Welcome to the one, the only, THE ULTIMATE LIST!
Here you will find, compiled into one place, every movie from every major “must see” film list published in recent years. This includes two versions of the ever changing IMDB Top 250 (spaced two years apart), the London Times Top 100 Films, Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Movies, the American Film Institute’s 100 Years 100 Hundred Movies List and both of Roger Ebert’s Great Movies books (The Great Movies and The Great Movies II). The purpose of this list (besides bragging rights in Scene It?) is to learn as much as possible about the wide range of films that exist. The Ultimate List encompasses everything from the latest blockbuster to the obscure classic in order to provide a starting point for those (myself included) who want to increase their knowledge of film and get a more comprehensive understanding of the medium. Each film is labeled by its English title, followed by the foreign title (if applicable), the year it was released and finally a letter code representing the different lists the film was featured on. Scroll down to see the full list or download it in pdf format here. Also included on The Ultimate List downloadable pdf, as well as at the bottom of this page are the select few films that made it on four out of the five lists (The 4/5 List) or all five lists (The ATELI List).
Letter Code Legend
| A = | American Film Institute’s 100 Years, One Hundred Movies List |
| T = | Time Magazine’s All-Time 100 Movies |
| E = | Ebert’s “Great Movies” books (The Great Movies and The Great Movies II) |
| L = | London Times Top 100 Films |
| I = | IMDB Top 250 (2007 and 2009 versions) |
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la bete) (1946)—ELI
English Title (Foreign Title) (Year Release)—Lists Featured On
The Ultimate List
12 Angry Men (1957)—AEI
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)—AELI
3:10 to Yuma (2007)—I
400 Blows (Les Quatre cents coups) (1959)—TEI
8 ½ (1963)—TEI
The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)—EI
The African Queen (1951)—AI
Aguirre: the Wrath of God (1972)—TE
Ali: Fear Eats the Soul (Angst essen Seele auf) (1974)—E
Alien (1979)—ELI
Aliens (1986)—I
All About Eve (1950)—AELI
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)—I
All the President’s Men (1976)—A
Amadeus (1984)—EI
Amelie (Le Fabuleux destin d’Amelie Poulain) (2001)—I
American Beauty (1999)—I
American Gangster (2007)—I
American Graffiti (1973)—A
American History X (1998)—I
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)—I
Annie Hall (1977)—AELI
The Apartment (1960)—AEI
Apocalypse Now (1979)—AELI (watched 10/27/09)
The Apu Trilogy (1955, 1956, 1959)—TEL
Armacord (1973)—E
Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)—I
Au Hasard, Balthazar (1966)—E
The Awful Truth (1937)—T
Baby Face (1933)—T
Back to the Future (1985)—I
Bande à part (1964)—T
The Bank Dick (1940)—E
Barry Lyndon (1975)—TI
Batman Begins (2005)—I
The Battle of Algiers (La battaglia di Algeri) (1957)—I
Battleship Potemkin (bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)—E
Beat the Devil (1953)—E
Beau Travail (1999)—L
Beauty and the Beast (La Belle et la bete) (1946)—ELI
Being There (1979)—E
Belle de Jour (1967)—E
Ben-Hur (1959)—AI
Berlin Alexanderplatz (1980)—T
The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)—AI
The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di biciclette) (1948)—EI
Big Fish (2003)—I
The Big Heat (1953)—E
The Big Lebowski (1998)—I
The Big Sleep (1946)—EI
The Birth of a Nation (1915)—E
Blade Runner (1982)—ATLI
Blazing Saddles (1974)—L
Blowup (1966)—E
The Blue Kite (Lan feng zheng) (1993)—E
Blue Velvet (1986)—L
The Boat (Das Boot) (1981)—I
