The HyperTexts
The Greatest Movies of All Time
"The Hustler" (1961) is a dark masterpiece directed by Robert Rossen and
starring Paul Newman with Jackie Gleason as "Minnesota Fats" and Piper Laurie
"The Last Picture Show" (1971) directed by Peter Bogdanovich and starring a
young and breathtakingly beautiful Cybill Shepherd along with Jeff Bridges and
Timothy Bottoms
"To Kill a Mockingbird" (1962) directed by Robert Mulligan and starring Gregory
Peck as Atticus Finch and Mary Badham as Scout
"Sophie's Choice" (1982) directed by Alan J. Pakula and starring Meryl Streep,
Kevin Kline and Peter MacNichol
"The Godfather" (1972) directed by Francis Ford Coppola and starring Marlon
Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan and Diane Keaton
"The Princess Bride" (1987) directed by Rob Reiner and starring Robin Wright,
Cary Elwes, Mandy Patinkin, Chris Sarandon, Christopher Guest and Andre the
Giant
"American Graffiti" (1973) directed by George Lucas and starring Richard
Dreyfuss and Ron Howard; perhaps the ultimate coming of age movie
"Schindler's List" (1993) directed by Steven Spielberg and starring Liam Neeson,
Ralph Fiennes and Ben Kingsley
"Raging Bull" (1980) directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro,
Cathy Moriarity and Joe Pesci
"Taxi Driver" (1961) directed by Martin Scorsese and starring Robert De Niro and
Jodie Foster
Honorable Mention: "Casablanca," "Chinatown," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,"
"Citizen Kane," "The Lord of the Rings," "Gone With the Wind," "The English
Patient," "Klute," "2001: A Space Odyssey," "Vertigo," "Psycho," "The Shawshank
Redemption," "Pulp Fiction," "Apocalypse Now," "Star Wars," "GoodFellas," "The
Shining," "Jaws," "The Matrix," "The Silence of the Lambs"
Such lists are highly subjective, of course, and this page is just one man's
opinions.
Best Sleepers that Remain Largely Unknown: "Thief of Hearts," "Yanks," "Manhunter,"
"Secretary," "Summer of '42"
Best Sleepers that became Hits: "Easy Rider," "Rocky," "Mad Max," "Friday the
13th," "The Sixth Sense," "The Full Monty," "The Purge," "Sex, Lies and
Videotape"
Ultra-Low-Budget Movies that became Mega-Hits: "The Blair Witch Project,"
"Paranormal Activity," "Open Water," "Night of the Living Dead," "Rocky," "Mad
Max," "Halloween," "Napoleon Dynamite"
Best Erotic Movies: "The Story of O," "Belle du Jour," "Ma Mere," "Malena," "The
Postman Always Rings Twice," "Summer of '42," "Carnal Knowledge," "Caligula,"
"Emmanuelle," "Sleeping Beauty," "Secretary"
Best Spoofs/Parodies: "Spaceballs," "Airplane!", "Scary Movie," "Austin Powers,"
"Robin Hood: Men in Tights," "Blazing Saddles," "Young Frankenstein," "Sherlock
Holmes's Smarter Brother"
Best Series: "The Lord of the Rings," "Star Wars," "Star Trek," "James Bond,"
"Die Hard," "Godfather," "Rambo," "Rocky," "Terminator," "Batman," "Superman,"
"Spiderman," "X-Men"
Best Musicals: "The Sound of Music," "West Side Story," "Phantom of the Opera,"
"Grease," "Annie Get Your Gun," "Chicago," "All That Jazz," "Singin' in the
Rain," "The Wizard of Oz," "Cabaret," "Mary Poppins"
Best Comedies: "The Princess Bride," "The Great Dictator," "Dr. Strangelove,"
"Monty Python and the Holy Grail," "Monty Python's Life of Brian," "Annie Hall,"
"Duck Soup," "This is Spinal Tap," "Hot Fuzz"
Best Totally Inane Comedies: any "Pink Panther" movie starring Peter Sellers, "Caddyshack,"
"Animal House," "Easy Money," any "Vacation" movie other than "European
Vacation"
Best Tragedies and Tearjerkers: "Steel Magnolias," "Terms of Endearment,"
"Little Women," "Brokeback Mountain," "Love Story," "Titanic," "Mask,"
"Beaches," "Romeo and Juliet," "Precious," "Up"
Best Spy Movies: "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy," "Notorious," "North by Northwest,"
"The Manchurian Candidate," "The Day of the Jackal," "Goldfinger," "Dr. No,"
