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The 500 Must-See Movies of All Time

Five hundred films ranked by our composite score across 20+ authoritative lists, awards and polls — not one critic's opinion, but the weight of the whole canon. The first hundred are laid out in full; the next four hundred follow as a ranked ledger, and every placement cites its evidence.

The Godfather (1972) leads with a composite score of 9.75.

  1. 1
    The Godfather1972 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States / Italy · crime, drama, thriller
    9.75

    Empire 500 (2008) #1 · Oscar Best Picture winner 1972 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #3

  2. 2
    Citizen Kane1941 · Orson Welles · United States · drama, biography, mystery
    9.21

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

  3. 3
    2001: A Space Odyssey1968 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · adventure, mystery, sci-fi
    7.43

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #6 · AFI 100 (2007) #15

  4. 4
    Lawrence of Arabia1962 · David Lean · United Kingdom / United States · war, biography, drama
    7.40

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1962 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1963 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1963 #1

  5. 5
    Apocalypse Now1979 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · war, action, drama
    6.84

    Palme d'Or winner 1979 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #18 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #19

  6. 6
    Goodfellas1990 · Martin Scorsese · United States · biography, crime, thriller
    6.33

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1991 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #28 · Empire 500 (2008) #6

  7. 7
    Taxi Driver1976 · Martin Scorsese · United States · film-noir, drama, crime
    6.25

    Palme d'Or winner 1976 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #12

  8. 8
    Schindler's List1993 · Steven Spielberg · United States · war, biography, drama
    6.12

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1993 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1994 · AFI 100 (2007) #8

  9. 9
    The Third Man1949 · Carol Reed · United Kingdom · film-noir, mystery, drama
    6.08

    BFI Top 100 British films #1 · Palme d'Or winner 1949 · Cannes Grand Prix winner 1949

  10. 10
    All About Eve1950 · Joseph L. Mankiewicz · United States · drama, comedy
    5.87

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1950 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1951 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #1

  11. 11
    Pulp Fiction1994 · Quentin Tarantino · United States · crime, drama, thriller
    5.76

    Palme d'Or winner 1994 · Empire 500 (2008) #9 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1994

  12. 12
    Parasite2019 · Bong Joon-ho · South Korea · comedy, drama, thriller
    5.72

    Palme d'Or winner 2019 · Oscar Best Picture winner 2019 · Film Comment year-end poll 2019 #1

  13. 13
    Raging Bull1980 · Martin Scorsese · United States · biography, drama, action
    5.71

    AFI 100 (2007) #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22 · Siskel's annual top 10 1980 #1

  14. 14
    Annie Hall1977 · Woody Allen · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    5.55

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1977 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1978 · Siskel's annual top 10 1977 #1

  15. 15
    The Godfather Part II1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · drama, crime, thriller
    5.37

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

  16. 16
    Casablanca1942 · Michael Curtiz · United States · romance, war, drama
    5.29

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

  17. 17
    Jeanne Dielman, 23 quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles1975 · Chantal Akerman · Belgium / France · drama
    5.26

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #4 · Hoberman's annual top 10 1978 #1

  18. 18
    12 Angry Men1957 · Sidney Lumet · United States · drama
    5.25

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1957 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1959 #1 · Letterboxd Top 250 #3

  19. 19
    Vertigo1958 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · mystery, thriller, drama
    5.16

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

  20. 20
    In the Mood for Love2000 · Wong Kar-wai · Hong Kong, China / France / Thailand · romance, drama
    5.13

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #5 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #9

  21. 21
    The Piano1993 · Jane Campion · France / Australia / New Zealand · drama, romance
    4.99

    Palme d'Or winner 1993 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1994 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #50

  22. 22
    Spirited Away2001 · Hayao Miyazaki · Japan · fantasy, animation, drama
    4.98

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 2002 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2002 · Kehr's annual top 10 2002 #1

  23. 23
    Unforgiven1992 · Clint Eastwood · United States · western, drama, crime
    4.96

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

  24. 24
    Tokyo Story1953 · Yasujirō Ozu · Japan · drama
    4.91

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #4 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #4 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1953 #2

  25. 25
    Bicycle Thieves1948 · Vittorio De Sica · Italy · drama
    4.78

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1950 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1950 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #20

  26. 26
    The Battle of Algiers1966 · Gillo Pontecorvo · Italy / Algeria · drama, war
    4.69

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1967 #1 · Venice Golden Lion winner 1966 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22

  27. 27
    Dr. Strangelove1964 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · comedy, war
    4.66

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

  28. 28
    One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest1975 · Miloš Forman · United States · comedy, drama
    4.63

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1975 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1977 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1976 #2

  29. 29
    Midnight Cowboy1969 · John Schlesinger · United States · drama
    4.62

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1969 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1970 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1969 #2

  30. 30
    The Bridge on the River Kwai1957 · David Lean · United Kingdom / United States · drama, war
    4.61

