The best movies evoke tears, laughter, terror, reminiscence, and/or mystery in a truly personal way. Anything less (AKA, around 98% of all movies) serves no purpose other than to shove mindless, forgettable fodder in our face and line Hollywood’s pockets (Be afraid Michael Bay, be VERY afraid). This is that other, sacred 2%—the Holy Grail of cinema.
Note: “Memorable Moments” may contain spoilers.
100. Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)
Logline: An eccentric pirate, Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp), and a savvy blacksmith, Will Turner (Orlando Bloom), embark on a quest to save Elizabeth Swann (and a treasure) from the clutches of cursed Captain Barbossa.
Memorable Moments: Jack almost reaches Port Royal, but his ship springs a leak. In a moment of hilarity, the only part of the ship that remains un-submerged by the time he reaches the harbor is the mast, which he sails in on.
Why People Love It: For many, Depp clearly steals the show. For those who actually enjoy—oh, say plot or fine acting—PoTC is a fun-filled, action-packed adventure on the high seas.
Best Quote: Captain Jack Sparrow (Johnny Depp): “Me, I’m dishonest. And a dishonest man you can always trust to be dishonest. Honestly. It’s the honest ones you want to watch out for. Because you can never predict when they’re going to do something incredibly…..stupid.”
99. Cinderella Man (2005)
Logline: In the 30′s, James Braddock (Russel Crowe) is remembered as a rising boxer. Having fell from grace, though, and—facing near-destitution and threat of becoming a has-been—Braddock gets a rare second chance, rising to legendary proportions in the ring.
Memorable Moments: Braddock must watch on video one of the most feared boxers (Baer) doing the almost unthinkable (even for the violent world of boxing): hitting his opponent so forcefully that his brain comes loose and he dies.
Why People Love It: Cinderella Man is one of the highest acclaimed, most inspirational movies ever that chronicles a near has-been and how he receives the very rare opportunity to redeem himself.
Best Quote: Joe Gould (Paul Giamatti): “Jesus H. Christ! Jesus Mary and Joseph! All the saints and martyrs and Jesus! Did I mention Jesus?!”
98. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)
Logline: Years after Indy captured the Ark of the Covenant and survived the Temple of Doom, he’s at again. His father Henry in tow, the Joneses traverse Europe to find the Holy Grail, but won’t attain it without fending off evil Nazis—who want it for their own nefarious reasons.
Memorable Moments: The scene where Indy and his father, Henry (Sean Connery), find themselves tied together, with Nazi Colonel Vogel punches Indy in the face before departing. Not long after, the room is engulfed in fire.
Why People Love It: Because it’s Indiana Jones, and few people have grown older not loving the adventurous, witty-humor-filled Indy flicks (save for, perhaps, the last one).
Best Quote: Indiana Jones (Ford): “I’m like a bad penny, I always turn up.”
97. The Lion King (1994)
Logline: Young Simba, a lion cub that’s tricked into thinking he caused his father’s (King Mufasa) death, retreats into the wilderness–enabling the evil Scar, the King’s brother, to assume the throne. Years later, grown Simba is convinced to return to his land and reclaim his rightful seat on the throne.
Memorable Moments: In an early scene—cue Elton John’s Circle of Life theme—where Simba, King Mufasa’s newborn son, is taken to a rocky ledge and is proudly displayed to the creatures of the Circle of Life.
Why People Love It: Most adults love it because it’s loved by children—and keeping them quietly occupied is no doubt a benefit, either. However, both love it because it takes all-too-familiar human dilemmas and personifies them with the help of lions, birds, hyenas and more.
Best Quote: Scar (Jeremy Irons): “Oh, Zazu, do lighten up. Sing something with a little—’bounce’ in it!”
96. The Sixth Sense (1999)
Logline: Young Cole Sear (Osment) has a problem: He sees dead people. And apparently they’re in denial about being that way. Now, it’s up to child psychologist Malcom Crowe (Willis) to help the boy and to determine what’s troubling him so.
Memorable Moments: Undoubtedly, it’s the scene where Cole and mother (Toni Collette) are stuck in traffic. Cole frightens his mother when he begins to speak about the dead people he sees.
Why People Love It: Let’s be honest here: This is likely one of the best films, out of the (clears throat) many lemons, that’s come from M. Night Shyamalan.
Best Quote: Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment):”I see dead people.”
95. The Big Lebowski (1998)
Logline: In a case of mistaken identity, two thugs piss on a man’s rug (“The Dude” Lebowsky)—thinking it belongs to the millionaire Lebowski. While attempting compensation from the rich Lebowski, The Dude accepts a one-time job that promises great pay. After enlisting Walter (Goodman), an angry bowling friend and angry, Jewish convert, to help, manipulation leads to even bigger trouble and soon, everyone wants a piece of The Dude.
Memorable Moments: Lunatic war veteran, Walter, informs another bowler (Smokey) of “fouling over the line.” When Smokey hesitates to admit fault, Walter pulls his gun, points it, and shouts “you think I’m fucking around…mark it zero!”
Why People Love It: The Big Lebowski, with help from The Coen brothers no doubt, has a cult following due to its raunchy, quirky, for-adults-only hilarity.
Best Quote: Jeffrey “The Dude” Lebowski (Jeff Bridges)(repeated among others): “That rug really tied the room together.”
94. Jaws (1975)
Logline: Three daring men, in response to a huge, killer shark that’s terrorizing the Amity’s beach, embark on a deep sea mission to find and kill it. Little do they know, though, that this giant shark proves every bit as smart as it is lethal.
Memorable Moments: The scene in the last 15 minutes where Quint—trying to fend off the gargantuan, toothy shark (while the boat is’a sinkin’, nonetheless!)—slides into the shark’s massive jaws and is mercilessly eaten alive.
