The 20 Best Movies Of All Time

The 20 Best Movies Of All Time from magical adventures like Guillermo del Toro’s “Pan’s Labyrinth” to heart-pounding suspense in Alfred Hitchcock’s classic “Rear Window,” the world of cinema is full of wonders. This list includes everything from animated rats to tough gangsters and superheroes. Whether you’re just starting your movie journey or checking off must-see films, this list is perfect for you.

Choosing the greatest movies ever is a mix of facts and personal taste. Industry experts and regular viewers might not always agree. So, Screen Rant combines critical reviews and audience opinions to create the ultimate list of highly rated films. Get ready for a cinematic feast!”

20. 12 Years A Slave (2013) :: Biography, Drama, History

Directed by Steve McQueen and based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup, 12 Years a Slave tells the story of Northrup, a free black man from New York who, in 1841, is captured and sold into slavery in the south. Separated from his family, and forced to endure intense brutality at the hands of his new masters, Northrup works tirelessly to stay alive and regain his freedom. The film stars Chiwetel Ejiofor as Northrup, with a cast that includes Lupita Nyong’0, Michael Fassbender, Paul Dano, and Benedict Cumberbatch.

The 2013 biographical drama is based on the 1853 memoir by Solomon Northup, a free Black man kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1941. Northup is forced to work on Louisiana plantations with varying cruelties for 12 years before being released. The Steve McQueen-directed drama 12 Years a Slave isn’t easy to watch, but it’s an important and crucial piece of filmmaking that tells the honest, painful stories that need to be told.

It’s an upsetting portrait of the lows of humanity and a deeply emotional exploration of what it means to live, which is enhanced by the brilliant performances of Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong’o in her Oscar-winning feature film debut. 12 Years a Slave is also a triumph in cinema for its cinematography, moving score, and McQueen’s direction.

19. Titanic (1997) :: Drama, Romance

It was a bold move by James Cameron to tell one of the most compelling stories of all time – the tragic loss of the Titanic – from within the decks and not from the perspective of the real history makers. Instead of just making a traditional disaster movie, Cameron anchored his sea-faring tale to the forbidden, class-divided romance of Rose (Kate Winslet) and Jack (Leonardo DiCaprio). Through their eyes, the tragedy becomes far more relatable, because the loss of lives is almost secondary to the loss of what they could have been together.

Titanic is, essentially, a summer holiday romance, set against the most inconvenient of backgrounds. In fact, take away the sinking ship, and it’s basically the same story as Dirty Dancing: the age-old tale of boy meets girl on vacation and shows her a world closed off to her by her higher class, despite everyone disapproving. But thanks to Cameron’s unrivaled interest in the Titanic story, and the intricate detail and staging behind the spectacle, the similarities end there. The love story is epic, the disaster compelling, and Cameron even throws in a self-referential commentary on obsession. – Simon Gallagher, Executive Editor

18. Pan’s Labyrinth (2006) :: Drama, Fantasy, War

Guillermo del Toro’s dark fantasy follows the bookish young stepdaughter of a sadistic army captain in 1944 Facist Spain who escapes into a mythical world centered on an overgrown labyrinth. Setting the stage for del Toro to win Best Picture for The Shape of Water in 2018, Pan’s Labyrinth’s cinematography, fantastical CGI visual effects, and poignant themes combine the grim horrors of reality and fantasy into an extraordinary piece of storytelling. Pan’s Labyrinth is comparable to a darker, more mature Alice in Wonderland, with visually inspiring artistic worldbuilding that remains Guillermo del Toro’s best movie.

