Top Films of All-Time

Part 2


Top Films of All-Time
Part 1 | Part 2

The Top Films of All-Time: This section presents an overview of the rankings of films regarded as 'greatest' in terms of their genre type. Although this website doesn't strongly believe in the value of ranking films, it is nonetheless interesting to see how a certain number of films often appear at the very top of the rankings, box-office or ratings.



Top Films By Genre


(See also Top 5 Films in each Main Genre Category and
Highest-Grossing Films By Genre Type)
Action:

Top Gun: Maverick (2022)
The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

The Dark Knight (2008)

The Matrix Reloaded (2003)

The Matrix (1999)
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
Die Hard (1988)

Aliens (1986)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Mad Max 2 (1981, Australia) (aka The Road Warrior (1982))
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

  • The Dark Knight Rises (2012) - surpassed The Dark Knight (2008) as the highest-grossing (worldwide) film of the Batman franchise
  • The Dark Knight (2008) - the # 2 action film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011, and the highest-grossing (domestic) film of the Batman franchise
  • The Matrix Reloaded (2003) - the highest-grossing (domestic) action film of the Matrix franchise
  • Gladiator (2000) - the # 5 action film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • The Matrix (1999) - the # 4 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; rated as the # 5 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"; ranked the # 66 film in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001
  • Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) - ranked as the # 8 Action-Heroine film in terms of domestic box-office receipts (as of 2017); rated as the # 10 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"; ranked the # 77 film in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked the # 8 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the # 9 ranked science-fiction film in IMDb's top rankings of science-fiction genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • Die Hard (1988) - rated as the best action film of all time in Time Out's polling of "The 100 Best Action Movies Ever Made," in 2014; the # 4 action film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; rated as the # 1 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"; ranked the # 39 film in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001
  • Aliens (1986) - rated as the # 2 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"; ranked as the # 10 Action-Heroine film in terms of domestic box-office receipts (as of 2017)
  • Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) - the # 1 action film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; rated as the # 3 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"; ranked the # 10 film in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001
  • Mad Max 2 (1981, Australia) (aka The Road Warrior (1982)) - rated as the # 1 action film in Rolling Stone's "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Action Movies of All Time" in 2015
  • The Empire Strikes Back (1980) - the top-ranked 'action film' in IMDB's Action Genre listings (as of 2010); rated as the # 12 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"
  • The James Bond films - from 1962 to present, has been rated by the Guinness World Records as the "most profitable" film series of all-time (although the Bond films have been superceded since by Marvel's Cinematic Universe, the Star Wars franchise, and the Harry Potter franchise); for example, Goldfinger (1964) rated as the # 19 action film in Entertainment Weekly's 2007 issue of the "Top 25 Greatest Action Movies"
Animation:

Frozen II (2019)
The Lion King (2019)
Toy Story 4 (2019)
Incredibles 2 (2018)
Finding Dory (2016)
Minions (2015)
Frozen (2013)
Toy Story 3 (2010)
Up (2009)

WALL-E (2008)
The Polar Express (2004)
The Incredibles (2004)
Shrek 2 (2004)
Finding Nemo (2003)

Spirited Away (2001, Jp.)
Shrek (2001)
Chicken Run (2000, UK)
Pokémon: The First Movie (1999)

Toy Story (1995)
The Lion King (1994)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Akira (1988, Jp.)
Tale of Tales (1979, Russian)
Bambi (1942)
Pinocchio (1940)

