The 100 Greatest Films of All Time

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1/101 SLIDES © Universal Pictures

The 100 Greatest Films of All Time

We compared the following “best of” lists taking into account how many times each movie was mentioned—and its ranking—to compile our own list of the 100 greatest films of all time.

The 100 Greatest American Films of All Time by the American Film Institute
The Top 250 (Sorted by IMDb Rating) on IMDb
Top 100 Movies of All Time on Rotten Tomatoes
The 100 Greatest Movies by Empire magazine
The Top 50 Greatest Films of All Time selected by critics, directors, and academics for Sight and Sound film magazine
The 100 Greatest Foreign-Language Films selected by 209 critics for the BBC
Hollywood’s 100 Favorite Films selected by industry insiders for The Hollywood Reporter magazine

The following 100 movies are considered the world’s greatest. How many have you seen?

2/101 SLIDES © Alliance Atlantis Vivafilm

La Dolce Vita (1960)

Director: Federico Fellini

Starring: Anita Ekberg, Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée

Awards: Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1960), Academy Award for Best Costume Design (1962)

Synopsis: In 1959 in Rome, a young journalist working for a tabloid is followed through a series of vignettes.

3/101 SLIDES © Universal

The Graduate (1967)

Director: Mike Nichols

Starring: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross

Awards: Golden Globe for Best Director (1968), Academy Award for Best Director (1968)

Synopsis: After graduating from college, Benjamin Braddock doesn’t know what to do with his life. He is seduced by Mrs. Robinson, his father’s boss’s wife.

4/101 SLIDES © Paramount

Chinatown (1974)

Director: Roman Polanski

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston, Perry Lopez

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (1975)

Synopsis: In the 1930s, a woman hires Gittes, a private detective, to follow an engineer who is using the city’s water reservoir for personal purposes. When the engineer is murdered, Gittes tries to find the killer.

5/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros.

Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)

Director: George Miller

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult

Awards: Academy Award for Best Production Design, Academy Award for Best Film Editing, Academy Award for Best Sound Editing (2016)

Synopsis: In a post-apocalyptic world, six women and one man try to escape from a cult leader.

6/101 SLIDES © Kino Vidéo

The Mirror (1975)

Original Title: Zerkalo

Director: Andrei Tarkovsky

Starring: Margarita Terekhova, Larisa Tarkovskaya, Ignat Daniltsev, Alla Demidova, Anatoli Solonitsyn

Synopsis: A filmmaker recalls his childhood in the countryside over the course of a discussion with his mother.

7/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros.

The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects

Synopsis: In the second instalment of Tolkien’s saga, the Fellowship of the Ring breaks into three groups.

8/101 SLIDES © Kino Classic

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

Original Title: Bronenosets Potyomkin

Director: Sergei M. Eisenstein

Starring: Aleksandr Antonov, Grigori Alexandrov, Vladimir Barsky, Ivan Bobrov

Synopsis: In 1905, mutiny breaks out on board a battleship in Odessa. The uprising soon spreads to the entire city and the government struggles to suppress it.

9/101 SLIDES © Universal

In the Mood for Love (2000)

Original Title: Fa Yeung Nin Wa

Director: Wong Kar-wai

Starring: Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung Chiu-wai, Rebecca Pan

Awards: Best Actor Award for Tony Leung Chiu-wai at the Cannes Film Festival (2000), César Award for Best Foreign Film (2001)

Synopsis: Two neighbours who discover that their respective spouses are having an affair slowly develop feelings for each other.

10/101 SLIDES © Criterion

The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)

Original Title: La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc

Director: Carl Theodor Dreyer

Starring: Renée Jeanne Falconetti, Eugène Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schutz

Synopsis: Joan of Arc appears before a clerical court. The judges use dishonest questions and torture to condemn her.

11/101 SLIDES © Universal

Boyhood (2014)

Director: Richard Linklater

Starring: Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Ethan Hawke

Awards: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (2015), César Award for Best Foreign Film (2015)

Synopsis: Director Richard Linklater brought the same group of actors together once a year for 12 years to make a film about family and growing up.

12/101 SLIDES © London Films

The Third Man (1949)

Director: Carol Reed

Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard

Awards: Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival (1949), BAFTA Award for Outstanding British Film (1950), Academy Award for Best Cinematography (1951)

Synopsis: A journalist travels to war-ravaged Vienna to meet a friend who promised him a job. Upon his arrival, he finds out his friend has been killed and tries to find the murderers.