17. Seven Samurai (1954) :: Action, Drama

It’s the easiest 207 minutes of cinema you’ll ever sit through. On the simplest of frameworks—a poor farming community pools its resources to hire samurai to protect them from the brutal bandits who steal its harvest—Akira Kurosawa mounts a finely drawn epic, by turns absorbing, funny and exciting. Of course the action sequences stir the blood—the final showdown in the rain is unforgettable—but this is really a study in human strengths and foibles. Toshiro Mifune is superb as the half-crazed self-styled samurai, but it’s Takashi Shimura’s Yoda-like leader who gives the film its emotional center. Since replayed in the Wild West (The Magnificent Seven), in space (Battle Beyond the Stars) and even with animated insects (A Bug’s Life), the original still reigns supreme.—Ian Freer

16. In the Mood for Love (2000) :: Drama

Can a film really be an instant classic? Anyone who watched In The Mood for Love when it was released in 2000 may have said yes. The second this love story opens, you sense you are in the hands of a master. Wong Kar-wai guides us through the narrow streets and stairs of ’60s Hong Kong and into the lives of two neighbors (Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung) who discover their spouses are having an affair. As they imagine—and partly reenact—how their partners might be behaving, they fall for each other while remaining determined to respect their wedding vows. Loaded with longing, the film benefits from no less than three cinematographers, who together create an intense sense of intimacy, while the faultless performances shiver with sexual tension. This is cinema.—Anna Smith

15. There Will Be Blood (2007) :: Drama

On the road to becoming the most significant filmmaker of the last 20 years, Paul Thomas Anderson transformed from a Scorsesian chronicler of debauched L.A. life into a hard-nosed investigator of the American confidence man. The pivotal point was There Will Be Blood, an epic about a certain kind of hustler—the oil baron and prospector. Daniel Plainview is, in the final analysis, an ultra-scary Daniel Day-Lewis who will drink your milkshake. Scored by Radiohead’s Jonny Greenwood (himself emerging as a major composer), Anderson’s mournful epic is the true heir to Chinatown’s bone-deep cynicism. As Phantom Thread makes clear, Anderson hasn’t lost his sense of humor, not by a long shot. But there once was a moment when he needed to get serious, and this is it.—Joshua Rothkopf

14. The Shawshank Redemption 1994 :: Drama

Chronicles the experiences of a formerly successful banker as a prisoner in the gloomy jailhouse of Shawshank after being found guilty of a crime he did not commit. The film portrays the man’s unique way of dealing with his new, torturous life; along the way he befriends a number of fellow prisoners, most notably a wise long-term inmate named Red.—J-S-Golden

13. 13 Sins 2014 :: Horror, Thriller

In New Orleans, the salesman Elliot Brindle is full of debts and expecting a promotion to get married with his girlfriend Shelby that is pregnant. However his unethical chief fires him and Elliot is desperate since he supports his intellectually disabled brother Michael Brindle with his health insurance. He reaches the rock bottom when his estranged racist father tells that he is going to live with him. Out of the blue, Elliot receives a phone call and a stranger invites him to participate in a game where he may win a large amount and become a millionaire provided he accomplishes thirteen tasks. Initially the skeptical Elliot needs to kill a fly and then eat it. After each task, Elliot finds the promised deposit in his bank account. He decides to accept the invitation, and the tasks become aggressive, gruesome, brutal and offensive. When Elliot decides to quit the game, he realizes that there is no return for him.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

12. 47 Ronin 2013 :: Action, Drama, Fantasy

While hunting in the forest, Lord Asano of Ako and his samurai find a young half-breed and take him with them to live in the castle. Several years later, Lord Asano holds a tournament to welcome the Shogun to Ako. The night after the tournament, Lord Asano is bewitched into hurting Lord Kira of Nagato, and is punished into committing seppuku by the Shogun. Realizing that it was a Lord Kira’s evil plot, the samurais and the half-breed sets out for revenge against the Shogun’s order.—Immanuel A.