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1957 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1958 · BFI Top 100 British films #11

  31. 31
    Mulholland Drive2001 · David Lynch · United States · mystery, thriller, crime
    4.61

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2001 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2001 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #8

  32. 32
    8½1963 · Federico Fellini · Italy / France · comedy, drama, fantasy
    4.58

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #6 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1965 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #31

  33. 33
    Secrets & Lies1996 · Mike Leigh · United Kingdom · drama
    4.58

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

  34. 34
    Sunset Boulevard1950 · Billy Wilder · United States · drama, film-noir
    4.54

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1951 #2 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · AFI 100 (2007) #16

  35. 35
    Do the Right Thing1989 · Spike Lee · United States · comedy, drama
    4.39

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1989 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #24 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #29

  36. 36
    The Apartment1960 · Billy Wilder · United States · comedy, romance, drama
    4.38

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1960 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1961 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #54

  37. 37
    Chinatown1974 · Roman Polanski · United States · film-noir, mystery, thriller
    4.33

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1974 · AFI 100 (2007) #21

  38. 38
    Amadeus1984 · Miloš Forman · United States · biography, musical, drama
    4.33

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1984 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1985 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1984 #1

  39. 39
    The Best Years of Our Lives1946 · William Wyler · United States · war, drama
    4.31

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

  40. 40
    On the Waterfront1954 · Elia Kazan · United States · drama, crime, thriller
    4.31

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

  41. 41
    Singin' in the Rain1952 · Gene Kelly, Stanley Donen · United States · comedy, romance, musical
    4.30

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #10 · AFI 100 (2007) #5 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #52

  42. 42
    Wild Strawberries1957 · Ingmar Bergman · Sweden · drama
    4.30

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1958 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1962 #1 · Sarris's annual top 10 1959 #1

  43. 43
    Brief Encounter1945 · David Lean · United Kingdom · romance, drama
    4.30

    Palme d'Or winner 1946 · BFI Top 100 British films #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1948 #3

  44. 44
    Persona1966 · Ingmar Bergman · Sweden · drama
    4.29

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1967 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #9 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #18

  45. 45
    There Will Be Blood2007 · Paul Thomas Anderson · United States · drama, western, thriller
    4.26

    Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #2 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2008 #2

  46. 46
    The Tree of Life2011 · Terrence Malick · United States · sci-fi, fantasy, drama
    4.26

    Palme d'Or winner 2011 · Film Comment year-end poll 2011 #1 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2011 #2

  47. 47
    MASH1970 · Robert Altman · United States · comedy, drama, war
    4.25

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

  48. 48
    La Dolce Vita1960 · Federico Fellini · France / Italy · comedy, drama
    4.24

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

  49. 49
    The Silence of the Lambs1991 · Jonathan Demme · United States · thriller, horror, crime
    4.23

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

  50. 50
    No Country for Old Men2007 · Ethan Coen, Joel Coen · United States · drama, thriller, western
    4.20

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2007 · Film Comment year-end poll 2007 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2008 #1

  51. 51
    E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982 · Steven Spielberg · United States · sci-fi, drama
    4.17

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1982 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1982 · AFI 100 (2007) #24

  52. 52
    The Deer Hunter1978 · Michael Cimino · United States · war, drama
    4.15

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

  53. 53
    Moonlight2016 · Barry Jenkins · United States · drama
    4.15

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2016 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #3 · Film Comment year-end poll 2016 #2

  54. 54
    Platoon1986 · Oliver Stone · United States / Philippines · war, drama, action
    4.09

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1986 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1987 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 1986 #1

  55. 55
    Ordet1955 · Carl Theodor Dreyer · Denmark · drama
    4.06

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

  56. 56
    The 400 Blows1959 · François Truffaut · France · drama, crime
    4.04

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #33 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #50 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1959 #5

  57. 57
    Taste of Cherry1997 · Abbas Kiarostami · Iran · drama
    4.03

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

  58. 58
    Psycho1960 · Alfred Hitchcock · United States · thriller, horror, mystery
    4.01

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #31 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #46 · AFI 100 (2007) #14

  59. 59
    Breathless1960 · Jean-Luc Godard · France · drama, crime
    3.95

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #38 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1960 #3

  60. 60
    The Hurt Locker2008 · Kathryn Bigelow · United States · action, thriller, war
    3.95

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2009 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2010 · Film Comment year-end poll 2009 #1

  61. 61
    Barry Lyndon1975 · Stanley Kubrick · United States / United Kingdom · drama, war, adventure
    3.95

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #12 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #45 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975

  62. 62
    The Last Emperor1987 · Bernardo Bertolucci · China / France / United Kingdom · drama, biography
    3.94

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1987 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1989 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1988 #1

  63. 63
    Blowup1966 · Michelangelo Antonioni · United Kingdom / Italy · mystery, thriller, drama
    3.93

    Palme d'Or winner 1967 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1967 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 1966 #1