13/101 SLIDES © Criterion

Breathless (1960)

Original Title: À bout de souffle

Director: Jean-Luc Godard

Starring: Jean Seberg, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Roger Hanin

Awards: Silver Bear for Best Director at the Berlin International Film Festival (1960)

Synopsis: On his way to Paris in a stolen car, a man kills a police officer. He meets an American student in Paris and tries to convince her to escape with him to Italy.

14/101 SLIDES © MGM

Persona (1966)

Director: Ingmar Bergman

Starring: Liv Ullmann, Bibi Andersson, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand, Jörgen Lindström

Synopsis: An actress who stops speaking after a traumatic experience goes to a seaside town with a nurse. A strange relationship develops between the two women.

15/101 SLIDES © Warner

The Searchers (1956)

Director: John Ford

Starring: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, Ward Bond

Awards: Golden Globe for Most Promising Newcomer—Male (1958)

Synopsis: An uncle pursues the men who abducted his nieces.

16/101 SLIDES © Criterion

8 1/2 (1963)

Original Title: Otto e mezzo

Director: Federico Fellini

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo, Rossella Falk

Synopsis: While on bed rest, a director works on his next film. Short on ideas, he retreats into his memories.

17/101 SLIDES © Entract films

Moonlight (2016)

Director: Barry Jenkins

Starring: Alex Hibbert, Ashton Sanders, Trevante Rhodes

Awards: Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (2017)

Synopsis: Chiron is the son of a drug-addicted single mother in Miami. He joins a gang to avoid persecution for being gay.

18/101 SLIDES © Criterion

The Rules of the Game (1939)

Original Title: La règle du jeu

Director: Jean Renoir

Starring: Mila Parély, Marcel Dalio, Roland Toutain, Julien Carette

Synopsis: A series of love stories unfold during a masquerade ball at a country estate.

19/101 SLIDES © Columbia

The Last Picture Show (1971)

Director: Peter Bogdanovich

Starring: Cybill Shepherd, Jeff Bridges, Cloris Leachman

Awards: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1972), Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor—Motion Picture (1972)

Synopsis: Two teenagers, Sonny and Duane, spend their adolescence together in 1950s Texas. When Sonny joins the army, they go to the movies one last time before Sonny leaves for Korea.

20/101 SLIDES © Miramax

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen

Awards: Grand Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival (1992)

Synopsis: After a heist goes wrong, a group of criminals try to figure out who betrayed them.

21/101 SLIDES © United Artist

Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen

Starring: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director (1977), Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama (1977)

Synopsis: Rocky Balboa is a small-time boxer in Philadelphia. When heavyweight boxing world champion Apollo Creed needs a new opponent, he challenges the “Italian Stallion.”

22/101 SLIDES © Paramount

Titanic (1997)

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1998)

Synopsis: Rose DeWitt, survivor of the Titanic shipwreck, goes along on an expedition to find a blue diamond lost in the wreck. She recalls the fantastic love she experienced on the ship.

23/101 SLIDES © Summit Entertainment

Memento (2000)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (2002), Golden Globe Award for Best Screenplay—Motion Picture (2002)

Synopsis: A man suffering from a form of amnesia that prevents him from remembering more than 15 minutes at a time tries to track down the man who raped and killed his wife.

24/101 SLIDES © Entertainment One

La La Land (2016)

Director: Damien Chazelle

Starring: Ryan Gosling, Emma Stone, John Legend

Awards: Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Original Score (2017)

Synopsis: An actress and a jazz pianist meet and fall in love in Los Angeles, but success causes a rift between them.

25/101 SLIDES © Disney

WALL-E (2008)

Director: Andrew Stanton

Awards: Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (2009)

Synopsis: After humanity destroys Earth, a lone robot cleans the planet. One day, a second robot, called EVE, lands to check if the planet is habitable. When EVE leaves with a plant, WALL-E follows her.

26/101 SLIDES © Columbia

On the Waterfront (1954)

Director: Elia Kazan

Starring: Marlon Brando, Eva Marie Saint, Karl Malden

Awards: Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Picture (1955), Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor—Motion Picture Drama, Golden Globe Award for Best Director (1955)

Synopsis: In the port of New York, a former boxer teams up with a priest to get rid of criminals who are exploiting longshoremen.

