THE BEST OF THE BEST OF THE 20TH CENTURY
308 Movies To Watch Before You Die
These days, it feels like there are 1,896 new movies coming at you from all corners, every single week. Some are memorable and excellent, many are...less so. It’s an embarrassment of riches, but wow, is it also option overload.
That’s why we’re bringing curation back into your life. The way that tiny but excellent indie theater down the block from you used to do.
Behold: Our list of 308 truly great, undeniable films worth watching, rewatching, and discussing with anyone and everyone. Stories and characters you can really sink your teeth into, hand-picked by our very own founder and CEO, Erik Feig, inspired by the legendary 1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die book by Steven Jay Schneider. These films, spanning the silent era through 2002, have stood the test of time, and feel just as relevant today as they did on the day they were released. So, peruse the bucket list (we’ve got streaming/renting/buying links for every single one of them below), pick a favorite, and get started watching.
Les Vampires
D: L Feuillade
Y: 1915
Häxan
D: B Christensen
Y: 1922
Sherlock Jr.
D: B Keaton
Y: 1924
The Gold Rush
D: C Chaplin
Y: 1925
The Big Parade
D: K Vidor
Y: 1925
M
D: F Lang
Y: 1931
Little Caesar
D: M LeRoy
Y: 1931
All Quiet on the Western Front
D: L Milestone
Y: 1930
Trouble in Paradise
D: E Lubitsch
Y: 1932
42nd Street
D: L Bacon
Y: 1933
Gold Diggers of 33
D: M LeRoy
Y: 1933
Duck Soup
D: L McCarey
Y: 1933
It’s a Gift
D: N McLeod
Y: 1934
L’Atalante
D: J Vigo
Y: 1934
It Happened One Night
D: F Capra
Y: 1934
The Thin Man
D: W.S. Van Dyke
Y: 1934
My Man Godfrey
D: G La Cava
Y: 1936
Grand Illusion
D: J Renoir
Y: 1937
The Awful Truth
D: L McCarey
Y: 1937
Bringing Up Baby
D: H Hawks
Y: 1938
The Wizard of Oz
D: V Fleming
Y: 1939
His Girl Friday
D: H Hawks
Y: 1940
The Philadelphia Story
D: G Cukor
Y: 1940
Citizen Kane
D: O Welles
Y: 1941
The Lady Eve
D: P Sturges
Y: 1941
The Maltese Falcon
D: J Huston
Y: 1941
Sullivan’s Travels
D: P Sturges
Y: 1941
Casablanca
D: M Curtiz
Y: 1942
The Ox Bow Incident
D: W Wellman
Y: 1943
Rome Open City
D: R Rossellini
Y: 1945
The Lost Weekend
D: L Feuillade
Y: 1945
Brief Encounter
D: D Lean
Y: 1945
The Best Years of Our Lives
D: W Wyler
Y: 1946
Beauty and the Beast
D: J Cocteau
Y: 1946
The Big Sleep
D: H Hawks
Y: 1946
Notorious
D: A Hitchcock
Y: 1946
The Bicycle Thief
D: V De Sica
Y: 1948
Red River
D: H Hawks
Y: 1948
Treasure of the Sierra Madre
D: J Huston
Y: 1948
Kind Hearts & Coronets
D: R Hamer
Y: 1949
Adam’s Rib
D: G Cukor
Y: 1949
The Third Man
D: C Reed
Y: 1949
The Asphalt Jungle
D: J Huston
Y: 1950
Rashomon
D: A Kurosawa
Y: 1950
All About Eve
D: J Mankiewicz
Y: 1950
Sunset Boulevard
D: B Wilder
Y: 1950
Strangers on a Train
D: A Hitchcock
Y: 1951
The Lavender Hill Mob
D: C Crichton
Y: 1951
The African Queen
D: J Huston
Y: 1951
Singin’ in the Rain
D: S Donen & G Kelly
Y: 1952
The Bad & The Beautiful
D: V Minnelli
Y: 1952
High Noon
D: F Zinnemann
Y: 1952
The Earrings of Madame De…
D: M Ophuls
Y: 1953
Roman Holiday
D: W Wyler
Y: 1953
Wages of Fear
D: H-G Clouzot
Y: 1953
Gentlemen Prefer Blondes
D: H Hawks
Y: 1953
The Big Heat
D: F Lang
Y: 1953
M. Hulot’s Holiday
D: J Tati
Y: 1953
Shane
D: G Stevens
Y: 1953
On the Waterfront
D: E Kazan
Y: 1954
Rear Window
D: A Hitchcock
Y: 1954
A Star is Born
D: G Cukor
Y: 1954
Seven Samurai
D: A Kurosawa
Y: 1954
Guys and Dolls
D: J Mankiewicz
Y: 1955
Bad Day at Black Rock
D: J Sturges
Y: 1955
Rebel Without a Cause
D: N Ray
Y: 1955
Night of the Hunter
D: C Laughton
Y: 1955
The Searchers
D: J Ford
Y: 1956
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
D: D Siegel
Y: 1956
12 Angry Men
D: S Lumet
Y: 1957
Wild Strawberries
D: I Bergman
Y: 1957
Nights of Cabiria
D: F Fellini
Y: 1957
Bridge on River Kwai
D: D Lean
Y: 1957
Sweet Smell of Success
D: A Mackendrick