"The Hunt for Red October," "The Bourne Identity"
Best War Movies: "The Deer Hunter," "Apocalypse Now," "M*A*S*H," "Saving Private
Ryan," "Full Metal Jacket," "Platoon," "Black Hawk Down," "Das Boot," "Enemy at
the Gates," "Pearl Harbor," "Yanks"
Best Cowboy Movies: "Unforgiven," "Stagecoach," "Tombstone," "True Grit," "The
Shootist," "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," "Blazing Saddles," "Shane," "High
Noon,"
Best Spaghetti Westerns: any movie starring Clint Eastwood as a man of few words
and deadly accuracy
Best Remakes: the 2010 version of "True Grit" starring Jeff Bridges as Rooster
Cogburn, the 1982 version of "The Thing," the 1986 version of "Little Shop of
Horrors," the 1983 version of "Scarface"
Best Sports Movies: "The Hustler," "Raging Bull," "Caddyshack," "Rocky," "The
Greatest," "Tin Cup," "Kingpin", "The Color of Money," "Rudy," "Remember the
Titans," "Hoosiers," "Bull Durham," "Major League," "Field of Dreams"
Best Christmas Movies: "It's a Wonderful Life," "Scrooged," "Home Alone"
Best Movies with Morals: "It's a Wonderful Life," "The Wizard of Oz"
Best Children's Movies: "The Wizard of Oz," "The Lion King," "Finding Nemo,"
"The Iron Giant"
Best Coming-of-Age Movies: "The Graduate," "American Graffiti," "The Last
Picture Show," "Summer of '42"
Best Directors and Producers: Orson Welles, Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick,
Francis Ford Coppola, George Lucas, Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese, Walt
Disney, Spike Lee, James Cameron
Best Actors: Marlon Brando, Laurence Olivier, Jack Nicholson, Paul Newman,
Robert De Niro, Al Pacino, Sidney Portier, Humphry Bogart, Anthony Hopkins,
Denzel Washington, Daniel Day-Lewis, Dustin Hoffman, James Stewart
Best Actresses: Ingrid Bergman, Katherine Hepburn, Audrey Hepburn, Vivien Leigh,
Kate Winslet, Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Taylor, Jodie Foster, Jane Fonda, Nicole
Kidman, Glenn Close, Helen Mirren, Halle Berry, Marilyn Monroe
Best Animal Actors: Pal (Lassie), Rin Tin Tin, Mitzi (Flipper), Trigger, Silver,
Higgins (Benji), Spike (Old Yeller), Terry (Toto), Skippy (Asta), MGM Lion,
Arnold the Pig (played by many different pigs)
Most Memorable Movie Characters: Mr. Spock, Darth Vader, Dracula, Dr.
Frankenstein and his monster, The Man With No Name, James Bond and the Bond
Girls, Scarlett O'Hara, Rhett Butler, Dorothy, Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard
of Oz, Vito Corleone, Rambo, John McClane, Inspector Jacques Clouseau, Ferris
Bueller, Forrest Gump, Rooster Cogburn, Fast Eddie Felson, Minnesota Fats,
Hannibal Lechter, Norman Bates, Ahab, Moby Dick, Neo, Gandalf the Grey, Legolas,
Aragorn, Frodo, Sam, Bilbo Baggins, Gollum, Han Solo, Luke Skywalker, Princess
Leia, Yoda, Thor, Loki, Batman, Joker, Penguin, Poison Ivy, Jack Sparrow,
Hermione Granger, Harry Potter, Wolverine, Wonder Woman, Marty McFly, Rocky
Balboa, Captain James T. Kirk, Bones, Scotty
Most Popular Lines from Movies:
"Play it again, Sam." (The most quoted line from a movie is actually a misquote.
The actual line was: "Play it, Sam. Play 'As Time Goes By.'")
"If you build it, they will come." (Another misquote. The actual line was: "If
you build it, he will come.")
"Frankly, Scarlett, I don't give a damn."
"I coulda been a contender."
"Elementary, my dear Watson."
"It's alive! It's alive!"
"Go ahead, make my day."
"Hasta la vista, baby."
"Shaken, not stirred."
"I have always depended on the kindness of strangers."
"Good morning, Vietnam!"
"They call me Mr. Tibbs."
"I'm not bad. I'm just drawn that way."
"Show me the money."
"I'll get you, my pretty, and your little dog, too!"
"I'm having an old friend for dinner."
"I'm the king of the world!"
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