Why People Love It: Jaws tapped into one of peoples’ most primal fears: That of the unknown. And the unknown here is a man-eating, marine beast which lurks in the deep abyss, waiting for his next victim (meal). Oh, and it’s just downright terrifying the first time it’s watched.
Best Quote: Martin Brody (Roy Scheider): “You’re gonna need a bigger boat.”
93. Casino (1995)
Logline: Nicky Santoro (Joe Pesci) and Ace Rothstein (Robert De Niro) portray two 70′s Las Vegas gangsters: Ace, the Tangiers casino’s boss and Nicky, his ‘strong arm’. Affairs begin to rapidly deteriorate, though, Ace’s marriage to Ginger crumbles and Nicky’s obsession with vices will ultimately destroy him.
Memorable Moments: Out of the too-many-to-list great scenes, the scene in the bar where Nicky, in order to “remedy” a situation where Ace is insulted by a patron, brutally, repeatedly bludgeons the jerk (in the neck, nonetheless) with his own pen.
Why People Love It: Specifically, Casino is loved by those who love mafia/gangster genre. And just as the duo did in Goodfellas, Casino, and Raging Bull—De Niro and Pesci give powerful, unrelenting performances.
Best Quote: Sam “Ace” Rothstein: “No matter how big a guy might be, Nicky would take him on. You beat Nicky with fists, he comes back with a bat. You beat him with a knife, he comes back with a gun. And if you beat him with a gun, you better kill him, because he’ll keep comin’ back and back until one of you is dead.”
92. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)
Logline: Project Treadstone has been canned and a new, even more sophisticated one—Operation Blackbriar—emerges to kill former agent Jason Bourne, who seeks to figure out who he really is, at any cost.
Memorable Moments: Three words: EPIC fight scene. The one where Jason and Desh (Joey Ansah) stage one of the most realistic, brutal on-screen fights of all time.
Why People Love It: Dozens of reputable film critics have made it clear: This third installment (and apparently, not the last) is the best of the Bourne franchise to-date.
Best Quote: Noah Vosen (David Strathairn): “You know as well as I do decisions made in real time are never perfect. Don’t second guess an operation from an armchair.”
91. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
Logline: The time is 1944 and the setting is the mountain retreat of a brutal Spanish army officer. Her mother having eloped with this genocidal tyrant, a young girl is drawn into a fantastical, yet bizarre and sometimes scary, underworld where she’s given a mission of her own.
Memorable Moments: The scene where, perhaps by way of some desperately-needed karma, the brutal, fascistic Spanish Captain Vidal (Sergei Lopez) has his cheek cut in half with a razor—at the hands of one of his own household employees.
Why People Love It: Pan’s Labyrinth, despite being written and spoken entirely in Spanish (with English captions), is one of the most intriguing and visually-stunning “adult fairy tales” possibly ever. What makes this movie is its masterful parallelism, where grim reality and fanatical daydreams seem to converge on a young Spanish girl.
Best Quote: Carmen (Ariadna Gil): “The Captain has been so good to us…Please, Ofelia…call him father. It’s just a word, Ofelia, just a word.”
I think the most memorable and loved line of movie 79. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Pt 2 is “NOT MY DAUGHTER, YOU BITCH”
I honestly don’t remember that line from HP, but then again, I had to step out to the restroom twice during the picture, LoL.
I have to agree. That was a great line.
I will totally agree with that!!
One of my favorite lines from the HP movies.
I also like: “Even in the wizarding world, hearing voices isn’t a good sign.” And I think it was from HP 4 (5?…not really sure now…), but the scene where Hermione is trying to warn Harry about love potions in the library and he’s starting to get all googly eyed about one potential potion user and Hermione smacks him with her newspaper several times.
That’s from the second one, chamber of secrets, when Harry hears the basilisk moving through the walls of hogwarts.
Must not be much of a Tom Cruise fan…
He’s got a few good movies, but you could easily make a list of 200, even 300 great movies. It’s hard to cover them all in a top 100.
Very true Jason. And people tend to forget that judging the ‘worthiness’ of movies is—while you can be objective as possible, quantifying those movies that have the most support among moviegoers and critics—still a largely subjective endeavor.
I am glad there are no Tom Cruise movies in the list. That man and his “short man syndrome ego” ruin movies. Great list, no musicals though if i am not mistaken?
Wizard of Oz and Singin’ in the Rain.
Lion King should surely be higher on the list, don’t you think?
But that’s just me. As you’ve pointed out, everyone is entitled to their opinions. As for Spirited Away, it is an amazing movie, but it’s surely not the best one by Miyazaki! You should definitely look into his other ones. 
Why is inception in the list?,according to me its only a one-time-watch,great disappointment for me from Leonardo
You’re certainly entitled to not like it, Sneddengonsavles, but moviegoers/film critics almost overwhelmingly herald the movie as one of, at least, the best movies of the 21st-century.
Where is Ben Hur? Surely a top 100-movie? I would even say a top 10…
I concur that Ben Hur, considering the plethora of early-to-mid 20th-century films on this list, should’ve been somewhere in the top 100 (considering its immense impact on the then-fledgling movie industry). But, ALAS, there are SO many other great movies that could have easily made this list, but we were limited to only 100.
Wow. This list is completely ridiculous.
Many thanks for your opinion
I can’t figure out how to post….but Wall-E does not watch Gone with the Wind, he watches Hello Dolly.
You totally forgot The Outsiders! It is thee best movie of all time!
LoL, next time!
i dont know what the hell is wrong with whoever wrote this list. for the most part the films included are acceptable, but the list of memorable scenes? they are all simply the most violent scene in the film. how off putting and shallow. the most memorable scene in a clockwork orange was the rape? jesus man.
