50: A Fistful of Dollars (Per un pugno di dollari) (1964) The movie that launched Clint Eastwood's movie career and put Sergio Leone on the map as a great director. The movie is more or less a remake of Aria Kurosawa's Yojimbo from 1961 which I also recommend viewing . It also the first spaghetti western that gained world wide popularity and has a great score by my favorite movie composer Ennio Morricone.
49: Halloween (1978) Groundbreaking slasher horror film and one of the most sucessful independent movies of all time. Also has a terrific score which was done by the director John Carpenter.
48: Life is Beautiful (La vita è bella) (1997) Italian tragicomedy directed and staring Roberto Benigni for which he won the best actor Academy Award also won the Academy Award for best Dramatic Score and best Foreign Language Film. I usually prefer watching foreign movies in their original language but this one has a excellent English voice dub.
47: Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles (1994) Vampire movie based on the 1976 novel by Ann Rice. Probably Tom Cruises best performace ever as the lead role the vampire Lestat. Also has excellent suporting roles by Brat Pitt and Kirsten Dunst in her first major role. Another vampire movie based on a book that I highly recommend is Let the Right One In from 2008.
46: Pinocchio (1940) Disney's second feature lenght animated film based on Carlo Collodi's children novel The Adventures of Pinocchio from 1883. Huge leap in quality from Disney's first animated movie Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.
45: Borat: Cultural Learnings of America for Make Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan (2006) Mockumentary/Comedy film based around Sasha Baron Cohen's Borat character from Da Ali G Show. Only pure comedy on my list what makes it so funny is that most of it is unscripted and it still delivers tons of jokes.
44: Glory (1989) Civil War movie about one of first the African-American units in the Union Army the 54th Massachusettes Volunteer Infantry. Matthew Broderick does a excellent job as the main character Colonel Robert Gould Shaw the commander of the 54th. It also has a excellent supporting cast which includes Cary Elwes as the second in command and Morgan Freeman and Dezel Washington as two of the main soldiers. The movie also features one of James Horner's best musical scores.
43: Spartacus (1960) Epic historical drama based on the life of Spartacus a gladiator/slave in the first century B.C. that lead a rebellion against the Roman Empire. Stars Kirk Douglas as the lead role and has a excellent score by Alex North.
42: Hotel Rwanda (2004) Drama film about the tragic events in Rwanda in the spring of 1994. Stars Don Cheatle as the main character Paul Rusesabagina a Hotel manager that helped save the lives of 1,268 people. Also has good supporting roles by Sophie Okonedo as Paul's wife and Nick Nolte as a UN peacekeeper.
41: For a Few Dollars More (Per qualche dollaro più) (1965) Western, second collaboration by Clint Eastwood and Sergio Leone. Two men with different motifs hunt down the same man. It features a excellent score by Ennio Morricone.
40: Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) Uma Thurman plays the Bride a character out for vengange. One of Quentin Tarantino's best movies and his best in terms of featuring over the top bloody violence. The movie also feautres a excellent soundtrack of songs previously used in other movies espcecially the track by Bernard Hermann and Luis Bacalov.
39: The Wild Bunch (1969) Epic Western directed by Sam Peckinpah, that ends with one of cinemas most epic shoot outs. Also features one of Jerry Fieldings best scores.
38: The Thing (1982) Horror flim set in the arctic directed by John Carpenter. Features some of the best pre CGI special effects and a excellent score by Ennio Morricone.
37: Braveheart (1995) Historical epic based on William Wallaces life. Probably Mel Gibson's best performace as a actor. Also feautres another great score by James Horner.
36: Jaws (1975) Horror/thriller based on the novel by Peter Benchley. Consider to be the first summer blockbuster. Also feautres one of John Williams most iconic scores.
35: Gran Torino (2008) Drama film that stars Clint Eastwood as a Korean War veteran and retired automobile factory worker that rececently lost his wife who befriend a young Hmong teenager that tried to steal his car.
34: Fargo (1996) Crime drama that takes place in 1987 centered around a kidnapping that goes terribly wrong.
33: Shrek 2 (2004) Computer animated comedy and best movie in the Shrek franchise. The first movie is very good also and the 3rd one is watchable, never watched the last chapter but going by reviews is the worst movie in the franchise.
32: Toy Story 2 (1999) Computer animated comedy and best movie in the Toy Story franchise. All the movies in this franchise are very good and the animation gets better throughout the franchise I just enjoyed the story in the second one the best.
