Top 50 Movies of All-Time
by butterflywars | created - 20 Feb 2012 | updated - 25 Sep 2012 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. Psycho (1960)
R | 109 min | Horror, Mystery, Thriller
A Phoenix secretary embezzles $40,000 from her employer's client, goes on the run and checks into a remote motel run by a young man under the domination of his mother.
Director: Alfred Hitchcock | Stars: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles, John Gavin
Votes: 718,473 | Gross: $32.00M
Simply put, a masterpiece by Alfred Hitchcock. It has lived on through generations as a must see even with all of the sequels and remakes that have come after.
2. 12 Angry Men (1957)
Approved | 96 min | Crime, Drama
The jury in a New York City murder trial is frustrated by a single member whose skeptical caution forces them to more carefully consider the evidence before jumping to a hasty verdict.
Director: Sidney Lumet | Stars: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam, John Fiedler
Votes: 865,430 | Gross: $4.36M
Just incredible. This movie aged better than any movie in cinema history. If you haven't watched it, do yourself a favor and experience it. You won't be disappointed.
3. The Matrix (1999)
R | 136 min | Action, Sci-Fi
When a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.
Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Laurence Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss, Hugo Weaving
Votes: 2,053,907 | Gross: $171.48M
The movie that should never have had sequels. Revolutionary concept with impressive performances (Including Keanu)
4. American History X (1998)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama
Living a life marked by violence, neo-Nazi Derek finally goes to prison after killing two black youths. Upon his release, Derek vows to change; he hopes to prevent his brother, Danny, who idolizes Derek, from following in his footsteps.
Director: Tony Kaye | Stars: Edward Norton, Edward Furlong, Beverly D'Angelo, Jennifer Lien
Votes: 1,186,572 | Gross: $6.72M
A story that everyone should experience with terrific performances by Edward Norton and Edward Furlong.
5. V for Vendetta (2005)
R | 132 min | Action, Drama, Sci-Fi
In a future British dystopian society, a shadowy freedom fighter, known only by the alias of "V", plots to overthrow the tyrannical government - with the help of a young woman.
Director: James McTeigue | Stars: Hugo Weaving, Natalie Portman, Rupert Graves, Stephen Rea
Votes: 1,179,563 | Gross: $70.51M
Hugo Weaving deserves more praise than he gets, which is nil. Best comic book movie adaptation, check. Best revenge movie, check. Best movie describing the dire economic state the United States is undergoing and has to adapt to, check.
6. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
R | 136 min | Crime, Sci-Fi
In the future, a sadistic gang leader is imprisoned and volunteers for a conduct-aversion experiment, but it doesn't go as planned.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates, Warren Clarke
Votes: 881,510 | Gross: $6.21M
Stanley Kubrick's masterpiece that came before it's time.
7. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
Approved | 178 min | Adventure, Western
A bounty hunting scam joins two men in an uneasy alliance against a third in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in a remote cemetery.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef, Aldo Giuffrè
Votes: 811,470 | Gross: $6.10M
The best of the Spaghetti Westerns with Clint Eastwood giving one of his best performances.
8. Sin City (2005)
R | 124 min | Crime, Thriller
An exploration of the dark and miserable Basin City and three of its residents, all of whom are caught up in violent corruption.
Directors: Frank Miller, Quentin Tarantino, Robert Rodriguez | Stars: Mickey Rourke, Clive Owen, Bruce Willis, Jessica Alba
Votes: 793,903 | Gross: $74.10M
Brittany Murphy, oh how I wish you could have been apart of the sequel that never seems to be made.
9. Con Air (1997)
R | 115 min | Action, Crime, Thriller
Newly-paroled ex-con and former U.S. Ranger Cameron Poe finds himself trapped in a prisoner-transport plane when the passengers seize control.
Director: Simon West | Stars: Nicolas Cage, John Cusack, John Malkovich, Colm Meaney
Votes: 319,358 | Gross: $101.12M
A guilty pleasure that I've watched more than any other movie on this list. Sirus the Virus is just an unforgettable character.
10. American Beauty (1999)
R | 122 min | Drama
A sexually frustrated suburban father has a mid-life crisis after becoming infatuated with his daughter's best friend.
Director: Sam Mendes | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Annette Bening, Thora Birch, Wes Bentley
Votes: 1,211,252 | Gross: $130.10M
It deserved Best Picture (even though I believe the Matrix was better).
11. Unforgiven (1992)
R | 130 min | Drama, Western
Retired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman, Richard Harris
Votes: 436,289 | Gross: $101.16M
Unlike Metallica, The Unforgiven stopped at One. Thank goodness.
12. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
R | 142 min | Drama
Over the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.