I’m the one who wrote it. Just as you’re entitled to your opinion, as you’ve established, so am I.
you are completely right, although I have to say, your favorite quote from Pulp Fiction seems very lame. I would’ve gone with something from the overdose scene, pretty much the most intense scene in the movie. All opinions, though
very nice list i would only recommend to add cinema paradiso and children of heaven. Again congratulations for the list
Any list of this sort is pointless unless the author was asked for their opinion on what they think the top 100 movies of all time are. I don’t think that was the case here. The Dark Knight? Please!
And yet you took the time to read the list and write a response…and so the world keeps turning.
It was not DeNiro narrating the scene described in Goodfellas. It was Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). Good list otherwise.
Many thanks for the correction, Steve!
Very nice list. A couple of movies I have in my top 100 that I didn’t see in yours. No complaints though.
Snatch
Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Jurassic Park
Children of Men
Being John Malkovich
LA Confidential
Trainspotting
Kill Bill 1 & 2
Again no complaints on the list.
Thank you! I also love the movies you listed; of ‘em, LA Confidential, Jurassic Park, and Being John Malkovich were the very best!….Imho
I note with sadness that I don’t see a single Cecil B. DeMille epic here. The list is incomplete.
Certainly you must realize, that with soooo many great produced over the past century, that it’s almost impossible to include them all in a Top 100 list. I very much agree, though, that DeMille was a phenomenal director and had several epic films. I think The Ten Commandments and The Greatest Show on Earth are two of his very best.
Harvey deserves a spot on this list. Jimmy Stewart does a fabulous job of convincing the audience that there is indeed a 6’3 1/2″ rabbit/Pooka beside him. The film also beautifully illustrates how much we let social norms dictate us, how being jovial is seen as insane, and the happiness that can be found in not worrying. “Years ago my mother used to say to me, she’d say, “In this world, Elwood, you must be” – she always called me Elwood – “In this world, Elwood, you must be oh so smart or oh so pleasant.” Well, for years I was smart. I recommend pleasant. You may quote me.”~Elwood P Dowd
I haven’t seen the movie, but from the way you describe it, I love the sentiment!
I am mad. I dont like the list of movies you made even tho ill never have the guts or the initiative to put together for the public to criticize.
HOW DARE YOU!
Don’t complain then, hahaha
I hope this isn’t supposed to be in order. How the hell does Full Metal Jacket beat 2001?
The devil made me do it ;-D
I like your list a lot, although not necessarily the ordering. One movie I feel like was overlooked is “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” great movie if you havent seen it. Also, maybe Donnie Darko.
probably the best top list ive seen. well done!
Many, many thanks!
As you can see, I mostly get flak (and little praise) for movies that should’ve or shouldn’t be on the list…For all the haters, you’re very welcome to put together their own list! haha
I loved your list man! You did a great job! Only thing that was missing was Donny Darko!
Don’t let them get you down Michael. This list was HIGHLY informative compared to, literally, all of the other lists I’ve seen. Great job bromorpheus (I liked how The Matrix was on here if you couldn’t tell!) Thank you again
That’s just how it goes on the internet Michael. Thousands of people liked and shared the article, but a handful will always complain about something, even if they liked 99 of the movies but disliked 1.
Where’s the Like button when you need one? LOL
pretty decent list. i wouldnt put inception or dark knight in the top ten, but overall good list. citizen kane needs to be on the list. it is widely considered as a top movie of all time. i would also add requiem for a dream and donnie darko, but thats just me.
Citizen Kane is at #13 on this list
I agree with inception and the dark knight. Although they might make their way into the top 10 in the future, because they are excellent movies, they need to stand the test of time awhile longer before that happens.
List is pretty good, but Ben-Hur (1959) and Planet of the Apes (1967) should have been on the list.
Why nothing from the Marx Brothers? Mel Brooks? Dirty Harry?
Careful there or I’ll take some of the ones here out and put Gigli and Battlefield Earth in, haha.
You [generic insult], you didn’t include [favorite movie]. This list is [negative adjective]
Lmao, yes thank you for establishing a generic haters-template
Youve lost me here: “Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl”
Yep, that’s what it’s called…lmao
i think number 1 in this list must be ,,Alien,, or ,,Terminator,, becouse it is epic , tecnichally perfect and unseen before…
They are very good movies (most of them), however, your list is so poor, the title must be something like Top 100: North American Best Movies (of All-Time) (excepting for some of them) you need to see fimls of south america, asia, africa, even europe, not only the shooting film culture from USA… see more man
Terrible list.
Yep! It is! Some of em are great, like “The G the B and the U”, but forgot “El Dia de la Bestia” and MANY more. And comeon: “Shawshank Redemption” *coff* Stephen King?
So..what you’re saying…is…. that Leon The Professional, The Shawshank Redemption, The Dark Knight, Inception, Fight Club, The Silence of the Lambs, Amelie, Memento, The King’s Speech, Se7en, Spirited Away, The Matrix, Braveheart, Alien, American History X, The Departed, Wall-E, UP, Toy Story 3, Stand By Me, Harry Potter, The Green Mile, American Beauty, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Inglorious Basterds, and RATATOUILLE, FOR CHRIST’S SAKE, ARE BETTER MOVIES THAN 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY?
It’s quite hard for me to restrain my anger right now.
Anger management therapy works wonders ;-D
Wow. No doubt!
I appreciated the fact that 2001 was not very high on the list. Everyone always praises 2001 and Citizen Kane as pure cinematic excellence but I have to say I found them both mind numbingly boring. This is coming from the prospective of a 23 year old kid, but I consider myself to be a fairly enlightened critic of movies.