31: The Elephant Man (1980) Drama film based on the true stroy of Josheph Merrick a severly deformed man that lived in the late 1800's in England.
30: The Great Espcape (1963) Drama film about Allied prisoners of war that try to escape a German POW camp. Its based on the book of the same name written by Paul Brickhill. It feautres one of Steve McQueen's best performace as a actor as one of the Allied prisoners of war. It also feautres one of Elmer Bernstein's best scores.
29: The Silence of the Lambs (1991) Thriller/Crime film about a young FBI cadet that uses the help of a incaracerated serial killer to catch another serial killer on the loose.
28: Grave of The Fireflies (Hotaru no Haka) (1988) Japanese animated tragedy/drama film about a brother and a sister that survived the firebombing of Kobe, Japan and their struggle to survive after that event.
27: Die Hard (1988) Action film in which a NYPD officer fights German terrorist inside a Los Angeles skyscraper.
26: Raging Bull (1980) Biographical sports drama based on the life of Jake LaMotta one of the greatest middleweight boxers of all time its based on his memoir Raging Bull: My Story.
25: Rocky (1976) Sports drama starring Sylvester Stallone as Rocky Balboa a club boxer that gets a once in the a lifetime chance to fight the heavyweight champion of the world.
24: Das Boot (1981) War film about the crew of U-96 during WWII based on the book of the same name. Features excellent acting performaces by a large cast of characters that make up the submarines crew. Also features a pretty epic score by Klaus Doldinger who also did the score for the next movie directed by Wolfgang Petersen The Neverending Story.
23: Forrest Gump (1994) Epic romantic comedy-drama film based on the novel by Winston Groom of the same name. Tom Hanks plays the main character and we witness history unfold through his eyes from his birth in 1942 until 1982 along the way we also witness major events in US history.
22: Platoon (1986) War film about the Vietnam. Largely based on the director Oliver Stones own experiences during the Vietnam War and the first movie in his Vietnam War trilogy. The main story takes place around Chris Taylor who dropped out of college and volunteered for combat duty in Vietnam. The movie has a large cast of outstanding supporting roles. The movie also features a excellent soundtrack even though it doesn't feature any original music.
21: The Pianist (2002) Biographical war drama based on the memoir Death of a City by Wladyslaw Szpilman. Adrien Brody plays the main character Wladyslaw Szpilman a Polish-Jewish musician who survived in the ruins of Warsaw Poland and avoided being captured and send to a concentration camp during World War II.
20: E.T. the Extra Terrestrial (1982) Science fiction film about a alien that gets mistakenly abandoned by his spaceship and by coincidence befriends a 10 year old boy named Elliot. The movie featured execellent pre-cgi special effects that are on par with The Think. It also features a pretty good score by John Williams probably one of his most underated works.
19: Back to the Future (1985) Science fiction adventure comedy film directed by Robert Zemeckis. Marty McFly goes back in time from 1985 to 1955 and while there he has to set things right to ensure his existence in the future.
18: North By Northwest (1959) Thriller in which a advertising executive is mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and is pursused across the United States while he looks for a way to survive. Features on of Bernard Herrmann's most memoral scores.
17: Aliens (1986) Science ficticion action. Sequel to the 1979 film Alien but this time around there is a lot less horror and suspense and a lot more action. Ripley and a group of space marines return to the planet where they picked up the alien from the first movie to fight a horde of aliens.
16: Vertigo (1958) Psychological thriller film centered around John "Scottie" Ferguson a retired San Francisco police dectective who has a fear of height and a mysterious women. The movie features great location shots around San Francisco and a great score by Bernard Herrmann.
15: Zodiac (2007) Crime/Drama/Mystery film about the Zodiac killer. Jake Gyllenhall plays the main character Robert Graysmith a San Francisco Chronical caroonist who becomes obsessed with the Zodiac killer case once the killer sends letters to the newspaper he eventually quits his job and works full time on solving the case he eventually writes a book about the case and becomes a full time crime novel author.
14: Saving Private Ryan (1998) Epic war film by Steven Spielberg. A group of soldiers in WWII are searching for a Army paratrooper whose three brothers have been killed in action. The movie also has the best recreation of the Normandy invavison and ends with a epic battle in a small town.
13: Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991) Science fiction action film and sequel to Terminator from 1984. Another Terminator is send back to the past this time its main job is to protect the life of John Conner along the way it has to fight of a more advanced Terminator a T-1000 that is made of liquid metal and can morph into different shapes.
