List Of Films Considered The Best - Best Films

The films considered the best according to national and other perspectives. Each film listed topped a notable surveyâ€"a popular poll or a poll among film reviewersâ€"or is the highest ranked exponent of its genre or country in such a survey. Many of these sources focus on American films or were polls of English-speaking film-goers, but those considered the greatest within their respective countries are also included. Many films are considered among the best ever made.

None of the surveys that produced these citations are scientific measurements of film viewer opinions. Each may suffer from vote stacking or skewed demographics. Internet surveys have a self-selected audience of unstratified participants. The methodology of some surveys may be questionable. In some polls (as in the case of the American Film Institute) voters were asked to select films from a limited list of entries.

Critics and filmmakers

Sight & Sound

Every decade, the British film magazine Sight & Sound asks an international group of film professionals to vote for the greatest film of all time. This poll is regarded as one of the most important "greatest ever film" lists. American critic Roger Ebert described it as "by far the most respected of the countless polls of great moviesâ€"the only one most serious movie people take seriously."

Bicycle Thieves (1948) by Vittorio De Sica topped the first poll in 1952.
Citizen Kane (1941) by Orson Welles was voted #1 in five polls from 1962 to 2002. A separate poll of established film directors, held for the first time in 1992, also placed Citizen Kane at #1 in 1992 and 2002.
Vertigo (1958) by Alfred Hitchcock topped the critics' poll in 2012, dethroning Citizen Kane.
Tokyo Story (1953) by YasujirÅ Ozu topped the Sight & Sound directors' poll in 2012, dethroning Citizen Kane.
La RÃ¨gle du jeu (The Rules of the Game) (1939) by Jean Renoir is the only movie to have appeared in every critics' polls; its only appearance in the directors' poll was #9 in 2002.

Other notable polls

Battleship Potemkin (1925) by Sergei Eisenstein was ranked #1 with 32 votes when the Festival Mondial du Film et des Beaux-Arts de Belgique asked 63 film professionals around the world, mostly directors, to vote for the best films of the half-century in 1951. It was also ranked #1 when the Brussels World's Fair polled 117 experts from 26 countries in 1958.
Citizen Kane (1941) was ranked #1 with 48 votes when French film magazine Cahiers du cinÃ©ma asked 78 French critics and historians to vote for the best films in 2007. It was also ranked #1 with 48 votes when Chinese website Cinephilia.net asked 135 Chinese-speaking critics, scholars, curators, and cultural workers to vote for the best films in 2012. It was ranked #1 with 49 votes when Spanish film magazine Nickel Odeon asked 150 Spanish film experts to vote for the best films in 1999.
Vertigo (1958) was ranked #1 with 39 votes when German film magazine Steadycam asked 174 critics and filmmakers to vote for their favorite films in 2007. It was also ranked #1 with 25 votes when Iranian film magazine Film asked 92 Iranian critics to vote for the best films in 2009.
8Â½ (1963) was voted the best foreign (i.e. non-Swedish) sound film with 21 votes when Swedish film magazine Chaplin organized a poll in which 50 Swedish film professionals voted in 1964. It was also ranked #1 when the The Museum of Cinematography in ÅÃ³dÅº asked 279 Polish film professionals (filmmakers, critics, and professors) to vote for the best films in 2015.
The Godfather (1972) was ranked #1 when Japanese film magazine Kinema Junpo asked 114 Japanese critics and film professionals to vote for the best foreign (i.e. non-Japanese) films in 2009. It was also voted the greatest film in a Hollywood Reporter poll of 2120 industry members, including every studio, agency, publicity firm and production house in Hollywood in 2014.

Rotten Tomatoes

In the Rotten Tomatoes aggregate score rankings, The Wizard of Oz (1939) is in 1st place with a 99% rating based on 109 reviews as of 10 January 2017.

Audience polls

Gone with the Wind (1939) was picked in 2011 for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, an online poll in which over 500,000 votes were cast.
The Godfather (1972) was voted #1 by Entertainment Weekly's readers in 1999 and voted as #1 in a Time Out readers' poll in 1998. The film was voted the "Greatest Movie of All Time" in September 2008 by 10,000 readers of Empire magazine, 150 people from the movie business, and 50 film critics.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001â€"2003) was voted the most popular film of all time by an audience poll for the Australian television special My Favourite Film and by a poll cast by 120,000 German voters for the TV special "Die besten Filme aller Zeiten" (German "The best films of all time") in 2004.

Genres or media

Action

Mad Max 2 (1981) was voted the greatest action film of all time in a readers' poll by Rolling Stone magazine in 2015.
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) was chosen in 2011 as the best action film for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time, an online poll in which over 500,000 votes were cast.
Die Hard (1988) received 21 votes, more than any other film, in a 2014 Time Out poll where 50 directors, actors, critics, and experts voted for the best action films of all time.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) tops Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Action & Adventure Movies list with a 97% score based on 357 reviews as of 10 January 2017.

