The Best Films Of All Time !!!
by JoeKulik | created - 02 Sep 2015 | updated - 02 Sep 2015 | Public"Film will only become an art when its materials are as inexpensive as pencil and paper." - Jean Cocteau
"Hollywood has melted everyone's brains. In the old days you had one murder and that was enough for a story. Now you have to kill 300,000 people just to get the audience's attention." - Aki Kaurismaki
This list is NOT in any order of preference or ranking.
All foreign films have English subtitles.
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1. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
Passed | 129 min | Comedy, Drama
A naive youth leader is appointed to fill a vacancy in the U.S. Senate. His idealistic plans promptly collide with corruption at home and subterfuge from his hero in Washington, but he tries to forge ahead despite attacks on his character.
Director: Frank Capra | Stars: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold
Votes: 121,446 | Gross: $9.60M
James Stewart
A classic portrayal of the well worn tale of the young, naïve idealist who takes on the corrupt Establishment.
2. The Rules of the Game (1939)
Not Rated | 110 min | Comedy, Drama
A bourgeois life in France at the onset of World War II, as the rich and their poor servants meet up at a French chateau.
Director: Jean Renoir | Stars: Marcel Dalio, Nora Gregor, Paulette Dubost, Mila Parély
Votes: 31,350
This film was booed in Paris when it was released in 1939, and the critics in 1939 all gave it a thumbs down because it hit too close to home in its portrayal of the phoniness of French social norms of the day. After running only a few weeks in 1939, it disappeared until being re-re-released in the 1950's and has been very favorably considered a Renoir classic since then both by film fans and by film critics.
3. Citizen Kane (1941)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 466,232 | Gross: $1.59M
Orson Welles.
4. Battleship Potemkin (1925)
Not Rated | 66 min | Drama, History, Thriller
In the midst of the Russian Revolution of 1905, the crew of the battleship Potemkin mutiny against the brutal, tyrannical regime of the vessel's officers. The resulting street demonstration in Odessa brings on a police massacre.
Director: Sergei Eisenstein | Stars: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Ivan Bobrov
Votes: 61,479 | Gross: $0.05M
silent film.
5. The Godfather (1972)
R | 175 min | Crime, Drama
The aging patriarch of an organized crime dynasty transfers control of his clandestine empire to his reluctant son.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Diane Keaton
Votes: 2,014,659 | Gross: $134.97M
6. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 720,165 | Gross: $56.95M
screenplay: Stanley Kubrick et al.
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Amazon.com Instant Video.
7. Russian Ark (2002)
Not Rated | 99 min | Drama, Fantasy, History
A 19th century French aristocrat, notorious for his scathing memoirs about life in Russia, travels through the Russian State Hermitage Museum and encounters historical figures from the last 200+ years.
Director: Aleksandr Sokurov | Stars: Sergey Dreyden, Mariya Kuznetsova, Leonid Mozgovoy, Mikhail Piotrovsky
Votes: 21,833 | Gross: $0.04M
The first and only film in the History Of World Cinema that was filmed in just one continuous take. That is, there are NO edit breaks in this film because the camera was turned on at the start of filming and was not turned off until 90 minutes later when the film was finished.
8. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
PG | 122 min | Drama
Disturbed Blanche DuBois moves in with her sister in New Orleans and is tormented by her brutish brother-in-law while her reality crumbles around her.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden
Votes: 114,422 | Gross: $8.00M
Marlon Brando. Vivian Leigh. Karl Malden. Tennessee William's play.
9. East of Eden (1955)
PG | 118 min | Drama
Two brothers in 1910s California struggle to maintain their strict, Bible-toting father's favor as an old secret about their long-absent mother comes to light.
Director: Elia Kazan | Stars: James Dean, Raymond Massey, Julie Harris, Burl Ives
Votes: 48,841
James Dean,
James Dean gives a brilliant portrayal of the classic dilemma of a boy who just can't get his father's approval & validation, no matter how hard he tries.
