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100 Best Movies of the Last 100 Years, According to Critics

100 Best Movies of the Last 100 Years, According to Critics

During the early weeks of the pandemic lockdown, restless Americans turned to streaming services as a lifeline and haven’t looked back. Netflix, Hulu, and Disney Plus have all gained millions of subscribers in the U.S. and worldwide since the first quarter of 2020. 

It’s no surprise that when faced with stressful circumstances and perhaps a plethora of free time, people have chosen to consume art in the forms of TV and film. Cinema has always had the ability to move people to anger, tears, compassion, and action. A great movie can shed light on another’s experience despite any cultural or demographic differences with the viewer. The movies with the broadest appeal highlight the most universal human emotions and trials.

Using information generated by the American Film Institute, 24/7 Tempo has compiled the 100 best American movies of the last 100 years, according to top directors, producers, film critics, and more. 

The director with the most movies in the mix is none other than Stephen Spielberg, with Alfred Hitchcock and Billy Wilder also boasting several movies on the list. Spanning the years 1915 to 1996, from Charlie Chaplin’s silent films to modern classics like “Pulp Fiction” and “Fargo,” these movies are loved by critics and viewers alike.

Perhaps it’s time to pick up another pandemic hobby: watching all 100 of the greatest American movies. What better time to tap into the universality of human experience than during a global pandemic? Here are another 25 activities to make staying at home easier during the pandemic.

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

100. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
> Gross: $11.8 million
> Lead: James Cagney, Joan Leslie, Walter Huston
> Director: Michael Curtiz

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

99. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)
> Gross: $56.7 million
> Lead: Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier, Katharine Hepburn
> Director: Stanley Kramer

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

98. Unforgiven (1992)
> Gross: $101.2 million
> Lead: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman
> Director: Clint Eastwood

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

97. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Katharine Hepburn, Cary Grant, Charles Ruggles
> Director: Howard Hawks

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

96. The Searchers (1956)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles
> Director: John Ford

Source: Courtesy of Miramax

95. Pulp Fiction (1994)
> Gross: $107.9 million
> Lead: John Travolta, Uma Thurman, Samuel L. Jackson
> Director: Quentin Tarantino

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

94. Goodfellas (1990)
> Gross: $46.8 million
> Lead: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci
> Director: Martin Scorsese

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

93. The Apartment (1960)
> Gross: $18.6 million
> Lead: Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Fred MacMurray
> Director: Billy Wilder

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

92. A Place In The Sun (1951)
> Gross: $3.5 million
> Lead: Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, Shelley Winters
> Director: George Stevens

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

91. My Fair Lady (1964)
> Gross: $72.0 million
> Lead: Audrey Hepburn, Rex Harrison, Stanley Holloway
> Director: George Cukor

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

90. The Jazz Singer (1928)
> Gross: $2.1 million
> Lead: Al Jolson, May McAvoy, Warner Oland
> Director: Alan Crosland

Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

89. Patton (1970)
> Gross: $61.7 million
> Lead: George C. Scott, Karl Malden, Stephen Young
> Director: Franklin J. Schaffner

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

88. Easy Rider (1969)
> Gross: $41.7 million
> Lead: Peter Fonda, Dennis Hopper, Jack Nicholson
> Director: Dennis Hopper

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

87. Frankenstein (1931)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Colin Clive, Mae Clarke, Boris Karloff
> Director: James Whale

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

86. Mutiny On The Bounty (1935)
> Gross: $4.5 million
> Lead: Charles Laughton, Clark Gable, Franchot Tone
> Director: Frank Lloyd

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

85. Duck Soup (1933)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Groucho Marx, Harpo Marx, Chico Marx
> Director: Leo McCarey

Source: Courtesy of Gramercy Pictures

84. Fargo (1996)
> Gross: $24.6 million
> Lead: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi
> Director: Joel Coen

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

83. Platoon (1986)
> Gross: $138.5 million
> Lead: Charlie Sheen, Tom Berenger, Willem Dafoe
> Director: Oliver Stone

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

82. Giant (1956)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean
> Director: George Stevens

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

81. Modern Times (1936)
> Gross: $0.2 million
> Lead: Charles Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman
> Director: Charles Chaplin

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros./Seven Arts

80. The Wild Bunch (1969)
> Gross: $12.1 million
> Lead: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan
> Director: Sam Peckinpah

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

79. The Deer Hunter (1978)
> Gross: $49.0 million
> Lead: Robert De Niro, Christopher Walken, John Cazale
> Director: Michael Cimino

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

78. Rocky (1976)
> Gross: $117.2 million
> Lead: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young
> Director: John G. Avildsen

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

77. American Graffiti (1973)
> Gross: $115.0 million
> Lead: Richard Dreyfuss, Ron Howard, Paul Le Mat
> Director: George Lucas

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

76. City Lights (1931)
> Gross: $460,000
> Lead: Charles Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee
> Director: Charles Chaplin

