Special Report

Best Movies to Stream on HBO Max This Month

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Spanning all cinematic eras, the HBO Max film library strives for quality and quantity in equal measure. Unlike a number of its peers, the streaming platform seems as dedicated to preserving movie history as it does with unloading new content. 

To determine the best movies to stream on HBO Max in June, 24/7 Tempo developed an index using average ratings on IMDb, an online movie database owned by Amazon, and a combination of audience scores and Tomatometer scores on Rotten Tomatoes, an online movie and TV review aggregator, as of May 2022, weighting all ratings equally. We considered only movies with at least 5,000 audience votes on either IMDb or Rotten Tomatoes. Documentaries were not considered. Data on streaming availability, current as of this month, comes from the streaming guide Reelgood. Directorial and cast information come from IMDb.

It’s then no surprise that the best movies to stream on HBO Max this month are also some of the best movies ever made.

Click here to see the best movies to stream on HBO Max this month

Those in the mood for essential Old Hollywood fare won’t have to look far. For starters, HBO Max is home to most of Charlie Chaplin’s greatest hits, including “Modern Times,” “The Gold Rush,” “City Lights,” and more. The streaming service also offers indisputable classics such as “The Wizard of Oz” and “Citizen Kane,” two films that have blatantly stood the test of time. (These are Charlie Chaplin’s best and worst movies.)

The list goes on and on…and on. From “Singing in the Rain” to “Chinatown” to “Goodfellas” (RIP Ray Liotta), viewers will find themselves spoiled for choice as they migrate from one masterpiece to the next. (You might be surprised at some of the classic movies that flopped when they came out.)

People still enjoy serious cinema, as it turns out, which may help explain why HBO Max’s subscriber count continues to exceed expectations. Well, that and “Euphoria,” naturally.  

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

50. Gone with the Wind (1939)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (301,469 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (293,900 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (102 reviews)
> Directed by: Victor Fleming

This sweeping romantic drama remains the highest-grossing film of all time when adjusted for inflation. It takes place in the South throughout the Civil War era and follows a spoiled young woman (Vivien Leigh) as she comes of age. Some viewers may find the ethnocentric depiction of plantation life patently offensive.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

49. Paddington 2 (2017)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (67,820 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 87% (8,755 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (246 reviews)
> Directed by: Paul King

Everyone’s favorite CGI bear returns for this beloved sequel, in which Paddington unwittingly lands himself in a British prison. The movie held a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes until a critic took it down a notch in 2021. At least one more negative review has appeared in the time since.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

48. The Right Stuff (1983)
> IMDb user rating: 7.8/10 (59,478 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (22,982 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (51 reviews)
> Directed by: Philip Kaufman

Based on Tom Wolfe’s non-fiction novel, this three-plus-hour drama centers on a group of fearless pilots turned heroic astronauts. It originally underperformed in theaters but has since become regarded as an outright classic.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

47. What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (52,791 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (33,947 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Robert Aldrich

Bette Davis and Joan Crawford famously feuded behind the scenes of this horror classic, in which a former child star (Davis) torments her parapalegic sister (Crawford). At the root of their psychological warfare is a tragic Hollywood backstory involving jealousy and sabotage.

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Courtesy of Universal Pictures

46. Jurassic Park (1993)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (909,321 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (1,071,829 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (130 reviews)
> Directed by: Steven Spielberg

Welcome to Jurassic Park, where dinosaurs have been brought back to life through the use of preserved DNA. The film’s groundbreaking use of CGI technology still holds its own nearly three decades later. Multiple sequels would follow, including the newly released “Jurassic World: Dominion.”

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

45. Se7en (1995)
> IMDb user rating: 8.6/10 (1,517,067 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (468,879 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 82% (82 reviews)
> Directed by: David Fincher

Director David Fincher announced himself as a visionary talent with this gloomy and unforgettable thriller. Set in an unnamed city, it follows two detectives (Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman) as they try to stop a methodical serial killer from completing his twisted plan.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

44. Judas and the Black Messiah (2021)
> IMDb user rating: 7.5/10 (60,720 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (495 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (339 reviews)
> Directed by: Shaka King

An FBI informant (LaKeith Stanfield) infiltrates the Black Panther party in this heralded drama, which culls from actual events. It won two Academy Awards, including Best Supporting Actor for Daniel Kaluuya.

