Special Report

50 Best Movies of All Time

Charles Stockdale

Published: August 2, 2018 5:39 pm

Last Updated: January 11, 2020 7:57 pm

No industry likes to bestow its own with awards and prizes than the film industry. Each year, seemingly endless film festivals and award shows grant prizes for the “best” pictures and exemplary achievements by the people who work on the countless movies produced each year.

And while it may appear to be an impossible task to determine which movies are the best in such a vast, somewhat subjective artistic field, there are undeniably certain films that audiences connect with more than others.

In determining the 50 best movies of all time, 24/7 Wall St. reviewed movie ratings as decided by critics and general audiences on Rotten Tomatoes and Internet Movie Database. This resulting list of films therefore contains both critical darlings of the film world as well as movies that have wide audience appeal, such as the eternal fan favorite, “Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back.”

Click here to see the 50 best movies of all time.
Click here to see our methodology.

The greatest movies of all time list contains films released in every decade since the 1920s. The most popular decade for films on the list is the 1950s, during which 12 movies were released, including “Singin’ in the Rain,” “On the Waterfront,” and “12 Angry Men.” The second most frequent time period is the 1970s, often referred to as “New Hollywood.” This decade includes movies like “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” and “Chinatown.”

There are also eight directors who managed to have more than one of their films on this list. Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese, Francis Ford Coppola, and Billy Wilder each have three. Charlie Chaplin and Alfred Hitchcock do even better with four each.

Some of the movies by directors with only one film on the list were actually not successful upon first release. Charles Laughton’s “The Night of the Hunter” was a critical and commercial failure when it came out in 1955. Frank Capra’s “It’s a Wonderful Life” – now considered a beloved classic – also lost money at the box office. Time has vindicated these once misunderstood masterpieces.

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

50. Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)
> Genre: Action, comedy, drama
> Directed by: Charles Reisner, Buster Keaton
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Tom McGuire, Ernest Torrence

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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

49. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
> Genre: Adventure, sci-fi
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
> Starring: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

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Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

48. Alien (1979)
> Genre: Horror, sci-fi
> Directed by: Ridley Scott
> Starring: Sigourney Weaver, Tom Skerritt, John Hurt

Source: Courtesy of Fox Searchlight Pictures

47. 12 Years a Slave (2013)
> Genre: Biography, drama, history
> Directed by: Steve McQueen
> Starring: Chiwetel Ejiofor, Michael Kenneth Williams, Michael Fassbender

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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

46. Vertigo (1958)
> Genre: Mystery, romance, thriller
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
> Starring: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

45. Raging Bull (1980)
> Genre: Biography, drama, sport
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci

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Source: Courtesy of United Artists

44. The Gold Rush (1925)
> Genre: Adventure, comedy, drama
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

43. It Happened One Night (1934)
> Genre: Comedy, romance
> Directed by: Frank Capra
> Starring: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

42. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
> Genre: Crime, drama, film-noir
> Directed by: Charles Laughton
> Starring: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish

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Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

41. The Last Picture Show (1971)
> Genre: Drama
> Directed by: Peter Bogdanovich
> Starring: Timothy Bottoms, Jeff Bridges, Cybill Shepherd

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

40. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
> Genre: Drama, family, fantasy
> Directed by: Frank Capra
> Starring: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore

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Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

39. Inside Out (2015)
> Genre: Animation, adventure, comedy
> Directed by: Pete Docter, Ronnie Del Carmen
> Starring: Amy Poehler, Bill Hader, Lewis Black

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

38. Taxi Driver (1976)
> Genre: Crime, drama
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

37. Some Like It Hot (1959)
> Genre: Comedy, romance
> Directed by: Billy Wilder
> Starring: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon

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Source: Courtesy of Fox Film Corporation

36. Sunrise (1927)
> Genre: Drama, romance
> Directed by: F.W. Murnau
> Starring: George O’Brien, Janet Gaynor, Margaret Livingston

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

35. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
> Genre: Comedy, musical, romance
> Directed by: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly
> Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds

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Source: Courtesy of Sony Pictures Classics