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

75. Dances With Wolves (1990)
> Gross: $184.2 million
> Lead: Kevin Costner, Mary McDonnell, Graham Greene
> Director: Kevin Costner

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

74. The Gold Rush (1925)
> Gross: $5.5 million
> Lead: Charles Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray
> Director: Charles Chaplin

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

73. Wuthering Heights (1939)
> Gross: $624,600
> Lead: Merle Oberon, Laurence Olivier, David Niven
> Director: William Wyler

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

72. Ben-Hur (1959)
> Gross: $74.7 million
> Lead: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Stephen Boyd
> Director: William Wyler

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

71. Forrest Gump (1994)
> Gross: $330.3 million
> Lead: Tom Hanks, Robin Wright, Gary Sinise
> Director: Robert Zemeckis

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

70. The French Connection (1971)
> Gross: $15.6 million
> Lead: Gene Hackman, Roy Scheider, Fernando Rey
> Director: William Friedkin

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

69. Shane (1953)
> Gross: $20.0 million
> Lead: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin
> Director: George Stevens

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

68. An American In Paris (1951)
> Gross: $4.5 million
> Lead: Gene Kelly, Leslie Caron, Oscar Levant
> Director: Vincente Minnelli

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

67. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh
> Director: John Frankenheimer

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

66. Network (1976)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch
> Director: Sidney Lumet

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

65. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
> Gross: $130.7 million
> Lead: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Lawrence A. Bonney
> Director: Jonathan Demme

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

64. Close Encounters Of The Third Kind (1977)
> Gross: $132.1 million
> Lead: Richard Dreyfuss, François Truffaut, Teri Garr
> Director: Steven Spielberg

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

63. Stagecoach (1939)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine
> Director: John Ford

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

62. Tootsie (1982)
> Gross: $177.2 million
> Lead: Dustin Hoffman, Jessica Lange, Teri Garr
> Director: Sydney Pollack

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

61. Vertigo (1958)
> Gross: $3.2 million
> Lead: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

60. Raiders Of The Lost Ark (1981)
> Gross: $248.2 million
> Lead: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman
> Director: Steven Spielberg

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

59. Rebel Without A Cause (1955)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: James Dean, Natalie Wood, Sal Mineo
> Director: Nicholas Ray

Source: Courtesy of Walt Disney Productions

58. Fantasia (1942)
> Gross: $76.4 million
> Lead: Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor, The Philadelphia Orchestra
> Director: James Algar

Source: Courtesy of Selznick Releasing Organization

57. The Third Man (1950)
> Gross: $0.5 million
> Lead: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli
> Director: Carol Reed

Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

56. M*A*S*H (1970)
> Gross: $81.6 million
> Lead: Donald Sutherland, Elliott Gould, Tom Skerritt
> Director: Robert Altman

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

55. The Sound Of Music (1965)
> Gross: $163.2 million
> Lead: Julie Andrews, Christopher Plummer, Eleanor Parker
> Director: Robert Wise

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

54. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
> Gross: $3.3 million
> Lead: Lew Ayres, Louis Wolheim, John Wray
> Director: Lewis Milestone

Source: Courtesy of Orion Pictures

53. Amadeus (1984)
> Gross: $52.0 million
> Lead: F. Murray Abraham, Tom Hulce, Elizabeth Berridge
> Director: Milos Forman

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

52. From Here To Eternity (1953)
> Gross: $30.5 million
> Lead: Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr
> Director: Fred Zinnemann

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

51. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart
> Director: George Cukor

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

50. Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid (1969)
> Gross: $102.3 million
> Lead: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross
> Director: George Roy Hill

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

49. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
> Gross: $184.9 million
> Lead: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille La Verne
> Director: William Cottrell

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

48. Jaws (1975)
> Gross: $260.0 million
> Lead: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss
> Director: Steven Spielberg

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

47. Taxi Driver (1976)
> Gross: $28.3 million
> Lead: Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd
> Director: Martin Scorsese

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

46. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
> Gross: $6.2 million
> Lead: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates
> Director: Stanley Kubrick

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

45. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
> Gross: $8.0 million
> Lead: Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter
> Director: Elia Kazan

Source: Courtesy of Epoch Producing Corporation

44. The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
> Gross: $10.0 million
> Lead: Lillian Gish, Mae Marsh, Henry B. Walthall
> Director: D.W. Griffith

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

43. King Kong (1933)
> Gross: $10.0 million
> Lead: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot
> Director: Merian C. Cooper

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

42. Rear Window (1954)
> Gross: $36.8 million
> Lead: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

41. West Side Story (1961)
> Gross: $43.7 million
> Lead: Natalie Wood, George Chakiris, Richard Beymer
> Director: Jerome Robbins

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

40. North By Northwest (1959)
> Gross: $13.3 million
> Lead: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
> Gross: $111.7 million
> Lead: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, Geraldine Chaplin
> Director: David Lean

