List of movies that have been considered the greatest ever - Definition and Overview

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

• Citizen Kane: Influential critic Roger Ebert has stated that he considers it the best film ever; selected as number one for the last 40 years in (five consecutive wins) Sight & Sound's poll of film critics. Number one in a Village Voice critics' poll. Number one in a Time Out critics poll in 1995. Listed as greatest film ever by the American Film Institute in 1998.
• La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game): French masterpiece by Jean Renoir. Number two in the Village Voice poll. Along with Battleship Potemkin, one of only two films to have appeared in every one of Sight and Sound's 10-yearly polls (six occurrences).
• Броненосец Потёмкин (Battleship Potemkin): for many years generally considered the greatest film ever; voted as such by a panel of experts at the 1958 World's Fair.
• Ladri di Biciclette (The Bicycle Thief): voted top film in a Sight & Sound magazine poll in 1952.
• The Searchers: Most often mentioned favorite film in a poll of directors by German language steadycam magazine.

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 (1942): 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 (1977): By readers of Empire magazine in November 2001. Also by voters in a FilmFour poll.

Films that have received the most Academy Awards

• Ben-Hur: Held record for the most Academy Awards ever (11 Oscars) for 38 years
• Titanic (1997): Winner of 11 Academy Awards.
• The Return of the King (2003): The third film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy won 11 Academy Awards

Biggest box office successes

Worldwide highest grossing films

1. Titanic (1997): Currently the highest grossing film ever. It has taken $1.834bn in box office reciepts.
2. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) $1.119bn
3. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (2001) $976.5m
4. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers(2002) $926.3m
5. Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) $924.5m
6. Shrek 2 (2004) $917.4m
7. Jurassic Park (1993) $914.7m
8. Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (2002) $876.7m
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) $871.4m
10. Finding Nemo (2003) $864.6m

Prior highest-grossing films

• The Birth of a Nation (1915): Highest-grossing film until 1925. Director D.W. Griffiths said in 1929 that the film had taken $10m worldwide. This has been reported as both an under-estimate and an over-estimate.
• The Big Parade (1925). The highest grossing silent film of all time, taking $22m world wide.
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937): Highest grossing until 1939. Total gross $185m.
• Gone With the Wind (1939): Highest grossing until 1966, when it was overtaken by the Sound of Music. Following a re-release in 1971, Gone With The Wind retook the lead for a further year. Current total gross $309.5m.
• The Sound of Music (1965): Highest gross from August 1966 until the re-issue of Gone With The Wind in 1971. Current total gross £163m.
• The Godfather (1972): Highest grossing until 1975. Current total gross £245m.
• Jaws (1975): Highest grossing until 1977. Current total gross $470m.
• Star Wars (1977): Highest grossing until January 1983. Current total gross $798m
• E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982): Highest grossing until 1993. Current total gross $757m. Star Wars did not overtake ET until its re-release in 1997, by which time Jurassic Park had landed the top slot.
• Jurassic Park (1993): Highest grossing until 1997. Current total gross $920m.

Highest USA grossing film adjusted for inflation

By adjusting for inflated ticket prices, the popularity of films released at different times can be compared. This list estimates the number of admissions for each film by using the average ticket price at the time of each release [1] (http://www.boxofficemojo.com/alltime/adjusted.htm).

1. Gone With the Wind (1939): nine Academy Awards, National Film Registry, when adjusted for inflation is still the highest grossing film ever. The film has had at least four substantial releases (in 1939, 1954, 1961 and 1971). The adjusted for inflation value of these releases is $3.8bn (2004 dollars).
2. Star Wars (1977)
3. The Sound of Music (1965)
4. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
5. The Ten Commandments (1956)
6. Titanic (1997)
7. Jaws (1975)
8. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
9. The Exorcist (1973)
10. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Films that are considered among the greatest in their particular genre

Animation (North American)

• Beauty and the Beast (1991) is the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, a decade prior to the Academy establishing a separate Best Animated Feature category.
• The Lion King (1994) is the highest-grossing "traditional" (hand-drawn) animated film of all time; it was the highest-grossing animated film ever until being surpassed in 2003 by the computer animated film Finding Nemo.

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.

Comedy

• Some Like It Hot was listed Best Comedy by the American Film Institute in June 2000.
• Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb is listed as Best Comedy by the IMDb's list of Top Rated "Comedy" Titles.

Computer animation

• Shrek (2001) was the first film to win the Academy Award for Best Animated Feature, a category introduced in 2002.
• Shrek 2 (2004) is the highest grossing animated film of all time, computerized or not.
• Finding Nemo (2003) was the first computer-generated motion picture to outgross The Lion King as the highest-grossing animated film of all time, until it was surpassed the next year by Shrek 2.