27/101 SLIDES © Disney

The Lion King (1994)

Directors: Rob Minkoff, Roger Allers

Starring: James Earl Jones, Jeremy Irons, Nathan Lane

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Score (1995), Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy, Golden Globe Award for Best Original Score (1995)

Synopsis: Simba, a lion cub, is destined to become king, but is exiled when his uncle Scar kills his father to steal his throne.

28/101 SLIDES © 20th Century Fox

Aliens (1986)

Director: James Cameron

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Paul Reiser

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1987)

Synopsis: The sole survivor of a crew attacked by an extraterrestrial must accompany a team of space marines back to the planet.

29/101 SLIDES © Alliance Atlantis

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Director: Michel Gondry

Starring: Jim Carrey, Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (2005)

Synopsis: A young man decides to have memories of his ex-girlfriend erased. During the procedure, he has a change of heart and fights his own mind to try and keep his memories.

30/101 SLIDES © United Artists

Raging Bull (1980)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci

Awards: Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role (1981), BAFTA for Best Editing (1982)

Synopsis: In the 1940s, a man battles his inner demons through boxing.

31/101 SLIDES © Paramount

Double Indemnity (1944)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

Synopsis: An insurance salesman lets a woman convince him to murder her husband to collect on his insurance policy.

32/101 SLIDES © Dreamworks

American Beauty (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes

Starring: Mena Suvari, Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (2000)

Synopsis: Lester Burnham seems to have it all, but his unexpressed desires and violent frustrations will be his undoing.

33/101 SLIDES © Dreamworks

Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen

Synopsis: Captured by a slave trader, a Roman general becomes a gladiator and rises through the ranks to take his revenge on those responsible for his situation.

34/101 SLIDES © 20th Century Fox

The Grapes of Wrath (1940)

Director: John Ford

Starring: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine

Awards: Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1941)

Synopsis: After losing their farm during the Great Depression, a poor Midwestern family travel to California in search of a better life.

35/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros

A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

Director: Elia Kazan

Starring: Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden

Awards: Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress (1952), Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture (1952)

Synopsis: After a difficult separation, a woman goes to live with her sister in New Orleans. Her brother-in-law is suspicious of her aristocratic background and tries to find out what she’s hiding about her past.

36/101 SLIDES © Disney

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Directors: David Hand, Larry Morey, Wilfred Jackson, Ben Sharpsteen, Perce Pearce, William Cottrell

Starring: Adriana Caselotti, Lucille La Verne, Harry Stockwell

Awards: Academy Award Special Award (1939)

Synopsis: Abandoned in the forest by her stepmother, who is jealous of her beauty, Snow White meets seven dwarfs.

37/101 SLIDES © Alliance Vivafilm

M (1931)

Director: Fritz Lang

Starring: Peter Lorre, Gustaf Gründgens, Otto Wernicke

Synopsis: In a village in Germany, a serial killer is attacking young girls. When the police fail to catch him, the local mob decides to take up the search.

38/101 SLIDES © Alliance Vivafilm

Oldboy (2003)

Original Title: Oldeuboi

Director: Park Chan-wook

Starring: Choi Min-sik, Yoo Ji-tae, Kang Hye-jung

Synopsis: A businessman who spent the last 15 years imprisoned seeks vengeance on his kidnapper once he is free.

39/101 SLIDES © Universal

Blade Runner (1982)

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Harrison Ford, Rutger Hauer, Sean Young

Awards: BAFTA for Best Cinematography (1983)

Synopsis: In the future year of 2019, a private detective must find robots that look like humans.

40/101 SLIDES © Universal

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Director: Robert Mulligan

Starring: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Mary Badham, Robert Duvall

Awards: Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (1963)

Synopsis: In 1930s Alabama, a lawyer defends a black man who is wrongly accused of rape.

41/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros

The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd

Synopsis: Isolated with his family in an empty hotel, a writer loses his mind.

42/101 SLIDES © United Artist

Modern Times (1936)

Director: Charlie Chaplin

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman

Synopsis: A factory worker is driven crazy working on the assembly line.

43/101 SLIDES © MGM

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)

Original Title: Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo

Director: Sergio Leone

Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef

Synopsis: Three men compete to find a hidden treasure. Since each one only knows part of the secret, they must work together.

44/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros.

Inception (2010)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Tom Hardy

Awards: Academy Award for Best Cinematography, Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (2011)

Synopsis: A thief is hired to implant an idea into a target’s mind by entering his dreams.

