Empire Magazine readers selected The 50 Best Films, published in the November 2001 issue of the magazine. The results of the 'The Ultimate Movie Poll' also included 50 Best Actors, 50 Best Actresses, 50 Best Directors, and much more.

Facts and Commentary About the List:

• Although there were a few classics from the Golden Era of classic film-making, too many recent films outbalanced the earlier selections.
  
• Star Wars (1977) was the best film ever made, according to this polling, with its Must-See Moment: the final attack on the Death Star.
  
• The Empire Strikes Back (1980), its sequel, was in 2nd place, with its Must-See Moment: the appearance of the AT-ATs. Another Star Wars episode, The Return of the Jedi (1983) was at # 40.
  
• The Shawshank Redemption (1994), perennially popular in polls, was in 3rd place, with its Must-See Moment: playing Mozart to transfixed prisoners.
  
• 6 out of the top 10 films were made in the 1990s, including The Matrix (1999) (# 5) (with its dodging the slo-mo bullets Must-See Moment), Fight Club (1999) (# 6) (with its Ikea catalog set-piece), Gladiator (2000) (# 7) (with Maximus taking on all competitors in the arena), GoodFellas (1990) (# 8) (with its "Funny how?" segment), and Pulp Fiction (1994) (# 10) (with Vincent and Mia's Jack Rabbit Slims twist).
  
• Only two films from the top 20 were made before the 1970's: Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961), and Casablanca (1942).
  
• The oldest film in the list, from 1939, was Gone With the Wind (1939), at # 38, with its memorable inferno at Atlanta scene. The most recent film in the list was Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000), at # 29, with its memorable tree-top fighting scene.
  
• Often regarded as the # 1 film of all time, Citizen Kane (1941) was listed at # 28 with its "astonishing camera move from operatic stage to the rafters", and Casablanca (1942) was only rated at # 15, with its "rousing rendition of La Marseillaise".
  
• Steven Spielberg had 6 films in the top 50: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) (# 11), Jaws (1975) (# 13), Saving Private Ryan (1998) (# 20), Schindler's List (1993) (# 22), Return of the Jedi (1983) (# 40), and Jurassic Park (1993) (# 43).
  
• Other directors with films in the top 50:
  Ridley Scott (3): (Gladiator (2000) (# 7), Blade Runner (1982) (# 16), and Alien (1979) (# 23))
  Martin Scorsese (3): (GoodFellas (1990) (# 8), Taxi Driver (1976) (# 37) and Raging Bull (1980) (# 42))
  Francis Ford Coppola (3): ( The Godfather (1972) (# 4), The Godfather, Part II (1974) (# 17), and Apocalypse Now (1979) (# 26))
  Alfred Hitchcock (2): ( Rear Window (1954) (# 47) and Vertigo (1958) (# 50))
  Stanley Kubrick (2): ( 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) (# 33) and Dr. Strangelove, Or: (1963) (# 48))
  The Coen Brothers (2): (The Big Lebowski (1998) (# 35) and Fargo (1996) (# 39))
  James Cameron (2): (Aliens (1986) (# 19) and Titanic (1997) (# 34))
  

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the "100 Greatest Films".