These are the best movies of all time, ranked by movie experts and film fans alike. What are the greatest movies in cinema history? This list of the top films ever made was created by taking best movie suggestions from Ranker users and letting them vote to determine which famous movies are the best ever made.
So, what are the best movies of all time? The list includes a wide range of films from all over the world, from art house European cinema to top action films and must-see blockbusters to established, highly-regarded classics of the Golden Age of Hollywood. The entries span many genres and include some of the greatest movie villains created by the best writers and top film directors in the industry. Included are movies that were recognized in their own time – including a number of Academy Award recipients and even Best Picture selections – as well as cult movies or sleeper hits that took time to find an audience. 1994 American drama film Shawshank Redemption, for example, was not highly regarded or popular in theaters when it first opened, but has since risen to the top 10 of many best movie lists.
If your favorite movies still aren't included with this ranking of good movies to watch, add them by clicking "rerank" below to make your own list. Or just vote for the top rated movies below that are most worthy of the title of the greatest movie ever. Also, check out Ranker's lists of the greatest actors of all time.
Data-driven recommendations based on voting from over 40 million monthly visits to Ranker. Try the free app
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Dir. by Steven Spielberg (1982), starring Drew Barrymore, Erika Eleniak & Debra Winger
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial is a 1982 American science fiction-family film co-produced and directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Melissa Mathison, featuring special effects by Carlo ...more
The Princess Bride Dir. by Rob Reiner (1987), starring Billy Crystal, Robin Wright & André the Giant
The Princess Bride is a 1987 American romantic comedy fantasy adventure film directed and co-produced by Rob Reiner. It was adapted by William Goldman from his 1973 novel of the same name. The ...more
The Sound Of Music Dir. by Robert Wise (1965), starring Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer & Eleanor Parker
The Sound of Music is a 1965 American musical drama film produced and directed by Robert Wise and starring Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer. The film is an adaptation of the 1959 Broadway ...more
The Terminator Dir. by James Cameron (1984), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Bill Paxton & Linda Hamilton
The Terminator is a 1984 American science fiction/horror action film directed by James Cameron, written by Cameron and the film's producer Gale Anne Hurd. Schwarzenegger plays the Terminator, a ...more
Inception Dir. by Christopher Nolan (2010), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy & Marion Cotillard
Inception is a 2010 science fiction thriller film written, produced, and directed by Christopher Nolan. The film stars a large ensemble cast that includes Leonardo DiCaprio, Ellen Page, Joseph ...more
Star Wars: Episode VI Return of the Jedi is a 1983 American epic space opera film directed by Richard Marquand, and the third and final film in the original Star Wars trilogy. After a daring ...more
Die Hard Dir. by John McTiernan (1988), starring Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman & Bonnie Bedelia
Die Hard is a 1988 American action film directed by John McTiernan and written by Steven E. de Souza and Jeb Stuart. It is based on the 1979 novel Nothing Lasts Forever, by Roderick Thorp. Die ...more
The Sixth Sense Dir. by M. Night Shyamalan (1999), starring Bruce Willis, Mischa Barton & Haley Joel Osment
The Sixth Sense is a 1999 American supernatural thriller film written and directed by M. Night Shyamalan. The film tells the story of Cole Sear (Haley Joel Osment), a troubled, isolated boy who ...more
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is a 2002 epic fantasy film directed by Peter Jackson and based on the second volume of J. R. R. Tolkien's novel The Lord of the Rings. It is the second ...more
crowman added The Godfather Dir. by Francis Ford Coppola (1972), starring Al Pacino, Marlon Brando & Robert Duvall