  64. 64
    The Graduate1967 · Mike Nichols · United States · comedy, drama, romance
    3.92

    BAFTA Best Film winner 1969 · AFI 100 (1998) #7 · AFI 100 (2007) #17

  65. 65
    Paris, Texas1984 · Wim Wenders · France / Germany · drama
    3.89

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

  66. 66
    The Pianist2002 · Roman Polanski · France / Germany / United Kingdom · musical, drama, biography
    3.86

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

  67. 67
    Bonnie and Clyde1967 · Arthur Penn · United States · drama, crime, biography
    3.82

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1968 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1967 #1 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1967

  68. 68
    Ikiru1952 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama
    3.78

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 1952 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #157

  69. 69
    Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans1927 · F. W. Murnau · United States · drama, silent, romance
    3.77

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1928 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #11 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #33

  70. 70
    Shakespeare in Love1998 · John Madden · United Kingdom / United States · comedy, romance, drama
    3.77

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1998 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1999 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1999 #1

  71. 71
    The Conversation1974 · Francis Ford Coppola · United States · thriller, drama, mystery
    3.76

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

  72. 72
    Titanic1997 · James Cameron · United States · drama, romance
    3.72

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1997 · Kehr's annual top 10 1997 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1998 #4

  73. 73
    The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King2003 · Peter Jackson · New Zealand / United States · fantasy, adventure
    3.69

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2003 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2004 · Letterboxd Top 250 #11

  74. 74
    Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives2010 · Apichatpong Weerasethakul · Thailand / France · comedy, drama, fantasy
    3.69

    Palme d'Or winner 2010 · Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 2010 #1 · Film Comment year-end poll 2011 #2

  75. 75
    Gone with the Wind1939 · Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood · United States · romance, drama, war
    3.68

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

  76. 76
    Boyhood2014 · Richard Linklater · United States · drama
    3.66

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2015 · Film Comment year-end poll 2014 #1 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2014 #2

  77. 77
    Rocky1976 · John G. Avildsen · United States · drama, action
    3.65

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

  78. 78
    The Wages of Fear1953 · Henri-Georges Clouzot · France / Italy · drama, adventure
    3.63

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

  79. 79
    A Separation2011 · Asghar Farhadi · Iran · drama
    3.62

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 2011 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 2012 #2 · Ebert's annual top 10 2011 #1

  80. 80
    Ben-Hur1959 · William Wyler · United States · drama, action
    3.61

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1959 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1960 · AFI 100 (2007) #100

  81. 81
    Pather Panchali1955 · Satyajit Ray · India · drama
    3.61

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1966 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #22 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #35

  82. 82
    Seven Samurai1954 · Akira Kurosawa · Japan · drama, action, adventure
    3.60

    Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #14 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #20 · Letterboxd Top 250 #5

  83. 83
    Dances with Wolves1990 · Kevin Costner · United States · drama, war, western
    3.59

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1990 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1991 #1 · Ebert's annual top 10 1990 #3

  84. 84
    Viridiana1961 · Luis Buñuel · Mexico / Spain · comedy, drama
    3.59

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

  85. 85
    Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope1977 · George Lucas · United States · sci-fi, action, adventure
    3.58

    AFI 100 (2007) #13 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1977 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #225

  86. 86
    The Seventh Seal1957 · Ingmar Bergman · Sweden · fantasy, drama
    3.58

    Cahiers du Cinéma annual top 10 1958 #2 · Sarris's annual top 10 1958 #1 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #72

  87. 87
    Shoplifters2018 · Hirokazu Koreeda · Japan · drama
    3.56

    Palme d'Or winner 2018 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (Japanese) 2018 #1 · Japan Academy Prize winner 2019

  88. 88
    Yi Yi2000 · Edward Yang · Taiwan, China / Japan · drama
    3.56

    Film Comment year-end poll 2000 #3 · Sarris's annual top 10 2000 #1 · Rolling Stone 100 Best of the 21st Century #8

  89. 89
    Chariots of Fire1981 · Hugh Hudson · United Kingdom / Australia · biography, drama
    3.55

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1981 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1982 · TIFF People's Choice winner 1981

  90. 90
    The Shawshank Redemption1994 · Frank Darabont · United States · drama, crime
    3.55

    Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1995 #1 · Empire 500 (2008) #4 · Letterboxd Top 250 #7

  91. 91
    It's a Wonderful Life1946 · Frank Capra · United States · comedy, romance, fantasy
    3.52

    AFI 100 (2007) #20 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1946 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #133

  92. 92
    Jaws1975 · Steven Spielberg · United States · thriller, horror, adventure
    3.52

    Empire 500 (2008) #5 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1975

  93. 93
    A Man for All Seasons1966 · Fred Zinnemann · United Kingdom · biography, drama
    3.51

    Oscar Best Picture winner 1966 · BAFTA Best Film winner 1968 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1967 #4

  94. 94
    One Battle After Another2025 · Paul Thomas Anderson · United States · drama, thriller, action
    3.50