10. The Maiden Danced to Death (2011)
100 min | Drama
There were two brothers - two dancers - in Communist Hungary. One defected, the other stuck it out. One gave his soul to commerce, the other to the Party. After twenty years, they meet again. And the dance begins.
Director: Endre Hules | Stars: Endre Hules, Zsolt László, Bea Melkvi, Emöke Zsigmond
Votes: 144
dir: Endre Hules.
screenplay: Endre Hules.
lead actor: Endre Hules.
available at Fandor.com.
20 Stars !!!
11. Ida (2013)
PG-13 | 82 min | Drama
A novice nun about to take her vows uncovers a family secret dating back to the German occupation.
Director: Pawel Pawlikowski | Stars: Agata Kulesza, Agata Trzebuchowska, Dawid Ogrodnik, Jerzy Trela
Votes: 60,734 | Gross: $3.83M
dir Pawel Pawlikowski.
screenplay: Pawel Pawlikowski et al.
available at Fandor.com.
20 Stars !!!
12. Persona (1966)
Not Rated | 83 min | Drama, Thriller
A nurse is put in charge of a mute actress and finds that their personae are melding together.
Director: Ingmar Bergman | Stars: Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann, Margaretha Krook, Gunnar Björnstrand
Votes: 131,034
Available at Criterion.com/Hulu.
The very best Ingmar Bergman film that I've seen yet. Heavy psychological storyline. Radical editing that complements the intensely psychological character of this screenplay. Never have seen another film that I could say has more artistic merit than this one. Liv Ullman as Lisbeth doesn't speak even one word for the entire film. Must see this film if only because it is so unique-You'll never view another one quite like it.
13. The Human Voice (1966 TV Movie)
Not Rated | 50 min | Drama
A monologue of a woman talking on the phone with her longterm lover who is about to marry another girl.
Director: Ted Kotcheff | Star: Ingrid Bergman
Votes: 360
A one character play written by Jean Cocteau in 1930 & first performed on stage in Paris in 1930.
Available on YouTube-search:
"The Human Voice TV 1966 Ingrid Bergman".
On YouTube channel "cris313nes's channel".
14. The Great Beauty (2013)
Not Rated | 141 min | Drama
Jep Gambardella has seduced his way through the lavish nightlife of Rome for decades, but after his 65th birthday and a shock from the past, Jep looks past the nightclubs and parties to find a timeless landscape of absurd, exquisite beauty.
Director: Paolo Sorrentino | Stars: Toni Servillo, Carlo Verdone, Sabrina Ferilli, Carlo Buccirosso
Votes: 97,458 | Gross: $2.85M
dir: Paulo Sorrentino.
screenplay: Paulo Sorrentino et al.
available at Fandor.com.
20 Stars !!!
15. Zazie in the Metro (1960)
Not Rated | 93 min | Comedy, Fantasy
With her mother away for the weekend, a brash and precocious ten-year-old country girl sets out to explore Paris during a Métro strike under her uncle's not-so-watchful eye. But can a little girl cause so much chaos in the city centre?
Director: Louis Malle | Stars: Catherine Demongeot, Philippe Noiret, Hubert Deschamps, Carla Marlier
Votes: 6,757
dir: Louis Malle.
screenplay (adaptation): Louis Malle.
available at Criterion.com/Hulu.
16. I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967)
X | 121 min | Drama, Romance
Told in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Blue) (1968) deals with topics such as class society, non-violent resistance, sex, relationships, and tourism to Francoist Spain.
Director: Vilgot Sjöman | Stars: Lena Nyman, Vilgot Sjöman, Börje Ahlstedt, Peter Lindgren
Votes: 4,303 | Gross: $20.24M
dir: Vilgot Sjoman.
screenplay: Vilgot Sjoman.
available at Criterion.com/Hulu.
17. I Am Curious (Blue) (1968)
Not Rated | 107 min | Drama
Told in a quasi-documentary style, this companion piece to I Am Curious (Yellow) (1967) deals with topics such as class society, religion, sex, contraceptives, and the Swedish prison Kumla.