34. Whiplash (2014)
> Genre: Drama, music
> Directed by: Damien Chazelle
> Starring: Miles Teller, J.K. Simmons, Melissa Benoist

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

33. Apocalypse Now (1979)
> Genre: Drama, war
> Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
> Starring: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

32. The General (1926)
> Genre: Action, adventure, comedy
> Directed by: Clyde Bruckman, Buster Keaton
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Marion Mack, Glen Cavender

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Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

31. Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
> Genre: Action, adventure, fantasy
> Directed by: Irvin Kershner
> Starring: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures

30. Toy Story 3 (2010)
> Genre: Animation, adventure, comedy
> Directed by: Lee Unkrich
> Starring: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Joan Cusack

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Source: Courtesy of The Criterion Collection

29. The Great Dictator (1940)
> Genre: Comedy, drama, war
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Jack Oakie

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Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

28. North by Northwest (1959)
> Genre: Adventure, mystery, thriller
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
> Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

27. Double Indemnity (1944)
> Genre: Crime, drama, film-noir
> Directed by: Billy Wilder
> Starring: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

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Source: Courtesy of United Artists

26. Paths of Glory (1957)
> Genre: Drama, war
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
> Starring: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

25. Rear Window (1954)
> Genre: Mystery, thriller
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
> Starring: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey

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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

24. Psycho (1960)
> Genre: Horror, mystery, thriller
> Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
> Starring: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles

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Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

23. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
> Genre: Adventure, drama, war
> Directed by: David Lean
> Starring: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

22. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
> Genre: Action, adventure
> Directed by: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

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Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

21. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
> Genre: Adventure, drama, western
> Directed by: John Huston
> Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

20. On the Waterfront (1954)
> Genre: Crime, drama, thriller
> Directed by: Elia Kazan
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb

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Source: Courtesy of United Artists

19. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
> Genre: Western
> Directed by: Sergio Leone
> Starring: Clint Eastwood, Eli Wallach, Lee Van Cleef

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Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

18. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
> Genre: Drama
> Directed by: Frank Darabont
> Starring: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures Corporation

17. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
> Genre: Comedy
> Directed by: Stanley Kubrick
> Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden

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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

16. Chinatown (1974)
> Genre: Drama, mystery, thriller
> Directed by: Roman Polanski
> Starring: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

15. The Dark Knight (2008)
> Genre: Action, crime, drama
> Directed by: Christopher Nolan
> Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart

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Source: Courtesy of United Artists

14. Modern Times (1936)
> Genre: Comedy, drama, family
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

13. Casablanca (1942)
> Genre: Drama, romance, war
> Directed by: Michael Curtiz
> Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

12. All About Eve (1950)
> Genre: Drama
> Directed by: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
> Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders

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Source: Courtesy of United Artists

11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
> Genre: Drama
> Directed by: Milos Forman
> Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

10. Goodfellas (1990)
> Genre: Crime, drama
> Directed by: Martin Scorsese
> Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci

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Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

9. Citizen Kane (1941)
> Genre: Drama, mystery
> Directed by: Orson Welles
> Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

8. Pulp Fiction (1994)
> Genre: Crime, drama
> Directed by: Quentin Tarantino
> Starring: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

7. City Lights (1931)
> Genre: Comedy, drama, romance
> Directed by: Charles Chaplin
> Starring: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee

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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

6. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
> Genre: Drama, film-noir
> Directed by: Billy Wilder
> Starring: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

5. Schindler’s List (1993)
> Genre: Biography, drama, history
> Directed by: Steven Spielberg
> Starring: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley

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Source: Courtesy of United Artists

4. 12 Angry Men (1957)
> Genre: Crime, drama
> Directed by: Sidney Lumet
> Starring: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, Martin Balsam

Source: Courtesy of Metro Pictures Corporation

3. Sherlock Jr. (1924)
> Genre: Action, comedy, romance
> Directed by: Buster Keaton
> Starring: Buster Keaton, Kathryn McGuire, Joe Keaton

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

2. The Godfather (1972)
> Genre: Crime, drama
> Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
> Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

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Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

1. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
> Genre: Crime, drama
> Directed by: Francis Ford Coppola
> Starring: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall

Methodology:

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.