List of movies that have been considered the greatest ever
This is a partial list of films that have been regarded as the greatest ever. The objective is not to resolve the question of the greatest ever movie - the one thing that film commentators do agree on is that it is impossible to have a single answer to that question. The important criteria for inclusion in this list is that the film is the "greatest" by some specific measure - be it a critics poll, popular poll, box office receipts or awards.
Films acclaimed by critics and filmmakers
Films acclaimed in audience polls
- The Godfather: has long stood atop IMDb's list of the top 250 films. Also voted number one by Entertainment Weekly readers. Number one in a Time Out Readers' poll in 1995.
- The Godfather Part II: often considered better than the original; voted best film ever by TV Guide readers in 1998.
- Casablanca: widely cited as the greatest film of all time and voted as such by readers of the Los Angeles Daily News in 1997; also regarded the "best Hollywood movie of all time" by the influential Leonard Maltin's Movie Guide.
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: By readers of Empire magazine in November 2001. Also by voters in a FilmFour poll.
Films that have received the most Academy Awards
Biggest box office successes
- Prior highest-grossing films:
Films that are considered among the greatest in their particular genre:
- Animation (North American)
- Anime (Japanese animation)
- アキラ - Akira: 1988 Katsuhiro Otomo film, long considered the pinnacle of Japanese animation by many anime and non-anime fans alike, is one of the most well-known anime films and was chosen as the top anime ever by Anime Insider in fall 2001.
- 千と千尋の神隠し(Spirited Away): 2001 Hayao Miyazaki film, the highest grossing movie in Japanese history, and the only movie to earn $250M before its US release. Voted best animated movie by IMDb users and the first anime film to win an Academy Award.
- Disaster
- The Poseidon Adventure was voted best disaster movie in a consumer poll commissioned by UCI cinemas in May 2004.
- Documentary
- Bowling for Columbine: Documentary by Michael Moore, relating gun control and the fear culture in the United States. This was the highest grossing documentary film in history, until Moore's next documentary Fahrenheit 9/11 outgrossed it in its three day opening weekend in June 2004. Bowling for Columbine heads the list of 20 all-time favorite non-fiction films selected by members of the International Documentary Association (IDA).
- Epic
- Lawrence of Arabia Voted best epic by readers of Total Film in May 2004; also voted "best British film of all time" in August of 2004 by a London Sunday Telegraph poll of Britain's leading filmmakers.
- Horror -- Thriller
- Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock classic is considered the most important horror film of all time. Voted the best horror film by IMDb users. Tops AFI?s list of the 100 most thrilling American films.
- Halloween: The original slasher was voted best horror film of all time by readers of SFX magazine in June 2004.
- Science Fiction
- 2001: A Space Odyssey, a popular and influential film directed by Stanley Kubrick. The highest ranked science fiction film (#11) on the Village Voice 100 Best films of the 20th century list; selected by the late Gene Siskel as his choice of the best film ever.
In particular countries
See also
Lists of great films