    Oscar Best Picture winner 2025 · BAFTA Best Film winner 2026 · Film Comment year-end poll 2025 #1

  95. 95
    Brokeback Mountain2005 · Ang Lee · United States · romance, drama
    3.49

    BAFTA Best Film winner 2006 · Venice Golden Lion winner 2005 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 2005

  96. 96
    Raiders of the Lost Ark1981 · Steven Spielberg · United States · action
    3.47

    Empire 500 (2008) #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1981 · Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #211

  97. 97
    Some Like It Hot1959 · Billy Wilder · United States · comedy, romance, crime
    3.47

    Sight & Sound 2022 critics' poll #38 · Sight & Sound 2022 directors' poll #62 · AFI 100 (2007) #22

  98. 98
    Forbidden Games1952 · René Clément · France · war, drama
    3.46

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

  99. 99
    The Thin Red Line1998 · Terrence Malick · United States · war, drama
    3.46

    Berlin Golden Bear winner 1999 · Kinema Junpo Best Ten (International) 1999 #2 · Oscar Best Picture nominee 1998

  100. 100
    Forrest Gump1994 · Robert Zemeckis · United States · comedy, drama, romance
    3.45

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

The rest of the ranking — 101–500

Same composite score, same evidence — laid out as a compact ledger so the page stays fast. Open any film for its full citation list.

