The Best Memory Loss Movies

Updated January 8, 2021 2.5k votes 428 voters 52.8k views46 items

List RulesFilms in which characters experience memory loss, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, forgetfulness, or manipulated memories

List of the best memory loss movies, as ranked by film fans and movie critics. Films about memory loss are very popular and often critically acclaimed because, although most movie viewers don’t experience loss of memory, the themes are universal. Many of these films feature characters trying to find themselves, fix the unfixable people in their lives, or trying to relive moments that are gone forever. The characters of these films either had memory stealing car accidents or deal with dementia. In some cases they even had their memories stolen by malevolent forces.

What are the best memory loss movies ever made? The films here - all movies about memory loss - range from romantic comedies, like 50 First Dates and Overboard, to haunting thrillers, like Shutter Island and The Manchurian Candidate. A few of the films feature abstract depictions of amnesia, such as Memento and Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. Even Disney's animated films Finding Nemo and Finding Dory deal with characters suffering from short term memory loss. While most of the movies include a protagonist with amnesia, a few have main characters who are dealing with a loved one suffering from dementia.

This list features the best memory loss movies of all time, ranging from heartbreaking romances, like The Notebook, to hilarious gut-busters, like The Hangover.

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Memento
Guy Pearce, Carrie-Anne Moss
Released: 2000
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
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Shutter Island
Leonardo DiCaprio, Michelle Williams
Released: 2010
Directed by: Martin Scorsese
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Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
Kate Winslet, Kirsten Dunst
Released: 2004
Directed by: Michel Gondry
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Inception
Leonardo DiCaprio, Tom Hardy
Released: 2010
Directed by: Christopher Nolan
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50 First Dates
Drew Barrymore, Adam Sandler
Released: 2004
Directed by: Peter Segal
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Still Alice
Kristen Stewart, Alec Baldwin
Released: 2014
Directed by: Richard Glatzer, Wash Westmoreland
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Anastasia
Kirsten Dunst, Meg Ryan
Released: 1997
Directed by: Don Bluth, Gary Goldman, Susan Beak, Geoff Beak
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Finding Nemo
Ellen DeGeneres, Willem Dafoe
Released: 2003
Directed by: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich
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Moon
Kevin Spacey, Mary Tyler Moore
Released: 2009
Directed by: Duncan Jones
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The Hangover
Mike Tyson, Bradley Cooper
Released: 2009
Directed by: Todd Phillips
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Spellbound
Ingrid Bergman, Gregory Peck
Released: 1945
Directed by: Alfred Hitchcock
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12 Monkeys
Brad Pitt, Bruce Willis
Released: 1995
Directed by: Terry Gilliam
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The Notebook
Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling
Released: 2004
Directed by: Nick Cassavetes
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Overboard
Goldie Hawn, Kurt Russell
Released: 1987
Directed by: Garry Marshall
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Finding Dory
Ellen DeGeneres, Albert Brooks
Released: 2016
Directed by: Andrew Stanton
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While You Were Sleeping
Sandra Bullock, Monica Keena
Released: 1995
Directed by: Jon Turteltaub
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The Bourne Ultimatum
Matt Damon, Julia Stiles
Released: 2007
Directed by: Paul Greengrass
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Hancock
Charlize Theron, Will Smith
Released: 2008
Directed by: Peter Berg
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Total Recall
Arnold Schwarzenegger, Sharon Stone
Released: 1990
Directed by: Paul Verhoeven
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The Forgotten
Julianne Moore, Gary Sinise
Released: 2004
Directed by: Joseph Ruben
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Mulholland Drive
Naomi Watts, Billy Ray Cyrus
Released: 2001
Directed by: David Lynch
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Angel Heart
Robert De Niro, Mickey Rourke
Released: 1987
Directed by: Alan Parker
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Regarding Henry
Harrison Ford, Annette Bening
Released: 1991
Directed by: Mike Nichols
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Killerman
Liam Hemsworth, Emory Cohen
Released: 2019
Directed by: Malik Bader
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The Long Kiss Goodnight
Samuel L. Jackson, Geena Davis
Released: 1996
Directed by: Renny Harlin
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