The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola, based on the novel by Mario Puzo. The aging patriarch (Marlon Brando) of an organized crime dynasty transfers ...more
Psycho Dir. by Alfred Hitchcock (1960), starring Alfred Hitchcock, Janet Leigh & Anthony Perkins
Psycho is a 1960 American horror film directed by Alfred Hitchcock. The film centers on an encounter between a secretary, Marion Crane, who ends up at a secluded motel after taking money from ...more
Terminator 2: Judgment Day Dir. by James Cameron (1991), starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, Edward Furlong & Linda Hamilton
Terminator 2: Judgment Day is a 1991 American science fiction action thriller film written, produced and directed by James Cameron. The film stars Arnold Schwarzenegger, Linda Hamilton, Robert ...more
Ferris Bueller's Day Off Dir. by John Hughes (1986), starring Charlie Sheen, Matthew Broderick & Jeffrey Jones
Ferris Bueller's Day Off is a 1986 American comedy film written, produced and directed by John Hughes. The film follows high school senior Ferris Bueller, who skips school and spends the day in ...more
Full Metal Jacket Dir. by Stanley Kubrick (1987), starring Vincent D'Onofrio, R. Lee Ermey & Adam Baldwin
Full Metal Jacket is a 1987 film directed and produced by Stanley Kubrick. The screenplay by Kubrick, Michael Herr, and Gustav Hasford was based on Hasford's novel The Short-Timers. The film ...more
Iron Man Dir. by Jon Favreau filmography (2008), starring Robert Downey Jr., Terrence Howard & Jeff Bridges
Iron Man is a 2008 American superhero film directed by Jon Favreau, based on the Marvel Comics character. After being held captive in an Afghan cave, billionaire engineer Tony Stark (Robert ...more
Scarface Dir. by Brian De Palma (1983), starring Michelle Pfeiffer, Al Pacino & Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio
Scarface is a 1983 American crime drama film directed by Brian De Palma, and a remake of the 1932 film. In 1980s Miami, Cuban refugee Tony Montana (Al Pacino) rises up and becomes a powerful ...more
Ghostbusters Dir. by Ivan Reitman (1984), starring Bill Murray, Sigourney Weaver & Dan Aykroyd
Ghostbusters is a 1984 American sci-fi-fantasy comedy film, directed and produced by Ivan Reitman and written by Dan Aykroyd and Harold Ramis. The film stars Bill Murray, Aykroyd, and Ramis as ...more
Alien Dir. by Ridley Scott (1979), starring Sigourney Weaver, John Hurt & Ian Holm
Alien is a 1979 science fiction horror film directed by Ridley Scott. The crew of the commercial space tug Nostromo encounter the eponymous Alien, a deadly and aggressive extraterrestrial set ...more
Braveheart Dir. by Mel Gibson (1995), starring Mel Gibson, Sophie Marceau & Brendan Gleeson
Braveheart is a 1995 epic historical medieval war drama film directed by and starring Mel Gibson. Gibson portrays William Wallace, a 13th-century Scottish warrior who led the Scots in the First ...more
Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory is a 1971 musical fantasy film directed by Mel Stuart, and starring Gene Wilder as Willy Wonka. The film, a film adaptation of the 1964 novel Charlie and ...more
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade is a 1989 American adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg, from a story co-written by executive producer George Lucas. It is the third installment in the ...more
The Departed Dir. by Martin Scorsese (2006), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Jack Nicholson & Alec Baldwin
The Departed is a 2006 American crime drama film directed by Martin Scorsese, and a remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. Irish Mob boss Francis "Frank" Costello (Jack ...more
Titanic Dir. by James Cameron (1997), starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet & Kathy Bates
Titanic is a 1997 American epic romance and disaster film directed by James Cameron. A seventeen-year-old aristocrat (Kate Winslet) falls in love with a kind but poor artist (Leonardo DiCaprio) ...more
The Breakfast Club Dir. by John Hughes (1985), starring Judd Nelson, Molly Ringwald & Anthony Michael Hall
The Breakfast Club is a 1985 American coming-of-age comedy-drama film written, produced, and directed by John Hughes and starring Emilio Estevez, Paul Gleason, Anthony Michael Hall, John ...more
Data-driven recommendations based on voting from over 40 million monthly visits to Ranker. Try the free app 