Y: 1957
Touch of Evil
D: O Welles
Y: 1958
The Music Room
D: S Ray
1958
The 400 Blows
D: F Truffaut
1959
North by Northwest
D: A Hitchcock
Y: 1959
Some Like It Hot
D: B Wilder
Y: 1959
Anatomy of a Murder
D: O Preminger
Y: 1959
The World of Apu
D: S Ray
Y: 1959
Pickpocket
D: R Bresson
Y: 1959
Rio Bravo
D: H Hawks
Y: 1959
La Dolce Vita
D: F Fellini
Y: 1960
Psycho
D: A Hitchcock
Y: 1960
The Apartment
D: B Wilder
Y: 1960
Spartacus
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1960
Jules and Jim
D: F Truffaut
Y: 1962
The Hustler
D: R Rossen
Y: 1961
West Side Story
D: J Robbins & R Wise
Y: 1961
Lawrence of Arabia
D: D Lean
Y: 1962
To Kill a Mockingbird
D: R Mulligan
Y: 1962
Lolita
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1962
8 1/2
D: F Fellini
Y: 1963
The Great Escape
D: J Sturges
1963
Goldfinger
D: G Hamilton
Y: 1964
Dr. Strangelove
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1964
Doctor Zhivago
D: D Lean
Y: 1965
The Sound of Music
D: R Wise
Y: 1965
Blowup
D: M Antonioni
Y: 1966
The Good, the Bad, & the Ugly
D: S Leone
Y: 1966
In the Heat of the Night
D: N Jewison
Y: 1967
The Graduate
D: M Nichols
Y: 1967
Le Samuraï
D: JP Melville
Y: 1967
Cool Hand Luke
D: S Rosenberg
Y: 1967
Point Blank
D: J Boorman
Y: 1967
Bonnie and Clyde
D: A Penn
Y: 1967
The Jungle Book
D: W Reitherman
Y: 1967
Planet of the Apes
D: F Schaffner
Y: 1968
2001: A Space Odyssey
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1968
Night of the Living Dead
D: G Romero
Y: 1968
Butch Cassidy & the Sundance Kid
D: G R Hill
Y: 1969
Midnight Cowboy
D: J Schlesinger
Y: 1969
The Conformist
D: B Bertolucci
Y: 1970
The Wild Bunch
D: S Peckinpah
Y: 1969
Five Easy Pieces
D: B Rafelson
Y: 1970
Woodstock
D: M Wadleigh
Y: 1970
Patton
D: F Schaffner
Y: 1970
MASH
D: R Altman
Y: 1970
Gimme Shelter
D: A & D Maysles
Y: 1970
A Clockwork Orange
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1971
McCabe & Mrs Miller
D: R Altman
Y: 1971
Klute
D: A Pakula
Y: 1971
Harold and Maude
D: H Ashby
Y: 1971
The French Connection
D: W Friedkin
Y: 1971
Dirty Harry
D: D Siegel
Y: 1971
Straw Dogs
D: S Peckinpah
Y: 1971
The Heartbreak Kid
D: E May
Y: 1972
Cabaret
D: B Fosse
Y: 1972
Deliverance
D: J Boorman
Y: 1972
The Godfather
D: F Coppola
Y: 1972
The Sting
D: G R Hill
Y: 1973
Badlands
D: T Malick
Y: 1973
American Graffiti
D: G Lucas
Y: 1973
Mean Streets
D: M Scorsese
Y: 1973
The Long Goodbye
D: R Altman
Y: 1973
Serpico
D: S Lumet
Y: 1973
The Exorcist
D: W Friedkin
Y: 1973
The Conversation
D: F Coppola
Y: 1974
Woman Under the Influence
D: Cassavetes
Y: 1974
Young Frankenstein
D: M Brooks
Y: 1974
Blazing Saddles
D: M Brooks
Y: 1974
The Godfather, Part II
D: F Coppola
Y: 1974
One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest
D: M Forman
Y: 1975
Monty Python & The Holy Grail
D: T Gilliam & T Jones
Y: 1975
Nashville
D: R Altman
Y: 1975
Jaws
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1975
Carrie
D: B De Palma
Y: 1976
All the President’s Men
D: A Pakula
Y: 1976
Rocky
D: J Avildsen
Y: 1976
Taxi Driver
D: M Scorsese
Y: 1976
Network
D: S Lumet
Y: 1976
Star Wars: Episode IV A New Hope
D: G Lucas
Y: 1977
Close Encounters, of the Third Kind
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1977
Saturday Night Fever
D: J Badham
Y: 1977
Eraserhead
D: D Lynch
Y: 1977
The Deer Hunter
D: M Cimino
Y: 1978
Grease
D: R Kleiser
Y: 1978
Days of Heaven
D: T Malick
Y: 1978
Alien
D: R Scott
Y: 1979
Breaking Away
D: P Yates
Y: 1979
All That Jazz
D: B Fosse
Y: 1979
Being There
D: H Ashby
Y: 1979
Kramer v Kramer
D: R Benton
Y: 1979
Apocalypse Now
D: F Coppola
Y: 1979
The Jerk
D: C Reiner
Y: 1979
Mad Max
D: G Miller
Y: 1979
Ordinary People
D: R Redford
Y: 1980
The Shining
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1980
Star Wars: Episode V The Empire Strikes Back
D: I Kershner
Y: 1980
The Big Red One
D: S Fuller
Y: 1980
Airplane!