45/101 SLIDES © Alliance Vivafilms

The 400 Blows (1959)

Original Title: Les quatre cents coups

Director: François Truffaut

Starring: Jean-Pierre Léaud, Albert Rémy, Claire Maurier

Awards: Best Director Award at the Cannes Film Festival (1959)

Synopsis: Misunderstood and rejected by his parents, classmates, and teachers, young Antoine plays hookey.

46/101 SLIDES © Rialto Pictures

The Battle of Algiers (1966)

Original Title: La battaglia di Algeri

Director: Gillo Pontecorvo

Starring: Yacef Saadi, Jean Martin, Brahim Haggiag

Awards: Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival (1966)

Synopsis: A former delinquent refuses to lay down his arms and a colonel tries to complete his mission as the Algerian people rebel against the French occupation.

47/101 SLIDES © Criterion

Rashomon (1950)

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyo, Masayuki Mori

Awards: Golden Lion Award at the Venice Film Festival (1951)

Synopsis: A murder is recounted from four different perspectives.

48/101 SLIDES © Columbia

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Director: Bryan Singer

Starring: Kevin Spacey, Benicio del Toro, Stephen Baldwin

Awards: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (1996)

Synopsis: A talkative criminal tells his story while being interrogated by the police. Who is the mysterious Keyser Söze?

49/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros.

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)

Director: John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt

Awards: Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (1949), Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor—Motion Picture, Golden Globe Award for Best Director, Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama (1949)

Synopsis: Two adventurers search for gold, accompanied by an old prospector.

50/101 SLIDES © Criterion

Tokyo Story (1953)

Original Title: Tokyo Monogatari

Director: Yasujiro Ozu

Starring: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara

Synopsis: Busy with their lives, a brother and sister ignore their aging parents during a visit.

51/101 SLIDES © Warner

City Lights (1931)

Director: Charlie Chaplin

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Harry Myers

Synopsis: Tramp tries to find the money to help a blind flower girl get back her sight.

52/101 SLIDES © Warner

The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Director: John Huston

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre

Synopsis: One of two private detectives is killed while investigating a man and his partner is accused of the murder.

53/101 SLIDES © Warner Bros.

The Matrix (1999)

Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Carrie-Anne Moss, Laurence Fishburne

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (2000)

Synopsis: A young computer programmer discovers that the world he lives in is a computer simulation and that humans are being manipulated by thought-capable machines.

54/101 SLIDES © 20th Century Fox

Fight Club (1999)

Director: David Fincher

Starring: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Helena Bonham Carter

Synopsis: A disillusioned insomniac finds balance when he meets Marla and a man named Tyler, who starts a secret club.

55/101 SLIDES © Universal

Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Michael J. Fox, Christopher Lloyd, Lea Thompson

Synopsis: A disgraced nuclear physicist builds a time machine that his friend, a rebellious teenager, uses to travel to the past.

56/101 SLIDES © Action-Film

Metropolis (1927)

Director: Fritz Lang

Starring: Brigitte Helm, Alfred Abel, Gustav Fröhlich

Synopsis: Workers in a futuristic world rebel against their leaders.

57/101 SLIDES © Disney

Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Director: Irvin Kershner

Starring: Harrison Ford, Billy Dee Williams, Carrie Fisher, Mark Hamill

Synopsis: After the destruction of the Death Star, the rebels are pursued by the Empire. Princess Leia, Han Solo, and Chewbacca head to Bespin, while Luke Skywalker begins Jedi training with Yoda.

58/101 SLIDES © Alliance

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming

Starring: Vivien Leigh, Clark Gable, Olivia de Havilland

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Academy Award for Best Director (1940)

Synopsis: Scarlett O’Hara, a young socialite in 1860s Georgia, experiences love and loss during the American Civil War.

59/101 SLIDES © TVA Films

Amélie (2001)

Original Title: Le fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet

Starring: Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin

Awards: César Award for Best Film, César Award for Best Director, César Award for Best Original Music (2002)

Synopsis: In Montmartre, France, a young woman working as a waitress endeavours to help the people around her find happiness.

60/101 SLIDES © Warner

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Anthony Sharp

Synopsis: A teenager leading a life of violence agrees to be “re-educated.”

61/101 SLIDES © Criterion

Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)

Original Title: El laberinto del fauno

Director: Guillermo del Toro

Starring: Ivana Baquero, Doug Jones, Sergi López

Awards: Academy Award for Best Cinematography (2007)

Synopsis: After a young girl is sent to live with her mother and ruthless new stepfather, she discovers a mysterious labyrinth near the family home.