Taking a second look at the list of movies you were enraged to see ahead of 2001 leads me to believe you have no credibility in your opinions. Shawshank, Silence of the lambs, Braveheart, The Green Mile… are all very widely acclaimed and at least desire a serious comparison to 2001.
I’ve gotta give it to Kevin on that…when you’re right, you’re right
If you’re one of the more enlightened individuals, lol, who actually enjoyed this list, I do take monetary tips
Wall-E was watching “Hello, Dolly!”, not “Gone With the Wind”.
Ooops, LoL. It looked like Gone With the Wind on that small television, judging from the outfits, but you’re probably right ;-D
It’s an interesting list and well put together, but a very white boy list. Lots of sci-fi, fantasy, and war/action. Glad there were some exceptions, like Amelie and Singing in the Rain. Not really sure how Back to the Future can be ranked higher than Gone with the Wind and Wizard of Oz–like, in what universe? Mr. Block’s, I’m guessing. In my universe, The Color Purple would be high on the list, but is sadly totally absent! Still, I can tell a lot of work went into this, so I’m not hatin’.
Ooops! Bock!
Thank you Kelli
I for one love this. I’ve always enjoyed these sorts of lists. Regardless of whether I agree with all of the list or not, I’ve always enjoyed seeing other’s perspective on the movies. Sometimes I get a renewed perspective on a movie I didn’t like and go back and watch it again.
So Michael I take this article for the spirit of which it was intended and think you did a great job.
And to everyone who is “furious, angry or very upset” ….. ummm you need to get out more if a list makes you this upset
Just a piece of advice from someone who has fought cancer and won … when you go through 6 months of Chemotherapy … getting mad at an article on the internet is kinda low on the list.
Thanks ever so much Amy!
As with any list people are going to disagree with things but I will say you did list some very very solid films that I do love. I will say not a single Darren Aronofsky film makes your list and that kind of seems like a tragedy to me. I agree with one of the above people that Children of Men was great enough to be on here as well as Cloverfield and the movie Moon by Duncan Jones. Quite a few others I would name that I personally love but I’m not planning on writing you my personal 100 but it was nice to see someone give credit to a lot of the great new modern cinema we have seen.
Many thanks Mark! I could have definitely gotten behind Children of Men, but Cloverfield?? LOL
Perfect! I would not have done it any differently.
Thanks Derek!!
This whole list feels entirely arbitrary. La Dolce Vita didn’t even make the cut when Back To The Future did, and Dark Knight and Inception get 5th and 6th… What the hell kind of structure was this categorization based on?
A very complex set of algorithms, developed by some of the world’s most respected and influential scientists and experts in the fields of logic and reasoning, statistics, social psychology, marketing, anthropology, pop culture, theater, and miscellaneous other fields.
Inception and The Dark Knight THAT high on the list
Someone is either 13 years old or desperately wants Nolan’s cock.
Yes because nobody over the age of 13 can enjoy The Dark Knight or Inception. Judging by your remark, I’d be willing to bet you still have a bit of hair to grow on your chest yourself. Now get back to YouTube and keep trolling. This time try harder.
LOL Jason, touche!
. . .So you’re agreeing that out of EVERY MOVIE IN EXISTENCE, The Dark Knight, a very good film with some flaws and cliches we see in many other similar movies, and Inception, a decent action movie that some people found hard to understand and labeled it as “deep”, rank 5 and 6 respectively? Huh.
You can’t make a movie now a days without blending a theme or cliche from at least some other movie. The Dark Knight was, most simply, the black and white battle of good vs evil. How often has that been done? But how often is that battle so dynamic and encompass such a grey-area. Where the morality of the protagonist, secondary characters and the society as a whole are tested in, what you might call, their darkest hour. Its only flaw is that it’s a super hero movie and most critics can’t see passed Christian Bale’s cheesy deep voice and give this movie the credit it deserves.
Oh yeah and Heath Ledger??? Enough said.
Where is Rebel Without a cause?? only other ones i might add is The Patriot and V for Vendetta.
Not sure about the other two you mentioned, but I loved ‘V’! Although I’m not quite sure that it would make the cut for a Top 100 list like this HIGHLY scientific one ;-D…but most definitely on a Top 200, should Lifed.com readers ever be so fortunate to get one
.
I can only wonder why Citizen Kane didn’t make it into the top ten, when the Dark Knight and Inception did? As a filmmaker, I must strongly disagree. And not a single movie with Audrey Hepburn?? My Fair Lady? Breakfast at Tiffany’s? Gone With the Wind instilled a much stronger impact on the film industry (displaying film as an art, rather than a means for profit) than movies like Inception and The Dark Knight. While movies like those are very good films, I must humbly disagree with the fact that they belong in the top ten best films of ALL TIME. Possibly the best in the last ten years…
So what you’re basically saying, I think, is that Inception and The Dark Knight haven’t had enough time to mature/stand the test of time, as have the likes of Breakfast At Tiffany’s and My Fair Lady? Maybe the former will, maybe they won’t. We took a gamble
Not sure I agree with ALL the choices or ALL the placement of them on this list. But wow – reminds me how many really great movies there are!
Yep! And this is just breaking the surface; if we did a Top 200 list, so many more [very] worthy movies would be on it (and yes, even some that my haters have suggested in this comment thread, lmao).
I must admit I’m shocked I agreed with you so much, seeing as you’re a guy, and let’s face it, guys and girls have very different tastes in movies. I was blown away when “Some Like It Hot” made the list!! One of my all time favorites! Although, I must admit, you need one Tom Cruise movie, “A Few Good Men”! It’s the one movie I can quote by heart and could watch on repeat every day of the year.
But seriously, that was impressive! I might have moved a few up or down one way or the other, but of course, this whole list is opinionated, as mine would be. So glad to see 12 Angry Men, it’s a shame more people haven’t seen it!