Body Heat (1981)—E
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)—ATELI
The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)—I
Brazil (1985)—T
Braveheart (1995)—I
The Breakfast Club(1985)—L
Breathless (A Bout de Souffle) (1960)—EL
Bride of Frankenstein (1935)—TEI
The Bridge of the River Kwai (1957)—AEI
Brief Encounter (1945)—I
Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974)—E
Bringing Up Baby (1938)—A
Broken Blossoms (1919)—E
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)—AI
The Butcher (Le boucher) (1970)—I
Cabaret (1972)—AL
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Das Cabinet des Dr. Caligari) (1920)—I
Camille (1936)—T
Casablanca (1942)—ATELI
Casino (1995)—I
Casino Royale (2006)—I
Changeling (2008)—I
Charade (1963)—T
Children of Men (2006)—I
Children of Paradise (1945)—TE
Chinatown (1974)—ATELI
A Christmas Story (1983)—E
Chungking Express (1994)—TL
Cinderella Man (2005)—I
Cinema Paradiso (Nuovo cinema Paradiso) (1988)—I
Citizen Kane (1941)—ATEI
City Lights (1931)—ATEI
City of God (Cidade de Deus) (2002)—TI
A Clockwork Orange (1971)—ALI
Closely Watched Trains (1966)—T
The Color Purple (1985)—E
The Conversation (1974)—ELI
Cool Hand Luke (1967)—LI
Crash (2004)—I
Cries and Whispers (Viskningar och rop) (1972)—E
Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon (Wo hu cang long) (2000)—I
The Crime of Monsieur Lange (1936)—T
The Crowd (1928)—T
The Crying Game (1992)—L
The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008)—I
The Dark Knight (2008)—I
Day for Night (1973)—T
The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)—I
Days of Heaven (1978)—EL
The Decalogue (1989)—TE
The Deer Hunter (1978)—AI
Deliverance (1972)—L
The Departed (2006)—I
Detour (1945)—TE
Diabolique (Les duaboliques) (1955)—I
Dial M for Murder (1954)—I
Die Hard (1988)—I
The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (1972)—TE
The Diving Bell and the Butterfly (Le scaphandre et le papillion) (2007)—I
Do the Right Thing (1989)—AEL
Doctor Zhivago (1965)—LI
Dodsworth (1936)—T
Dog Day Afternoon (1975)—LI
Donnie Darko (2001)—I
Don’t Look Now (1973)—EL
Double Indemnity (1944)—ATEI
The Downfall (Der Untergang) (2004)—I
Dracula (1931)—E
Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)—ATEI
Drunken Master II (1994)—T
Duck Soup (1933)—AELI
The Earrings of Madame de (1953)—E
Easy Rider (1969)—A
Ed Wood (1994)—I
The Elephant Man (1980)—I
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)—ATEL
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)—LI (watched 8/17/09)
The Exorcist (1973)—LI
The Exterminating Angel (El angel exterminador) (1962)—E
The Fall of the House of Usher (La chute de la maison Usher) (1928)—E
Farewell My Concubine (1993)—T
Fargo (1996)—ELI
Festen (1999)—L
Fever Heat (Bob le flambeur) (1956)—E
Fight Club (1999)—I
Finding Nemo (2003)—TI
Finding Neverland (2004)—I
The Fireman’s Ball (Hori, ma panenko) (1967)—E
Five Easy Pieces (1970)—E
Floating Weeds (Ukigusa) (1959)—E
The Fly (1986)—T
For A Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro in piu) (1965)—I
Forrest Gump (1994)—AI
Frankenstein (1931)—I
The French Connection (1971)—A
Full Metal Jacket (1987)—I
Gandhi (1982)—I
Gates of Heaven (1978)—E
The General (1927)—AEI
Gladiator (2000)—I
Glory (1989)—I
The Godfather Part I (1972)—ATELI
The Godfather Part II (1974)—ATI
Goldfinger (1964)—E
The Gold Rush (1925)—AI
Gone with the Wind (1939)—AEI
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)—TELI
Good Will Hunting (1997)—I
Goodfellas (1990)—ATELI
The Gospel According to Matthew (Il vangelo secondo Matteo) (1964)—E
The Graduate (1967)—ALI
Grand Hotel (1932)—L
Grand Illusion (La grande illusion) (1937)—E
Grand Torino (2008)—I