#FilmYearDirectorScore
101The French Connection1971William Friedkin3.44
102Nashville1975Robert Altman3.41
103The Red Shoes1948Emeric Pressburger, Michael Powell3.41
104The Departed2006Martin Scorsese3.41
105City Lights1931Charlie Chaplin3.40
106Network1976Sidney Lumet3.39
107Amour2012Michael Haneke3.39
108Farewell My Concubine1993Chen Kaige3.39
109Rashomon1950Akira Kurosawa3.38
110The English Patient1996Anthony Minghella3.38
111Gandhi1982Richard Attenborough3.37
112The Last Picture Show1971Peter Bogdanovich3.35
113A Man Escaped1956Robert Bresson3.35
114The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring2001Peter Jackson3.35
115L'Avventura1960Michelangelo Antonioni3.35
116Anatomy of a Fall2023Justine Triet3.33
117Fanny and Alexander1982Ingmar Bergman3.30
118Au Hasard Balthazar1966Robert Bresson3.29
119All That Jazz1979Bob Fosse3.28
120It Happened One Night1934Frank Capra3.27
121Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1969George Roy Hill3.27
122All Quiet on the Western Front1930Lewis Milestone3.26
123Day for Night1973François Truffaut3.25
124Roma2018Alfonso Cuarón3.24
125Beau Travail1999Claire Denis3.23
126Oppenheimer2023Christopher Nolan3.23
127Kagemusha1980Akira Kurosawa3.23
128Ugetsu1953Kenji Mizoguchi3.22
129If....1968Lindsay Anderson3.22
130The Searchers1956John Ford3.22
131West Side Story1961Robert Wise, Jerome Robbins3.20
132Shoah1985Claude Lanzmann3.18
133The Wizard of Oz1939Victor Fleming, King Vidor3.17
134Drive My Car2021Ryusuke Hamaguchi3.17
135Kramer vs. Kramer1979Robert Benton3.17
136The Tree of Wooden Clogs1978Ermanno Olmi3.14
13712 Years a Slave2013Steve McQueen3.14
138Underground1995Emir Kusturica3.13
139Blue Velvet1986David Lynch3.13
140In the Heat of the Night1967Norman Jewison3.12
141Vagabond1985Agnès Varda3.12
142Double Indemnity1944Billy Wilder3.11
143Late Spring1949Yasujirō Ozu3.08
144Anora2024Sean Baker3.08
145Sense and Sensibility1995Ang Lee3.08
146Argo2012Ben Affleck3.07
147A Clockwork Orange1971Stanley Kubrick3.06
148Fargo1996Joel Coen, Ethan Coen3.02
149The Sound of Music1965Robert Wise3.02
150Close-Up1990Abbas Kiarostami3.01
151Hamlet1948Laurence Olivier3.00
152Ran1985Akira Kurosawa3.00
153Stranger Than Paradise1984Jim Jarmusch3.00
154The Eel1997Shohei Imamura3.00
155Million Dollar Baby2004Clint Eastwood3.00
156Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri2017Martin McDonagh3.00
157Nomadland2020Chloé Zhao3.00
158Contempt1963Jean-Luc Godard3.00
159Sansho the Bailiff1954Kenji Mizoguchi3.00
160The Tin Drum1979Volker Schlöndorff2.99
161Barton Fink1991Joel Coen, Ethan Coen2.98
162Cabaret1972Bob Fosse2.98
163Modern Times1936Charlie Chaplin2.97
164Mad Max: Fury Road2015George Miller2.96
165Lost in Translation2003Sofia Coppola2.95
166The Spirit of the Beehive1973Víctor Erice2.94
167The Leopard1963Luchino Visconti2.94
168Atlantic City1980Louis Malle2.92
169Last Year at Marienbad1961Alain Resnais2.91
170Tom Jones1963Tony Richardson2.91
171Going My Way1944Leo McCarey2.89
172A Brighter Summer Day1991Edward Yang2.89
173The Child2005Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne2.89
174The Green Ray1986Éric Rohmer2.88
175Red Desert1964Michelangelo Antonioni2.83
176L'Argent1983Robert Bresson2.83
177Wings of Desire1987Wim Wenders2.83
178L.A. Confidential1997Curtis Hanson2.82
179The Lost Weekend1945Billy Wilder2.82
180Rome, Open City1945Roberto Rossellini2.82
181The King's Speech2010Tom Hooper2.82
182Belle de Jour1967Luis Buñuel2.82
183A Room with a View1986James Ivory2.81
184Life Is Beautiful1997Roberto Benigni2.80
1854 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days2007Cristian Mungiu2.80
186Ordinary People1980Robert Redford2.80
187Rear Window1954Alfred Hitchcock2.79
188The Shape of Water2017Guillermo del Toro2.77
189Manhattan1979Woody Allen2.77
190Rain Man1988Barry Levinson2.77
191A City of Sadness1989Hou Hsiao-Hsien2.77
192Love Streams1984John Cassavetes2.77
193My Fair Lady1964George Cukor2.76
194Joker2019Todd Phillips2.75
195Tootsie1982Sydney Pollack2.74
196American Beauty1999Sam Mendes2.74
197La Strada1954Federico Fellini2.74
198The Image Book2018Jean-Luc Godard2.74
199Terms of Endearment1983James L. Brooks2.73
200Marty1955Delbert Mann2.73
201The Hustler1961Robert Rossen2.72
202Z1969Costa-Gavras2.72
203The Killing Fields1984Roland Joffé2.70
204Breaking the Waves1996Lars von Trier2.69
205The Zone of Interest2023Jonathan Glazer2.68
206The Social Network2010David Fincher2.68
207The Long Absence1961Henri Colpi2.68
208Hana-bi1997Takeshi Kitano2.68
209La Belle Noiseuse1991Jacques Rivette2.67
210Sex, Lies, and Videotape1989Steven Soderbergh2.67
211Howards End1992James Ivory2.66
