Lists. Everyone loves lists, right? And when it comes to film, there are hundreds of these pesky "best of"s to choose from. But who better to judge the best movies of all time than the people who make them? Studio chiefs, Oscar winners and TV royalty all were surveyed as The Hollywood Reporter recently published its first definitive entertainment-industry ranking of cinema's most superlative.
In May, The Hollywood Reporter sent an online ballot all over town — to every studio, agency, publicity firm and production house. A total of 2,120 industry members, including producers, directors, agents, and attorneys, sent in their favorites.
The results show interesting differences of opinion along professional divides: Directors, writers and agents all agreed on their choice for the greatest movie ever (hint: It rhymes with "Schmodfather"), while cinematographers chose 2001: A Space Odyssey and entertainment lawyers, the big softies, picked The Shawshank Redemption.
Of course, it is much more fun debating what did not make the list as it does looking at what actually did; and this list is pretty cool in averaging out critical hits with popular ones.
A few analytics to look at before getting to the actual list, because analytics are always fun:
Of all the categories these films represent, excluding the ubiquitous “Drama” listing, the Comedy genre has the most entries – 12. This is considering the film is actually produced as a comedy, such as Airplane! and Ghostbusters, and not films with comedic elements – Fargo – or those that can be laughed at – Brokeback Mountain.
The next highest was Science Fiction – 11. Again, taking into consideration that the film has full-on fanboy SF elements, this includes Jurassic Park and Back To The Future, excluding fantasy, like the Lord Of The Rings.
War films make up the next with a combined 9. This is all inclusive for World War II (5), Vietnam (2), and World War I and the Civil War (each, 1), but not World War Z. Interestingly, Platoon did not make the final cut, either. Also, Cold War selections were not especially grouped into this genre, so no Top Gun. In fact, no Tom Cruise staring vehicles at all.
Others: 5 Animated (3 belonging to Pixar). 5 Musicals (no Grease or, thanks be to Elvis, Chicago). 3 Mafia. 2 Foreign. And, surprisingly, 1 Superhero movie actually made it with its director, Christopher Nolan, also getting two other non-comicbook films mentioned.
Personalities.
Steven Spielberg leads the pack with an incredible 9 films that he either directed or produced on the list. Stanley Kubrick was next with 8. Then there is a big drop-off in numbers until reaching Ridley Scott and Alfred Hitchcock, each with 4. A large number of directors have 3 or 2 films credited – Scorsese, Coppola and the aforementioned Nolan all have 3. Gen X-ers can rejoice as the beloved and sorely-missed John Hughes has two in the top 100 – but alas no love for Planes, Trains And Automobiles, which is, like, totally gnarly to the max, dude.
Actors? Would you believe Harrison Ford leads with 5, although 2 are with the same character. Marlon Brando and Robert DeNiro are each in 4 films, and they play the same role in one of those. Tom Hanks, Jack Nicholson, Kevin Spacey, and Brad Pitt all in 3. Actresses, unfortunately, do not get the best representation here. Of all 100, only Sigourney Weaver and Diane Keaton have any presence, each in 3. Any consolation there is that at least Diane Keaton stars in the list’s highest ranking – and rightfully-so – comedy, Annie Hall.
Complaints?
Well, several. And granted, these are all of personal opinion. Forrest Gump at 14? There is no way on this earth or in the Matrix that Gump should be listed higher than Silence Of The Lambs, Lawrence Of Arabia and Rear Window.
Also, Airplane! arguably invented the modern American spoof, Mel Brooks’ entries of Blazing Saddles and Young Frankenstein notwithstanding, and should rank higher than 97.
Finally, outside of Butch Cassidy And The Sundance Kid, no Westerns? No Searchers, For A Few Dollars More or even the 3:10 To Yuma remake? Gol’dang, the Duke is turning in his grave over those slights. And again, Brokeback most certainly does not qualify as a Western. Or even a good romance film for that matter; too much crying. You didn't see Bogey crying in Casablanca. And not a single sports film, other than, naturally, Rocky? Too much lolly gagging on this list with Brokeback and Gump to allow for Bull Durham, I guess.
Other noted slights: several film noir entries, such as Double Indemnity, Touch Of Evil, and even L.A. Confidential. Classics: Harvey. Even a few sequels – Aliens, Toy Story 2, Star Trek II: The Wrath Of Khan. And how about one of the hippest crime films from the very late 20th Century: Out Of Sight? Out of sight on this list, that’s for sure. Forrest Gump and his stupid box of chocolates needed to park on that bench in the 14th spot.
These are the results: the greatest movies ever made, according to Hollywood.
1 The Godfather (1972)
2 The Wizard of Oz (1939)
3 Citizen Kane (1941)
4 The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
5 Pulp Fiction (1994)
6 Casablanca (1942)
7 The Godfather: Part II (1974)
8 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
9 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
10 Schindler's List (1993)
11 Star Wars (1977)
12 Back to the Future (1985)
13 Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
14 Forrest Gump (1994)
15 Gone With the Wind (1939)
16 To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
17 Apocalypse Now (1979)
18 Annie Hall (1977)
19 Goodfellas (1990)
20 It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
21 Chinatown (1974)
22 The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
23 Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
24 Jaws (1975)
25 The Sound of Music (1965)
26 Singin' in the Rain (1952)
27 The Breakfast Club (1985)
28 The Graduate (1967)
29 Blade Runner (1982)
30 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
31 The Princess Bride (1987)
32 The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
33 Fargo (1996)
34 American Beauty (1999)
35 A Clockwork Orange (1971)
36 Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
37 Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
38 When Harry Met Sally (1989)
39 The Shining (1980)
40 Fight Club (1999)
41 Psycho (1960)
42 Alien (1979)
43 Toy Story (1995)
44 The Matrix (1999)
45 Titanic (1997)
46 Saving Private Ryan (1998)
47 Some Like It Hot (1959)
48 The Usual Suspects (1995)
49 Rear Window (1954)
50 Jurassic Park (1993)
51 The Big Lebowski (1998)
52 All About Eve (1950)
53 Good Will Hunting (1997)
54 Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
55 Taxi Driver (1976)
56 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
57 The Dark Knight (2008)
58 Sunset Blvd. (1950)
59 Thelma & Louise (1991)
60 Amelie (2001)
61 West Side Story (1961)
62 North by Northwest (1959)
63 Groundhog Day (1993)
64 Mary Poppins (1964)
65 Raging Bull (1980)
66 The Lion King (1994)
67 Avatar (2009)
68 Monty Python and The Holy Grail (1975)
69 Gladiator (2000)
70 Vertigo (1958)
71 Almost Famous (2000)
72 Young Frankenstein (1974)
73 All the President's Men (1976)
74 Blazing Saddles (1974)
75 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
76 Brokeback Mountain (2005)
77 Ghostbusters (1984)
78 12 Angry Men (1957)
79 Wall-E (2008)
80 On the Waterfront (1954)
81 Amadeus (1984)
82 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
83 Die Hard (1988)
84 Inception (2010)
85 Seven (1995)
86 Beauty and the Beast (1991)
87 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
88 Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
89 Braveheart (1995)
90 Memento (2000)
91 Rocky (1976)
92 Up (2009)
93 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
94 The Deer Hunter (1978)
95 Doctor Zhivago (1965)
96 Pan's Labyrinth (2006)
97 Airplane! (1980)
98 Reservoir Dogs (1992)
99 Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
100 The Seven Samurai (1954)
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