Director: Vilgot Sjöman | Stars: Maj Hultén, Vilgot Sjöman, Lena Nyman, Börje Ahlstedt
Votes: 1,646
dir: Vilgot Sjoman.
screenplay: Vilgot Sjoman.
available at Criterion.com/Hulu.
18. All's Well (1972)
Not Rated | 95 min | Drama
Godard examines the structure of movies, relationships and revolutions through the life of a couple in Paris.
Directors: Jean-Luc Godard, Jean-Pierre Gorin | Stars: Yves Montand, Jane Fonda, Vittorio Caprioli, Elizabeth Chauvin
Votes: 3,897
dir: Jean-Luc Godard.
Writer: Jean-Luc Godard et al.
available at Criterion.com/Hulu.
19. Die Nibelungen: Siegfried (1924)
Not Rated | 100 min | Adventure, Drama, Fantasy
Siegfried, son of King Siegmund of Xanten, sets off on a treacherous journey to the Kingdom of Burgundy to ask King Gunther for the hand of his sister, the beautiful Princess Kriemhild.
Director: Fritz Lang | Stars: Paul Richter, Margarete Schön, Theodor Loos, Gertrud Arnold
Votes: 6,562
silent film.
Available on Fandor.com under the title of Siegfried.
run time is actually 148 minutes.
Part 1 of the 2 part epic Die Nibelungen.
20. Marty (1955)
Not Rated | 90 min | Drama, Romance
A middle-aged butcher and a school teacher who have given up on the idea of love meet at a dance and fall for each other.
Director: Delbert Mann | Stars: Ernest Borgnine, Betsy Blair, Esther Minciotti, Augusta Ciolli
Votes: 27,046
Ernest Borgnine
21. Sleepers (1996)
R | 147 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After a prank goes disastrously wrong, a group of boys are sent to a detention center where they are brutalized. Thirteen years later, an unexpected random encounter with a former guard gives them a chance for revenge.
Director: Barry Levinson | Stars: Robert De Niro, Kevin Bacon, Brad Pitt, Jason Patric
Votes: 237,689 | Gross: $49.10M
Brad Pitt. Kevin Bacon. Robert De Niro.
An innovative, creative, & well thought out variation of the age old revenge story.
22. Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (1958)
Not Rated | 108 min | Drama
Brick is an alcoholic ex-football player who drinks his days away and resists the affections of his wife. A reunion with his terminal father jogs a host of memories and revelations for both father and son.
Director: Richard Brooks | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Paul Newman, Burl Ives, Jack Carson
Votes: 53,447 | Gross: $17.57M
Paul Newman. Elizabeth Taylor. Burl Ives. Tennessee William's play.
23. The Long, Hot Summer (1958)
Not Rated | 115 min | Drama
Accused barn burner and conman Ben Quick arrives in a small Mississippi town and quickly ingratiates himself with its richest family, the Varners.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: Paul Newman, Joanne Woodward, Anthony Franciosa, Orson Welles
Votes: 12,423
Paul Newman. Joanne Woodward. Orson Welles.
24. The Sting (1973)
PG | 129 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
Two grifters team up to pull off the ultimate con.
Director: George Roy Hill | Stars: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Robert Shaw, Charles Durning
Votes: 280,080 | Gross: $159.60M
Paul Newman. Robert Redford.
25. Dead Man Walking (1995)
R | 122 min | Crime, Drama
A nun, while comforting a convicted killer on death row, empathizes with both the killer and his victim's families.
Director: Tim Robbins | Stars: Susan Sarandon, Sean Penn, Robert Prosky, Raymond J. Barry
Votes: 101,833 | Gross: $39.39M
Susan Sarandon. Sean Penn.
26. Good Will Hunting (1997)
R | 126 min | Drama, Romance
Will Hunting, a janitor at M.I.T., has a gift for mathematics, but needs help from a psychologist to find direction in his life.
Director: Gus Van Sant | Stars: Robin Williams, Matt Damon, Ben Affleck, Stellan Skarsgård
Votes: 1,069,518 | Gross: $138.43M
Matt Damon. Robin Williams. Ben Affleck. Minnie Driver.
