The Top 25 Greatest Films of All (My) Time

Well, I have finally done it. I finished my homework. 

Two weeks ago, I promised viewers of the Off the Beaten Path VIP podcast, as well as my pal and co-host Christian Toto, that I would create a list of my top 25 films of all time. In that podcast, we had ripped Telegraph film critic Robbie Collin for his list of the "50 greatest films of all time," in which Stepbrothers came in at #25 and the Lord of the Rings trilogy at ... #48. At #47? Body Double. 

Christian and I then promised to create our own lists for the next episode, which Christian completed while I did not. We discussed his list on this week's episode, wherein I promised to have mine ready for Tuesday's taping. And it turned out to be a lot more difficult than I imagined. 

Let's stipulate up front: all such lists are subjective and clearly limited to films I have actually watched. It also depends on time; this is not the list I would have created ten years ago, nor would it be the list I'd create ten years from now. Life changes perspectives, art resonates differently depending on our experiences, and so on. 

To control for that, I used my IMDB ratings over the last 25-plus years to identify the films I rated highest. I then reviewed other lists, including those on IMDb, identifying the greatest and most popular films of all time. All of this data went into a spreadsheet, where I did some calculations and ... still ended up tweaking my list. 

It's possible, perhaps, that I made this a little more complicated than necessary. However, this list will hold up pretty well, at least until Hollywood and indie filmmakers produce superior content. For that, we may be waiting a while. A long while.

Without further ado, here’s my list in ascending order, with director and release year, along with a brief explanation for each:

• 25: Unforgiven (Clint Eastwood, 1992) - This one was a struggle for me; it bumped Touch of Evil off my final list. However, Eastwood’s final deconstruction of the Western is so powerful and hits on all cylinders, while still maintaining an epic scope, especially in its horrifying conclusion. 
• 24: Excalibur (John Boorman, 1981) - Boorman’s heartfelt embrace of the Arthurian cycle and his commitment to its mystic elements can be a little uneven, but its power is undeniable, even when its operatic nature tips a little into excess. The real-life tension between Nicol Williamson and a luminous Helen Mirren translated into powerful chemistry on screen. Boorman's best film ever, although Hope and Glory comes close.
• 23: The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987) - I’ll cop to being sentimental with this choice after the death of Rob Reiner, but this is one of the most complete films ever made: adventure, romance, comedy, magic, revenge, and at its core, the love of a grandfather for his grandson. Every single element lands perfectly. I'll fight anyone who contradicts me to the ... pain. 
• 22: Is Paris Burning? (René Clément, 1966) - This is not an easy film to find these days, but I have a DVD that I pull out from time to time. It’s an inspiring tale of the liberation of Paris in 1944 as the occupying Nazi forces begin to realize the war is lost. It’s chock-full of great performances, and it’s no easy ride either. I get chills at the end every single time, and even when I just think about the finale. 
• 21: Galaxy Quest (Dean Parisot, 1999) - David Mamet once called this a perfect comedy, and he’s right. It would have been very easy to just poke fun at Star Trek and its fans, but this plays the concept straight and turns into a very human film. It's an absolute marvel as both a satire of and a tribute to the genre and its fans. 
• 20: My Fair Lady (George Cukor, 1965) - Audrey Hepburn at her most luminous and vulnerable, Rex Harrison in the role of his lifetime, and George Bernard Shaw set to some of the greatest music on stage. This is one of the few films that I have to finish when I come across it on TV. In my estimation, it’s the second-greatest film musical of all time.
• 19: The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960) - One of the best social-commentary films of all time … cynicism-wise. Great performances, including one of Fred MacMurray’s rare roles as a rat. Jack Lemmon and Shirley MacLaine give us the bleak side of corporate America and the exploitation of power politics within it. Have things changed much since? Yes, but perhaps not as much as we’d like.  
• 18: A Man for All Seasons (Fred Zinneman, 1966) - Paul Scofield delivers one of the greatest performances in film history as Sir Thomas More, who would be martyred for his refusal to renounce his faith. It raises the challenge of integrity in almost every one of its scenes, and yet Scofield makes More a very human and very reluctant saint. 
• 17: Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950) - If you thought Wilder was cynical about corporate America, it’s nothing to his cynicism about Hollywood. At least everyone got out of The Apartment alive. Gloria Swanson was 50 years old when she played a washed-up star, which was a shock to me when I realized it during a relatively recent viewing. Look for a pre-Dragnet Jack Webb playing the life of the party. 
• 16: Blazing Saddles (Mel Brooks, 1974) - Christian chose Young Frankenstein for his list, and that’s totally defensible, but this film took a lot more risks – and succeeded. The end is a bit of a mess, but it’s still hilarious, and it delivered a powerful rebuke to bigots and land-grabbers alike. You could easily make Young Frankenstein today, but Blazing Saddles? Good luck. 
• 15: A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971) - Kubrick made a number of great films, but this one feels like a prescient warning that we either ignored or forgot. Wilding teenagers are a fact of life in places like Chicago. The film asks tough questions about atonement versus repentance, crime and punishment, and the risks of raising our own horrorshows.
• 14: Zulu (Cy Endfield, 1964) - One of the greatest war films ever, focused on the true story of what was first considered a skirmish after a British disaster in Africa. Like Patton (coming up), it captures the waste of war, its horror, its shame, but also its honor, courage, and the brotherhood necessary to survive it. It’s the debut performance of Michael Caine to boot. The “Men of Harlech” sequence gives me chills every time. 
• 13: The Wizard of Oz (Various, 1939) - It’s not just an amazing cinematic achievement, although it certainly is that. It's not just the amazing cast and the performances, which it certainly has. It’s also the amazing way that this film not only endures but continues to expand its audience. 
• 12: Judgment at Nuremberg (Stanley Kramer, 1961) - People may not think about this film as among the greats, but it definitely deserves mention among the very best. Kramer wisely set this in one of the later trials rather than the first and most well-known Nazi trial. Spencer Tracy and Marlene Dietrich are fascinating as both opponents and friends, but the film has a number of amazing performances, especially Judy Garland, Burt Lancaster, and Maxmillian Schell. Look for a pre-Hogan’s Heroes Werner Klemperer, too, not to mention a pre-Trek William Shatner. 
• 11: Rocky (John G. Avildsen, 1976) - The sequels started turning Rocky Balboa into something of a cartoon character, but the original was gritty, realistic, tough, and heartbreaking. Every character in it is broken to some degree, but Rocky transcends his limitations to go the distance. Avildsen created a model that set up films like The Karate Kid, Rudy, and others, but this film didn’t try to make it pretty. 
• 10: Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981) - I’m not sure that this is better than Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but it was first, and it was groundbreaking. Spielberg and Lucas remade the serials of their youth into blockbusters with superior production values and unbridled fun. 
• 9: The Sound of Music (Robert Wise, 1965) - The greatest film musical of all time, bar none. Julie Andrews gave a powerful and vulnerable performance, along with her amazing singing voice. Its setting in the Anschluss makes it even more emotionally powerful. This film continues to find new audiences of children because of its delightful cast, but it keeps resonating with adults for its moral conflicts and heroic arc. 
• 8: It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1947) - Capra’s most spiritual film; it’s considered a Christmas classic, but in theological terms, it’s more of an Easter story. Jimmy Stewart’s performance as a lost George Bailey is shockingly intense, and Donna Reed’s strength is equally powerful. If you’re not crying by the toast from Harry, check your pulse.  
• 7: Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) - Scorsese’s best film tells the real-life story of Henry Hill, but it also tells the story of the fall of the Italian mob. It starts off with sepia-tinted glasses of nostalgia, but descends quickly into degradation, betrayals, and shows how the drug trade demolished whatever discipline existed in the Mafia. Every frame of this film lands fully, and Scorsese gets great performances from an insanely talented cast.
• 6: Patton (Franklin J. Schaffner, 1970) - The greatest war film of all time is also one of the greatest anti-war films of all time. George C. Scott delivered the performance of his career, so much so that he made a follow-up of Patton’s life after his auto accident just after the end of the war. Scott captures the genius of Patton as well as his ego and his impulsiveness. Patton loves war; the film seems inclined to make its audience question it, while hailing Patton as someone we really needed when we had no choice ... and had to cut loose when we did. 
• 5: Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982) - The director’s cut is an amazing exploration of what it means to be human. Harrison Ford and Sean Young are terrific, but Rutger Hauer is the heart of the film. Scott’s dystopian nightmare of Los Angeles has proven very influential in cinema, too. The final soliloquy from Hauer is as crushing a moment as you’ll see in speculative fiction. 
• 4: Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) - So many amazing parts, but it’s the dogged optimism that is the most amazing element in the context of 1942, when this film was made. The war had not gone well initially; Germany still controlled North Africa, and Vichy France was collaborating with Nazi Germany on all of its atrocities. The Marseillaise scene is incredibly moving, and that’s just one of the many emotional pulls this film gives its audience. The most important relationship is not the one you’d think, too. 
• 3: The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994) - There is an epic feel to this claustrophobic prison drama, thanks to the source material, but even more because of its cast. This tops many best-film lists for a reason, and it remains one of the top-rated films on IMDB for those reasons, too. It sells the most powerful and most dangerous element possible … hope.
• 2: The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (Peter Jackson, 2001-3) - Great source material, superior production values, amazing technology, and a director who really understood the mission. He may have missed the mark by stretching The Hobbit into three films, but Peter Jackson did the impossible and gave J.R.R. Tolkien’s creation its due on the big screen all three times. The two battles – Helm’s Deep in The Two Towers and Gondor in Return of the King – are among the most stirring emotional moments in cinema.
• 1: The Godfather I & II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972-4) - It’s impossible to overstate the importance and influence of these two films. It’s an American opera, almost a Wagnerian look at the corruption of its central character and how absolute power corrupts absolutely. This set of films has entered the American cinematic mythos in a way that few, if any, films ever have. 