Animation

Hedgehog in the Fog (1975) was ranked #1 in a poll at the 2003 Laputa Animation Festival where 140 animators from around the world voted for the best animated films of all time.
Tale of Tales (1979) was ranked #1 with 17 votes in a poll at the Olympiad of Animation in 1984 where 35 journalists, scholars, festival directors, and animation programmers voted for the best animated films. It was also ranked #1 in a poll organized by the Channel 4 animation magazine Dope Sheet in 1997, as well as a poll organized by the Zagreb International Animation Festival, which announced the results in 2002.
The Lion King (1994) was chosen as the best animated film for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.
Toy Story (1995) was voted #1 on the "Top 100 Animated Features of All Time" list by the Online Film Critics Society (published March 2003).
Spirited Away (2001) received 39 votes, more than any other film, in a 2014 Time Out poll where 112 animators, critics, and experts voted for the best animated movies. Time Out did not publish a list based on the poll results (they published their own list that was not based on the results), but they did publish all of the individual ballots.
Inside Out (2015) topped Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Animation Movies list with a 98% score based on 318 reviews as of 10 January 2017.

Christmas

It's a Wonderful Life (1946) is #1 on the Movie Review Query Engine's list of the best holiday movies as of 10 January 2017. It also tops Rotten Tomatoes' Best Christmas Movies list as of 10 January 2017.
Die Hard (1988) was voted the greatest Christmas movie by Empire's readers in 2015.

Comedy

Monty Python's Life of Brian (1979) was voted the greatest comedy ever in polls conducted by Total Film magazine in 2000, the British TV network Channel 4 in 2006, and The Guardian newspaper in 2007.
Airplane! (1980) was chosen as the best comedy for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.

Comic/superhero

The Dark Knight (2008) was voted the greatest superhero movie in a reader's poll conducted by Rolling Stone in 2014 and tops a list on comic book adaptations by Movie Review Query Engine as of 10 January 2017.

Disaster

The Poseidon Adventure (1972) was voted best disaster movie in a poll of 500 members of the UCI cinemas staff in May 2004.

Documentary

Man with a Movie Camera (1929) was voted the greatest documentary of all time with 125 votes (100 critics and 25 filmmakers) in a 2014 Sight & Sound poll of 238 critics, curators, and academics (including many documentary specialists) and 103 filmmakers. It was also the most cited film with 8 votes when Brazilian critic Carlos Alberto Mattos asked 39 Brazilian documentary filmmakers to choose 5 films that they admire and that influenced them.
Bowling for Columbine (2002) heads the list of 20 all-time favorite non-fiction films selected by members of the International Documentary Association (IDA) in 2002.
Hoop Dreams (1994) was ranked as the greatest documentary of all time by IDA in 2007.

Historical

Schindler's List (1993) was chosen as the best political/historical film for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.

Horror

The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) is ranked #1 on Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Horror Movies list with a 100% score based on 48 reviews as of 10 January 2017.
The Exorcist (1973) was chosen as the best horror film for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.
The Texas Chain Saw Massacre (1974) ranked #1 on Total Film's 2005 list of the greatest horror films.

Musical

See The Wizard of Oz in the Rotten Tomatoes section above.

West Side Story (1961) was chosen as the best screen musical by readers of The Observer in a 2007 poll.
The Sound of Music (1965) was chosen as the best musical for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.

Mystery

Citizen Kane (1941) is ranked #1 on Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Mystery & Suspense Movies list with a 100% score based on 73 reviews as of 19 December 2016.

Science fiction

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) was voted the best science fiction film of all time by 115 members of the Online Film Critics Society in 2002. It is also the only science fiction film to make the Sight and Sound critics' poll for ten best movies (#10 in 1992, #6 in 2002 and 2012).
Blade Runner (1982) was voted the best science fiction film by a panel of 56 scientists assembled by the British newspaper The Guardian in 2004. In New Scientist, Blade Runner was voted "all-time favourite science fiction film" in the readers' poll in 2008, with 12 percent of thousands of votes.
Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) is ranked #2 on Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Science Fiction & Fantasy Movies list with a 97% score based on 357 reviews as of 10 January 2017, behind fantasy film The Wizard of Oz (1939).

Silent

Battleship Potemkin (1925) was voted the best silent film with 32 votes when Swedish film magazine Chaplin organized a poll in which 50 Swedish film professionals voted in 1964.

Sports

Rocky (1976) topped Digital Spy's "greatest ever sports movie" audience poll in 2012.
Murderball (2005) is ranked #1 on Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Sports & Fitness Movies list with a 98% score based on 138 reviews as of 10 January 2017.