Many thanks for the praise Brittney
Yes, there was a method to the madness of the ordering, but I’m definitely not at liberty to discuss that, LOL. But you’re right, there are great movies that appeal more to men, then those that appeal to women, and then those that pretty much herald universal, unisex praise.
Agree with a lot of your list. Glad to see you didn’t feel like you had to put Citizen Kane and Casablanca 1 and 2. It would be so hard to do a list of 100 movies in order so I’m not criticizing the list just wondering what you think about On the Waterfront? It’s the only one that really surprised me that it didn’t make the cut.
To be perfectly honest, and I’ll probably receive some flak on this, but I’ve never heard of On the Waterfront…
This list is terrible. Harry Potter beats Die Hard? Star Wars so low? DARK KNIGHT #5???? Who made this list??? It is incomprehensible how wrong this is
Haters gonna hate, LoL. If ya don’t like the list, and like I’ve said before—go make your own.
Your messenger shooting is terrible. =P
Hush Perry! lol
How do you not have The Incredibles in this list?
Saving it for a possible spot on the Top 200 list
only have one real disagreement, Gladiator should at least be in the top 25 and at least in the top ten, also i think Troy deserves a bid
ever seen Old Boy?
yes, yes and fucking YES! i was waiting for someone to mention this….OLDBOY is easily top 3 of all time!
Looks to be highly rated. Will have to check this movie out next week.
Have not seen that one…yet.
I always say it’s a generation thing to these greatest ever or all time lists. Do you like Star Wars or Star Trek? The gap in ages will create different lists.
I agree Ben Hur needs to be on the list along with The Ten Commandments, War and Peace, Doctor Zhivago, American Graffiti, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, Midway, Mr. Smith Goes To Washington to name a few
Well, to put it into perspective, I’m 31 (a Gen-X’er, if you will)
how is Ratatouille higher on the list than The Lion King? How is it even on this list at all? It wasn’t that great of a movie. Up, or even Wall-E should have replaced Ratatouille. this Top 100 list is SUCH AN EPIC FAIL.
Wall-E and Up are both already on the list. Maybe try reading the entire list before questioning what should and shouldn’t be on it? Then it would be a lot easier to take you seriously…
I do love how people callously sling around the phrase “EPIC FAIL”, as if the latter (in its typical, colloquial usage these days) could ever measure up to an actual “EPIC FAIL” OR “EPIC FAILURE”, such as the Hindenburg disaster or Watergate scandal. LoL.
If you guys wanna throw stones then spend your time making a list instead of throwing cheap lazy shots. I enjoyed this list despite not being in total agreement. Also The Dark Knight was a F*%KED UP MOVIE.
Yup, exactly. And this is the list I made and I’m stickin’ to it, by damn
Blood Diamond is missing from this list. Besides that, all my top favorites are here
Awesome, thanks!
Pretty good list, I agree with like 88% of it, but hey everybody has different tastes to make it a 100!
Where is Chinatown???
There are dozens of them among many major cities like NYC (notably within Queens and Brooklyn) and the San Francisco Bay area.
you totally forgot fear and loathing in las vegas, the only johnny depp movie you have is pirates, i think you need more johnny depp
LoL, Fear and Loathing is a great movie, I agree…and Depp has many fine ones, although I don’t go gaga-goo-ga over him like most women do, haha.
I don’t understand why people rank Shawshank as one of the best.It was good, but nothing I would say “oh have to watch that again” .It ranks better than Lawrence of Arabia? Really? Also, Forrest gump, casino, usual suspects, and seven are all overrated movies. They don’t deserve to be in the top 100. Just my opinion. I know this is a personal list. Most movies on here are worthy. Good job.
Danke!
This list is crap! Lion King at 97? My generations favorite movie and it only makes 97th? And how movies such as Lord of the Rings, Forrest Gump, Braveheart and even the shining coming in lower than the Matrix and Spirited away? Give me a break!
Well remind me to, next time I assemble a list, make sure that your Lion King takes the No.1 spot! LOOOOL
Inception @ 6? No.
Nice work, however, you need to check these two movies out, because, well… they rock
Suicide Kings – The most underrated movie of all time
Pool Hall Junkies – Mars Callahan makes Fast Eddie Felson look like Harry Potter
Derek: Yes!! LoL
Ed Weber (I assume that’s the correct form): I haven’t see either of those, but I’ve always wanted to see (at least) Suicide Kings. Any flick that features Chris Walken as one of the main characters is almost always a good bet!
dont mind the list at all pretty nice, might just be because it seems me and you have similar taste in film. However i would’ve made some room on this list for kill bill vol.1 and 2. And how dare you put the lion king so low on this list!!!!! best movie eve made
“Like”..lol
Does he look like a bitch?
Is the Earth flat?
Social Network???
LOL, not hardly.
Social Network should definitely be here… How about The Black Swan? Hangover? lol!
There Will Be Blood?
The Thin Red Line?
The Tree of Life?
Dog Day Afternoon?
The Royal Tenenbaums?
Chinatown?
Being John Malkovich?
Although this may be a completely opinion piece, but I calmly dismissed the list after I saw “Inception” at #6 and “The King’s Speech” at #34, and I even gave a slight chuckle wondering if it was entirely serious.
Here’s a novel idea: Since you don’t like this list, go do your own. Alas! Logic.
I actually really liked this list. Of course no one will totally agree with the order that 1 person lists movies. I would have had Citizen Kane in the top 5.
I also would not have put 2 of the LOTR movies on the list. Or 2 SW movies either. I think we could have used those slots for a couple other classics.
But overall, it’s damn hard to make a top 100 list of movies, I would never be able to take it on. Well done! It’s one of the better lists that I have seen.
