What’s the greatest movie of all time? This is likely one debate that will rage on forever. This is due in part to evolving tastes, technology, and trends in cinema. While some cinephiles consider classics such as “City Lights” (1931) or “Casablanca” (1942) as the height of the medium, many fans are more appreciative of newer Hollywood productions.
Attempting to answer this question and find the 50 best films of all time, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed movie ratings as decided by critics and general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and Internet Movie Database. Because moviegoers have diverse tastes, the best movies of all time are just as diverse.There is at least one title in the top 25 to represent each decade since the 1920s. Nearly every existing genre is included. The list also includes relatively small indie pictures, such as “Whiplash” (2014), as well as major studio films, like 2002’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers.”
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In letting the general online public decide the best movies, films heavily promoted in the United States have a better chance in the ranking and some great films will undoubtedly be passed over for works with wider appeal. For instance, the list does not include a single international production. Yet it includes two films from the wildly popular Star Wars franchise.
Click here to see the 50 best movies of all time.
To determine the best movies of all time, 24/7 Wall St. created an index based on each film’s Rotten Tomatoes average critic rating, Rotten Tomatoes average audience rating, and Internet Movie Database average user rating. To be considered, each film needed to have at least 5,000 Rotten Tomatoes user ratings, 10 approved tomatometer critic reviews, and 10,000 IMDb user ratings.
We averaged the user ratings from Rotten Tomatoes and IMDb and weighted by the number of votes for each. The combined user rating was then averaged with the Rotten Tomatoes critic rating. Movies released in 2017 were excluded.
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
50. Raging Bull
> Released: 1980
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci
> Awards won: 24
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Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
49. Aliens
> Released: 1986
> Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn, Carrie Henn
> Awards won: 20
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Source: Distributed by Miramax Films
48. Reservoir Dogs
> Released: 1992
> Starring: Harvey Keitel, Tim Roth, Michael Madsen
> Awards won: 9
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
47. WALL·E
> Released: 2008
> Starring: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin
> Awards won: 90
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Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
46. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
> Released: 1948
> Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt
> Awards won: 15
Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics
45. Whiplash
> Released: 2014
> Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist
> Awards won: 91
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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
44. Some Like It Hot
> Released: 1959
> Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon
> Awards won: 10
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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
43. Double Indemnity
> Released: 1944
> Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
> Awards won: 2
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
42. Taxi Driver
> Released: 1976
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
> Awards won: 21
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Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
41. Vertigo
> Released: 1958
> Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
> Awards won: 8
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
40. On the Waterfront
> Released: 1954
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb
> Awards won: 29
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Source: Courtesy of DreamWorks Pictures
39. Saving Private Ryan
> Released: 1998
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore
> Awards won: 79
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
38. Inception
> Released: 2010
> Starring: Leonardo DiCaprio, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Ellen Page
> Awards won: 156
Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
37. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
> Released: 2001
> Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Orlando Bloom
> Awards won: 117
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Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures
36. The Silence of the Lambs
> Released: 1991
> Starring: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney
> Awards won: 54
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
35. Chinatown
> Released: 1974
> Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
> Awards won: 21
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Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
34. Lawrence of Arabia
> Released: 1962
> Starring: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
> Awards won: 30
Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
33. Alien
> Released: 1979
> Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt
> Awards won: 17
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
32. The Great Dictator
> Released: 1940
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie
> Awards won: 6
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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
31. North by Northwest
> Released: 1959
> Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
> Awards won: 8
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
30. Singin’ in the Rain
> Released: 1952
> Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds
> Awards won: 5
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Source: Courtesy of United Artists
29. Paths of Glory
> Released: 1957
> Starring: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou
> Awards won: 4
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Source: Courtesy of New Line Cinema
28. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
> Released: 2002
> Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Viggo Mortensen
> Awards won: 119
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
27. Apocalypse Now
> Released: 1979
> Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
> Awards won: 20
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Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
26. All About Eve
> Released: 1950
> Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
> Awards won: 23
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
25. It’s a Wonderful Life
> Released: 1946
> Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
> Awards won: 6
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Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox
24. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
> Released: 1977
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
> Awards won: 56
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
23. Psycho
> Released: 1960
> Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
> Awards won: 4
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
22. Rear Window
> Released: 1954
> Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
> Awards won: 6
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Source: Courtesy of United Artists
21. Modern Times
> Released: 1936
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman
> Awards won: 4
Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
20. Toy Story 3
> Released: 2010
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack
> Awards won: 60
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Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures
19. Citizen Kane
> Released: 1941
> Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore
> Awards won: 10
Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
18. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
> Released: 1964
> Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
> Awards won: 13
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
17. Once Upon a Time in the West
> Released: 1968
> Starring: Henry Fonda, Charles Bronson, Claudia Cardinale
> Awards won: 4
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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
16. Raiders of the Lost Ark
> Released: 1981
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
> Awards won: 34
Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn Pictures
15. Sherlock Jr.
> Released: 1924
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton
> Awards won: 1
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Source: Courtesy of United Artists
14. City Lights
> Released: 1931
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee
> Awards won: 3
Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
13. Casablanca
> Released: 1942
> Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
> Awards won: 8
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
12. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
> Released: 1966
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef
> Awards won: 1
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Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox
11. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back
> Released: 1980
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
> Awards won: 22
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
10. Sunset Blvd.
> Released: 1950
> Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
> Awards won: 18
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Source: Courtesy of United Artists
9. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
> Released: 1975
> Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman
> Awards won: 35
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Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
8. Goodfellas
> Released: 1990
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
> Awards won: 38
Source: Courtesy of United Artists
7. 12 Angry Men
> Released: 1957
> Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam
> Awards won: 16
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Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures
6. The Dark Knight
> Released: 2008
> Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart
> Awards won: 153
Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures
5. Schindler’s List
> Released: 1993
> Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley
> Awards won: 79
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Source: Courtesy of Miramax Films
4. Pulp Fiction
> Released: 1994
> Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
> Awards won: 61
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Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures
3. The Shawshank Redemption
> Released: 1994
> Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton
> Awards won: 19
Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
2. The Godfather: Part II
> Released: 1974
> Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall
> Awards won: 16
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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures
1. The Godfather
> Released: 1972
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
> Awards won: 26
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