List of films voted the best
This is a partial list of films that have been regarded as the greatest ever. The aim of the list is not to resolve the question of the greatest ever movie - the one thing that film commentators do agree on is that it is impossible to have a single answer to that question. The important criteria for inclusion in this list is that the film is the "greatest" by some specific measure - be it a critics poll, popular poll, box office receipts or awards.
Films acclaimed by critics and filmmakers
- Citizen Kane: Influential critic Roger Ebert has stated that he considers it the best film ever; selected as number one for the last forty years in (five consecutive wins) Sight & Sound's poll of film critics. Number one in a Village Voice critics' poll. Number one in a Time Out critics poll in 1995. Listed as greatest film ever by the American Film Institute in 1998.
- La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game): French masterpiece by Jean Renoir. Number two in the Village Voice poll. Along with Battleship Potemkin, one of only two films to have appeared in every one of Sight and Sound's ten-yearly polls (six occurrences).
- Броненосец Потёмкин (Battleship Potemkin) : for many years generally considered the greatest film ever; voted as such by a panel of experts at the 1958 World's Fair.
- Ladri di Biciclette (Bicycle Thieves ): voted top film in a Sight & Sound magazine poll in 1952.
- The Searchers: Most often mentioned favorite film in a poll of directors by German language steadycam magazine.
Films acclaimed in audience polls
- The Godfather: has long stood atop IMDb's list of the top 250 films. Also voted number one by Entertainment Weekly readers. Number one in a Time Out Readers' poll in 1995.
- The Godfather Part II: often considered better than the original; voted best film ever by TV Guide readers in 1998.
- Casablanca: widely cited as the greatest film of all time and voted as such by readers of the Los Angeles Daily News in 1997.
- Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope: By readers of Empire magazine in November 2001. Also by voters in a FilmFour poll.
Films that have received the most Academy Awards
- Ben-Hur (1959 version): Held record for the most Academy Awards ever (eleven Oscars) for 38 years
- Titanic: Winner of eleven Academy Awards.
- The Return of the King The third film in the Lord of the Rings trilogy won eleven Academy Awards
Biggest box office successes
- Gone With the Wind: nine Academy Awards, National Film Registry, when adjusted for inflation is still the highest grossing film ever.
- Titanic: highest grossing film ever.
Films that are considered among the greatest in their particular genre:
- Animation (North American)
- Beauty and the Beast is the only animated film to be nominated for Best Picture at the Academy Awards, a decade prior to the Academy establishing a seperate Best Animated Feature category.
- Anime (Japanese animation)
- アキラ - Akira: 1988 Katsuhiro Otomo film, long considered the pinnacle of Japanese animation by many anime and non-anime fans alike, is one of the most well-known anime films and was chosen as the top anime ever by Anime Insider in fall 2001.
- 千と千尋の神隠し(Spirited Away): 2001 Hayao Miyazaki film, the highest grossing movie in Japanese history, and the only movie to earn $250M before its US release. Voted best animated movie by IMDb users and the first anime film to win an Academy Award.
- Comedy
- Some Like It Hot was listed Best Comedy by the American Film Institute in June 2000.
- Computer Animation
- Shrek 2 is the highest grossing animated film of all time, computerized or not.
- Disaster
- The Poseidon Adventure was voted best disaster movie in a consumer poll commissioned by UCI cinemas in May 2004.
- Documentary
- Bowling for Columbine: Documentary by Michael Moore, relating gun control and the fear culture in the United States. This has been the highest grossing documentary film in history. Bowling for Columbine heads the list of 20 all-time favorite non-fiction films selected by members of the International Documentary Association (IDA). [1]
- Epic
- Lawrence of Arabia Voted best epic by readers of Total Film in May 2004.
- Horror -- Thriller
- Psycho: Alfred Hitchcock classic is considered the most important horror film of all time. Voted the best horror film by IMDb users. Tops AFI’s list of the 100 most thrilling American films.
- Halloween: The original slasher was voted best horror film of all time by readers of SFX magazine in June 2004.
- Romantic comedy
- Annie Hall: Oscar-winner for Best Picture cemented reputation of director Woody Allen. Voted best American comedy by the AFI.
- War
- Saving Private Ryan considered the best and most accurate portrayal of World War II combat ever by revered historian Stephen Ambrose, on which he also acted as military advisor.
In particular countries
- Canada
- Mon Oncle Antoine: A poll of critics at the 1988 Toronto Film Festival and again at the 1993 festival named this the greatest Canadian film of all time.
- Un Zoo la Nuit: Winner of the most Genie Awards with 13.
- France
- Les Enfants du Paradis (The Children of Paradise): Voted "Best French Film of the Century" in a poll of 600 French critics and professionals in the late 1990's.
- La Règle du Jeu (The Rules of the Game): see: Films acclaimed by critics and filmmakers above.
- Japan:
- 羅生門 - Rashamon: This 1950 film by Akira Kurosawa was the first Japanese film to gain world-wide acclaim. The highest ranked Japanese film (#10) on the Village Voice list of 100 Best Films of the 20th Century.
- United Kingdom:
- The Third Man: Voted best British film ever by members of the British Film Institute in 1999.
- United States:
- Citizen Kane: voted the best American film ever by the American Film Institute