Top 100 Pop Culture Films
A list of the greatest movies, as determined by their impact on American popular culture.
List activity
312K views
• 430 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
139 titles
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Lightsabers, the score, The Empire, Darth Vader, Obi Wan, "droids," The Force, Han and Chewie, Leia's hair, the scrolling text, "I got a bad feeling about this," and the Millenium Falcon. Every thing about this movie is iconic.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.Yoda, the Empire, the Imperial March, "I am your father," Hoth, the Emperor, Lando Calrisian, Boba Fett, "I know," and carbonite.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.The theme, the look, the whip, "I hate snakes," shooting in the bazaar, the boulder scene, and melting Nazis.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes."Somewhere Over the Rainbow," ruby slippers, the scarecrow, the Wicked Witch of the West, the Emerald City, Dorothy's dress, and the transition form sepia to Technicolor.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsClark GableClaudette ColbertWalter ConnollyA rogue reporter trailing a runaway heiress for a big story joins her on a bus heading from Florida to New York and they end up stuck with each other when the bus leaves them behind at one of the stops along the way.Stopping a taxi with legs, the plot, the undressing scene, the Walls of Jericho, and the inspiration for Bugs Bunny.
- DirectorJames CameronStarsLeonardo DiCaprioKate WinsletBilly ZaneA seventeen-year-old aristocrat falls in love with a kind but poor artist aboard the luxurious, ill-fated R.M.S. Titanic."My Heart will go On," the breaking of the ship, the band, the score, "I'm king of the world," and the sinking.
- DirectorBlake EdwardsStarsAudrey HepburnGeorge PeppardPatricia NealA young New York socialite becomes interested in a young man who has moved into her apartment building, but her past threatens to get in the way."Moon River" and Audrey's dress.
- DirectorFrank CapraStarsJames StewartDonna ReedLionel BarrymoreAn angel is sent from Heaven to help a desperately frustrated businessman by showing him what life would have been like if he had never existed."Merry Christmas Bedford Falls," Clarence the guardian angel, Mr. Potter, "I wish I had never been born," ringing bells and angel wings, richest man in town; it's the ultimate Christmas movie.
- DirectorMerian C. CooperErnest B. SchoedsackStarsFay WrayRobert ArmstrongBruce CabotA film crew goes to a tropical island for a location shoot, where they capture a colossal ape who takes a shine to their blonde starlet, and bring him back to New York City."'twas beauty killed the beast," the image of Kong atop the Empire State Building, and a powerful score propel the lasting image of this movie
- DirectorTod BrowningKarl FreundStarsBela LugosiHelen ChandlerDavid MannersTransylvanian vampire Count Dracula bends a naive real estate agent to his will, then takes up residence at a London estate where he sleeps in his coffin by day and searches for potential victims by night.Bela Legosi's portayal of the Counter is easily the most iconic. "Listen to them, children of the night. What music they make!"
- DirectorJames WhaleStarsColin CliveMae ClarkeBoris KarloffDr Henry Frankenstein is obsessed with assembling a living being from parts of several exhumed corpses.The bolts, the fire, "It's alive!" This movie defined the monster film.
- DirectorFrancis Ford CoppolaStarsMarlon BrandoAl PacinoJames CaanThe aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.The score, the logo, the horse head in the sheets, "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse," the wedding, the exploding car, and Michael Corleone becoming the new godfather. A film that everyone can quote.
- DirectorCameron CroweStarsTom CruiseCuba Gooding Jr.Renée ZellwegerWhen a sports agent has a moral epiphany and is fired for expressing it, he decides to put his new philosophy to the test as an independent agent with the only athlete who stays with him and his former colleague."Show me the money," "You had me at hello," "You complete me," this movie was the ultimate in 90s quotes.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.The score, the costumes, "You shall not pass," the sets, "You have my sword...," the Rivendel scene between Aragorn and Arwen, and the introduction of the Ring of Power to modern audiences.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnthony PerkinsJanet LeighVera MilesA Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.The score, "A boy's best friends is his mother," the shower scene, the Bates Motel, "We all go a little mad sometimes," and the terror of suspense.
- DirectorElia KazanStarsMarlon BrandoKarl MaldenLee J. CobbAn ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims."I coulda been a contender!"
- DirectorRobert AltmanStarsDonald SutherlandElliott GouldTom SkerrittThe staff of a Korean War field hospital use humor and high jinks to keep their sanity in the face of the horror of war.This famous comedy not only spawned one of America's greatest television shows, but gave some iconic quotes on its own.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHenry ThomasDrew BarrymorePeter CoyoteA troubled child summons the courage to help a friendly alien escape from Earth and return to his home planet.The score, the classic touch, "ET phone home," Drew Barrymore's scream, Reese's Pieces, "I'll be right here," the dying plant, the alien itself, the bikes flying in front of the moon, and the communication device.
- DirectorCharles ChaplinStarsCharles ChaplinMack SwainTom MurrayA prospector goes to the Klondike during the 1890s gold rush in hopes of making his fortune, and is smitten with a girl he sees in a dance hall.The house teetering on the edge of a cliff and Chaplin imagining his housemate as a ham are two images that have been so firmly engrained in the American pop culture that nobody could imagine cartoons without them.
- DirectorMichael CurtizStarsHumphrey BogartIngrid BergmanPaul HenreidA cynical expatriate American cafe owner struggles to decide whether or not to help his former lover and her fugitive husband escape the Nazis in French Morocco.The number of quotes, the song, the acting; everything about this movie is iconic American cinema.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesJoseph CottenDorothy ComingoreFollowing the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'Rosebud.
- DirectorFred ZinnemannStarsGary CooperGrace KellyThomas MitchellA town Marshal, despite the disagreements of his newlywed bride and the townspeople around him, must face a gang of deadly killers alone at "high noon" when the gang leader, an outlaw he "sent up" years ago, arrives on the noon train.The shots of the clock, the song, the plot, the shot between the legs, the title.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsMarilyn MonroeTony CurtisJack LemmonAfter two male musicians witness a mob hit, they flee the state in an all-female band disguised as women, but further complications set in.The all-too-familiar plot, "Nobody's perfect," the tango scenes, and so many jokes a person will split.
- DirectorSydney PollackStarsDustin HoffmanJessica LangeTeri GarrMichael Dorsey, an unsuccessful actor, disguises himself as a woman in order to get a role on a trashy hospital soap.
- 19641h 35mPG8.3 (520K)97MetascoreDirectorStanley KubrickStarsPeter SellersGeorge C. ScottSterling HaydenAn unhinged American general orders a bombing attack on the Soviet Union, triggering a path to nuclear holocaust that a war room full of politicians and generals frantically tries to stop.The man riding a nuke, "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here; this is the War Room," and one of the darkest comedies ever.