Thriller

The Silence of the Lambs (1991) was chosen as the best suspense/thriller for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.

Western

The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) is ranked #1 on Rotten Tomatoes' Top 100 Western Movies list with a 100% score based on 45 reviews as of 10 January 2017.
Johnny Guitar (1954) was the most cited film in the "Ten Best Westerns" lists of 27 French critics in Le Western.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) was chosen as the best western film for Best in Film: The Greatest Movies of Our Time in 2011.

Countries

Australia

The Castle (1997) was selected by the public as Australia's favourite film in a 2008 poll conducted by the Australian Film Institute, in collaboration with Australia Post.

Bangladesh

Titash Ekti Nadir Naam (1973) topped the list of 10 best Bangladeshi films in the audience and critics' polls conducted by the British Film Institute in 2002.

Canada

Mon oncle Antoine (1971): Named first in the Toronto International Film Festival's Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time in 1984, 1993 and 2004.
The Sweet Hereafter (1997): Voted the best Canadian film by readers of Playback in 2002.
Atanarjuat: The Fast Runner (2001) was named first in the Toronto International Film Festival's 2015 Top 10 Canadian Films of All Time.

Czech Republic

Marketa Lazarova (1967) was voted the all-time best Czech-Slovak movie in a 1998 poll of 54 Czech and Slovak film critics and publicists.
Cosy Dens (1999) was the best Czech film according to a readers' poll by Reflex magazine in 2011.

Chile

Julio comienza en julio (1979) was chosen in 1999 as the "Best Chilean Film of the Century" in a vote organized by the Municipality of Santiago.

China

Spring in a Small Town (å°åŸŽä¹‹æ˜¥) (1948) was ranked #1 on the Hong Kong Film Awards Association's Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures list in 2005.
Farewell My Concubine (éœ¸çŽ‹åˆ«å§¬; 1993) was picked as #1 by 88 international film experts for Time Out's 100 Best Mainland Chinese Films in 2014.

Croatia

Tko pjeva zlo ne misli (One Who Sings Means No Harm, 1970) was voted the best Croatian movie of all time by Croatian film critics in 1999.

Estonia

Kevade (Spring, 1969) received first place in the Estonian feature films Top Ten Poll in 2002 held by Estonian film critics and journalists.

Finland

The Unknown Soldier (1955) was voted the best Finnish movie by 1213 respondents in an Internet poll by Helsingin Sanomat in 2007.
Komisario Palmun erehdys (1960) was chosen as the best Finnish fictional movie of all time in a poll of 48 critics by Yle in 2012.

Hong Kong

A Better Tomorrow (è‹±é›„æœ¬è‰²) (1986), filmed and produced in Hong Kong, was voted the second best Chinese film ever made by the Hong Kong Film Awards Association in 2005.

Hungary

The Round-Up (1965) by MiklÃ³s JancsÃ³ was chosen as the best Hungarian film in a 2000 Hungarian film critics' poll.
Satan's Tango (1994), directed by BÃ©la Tarr, is 36th, the highest rank for a Hungarian film, in the 2012 Sight & Sound critics' poll.

India

Pather Panchali (1955) by Satyajit Ray appeared on the Sight & Sound Critics' Poll in 1992 (ranked #6). It also topped the British Film Institute's user poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time in 2002.
Sholay (1975) by Ramesh Sippy topped the British Film Institute's critics' poll of "Top 10 Indian Films" of all time in 2002.
Mayabazar (1957) by Kadiri Venkata Reddy was chosen as the greatest Indian film of all time in an online poll conducted by IBN Live in 2013.

Iran

Bashu, the Little Stranger (1986) was voted "Best Iranian Film of all time" in November 1999 by a Persian movie magazine Picture World poll of 150 Iranian critics and professionals.

Ireland

The Commitments (1991) was voted the best Irish film of all time in a 2005 Jameson Whiskey online poll of over 10,000 Irish people.

Israel

Giv'at Halfon Eina Ona (1976) was voted "Favorite Israeli Film of All Time" in a 2004 poll by Ynet, the platform of the Israeli newspaper Yediot Ahronot. The film received votes from 25,000 web users.
Avanti Popolo (1986) was voted "Greatest Israeli Film of All Time" in a 2013 poll of 20 Israeli film experts by NRG Ma'ariv.

Italy

Bicycle Thieves (1948) by Vittorio De Sica topped the first Sight & Sound critics' poll in 1952.