Director: Frank Darabont | Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton, William Sadler
Votes: 2,889,720 | Gross: $28.34M
Steven King's best book adaption is a classic everyone knows.
13. Forrest Gump (1994)
PG-13 | 142 min | Drama, Romance
The history of the United States from the 1950s to the '70s unfolds from the perspective of an Alabama man with an IQ of 75, who yearns to be reunited with his childhood sweetheart.
Director: Robert Zemeckis | Stars: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise, Sally Field
Votes: 2,257,915 | Gross: $330.25M
Deserved the 1994 Best Picture win even though a lot of people disagree.
14. Pulp Fiction (1994)
R | 154 min | Crime, Drama
The lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson, Bruce Willis
Votes: 2,221,013 | Gross: $107.93M
If every movie ended like this, there would be a lot less crappy movies out there.
15. The Rock (1996)
R | 136 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A mild-mannered chemist and an ex-con must lead the counterstrike when a rogue group of military men, led by a renegade general, threaten a nerve gas attack from Alcatraz against San Francisco.
Director: Michael Bay | Stars: Sean Connery, Nicolas Cage, Ed Harris, John Spencer
Votes: 358,230 | Gross: $134.07M
Why can't Nic Cage do movies like this anymore?
16. Schindler's List (1993)
R | 195 min | Biography, Drama, History
In German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley, Caroline Goodall
Votes: 1,451,234 | Gross: $96.90M
Most depressing movie ever....because it's true!
17. Jaws (1975)
PG | 124 min | Adventure, Mystery, Thriller
When a killer shark unleashes chaos on a beach community off Cape Cod, it's up to a local sheriff, a marine biologist, and an old seafarer to hunt the beast down.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss, Lorraine Gary
Votes: 659,651 | Gross: $260.00M
"That's some bad hat Harry."
18. Requiem for a Dream (2000)
R | 102 min | Drama
The drug-induced utopias of four Coney Island people are shattered when their addictions run deep..
Director: Darren Aronofsky | Stars: Ellen Burstyn, Jared Leto, Jennifer Connelly, Marlon Wayans
Votes: 899,009 | Gross: $3.64M
If you want your child to never even consider doing hard drugs, make them watch this movie. It deterred my interest. Also my favorite movie theme ever.
19. Se7en (1995)
R | 127 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Two detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Brad Pitt, Kevin Spacey, Andrew Kevin Walker
Votes: 1,799,616 | Gross: $100.13M
A deadly sin should be to anyone who hasn't seen this movie.
20. The Usual Suspects (1995)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin
Votes: 1,145,707 | Gross: $23.34M
His name is Keyser Soze!
21. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
R | 118 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A young F.B.I. cadet must receive the help of an incarcerated and manipulative cannibal killer to help catch another serial killer, a madman who skins his victims.
Director: Jonathan Demme | Stars: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn, Ted Levine
Votes: 1,548,667 | Gross: $130.74M
Anthony Hopkins wins best actor even though he was only featured for less than 20 minutes.
22. Face/Off (1997)
R | 138 min | Action, Crime, Sci-Fi
To foil a terrorist plot, FBI agent Sean Archer assumes the identity of the criminal Castor Troy who murdered his son through facial transplant surgery, but the crook wakes up prematurely and vows revenge.
Director: John Woo | Stars: John Travolta, Nicolas Cage, Joan Allen, Alessandro Nivola
Votes: 400,997 | Gross: $112.23M
A concept most 'professionals' considered impossible but fun has been realized within the last few years. I guess Sci/Fi movies come true. Here we go...2012 apocalypse here we come.
23. Million Dollar Baby (2004)
PG-13 | 132 min | Drama, Sport
Frankie, an ill-tempered old coach, reluctantly agrees to train aspiring boxer Maggie. Impressed with her determination and talent, he helps her become the best and the two soon form a close bond.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood, Morgan Freeman, Jay Baruchel
Votes: 721,943 | Gross: $100.49M
Watch it once, It'll be cemented in your mind forever...trust me but it's worth it.
24. The Town (2010)
R | 125 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
A proficient group of thieves rob a bank and hold an assistant manager hostage. Things begin to get complicated when one of the crew members falls in love with her.
Director: Ben Affleck | Stars: Ben Affleck, Rebecca Hall, Jon Hamm, Jeremy Renner
Votes: 415,882 | Gross: $92.19M
Ben Affleck should direct more often.
25. Platoon (1986)
R | 120 min | Drama, War
Chris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
Director: Oliver Stone | Stars: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe, Keith David
Votes: 439,640 | Gross: $138.53M
The best war movie ever made.