The Grapes of Wrath (1940)—AEI
Grave of the Fireflies (Hotaru no haka) (1988)—EI
The Great Dictator (1940)—I
The Great Escape (1963)—I
Great Expectations(1946)—ELI
Greed (1924)—E
The Green Mile (1999)—I
Grindhouse (2007)—I
Grisbi (Touchez Pas au Grisbi) (1954)—E
Groundhog Day (1993)—I
A Hard Day’s Night (1964)—TE
Harold and Maude (1971)—I
Harvey (1950)—I
Heat (1995)—I
Hero (Ying xiong) (2002)—I
Hidden (2005)—L
High Noon (1952)—AI
High Society (1956)—L
His Girl Friday (1940)—TLI
Hoop Dreams (1994)—E
Hot Fuzz (2007)—I
Hotel Rwanda (2004)—I
House of Games (1987)—E
The Hustler (1961)—EI
Ikiru (1952)—TE
In A Lonely Place (1950)—T
In Bruges (2008)—I
In Cold Blood (1967)—EI
In The Heat of the Night (1967)—AI
The Incredibles (2004)—I
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)—I
Internal Affairs (Mou gaan dou) (2002)—I
Into the Wild (2007)—I
Intolerance (1916)—A
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)—T
It Happened One Night (1934)—AI
It’s A Gift (1934)—T
It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)—TEI
Jaws (1975)—AELI
JFK (1991)—E
Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)—I
Jules and Jim (Jules et Jim) (1962)—E
The Jungle Book (1967)—L
Jurassic Park (1993)—L
Kandahar (2001)—T
Kes (1969)—L
The Kid (1921)—I
Kieslowski’s Three Color Trilogy—E
Blue (1993)
White (1994)
Red (1994)
Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)—I
Kill Bill: Vol. 2 (2004)—I
The Killing (1956)—I
Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)—TEI
King Kong (1933)—ATEI
L.A. Confidential (1997)—LI
La Dolce Vita (1960)—LEI
La strada (1954)—I
The Lady Eve (1941)—TEL
The Lady Vanishes (1939)—I
The Last Command (1928)—T
The Last Laugh (Der letzte Mann) (1924)—E
The Last Picture Show (1971)—A
Last Year at Marienbad (L’annee derniere a Marienbad) (1961)—E
L’Atalante (1934)—E
Laura (1944)—EI
L’Avventura (1960)—E
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)—ATEI (watched 8/8/09)
Leaving Las Vegas (1995)—E
Le Samourai (1967)—E
Léolo (1992)—T
Leon (1994)—I
The Leopard—E
Let the Right One In (2008)—I
Letters from Iwo Jima (2006)—I
The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)—EL
Life is Beautiful (La Vita e bella,) (1997)—I
Life of Brian (1979)—LI
The Lion King (1994)—I
Little Miss Sunshine (2006)—I
The Lives of Others (Das Leben der Andersen) (2006)—I
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)—I
Lost In Translation (2003)—L
The Lost Weekend (1945)—I
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)—ATI
The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)—TI
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)—TI
Love’s a Bitch (Amores perros) (2000)—I
M (1931)—EI
Magnolia (1999)—I
The Maltese Falcon (1941)—AELI
A Man for All Seasons (1945)—I
Manhattan (1979)—EI
The Man Who Laughs (1928)—E
The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)—LI
The Man With a Camera (1929)—T
The Manchurian Candidate (1962)—TEI
M*A*S*H (1970)—A
The Matrix (1999)—LI
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)—E
Mean Streets (1973)—E
Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)—T
Memento (2000)—I
Metropolis (1927)—TELI
Midnight Cowboy (1969)—A
Mildred Pierce (1945)—L
Miller’s Crossing (1990)—T
Million Dollar Baby (2004)—I
Modern Times (1936)—AI
Mon oncle d’Amérique (1980)—TE
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)—I
Moonstruck (1987)—E
Mouchette (1967)—T
Mr. Houlot’s Holiday (Les vacances de Monsieur Hulot) (1953)—E
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)—AI
The Music Room (1958)—E
My Darling Clementine (1946)—E
My Dinner with Andre (1981)—E
My Fair Lady (1964)—L
My Life to Live (Vivre sa vie) (1962)—E
My Man Godfrey (1936)—I
My Neighbor Totoro (Tonari no Totoro) (1988)—E