212I, Daniel Blake2016Ken Loach2.66
213Saving Private Ryan1998Steven Spielberg2.66
214Slumdog Millionaire2008Danny Boyle, Loveleen Tandan2.65
215La Notte1961Michelangelo Antonioni2.65
216A Woman Under the Influence1974John Cassavetes2.65
217Under the Sun of Satan1987Maurice Pialat2.64
218Cries and Whispers1972Ingmar Bergman2.64
219The Full Monty1997Peter Cattaneo2.62
220The Passion of Joan of Arc1928Carl Theodor Dreyer2.62
221All the President's Men1976Alan J. Pakula2.60
222The Son's Room2001Nanni Moretti2.59
223Amélie2001Jean-Pierre Jeunet2.58
224The White Ribbon2009Michael Haneke2.58
225Inside Llewyn Davis2013Ethan Coen, Joel Coen2.58
226The Birds1963Alfred Hitchcock2.58
227The Mother and the Whore1973Jean Eustache2.58
228The Elephant Man1980David Lynch2.56
229Miracle in Milan1951Vittorio De Sica2.55
230The Gold Rush1925Charlie Chaplin2.55
231Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?1966Mike Nichols2.54
232The Night of the Hunter1955Charles Laughton2.54
233The Treasure of the Sierra Madre1948John Huston2.53
234La Grande Illusion1937Jean Renoir2.53
235Gladiator2000Ridley Scott2.52
236Blade Runner1982Ridley Scott2.51
237Scarecrow1973Jerry Schatzberg2.50
238Still Life2006Jia Zhangke2.50
239Crash2004Paul Haggis2.48
240The Right Stuff1983Philip Kaufman2.48
241Patton1970Franklin J. Schaffner2.47
242The Grapes of Wrath1940John Ford2.47
243The Great Dictator1940Charlie Chaplin2.46
244Tropical Malady2004Apichatpong Weerasethakul2.46
245Days of Heaven1978Terrence Malick2.45
246Amarcord1973Federico Fellini2.45
247Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon2000Ang Lee2.44
248Dancer in the Dark2000Lars von Trier2.43
249Blue Is the Warmest Colour2013Abdellatif Kechiche2.43
250Au revoir les enfants1987Louis Malle2.43
251Stalker1979Andrei Tarkovsky2.42
252Friendly Persuasion1956William Wyler2.42
253Touch of Evil1958Orson Welles2.41
254À Nos Amours1983Maurice Pialat2.41
255How Green Was My Valley1941John Ford2.39
256The Ballad of Narayama1983Shohei Imamura2.39
257Green Book2018Peter Farrelly2.39
258Oldboy2003Park Chan-wook2.38
259Room at the Top1959Jack Clayton2.38
260The Rules of the Game1939Jean Renoir2.38
261Miss Julie1951Alf Sjöberg2.37
262The Sting1973George Roy Hill2.37
263Once Upon a Time in the West1968Sergio Leone2.37
264Magnolia1999Paul Thomas Anderson2.37
265Before Sunset2004Richard Linklater2.36
266Birdman2014Alejandro González Iñárritu2.36
267Inglourious Basterds2009Quentin Tarantino2.36
268CODA2021Siân Héder2.36
269The Ascent1977Larisa Shepitko2.36
270The Artist2011Michel Hazanavicius2.35
271Rebecca1940Alfred Hitchcock2.35
272Easy Rider1969Dennis Hopper2.34
273Othello1951Orson Welles2.33
274The Irishman2019Martin Scorsese2.33
275Justice Is Done1950André Cayatte2.33
276Gate of Hell1953Teinosuke Kinugasa2.33
277The Purple Rose of Cairo1985Woody Allen2.32
278My Life to Live1962Jean-Luc Godard2.32
279America America1963Elia Kazan2.31
280Hiroshima mon amour1959Alain Resnais2.31
281Come and See1985Elem Klimov2.31
282Andrei Rublev1966Andrei Tarkovsky2.30
283The Story of Qiu Ju1992Zhang Yimou2.30
284The Wild Bunch1969Sam Peckinpah2.30
285Precious2009Lee Daniels2.29
286Harakiri1962Masaki Kobayashi2.29
287La La Land2016Damien Chazelle2.29
288Yol1982Yılmaz Güney, Şerif Gören2.29
289The Power of the Dog2021Jane Campion2.28
290Playtime1967Jacques Tati2.28
291Five Easy Pieces1970Bob Rafelson2.28
292Missing1982Costa-Gavras2.28
293Traffic2000Steven Soderbergh2.28
294The Fabelmans2022Steven Spielberg2.27
295The Queen2006Stephen Frears2.27
296Elephant2003Gus Van Sant2.26
297The Sacrifice1986Andrei Tarkovsky2.26
298A Prophet2009Jacques Audiard2.25
299An American in Paris1951Vincente Minnelli2.25
300The Cranes Are Flying1957Mikhail Kalatozov2.24
301A History of Violence2005David Cronenberg2.24
302Stagecoach1939John Ford2.24
303Sideways2004Alexander Payne2.23
304Crossfire1947Edward Dmytryk2.23
305Shane1953George Stevens2.22
306Army of Shadows1969Jean-Pierre Melville2.21
307Get Out2017Jordan Peele2.21
308The Umbrellas of Cherbourg1964Jacques Demy2.21
309Grand Hotel1932Edmund Goulding2.19
310Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore1974Martin Scorsese2.19
311Children of Paradise1945Marcel Carné2.19
312Black Orpheus1959Marcel Camus2.18
313Poor Things2023Yorgos Lanthimos2.18
314Metropolis1927Fritz Lang2.18
315The Dark Knight2008Christopher Nolan2.18
316Eternity and a Day1998Thodoros Angelopoulos2.18
317Ali: Fear Eats the Soul1974Rainer Werner Fassbinder2.17
318Paisà1946Roberto Rossellini2.17
319My Darling Clementine1946John Ford2.17
320The Mission1986Roland Joffé2.17
321The Mirror1975Andrei Tarkovsky2.17
