The Greatest Movies of All Time
Just my opinion on what I think are the greatest films of all time. I'll try and put the ones I like best at the top, but don't assume that just because one is in front of another that I liked one exceptionally more. I will continue to refine and develop this list as I watch more films.
List activity
1.4K views
• 0 this weekCreate a new list
List your movie, TV & celebrity picks.
27 titles
- DirectorGeorge LucasStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherLuke Skywalker joins forces with a Jedi Knight, a cocky pilot, a Wookiee and two droids to save the galaxy from the Empire's world-destroying battle station, while also attempting to rescue Princess Leia from the mysterious Darth Vader.Every line is quotable, every scene is memorable. A swashbuckling space opera with revolutionary special effects and legendary characters. Dances in the imagination of the children who watch it; I should know, I was one of them once. Arguably the greatest film of all time.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsMatthew McConaugheyAnne HathawayJessica ChastainWhen Earth becomes uninhabitable in the future, a farmer and ex-NASA pilot, Joseph Cooper, is tasked to pilot a spacecraft, along with a team of researchers, to find a new planet for humans.An incredibly powerful and ambitious film from the best director in Hollywood, Christopher Nolan. As the credits began to roll, I was nearly in tears.
- DirectorMichael MannStarsAl PacinoRobert De NiroVal KilmerA group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.A directorial masterpiece. Michael Mann makes fantastic use of character, story, tension and gunfire in a crime epic set in L.A. Pacino, DeNiro and Kilmer display their prowess, and the film's emotional atmosphere adds another level to its depth.
- DirectorFrank DarabontStarsTim RobbinsMorgan FreemanBob GuntonOver the course of several years, two convicts form a friendship, seeking consolation and, eventually, redemption through basic compassion.It's one of the most rewarding films that a person can watch. The characters are sincere and the story is continuously engaging as it moves through Andy Dufresne's multi-decade prison life. That's really all there is to it.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsTom HanksMatt DamonTom SizemoreFollowing the Normandy Landings, a group of U.S. soldiers go behind enemy lines to retrieve a paratrooper whose brothers have been killed in action.A frighteningly realistic war film that dismisses any glorification that other war films exhibit. There are no superheroes in Saving Private Ryan, nor are there any real villains. Leaves the viewer with images and thoughts that never leave the mind.
- DirectorIrvin KershnerStarsMark HamillHarrison FordCarrie FisherAfter the Rebel Alliance are overpowered by the Empire, Luke Skywalker begins his Jedi training with Yoda, while his friends are pursued across the galaxy by Darth Vader and bounty hunter Boba Fett.I actually consider this to be the best of all the Star Wars films, but I ranked it lower because of the importance of the original film. The edgiest in the series until "Revenge of the Sith", "Empire" is a brilliant sci-fi adventure that ventured into darker territory.
- DirectorLana WachowskiLilly WachowskiStarsKeanu ReevesLaurence FishburneCarrie-Anne MossWhen a beautiful stranger leads computer hacker Neo to a forbidding underworld, he discovers the shocking truth--the life he knows is the elaborate deception of an evil cyber-intelligence.One half kung-fu special effects extravaganza, one half philosophical and ethics issue, The Matrix is the ultimate sci-fi action experience; I have never seen a film with a better concept than this.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsJohn TravoltaUma ThurmanSamuel L. JacksonThe lives of two mob hitmen, a boxer, a gangster and his wife, and a pair of diner bandits intertwine in four tales of violence and redemption.Not only is it a film for the 90s, it's a film for the 2000s, the 2010s and beyond. Tarantino has packed so many memorable moments into this film, both big and small. Whether it be an adrenaline needle to the heart or a conversation about french burgers, the film is pure quotable gold.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsLiam NeesonRalph FiennesBen KingsleyIn German-occupied Poland during World War II, industrialist Oskar Schindler gradually becomes concerned for his Jewish workforce after witnessing their persecution by the Nazis.It's remarkable how a story about one of humanity's darkest and most well known atrocities can still disturb and rivet us. One man slowly comes to terms with his own conscience as he saves the lives of over 1000 Jews.
- DirectorQuentin TarantinoStarsBrad PittDiane KrugerEli RothIn Nazi-occupied France during World War II, a plan to assassinate Nazi leaders by a group of Jewish U.S. soldiers coincides with a theatre owner's vengeful plans for the same.In typical Tarantino fashion, what we have here is the best dialogue that you'll pay to see in a movie theatre. I know it must seem strange that I'm contrasting films that portray war as it really was with a film that kind of (just a little bit) revisits the "golden age" of war movies... but you'll have to bear with me. Christoph Waltz portrays one of the best villains ever and the movie is 150 minutes of what everybody loves to see: killin' Nazis.
- DirectorClint EastwoodStarsClint EastwoodGene HackmanMorgan FreemanRetired Old West gunslinger William Munny reluctantly takes on one last job, with the help of his old partner Ned Logan and a young man, The "Schofield Kid."Long live Clint Eastwood.