Courtesy of Fathom Events

43. Kiki’s Delivery Service (1989)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (133,169 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (16,920 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (41 reviews)
> Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Japanese animation wizard Hayao Miyazaki presents this delightful fantasy tale with coming-of-age themes. It sends a resourceful young witch to a small seaside community, where she launches (pun intended) an air courier service.

Courtesy of 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment

42. The Wrestler (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (296,807 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 88% (140,629 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (233 reviews)
> Directed by: Darren Aronofsky

A comeback for virtually all those involved, this gripping drama centers on former pro wrestler Randy ‘The Ram’ Robinson (Mickey Rourke). Well past his prime, Robinson puts everything on the line by competing in a rematch against his former arch-nemesis.

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

41. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (629,868 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (299,429 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (113 reviews)
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick

Kubrick’s seminal sci-fi drama redefined special effects and influenced a legion of subsequent directors, including George Lucas and Ridley Scott. As relevant today as ever before, it pits a crew of astronauts against their rogue computer. But the real story is one of mankind’s evolution being ushered forward by an unseen alien race.

Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

40. The Truman Show (1998)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (989,294 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (584,020 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (133 reviews)
> Directed by: Peter Weir

Jim Carrey plays happy-go-lucky everyman Truman Burbank in this brilliant dramedy from director Peter Weir. What appears to be normal suburban life is actually a 24/7 reality show, in which Truman is the unwitting star. It’s a premise so prescient that there’s now a psychological condition named after it.

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Courtesy of United Artists

39. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (70,923 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (23,226 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (55 reviews)
> Directed by: Norman Jewison

This powerful drama follows a Black Philadelphia detective (Sidney Poitier) to a brutally racist Southern town, where he helps solve a murder. Poitier insisted on shooting the film in the North due to a previous experience in Mississippi, where he was nearly killed by the Ku Klux Klan. It won five Academy Awards and inspired a long-running TV series of the same name.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

38. All the President’s Men (1976)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (109,442 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (50,360 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (65 reviews)
> Directed by: Alan J. Pakula

Director Alan J. Pakula’s political thriller tracks reporters Bob Woodward (Robert Redford) and Carl Bernstein (Dustin Hoffman) as they crack open the Watergate scandal. Not just a benchmark for its sub-genre, the film helped redefine attitudes toward American journalism. It won four Academy Awards.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

37. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (245,961 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (110,314 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (48 reviews)
> Directed by: Sidney Lumet

Al Pacino re-teamed with “The Godfather” co-star John Cazale for this classic heist dramedy, in which three hapless amateurs hold up a bank. The story culls from real-life events and examines themes of mental health and American media culture.

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

36. The Iron Giant (1999)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (180,630 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (204,968 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (142 reviews)
> Directed by: Brad Bird

Before creating “The Incredibles,” Brad Bird helmed this animated adventure about a young boy and his giant robot alien friend. It tanked at the box office during its theatrical release but has since become a modern cult classic.

Courtesy of United Artists

35. Hotel Rwanda (2004)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (343,587 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (241,507 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (194 reviews)
> Directed by: Terry George

This harrowing drama takes place in the midst of an ethnic cleansing campaign, later known as the Rwandan genocide. Don Cheadle delivers a masterful performance as real-life hotel manager Paul Rusesabagina, who provides shelter for thousands of hunted Tutsi refugees. (Ironically, Rusesabagina was arrested in Rwanda in 2020 on terrorism charges related to his later support for an anti-government group and sentenced to 25 years in prison.)

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Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

34. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (664,938 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (140,524 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (373 reviews)
> Directed by: Steve McQueen

This Oscar-winning historical drama comes straight from the pages of Solomon Northup’s own memoir. A free Black man in the North during the antebellum era, Northrup (played by Chiwetel Ejiofor) is brutally kidnapped and then sold into Southern slavery. The events that follow are unbearable to witness but far too important to ignore.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

33. The Big Sleep (1946)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (82,715 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (33,542 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (65 reviews)
> Directed by: Howard Hawks

Based on Raymond Chandler’s timeless novel, this noirish thriller is as quintessential as they come. Humphrey Bogart plays private investigator Philip Marlowe, who plunges head-first into a dangerous web of blackmail, murder, and seduction.