26. Serenity (2005)
PG-13 | 119 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
The crew of the ship Serenity try to evade an assassin sent to recapture telepath River.
Director: Joss Whedon | Stars: Nathan Fillion, Gina Torres, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Alan Tudyk
Votes: 305,708 | Gross: $25.51M
Firefly was a great series but Serenity was a Masterpiece.
27. Dances with Wolves (1990)
PG-13 | 181 min | Adventure, Drama, Western
Lieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.
Director: Kevin Costner | Stars: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene, Rodney A. Grant
Votes: 290,753 | Gross: $184.21M
Better than the overrated and foulmouthed Goodfellas.
28. Reservoir Dogs (1992)
R | 99 min | Crime, Thriller
When a simple jewelry heist goes horribly wrong, the surviving criminals begin to suspect that one of them is a police informant.
Director: Quentin Tarantino | Stars: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen, Chris Penn
Votes: 1,088,523 | Gross: $2.83M
Mr. Pink rules.
29. Gladiator (2000)
R | 155 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A former Roman General sets out to exact vengeance against the corrupt emperor who murdered his family and sent him into slavery.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Russell Crowe, Joaquin Phoenix, Connie Nielsen, Oliver Reed
Votes: 1,620,741 | Gross: $187.71M
“My name is Maximus Decimus Meridius, Commander of the Armies of the North, General of the Felix Legions, loyal servant to the true emperor, Marcus Aurelius. Father to a murdered son, husband to a murdered wife. And I will have my vengeance, in this life or the next.”
30. Ben-Hur (1959)
G | 212 min | Adventure, Drama
After a Jewish prince is betrayed and sent into slavery by a Roman friend in 1st-century Jerusalem, he regains his freedom and comes back for revenge.
Director: William Wyler | Stars: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd, Haya Harareet
Votes: 253,710 | Gross: $74.70M
The longest movie I've ever watched without taking a break (even though it has an intermission).
31. Alien (1979)
R | 117 min | Horror, Sci-Fi
The crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.
Director: Ridley Scott | Stars: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt, Veronica Cartwright
Votes: 951,193 | Gross: $78.90M
In Space...
32. Fight Club (1999)
R | 139 min | Drama
An insomniac office worker and a devil-may-care soap maker form an underground fight club that evolves into much more.
Director: David Fincher | Stars: Brad Pitt, Edward Norton, Meat Loaf, Zach Grenier
Votes: 2,324,867 | Gross: $37.03M
The first rule of Fight Club is never make a video game about Fight Club.
33. All the King's Men (1949)
Approved | 110 min | Drama, Film-Noir
The rise and fall of a corrupt politician, who makes his friends richer and retains power by dint of a populist appeal.
Director: Robert Rossen | Stars: Broderick Crawford, John Ireland, Joanne Dru, John Derek
Votes: 16,593
The original, not that unwatchable trite with Sean Penn and Jude Law.
34. On the Waterfront (1954)
Approved | 108 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An ex-prize fighter turned New Jersey longshoreman struggles to stand up to his corrupt union bosses, including his older brother, as he starts to connect with the grieving sister of one of the syndicate's victims.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger
Votes: 164,953 | Gross: $9.60M
Marlon Brando's best movie.
35. Lord of War (2005)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama
An arms dealer confronts the morality of his work as he is being chased by an INTERPOL Agent.
Director: Andrew Niccol | Stars: Nicolas Cage, Ethan Hawke, Jared Leto, Bridget Moynahan
Votes: 337,017 | Gross: $24.15M
Underrated and under-appreciated. This movie is excellent.
36. No Country for Old Men (2007)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
Violence and mayhem ensue after a hunter stumbles upon the aftermath of a drug deal gone wrong and over two million dollars in cash near the Rio Grande.
Directors: Ethan Coen, Joel Coen | Stars: Tommy Lee Jones, Javier Bardem, Josh Brolin, Woody Harrelson
Votes: 1,060,575 | Gross: $74.28M
Javier Bardem should have won the Best Actor award for his performance in this masterpiece.
37. Inception (2010)
PG-13 | 148 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
A thief who steals corporate secrets through the use of dream-sharing technology is given the inverse task of planting an idea into the mind of a C.E.O., but his tragic past may doom the project and his team to disaster.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Elliot Page, Ken Watanabe
Votes: 2,551,688 | Gross: $292.58M
Cillian Murphy deserves credit when he gets absolutely none. That withstanding, a dream within a dream can only be experienced to its fullest if you watch this.
38. X: First Class (2011)
PG-13 | 131 min | Action, Sci-Fi
In the 1960s, superpowered humans Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr work together to find others like them, but Erik's vengeful pursuit of an ambitious mutant who ruined his life causes a schism to divide them.