322Distant Voices, Still Lives1988Terence Davies2.17
323Spotlight2015Tom McCarthy2.17
324All About My Mother1999Pedro Almodóvar2.16
325Whiplash2014Damien Chazelle2.16
326Short Cuts1993Robert Altman2.16
327From Here to Eternity1953Fred Zinnemann2.15
328North by Northwest1959Alfred Hitchcock2.15
329The Cousins1959Claude Chabrol, Philippe de Broca2.15
330Claire's Knee1970Éric Rohmer2.14
331Sunday, Bloody Sunday1971John Schlesinger2.14
332Once Upon a Time in America1984Sergio Leone2.14
333Rosetta1999Luc Dardenne, Jean-Pierre Dardenne2.14
334Atonement2007Joe Wright2.14
335All We Imagine as Light2024Payal Kapadia2.14
336Miller's Crossing1990Ethan Coen, Joel Coen2.13
337Driving Miss Daisy1989Bruce Beresford2.13
338Henry V1944Laurence Olivier2.13
339You Can Count on Me2000Kenneth Lonergan2.13
340City of God2002Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund2.13
341Pierrot le Fou1965Jean-Luc Godard2.13
342Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind2004Michel Gondry2.13
343Man with a Movie Camera1929Dziga Vertov2.13
344The River1951Jean Renoir2.12
345Gloria1980John Cassavetes2.12
346Padre Padrone1977Paolo Taviani, Vittorio Taviani2.12
347Wings1927William A. Wellman, Harry d'Abbadie d'Arrast2.11
348Triangle of Sadness2022Ruben Östlund2.11
349The Maltese Falcon1941John Huston2.11
350Hannah and Her Sisters1986Woody Allen2.11
351Afternoons of Solitude2024Albert Serra2.11
352Four Weddings and a Funeral1994Mike Newell2.10
353Everything Everywhere All at Once2022Dan Kwan, Daniel Scheinert2.10
354The Crying Game1992Neil Jordan2.10
355It Was Just an Accident2025Jafar Panahi2.09
356Black Rain1989Shohei Imamura2.08
357Julia1977Fred Zinnemann2.08
358The Big Chill1983Lawrence Kasdan2.08
359Shall We Dance?1996Masayuki Suo2.07
360The Aviator2004Martin Scorsese2.06
361When Father Was Away on Business1985Emir Kusturica2.06
362Don't Look Now1973Nicolas Roeg2.06
363Full Metal Jacket1987Stanley Kubrick2.06
364Once Upon a Time in Hollywood2019Quentin Tarantino2.06
365My American Uncle1980Alain Resnais2.06
366Bande à part1964Jean-Luc Godard2.05
367The Color of Pomegranates1969Sergei Parajanov2.05
368A Man and a Woman1966Claude Lelouch2.05
369Crash1996David Cronenberg2.05
370Flowers of Shanghai1998Hou Hsiao-Hsien2.05
371Vengeance Is Mine1979Shohei Imamura2.04
372Dog Day Afternoon1975Sidney Lumet2.04
373The Mattei Affair1972Francesco Rosi2.03
374American Graffiti1973George Lucas2.03
375A Streetcar Named Desire1951Elia Kazan2.02
376The Funeral1984Jūzō Itami2.02
377Pickpocket1959Robert Bresson2.02
378Sophie's Choice1982Alan J. Pakula2.02
379Jules and Jim1962François Truffaut2.01
380Tess1979Roman Polanski2.01
381High and Low1963Akira Kurosawa2.01
382Hoop Dreams1994Steve James2.01
383Winter Sleep2014Nuri Bilge Ceylan2.00
384Dumbo1941Ben Sharpsteen, Norm Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson, Bill Roberts, Jack Kinney, Samuel Armstrong2.00
385Mrs. Miniver1942William Wyler2.00
386Gigi1958Vincente Minnelli, Charles Walters2.00
387Where is the Friend's Home?1987Abbas Kiarostami2.00
388Tár2022Todd Field2.00
389Gervaise1956René Clément2.00
390Portrait of a Lady on Fire2019Céline Sciamma2.00
391A Matter of Life and Death1946Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger1.99
392Y tu mamá también2001Alfonso Cuarón1.99
393Lacombe, Lucien1974Louis Malle1.99
394Roger & Me1989Michael Moore1.99
395Chicago2002Rob Marshall1.98
396My Neighbor Totoro1988Hayao Miyazaki1.98
397Sátántangó1994Béla Tarr1.98
398Winter's Bone2010Debra Granik1.98
399Princess Mononoke1997Hayao Miyazaki1.97
400The Silent World1956Jacques Cousteau, Louis Malle1.97
401Pelle the Conqueror1987Bille August1.97
402Fahrenheit 9/112004Michael Moore1.97
403La Cérémonie1995Claude Chabrol1.96
404Weekend1967Jean-Luc Godard1.96
405Gravity2013Alfonso Cuarón1.96
406The Grand Budapest Hotel2014Wes Anderson1.96
407Mystic River2003Clint Eastwood1.95
408Licorice Pizza2021Paul Thomas Anderson1.95
409An Unmarried Woman1978Paul Mazursky1.94
410Ulysses' Gaze1995Thodoros Angelopoulos1.93
411You Can't Take It With You1938Frank Capra1.93
412The Damned1947René Clément1.93
413Talk to Her2002Pedro Almodóvar1.93
414The Go-Between1971Joseph Losey1.92
415Thérèse1986Alain Cavalier1.92
416Phantom Thread2017Paul Thomas Anderson1.92
417Scenes from a Marriage1974Ingmar Bergman1.92
418Chungking Express1994Wong Kar-wai1.92
419Duck Soup1933Leo McCarey1.92
420A Taxing Woman1987Jūzō Itami1.92
421Aguirre, the Wrath of God1972Werner Herzog1.92
422Adaptation2002Spike Jonze1.91
423Il generale della Rovere1959Roberto Rossellini1.91
424Being There1979Hal Ashby1.91
425Oliver!1968Carol Reed1.91
426Solaris1972Andrei Tarkovsky1.90