Courtesy of Fathom Events

32. Castle in the Sky (1986)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (157,473 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (79,551 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (26 reviews)
> Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

This influential Miyazaki effort follows a young boy and girl on their perilous search for a floating castle. It features signature hand-drawn animation and borrows story elements from the director’s previous work. A retro-futuristic design language makes this an early example of the steampunk sub-genre.

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Courtesy of United Artists

31. Annie Hall (1977)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (258,110 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 92% (153,824 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (84 reviews)
> Directed by: Woody Allen

The modern era of romantic comedy arguably begins with this iconic Oscar winner, about the relationship between two quirky urbanites (Woody Allen and Diane Keaton). With its narrative diversions and relatable themes, the film also marked a turning point for Allen’s career.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

30. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (104,091 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (55,195 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (60 reviews)
> Directed by: Elia Kazan

A troubled woman (Vivien Leigh) moves in with her sister (Kim Hunter) and upsets an already volatile marriage in this Southern drama. Marlon Brando plays brutish husband Stanley Kowalski in one of his most iconic performances. The film is based on a famous Tennessee Williams play, in which Brando and Kim Hunter had also starred.

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

29. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (379,622 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 89% (876,535 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (145 reviews)
> Directed by: Victor Fleming

A timeless classic if there ever was one, this family adventure follows young Dorothy (Judy Garland) into the colorful land of Oz. Unforgettable characters and enduring songs help bring the story to life. It won two Academy Awards.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

28. Inception (2010)
> IMDb user rating: 8.8/10 (2,171,143 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (571,783 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 87% (361 reviews)
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s mind-bending thriller takes place in a world where hired professionals can hack into dreams. After training his latest recruit (Elliot Page), a master thief (Leonardo DiCaprio) embarks on his most dangerous mission to date. The film earned over $828 million worldwide on a reported budget of $160 million.

Courtesy of Miramax

27. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (958,136 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (446,711 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 92% (71 reviews)
> Directed by: Quentin Tarantino

One of the most impressive debuts in movie history, this crime drama rocked the 1992 Sundance Film Festival and announced Tarantino as a major new talent. Follow a group of ruthless criminals as they grapple with the fallout of a heist gone awry. The story draws inspiration from previous films such as 1987’s “City on Fire” and 1974’s “The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3.”

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Courtesy of Warner Bros.

26. The Departed (2006)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,241,061 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (738,191 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 90% (283 reviews)
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese

Director Martin Scorsese won a long-overdue Oscar for this Boston-based gangster epic, loosely adapted from the Hong Kong thriller “Infernal Affairs.” It centers around a cop (Leonardo DiCaprio) and a criminal (Matt Damon) who go undercover on opposite sides of the law.

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

25. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
> IMDb user rating: 8.9/10 (1,710,236 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 86% (34,679,773 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (275 reviews)
> Directed by: Peter Jackson

Based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s beloved book series, Peter Jackson’s blockbuster trilogy closed out with its most epic installment. As hobbits Frodo (Elijah Wood) and Sam (Sean Astin) reach the last leg of their journey, the forces of good and evil engage in one final battle. The film swept at the Oscars, where it won a record-tying 11 Academy Awards.

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Archive Photos / Getty Images

24. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
> IMDb user rating: 8.0/10 (153,406 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 91% (57,929 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (60 reviews)
> Directed by: John Huston

A priceless statuette lies at the heart of this classic mystery, starring Humphrey Bogart as private detective Sam Spade. The film’s morally ambigious characters, sharp dialogue, femme fatale, and shadowy tone would quickly become staples of the noir sub-genre.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

23. Unforgiven (1992)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (391,927 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (122,861 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (106 reviews)
> Directed by: Clint Eastwood

Director, producer, and star Clint Eastwood brought his career as a Western icon full circle with this modern masterpiece. He plays former gunslinger William Munny, who’s wrangled out of retirement for one last job. It won four Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

22. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
> IMDb user rating: 7.9/10 (66,253 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (47,240 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (101 reviews)
> Directed by: George Cukor

A divorced socialite (Katharine Hepburn) finds suitors on all sides in this acclaimed romantic comedy. “Katharine Hepburn gives the finest performance of her career,” wrote critic Kate Cameron for the New York Daily News. Co-star James Stewart won an Academy Award for his turn as nosy reporter Macaulay ‘Mike’ Connor.