12: Star Wars Episode V: The Empire Strikes Back (1980) Epic science fiction movie sequel to Star Wars from 1977. This is a continuation of the story from the 1977 film Luke Skywalker and his friends continue their battle against the Galatic Empire.
11: Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000) Epic martial arts movie based on the fourth novel in the Crane Iron Pentalogy. The main story revolves around a stolen sword, but I don't want to go to deep into the plot since everyone should watch this movie at least once. The movie also features excellent cinematagrophy and a excellent score written by Tan Dun and performed by Yo-Yo Ma.
10: The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002) Epic fantatsy film based on the second book in the Lord of the Rings trilogy by J. R. R. Tolken. Continued journey of Frodo Baggins and his friends towards Mordor in order to destroy the One Ring and, with it, the Dark Lord Sauron.
9: The Green Mile (1999) Drama film based on the Stephen King serial novel of the same name. The movie takes place on death row during the great depression and is centered around a mysterious giant african american man that got wrongly conviced of the rape and muder of two little girls.
8: Letters from Iwo Jima (2006) Epic war movie about the battle of Iwo Jima as seen through the Japanese side. The movie mainly unfolds around Saigo a Private First Class who used to be a baker and has a pregnant wife at home but is also largely based on the letters of General Tadamichi Kuribayahsi to his family. The movie also features a hauntig score by Kyle Eastwood and Michael Stevens.
7: Goodfellas (1990) American crime film based on the real life of mobster turned informant Henry Hill Jr. and based on the book Wiseguy by Nicholas Pileggi. The movie spans a long period of time it starts in 1955 and ends in 1980 and is centered around Henry Hill's life in crime. Although it doesn't contain a original score it contains a excellent selection of songs that match the movie and period of time that is depicted.
6: Schindler's List (1993) Epic drama film based on the life of Oscar Schindler and based on the novel Schindler's Ark by Thomas Keneally from 1982. Oscar Schindler used his money and influence to save 1,200 Jews that worked for him from the gas chamber during the closing days of WWII. The movie also depicts on of the most evil real time vilains of all time Amon Goeth who was in charge of the camp where Schindler's workers where held during the war. The movie is shot in stunning black and white and contains on of John Williams best score its probably his most haunting piece of music.
5: The Good, The Bad and the Ugly (Il buono, il brutto, it cattivo) (1966) Epic Spaghetti Western and last movie in the Dollars Trilogy. Two men form a uneasy alliance against a third man in a race to find a fortune in gold buried in remote cemetery. The movie also features one of Ennio Morricone's best scores and one of his best songs "The Ecstacy of Gold".
4: Once Upon a Time in the West (C'era una volta il West) (1968) Epic Spaghetti Western co written by Dario Agento, Bernardo Bertolucci and Sergio Leone and directed by Segio Leone. The main plot involves a mysterious harmonica playing man that is on a hunt to find his brothers killer but the movie also contains numerous sub plots. The movie has great sets and also features great location shots Moab, Utah and Monument Valley, Arizona. Charles Bronson plays the lead part but the movie also has a great supporting cast that includes Jason Robarts, Claudia Cardinale and Henry Fonda. Like my other Leone pictures on my list the movie also features a excellent score by Ennio Morricone.
3: The French Connection (1971) American action/crime/thriller based on the non-fiction book by Robin Moore with the same. Gene Hackman and Roy Scheider play two NYC detectives in the narcotics unit that bust one of the biggest narcotics rings of its time. The film is beautifully shot on location in New York City and features groundbreaking camera work. It also features one of the best car chases of all time. It also features a underwhelming but very effective score by Don Elis.
2: The Godfather (1972) Epic American crime film based on the novel by Mario Puzo with the same name. The movie cronicles the life of the Corelone family from 1945 to 1955. It has a stellar cast that includes Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as two of the main actors. Even though there is little in musical score througout the movie the main theme is one of the most recognizable pieces of music in all of cinema.
1: The Shawshank Redemption (1994) American cime/drama film based on the Stephen King novella Rita Haworth and Shawshank Redemption. Its one of the greatest movies of all time even though unfortunatly not many people saw it when it had its theatrical run since it made barely more then its original budget at the box office. The main plot revolves around a man that gets wrongfully convicted of the murder of his wife and her lover that pretty much all I'm going to give away just watch the rest of the movie yourself you should since its one of the best movies ever made. The movie also features one of Thomas Newman's best scores.