62/101 SLIDES © Paramount

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore

Awards: Academy Award for Best Director (1999), Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture—Drama (1999)

Synopsis: A squad of eight men must risk their lives to find and bring James Ryan home safe and sound during World War II.

63/101 SLIDES © Disney

Spirited Away (2001)

Original Title: Sen to Chihiro no Kamikakushi

Director: Hayao Miyazaki

Awards: Academy Award for Best Animated Feature (2003), Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival (2002)

Synopsis: While travelling to their new home, a family take a shortcut and suddenly find themselves in a mysterious and strange land.

64/101 SLIDES © Image Entertainment

Bicycle Thieves (1948)

Original Title: Ladri di biciclette

Director: Vittorio De Sica

Starring: Lamberto Maggiorani, Lianella Carell, Enzo Staiola

Awards: BAFTA Award for Best Film (1950)

Synopsis: A man’s bicycle is stolen, which he needs to do his job of putting up flyers.

65/101 SLIDES © Alliance Vivafilms

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Makeup and Hairstyling, Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Academy Award for Best Director (2004)

Synopsis: Divided into two groups, the Fellowship of the Ring continues its mission to destroy the One Ring.

66/101 SLIDES © Universal

Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Synopsis: When a vacationer’s mutilated corpse washes up on the beach, a police officer is convinced of a shark attack and challenges the mayor, who wants to keep the beach open.

67/101 SLIDES © Paramount

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay, Academy Award for Best Production Design, Academy Award for Best Original Score (1951)

Synopsis: A screenwriter riddled with debt sponges off a former silent-film star who’s convinced she can make a return to the silver screen.

68/101 SLIDES © Columbia

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme

Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Ted Levine

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Director (1992)

Synopsis: To catch a murderer, an FBI agent interrogates a former psychiatrist in jail for cannibalism.

69/101 SLIDES © Paramount

Forrest Gump (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis

Starring: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field

Synopsis: Forrest Gump, a slow-witted but kind man, experiences several historical events in the United States over several decades of the 20th century.

70/101 SLIDES © Universal

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

Director: Peter Jackson

Starring: Viggo Mortensen, Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (2002)

Synopsis: Frodo the hobbit inherits a magical ring that he must destroy before Sauron, the Dark Lord, finds it.

71/101 SLIDES © 20th Century Fox

Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott

Starring: Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt, Yaphet Kotto

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1980)

Synopsis: Revived from stasis earlier than expected, the crew of a cargo spacecraft must escape from an extraterrestrial creature.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Gary Oldman

Awards: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (2009), Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actor—Motion Picture (2009)

Synopsis: Assisted by Jim Gordon and Harvey Dent, Batman continues to fight crime and corruption as the Joker sows chaos in Gotham City.

Goodfellas (1990)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci

Awards: Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor (1991), Silver Lion Award for Best Director at the Venice International Film Festival (1990)

Synopsis: Fascinated by the life of the Mafiosi from a young age, Henry Hill is recruited by the mob and rises through the ranks before his fall.

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1982)

Synopsis: An archeologist tries to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)

Director: Miloš Forman

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Will Sampson

Synopsis: In a psychiatric hospital, a newly arrived patient pushes the others to contest the authority of the oppressive Nurse Ratched.

It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)

Director: Frank Capra

Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Karolyn Grimes

Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Director (1947)

Synopsis: A man who dreams of travelling the world remains a prisoner of his obligations in his small hometown. When his wish that he never existed is granted, he discovers that his life has not been lived in vain.

All About Eve (1950)

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Marilyn Monroe

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, Academy Award for Best Director (1951), BAFTA Award for Best Film (1951)

Synopsis: A Broadway star in the twilight of her career hires one of her fans as an assistant without suspecting her ulterior motives.

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Drew Barrymore, Henry Thomas

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Music Score, Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1983), Golden Globe Award for Best Motion Picture—Drama (1983)

Synopsis: A child develops a friendship with an extraterrestrial forgotten on Earth by his fellow creatures.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Director: Frank Darabont

Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Clancy Brown

Synopsis: Wrongly imprisoned for murder, a banker starts a new life and changes the lives of his fellow prisoners.

Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)

Director: George Lucas

Starring: Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, Alec Guinness

Awards: Academy Award for Best Costume Design, Academy Award for Best Visual Effects, Academy Award for Best Original Score (1978)

Synopsis: Luke Skywalker sets off to rescue Princess Leia, who is being held prisoner by the Empire.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming

Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Margaret Hamilton

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Music Score (1940)

Synopsis: Carried away by a tornado, a young girl finds herself in a magical land where she must fight a wicked witch with her new friends.