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Courtesy of Toho Company

21. Princess Mononoke (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (364,905 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (222,309 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (112 reviews)
> Directed by: Hayao Miyazaki

Before 2001’s “Spirited Away,” Hayao Miyazaki created this vivid fantasy about the war between forest gods and local villagers. Its themes of man versus nature play out in an epic fashion and recur various times throughout the director’s career.

Courtesy of Newmarket Films

20. Memento (2000)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (1,169,429 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (381,352 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (181 reviews)
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Christopher Nolan’s sophomore feature employed a radical narrative device and turned the British director into a household name. It tells the story of a desperate man (Guy Pearce), who must contend with his own short-term memory loss while hunting down his wife’s killer. To best capture its protagonist’s state of mind, the main storyline plays out in reverse.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

19. Citizen Kane (1941)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (422,500 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 90% (159,588 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (117 reviews)
> Directed by: Orson Welles

Drawing inspiration from William Randolph Hearst, director and star Orson Welles paints a multi-faceted and yet elusive portrait of newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane. The film underperformed in theaters during its initial run but went on to become the 20th century’s quintessential masterpiece. A number of its creative aspects were lightyears ahead of their time.

Courtesy of United Artists

18. The Great Dictator (1940)
> IMDb user rating: 8.4/10 (213,266 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (43,757 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (45 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin

Arriving well into the talkie era, Chaplin’s first true sound film finds him playing both a poor Jewish barber and a Hitler-like dictator. The striking visual resemblance of these starkly different characters plays out of the course of the story. Its climactic speech has beenhailed as the most important monologue in the history of cinema.

Courtesy of TriStar Pictures

17. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (1,033,964 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (749,360 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 93% (84 reviews)
> Directed by: James Cameron

This sci-fi sequel was an absolute benchmark in special effects and budding CGI technology. Sent back in time, a cyborg (Arnold Schwarzenegger) must protect the future resistance leader (Edward Furlong) in the war between man and machine. A full-blown franchise would follow.

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Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

16. Chinatown (1974)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (309,557 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (78,076 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (76 reviews)
> Directed by: Roman Polanski

This noirish thriller takes place in the 1930s and features one of the bleakest endings in movie history. Hired to track an adulterer, private detective J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) uncovers a murderous scheme involving the supplying of water to Los Angeles.

Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

15. North by Northwest (1959)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (312,200 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (79,896 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 97% (109 reviews)
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock

With its double-crossing characters and propulsive set pieces, Hitchcock’s classic spy thriller helped redefine the entire action genre. Mistaken for a government agent, an ad executive (Cary Grant) gets swept up in a dangerous cross-country adventure.

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

14. On the Waterfront (1954)
> IMDb user rating: 8.1/10 (148,492 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (52,268 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 99% (105 reviews)
> Directed by: Elia Kazan

Former boxer Terry Malloy (Marlon Brando) takes up the life of a longshoreman and squares off against union corruption in this gripping drama. “I coulda been a contender!” Brando famously shouts during a key scene. The film won eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Actor, and Best Director.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

13. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (119,669 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (26,178 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (52 reviews)
> Directed by: John Huston

Two rugged American drifters (Humphrey Bogart and Tim Holt) and a prospector (Walter Huston) dig up more than they bargained for in this first-rate adventure. With the discovery of buried treasure comes a deadly tale of greed and mistrust among men. The concept has been revisited in various films and shows, including a “Simpsons” parody called “Three Men and a Comic Book.”

Courtesy of United Artists

12. The Gold Rush (1925)
> IMDb user rating: 8.2/10 (106,473 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 93% (20,591 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (50 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin

Chaplin’s Little Tramp joins the 1890s Klondike Gold Rush in this slapstick adventure, which finds the filmmaker playing to all his many strengths. “The first comedy of epic proportions has reached the screen,” wrote critic Edwin Schallert for the Los Angeles Times.

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Courtesy of Miramax

11. Good Will Hunting (1997)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (900,884 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (365,042 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (83 reviews)
> Directed by: Gus Van Sant

Matt Damon and Ben Affleck originally conceived their breakthrough script as a spy thriller before workshopping it into final dramatic form. Witness the story of Will Hunting (Damon), an M.I.T. janitor who’s secretly a math genius. Robin Williams delivers an Oscar-winning performance as therapist Dr. Sean Maguire.

