barely making enough to recoup its production and advertising costs. Its reputation began to grow several years later when it began appearing on TV.

“The Empire Strikes Back” — the second movie in the original Star Wars trilogy — is the best film in the blockbuster series. In 2010, after permanently altering the world’s cultural landscape, the movie was added to the United States’ National Film Registry by the Library of Congress.

One of the greatest retellings of one of the worst chapters in human history. Liam Neeson plays Oskar Schindler, a Catholic businessman who uses his position to save hundreds of Jews from extermination. Steven Spielberg does not spare the viewer from the horrors of the Holocaust, yet the film provides viewers messages of hope and redemption. “Schindler’s List” was nominated for 12 Academy Awards and won seven. Ninety-seven percent of critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes liked the film.

“The Shawshank Redemption” tells the story of banker Andy Dufresne who is given two life sentences for murder in the oppressive Shawshank State Penitentiary. The film was nominated for seven Academy Awards, including best picture, in 1995, but failed to win any. It is an audience favorite, however, and currently has an outstanding 9.3 out of 10 rating on IMDb, with over 2.2 million user votes.

“Pulp Fiction,” Quentin Tarantino’s follow-up to “Reservoir Dogs,” is among the 1990s’ most definitive films. A wildly inventive mix of crime, film-noir, and comedy, the movie scored the Palme d’Or at the 1994 Cannes Film Festival. Its reputation has held up well over the past 25 years, with 96% of audiences giving the film a positive rating on Rotten Tomatoes.

Critics awarded “The Godfather: Part II” a 97% Freshness rating (matched by a 97% audience score) on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics consensus on the site hailed this all-star saga for setting “new standards for sequels that have yet to be matched or broken.” Critics generally found it deeper and more powerful than the first “Godfather,” and the Chicago Tribune called it “a landmark work from one of Hollywood’s top cinema eras.” Not surprisingly, it won six Academy Awards, including best picture, best director, and best actor in a supporting role (Robert De Niro).

Francis Ford Coppola’s gangster epic “The Godfather” breathed new life into the American film industry upon its release in 1972. The film won Best Picture at the Academy Awards and continues to entertain movie fans to this day. The film currently has 98% positive ratings from both critics and audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. Critics Consensus on the site describes the film as “one of Hollywood’s greatest critical and commercial successes” and credits it for establishing “new benchmarks for American cinema.”