11. Air Force One 1997 :: Action, Crime, Drama

The President of the USA goes to Moscow and gives a stirring speech outlining the USA’s new “Zero-tolerance” policy with respect to terrorism. On the flight home, terrorists take over Air Force One (the President’s official plane) and take the passengers (including his wife and daughter) hostage. The terrorists plan to execute one hostage every half-hour unless/until their demands are met. However, the President is a former Medal of Honor winner, so the terrorists may be in for a surprise…—Afterburner <[email protected]>

10. Apocalypto 2006 :: Action, Adventure, Drama

In the Maya civilization, a peaceful tribe is brutally attacked by warriors seeking slaves and human beings for sacrifice for their gods. Jaguar Paw hides his pregnant wife and his son in a deep hole nearby their tribe and is captured while fighting with his people. An eclipse spares his life from the sacrifice and later he has to fight to survive and save his beloved family.—Claudio Carvalho, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

9. Automata 2014 :: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

2044. The climate change and a series of solar storms have turned in a desert the surface of the planet and annihilated to the 99.7 % of Earth’s population, leaving alive 21 million people across the world in a single city covered by mechanical clouds (zeppelins anchored to the city) to make rain. Trying to rebuild the world again, a robot company named ROC Corporation create Automata Pilgrim 7000 with two security protocols: 1st, a robot cannot harm human beings, and 2nd, a robot cannot alter himself or another robot. But this situation changes when police officer Sean Wallace shoots and destroys a robot claiming that it was altering himself. With the company worried by the possible implications if the case were known by the people, insurance agent Jacq Vaucan is chosen to investigate the happened, while Vaucan tries to convince his boss, friend and brother-in-law Robert Bold to transfer him and his pregnant wife Rachel to the coast, with Bold accepting the request if Vaucan solves the case. Going with Wallace to a brothel, they meets a robot in blue wig named Cleo, who is shot by Wallace in the belief that Cleo will go with the mysterious repairman that Vaucan calls The Clocksmith. However, Cleo travels a mechanical workshop property of Dr. Susan Dupré, who informs Vaucan about a terrible possibility: that the robots can alter their second protocol themselves to acquire self awareness, implying a non-human intelligence that easily it should overpass the human brain after a test where she mixed a biocore from the Wallace’s shot robot with Cleo’s own biocore. Vaucan reports secretly Bold about it, but ROC’s chairman intercepts the message. When Dr. Dupré is killed in front of Vaucan by a ROC’s squad group, he and Cleo run from the assassins, ending outside the city, lost in the white desert that surrounds the city. Forced to meet ROC’s chairman, this reports Bold about the secret of the two protocols: that the Pilgrim 7000’s prototype was created without them, and due to its unlimited intelligence and learning, he overcame to its human owners just eight days later. After to escape, all the next Pilgrims were created with the protocols to limit their capacity in order to have them under control. Fearing the extinction of human race if all the Pilgrims evolve beyond the protocols, ROC’s chairman blames Vaucan of Dupré’s assassination and the alteration of the robots to cover up to the public, and Wallace is hired to find Cleo and Vucan and kill them. According Vaucan, Cleo and three robots more travel across the desert to the forbidden and radioactive zone to meet The Clocksmith, Vaucan will find himself as witness of something that it would change the world as nobody could imagine.—Chockys

7. Wonder Woman 2017 :: Action, Adventure, Fantasy

Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, when a pilot crashes on their shores and tells of a massive conflict raging in the outside world, Diana leaves her home, convinced she can stop the threat. Fighting alongside man in a war to end all wars, Diana will discover her full powers and her true destiny.—ahmetkozan

