History of Movies.

The 100 Must-See Movies of All Time

One hundred films with the broadest claim on your watchlist: each appears on at least three independent authoritative sources, ranked by our composite score across 20+ lists, awards and polls — every placement cites its evidence.

Parasite (2019) leads with a composite score of 9.70.

  1. 1
    Parasite2019 · Bong Joon-ho
    9.70

    Palme d'Or winner 2019 · Oscar Best Picture winner 2019 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2020 #1

  2. 2
    Citizen Kane1941 · Orson Welles
    9.16

    AFI 100 (2007) #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #2 · AFI 100 (1998) #1

  3. 3
    The Godfather1972 · Francis Ford Coppola
    8.37

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1972 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #3 · AFI 100 (2007) #2

  4. 4
    The Wages of Fear1953 · Henri-Georges Clouzot
    8.02

    Palme d'Or winner 1953 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1955 · Berlin Golden Bear winner 1953

  5. 5
    Lawrence of Arabia1962 · David Lean
    7.71

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1962 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1963 #1 · BFI Top 100 British films #3

  6. 6
    Schindler's List1993 · Steven Spielberg
    7.42

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1993 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1993 · AFI 100 (2007) #8

  7. 7
    Taxi Driver1976 · Martin Scorsese
    7.30

    Palme d'Or winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1976

  8. 8
    Apocalypse Now1979 · Francis Ford Coppola
    7.15

    Palme d'Or winner 1979 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1979 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #18

  9. 9
    The Pianist2002 · Roman Polanski
    7.15

    Palme d'Or winner 2002 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2003 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2003 #1

  10. 10
    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest1975 · Miloš Forman
    7.13

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1975 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #2

  11. 11
    The Best Years of Our Lives1946 · William Wyler
    6.85

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1946 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1949 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1948 #2

  12. 12
    Anora2024 · Sean Baker
    6.79

    Palme d'Or winner 2024 · Oscar Best Picture winner 2024 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2025 #2

  13. 13
    The Piano1993 · Jane Campion
    6.71

    Palme d'Or winner 1993 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1994 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1993

  14. 14
    2001: A Space Odyssey1968 · Stanley Kubrick
    6.65

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #6 · BAFTA Best Film nominee 1969

  15. 15
    Marty1955 · Delbert Mann
    6.56

    Palme d'Or winner 1955 · Oscar Best Picture winner 1955 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1955 #7

  16. 16
    Unforgiven1992 · Clint Eastwood
    6.51

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1992 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1992 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1993 #1

  17. 17
    12 Angry Men1957 · Sidney Lumet
    6.37

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1957 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1959 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1957

  18. 18
    All About Eve1950 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz
    6.30

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1950 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #28

  19. 19
    Pulp Fiction1994 · Quentin Tarantino
    6.25

    Palme d'Or winner 1994 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1994 · BAFTA Best Film nominee 1995

  20. 20
    The Godfather Part II1974 · Francis Ford Coppola
    6.10

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1974 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #26 · Letterboxd Top 250 #8

  21. 21
    Casablanca1942 · Michael Curtiz
    6.00

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1943 · AFI 100 (2007) #3 · AFI 100 (1998) #2

  22. 22
    Nomadland2020 · Chloé Zhao
    6.00

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2020 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2020 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2021 #1

  23. 23
    Oppenheimer2023 · Christopher Nolan
    6.00

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2023 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2024 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2024 #1

  24. 24
    The Hurt Locker2008 · Kathryn Bigelow
    5.95

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2009 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2009 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2010 #5

  25. 25
    Secrets & Lies1996 · Mike Leigh
    5.67

    Palme d'Or winner 1996 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1997 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1996

  26. 26
    The Shape of Water2017 · Guillermo del Toro
    5.66

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2017 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2017 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2018 #3

  27. 27
    The English Patient1996 · Anthony Minghella
    5.65

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1996 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1997 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1997 #5

  28. 28
    Brokeback Mountain2005 · Ang Lee
    5.56

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2005 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2005 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2005

  29. 29
    The King's Speech2010 · Tom Hooper
    5.50

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2010 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2010 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2011 #3

  30. 30
    The Third Man1949 · Carol Reed
    5.46

    BFI Top 100 British films #1 · Cannes Grand Prix winner 1949 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1952 #2

  31. 31
    Rain Man1988 · Barry Levinson
    5.43

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1988 · Berlin Golden Bear winner 1989 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1989 #4

  32. 32
    Roma2018 · Alfonso Cuarón
    5.38

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2019 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2018 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2018

  33. 33
    American Beauty1999 · Sam Mendes
    5.36

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1999 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2000 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2000 #6

  34. 34
    Argo2012 · Ben Affleck
    5.36

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2012 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2012 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2012 #6

  35. 35
    Gladiator2000 · Ridley Scott
    5.32

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2000 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2000 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2000 #8

  36. 36
    Slumdog Millionaire2008 · Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan
    5.32

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2008 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2009 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2009 #8

  37. 37
    Forbidden Games1952 · René Clément
    5.29

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1954 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1952 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1953 #1

