It is arguably his greatest gift to cinema, an infinitely ambitious vision of a space-faring future whose narrative centres on the most pivotal moment in human evolution since some ape-man first bashed another ape-man with an old bone. Michael Mann’s starry upgrade of his TV movie LA Takedown squeezed every last drop of icon-juice out of its heavyweight double-billing, bringing Pacino and De Niro together on screen, sharing scenes for the very first time. The trick was to only do it twice during the entire running time, with that first diner meeting virtually fizzing with alpha-star electricity.

‘The Social Network’ (

Its screwball comedy, great performances, and quotable scenes made it a hit with critics. There would be no Vacation series without the original, which happens to be the best of the bunch. Home Alone is often remembered as a Christopher Columbus film, as he directed the Christmas classic, but it was written and produced by John Hughes. Though Uncle Buck came before it, Home Alone was the film that truly shot Macaulay Culkin into A-list child actor status. Culkin played Kevin McCallister, a boy who has to defend his home from two thieves (Joe Pesci and Daniel Stern) when his family accidentally leaves him behind on their Christmas vacation. While Sixteen Candles hasn’t aged as well as some other 1980s films, it remains a classic for good reason.

Set in the early 1960s, the movie follows a bunch of high school graduates as they cruise around town for one last time before heading off to college. Bringing their adventures to life is a range of comic exchanges and an endlessly listenable soundtrack of classic oldies. 1992’s Reservoir Dogs might have put director Quentin Tarantino on the cultural map, but it was this 1994 masterpiece that made him a worldwide phenom. Weaving multiple Los Angeles-based storylines together in brilliant fashion, the film brings its viewers into Tarantino’s fully realized world of grit, violence, and wicked comedy.

These Are the 100 Greatest Films of All Time, According to 1,600 Critics

However, when Stoddard comes back into town years later, he reveals he might not have been the shooter after all. The premise of a gunslinger coming out of retirement might be cliché by today’s standards, but it was quite fresh when this Western debuted in 1950, making The Gunfighter a trailblazer of sorts. Furthermore, the movie’s reflective and psychological approach helped pave the way for similar and more successful fare like High Noon. In the film, a famous desperado (Gregory Peck) straps up the six-shooter for one final showdown, as he squares off against vengeful cowboys. Orson Welles not only directs but stars as the Shakespearean character Sir John Falstaff, drawing from the plays Henry IV, Henry V, Richard II, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. It was based on a play Welles wrote called Five Kings, which flopped on its opening night in New York City in 1939.

One Of The Greatest Musicals Of All Time

Beth’s father Bob (a quietly genial Pete Holmes) takes the family to help give holiday meals to needy families, and Grace, Beth and Charlie learn that the Herdman children are all but feral, with no father and a mother who works all the time. The Thai film “Tropical Malady,” Apichatpong Weerasethakul’s enigmatic romantic drama, also reflects an increased recognition of L.G.B.T.Q.-themed films. And for a very long time, the same “serious movies” got taken seriously decade after decade. The new list, however, marks several radical shifts from the accepted wisdom — and maybe, just maybe, from the idea of a “canon” altogether. The much-respected Sight and Sound poll of the best films ever shows that what is valued onscreen has changed over time, sometimes radically. We could go on and on about the shortcomings of our work here — not enough animation!

To avoid exposure, Remy hides inside the hat of a bumbling kitchen worker and controls the worker’s movements by pulling on his hair. Not only was this animated flick a huge hit with critics, but it features an elitist food critic in a prominent role. In this noirish thriller from Billy Wilder, an insurance agent (Fred MacMurray) gets lured into a murderous scheme by his client’s wife (Barbara Stanwyck). Not only do the pair plot the murder of the woman’s husband, but thanks to a double indemnity clause in the victim’s insurance plan, they hope to walk away with twice the fortune. When adapting James M. Cain’s novel for the big screen, Wilder brought mystery legend Raymond Chandler on board as a co-writer, though the two men reportedly hated working with one another.

Like a number of Linklater’s films, this one gets its message across through a series of naturalistic scenes, which don’t build up as much as they flow together. The final installment in Krzysztof Kieślowski’s Three Colours trilogy is also the Polish director’s final film. Blending elements of drama, romance, mystery, philosophy, and comedy, the movie takes place in Geneva, Switzerland. After discovering that her neighbor has a keen habit of eavesdropping on other people’s conversations, Valentine grapples with the moral implications and confronts secrets from her own past. This Mexican/Spanish film finds director Guillermo del Toro in top form.

Set in 18th-century France, Portrait of a Lady on Fire tells the story of the relationship that develops between an aristocratic bride-to-be and a young woman commissioned to paint her wedding portrait. The film has only brief lines of dialogue by men, and it has no musical score. Using an unfinished novel by writer and social critic James Baldwin as its foundation, this award-winning documentary explores the history of race in America. Against a harrowing tapestry of archival footage, actor Samuel L. Jackson reads excerpts from Remember This House, Baldwin’s intended tribute to Malcolm X, Martin Luther King Jr., and Medgar Evers. Interspersed throughout are interviews with Baldwin himself, whose words continue to emanate with poignancy to this day. Set during the Iraq War, this taut war drama follows a bomb squad maverick Staff Sergeant William James (Jeremy Renner) as he dismantles various explosives.

They insist on being cast, Imogene as Mary, one brother as Joseph, her younger three brothers as the wise men, and their youngest sister, Gladys (Kynlee Heiman) a scruffy hellion missing her top two front teeth, as the angel who calls to the shepherds. But we tried to stay true to our love of movies, these movies, and others that didn’t make the cut. (Remember, it’s only 50!) The final list is a reflection of that love, but also of a system that favors certain stories and storytellers at the expense of others. If the list is not a model of representational balance, call us out — we can take it — but also continue to call out an industry that hasn’t given us a more diverse landscape of voices to love, hate and argue over.

This is not merely a niche film, but a window onto a universal condition, depicted in a concentrated structuralist style. More hypnotic than you may realize, Akerman’s uninterrupted takes turn the simple acts of dredging veal or cleaning natura quiz the bathtub into subtle critiques of moviemaking itself. (Pointedly, we never see the sex work Jeanne schedules in her bedroom to make ends meet.) Lulling us into her routine, Akerman and actor Delphine Seyrig create an extraordinary sense of sympathy rarely matched by other movies.

That it also features exceptional performances across the board, especially from Russell Crowe as conscience-discovering bruiser Bud White and Guy Pearce as ramrod rookie Ed Exley only solidifies its position further as one of the great modern works of noir cinema. When the first Paddington was on the way, early trailers didn’t look entirely promising. Yet co-writer/director Paul King delivered a truly wonderful film bursting with joy, imagination, kindness, and just the odd hard stare from our beloved Peruvian bear. By making one of the greatest sequels — nay, one of the best movies period — of all time, naturally. Like all great sequels, this one takes everything that made the first so good and builds on it, dialing up the spectacle, the silliness, and the emotional stakes.

After receiving detention, a group of five high-school students bonds as they realize they have quite a bit in common despite being from different friend groups. Despite being over 35 years old, The Breakfast Club still stands as one of the quintessential movies of the ‘80s and one of director John Hughes standout films. John Hughes has a few Christmas classics in his filmography, with National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation being one of the most beloved.