So where do you go to find out which films are considered the greatest ever? Everyone has their list, but is there a consensus on which films really are the best? I took a look at what some of the larger websites such as Rotten Tomatoes, MetaCritic and IMDB list in their top 30 lists to develop an idea on some sort of concensus.
Rotten Tomatoes
- A Hard Days Night
- The Third Man
- The Wizard of Oz
- Modern Times
- The Godfather
- Dr. Strangelove
- King Kong
- Metropolis
- All About Eve
- Singing in the Rain
- Rear Window
- Battle of Algiers
- Laura
- Citizen Kane
- The Conformist
- The Philadelphia Story
- The 400 Blows
- Cool Hand Luke
- Chinatown
- North by Northwest
- Seven Samurai
- The Maltese Falcon
- On the Waterfront
- Sweet Smell of Success
- The Adventures of Robin Hood
- Man On Wire
- Rashomon
- The Wages of Fear
- Toy Story 2
This list is labeled as “best reviewed movies”, which really doesn’t state that these are the best films ever, just the films that are given the highest accolades from their approved critics. As you can see in this list—which is based solely on the reviews from an approved list of critics—mostly films prior to the 1980s are listed.
IMDB
- 9.1 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) 493,105
- 9.1 The Godfather (1972) 394,556
- 9.0 The Godfather: Part II (1974) 233,902
- 8.9 Il buono, il brutto, il cattivo. (1966) 150,515
- 8.9 Pulp Fiction (1994) 399,788
- 8.9 Schindler’s List (1993) 264,499
- 8.8 12 Angry Men (1957) 111,189
- 8.8 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 204,387
- 8.8 Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 267,356
- 8.8 The Dark Knight (2008)
- 8.8 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003) 349,533
- 8.8 Star Wars (1977) 311,347
- 8.7 Casablanca (1942) 162,303
- 8.7 Shichinin no samurai (1954) 92,939
- 8.7 Goodfellas (1990) 219,516
- 8.7 Fight Club (1999) 364,787
- 8.7 Cidade de Deus (2002) 158,090
- 8.7 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) 373,829
- 8.7 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 234,801
- 8.7 Rear Window (1954) 114,129
- 8.7 Psycho (1960) 137,496
- 8.7 The Usual Suspects (1995) 257,234
- 8.7 C’era una volta il West (1968) 70,315
- 8.6 The Silence of the Lambs (1991) 234,801
- 8.6 The Matrix (1999) 365,391
- 8.6 Se7en (1995) 265,905
- 8.6 Memento (2000) 259,019
- 8.6 It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 98,253
- 8.6 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) 314,806
- 8.6 Sunset Blvd. (1950) 52,262
This list appears to be very much fueled by testosterone. While Rotten Tomatoes tops list consists of 99% and 100% rated films, IMDB’s rating system keeps their number one rated film with a 9.1 out of 10. IMDB’s ratings are provided by registered users, where Rotten Tomatoes is purely from approved and accepted critics.
MetaCritic
- Godfather, The 1972 100
- Superman II 1981 99
- Army of Shadows 2006 99
- Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 98
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days 2008 97
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb 1964 96
- Ratatouille 2007 96
- Manchurian Candidate, The 1962 94
- Spirited Away 2002 94
- Pulp Fiction 1994 94
- Killer of Sheep 2007 94
- Hurt Locker, The 2009 94
- Sita Sings the Blues 2010 94
- WALL-E 2008 94
- Sideways 2004 94
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The 2003 94
- Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie, The 2000 93
- Reversal of Fortune 1990 93
- Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon 2000 93
- Schindler’s List 1993 93
- Amadeus: Director’s Cut 2002 93
- Yi Yi (A One and a Two) 2000 92
- Diving Bell and the Butterfly, The 2007 92
- Class, The 2008 92
- Raging Bull 1980 92
- 35 Shots of Rum 2009 92
- There Will Be Blood 2007 92
- Toy Story 1995 92
- Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The 2001 92
- Werckmeister Harmonies 2001 92
MetaCritic is by far the least consistent and most inconclusive of these three lists. Most films prior to 1999 are not represented, and those that are, are often not represented enough. I find this list to be highly inaccurate due to its lack of films prior to 1999.
Conclusion
If you only use these lists, then The Godfather would be on top. Number one on both MetaCritic and Rotten Tomatoes, and solidly placed number two on IMDB. My conclusion based of the consensus between the three movie review rating sites is:
- The Godfather
- Pulp Fiction
- Dr. Strangelove
- Rear Window
- Schindler’s List
- The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
Of course this doesn’t mean these films are the greatest ever, as all three websites are very much inconclusive in one way or another. I personally don’t agree with the list.
How do you think this list really stands up to the idea of the greatest films ever? Did I miss another website that offers a rating system?