Fantasia (1940)
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  • Frozen II (2019) - at $477.3 milllion (domestic) became the highest-grossing animated film directed by a female (Jennifer Lee)
  • The Lion King (2019) - a CGI 'live-action' film became one of the highest-grossing animated films of all time at $543.6 million (domestic).
  • Incredibles 2 (2018) - Disney's/Pixar's animated film became the highest-grossing animated release of all-time domestically (at $608.6 million domestic), surpassing Finding Dory (2016); it was also the # 1 (domestic) film of the Pixar branded-series, and the highest-grossing PG-rated movie of all-time; at 1 hour and 58 minutes, it was not only the longest Pixar Animation Studios film to date, but also the longest computer-animated feature film to date
  • Finding Dory (2016) - the highest-grossing (domestic) animated film of all time (at $486.3 million), and the highest-grossing Pixar film of all-time
  • Frozen (2013) - with a domestic gross of $400.7 million, topping all but Finding Dory (2016), Toy Story 3 (2010), The Lion King (1994), and Shrek 2 (2004); and as of 2017, the highest-grossing (worldwide) animated film of all-time, with $1.276.5 billion; Minions (2015) was a close second with $1.159 billion
  • Toy Story 3 (2010) - the third film in the long-running Toy Story series; the highest-grossing film (domestic) in the year 2010 and the highest grossing animated film of all-time (worldwide), surpassing Shrek 2 (2004); the first animated film in history to gross over $1 billion (worldwide); the Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film in 2010; the third animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, following Up (2009) and Beauty and the Beast (1991)
  • Up (2009) - the Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film in 2009; the second animated film to be nominated for Best Picture, following Beauty and the Beast (1991), the first CG-animated Best Picture nominee, and the first to receive a Best Picture nomination since animated films received their own category in 2001; ranked as the # 9 animated movie in IMDb's top animation title rankings, voted upon by site visitors, as of 2017
  • WALL-E (2008) - the Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film in 2008; ranked as the # 6 animated movie in IMDb's top animation title rankings, voted upon by site visitors, as of 2017
  • The Polar Express (2004) - the highest-grossing (domestic) motion-capture animated film of all time at $186.5 million
  • The Incredibles (2004) - won the Oscar for Best Animated Feature Film in 2004, and nominated for an Oscar for Best Screenplay
  • Shrek Film Franchise (2001-2010) - composed of Shrek (2001), Shrek 2 (2004), Shrek the Third (2007), and Shrek Forever After (2010), the highest-grossing (domestic) animated film franchise
  • Shrek 2 (2004), the sequel, became the highest grossing domestic (computer) animated film of all time, but then surpassed by Finding Dory (2016); nominated for Best Animated Feature Film (lost to The Incredibles (2004))
  • Finding Nemo (2003) - the Oscar winner for Best Animated Feature Film in 2003; ranked the # 10 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008
  • Spirited Away (2001, Jp.) - ranked as the # 1 animated movie in IMDb's top animation title rankings, voted upon by site visitors, as of 2017; it was the first anime (Japanese animation) film to win an Academy Award
  • Shrek (2001) - ranked the # 8 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the first film to win in the Best Animated Feature Film category (newly-established)
  • Chicken Run (2000, UK) - the highest grossing (domestic) stop-motion animation film of all time
  • Pokémon: The First Movie (1999) - the highest grossing (domestic) anime animation film of all time; also until 2001, the highest-grossing film based on a video game (surpassed by Lara Croft: Tomb Raider (2001))
  • Toy Story (1995) - the # 2 animated film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked the # 6 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked the # 1 film in OFCS' "Top 100 Animated Features of All Time" polling in 2003
  • The Lion King (1994) - the # 1 animated film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked the # 4 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the highest-grossing hand-drawn animated film of all time
  • Beauty and the Beast (1991) - the # 3 animated film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked the # 7 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the only animated film nominated for Best Picture before a separate Best Animated Feature Film category was created by the Academy
  • Akira (1988, Jp.) - voted as the top anime ever made by Anime Insider in 2001
  • Tale of Tales (1979) (aka Skazka skazok) - Yuri Norstein's short film was voted by critics to be the Greatest Animated Film of All Time at a 1984 Los Angeles arts festival
  • Bambi (1942) - ranked the # 3 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008
  • Fantasia (1940) - the # 5 animated film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked the # 5 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked the # 2 film in OFCS' "Top 100 Animated Features of All Time" polling in 2003; ranked # 58 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
  • Pinocchio (1940) - rated as the # 1 animated feature film in Time Out's "100 Best Animated Movies Ever Made" in 2014, also ranked the # 2 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008
  • Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) - the highest grossing (domestic) animated film when adjusted for ticket-price inflation; the # 4 animated film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 34 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 animated film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked the # 3 film in OFCS' "Top 100 Animated Features of All Time" polling in 2003; ranked # 23 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 49 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies

Christmas:

Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000)
Home Alone (1990)
Die Hard (1988)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
  • Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas (2000) - the # 2 highest-grossing 'Christmas film' (adjusted for inflation)
  • Home Alone (1990) - the # 1 'Christmas-themed' genre movie (adjusted for inflation) by boxofficemojo.com
  • Die Hard (1988) - ranked as the greatest Christmas movie by the UK's Empire Magazine article: "The 30 Best Christmas Movies Ever," in 2015
  • It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - rated in an audience survey as the greatest Christmas film by Axios in 2018
Comedy:
(live action, non-animated)

The Hangover (2009)
Borat (2006)
Meet the Fockers (2004)
Home Alone (1990)
This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
Ghostbusters (1984)
Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
Airplane! (1980)
Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979)
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Annie Hall (1977)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
The Graduate (1967)
Dr. Strangelove Or: (1964)
Some Like It Hot (1959)
It Happened One Night (1934)
  • The Hangover (2009) - the highest-grossing R-rated (bawdy) comedy ever in the US (unadjusted for inflation) at $277 million, surpassing the record held for 25 years by another R-rated comedy Beverly Hills Cop (1984) at $234 million (domestic)
  • Borat (2006) - the # 1 mockumentary at the box-office
  • Meet the Fockers (2004) - highest-grossing PG-13 rated comedy
  • Home Alone (1990) - highest-grossing PG rated comedy
  • Ghostbusters (1984) - highest-grossing PG rated comedy
  • This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - rated as the best comedy movie of all time in "The 100 Best Comedy Movies" in Time Out London's polling in 2016
  • Airplane! (1980) - the # 1 comedy in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) - ranked as the # 1 film in polling regarding Favorite Comedy Films in the UK's The Guardian in 2007; also voted # 1 comedy in 2005 in the British TV network's Channel 4 "50 Greatest Comedy Films"; ranked the # 1 greatest comedy film in the UK's Total Film's magazine poll in 2000, and
  • Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) - the # 2 comedy in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Annie Hall (1977) - ranked # 4 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; the # 74 ranked comedy film in IMDb's top rankings of comedy genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; voted WGA's # 1 of the 101 Funniest Screenplays of All-Time (2015)
  • National Lampoon's Animal House (1978) - voted # 1 comedy by Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies"; ranked # 36 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; voted # 47 comedy in 2005 in Channel 4's "50 Greatest Comedy Films"
  • Blazing Saddles (1974) - rated as the # 1 funniest movie of all time in polling taken in Rolling Stone's "The 25 Funniest Movies of All Time" in 2014
  • The Graduate (1967) - ranked # 17 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 7 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 9 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; ranked # 52 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002; the # 69 ranked comedy film in IMDb's top rankings of comedy genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • Dr. Strangelove Or:... (1964) - ranked # 39 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 3 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; ranked # 14 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 26 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; voted # 29 comedy in 2005 in Channel 4's "50 Greatest Comedy Films"; voted # 53 comedy by Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies"
  • Some Like It Hot (1959) - rated as the # 1 best comedy film of all time in the BBC Culture's polling of "The 100 Greatest Comedies of All Time" in 2017; the # 3 comedy in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 22 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked as the # 1 "Greatest American Comedy " in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; ranked # 5 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"; ranked # 9 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 14 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; voted # 16 comedy in 2005 in Channel 4's "50 Greatest Comedy Films"; the # 17 ranked comedy film in IMDb's top rankings of comedy genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • It Happened One Night (1934) - ranked # 46 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 35 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 3 romantic comedy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the only comedy (and one of only three films) to win the top five Academy Awards: Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, Best Picture and Best Director; ranked # 8 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; the # 52 ranked comedy film in IMDb's top rankings of comedy genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
Cult:

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
Freaks (1932)
  • This Is Spinal Tap (1984) - ranked # 29 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; ranked # 1 in Entertainment Weekly's polling of the "Top 50 Cult Movies" taken in 2003 (also see above)
  • The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - ranked # 2 in Entertainment Weekly's polling of the "Top 50 Cult Movies" taken in 2003; also, the longest theatrical release in film history, having been in theaters for 45 years as of 2020 (see also Musicals below)
  • Freaks (1932) - ranked # 3 in Entertainment Weekly's polling of the "Top 50 Cult Movies" taken in 2003
Disaster:

Gravity (2013)
Titanic (1997)
Independence Day (1996)
Twister (1996)
The Poseidon Adventure (1972)
  • Gravity (2013) - third highest-grossing (domestic) disaster film of all-time
  • Titanic (1997) - highest-grossing and award-winning film (shared with other films) of all-time
  • Independence Day (1996) - highest-grossing (domestic) disaster film until 1997
  • Twister (1996) - briefly the highest-grossing (domestic) disaster film - until overtaken by Independence Day in the same year
  • The Poseidon Adventure (1972) - voted Best Disaster Film in a consumer poll commissioned by UCI Cinemas and BBC News in 2004
Documentary:

Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018)
March of the Penguins (2005, Fr.)
Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004)
Bowling for Columbine (2002)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
The Thin Blue Line (1988)
Gates of Heaven (1978)
The Sorrow and the Pity (1969)
World in Action: Seven-Up! (1964)
Le Monde du Silence/The Silent World (1956, Fr.)
Night and Fog (1955)
The Man With a Movie Camera (1929)
Nanook of the North (1922)
  • Won't You Be My Neighbor? (2018), the Mr. Rogers' biopic-documentary, became the top-grossing biographical documentary ever; it was the highest-grossing documentary film in five years (at a total domestic of $22.6 million), after Morgan Spurlock's earlier One Direction: This Is Us (2013) (at $28.9 million domestic)
  • March of the Penguins (2005, Fr.) - the highest-grossing nature documentary ever to date, the second-highest gross for a non-IMAX documentary, the 2nd highest documentary ever, and Best Documentary Feature Academy Award winner
  • Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) - currently the highest grossing documentary of all time, and the Palme d'Or winner (the second documentary to win that award); voted # 8 in 2005 by Channel 4's polling of "50 Greatest Documentaries"
  • Bowling for Columbine (2002) - at one time, the highest-grossing documentary of all time, until surpassed by director Michael Moore's next film Sicko (2007); in 2002, it was the first documentary to compete in the Cannes Film Festival's main competition in 46 years; won the Best Documentary Feature Award at the Oscars; ranked # 1 by International Documentary Association's (IDA) "20 All-Time Favorite Non-Fiction Films" in 2002; voted # 3 in 2005 by Channel 4's polling of "50 Greatest Documentaries"
  • Hoop Dreams (1994) - the highest-grossing documentary until 2002; influential in changing how AMPAS voted for documentary films; also named the Best Film of the decade (1990's) by noted critic Roger Ebert; ranked # 4 in 2002 by International Documentary Association's (IDA) "20 All-Time Favorite Non-Fiction Films"; voted # 11 in 2005 by Channel 4's polling of "50 Greatest Documentaries"
  • The Thin Blue Line (1988) - by Errol Morris, responsible for solving a murder case and helping to free a Texas death-row inmate; ranked # 2 by International Documentary Association's "20 All-Time Favorite Non-Fiction Films" in 2002, and # 1 in IDA's "Top 25 Documentaries" in 2007; voted # 28 in 2005 by Channel 4's polling of "50 Greatest Documentaries"
  • Gates of Heaven (1978) - regarded by critic Roger Ebert as one of his 10 Best Films of All Time
  • The Sorrow and the Pity (1969) (aka Le chagrin et la pitié) - the # 8-ranked documentary in IMDb's top rankings of documentary films, voted upon by site visitors in 2010
  • World in Action: Seven-Up! Series (1964 and following 1970-2005) - voted # 1 in 2005 by Channel 4's polling of "50 Greatest Documentaries"; ranked # 13 in 2002 by International Documentary Association's "20 All-Time Favorite Non-Fiction Films"
  • Le Monde du Silence/The Silent World (1956, Fr.) - one of the most acclaimed nature documentaries ever, including the Palme d'Or (it was the first documentary to win this award) and the Best Documentary Feature Academy Award; co-directed by Jacques Yves-Cousteau with Louis Malle aboard the Calypso; it was also the first film to use underwater cinematography to show the ocean depths in color
  • Night and Fog (1955) - the top-ranked documentary in IMDb's top rankings of documentary films, voted upon by site visitors in 2010
  • The Man With a Movie Camera (1929) - always a highly-rated documentary film; rated as the # 1 documentary film of all time in Sight and Sound's "Critics' 50 Greatest Documentaries of All Time" in 2014; also ranked # 19 in 2002 by International Documentary Association's "20 All-Time Favorite Non-Fiction Films"
  • Nanook of the North (1922) - the first feature length documentary ever made; ranked # 6 in 2002 by International Documentary Association's "20 All-Time Favorite Non-Fiction Films"; voted # 44 in 2005 by Channel 4's polling of "50 Greatest Documentaries"
Epics:

Avatar (2009)
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003)
Titanic (1997)

Schindler's List (1993)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Ben-Hur (1959)
The Ten Commandments (1956)
Gone With the Wind (1939)

  • Avatar (2009) - surpassed Titanic (1997) as the highest-grossing film of all time (domestic and worldwide) until both were overtaken by Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015); also the highest-grossing (domestic) PG-13 rated action film of all time (# 1) at $760.5 million; the # 3 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2001-2003) - the highest grossing motion picture trilogy worldwide of all time; the entire trilogy received 17 Oscars from its 30 nominations; The Fellowship of the Ring - ranked the # 2 fantasy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; also ranked # 50 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; The Return of the King - the first fantasy film to ever win the top Oscar prize, and also tied a record for the total number of Academy Awards won (11), with Ben-Hur (1959) and Titanic (1997); also the # 3 action film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Schindler's List (1993) - the # 1 political-historical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 9 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 8 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 3 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008
  • Titanic (1997) - ranked # 83 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 6 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the highest-grossing PG-13 rated action film at $600.7 million (until surpassed by Avatar (2009) and Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)); ranked # 25 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills; ranked # 14 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs ("My Heart Will Go On"); record-tying for both 14 Academy Award nominations and 11 Academy Award wins; ranked # 25 in AFI's 100 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001, and ranked # 37 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions polling in 2002
  • Doctor Zhivago (1965) - the # 2 political-historical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 39 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; and ranked # 7 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions polling in 2002
  • Lawrence of Arabia (1962) - ranked # 7 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 1 epic film of all time by UK magazine's Total Film (May 2004 issue); ranked # 3 in BFI's "Favorite British Film of the 20th Century" polling taken in 1999; ranked # 5 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 18 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; voted "Best British Film of All Time" in 2004 by a London Sunday Telegraph poll of Britain's leading filmmakers; ranked # 23 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001
  • Ben-Hur (1959) - ranked the # 2 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 49 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked # 72 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; record-setting 11 Academy Award wins; ranked # 100 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
  • The Ten Commandments (1956) - ranked the # 10 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008
  • Gone With the Wind (1939) - the # 1 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 6 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 4 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 4 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 2 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions polling in 2002
Erotic-Sexual:

Showgirls (1995)
Henry & June (1990)
The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1990)

See Sexiest Films of All-Time and Sex in Cinema: History

  • Showgirls (1995), the # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) NC-17 rated film
  • Henry & June (1990), the # 2 highest-grossing (domestic) NC-17 rated film
  • The Cook, the Thief, His Wife and Her Lover (1990), the # 3 highest-grossing (domestic) NC-17 rated film
Family/Children's Film:

E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  • The BFI (British Film Institute) in mid-2005 released its Top 10 Children's Films of All-Time - these choices were considered must-see "films that all children should see by the age of 14" - it was an unranked, alphabetical list of recommendations, including three of the films listed here
  • The BFI also provided a Top Fifty List of "Must-See" Children's Films
  • 100 Children's Movies for children (ages 8-12) were recommended by The New York Times Essential Library's profile of one hundred top cinematic works, unranked, that were available on DVD or video; most of the films listed to the left were also found on their top 100 list
  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - the # 5 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the # 2 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 24 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 3 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 44 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001
  • It's a Wonderful Life (1946) - ranked # 20 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 3 fantasy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 7 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"; ranked # 8 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002; ranked # 10 in Time Out's Readers' Top 100 Poll taken in 1998; ranked # 11 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 16 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 56 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) - the # 2 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 10 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 fantasy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 6 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 15 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 32 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999
Fantasy:

Black Panther (2018)
Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Marvel's The Avengers (2012)


Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011)
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001)

Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006)
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  • Black Panther (2018) - at one time, the highest-grossing (domestic) Super-Hero film and Comic-Book Adaptation (and Marvel's Cinematic Universe film)
  • Beauty and the Beast (2017) - ranked as the # 1 Fantasy - Live Action film in terms of domestic box-office receipts (as of 2017)
  • Marvel's The Avengers (2012) - the highest-grossing (domestic and worldwide) superhero film of all time, and one of the most successful domestic films of all time - until surpassed by another Marvel comic-book adaptation
  • Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest (2006), and Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) - the top two most successful films of the series (inflation-adjusted)
  • Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001), and Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 2 (2011) - the top two most successful films of the series (inflation-adjusted)
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) - this was the first fantasy film to win the Best Picture Oscar-Academy Award; the top-ranked genre 'fantasy film' on the IMDB (as of 2017)
  • The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) - rated as the greatest fantasy movie of all time in Wired's Readers Poll in 2012; also ranked the # 2 fantasy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; and the # 2 ranked genre 'fantasy film' on the IMDB (as of 2017)
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) - ranked the # 1 fantasy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; see above also; the # 42 ranked genre 'fantasy film' on the IMDB (as of 2017)
Film Noir:

Sunset Boulevard (1950)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)

See Greatest Femme Fatales in Film Noir

  • Sin City (2005) - highest-grossing (domestic) neo-noir at $74 million
  • L.A. Confidential (1997) - highest grossing (domestic) neo-noir until 2005
  • Sunset Boulevard (1950) - ranked # 16 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 12 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 28 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 52 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time";
  • The Maltese Falcon (1941) - ranked # 31 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 6 mystery film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 23 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 24 in the Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003; ranked # 26 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked # 31 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999

Horror:
Thriller:

It (2017)
The Sixth Sense (1999)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Halloween (1978)
Jaws (1975)
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974)
The Exorcist (1973)
Psycho (1960)
Vertigo (1958)
The Third Man (1949)

  • It (2017) - at one time, the supernatural horror-thriller was the fifth-highest-grossing R-rated film of all time, and clearly one of the highest-grossing horror films of all-time
  • Saw II (2005) - the top box-office (domestic) 'torture-porn' film (at $87 million)
  • The Ring (2002) - the most successful horror remake in terms of domestic box-office (at $129 million)
  • The Sixth Sense (1999) - the most successful supernatural horror film in terms of domestic box-office (at $293.5 million) (and inflation-adjusted at $526.8 million) until surpassed in 2017 by It (2017) (at $327.5 million, unadjusted)
  • Wes Craven's Scream (1996) - the top-grossing 'slasher' horror film (at $103 million)
  • The Silence of the Lambs (1991) - the # 1 suspense/thriller film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the only 'horror-thriller' to win Best Picture; also only one of three films to win the top five Oscar Awards; ranked # 1 in AFI's 'Greatest Villains' (Dr. Hannibal Lecter); ranked # 5 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; selected by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "20 Scariest Movies of All Time" in 2004
  • A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - the # 5 horror film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Poltergeist (1982) - the # 3 horror film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Halloween (1978) - the # 2 horror film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; this low-budget horror film was the highest grossing independent film for awhile; voted Best Horror Film of All Time by readers of SFX Magazine in 2004; selected by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "20 Scariest Movies of All Time" in 2004; the # 20 ranked horror film in IMDb's top rankings of horror genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • Carrie (1976) - the # 4 horror film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Jaws (1975) - the # 2 suspense/thriller film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 2 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked # 12 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"; ranked # 48 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 52 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; selected by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "20 Scariest Movies of All Time" in 2004
  • The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) - rated # 1 in Total Film's magazine poll of the "Greatest Horror Films" in 2005
  • The Exorcist (1973) - rated as the top horror film in Rolling Stone's "10 Best Horror Movies of All Time" in 2014; also ranked as the # 1 best horror film of all time in Time Out London's polling in 2012; and voted the best horror film in HitFix's polling "The 100 Greatest Horror Films of All Time" in 2015; also, the # 1 horror film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; selected by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "20 Scariest Movies of All Time" in 2004; also the # 9 ranked horror film in IMDb's top rankings of horror genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; also the second highest-grossing (domestic) R-rated horror film of all time (at $233 million) behind It (2017)
  • Psycho (1960) - the # 3 suspense/thriller film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 14 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 1 as the "Greatest American Thriller" in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; the # 1 ranked horror film in IMDb's top rankings of horror genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 11 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"; ranked # 11 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 18 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 20 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; selected by Entertainment Weekly as one of the "20 Scariest Movies of All Time" in 2004
  • Vertigo (1958) - ranked # 9 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 7 mystery film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; four appearances in the top 10 of Sight & Sound's polling in the last 30 years and # 1 film in the 2012 ranking; also the highest ranked suspense thriller (# 3) in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 18 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked # 18 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002; ranked # 19 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 61 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
  • The Third Man (1949) - ranked the # 5 mystery film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 1 in BFI's "Favorite British Film of the 20th Century" polling taken in 1999; ranked # 30 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 57 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 65 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 75 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001

Musical and Dance:

Beauty and the Beast (2017)
Chicago (2002)
Grease (1978)
Saturday Night Fever (1977)
The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)

The Sound of Music (1965)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
West Side Story (1961)
Singin' in the Rain (1952)
The Wizard of Oz (1939)