Many thanks, Joy!
Shutter Island ? District 9 ?
how does ratatouille make the list ?
There Will Be Blood? If you have not seen it, then I highly recommend that you do. But, if you have seen it, how could you forget Daniel Day Lewis? He is a man among men.
I have seen it, and it was a great movie I agree…but there’s just so many movies you can fit into a Top 100 list, lol
I think “Karate Kid” should be here along with “Back From The Future”…
Good list, although I think it should be called “Best American Movies” (with about 3 or 4 exceptions).
Otherwise I believe movies like “Das Leben der Andern”, “Das Boot”, “La meglio Giuventù”, “Oldboy” or even “Kung fu hustle” or “Delicatessen” should be included.
Also: ‘Pan’s Labyrinth, despite being written and spoken entirely in Spanish, is one of the most intriguing and visually-stunning “adult fairy tales” possibly ever.’???
How can can you criticise a movie, set in fascist Spain in 1944, on the fact that it is spoken in Spanish?
I’m kind about baffled how you think I criticized Pan’s Labyrinth when I wrote that it’s “..one of the most intriguing and visually-stunning ‘adult fairy tales’ possibly ever.” Sounds like a helluva lot of praise to me, LOL
Das Leben der Andern, or The Lives of Others, would’ve definitely made my list (which I probably won’tmake). If you haven’t watched it please do yourself the favor and check it out. Great one. As for Pan’s Labyrinth, I def think it should be in the Top 50 at least.
Great list! Will definitely be trying to watch the ones that I haven’t.
Chinatown and The Third Man. These must not be forgotten.
Soooo glad you didn’t give Citizen Kane the no. 1 spot…I agree that it deserves to be very high on the list but it always pisses me off when it gets no. 1. There are wayyy better movies. I think your list is the best one i’ve read. (or at least the one that best suits my taste in movies)
Many many thanks, Zack!
Wow, half of you idiots posting comments about this list need to get off their high horses. This is one person’s personal top 100 list. Check the top 250 from IMDB if you want an opinion of the masses… and btw the IMDB list (popular opinion) is not misrepresented by this list. People are actually mad about Shawshank Redemption, Dark Knight, and Inception? Have you even seen them or are you only interested in indies? Stop bitching about Lion King too. I get it. You were a kid when you first saw it and you love it… watch it again, its not better than any recent animated movie.
Good job on the list.
Cheers
Tons of thanks, John! And might I add, Excellent point.
The biggest thing I appreciate about the article is that the author is listening to the concerns and complaints and taking them for what they are. Opinions. The article is an opinion and people don’t seem to get that.
It took a lot of work to get this list made, and the list is a great one. I don’t agree with some movies being higher or lower than some but it is the author’s opinion to put them where he wants and I respect and applaud the work for such a great and well organized list.
The only thing I want to note on for my opinion of what I disagree with is the placement of the Dark Night, I feel this should be a top 25 movie maybe. Other than that, spot on with matching closely to what I’d have in my top 10 maybe top 20 movies!
Thanks Mike! I very much appreciate it. And yes, it did take around two to three months to assemble the list and work out the details for the bullet points
You had some great movies on the list.
My list is a lot different order and a bunch of movies you didn’t put on there.
Have you seen Oldboy? To me that is my #1 movie, you should see it.
I love that movie and it is one of the best films ever made (IMO).
Film is amazing.
Old Boy has been mentioned quite a few times in the comments as one of the top 3 movies. We’ll definitely be watching that and most likely adding it to a future movie list.
What?!
The best line in Pulp Fiction was totally “Something”, or “So, pretty please, with sugar on top, clean the fucking car.” or even, “Tell that bitch to be cool!”
And Dark Knight’s was “Wanna see a magic trick?”
A lot of your “best lines” seem to be the most cliche or the actual tag-line for the movie.
And really. Harry Potter was considered in the REALM of top 100? I guess I should be thankful the Twilight saga wasn’t on this list.
Yes, Harry Potter made the List
And be careful, on the next list I might just sneak in Twilight! bbahahaha
Ratatouille over Lion King. Seriously? I think I accidentally hit a randomize button or something.
LoL, funny stuff!
I agree, the quotes weren’t always the best or most memorable (because I’ve seen many of these movies, and, well, I don’t exactly remember where some of these “memorable” quotes were in the film). I disagree with the order somewhat as well, but that’s to be expected — the odds of agreeing 100% are astronomical.
Pleased to see Amelie, my all-time favorite film, make the list. Some of the most visually stunning camerawork you ever will see in this genre (like that great crane shot when she’s skipping stones…). American director Bryan Fuller has attributed this film as one of his greatest influences for his shows “Wonderfalls” and “Pushing Daisies”. Its way more than a chick-flick. Because it is subtitled and you have to read it the first time through, you definitely have to watch it several times to get the full effect of the film.
Like your list and have seen every film on it. However when you put up a list and refuse to consider films that are not on the list with “make your own list” or “can only take a 100″ does not excuse the fact that you goofed on a few. I am not talking about the order here but more on omissions.
I am curious on why these were omitted?
sound of music
On the waterfront
Planet of the apes
Ben hur
The great escape
Mr smith goes to Washington
Those are just a couple off the top of my head. Films like POTC , and Bourne Ultimatum are good fun movies but just don’t belong in the same list with the ones you left out. I agree with there can only be a 100 but think you need to revisit a couple of the final choices. Anyways fun to talk about movies and appreciate the hard work you put in here.
Many thanks!
And for the record, there are several, several movies that people have pointed out that, perhaps, should have been on the list and I’ve partially- or fully-agreed with them.