  38. 38
    MASH1970 · Robert Altman
    5.29

    Palme d'Or winner 1970 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1970 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1970 #5

  39. 39
    Dr. Strangelove1964 · Stanley Kubrick
    5.25

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1965 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1964 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #46

  40. 40
    12 Years a Slave2013 · Steve McQueen
    5.23

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2013 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2013 · National Film Registry (inducted 2023)

  41. 41
    La Dolce Vita1960 · Federico Fellini
    5.21

    Palme d'Or winner 1960 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1960 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #35

  42. 42
    The Bridge on the River Kwai1957 · David Lean
    5.13

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1957 · BFI Top 100 British films #11 · AFI 100 (1998) #13

  43. 43
    On the Waterfront1954 · Elia Kazan
    5.11

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1954 · AFI 100 (1998) #8 · AFI 100 (2007) #19

  44. 44
    The Tree of Life2011 · Terrence Malick
    5.09

    Palme d'Or winner 2011 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2011 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2011 #2

  45. 45
    No Country for Old Men2007 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen
    5.03

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2007 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2008 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2008 #4

  46. 46
    The Silence of the Lambs1991 · Jonathan Demme
    4.94

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1991 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1991 #2 · AFI 100 (2007) #74

  47. 47
    Pather Panchali1955 · Satyajit Ray
    4.93

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1958 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1966 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22

  48. 48
    Taste of Cherry1997 · Abbas Kiarostami
    4.92

    Palme d'Or winner 1997 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #93 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243

  49. 49
    Amour2012 · Michael Haneke
    4.90

    Palme d'Or winner 2012 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2013 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2012

  50. 50
    Annie Hall1977 · Woody Allen
    4.89

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1977 · AFI 100 (2007) #35 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #243

  51. 51
    Anatomy of a Fall2023 · Justine Triet
    4.88

    Palme d'Or winner 2023 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2023 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2023 #3

  52. 52
    Wild Strawberries1957 · Ingmar Bergman
    4.85

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1958 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1962 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72

  53. 53
    Midnight Cowboy1969 · John Schlesinger
    4.85

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1969 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1969 #2 · AFI 100 (2007) #43

  54. 54
    Amadeus1984 · Miloš Forman
    4.84

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1984 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #1 · AFI 100 (1998) #53

  55. 55
    Ordet1955 · Carl Theodor Dreyer
    4.84

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1955 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1955 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #30

  56. 56
    All That Jazz1979 · Bob Fosse
    4.82

    Palme d'Or winner 1980 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1980 #8

  57. 57
    Rocky1976 · John G. Avildsen
    4.81

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1977 #1 · AFI 100 (2007) #57

  58. 58
    The Battle of Algiers1966 · Gillo Pontecorvo
    4.80

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1965 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1967 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22

  59. 59
    Paris, Texas1984 · Wim Wenders
    4.79

    Palme d'Or winner 1984 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #185 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #6

  60. 60
    The Conversation1974 · Francis Ford Coppola
    4.75

    Palme d'Or winner 1974 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1974 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72

  61. 61
    Gone with the Wind1939 · Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood
    4.72

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1939 · AFI 100 (2007) #6 · AFI 100 (1998) #4

  62. 62
    The Deer Hunter1978 · Michael Cimino
    4.70

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1978 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1979 #3 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #211

  63. 63
    The Apartment1960 · Billy Wilder
    4.70

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1960 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54 · AFI 100 (2007) #80

  64. 64
    Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles1975 · Chantal Akerman
    4.65

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #4 · Letterboxd Top 250 #210

  65. 65
    One Battle After Another2025 · Paul Thomas Anderson
    4.63

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2025 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2025 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2025 #2

  66. 66
    The Last Emperor1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci
    4.55

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1987 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1987 #5

  67. 67
    Vertigo1958 · Alfred Hitchcock
    4.49

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #6 · AFI 100 (2007) #9

  68. 68
    All Quiet on the Western Front1930 · Lewis Milestone
    4.49

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1929 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1930 #1 · AFI 100 (1998) #54

  69. 69
    Dances with Wolves1990 · Kevin Costner
    4.47

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1990 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1991 #1 · AFI 100 (1998) #75

  70. 70
    The Eel1997 · Shohei Imamura
    4.43

    Palme d'Or winner 1997 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1997 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1997 #4

  71. 71
    It Happened One Night1934 · Frank Capra
    4.43

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1934 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1934 #5 · AFI 100 (2007) #46

  72. 72
    West Side Story1961 · Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins
    4.42

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1961 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1961 #4 · AFI 100 (2007) #51

  73. 73
    Blowup1966 · Michelangelo Antonioni
    4.41

    Palme d'Or winner 1967 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1967 #2 · BFI Top 100 British films #60

  74. 74
    Platoon1986 · Oliver Stone
    4.40

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1986 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1987 #2 · AFI 100 (2007) #86

  75. 75
    Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives2010 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul
    4.39

    Palme d'Or winner 2010 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2010 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #196