Director: Matthew Vaughn | Stars: James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence, Kevin Bacon
Votes: 723,877 | Gross: $146.41M
The most recent movie on this list because it had it all; great story, special effects, and acting especially from Michael Fassbender as Magneto who trumped Ian McKellen (who I like).
39. Four Brothers (2005)
R | 109 min | Action, Crime, Drama
When their adoptive mother is gunned down in a store robbery, four brothers decide to investigate the murder and find the killers themselves, but not all is what it seems.
Director: John Singleton | Stars: Mark Wahlberg, Tyrese Gibson, André 3000, Garrett Hedlund
Votes: 156,557 | Gross: $74.49M
Fun for the whole family minus the kids and women.
40. The Descent (2005)
R | 99 min | Adventure, Horror, Thriller
A caving expedition goes horribly wrong, as the explorers become trapped and ultimately pursued by a strange breed of predators.
Director: Neil Marshall | Stars: Shauna Macdonald, Natalie Mendoza, Alex Reid, Saskia Mulder
Votes: 247,008 | Gross: $26.02M
A fabulous movie that scared the s*** out of me.
41. Mystic River (2003)
R | 138 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The tragic murder of a 19-year-old girl reunites three childhood friends still living in Boston--the victim's gangster father, a detective, and the disturbed man they both suspect of killing her.
Director: Clint Eastwood | Stars: Sean Penn, Tim Robbins, Kevin Bacon, Emmy Rossum
Votes: 485,947 | Gross: $90.14M
Clint Eastwood strikes again. He was nearing a 300 game before J. Edgar gutter-balled.
42. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
R | 109 min | Comedy
At a 1962 college, Dean Vernon Wormer is determined to expel the entire Delta Tau Chi Fraternity, but those troublemakers have other plans for him.
Director: John Landis | Stars: John Belushi, Karen Allen, Tom Hulce, Stephen Furst
Votes: 129,360
The funniest movie I've ever seen.
43. Memento (2000)
R | 113 min | Mystery, Thriller
A man with short-term memory loss attempts to track down his wife's murderer.
Director: Christopher Nolan | Stars: Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss, Joe Pantoliano, Mark Boone Junior
Votes: 1,323,256 | Gross: $25.54M
What happens? Watch the movie twice and you'll know.
44. Spider-Man 2 (2004)
PG-13 | 127 min | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi
Peter Parker is beset with troubles in his failing personal life as he battles a former brilliant scientist named Otto Octavius.
Director: Sam Raimi | Stars: Tobey Maguire, Kirsten Dunst, Alfred Molina, James Franco
Votes: 708,930 | Gross: $373.59M
An amazing story with visuals that no other movie has encompassed to this date warrants a spot on this list.
45. The Lion King (1994)
G | 88 min | Animation, Adventure, Drama
Lion prince Simba and his father are targeted by his bitter uncle, who wants to ascend the throne himself.
Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff | Stars: Matthew Broderick, Jeremy Irons, James Earl Jones, Whoopi Goldberg
Votes: 1,142,731 | Gross: $422.78M
Best animated movie I've ever watched. 1994 was a great year for movie lovers.
46. The Aviator (2004)
PG-13 | 170 min | Biography, Drama
A biopic depicting the early years of legendary director and aviator Howard Hughes' career from the late 1920s to the mid 1940s.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cate Blanchett, Kate Beckinsale, John C. Reilly
Votes: 384,153 | Gross: $102.61M
Leo deserved Best Actor for this role.
47. Gangs of New York (2002)
R | 167 min | Crime, Drama
In 1862, Amsterdam Vallon returns to the Five Points area of New York City seeking revenge against Bill the Butcher, his father's killer.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Cameron Diaz, Daniel Day-Lewis, Jim Broadbent
Votes: 473,055 | Gross: $77.81M
Bill the Butcher is one of the greatest characters of all-time.
48. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 726,894 | Gross: $24.61M
Wood-chipper and Fargo is like peanut-butter to jelly.
49. Signs (2002)
PG-13 | 106 min | Drama, Mystery, Sci-Fi
A widowed former reverend living with his children and brother on a Pennsylvania farm finds mysterious crop circles in their fields, which suggests something more frightening to come.
Director: M. Night Shyamalan | Stars: Mel Gibson, Joaquin Phoenix, Rory Culkin, Abigail Breslin
Votes: 385,814 | Gross: $227.97M
I love alien paranoia and this movie enhances it.
50. The Departed (2006)
R | 151 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
An undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Mark Wahlberg
Votes: 1,422,693 | Gross: $132.38M
Sorry Godfather fans, but this is the best mafia movie ever.
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