6. Cast Away 2000 :: Adventure, Drama, Romance

Memphis-based FedEx operations executive Chuck Noland and grad student Kelly Frears have long dated and lived together, and despite each being the love of the other’s life, have not gotten married because of their respective busy schedules, especially Chuck’s as he is more often on business trips than he is at home. That marital status changes when on Christmas Day 1995 as Chuck is rushing off to catch yet another FedEx plane for a business trip, he gives Kelly a ring. That flight experiences technical difficulties, and goes down somewhere in the south Pacific. In a life raft, a relatively unharmed Chuck washes up on shore what he will learn is a deserted island, he unaware what has happened to any of his fellow flight mates, or the plane. However several of the packages on board for delivery do wash up on shore with him, those packages which he initially treats with respect. Chuck realizes that his priority is survival – which primarily means food, water, shelter and fire – and rescue. But survival is also in an emotional sense. To fulfill that emotional need, he has an heirloom pocket watch with Kelly’s photo that she gave him as a Christmas present, and eventually opening the FedEx packages, a Wilson volleyball on which he paints a face and which he names Wilson. As time progresses, Chuck goes through a range of emotions, but if rescue is ever in the cards, he realizes that he has to find a way to get off the island, which is seemingly impossible in his circumstance due to the strong on shore surf he cannot get beyond without assistance. What Chuck may not fully realize is the longer he is not rescued, the harder it will be for him to return to his old life in its entirety if he ever is rescued. Although the thought of Kelly is what largely keeps him motivated to be rescued, Kelly, who probably believes him to be dead, may have moved on emotionally from him in the intervening time.—Huggo

5. Captain Phillips 2013 :: Action, Biography, Crime

Captain Phillips is a multi-layered examination of the 2009 hijacking of the U.S. container ship Maersk Alabama by a crew of Somali pirates. It is – through director Paul Greengrass’s distinctive lens – simultaneously a pulse-pounding thriller, and a complex portrait of the myriad effects of globalization. The film focuses on the relationship between the Alabama’s commanding officer, Captain Richard Phillips (two time Academy Award®-winner Tom Hanks), and the Somali pirate captain, Muse (Barkhad Abdi), who takes him hostage. Phillips and Muse are set on an unstoppable collision course when Muse and his crew target Phillips’ unarmed ship; in the ensuing standoff, 145 miles off the Somali coast, both men will find themselves at the mercy of forces beyond their control.—Sony Pictures Entertainment

4. Elysium 2013 :: Action, Drama, Sci-Fi

In the year 2154, two classes of people exist: the very wealthy, who live on a pristine man-made space station called Elysium, and the rest, who live on an overpopulated, ruined Earth. Secretary Delacourt, a government official, will stop at nothing to enforce anti-immigration laws and preserve the luxurious lifestyle of the citizens of Elysium. That doesn’t stop the people of Earth from trying to get in by any means they can. When unlucky Max is backed into a corner, he agrees to take on a daunting mission that, if successful, will not only save his life but could bring equality to these polarized worlds.—Production

3. Enter Nowhere 2011 :: Mystery, Sci-Fi, Thriller

Three strangers arrive one by one to a mysterious cabin in the middle of nowhere after enduring separate life-altering predicaments. Searching for a way out of the woods, frustrated, hungry and battling to stay warm they discover their mysterious connection and realize what they have to do in order to get out of the woods alive.—Elizabeth Obermeier, Marketing Manager

2. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 :: Adventure, Drama, Western

During the American Civil War, three men set off to find $200,000.00 in buried gold coins. Tuco and Blondie have known each other for some time now, having used the reward on Tuco’s head as a way of earning money. They come across a dying man, Bill Carson, who tells them of a treasure in gold coins. By chance, he reveals the name of the cemetery and the name of the grave where the gold is buried. Now rivals, the two men have good reason to keep each other alive. The third man, Angel Eyes, hears of the gold stash from someone he’s been hired to kill. All he knows is to look for someone named Bill Carson. The three ultimately meet in a showdown that takes place amid a major battle between Confederate and Union forces.—garykmcd

1. Perfume: The Story of a Murderer :: Crime, Drama, Fantasy

Jean-Baptiste Grenouille (Ben Whishaw) came into the world unwanted, expected to die, yet born with an unnerving sense of smell that created alienation, as well as talent. Of all of the smells around him, Grenouille is beckoned to the scent of a woman’s body, and spends the rest of his life attempting to smell her essence again by becoming a perfumer, and creating the essence of an innocence lost..