The Honorable Mentions, in alphabetical order. I'd rank these too, but for the sake of efficiency, maybe it's best to consider them all tied for #26. 

• Absence of Malice – 1981, Sydney Pollack
• Aliens – 1986, James Cameron
• All About Eve – 1950, Joseph L. Mankiewicz 
• All That Jazz – 1979, Bob Fosse
• Amadeus – 1984, Milos Forman
• American History X – 1998, Tony Kaye
• Blow Out – 1981, Brian De Palma
• Changeling – 2008, Clint Eastwood
• Chinatown – 1974,  Roman Polanski
• Conspiracy – 2001, Frank Pierson
• Cool Hand Luke – 1967, Stuart Rosenberg
• Dune I & II – 2024, Denis Villeneuve
• Empire of the Sun – 1987, Steven Spielberg
• Field of Dreams – 1989, Phil Alden Robinson
• Full Metal Jacket – 1987, Stanley Kubrick
• Gandhi – 1982, Richard Attenborough
• Glory – 1992, Edward Zwick
• Heat – 1995, Michael Mann
• Hope and Glory – 1987, John Boorman
• LA Confidential – 1997, Curtis Hanson
• LA Story – 1991, Mick Jackson
• Last of the Mohicans – 1992, Michael Mann
• Matewan – 1987, John Sayles
• My Cousin Vinny – 1992, Jonathan Lynn
• North by Northwest – 1959, Alfred Hitchcock
• One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest – 1975, Milos Forman
• Pulp Fiction – 1994, Quentin Tarantino
• Rudy – 1993, David Anspaugh
• Saving Private Ryan –  1998, Steven Spielberg
• Schindler's List – 1993, Steven Spielberg
• Se7en – 1995, David Fincher
• Star Wars – 1977, George Lucas
• Thank You for Smoking – 2005, Jason Reitman
• The Big Lebowski – 1998, Coen Brothers
• The Elephant Man – 1980, David Lynch
• The Green Mile – 1999, Frank Darabont
• The Maltese Falcon – 1941, John Huston
• The Name of the Rose – 1986, Jean-Jacques Annaud
• The Right Stuff – 1983, Philip Kaufman
• The Ten Commandments – 1956, Cecil B. DeMille
• The Third Man – 1949, Carol Reed
• The Usual Suspects – 1995, Bryan Singer
• Ticket to Heaven – 1981, Ralph L. Thomas
• Touch of Evil –  1958, Orson Welles
• Up In the Air – 2009, Jason Reitman
• Young Frankenstein – 1974, Mel Brooks

Let me know your favorites and your rankings in the comments! And be sure to catch our next Off the Beaten Path episode, when Christian gets to poke holes in my choices.