Movies are a great way to spend an hour or more on your couch or your bed. It’s a simple yet guilt-free treat you can reward yourself. It even gets better when you get to watch with your friends or family. Thanks to a variety of cable television packages, you can do so whenever and wherever you want it.
It’s a good thing we live in this era as this wasn’t possible when T.V. first debuted in the 1920s. Back then, everything was in black and white and only ran a few channels with a limited number of shows. Viewers needed to sit in front of the tube to catch a full episode. Worse, they had to endure a lot of commercials to watch their favorite tv show.
Now, times have changed, and so do our watching habits and preferences. Television and its accompanying technologies–cable, internet, and streaming–make it more accessible and convenient. It has evolved from limited to multiple offerings that allow everyone to enjoy current releases and relive all-time classics.
Are you planning for a weekend movie marathon or an all-nighter? Fortunately, we’ve rounded up the best films of all time that’ll surely convince you to bring more than just popcorn for you to enjoy.
Best Films of All Time
Creating a list of the best films of all time is a challenge. There are so many opinions as there are movies. To make a representative lot, we’ve come up with the top movies in each genre– action/adventure, drama, comedy, musicals, horror, sci-fi, thriller, and sports. It’s something for everyone to enjoy (and argue about).
The lists feature timeless classics and new releases that you’re sure to watch or watch again for the nth time. What’s more, these A-list movies boast of one or more Oscars for their talented ensembles and screenplays that they are all worth watching.
- Action/Adventure Movies of All Time
Suppose you’re looking for some action-packed movies with martial arts fight scenes, exhilarating car chases, or plenty of guns and explosions. In that case, the best action/adventure movies will surely give you an adrenaline rush and keep you on the edge of your seats.
Top action movies include:
- Seven Samurai (1956)
- The Bridge on River Kwai (1957)
- Jaws (1975)
- Airplane (1980)
- Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
- Reservoir Dogs (1992)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- Comedy
After an action-filled list, let’s tune in to the lighter side with comedy movies. It’s not all slapstick, though, as it involves entertaining plots and characters with a moral lesson in the end.
Check these rom-coms, mockumentaries, and parodies as they’ll keep you amused throughout.
- Some Like It Hot (1959)
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
- The Graduate (1967)
- Blazing Saddles (1974)
- Young Frankenstein (1974)
- Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
- Annie Hall (1977)
- The Breakfast Club (1985)
- Ferris Bueller’s Day Off (1986)
- When Harry Met Sally (1989)
- Groundhog Day (1993)
- Almost Famous (2000)
- Amelie (2001)
- Drama
Set aside the popcorn and reach for a Kleenex as here are tear-jerkers that portray real-life complexities and poignant plots and characters. These dramatic films are award-winning and blockbuster-certified–from war stories to histories, iconic figures, courtrooms, and everyday struggles.
- Sunset Blvd. (1950)
- All About Eve (1950)
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
- The Godfather (1972)
- One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
- All The President’s Men (1976)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- Deer Hunter (1978)
- Amadeus (1984)
- Die Hard (1988)
- Good Fellas (1990)
- Thelma and Louise (1991)
- Schindler’s List (1993)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Forrest Gump (1994)
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- Braveheart (1995)
- Good Will Hunting (1997)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- The Fight Club (1999)
- American Beauty (1999)
- Gladiator (2000)
- The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (2003)
- Fantasy
Step away from reality and delve into another world of the magical and the supernatural. These imaginary worlds come with their people, laws, and activities that you’d wish you can stay longer and never return.
The best fantasy films include:
- The Wizard of Oz (1939)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946),
- Mary Poppins (1964)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Ghostbusters (1984)
- The Princess Bride (1987)
- Beauty and the Beast (1991)
- Pan’s Labyrinth (2006)
- Avatar (2009)
- Musicals
Movies not only feature great soundtracks and musical scores as it can also serve as stage-like productions with powerful belters in solo, duets, and everything in between.
Fancy a musical to channel your inner singer? Check out these classics:
- Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
- West Side Story (1961)
- The Sound of Music (1965)
- Romance
Matters of the heart are also one of the main movie themes. Whether it’s star-crossed lovers, marriage and engagement issues, obsession, or infidelity, these romance movies will undoubtedly touch on how you think about love.
- Gone with the Wind (1939)
- Casa Blanca (1942)
- Doctor Zhivago (1965)
- Titanic (1997)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Brokeback Mountain (2005)
- Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
- Mystery/ Thriller
These detective-type movies are full of suspense that leaves you hooked to your screen to catch the culprit. It’s full of twists and surprises that you’ll surely want more.
Mystery movies to watch are:
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- On the Waterfront (1954)
- North by Northwest, Rear Window (1954)
- Vertigo (1958)
- Psycho (1960)
- Chinatown (1974)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- The Usual Suspects (1995)
- Seven (1995)
- Fargo (1996)
- Memento (2000)
- Horror
If you want to scream your heart out, you can check out Psycho (1960) and The Shining (1980). These are the only horror films to make it to the Oscars, so it’s worth the screams for these classics.
- Science Fiction
Sci-fi movies differ from fantasy movies in that these feature alternate worlds (aliens, cyborgs, etc.) and realities and technological advancement. It’s kind of prophetic, come to think it, as these movies hint at the very technologies we enjoy today. Need proof? Watch the following:
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- A Clockwork Orange (1971),
- Star Wars (1977)
- Close Encounter of the Third Kind (1977)
- Alien (1979)
- Blade Runner (1982)
- E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
- Back to the Future (1985)
- Jurassic Park (1993)
- The Matrix (1999)
- Inception (2010)
- Sports
Sport flicks highlight the life of an athlete, a team, or a fan. They chronicle these people’s struggles and victories and leave us inspired to rise and fight our own battles.
You can look to the following movies to give you that positive vibe: Rocky (1976), Raging Bull (1980), The Big Lebowski (1998)
- Animation Movies
Animated movies are always a delight to watch as they can give us a roller-coaster ride of emotion. But, in the end, these feel-good movies are great family pictures to bond over.
You can try out award-winning animations like The Lion King (1994), Toy Story (1995), Wall-E (2008), and Up (2009)
Conclusion
Movies are often larger-than-life depictions of our hopes, dreams, fantasies, and curiosities. They have the power to transport us to alternate worlds and introduce us to characters that may mirror our own.
Thanks to the technology that we have today, these classics and recent films are accessible to us. Whether on T.V., cable, or the internet, top movies are worth the time and the popcorn.