D: J Abrahams, D & J Zucker
Y: 1980
Raging Bull
D: M Scorsese
Y: 1980
Raiders of the Lost Ark
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1981
Das Boot
D: W Petersen
Y: 1981
Gallipoli
D: P Weir
Y: 1981
Fast Times at Ridgemont High
D: A Heckerling
Y: 1982
ET
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1982
The Thing
D: J Carpenter
Y: 1982
Poltergeist
D: T Hooper
Y: 1982
Blade Runner
D: R Scott
Y: 1982
Tootsie
D: S Pollack
Y: 1982
Diner
D: B Levinson
Y: 1982
Fanny and Alexander
D: I Bergman
Y: 1982
Big Chill
D: Kasdan
Y: 1983
Terms of Endearment
D: J Brooks
Y: 1983
The Right Stuff
D: P Kaufman
Y: 1983
Sugar Cane Alley
D: E Palcy
Y: 1983
Scarface
D: B De Palma
Y: 1983
Once Upon a Time in America
D: S Leone
Y: 1984
Amadeus
D: M Forman
Y: 1984
The Terminator
D: J Cameron
Y: 1984
Nightmare on Elm Street
D: W Craven
Y: 1984
This is Spinal Tap
D: R Reiner
Y: 1984
Beverly Hills Cop
D: M Brest
Y: 1984
Ghost Busters
D: I Reitman
Y: 1984
The Breakfast Club
D: J Hughes
Y: 1985
Ran
D: A Kurosawa
Y: 1985
Out of Africa
D: S Pollack
Y: 1985
Back to the Future
D: R Zemeckis
Y: 1985
Tampopo
D: J Itami
Y: 1985
Stand By Me
D: R Reiner
Y: 1986
Blue Velvet
D: D Lynch
Y: 1986
She’s Gotta Have It
D: S Lee
Y: 1986
The Fly
D: D Cronenberg
Y: 1986
Aliens
D: J Cameron
Y: 1986
Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
D: J Hughes
Y: 1986
Platoon
D: O Stone
Y: 1986
Top Gun
D: T Scott
Y: 1986
Raising Arizona
D: J Coen
Y: 1987
Full Metal Jacket
D: S Kubrick
Y: 1987
Broadcast News
D: J Brooks
Y: 1987
The Princess Bride
D: R Reiner
Y: 1987
Moonstruck
D: N Jewison
Y: 1987
The Dead
D: J Huston
Y: 1987
Fatal Attraction
D: A Lyne
Y: 1987
Women on the Verge of Nervous Breakdown
D: P Almdovar
Y: 1988
The Vanishing
D: G Sluizer
Y: 1988
Akira
D: K Otomo
Y: 1988
Fish Called Wanda
D: C Crichton
Y: 1988
Big
D: P Marshall
Y: 1988
Dangerous Liaisons
D: S Frears
Y: 1988
Die Hard
D: J McTiernan
Y: 1988
Salaam Bombay!