Japan

Rashomon (ç¾…ç"Ÿé–€; 1950) by Akira Kurosawa is at #10 the highest-ranked Japanese film on the Village Voice 1999 "Best Films of the Century" list, voted on by 59 film critics.
Tokyo Story (æ±äº¬ç‰©èªž Tokyo Monogatari; 1953) by YasujirÅ Ozu topped the Sight & Sound directors' poll and came third place in the critics' poll in 2012.

Netherlands

Zwartboek (Black Book â€" 2006 â€" Paul Verhoeven): Voted best Dutch film of all time at the 2008 Netherlands Film Festival by nearly 15,000 members of the public.

Norway

Ni Liv (Nine Lives â€" 1957 â€" Arne Skouen): The critics' choice for "Best Norwegian Film of All Time" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.
FlÃ¥klypa Grand Prix (Pinchcliffe Grand Prix â€" 1975 â€" Ivo Caprino): The people's choice for "Best Norwegian Film of All Time" during the 2005 Bergen International Film Festival.

Pakistan

Baji (1963), directed by S. Suleman, topped the British Film Institute's critics' poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time in 2002.
Aina (1977), directed by Nazr-ul-Islam, topped the British Film Institute's user poll of "Top 10 Pakistani Films" of all time in 2002.

Philippines

Himala (Miracle) (1982) by Ishmael Bernal won the 2008 CNN Asia Pacific Screen Awards Viewers Choice as "Best Asia-Pacific Film of All Time" (voted for by thousands of film fans around the world).

Poland

Teddy Bear (1980) was voted by the public of 2013 Filmfest PL as the best movie of all time.

Romania

Reconstituirea (The Reenactment, 1968) directed by Lucian Pintilie was selected as the best Romanian film by 40 film critics in 2008.

Slovakia

Pictures of the Old World (1972) was voted the best Slovak film of all time by Slovak critics in 2000.
The Shop on Main Street (1965) was named the second best film in the 100 years of Czech-Slovak cinema in a poll of 54 filmmakers, critics, and theorists. It was the best placed Slovak film in this poll. A controversy continues over whether the Film is Slovak or Czech.

Sri Lanka

Pura Handa Kaluwara (1997) by P. Vithanage topped the British Film Institute's critics' poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time in 2002.
Ananta Rathiriya (1995) by P. Vithanage topped the British Film Institute's user poll of "Top 10 Sri Lankan Films" of all time in 2002.

Sweden

Persona (1966) by Ingmar Bergman reached the highest position (#5 in 1972) of any Swedish film on any of Sight & Sound's lists of greatest films of all time.
The Phantom Carriage (KÃ¶rkarlen, 1921) by Victor SjÃ¶strÃ¶m was voted the best Swedish film of all time by 50 film critics and academics in a poll conducted by film magazine FLM in 2012.

Taiwan

A City of Sadness (traditional Chinese: æ‚²æƒ…åŸŽå¸‚, 1989) is at #5 the highest ranking Taiwanese film on a list of the Best 100 Chinese Motion Pictures unveiled by the Hong Kong Film Awards in 2005.

Turkey

Yol (1982) by Åžerif GÃ¶ren was selected as the best Turkish film in a 2003 poll undertaken by Ankara Sinema DerneÄŸi (Ankara Association for Cinema Culture) of people interested in cinema professionally.

United Kingdom

The Third Man (1949): Voted best British film ever by 1000 industry professionals, academics, and critics in a British Film Institute poll conducted in 1999. Highest ranked British entry and #3 overall on the Rotten Tomatoes list of the best films of all time with a 100% rating based on 76 reviews as of 10 January 2017.
Lawrence of Arabia (1962): voted "best British film of all time" in August 2004 by over 200 respondents in a Sunday Telegraph poll of Britain's leading filmmakers.
Don't Look Now (1973): Named best British film in a poll of 150 film industry experts conducted by Time Out London in 2011.
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) was voted the best British picture of all time by 7000 film fans in a 2004 poll by the UK arm of Amazon and Internet Movie Database.

United States

Gone with the Wind (1939) was voted the favorite film of Americans in a poll of 2,279 adults undertaken by Harris Interactive in 2008, and again in a follow-up poll of 2,276 adults in 2014.
Citizen Kane (1941) was selected as the greatest American film in 2015 by sixty-two international film critics surveyed by the BBC. It was also ranked top in every Sight & Sound critics' poll between 1962 and 2002, and the directors' poll in 1992 and 2002. The American Film Institute polled 1,500 film community leaders for the lists 100 Years... 100 Movies and 100 Years... 100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) in 1998 and 2007 respectively, both of which identified Citizen Kane as the best American film ever.
Vertigo (1958) topped the Sight & Sound critics' poll in 2012.
The Godfather (1972) was selected as the greatest film by 2,120 industry professionals in a Hollywood survey undertaken by The Hollywood Reporter in 2014.

Farwani Deletin