- DirectorChristopher NolanStarsChristian BaleHeath LedgerAaron EckhartWhen the menace known as the Joker wreaks havoc and chaos on the people of Gotham, Batman must accept one of the greatest psychological and physical tests of his ability to fight injustice.It actually draws more comparisons to 'Heat' than it does to any previous comic book movies. It's a crime epic and a tragedy all wrapped into a film about one of America's most well-known detectives. The late Heath Ledger gives arguably the most memorable performance of the decade as the Joker.
- DirectorAlfonso CuarónStarsJulianne MooreClive OwenChiwetel EjioforIn 2027, in a chaotic world in which women have somehow become infertile, a former activist agrees to help transport a miraculously pregnant woman to a sanctuary at sea.A fable about a dark future where infertility threatens humankind. Deliberately shot to immerse the viewer in its crippled world.
- DirectorGuy RitchieStarsJason StathamBrad PittStephen GrahamUnscrupulous boxing promoters, violent bookmakers, a Russian gangster, incompetent amateur robbers and supposedly Jewish jewelers fight to track down a priceless stolen diamond.Wicked sharp humour and a fast-paced story make this crime film a classic. Brad Pitt steals the show with his nearly indeterminable dialogue.
- DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.Full of all the Python antics that one could expect all crammed into a 90 minute, shoestring budget, fantasy adventure.
- DirectorRoman PolanskiStarsAdrien BrodyThomas KretschmannFrank FinlayDuring WWII, acclaimed Polish musician Wladyslaw faces various struggles as he loses contact with his family. As the situation worsens, he hides in the ruins of Warsaw in order to survive.A Holocaust story, but one that focuses on a man that through both good luck and survival instinct managed to evade the concentration camps while facing nightmares of his own.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsJosh HartnettEwan McGregorTom SizemoreThe story of 160 elite U.S. soldiers who dropped into Mogadishu in October 1993 to capture two top lieutenants of a renegade warlord, but found themselves in a desperate battle with a large force of heavily armed Somalis.Like, 'Saving Private Ryan', it contains scenes that stay with the viewer long after the credits roll and repels you from war, rather than glorifying it.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsSam NeillLaura DernJeff GoldblumA pragmatic paleontologist touring an almost complete theme park on an island in Central America is tasked with protecting a couple of kids after a power failure causes the park's cloned dinosaurs to run loose.I owe my everlasting love of dinosaurs to this film. That alone earns it a spot on this list.
- DirectorRidley ScottStarsSigourney WeaverTom SkerrittJohn HurtThe crew of a commercial spacecraft encounters a deadly lifeform after investigating a mysterious transmission of unknown origin.Ridley Scott blends science fiction, horror and top notch special effects to create a claustrophobic atmosphere in arguably the finest horror film ever made.
- DirectorMartin ScorseseStarsLeonardo DiCaprioMatt DamonJack NicholsonAn undercover cop and a mole in the police attempt to identify each other while infiltrating an Irish gang in South Boston.A complex and exciting Scorcese crime drama loaded with rats, moles and twists.
- DirectorDavid FincherStarsMorgan FreemanBrad PittKevin SpaceyTwo detectives, a rookie and a veteran, hunt a serial killer who uses the seven deadly sins as his motives.One of the darkest, bleakest films that I have ever seen.
- DirectorKevin CostnerStarsKevin CostnerMary McDonnellGraham GreeneLieutenant John Dunbar, assigned to a remote western Civil War outpost, finds himself engaging with a neighbouring Sioux settlement, causing him to question his own purpose.A sweeping epic set before the time of the traditional western. The extended version clocks in at almost 4 hours, but it's worth seeing every moment.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRussell CrowePaul BettanyBilly BoydDuring the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.Among the greatest of all adventures. It feels alive when you watch it.
- DirectorGeorge P. CosmatosKevin JarreStarsKurt RussellVal KilmerSam ElliottA successful lawman's plans to retire anonymously in Tombstone, Arizona are disrupted by the kind of outlaws he was famous for eliminating.It's a great western, simply put. There's a wealth of interesting characters portrayed by great actors. The highlight of the entire film is Val Kilmer's Doc Holliday, one of the wittiest characters ever to grace the screen.
- DirectorGeorge Roy HillStarsPaul NewmanMichael OntkeanStrother MartinA failing ice hockey team finds success with outrageously violent hockey goonery.Certainly the finest hockey film ever made (there aren't many), but it's also full of brilliant slap-stick humour and hilariously vulgar dialogue. Not to mention Paul Newman portraying a grizzled hockey vet nearing the end of his career.
- DirectorJohn CarpenterStarsKurt RussellWilford BrimleyKeith DavidA research team in Antarctica is hunted by a shape-shifting alien that assumes the appearance of its victims.The gruesome effects still hold up marvelously today. A masterful achievement in the horror genre.
- DirectorSteven SpielbergStarsHarrison FordKaren AllenPaul FreemanIn 1936, archaeologist and adventurer Indiana Jones is hired by the U.S. government to find the Ark of the Covenant before the Nazis can obtain its awesome powers.Hits all the right notes as it reaches out to the Saturday morning cartoon enthusiast in all of us.