  76. 76
    Raging Bull1980 · Martin Scorsese
    4.37

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1980 · AFI 100 (2007) #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22

  77. 77
    Sunset Boulevard1950 · Billy Wilder
    4.35

    Oscar Best Picture nominee 1950 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62

  78. 78
    The Sound of Music1965 · Robert Wise
    4.35

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1965 · AFI 100 (2007) #40 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1965 #9

  79. 79
    Justice Is Done1950 · André Cayatte
    4.33

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1951 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1950 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1954 #7

  80. 80
    Shakespeare in Love1998 · John Madden
    4.27

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1998 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1999 #1 · BFI Top 100 British films #49

  81. 81
    Moonlight2016 · Barry Jenkins
    4.26

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2016 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #60 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #93

  82. 82
    Titanic1997 · James Cameron
    4.26

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1997 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1998 #4 · AFI 100 (2007) #83

  83. 83
    Viridiana1961 · Luis Buñuel
    4.25

    Palme d'Or winner 1961 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1962 #4

  84. 84
    The French Connection1971 · William Friedkin
    4.24

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1971 · AFI 100 (2007) #93 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1972 #10

  85. 85
    Going My Way1944 · Leo McCarey
    4.23

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1944 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1946 #1 · National Film Registry (inducted 2004)

  86. 86
    Forrest Gump1994 · Robert Zemeckis
    4.22

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1994 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1995 #4 · AFI 100 (2007) #76

  87. 87
    Shoplifters2018 · Hirokazu Koreeda
    4.21

    Palme d'Or winner 2018 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2018 #1 · Letterboxd Top 250 #155

  88. 88
    In the Heat of the Night1967 · Norman Jewison
    4.20

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1967 · AFI 100 (2007) #75 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1967 #8

  89. 89
    Friendly Persuasion1956 · William Wyler
    4.20

    Palme d'Or winner 1957 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1956 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1957 #9

  90. 90
    The Long Absence1961 · Henri Colpi
    4.18

    Palme d'Or winner 1961 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1964 #1 · Kurosawa's 100 favorite films

  91. 91
    Hana-bi1997 · Takeshi Kitano
    4.18

    Venice Golden Lion winner 1997 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1997 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1998 #1

  92. 92
    Ben-Hur1959 · William Wyler
    4.16

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1959 · AFI 100 (2007) #100 · AFI 100 (1998) #72

  93. 93
    The Tin Drum1979 · Volker Schlöndorff
    4.16

    Palme d'Or winner 1979 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1981 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #234

  94. 94
    I, Daniel Blake2016 · Ken Loach
    4.16

    Palme d'Or winner 2016 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2017 #1 · Criterion Collection spine #906

  95. 95
    The Mission1986 · Roland Joffé
    4.12

    Palme d'Or winner 1986 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1986 · Vatican film list

  96. 96
    If....1968 · Lindsay Anderson
    4.07

    Palme d'Or winner 1969 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1969 #3 · BFI Top 100 British films #12

  97. 97
    Chariots of Fire1981 · Hugh Hudson
    4.07

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1981 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1982 #3 · BFI Top 100 British films #19

  98. 98
    Missing1982 · Costa-Gavras
    4.06

    Palme d'Or winner 1982 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1982 · Criterion Collection spine #449

  99. 99
    Triangle of Sadness2022 · Ruben Östlund
    4.06

    Palme d'Or winner 2022 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2022 · Criterion Collection spine #1178

  100. 100
    Farewell My Concubine1993 · Chen Kaige
    4.05

    Palme d'Or winner 1993 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1994 #2 · Letterboxd Top 250 #59

What "must-see" means here

Every list with this title is secretly a list of someone's favorites. This one is built the other way around: a film only qualifies when at least three independent authorities — a critics' poll, an institutional registry, a major award, a curated canon — have each, separately, put it on the record. The hundred films above are the ones where the argument is over: not the hundred we love most, but the hundred the whole apparatus of film culture keeps agreeing on, ranked by the same composite score that orders every page on this site. That breadth rule has teeth. A film can win the biggest prize in the world and still miss this list, because one triumphant night is testimony from a single witness; a must-see needs corroboration.

How to use it

Not as homework, and not from #1 downward. The list is deliberately wide — silent Soviet montage next to a Korean thriller, Hollywood studio classics next to the French New Wave — because its real use is triangulation: pick the era, country or genre you already care about, follow a title into its own page, and read the evidence for yourself. Every entry cites each list placement and award as a checkable fact, so the question is never "trust us" but "here is who vouches for it, decide whose taste you trust." Most people who work through even twenty of these films discover the canon is far stranger and funnier than its reputation.

What it is not

It is not a verdict on new releases — canon formation runs a decade or more behind the present, so recent years are structurally underrepresented and will thicken as the polls and registries catch up. It is not a popularity ranking; box office contributes nothing to the score. And it is not permanent: when Sight & Sound polls again, when the National Film Registry inducts, when a restoration puts a forgotten film back in circulation, the composite score moves and this page moves with it. A canon that cannot change is just nostalgia with a numbering system.