Mystic River (2003)—I
Nashville (1975)—AE
The Navigator (1924)—E
Nayakan (1987)—T
Network (1976)—AEI
Neighbors (1920)—E
A Night at the Opera (1935)—A
The Night of the Hunter (1955)—EI
Nights of Cabiria (Le notti di Cabiria) (1957)—EI
Ninotchka (1939)—T
No Country for Old Men (2007)—I
North by Northwest (1959)—ALI
Nosferatu (aka Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens) (1922)—ELI
Notorious (1946)—TEI
Oldboy (2003)—I
Olympia, Parts 1 and 2 (1938)—T
On the Waterfront (1954)—ATI
Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)—TI
Once Upon a Time in America (1984)—I
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)—AELI
One On the Waterfront (1954)—ELI
Orpheus (Orphee) (1950)—E
Our Hospitality (1923)—E
Out of the Past (1947)—TI
The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)—I
Pandora’s Box (Die Buchse der Pandora) (1929)—E
Pan’s Labyrinth (El laberinto del fauno) (2006)—I
Paris, Texas (1984)—E
The Passion of Joan of Arc (La passion de Jeanne d’Arc) (1928)—E
Paths of Glory (1957)—I
Patton (1970)—EI
Peeping Tom (1960)—E
Persona (1966)—TE
The Philadelphia Story (1940)—ALI
The Pianist (2002)—I
The Piano (1993)—L
Pickpocket (1959)—E
Picnic at Hanging Rock (1975)—EL
Pinocchio (1940)—TE
Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003)—I
Planes, Trains and Automobiles (1987)—E
Planet of the Apes (1968)—I (watched 8/22/09)
Platoon (1986)—AI
Point Break (1992)—L
The Prestige (2006)—I
The Princess Bride (1987)—I
Princess Mononoke (Mononoke-hime) (1997)—I
The Producers (1968)—E
Psycho (1960)—ATEI
Pulp Fiction (1994)—ATELI
The Purple Rose of Cairo (1985)—T
Pyaasa (1957)—T
Raging Bull (1980)—ATELI
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)—AEI
Raise the Red Lantern (Da hong deng long gao gao gua) (1991)—E
Ran (1985)—EI
Rashomon (1950)—ELI
Ratatouille (2007)—I
Rear Window (1954)—AELI
Rebecca (1940)—I
Rebel Without a Cause (1955)—L
Red River (1948)—E
Requiem for a Dream (2000)—I
Reservoir Dogs (1992)—I
Rififi (Du rififi chez les hommes) (1955)—EI
The Right Stuff (1983)—E
Rocky (1976)—AI
Roman Holiday (1953)—I
Romeo and Juliet (1968)—E
Rope (1948)—I
Rosemary’s Baby (1968)—LI
The Rules of the Game (Le regle du jeu) (1939)—E
Run Lola Run (Lola rennt) (1998)—I
Safety Last! (1923)—I
Saturday Night Fever (1977)—E
Saving Private Ryan (1998)—AI
Say Anything (1989)—E
The Scarecrow (1920)—E
Scarface (1983)—EI
Schindler’s List (1993)—ATEI
The Searchers (1956)—ATEI
Se7en (1995)—I
Seven Chances (1925)—E
The Seven Samurai (Shichinin no samurai) (1954)—EI
The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde inseglet) (1957)—EI
Shadow of a Doubt (1943)—I
Shane (1953)—AE
Shaun of the Dead (2004)—I
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)—AEI
Sherlock, Jr. (1924)—T
The Shining (1980)—LI
Shoah (1985)—L
The Shop Around the Corner (1940)—T
Short Cuts (1993)—L
Shrek (2001)—I
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)—AELI
Sin City (2005)—I
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)—ATEI
The Singing Detective (1986)—T
The Sixth Sense (1999)—AI
Sleuth (1972)—I
Slumdog Millionaire (2008)—I
Smiles of a Summer Night (1955)—T
Snatch (2000)—I
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)—AE
Solaris (1972)—E
Some Like It Hot (1959)—ATELI
Sophie’s Choice (1982)—A
The Sound of Music (1965)—AL
Spartacus (1960)—ALI
Spirited Away (Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi) (2001)—I
Stalag 17 (1953)—I
Stalker (1979)—I
Stand By Me (1986)—I
Steamboat Bill, Jr. (1928)—E
The Sting (1973)—I
A Star Is Born (1954)—L
Star Trek (2009)—I
Star Wars (1977)—ATEI
Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back (1980)—LI
Star Wars: Return of the Jedi (1983)—I
