Great movies are timeless, so no matter how strict the audience or film critics are, it’s impossible to just make a top 100 greatest movies list! Nonetheless, we decided to add the movies that won countless awards and that made us eat way too much popcorn. Get ready to add to your viewing list these next movies. Who knows? Maybe you missed some of these gems or you just want to watch them again!
12 Angry Men
Citizen Kane
Called the “Mona Lisa of all films,” the drama/mystery film Citizen Kane was also named a “work of genius,” all over the world!
It was released in 1941 and the next year, it won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and got eight more nominations.
Pulp Fiction
One of Quentin Tarantino’s best films, Pulp Fiction was released in 1994 and it’s a must see! The film features Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, John Travolta and many other great actors.
It won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and in 1995, it won the Best Movie award at the MTV Movie & TV Awards.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Released in 2018, Marvel’s animated movie was a major hit!
“Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse” has had great reviews ever since, and it won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film/Best Animated Feature Film, and many more awards from all over the world.
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
A classic drama, the 1975 movie in which stars Jack Nicholson shines in the role of a psychiatric patient, One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is not just a movie you watch once.
Based on the 1962 novel with the same name, this is one of the best movies of all time. It won five Oscars and six Golden Globes!
The Dark Knight
Back to a superhero movie, The Dark Knight is one of the best Batman movie in the franchise. Christian Bale is perfect in the role of Batman, and so was the late Heath Ledger, who received an Oscar for Best Actor in a Supporting Role - The Joker.
He was the only actor that won a posthumously Oscar. Both critics and the audience loved the film, agreeing that Batman and Joker were legendary on the big screen.
Paths of Glory
Released in 1970, Stanley Kubrick’s 1957 war film featuring World War I was based on the novel that has the same title, written by Humphrey Cobb.
France considered the movie to be “incontestably offensive,” so they banned it in the country, and then the US also banned it in their military bases. Nonetheless, the movie is now preserved in the U.S National Film Registry and it has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Raiders of the Lost Ark
Harrison Ford plays the role of Indiana Jones in Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981). The action/adventure movie is directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Lawrence Kasdan.
However, the movie was based on George Lucas and Howard Kazanjian’s story. It won five Academy Awards and now it has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Shawshank Redemption
This is one of the best prison drama films that was ever created.
The Shawshank Redemption (1994) may not have received an Oscar or a Golden Globe (only nominations), but Morgan Freeman and Tim Robbins were perfect for their roles as the two inmates.
The Great Dictator
Let’s go back in time to the 1940 film which had Charlie Chaplin as actor, writer and director. It was his first film that had dialogue.
The political satire comedy pokes fun at the German dictator Adolph Hitler. The film won the 1940 New York Film Critics Circle Award for Best Actor, among other awards.
12 Years a Slave
Released in 2016, the historical drama looks back on the life of a free man from the 1800s in New York that is kidnapped and becomes a slave in the South.
In 2014, the film won an Oscar and Golden Globe for Best Picture and Best Motion Picture, including a BAFTA for Best Film.
The Godfather
Directed by Francis Ford Coppola, the crime drama classic from 1972 is part of all “best films of all times” lists.
With a 98% score on Rotten Tomatoes and a cast like that (Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, and James Caan), it’s no wonder why this film won so many awards, such as the Academy Award for Best Picture and the Golden Globe for Best Director.
The Godfather: Part II
Two years later, the second part of the successful movie was launched and it was definitely a hit!
The Godfather: Part II won five Academy Awards and two National Society of Film Critics Awards! Critics and the audience continue to praise the film to this day.
Toy Story 3
The Toy Story franchise has made kids, and all the adults we know happy over the years with their animated movies. Toy Story 3 was released in 2010 and it didn’t disappoint us!
It won the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Film. Other memorable animated movies that should be mentioned in our list are Coco, Wall-E and Inside Out.
Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino’s first feature-length film was this masterpiece from 1992. Empire listed Reservoir Dogs as being the single “Greatest Independent Film of All Time.”
Both critics and the audiences loved the gory film that was so controversial when it got released. In 1993, the movie won the Critic’s Award (4th Yubari International Fantastic Film Festival).
Goodfellas
Martin Scorsese released his 1990 gangster drama, Goodfellas and soon became a classic, which appears in all “best movies” lists.
Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta star in the movie, which has a 96% rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The drama won an Academy Award and several Golden Globes and British Academy Film Awards.
Schindler’s List
Released in 1993, Schindler’s List was directed by Steven Spielberg. The historical drama is part of all the “best films” lists.
It won seven Academy Awards and it was ranked in 2007 by AFI the eighth film in their 100 best American films list.
Chinatown
Another hit was Roman Polanski’s best film, Chinatown. The 1974 film has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
Jack Nicholson was the star of the movie, which won an Academy Award and four Golden Globes, several BAFTAs and other awards.
Taxi Driver
Released in 1976, we get to see a young Robert De Niro star as an unstable cab operator in NYC, along with a 12-year old Jodie Foster.
Martin Scorsese’s controversial movie has a 97% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it’s a must-see!
City Lights
Another silent movie that made our list is the romantic comedy from 1931. Charlie Chaplin’s masterpiece was named the second-best film of all time in 1952!
American Film Institute also included in their “100 Years” lists, calling City Lights the single “Best Romantic Comedy.”
North by Northwest
Released in 1959, North by Northwest has a 99% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it is considered one of the best movies in history.
Alfred Hitchcock’s motion picture won him the second Silver Shell Award for Best Director.
Casablanca
One of the greatest films of all time, Casablanca was released in 1942.
The film got eight nominations at the 16th Academy Awards and won three Academy Awards.
Dr. Strangelove
Released in 1964, this film’s full title is: “Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb.”
The film is directed by Stanley Kubrick and won four Oscars and six BAFTAs!
Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back
Released in 1980, George Lucas’ Star Wars: Episode V- The Empire Strikes Back was a hit, just like the rest of the movie franchise.
The film won the Academy Award for Best Sound and others over the years.
Psycho
Alfred Hitchcock’s classic horror-thriller is now a classic played every Halloween.
The 1960 movie is one of Hitchcock’s best films, and it saw many remakes in form of film and TV series.
Rear Window
We’re carrying on with the Alfred Hitchcock films, this time with an older movie.
The 1954 film is also regarded as one of his best movies. In 1997, the National Film Registry chose Rear Window for preservation.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
The 1966 epic Western has a 97% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is known as being the best of all Spaghetti Western films.
Lawrence of Arabia
David Lean’s epic war adventure film was released in 1962 and it was nominated for 10 Oscar, winning seven!
It also won a BAFTA Award and a Golden Globe.
The Red Shoes
Released in 1984, the British drama won two Academy Awards, a Golden Globe and got in the Top Ten Films list of the National Board of Review.
The Red Shoes is a must see!
Sherlock Jr.
Back in 1924, Hollywood was still in the silent movie era. Sherlock Jr. has a 95% rating on Rotten Tomatoes and it is considered a classic.
Other memorable movies that should be mentioned in our list are Singin’ in the Rain, 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Silence of the Lambs, The Grapes of Wrath, Inception, The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers and the list would go on forever