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

38. Double Indemnity (1944)
> Gross: $5.7 million
> Lead: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson
> Director: Billy Wilder

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

37. The Best Years Of Our Lives (1946)
> Gross: $23.7 million
> Lead: Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, Fredric March
> Director: William Wyler

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
> Gross: $44.8 million
> Lead: Dustin Hoffman, Jon Voight, Sylvia Miles
> Director: John Schlesinger

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

35. It Happened One Night (1934)
> Gross: $4.4 million
> Lead: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly
> Director: Frank Capra

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

34. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton
> Director: Robert Mulligan

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

33. High Noon (1952)
> Gross: $9.5 million
> Lead: Gary Cooper, Grace Kelly, Thomas Mitchell
> Director: Fred Zinnemann

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

32. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
> Gross: $57.3 million
> Lead: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

31. Annie Hall (1977)
> Gross: $39.2 million
> Lead: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts
> Director: Woody Allen

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

30. The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (1948)
> Gross: $5.0 million
> Lead: Humphrey Bogart, Walter Huston, Tim Holt
> Director: John Huston

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

29. Mr. Smith Goes To Washington (1939)
> Gross: $9.6 million
> Lead: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains
> Director: Frank Capra

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
> Gross: $83.5 million
> Lead: Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando, Robert Duvall
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros./Seven Arts

27. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard
> Director: Arthur Penn

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

26. Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (1964)
> Gross: $9.2 million
> Lead: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Sterling Hayden
> Director: Stanley Kubrick

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

25. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
> Gross: $435.1 million
> Lead: Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Peter Coyote
> Director: Steven Spielberg

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

24. Raging Bull (1980)
> Gross: $23.4 million
> Lead: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci
> Director: Martin Scorsese

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

23. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
> Gross: $2.1 million
> Lead: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George
> Director: John Huston

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
> Gross: $57.0 million
> Lead: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester
> Director: Stanley Kubrick

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

21. The Grapes Of Wrath (1940)
> Gross: $60,000
> Lead: Henry Fonda, Jane Darwell, John Carradine
> Director: John Ford

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

20. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
> Gross: $112.0 million
> Lead: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman
> Director: Milos Forman

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

19. Chinatown (1974)
> Gross: $8.5 million
> Lead: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston
> Director: Roman Polanski

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

18. Psycho (1960)
> Gross: $32.0 million
> Lead: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh, Vera Miles
> Director: Alfred Hitchcock

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

17. The African Queen (1951)
> Gross: $540,000
> Lead: Humphrey Bogart, Katharine Hepburn, Robert Morley
> Director: John Huston

Source: Courtesy of Twentieth Century Fox

16. All About Eve (1950)
> Gross: $10,000
> Lead: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, George Sanders
> Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Source: Courtesy of 20th Century Fox

15. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977)
> Gross: $322.7 million
> Lead: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher
> Director: George Lucas

Source: Courtesy of United Artists

14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
> Gross: $25.0 million
> Lead: Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis, Jack Lemmon
> Director: Billy Wilder

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

13. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
> Gross: $44.9 million
> Lead: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins
> Director: David Lean

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

12. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim
> Director: Billy Wilder

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

11. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)
> Gross: Not available
> Lead: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
> Director: Frank Capra

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

10. Singin’ In The Rain (1952)
> Gross: $8.8 million
> Lead: Gene Kelly, Donald O’Connor, Debbie Reynolds
> Director: Stanley Donen

Source: Courtesy of Universal Pictures

9. Schindler’S List (1993)
> Gross: $96.9 million
> Lead: Liam Neeson, Ralph Fiennes, Ben Kingsley
> Director: Steven Spielberg

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

8. On The Waterfront (1954)
> Gross: $9.6 million
> Lead: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb
> Director: Elia Kazan

Source: Courtesy of Embassy Pictures

7. The Graduate (1967)
> Gross: $105.0 million
> Lead: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katharine Ross
> Director: Mike Nichols

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

6. The Wizard Of Oz (1939)
> Gross: $2.1 million
> Lead: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger
> Director: Victor Fleming

Source: Courtesy of Columbia Pictures

5. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
> Gross: $44.8 million
> Lead: Peter O’Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn
> Director: David Lean

Source: Courtesy of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer

4. Gone With The Wind (1939)
> Gross: $198.7 million
> Lead: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell
> Director: Victor Fleming

Source: Courtesy of Paramount Pictures

3. The Godfather (1972)
> Gross: $135.0 million
> Lead: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan
> Director: Francis Ford Coppola

Source: Courtesy of Warner Bros.

2. Casablanca (1942)
> Gross: $1.0 million
> Lead: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid
> Director: Michael Curtiz

Source: Courtesy of RKO Radio Pictures

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
> Gross: $1.6 million
> Lead: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore
> Director: Orson Welles

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