Toy Story (1995)

Director: John Lasseter

Starring: Tim Allen, Tom Hanks, Don Rickles, Wallace Shawn

Awards: Special Achievement Academy Award (1996)

Synopsis: Life as Andy’s toys know it changes when Andy gets a new favourite, an astronaut action figure called Buzz Lightyear.

North by Northwest (1959)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason

Synopsis: Mistaken for a spy, an advertising executive finds himself pursued by a mysterious organization and the police.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden

Awards: BAFTA Award for Best Film (1965)

Synopsis: Convinced that Communists are trying to poison the oceans, a general orders a nuclear attack on Russia.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Director: David Lean

Starring: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director (1963), BAFTA Award for Best Film (1963)

Synopsis: During World War I, a British Army lieutenant is assigned to command Arabian troops.

Some Like It Hot (1959)

Director: Billy Wilder

Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon

Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Actress in a Motion Picture—Comedy or Musical, Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Comedy or Musical (1960)

Synopsis: Two musicians unwittingly get mixed up with mobsters and disguise themselves as women to join a female orchestra and escape their pursuers.

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Director: Quentin Tarantino

Starring: John Travolta, Bruce Willis, Samuel L. Jackson

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (1995), Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1994)

Synopsis: The interconnected stories of two murderers and the suspicious people they encounter.

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Director: Stanley Kubrick

Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

Awards: Academy Award for Best Visual Effects (1969)

Synopsis: After a strange object is discovered on the Moon, an expedition sets out for Jupiter.

Schindler’s List (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg

Starring: Liam Neeson, Ben Kingsley, Ralph Fiennes

Awards: Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Picture (1994)

Synopsis: A businessman develops a scheme that lets him save the lives of hundreds of Jews from certain death at the hands of the Nazis.

The Godfather Part II (1974)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Diane Keaton

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Director (1975)

Synopsis: The son of a Mafia boss protects the criminal empire his father built.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Director: Sidney Lumet

Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Jack Klugman, Ed Begley

Awards: Golden Bear Award at the Berlin International Film Festival (1957)

Synopsis: As 12 jury members deliberate on the outcome of a trial, one tries to convince the others that the accused is not guilty, preventing them from reaching a unanimous verdict.

Seven Samurai (1954)

Original Title: Shichinin No Samurai

Director: Akira Kurosawa

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Toshiro Mifune, Yoshio Inaba

Synopsis: When a 16th-century Japanese village is threatened by bandits, seven samurai agree to help the villagers by training them to fight.

Rear Window (1954)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey

Synopsis: Stuck inside with a broken leg, a photographer spies on his neighbours. He hears suspicious noises during the night and becomes convinced a crime has taken place.

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Martin Sheen, Robert Duvall, Marlon Brando

Awards: Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1979)

Synopsis: Charged with killing a renegade colonel who has stopped taking orders, an officer travels upriver in Vietnam.

Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Director, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (1944)

Synopsis: A nightclub owner helps his former lover’s husband escape the Gestapo and flee to Lisbon.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Director: Martin Scorsese

Starring: Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd, Jodie Foster

Awards: Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival (1976)

Synopsis: A Vietnam veteran becomes a New York taxi driver and slowly descends into increasingly violent madness.

Vertigo (1958)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes

Synopsis: A detective who suffers from vertigo follows a woman who is acting strangely. When she plunges to her death, the detective is haunted by the memory.

Singin’ in the Rain (1952)

Directors: Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly

Starring: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O’Connor

Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Actor in a Motion Picture—Comedy or Musical (1953)

Synopsis: As Hollywood transitions to “talkies,” a popular silent-film star couple have a problem: the leading lady has an unpleasant voice. An unknown young actress is employed to speak for her, off camera.

Psycho (1960)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles

Awards: Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress—Motion Picture (1961)

Synopsis: Murders multiply at the Bates Motel, which is managed by a strange man living next door with his mother.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Director: Orson Welles

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore

Awards: Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (1942)

Synopsis: Why did press magnate Charles Foster Kane say “Rosebud” just before he died? A reporter investigates Kane’s life to solve the mystery.

The Godfather (1972)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Awards: Academy Award for Best Picture, Academy Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay (1973)

Synopsis: Even though he swore he would never get involved in his family’s criminal activities, the son of a Mafia boss ends up succeeding his father and orders the murder of all his rivals.