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). [2] (http://www.documentary.org)
• Fahrenheit 9/11: Documentary by Michael Moore, highest grossing documentary of all time (2004 - Current), earning over $100 million. Only documentary to top the US weekend box office. First documentary in 48 years to win the Palme D'or at Cannes.
• The Thin Blue Line: Errol Morris' 1985 film has long been considered one of the greatest documentaries ever made. It is actually credited with not only solving a murder case, but also as the major factor in freeing an innocent man from death row in Texas. It was voted number 2 in the International Documentary Associations' Top Twenty Documentaries of All Time (http://www.lib.cwu.edu/media/intnationaldoc20.htm). Morris' film Fast, Cheap and Out of Control comes in at number 14, making him the only film-maker, other than the now-popular Michael Moore, to have two films on the list. Additionally, The Thin Blue Line was admitted into the US National Film Registry in 2001.
• Gates of Heaven: Errol Morris' first film (1978). Following the lives of various pet owners in California as a pet cemetary closes down, forcing some 200 pets to be relocated, Gates of Heaven was called one of the ten greatest films of all time by Roger Ebert.

Epic

• Lawrence of Arabia Voted best epic by readers of Total Film in May 2004. See also: United Kingdom.

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.

Musical

• The Wizard of Oz The highest ranked musical on AFI's list of the 100 best American films and the Village Voice list of the 100 best films of the 20th century .
• Singin' in the Rain The highest rated movie musical at the IMDb.
• West Side Story Winner of the most Academy Awards of any movie musical (10).

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.
• Blade Runner - Initially avoided by audiences put off by the dark, ambiguous and complex story it gained in popularity and has become a cult classic. Directed by Ridley Scott based on a Philip K. Dick story Blade Runner received wide acclaim from critics intrigued by the beautiful noir/cyberpunk setting and challenging subject matter. It has served as a benchmark for science fiction films ever since. [3] (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/554921.stm) [4] (http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/blade_runner_the_directors_cut/)

War

• Jeux Interdits (Forbidden Games) - Critic Leonard Maltin said: "Jeux interdits is almost unquestionably the most compelling and intensely poignant drama featuring young children ever filmed."

Western

• The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is listed as Best Western by the IMDb's list of Top Rated "Western" Titles.
• The Searchers was voted the greatest Western of all time by Entertainment Weekly. See also: films acclaimed by critics and filmmakers.

In particular countries

Canada

• Mon oncle Antoine: A poll of critics at the 1984 Toronto International Film Festival and again at the 1993 and 2004 festivals named this the greatest Canadian film of all time.
• Un Zoo la Nuit: Winner of the most Genie Awards with 13.

France

• Les Enfants du Paradis (Children of Paradise): Voted "Best French Film of the Century" in a poll of 600 French critics and professionals in the late 1990s.
• La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game): see films acclaimed by critics and filmmakers.

Japan

• 羅生門 - Rashōmon: This 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa was the first Japanese film to gain world-wide acclaim. The highest ranked Japanese film (#10) on the Village Voice list of 100 Best Films of the 20th Century.
• 七人の侍 - Shichinin no samurai (The Seven Samurai), 1954: Also by Kurosawa, this adventure film is frequently cited as the greatest Japanese film ever; consistently the highest-rated foreign-made (outside of the United States) film on the IMDb Top 250 (ranked #5 as of August 2004).

United Kingdom

• Lawrence of Arabia Voted "best British film of all time" in August of 2004 by a London Sunday Telegraph poll of Britain's leading filmmakers. See also: Epic.
• The Third Man: Voted best British film ever by members of the British Film Institute in 1999.

United States

• Citizen Kane: voted the best American film ever by the American Film Institute

See also

• List of highest-grossing films
• List of movie-related topics
• List of movies that have been considered the worst ever
• Banned films

Lists of great films

• List of films preserved in the United States National Film Registry
• AFI List of top 100 American movies
• BFI List of top 100 British movies (http://www.bfi.org.uk/features/bfi100/)
• IMDb Top 250 (http://imdb.com/top_250_films)
• Channel 4 poll: 100 Greatest Films (http://www.channel4.com/film/newsfeatures/microsites/G/greatest/results/control.jsp?resultspage=01)
• Sight and Sound magazine best films of all time polls (http://www.filmsite.org/sightsound.html)
• Village Voice 100 Best films of the 20th century list (http://www.filmsite.org/villvoice.html)
• Links to more lists (http://www.filmsite.org/greatlists2.html)