427Mutiny on the Bounty1935Frank Lloyd1.90
428Yojimbo1961Akira Kurosawa1.90
429The Life of Emile Zola1937William Dieterle1.89
430All the King's Men1950Robert Rossen1.89
431Gosford Park2001Robert Altman1.89
432The Wind That Shakes the Barley2006Ken Loach1.89
433Carol2015Todd Haynes1.88
434Departures2008Yōjirō Takita1.88
435The Woman in the Dunes1964Hiroshi Teshigahara1.88
436Elle2016Paul Verhoeven1.88
437The Exorcist1973William Friedkin1.87
438Badlands1973Terrence Malick1.87
43919172019Sam Mendes1.86
440Cyrano de Bergerac1990Jean-Paul Rappeneau1.86
441JFK1991Oliver Stone1.86
442A Beautiful Mind2001Ron Howard1.84
443Suspicion1941Alfred Hitchcock1.84
444The Return2003Andrey Zvyagintsev1.83
445Close Encounters of the Third Kind1977Steven Spielberg1.83
446Journey to Italy1954Roberto Rossellini1.82
447Zodiac2007David Fincher1.82
448The Philadelphia Story1940George Cukor1.82
449The Best Intentions1992Bille August1.82
450Die Hard1988John McTiernan1.81
451Cléo from 5 to 71962Agnès Varda1.81
452Notorious1946Alfred Hitchcock1.81
453East of Eden1955Elia Kazan1.80
454The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie1972Luis Buñuel1.80
455Man of Iron1981Andrzej Wajda1.80
456Pan's Labyrinth2006Guillermo del Toro1.80
457Seventh Heaven1927Frank Borzage1.79
458Moonlighting1982Jerzy Skolimowski1.78
459The Wind Will Carry Us1999Abbas Kiarostami1.77
460Far from Heaven2002Todd Haynes1.77
461The Class2008Laurent Cantet1.76
462Olympia1938Leni Riefenstahl1.76
463To Kill a Mockingbird1962Robert Mulligan1.76
464Richard III1955Laurence Olivier1.76
465The Color Purple1985Steven Spielberg1.75
466The Yellow Handkerchief1977Yōji Yamada1.75
467Zigeunerweisen1980Seijun Suzuki1.75
468Fall Guy1982Kinji Fukasaku1.75
469My Sons1991Yōji Yamada1.75
470Sumo Do, Sumo Don't1992Masayuki Suo1.75
471A Last Note1995Kaneto Shindō1.75
472The Twilight Samurai2002Yōji Yamada1.75
473Hula Girls2006Sang-il Lee1.75
474Synonyms2019Nadav Lapid1.75
475Two Seasons, Two Strangers2025Shō Miyake1.75
476The Exterminating Angel1962Luis Buñuel1.75
477Burning2018Lee Chang-dong1.74
478The Good, the Bad and the Ugly1966Sergio Leone1.74
479A.I. Artificial Intelligence2001Steven Spielberg1.74
480King Kong1933Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack1.74
481BPM (Beats per Minute)2017Robin Campillo1.73
482La Haine1995Mathieu Kassovitz1.73
483Toni Erdmann2016Maren Ade1.73
484The Square2017Ruben Östlund1.73
485Titane2021Julia Ducournau1.73
486The Royal Tenenbaums2001Wes Anderson1.73
487Gentleman's Agreement1947Elia Kazan1.73
488The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance1962John Ford1.73
489The Circle2000Jafar Panahi1.72
490The Wrestler2008Darren Aronofsky1.72
491McCabe & Mrs. Miller1971Robert Altman1.71
492Killer of Sheep1977Charles Burnett1.71
493Shoot the Piano Player1960François Truffaut1.70
494Umberto D.1952Vittorio De Sica1.70
495Judgment at Nuremberg1961Stanley Kramer1.70
496Crumb1994Terry Zwigoff1.70
497Of Gods and Men2010Xavier Beauvois1.70
498Vera Drake2004Mike Leigh1.69
499The Awful Truth1937Leo McCarey1.69
500Too Beautiful for You1989Bertrand Blier1.69

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: nothing here is chosen. Each film's position is the sum of what the record already says about it — every critics' poll placement, every institutional registry induction, every major award and curated canon, weighted by the authority of the source and by how high the film placed on it. Breadth is not a gate you pass or fail; it is priced in continuously. A film that four separate authorities keep returning to accumulates more than one that won a single triumphant night, because a lone prize is testimony from a single witness and the score counts witnesses. The result is a ranking whose top is where the argument is over, and whose depths are where it is still running.

Why five hundred

A hundred is a satisfying number and a slightly dishonest one: it implies a cliff where the data has a slope. Through the first hundred the scores are still widely separated and the ordering carries real information; by the four hundreds the margins narrow and the list becomes less a ranking than a catalogue of films with a legitimate claim on the record. Five hundred is roughly where that claim thins out — deep enough to hold what a hundred-item list is forced to drop (national cinemas, the silent era, documentary, animation), not so deep that we are numbering ties. The first hundred are laid out in full above; the rest follow as a compact ledger, on the same score, with the same evidence one click away.

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.