  • Beauty and the Beast (2017) - the highest-grossing (domestic) live-action musical of all time
  • Chicago (2002) - won six Oscars, including Best Picture, the first musical to win the top honor since Oliver! (1968) - 34 years earlier; the third-highest grossing (domestic) musical of all time at $170.6 million
  • Grease (1978) - the # 2 musical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; voted # 1 in 2003 by Channel 4's polling of "100 Greatest Musicals"; ranked the # 20 Greatest Movie Musical in AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time polling in 2006; ranked # 27 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"; "Summer Nights" was ranked the # 70 song in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs polling in 2004; also the second highest-grossing (domestic) musical of all time at $188 million
  • Saturday Night Fever (1977) - ranked # 3 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"; "Stayin' Alive" was ranked the # 9 song in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs ("More Than a Woman" was in the Top 400); ranked # 41 in TV Guide's "50 Greatest Movies (On TV and Video)"; ranked # 83 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"
  • The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975) - rated as the # 1 Best Movie Musical in Rolling Stone's Readers Poll of the "5 Best Movie Musicals" in 2017 (see also Cult Films above)
  • The Sound of Music (1965) - the # 1 musical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 2 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"; voted # 2 in 2003 by Channel 4's polling of "100 Greatest Musicals"; ranked the # 4 Greatest Movie Musical in AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time polling in 2006; "The Sound of Music" was ranked the # 10 song in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs polling in 2004; it was also the all-time highest-grossing musical (inflation-adjusted) at $1.303 billion (# 3 in the rankings)
  • A Hard Day's Night (1964) - ranked # 1 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"; included in Premiere's "100 Most Daring Movies Ever Made" listing in October 1998; also noted in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999 as "Just Too Beloved to Ignore", and mentioned in many unranked Top 100 lists, including The New York Times' "100 Recommended Children's Movies", Time Magazine's "All-Time 100 Best Movies", Mr. Showbiz' "Critics' Picks: 100 Best Movies of All Time" and Movieline Magazine's "The 100 Best Movies Ever Made"
  • West Side Story (1961) - the # 5 musical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; rated as the best movie-screen musical in the UK's The Observer's newspaper polling in 2007; also ranked the # 2 Greatest Movie Musical in AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time polling in 2006; ranked # 4 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"; noted as having the most Oscar wins (10) of any musical; ranked # 3 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002; voted # 4 in 2003 by Channel 4's polling of "100 Greatest Musicals"; ranked # 41 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; "Somewhere" was ranked the # 20 song in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs polling in 2004
  • Singin' in the Rain (1952) - the # 4 musical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 5 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 Greatest Movie Musical in AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time polling in 2006; ranked the # 3 highest-rated musical in IMDb's top rankings of musical genre titles, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; voted # 6 in 2003 by Channel 4's polling of "100 Greatest Musicals"; "Singin' in the Rain" was ranked the # 3 song in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs polling in 2004; ranked # 25 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"
  • The Wizard of Oz (1939) - the # 2 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the # 3 musical film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked the # 3 Greatest Movie Musical in AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals of All Time polling in 2006; voted # 3 in 2003 by Channel 4's polling of "100 Greatest Musicals"; ranked # 5 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Best Film Soundtracks"; the highest-ranked musical (# 6) (also fantasy film and family film) in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies taken in 1998; "Over The Rainbow" was ranked the # 1 song in AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs polling in 2004; ranked # 15 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 32 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999
Romance:

The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010)
The Notebook (2004)
My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002)
Titanic (1997)

Brief Encounter (1946, UK)
Casablanca (1942)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
  • The Twilight Saga: Eclipse (2010) - all of the Twilight films (from 2008-2012) were blockbuster films in the sub-genre category of teen romance
  • The Notebook (2004) - the # 1 chick-flick in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • My Big Fat Greek Wedding (2002) - the independent sleeper movie that was the highest-grossing (domestic) romantic comedy at $241 million -- and also held honors as the top-earning movie to never reach No. 1 while in theaters
  • Titanic (1997) - rated as the most romantic film of all time by Fandango's polling in 2011; also it was the highest-grossing romantic drama of all-time, and the winner of many other accolades, including Best Picture (see above under Epics)
  • Sleepless in Seattle (1993) - the # 4 chick-flick in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Pretty Woman (1990) - the # 3 chick-flick in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011;
  • Dirty Dancing (1987) - the # 2 chick-flick in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • The Way We Were (1973) - the # 5 chick-flick in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011
  • Brief Encounter (1946, UK) - rated as the # 1 romance film in Time Out London's polling of "The 100 Best Romantic Movies" in 2013; also ranked # 2 in BFI's "Favorite British Film of the 20th Century" polling taken in 1999
  • Casablanca (1942) - the # 4 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 3 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; the # 3 ranked romance film in IMDb's top rankings of romance sub-genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 1 as the "Greatest American Love Story" in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002; ranked # 3 in BFI's "Favorite British Film of the 20th Century" polling taken in 1999; voted WGA's # 1 of the 101 Greatest Screenplays of All-Time (2005)
  • Gone With the Wind (1939) - ranked # 6 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 4 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 2 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions ranking in 2002
Science-Fiction:

Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
Avatar: The Way of Water (2022)

Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015)
Avatar (2009)
Serenity (2005)
Blade Runner (1982)
The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
Star Wars (1977)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  • Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens (2015) - the # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) science fiction adventure film of all time at the box-office
  • Avatar (2009) - the # 2 highest-grossing (domestic) science-fiction adventure film of all time at the box-office; the # 3 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; (also see Epics above); it was also the highest-grossing (domestic, and inflation-adjusted) sci-fi film - if one eliminated the Star Wars films and E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
  • Serenity (2005) - rated as # 1 sci-film film in polling by SFX Magazine in 2007
  • E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) - the # 5 best movie of all time in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the # 2 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 24 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 3 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 44 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; see also Family/Children's Films above
  • Blade Runner (1982) - ranked the # 6 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 1 in Guardian Newspapers Limited's listing of the "Top 10 Sci-Fi Films" taken in 2004; ranked # 4 in Time Out's Readers' Top 100 Poll taken in 1998; also rated # 1 in Total Film magazine's best sci-fi film poll in 2011; ranked # 8 in Film Four's compilation of the "100 Greatest Films of All Time"; ranked # 9 in Entertainment Weekly's polling of the "Top 50 Cult Movies" taken in 2003; the # 17 ranked science-fiction film in IMDb's top rankings of science-fiction genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 74 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked # 94 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; Voted the best science fiction film by a panel of scientists assembled by the British newspaper The Guardian in 2004
  • Star Wars (1977) - the # 1 science-fiction film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked # 13 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 2 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the # 5 ranked science-fiction film in IMDb's top rankings of science-fiction genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017, along with The Empire Strikes Back (1980) as the # 2 top-ranked film on the same list; voted the # 1 best science fiction film by a panel of scientists assembled by the British newspaper The Guardian in 2004; see also all its honors under "Film-Goers' Favorite Films" above
  • A Clockwork Orange (1971) - ranked the # 4 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the # 12 ranked science-fiction film in IMDb's top rankings of science-fiction genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) - rated as the # 1 science-fiction film of all-time in Time Out London's polling on "The 100 Best Sci-Fi Movies" in 2014; it also topped the Readers Poll of "The 10 Best Science Fiction Movies" taken by Rolling Stone in 2014; also ranked # 15 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 science-fiction film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the highest ranked science-fiction film (# 11) in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 2 in Guardian Newspapers Limited's listing of the "Top 10 Sci-Fi Films" taken in 2004; the # 13 ranked science-fiction film in IMDb's top rankings of science-fiction genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 11 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; also rated as the # 1 best science fiction film of all time by the Online Film Critics Society's (OFCS) polling of "Top 100 Sci-Fi Films" in 2002; ranked # 22 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 26 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; voted the second-best science fiction film by a panel of scientists assembled by the British newspaper The Guardian in 2004; and it was the sole sci-fi film to appear in the top 10 of Sight & Sound's Critics' Poll for "The 10 Best Movies" in 2002 and 2012

Sexual Films:

Carol (2015)
Brokeback Mountain (2005)

  • Carol (2015) - ranked as the top LGBT film in the British Film Institute's (BFI) polling of "The 30 Best LGBT Films of All Time" in 2016
  • Brokeback Mountain (2005) - ranked as the # 1 LGBT film in Time Out London's polling of "The 50 Best Gay Movies" in 2016
Silent Films:

Modern Times (1936)
City Lights (1931)
Sunrise (1927)
The Big Parade (1925)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)
The Birth of a Nation (1915)

See Greatest Silent Films

  • The Artist (2011) - Best Picture winner, and 'almost silent'
  • Modern Times (1936) - one of the last true 'silent' films; ranked # 33 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; the # 9 ranked comedy film in IMDb's top rankings of comedy genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • City Lights (1931) - ranked # 11 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 38 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000; the # 4 ranked comedy film in IMDb's top rankings of comedy genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • Sunrise (1927) - although Wings (1927) won the Best Production award (now termed Best Picture), Sunrise won the equally prestigious Best Unique and Artistic Picture award - a second 'Best Picture' category that was discontinued after the first year
  • The Big Parade (1925) - the highest grossing silent film of all time
  • Battleship Potemkin (1925, Soviet Union) - often recognized as one of the best silent films of all time
  • The Birth of a Nation (1915) - the highest ranked silent film (# 44) in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 14 in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 44 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
Sports:

The Blind Side (2009)
Hoop Dreams (1994)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Bull Durham (1988)
Raging Bull (1980)
Rocky (1976)
  • The Blind Side (2009) - the # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) box-office sports-related drama film (and football sports film) of all time; also the first over $200 million (domestic-grossing) hit marketed with a sole actress' name above the title (Best Actress-winning Sandra Bullock)
  • Hoop Dreams (1994) - named the Best Film of the decade (1990's) by noted critic Roger Ebert; ranked # 3 in Total Film's '25 Greatest Sports Movies'; ranked # 4 in Sports Illustrated's '50 Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 8 in Palm Beach (Fla.) Post's 'Top 50 Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 13 in ESPN's 'Top 20 Sports Movies of All Time'
  • Field of Dreams (1989) - ranked the # 6 fantasy film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 5 in Total Film's 25 Greatest Sports Movies; ranked # 7 in Palm Beach (Fla.) Post's 'Top 50 Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 7 in ESPN's 'Top 20 Sports Movies of All Time'; ranked # 17 in Entertainment Weekly's '30 Best Sports Movies on DVD'; ranked # 28 in AFI's '100 Years...100 Cheers'; ranked # 38 in Sports Illustrated's '50 Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time'
  • Bull Durham (1988) - ranked the # 5 sports film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 1 in Sports Illustrated's '50 Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 1 in ESPN's 'Top 20 Sports Movies of All Time'; ranked # 3 in Palm Beach (Fla.) Post's 'Top 50 Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 5 in Entertainment Weekly's '30 Best Sports Movies on DVD'; # 12 in Total Film's '25 Greatest Sports Movies'; ranked # 24 in O Magazine's '50 Greatest Chick Flicks'; ranked # 97 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs ranking in 2000
  • Raging Bull (1980) - ranked # 4 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 sports film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; Voted by American film critics as the best film of the decade (1980's); ranked # 1 in Entertainment Weekly's '30 Best Sports Movies on DVD'; the # 4 ranked sports film in IMDb's top rankings of sports sub-genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 2 in Palm Beach (Fla.) Post's 'Top 50 Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 3 in Sports Illustrated's '50 Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 3 in ESPN's 'Top 20 Sports Movies of All Time'; ranked # 4 in Total Film's 'Greatest Sports Movies'; ranked # 5 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 6 in Rolling Stone's 'Maverick Movies'; ranked # 7 in Time Out's Centenary Top 100 Films; ranked # 14 in Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003; ranked # 17 in Empire Magazine's '100 Greatest Movies of All Time'; ranked # 20 in Film Four's '100 Greatest Films of All Time'; ranked # 20 in TV Guide's '50 Greatest Movies'; ranked # 22 in Maxim's '100 Greatest Guy Movies Ever Made'; ranked # 24 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998
  • Rocky (1976) - ranked the # 2 sports film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 1 in Total Film's '25 Greatest Sports Movies'; ranked # 1 in Palm Beach (Fla.) Post's 'Top 50 Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 2 in ESPN's 'Top 20 Sports Movies of All Time'; ranked # 2 in Sports Illustrated's '50 Greatest Sports Movies of All-Time'; ranked # 4 in Entertainment Weekly's '30 Best Sports Movies on DVD'; ranked # 7 in AFI's 'Greatest Heroes' (Rocky Balboa); the # 8 ranked sports film in IMDb's top rankings of sports sub-genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 10 in the Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003; ranked # 14 in Maxim's '100 Greatest Guy Movies Ever Made'; ranked # 52 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; ranked # 78 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998; ranked # 78 in WGA's '101 Greatest (Film) Screenplays of All-Time'
War:

The Hurt Locker (2009)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler's List (1993)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

Battleship Potemkin (1925)

See Greatest War Films

  • The Hurt Locker (2009) - with nine Oscar nominations and six Oscar wins, including Best Picture, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Director (the first Oscar win for a female director, Kathryn Bigelow)
  • Saving Private Ryan (1998) - ranked the # 8 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 1 in 2005 and 2008 in the Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest War Films"; the # 2 ranked war-related film in IMDb's top rankings of war genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; it was most definitely the highest-grossing WWII film of all-time
  • Schindler's List (1993) - ranked # 8 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 3 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 4 in 2005 in the Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest War Films"
  • Apocalypse Now (1979) - ranked # 30 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 2 in 2005 in the Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest War Films"; the # 4 ranked war-related film in IMDb's top rankings of war genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) - ranked # 10 in 2005 in the Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest War Films"; ranked # 11 in BFI's "Favorite British Film of the 20th Century" polling taken in 1999; ranked # 13 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 46 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 48 in the Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003; ranked # 58 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills polling in 2001; the # 26 ranked war-related film in IMDb's top rankings of war genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) - ranked the # 7 epic film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; Received Best Picture Oscar; ranked # 54 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies, ranked # 33 in 2005 in the Channel 4 poll of the "100 Greatest War Films"
  • Battleship Potemkin (1925, Soviet Union) - see earlier in "Foreign Language Films" and "Silent Films"
  • The Battle of Algiers (1966, It.) (aka La Battaglia Di Algeri), often considered one of the greatest war films ever made
Westerns:

True Grit (2012)
Unforgiven (1992)
Dances With Wolves (1990)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
The Wild Bunch (1969)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966)
The Searchers (1956)
Johnny Guitar (1954)
Shane (1953)
High Noon (1952)

Stagecoach (1939)

See Greatest Westerns

  • True Grit (2012) - the #1 highest-grossing (domestic) western to date
  • Unforgiven (1992) - the # 4 western film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; ranked the # 4 western film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; with the second most Oscar wins (4) and nominations (9) of any western in film history; also one of three westerns that won the Academy Award for Best Picture; the # 6 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 25 in the Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003
  • Dances With Wolves (1990) - the # 2 western film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the highest-grossing (domestic) western of all time, and also with the most Oscar wins (7) and nominations (12) of any western in film history; one of only three westerns to win the Best Picture Academy Award; the # 11 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 75 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
  • Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) - the # 1 western film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the # 8 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • The Wild Bunch (1969) - the # 15 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked the # 6 western film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; ranked # 23 in the Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003; ranked # 57 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; ranked # 79 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked # 80 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
  • Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) - the # 2 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1966) - the # 3 western film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the highest-ranked # 1 western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • The Magnificent Seven (1960) - the # 5 western film in ABC-TV's "The Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time" in 2011; the # 22 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • The Searchers (1956) - ranked # 12 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 1 western film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the highest ranked western film (# 4) in the Village Voice's listing of the '100 Best Films of 20th Century'; ranked # 13 in Entertainment Weekly's "100 Greatest Movies of All Time" book published in 1999; the # 14 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 31 in the Men's Journal's listing of "The 50 Best Guy Movies of All Time" taken in 2003; ranked # 96 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; most often mentioned in a poll of the favorite films of directors by German language Steadycam Magazine
  • Johnny Guitar (1954) - often on 10 best western lists
  • Shane (1953) - ranked the # 3 western film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; also ranked # 45 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; the # 25 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017
  • High Noon (1952) - ranked # 27 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary edition) polling in 2007, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; ranked the # 2 western film in AFI's 10 Top 10 polling in 2008; the highest ranked western film (#33) in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies; the # 13 ranked western in IMDb's top rankings of western genre films, voted upon by site visitors in 2017; ranked # 33 in AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies polling in 1998, a list of the 100 greatest English-language movies
  • Stagecoach (1939) - often regarded as one of the best westerns of all-time

Zombie:

World War Z (2013)

  • World War Z (2013) - the # 1 highest-grossing (domestic) zombie film of all-time, according to boxofficemojo.com


Previous Page Next Page