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

10. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
> IMDb user rating: 8.8/10 (1,731,527 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (1,355,751 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (235 reviews)
> Directed by: Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson’s fantasy trilogy kicks off with this sprawling adventure, which sends two hobbits on their quest to destroy an all-powerful ring. It currently ranks #9 on IMDb’s list of the Top 250 Movies. An extended DVD edition adds approximately 30 minutes of footage.

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Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

9. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (228,668 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (138,714 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (67 reviews)
> Directed by: Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen

Actress Debbie Reynolds once described childbirth and the making of this musical as the two most difficult experiences of her lifetime. Set in the late 1920s, it follows the major stars of a Hollywood studio as they stumble into the talkie era.

Courtesy of United Artists

8. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
> IMDb user rating: 8.7/10 (954,220 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (279,963 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (83 reviews)
> Directed by: Milos Forman

This Oscar-winning adaptation of Ken Kesey’s classic novel spent years in development before arriving on the big screen. Actors such as Gene Hackman and Marlon Brando reportedly turned down the lead role of R.P. McMurphy, which eventually went to Jack Nicholson. The newest arrival at a mental institution, McMurphy stirs up a minor revolution.

Courtesy of New Line Cinema

7. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
> IMDb user rating: 8.7/10 (1,546,188 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (1,341,428 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 95% (255 reviews)
> Directed by: Peter Jackson

Hobbits Frodo and Sam continue their journey and contend with a shifty creature named Gollum (Andy Serkis) in the second installment of this epic trilogy. Its famous battle at Helm’s Deep required 20,000 extras and took 120 days to film.

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Courtesy of First National Pictures

6. The Kid (1921)
> IMDb user rating: 8.3/10 (120,168 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (15,470 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 100% (48 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin

Chaplin’s first full-length feature puts his iconic alter-ego – aka the Little Tramp – in charge of an abandoned child. Its balance of brilliant slapstick comedy and empathic drama would remain a signature throughout the filmmaker’s distinguished career.

Courtesy of United Artists

5. Modern Times (1936)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (228,754 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 95% (40,314 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (108 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin

Chaplin takes on industrial society as only he can in his last “silent” film (it employs occasional sound effects, but no dialogue). After being literally chewed up and spit out by factory machinery, the Little Tramp struggles to make ends meet in the modern world.

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Courtesy of United Artists

4. City Lights (1931)
> IMDb user rating: 8.5/10 (176,008 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 96% (27,144 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 98% (54 reviews)
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin

Hoping to raise money for a blind flower girl, the Little Tramp (Chaplin) undergoes a series of humiliating misadventures. As if writing, directing, editing, producing, and starring in the film weren’t enough, Chaplin also scored the music. “This is one of those rare creatures, the work of a master craftsman in full control of his craft,” wrote critic Dan Jardine for Slant Magazine.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

3. The Dark Knight (2008)
> IMDb user rating: 9.0/10 (2,419,864 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 94% (1,831,566 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 94% (345 reviews)
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Widely considered the greatest superhero movie ever made, Nolan’s blockbuster sequel pits Batman (Christian Bale) against the nihilistic Joker (Heath Ledger). When prepping for his role, Ledger reportedly isolated himself for six weeks and studied figures such as punk rocker Sid Vicious. He tragically passed away before the film’s release.

Courtesy of Warner Bros.

2. Goodfellas (1990)
> IMDb user rating: 8.7/10 (1,070,370 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 97% (430,048 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 96% (103 reviews)
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese

With the recent passing of actor Ray Liotta, now is the perfect time to revisit his career-defining performance in this epochal gangster flick. He plays real-life mobster Henry Hill, whose life of crime spans decades before it all comes crashing down. Director Martin Scorsese’s kinetic storytelling represented a new chapter in his own evolution and for American cinema at large.

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Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
> IMDb user rating: 9.3/10 (2,465,102 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes audience score: 98% (887,061 votes)
> Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer score: 91% (77 reviews)
> Directed by: Frank Darabont

Director Frank Darabont’s timeless prison drama culls from a Stephen King novella and tells the story of Andy Dufresne (Tim Robbins). Falsely accused of murder, Dufresne enters the Shawshank State Penitentiary and changes the lives of all those around him. Once a theatrical underperformer, it now sits at #1 on IMDb’s list of the Top 250 Movies.

 

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