Stardust (2007)—I
Strangers on a Train (1951)—EI
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)—ATLI
Stroszek (1977)—E
Sullivan’s Travels (1941)—A
A Sunday in the Country (Un dimanche a la campagne) (1984)—E
Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans (1927)—ATEI
Sunset Blvd. (1950)—AELI
Superbad (2007)—I
Sweet Smell of Success (1957)—TEI
Swing Time (1936)—ATE
A Tale of Winter (Conte d’hiver) (1992)—E
Talk to Her (2002)—T
Taxi Driver (1976)—ATELI
The Terminator (1984)—I
Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)—LI
There Will Be Blood (2007)—LI
The Thin Blue Line (1988)—L
The Thin Man (1934)—E
The Third Man (1949)—EI
The Thing (1982)—I
This is Spinal Tap (1984)—EL
Titanic (1997)—A
Trainspotting (1996)—LI
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)—AI
Trouble in Paradise (1932)—E
To Have and Have Not (1944)—I
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)—AI
Tokyo Story (1953)—TEL
Tootsie (1982)—A
Touch of Evil (1958)—ELI
A Touch of Zen (1971)—T
The Towering Inferno (1974)—L
Toy Story (1995)—ALI
Toy Story 2 (1999)—I
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre—E
Twelve Monkeys (1995)—I
Ugetsu (1953)—TE
Ulysses’ Gaze (1995)—T
Umberto D (1952)—TEI
Un Chien Andalou (1929)—E
Unforgiven (1992)—ATI
The “Up” Documentaries/Series (1964-Present)—E
The Usual Suspects (1995)—I
V for Vendetta (2005)—I
Vertigo (1958)—AELI
Victim (1961)—E
The Wages of Fear (Le Salaire de la peur) (1953)—I
Walkabout (1971)—E
WALL-E (2008)—I
West Side Story (1961)—AE
Whisky Galore! (1949)—L
White Heat (1949)—T
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)—AI
The Wild Bunch (1969)—AEI
Wild Strawberries (Smultronstallet) (1957)—LI
Wings of Desire (1987)—TE
Withnail and I (1987)—L
Witness for Prosecution (1957)—I
The Wizard of Oz (1939)—AELI
Women in the Dunes (Suna no onna) (1964)—E
A Women Under Influence (1974)—E
The Wrestler (2008)—I
Written on the Wind (1956)—E
Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)—AE
Yojimbo (1961)—TI
Young Frankenstein (1974)—I
The 4/5 List
-films that made it on four out of the five lists-
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)—AELI
All About Eve (1950)—AELI
Annie Hall (1977)—AELI
Apocalypse Now (1979)—AELI (watched 10/27/09)
Blade Runner (1982)—ATLI
Citizen Kane (1941)—ATEI
City Lights (1931)—ATEI
Double Indemnity (1944)—ATEI
Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)—ATEI
Duck Soup (1933)—AELI
E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)—ATEL
The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)—TELI
Jaws (1975)—AELI
King Kong (1933)—ATEI
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)—ATEI
The Maltese Falcon (1941)—AELI
Metropolis (1927)—TELI
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)—AELI
Psycho (1960)—ATEI
Rear Window (1954)—AELI
Schindler’s List (1993)—ATEI
The Searchers (1956)—ATEI
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)—AELI
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)—ATEI
Star Wars (1977)—ATEI
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)—ATLI
Sunrise: A Tale of Two Humans (1927)—ATEI
Sunset Blvd. (1950)—AELI
The Wizard of Oz (1939)—AELI
The ATELI List
-films that made it on all five lists-
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)—ATELI
Casablanca (1942)—ATELI
Chinatown (1974)—ATELI
The Godfather Part I (1972)—ATELI
Goodfellas (1990)—ATELI
Pulp Fiction (1994)—ATELI
Raging Bull (1980)—ATELI
Some Like It Hot (1959)—ATELI
Taxi Driver (1976)—ATELI
[...] re-watching of a lot of the “classic” films. In an attempt to remedy this, I present to you The Ultimate List. A collection of films chosen from a plethora of “best of” lists, this list is probably the [...]