A brilliant & inspiring story of how a young man's low self image was keeping from realizing his true potential.
27. The Crossing Guard (1995)
R | 111 min | Drama, Thriller
Freddy Gale is a seedy jeweller who has sworn to kill the drunk driver who killed his little girl.
Director: Sean Penn | Stars: Jack Nicholson, David Morse, Anjelica Huston, Robin Wright
Votes: 14,467 | Gross: $0.83M
Jack Nicholson. David Morse. Anjelica Huston.
Director & Writer: Sean Penn.
Nicholson delivers a brilliant portrayal of a man whose obsession with revenge is destroying his life & driving him to the brink of insanity.
28. Get Low (2009)
PG-13 | 103 min | Drama, Mystery
A movie spun out of equal parts folk tale, fable and real-life legend about the mysterious, 1930s Tennessee hermit who famously threw his own rollicking funeral party... while he was still alive.
Director: Aaron Schneider | Stars: Robert Duvall, Bill Murray, Sissy Spacek, Lucas Black
Votes: 24,037 | Gross: $9.18M
Robert Duvall. Bill Murray. Sissy Sapcek.
After 30 years in seclusion in the wilderness, a hermit contacts the undertaker at his nearby hometown to arrange conducting a funeral for himself while he's still alive & wants to invite the whole town to attend.
29. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
PG | 99 min | Comedy, Drama
An old Jewish woman and her African-American chauffeur in the American South have a relationship that grows and improves over the years.
Director: Bruce Beresford | Stars: Morgan Freeman, Jessica Tandy, Dan Aykroyd, Patti LuPone
Votes: 117,612 | Gross: $106.59M
Morgan Freeman. Jessica Tandy. Dan Aykroyd.
30. 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: 866,111 | Gross: $4.36M
Henry Fonda & a great ensemble supporting cast.
On a jury of 12 White men, only one man has the guts to stand up & argue that they can not just throw away a young man's life with a hasty decision, even if he is a poor, lower class Latino.
31. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,073,170 | Gross: $112.00M
Jack Nicholson. Ken Kesey's novel.
32. The Odd Couple (1968)
Passed | 105 min | Comedy
A New Yorker newly separated from his wife moves in with his best friend, a divorced sportswriter, but their ideas of housekeeping and lifestyles are as different as night and day.
Director: Gene Saks | Stars: Jack Lemmon, Walter Matthau, John Fiedler, Herb Edelman
Votes: 37,477 | Gross: $44.53M
Jack Lemmon. Walter Matthau. Neil Simon's play.
33. Devil in a Blue Dress (1995)
R | 102 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A Black war hero is hired to find a mysterious woman, and gets mixed up in a murderous political scandal in 1948 Los Angeles.
Director: Carl Franklin | Stars: Denzel Washington, Tom Sizemore, Jennifer Beals, Don Cheadle
Votes: 24,280 | Gross: $16.03M
Denzel Washington. Don Cheadle.
Like a noir film, but with African American characters.
34. The Producers (1967)
PG | 88 min | Comedy, Music
A stage-play producer devises a plan to make money by producing a sure-fire flop.
Director: Mel Brooks | Stars: Zero Mostel, Gene Wilder, Dick Shawn, Kenneth Mars
Votes: 59,924 | Gross: $0.11M
Zero Mostel. Gene Wilder. Writer & Director: Mel Brooks.
35. Pressure Point (1962)
Not Rated | 91 min | Drama
A black prison psychiatrist is assigned the distasteful task of helping a paranoid American Nazi charged with sedition.
Director: Hubert Cornfield | Stars: Sidney Poitier, Bobby Darin, Peter Falk, Carl Benton Reid
Votes: 2,035
Sidney Poitier. Bobby Darin.
36. Fear and Desire (1952)
Not Rated | 62 min | Drama, Thriller, War
Four soldiers trapped behind enemy lines must confront their fears and desires.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Frank Silvera, Kenneth Harp, Paul Mazursky, Stephen Coit
Votes: 13,736
dir: Stanley Kubrick.
available at Fandor.com.
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