D: M Nair
Y: 1988
Who Framed Roger Rabbit
D: R Zemeckis
Y: 1988
Rain Man
D: B Levinson
Y: 1988
When Harry Met Sally
D: R Reiner
Y: 1989
Drugstore Cowboy
D: G Van Sant
Y: 1989
The Killer
D: J Woo
Y: 1989
Do The Right Thing
D: S Lee
Y: 1989
Sex, Lies, and Videotape
D: S Soderbergh
Y: 1989
Say Anything
D: C Crowe
Y: 1989
Reversal of Fortune
D: B Schroeder
Y: 1990
Goodfellas
D: M Scorsese
Y: 1990
Dances with Wolves
D: K Costner
Y: 1990
Europa Europa
D: A Holland
Y: 1990
Pretty Woman
D: G Marshall
Y: 1990
Total Recall
D: P Verhoeven
Y: 1990
Slacker
D: R Linklater
Y: 1990
Boyz’n the Hood
D: J Singleton
Y: 1991
Naked Lunch
D: D Cronenberg
Y: 1991
My Own Private Idaho
D: G Van Sant
Y: 1991
Thelma and Louise
D: R Scott
Y: 1991
Terminator 2
D: J Cameron
Y: 1991
The Silence of the Lambs
D: J Demme
Y: 1991
JFK
D: O Stone
Y: 1991
Strictly Ballroom
D: B Luhrmann
Y: 1992
The Player
D: R Altman
Y: 1992
Reservoir Dogs
D: Q Tarantino
Y: 1992
A League of Their Own
D: P Marshall
Y: 1992
Unforgiven
D: C Eastwood
Y: 1992
Candyman
D: B Rose
Y: 1992
Groundhog Day
D: H Ramis
Y: 1993
Sleepless in Seattle
D: N Ephron
Y: 1993
Jurassic Park
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1993
Age of Innocence
D: M Scorsese
Y: 1993
Schindler’s List
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1993
Hoop Dreams
D: S James
Y: 1994
Forrest Gump
D: R Zemeckis
Y: 1994
Four Weddings and a Funeral
D: M Newell
Y: 1994
The Lion King
D: R Allers & R Minkoff
Y: 1994
Natural Born Killers
D: O Stone
Y: 1994
Pulp Fiction
D: Q Tarantino
Y: 1994
Shawshank Redemption
D: F Darabont
Y: 1994
Heavenly Creatures
D: P Jackson
Y: 1994
Babe
D: C Noonan
Y: 1995
Toy Story
D: J Lasseter
Y: 1995
Braveheart
D: M Gibson
Y: 1995
Clueless
D: A Heckerling
Y: 1995
Heat
D: M Mann
Y: 1995
Se7en
D: D Fischer
Y: 1995
The Usual Suspects
D: B Singer
Y: 1995
Fargo
D: J Coen
Y: 1996
The English Patient
D: A Minghella
Y: 1996
Lone Star
D: J Sayles
Y: 1996
Trainspotting
D: D Boyle
Y: 1996
Scream
D: W Craven
Y: 1996
Princess Mononoke
D: H Miyazaki
Y: 1997
The Ice Storm
D: A Lee
Y: 1997
Boogie Nights
D: P T Anderson
Y: 1997
Titanic
D: J Cameron
Y: 1997
Saving Private Ryan
D: S Spielberg
Y: 1998
Lock, Stock, & Two Smoking Barrels
D: G Ritchie
Y: 1998
Run Lola Run
D: T Tykwer
Y: 1998
Rushmore
D: W Anderson
Y: 1998
Pi
D: D Aronofsky
Y: 1998
There’s Something About Mary
D: B & P Farrelly
Y: 1998
Three Kings
D: D O Russell
Y: 1999
Fight Club
D: D Fincher
Y: 1999
Being John Malkovich
D: S Jonze
Y: 1999
The Virgin Suicides
D: S Coppola
Y: 1999
The Matrix
D: L & L Wachowski
Y: 1999
Boys Don’t Cry
D: K Peirce
Y: 1999
American Psycho
D: M Harron
Y: 2000
Love and Basketball
D: G Prince-Bythewood
Y: 2000
In the Mood for Love
D: K Wong
Y: 2000
Gladiator
D: R Scott
Y: 2000
Requiem for a Dream
D: D Aronofsky
Y: 2000
Meet the Parents
D: J Roach
Y: 2000
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
D: A Lee
Y: 2000
Memento
D: C Nolan
Y: 2000
O Brother, Where Art Thou?
D: J Coen
Y: 2000
Amelie
D: JP Jeunet
Y: 2001
Spirited Away
D: H Miyazaki
Y: 2001
Monsoon Wedding
D: M Nair
Y: 2001
The Royal Tenenbaums
D: W Anderson
Y: 2001
The Lord of the Rings
D: P Jackson
Y: 2001
Chicago
D: R Marshall
Y: 2002
Like what you see here? Subscribe to our Friday email, PS WEEKLY, and follow us on Instagram @picturestart. You won’t regret it.
Want similar curated recommendations straight to your inbox every Friday?
The Friday email that makes every weekend better. PS Weekly delivers curated recs and trends straight to your inbox—from the young creatives on the pulse of what's cool. Need recs for short films, video games, TV series, films, and more—plus a primer on what's happening on social, in tech, and in culture? We've got you.