This is also an opinion piece (but one that IS based on several other prominent, well-researched lists), if someone doesn’t like it—for the ordering, the movies themselves, the “quotes”, etc.—let them find one more to their liking or better yet, let ‘em make their own.
8 1/2 at n.69 and Amélie at n.28?? you’ve got to be kidding me,right? RIGHT? ; )
btw it’s “FEllini” not Fillini
Noted—many thanks!
How EXACTLY did the Two Towers miss your list when Fellowship and Return were both on there?? Return was honestly the worst of the three with all it’s meanderings and the ending being dragged out by like 5 different possible ending points.. the fellowship was pretty good, but.. you do’nt really get into the MEAT of the story until the towers.. It had Gandalf actually fighting the Balrog, coming back as Gandalf the White, the great scene of him beating Sauroman through magic, and the epic ending scene at Helm’s Deep’I ride. By light of the 5th day, look for my coming’ morning of the fith day:*he shows up with the Roherim and proceeds to kick all kinds of uruk-hai ass.
oh, and if you’re going by popular claim, where the bloody HELL is is Empire??? ask ANY Star Wars fan, they’ll tell you, V was the best. I mean seriously, “Luke, I am your Father!” are you KIDDING me with putting up ONLY episode IV??
Seriously, I spent around two months putting this together (we’re all entitled to our opinions, naturally) and you come here to only bitch, without even so much as offering a simple “good job” in lieu? How about you put a Top 100 together using this format and approximate word count? You know, then you’ll ACTUALLY have something to back your pointless bickering up with. If not, take your bitching and moaning elsewhere.
Many thanks.
Right One!
Oh, and open your eyes, Star Wars V: The Empire Strikes Back IS on the list. Sheesh.
Ummmm…where is the James Bond love? Casino Royale should have found it’s way one here at the least!
Inception is a nice movie but definitely not the sixth of the overall movies chart of all times
where the hell is There Will Be Blood and the Thin Red Line?
and why is 2001 in the 80s?
Well the hell are your manners?
Where the hell are your manners?
You gotta be kiddin’ me! what about The Hurt Locker, Kingdom of Heaven, Black Hawk Down! you had TWO Indiana Jones movies and those just plain were not top 100 movies.
but all bitchin aside, good list overall, just some minor setbacks, and that kid landonguy obviously didnt read the whole list cause episode V is on there and i was happy, and a bit suprised that any star wars movies made it on here.
No Goonies? ):
This is possibly the worst top 100 movie list I have ever seen. Sure, lists like this are meant to be opinionated. But, it’s inappropriate when the author shows open disdain for other films and genres that people love. Sure, YOU might not like some movies, but try to keep it professional.
Also, some horrible choices in “best quotes” in there. But, again this is all opinion.
Go make your own list; pack it full of ALL the “other films and genres that people love” into no more than 100 films—THEN come back and bitch.
And please, pleeease show me where this supposed “open disdain” for other great movies is? I’m dying to know!
How is forest gump not in a better spot? that won so many awards and everybody loved that movie. i also don’t know how any tom cruise movies weren’t on there, at least top gun. i also didnt see titanic.
Keep complaining folks…OY.
WHERE’S KILL BILL?
I ate it
Brilliant list in general and far better than anything like it I’ve seen before.
Only complaints are the ommisions of Donnie Darko and especially Trainspotting (although I am from Leith in Edinburgh so may be slightly biased on that one). In general though, fantastic.
Many thanks! I don’t get many thanks for my work, as you probably noticed whilst going down the comments section. I know that people have their own opinions and want to voice them—which is perfectly fine and I even appreciate ‘constructive’ criticism—but folks could AT LEAST have the decency to acknowledge the obviously-lengthy-and-time-consuming list and thank me. But….sigh, oh well…nature of the internet, lol.
Well, at least there’s one Johnny Depp movie. Being a diehard fan, I’d put at least have of his films up on the list. However, I am happy to see Spirited Away on the list.
WHERE THE FUCK IS TITANIC?!?!?!?!?!
At the bottom of the Atlantic.
Really awesome list. My sole complaint is the lack of The Princess Bride which (in my opinion, obviously) is one of the funniest movies of all time.
But otherwise, I have seen and love most of these films. Good mix of older and newer stuff.
What a silly, SILLY list. Some of the great movies missing ENTIRELY are “The Day the Earth Stood Still” (the first one), “Grapes of Wrath,” “The Fly” (again, the first one), Blade Runner,
“Ben Hur,” “Edward Sissorhands” and others that I cannot think of at the moment. To put “Inception” on the list at all, let alone in the top 10, shows how silly the list is.
Your comment is extremely silly. For one, if your so-called ‘great movies’ are so great, then how come you can’t even remember them? Logic, my friend.
Why didn’t Titanic make it?
Because perhaps, , it wasn’t worthy of being in the Top 100? LoL
I fully agree with the selections of movies on this list; not necessarily the specific order in which they’re placed, but nevertheless very well put together
Your list is ok but this is how I would of done my top ten.
10-Raging Bull
9-E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
8-Singin’ in the Rain
7-2001: A Space Odyssey
6-Schindler’s List
5-Lawrence of Arabia
4-Casablanca
3-The God Father
2-Gone with the Wind
1-Citizens Kane
Supper awesome list, great work for the best dialogs u put up…. i have watched like 95% of this list already but will watch rest…. i know i sound crazy but i will make objection at no. 1 movie, the God Father, but i never liked the “God Father series” (i know every one “loved” it but may be its not of my type, though i loved Good-Fellows
) and “2001-Space Odssey”. The Shawsank Redemption deserved to be on top.
Primal Fear (1996) its great story, Magnolia (1999) and Black Swan 2010 are so much neglected but still awesome work bro
Many thanks!
Two words: In Bruges.
But other than that, great list!
Thanks so much! Danke! Muchas gracias!
Not one Daniel Day-Lewis movie. SMH.
So sorry…he’s a fantastic actor, I agree though.
Good list, man. This must have taken quite some time to research and arrange.
I know that if this were my list though, I would have kicked myself for not including:
West Side Story
Titanic
Airplane!
Top Gun
Kill Bill
The Princess Bride
Scarface
At least one James Bond mention (maybe Live and Let Die, Goldfinger, or Dr. No?)
Darnit… I forgot some:
Avatar
Rain Man
Independence Day
Meet the Parents
The Great Escape
The Goonies
Yeah, I see, it’s tougher than one might think to pick only a top 100. But I still say West Side Story, Titanic, Airplane, and Avatar have to be on there!
I´m just wondering…. why is not jurassic park in this list o_0
These lists almost always seem to be biased towards recent movies and American movies.
50% of these movies have been made since 1990 and I think i counted only 16 that weren’t American. Not to mention 4 were released this year.
Just saying
“Elliott (Henry Thomas) is a young loner that encounters an elderly, lost alien.”
E.T. was not an elderly alien. He was a child alien.
Not a Pacino fan eh? Sure you have GF 1 and 2 but…..
Dog Day Afternoon?
Serpico?
Scarface?
Heat?
Greats also missing:
Midnight Cowboy
Streetcar Named Desire
Motorcycle Diaries
Amores Perros
DEER HUNTER!
3 Kings
Annie Hall
Manhattan
Close Encounters
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
Dirty Harry
Y Tu Mama Tambien
The Lives of Others
Children of Men
28 Days Later
Trainspotting
Snatch
Goldfinger
All the Presidents Men
The French Connection
Bullit
Sex Lies and Video Tape
Traffic
Risky Business
Fast Times at Ridegmont High
The Graduate
Rocky for christ’s sake
Blade Runner
Network
Rear Window
It goes on and on and on
The list of films better than Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Harry Potter is staggering.
Wow, this is a bad list. Taste? no accounting for it.
Go make your own “tasteful” list. Til’ then, shut up and learn to respect others’ (in this case, mine) work. Rude prick.
I like Lawrence of Arabia more than I like The Godfather
This is such a fan list. The fan favorites are all on the top 20 like inception, fight club, the dark knight, shawshank redemption, and pulp fiction. Somehow Harry Potter is on here. How is The Kings Speech on here. A lot of these are very new, and yes, they haven’t had time to adapt, but none of the newer ones really reinvented anything like some of the older movies. Also a lot are left off. Lots of greats are too low like 2001, Gone with the wind, and Citizen Kane. If it were my list I would put some Terrence Malick and Paul Thomas Anderson movies on.
Unlike a majority of the previous commenters I like your list. That being said I’m setting out to see all of these films and more so by chance do you have these 100 without any of the other text? I want to make a checklist and I’m too lazy to copy and paste 100 titles.
Much thanks.
I totally agree that Fear and Loathing Las Vegas needs to be on this list as does Being John Malkovich. If it were not for Dangerous Liaisons, I would never have started my love affair with the fantastic actor. With the Blockbuster @ Home package, I’ve been using the amount of movies and couch time I’ve been catching up on has been getting critical. I used to come home from work at Dish and play games on my computer but now I have live streaming movies on my TV or PC with my internet connection that just keep me addicted. I’ve always loved movies but getting movies by mail and Blu-rays at no additional charge is like feeding candy to a child, me being the child.
I feel as though this list should be entitled “The Greatest Movies That I have seen thus far”. In my opinion there are many great movies on this list but it fails to be a definitive list on its own. There are also far too many recent American films (the last 20 years) on here that misrepresent the way that quality cinema has been moving over that time span. Over the past 10 years, there has been a surge in international films that should be on this list (A Prophet, Let the Right One In, The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo) while the lackluster and less superior films (The Kings Speech, Reservoir Dogs, The Green Mile, Batman Begins, Casino, Pirates of the Caribbean?!?!) are taking credit here. For instance, one disappointment I see on here is the inclusion of Life is Beautiful whilst not including Cinema Paradiso. Where are the true classics of French and Italian film? What about the surge in quality that South Korea has produced recently (A Tale of Two Sisters, The Man from Nowhere, I Saw the Devil, The Housemaid, Mother, Thirst, Oldboy, Memories of Murder)? Because of this, I feel like this list will be seriously revised once you have been introduced to more films and I look forward that to the changes on your perspective (and this list) that will come when you are introduced to them.
This list is good, Its good to see movie like “stand by me” is included but wat about “Rocky”. It should’ve been included atleast in 100th position.
Inception wasn’t original…It took a lot of it’s premise and even specific scenes from an excellent Japanese movie called Paprika. Christopher Nolan has openly admitted to how much Paprika influenced him in interviews even.
This list would be better called: “Best Movies I’ve Seen”.
I mean, all but maybe 3 of them are American. A lot of them are very very recent. And a lot of them are the stereotype hyped up movies that have won Best Picture at the Oscars. Other movies exist besides what the Oscars say is the best. : /
Gotta have Blood Diamond on there, and Hotel Rwanda. Other than that I disagree with the order but great list. Like you said, I’ll never make one :p
I would have liked to see Romper Stomper, Rumblefish, V for Vendetta and The Fifth Element. But that’s me.
Overall very good list
Hmm you seem to like the Godfather ,But where is Scarface on your list?!?
i must admit a lot of these movies are great but some ……
i just dont understand why to add them while there is better movies to add
There is to much Noland, and not enough of Tim Burton. Why is The Dark Knight that high? I mean it is good, but “that” good? Seriously. It wouldn’t even be on my top 1000 favourite movies!!