Best Movies of All Time

Choosing the best movies of all time is a very difficult task, as there are so many great movies to choose from. This list contains some of the greatest movies of all time and can serve as a jumping off point for your own personal movie collection. Make some popcorn, settle in comfortably, and get ready to be inspired!

1.

 Directed by Howard Hawks
Cast: Cary Grant, Rosalind Russell, Ralph Bellamy
1940

 His Girl Friday is one of the best, if not the best, romantic movies of all time. Cary Grant is a newspaper editor trying to woo back his star-reporter, ex-wife Rosalind Russell. Hoping to knock her good-natured fiancé out of the way, he dangles the one thing that no hard-nosed journalist can resist: the scoop on the murder trial of the century. These two fine actors trade barbs and witticisms at a breakneck speed throughout the movie for a winning romantic comedy.

2.

 Directed by Sergio Leone
Cast: Clint Eastwood, Lee Van Cleef, Eli Wallach
1966

 This Sergio Leone masterpiece put “spaghetti westerns” on the map and catapulted Clint Eastwood into the hearts and minds of movie lovers throughout the world. The Good the Bad and the Ugly is about the pursuit of gold lost by the Confederates during the Civil War. Clint Eastwood is the “good”, Lee Van Cleef is “bad”, and Eli Wallach, well, he’s just ugly. What more do you need for one of the best movies of all time?

3.

 Directed by Frank Capra
Cast: James Stewart, Donna Reed, Lionel Barrymore
1946

 It’s a Wonderful Life is as synonymous with Christmas as trimming the tree or caroling. Yes, we’ve seen it a million times, but nothing restores our faith in humanity the way this 1946 classic does.

4.

 Directed by Alfred Hitchcock
Cast: Anthony Perkins, Janet Leigh
1960

 Alfred Hitchcock brought Psycho to us in 1960, and we’ve been peeping through the shower curtain ever since. Anthony Perkins is exemplary in the role of Norman Bates and Janet Leigh strikes just the right balance between working girl and sex siren. Psycho introduced psychological terms like "unresolved Oedipus complex" that have since become part of the American dialogue.

5.

 Directed by John Sturges
Cast: Steve McQueen, James Garner, Richard Attenborough,
Charles Bronson, Donald Pleasance, James Coburn et al.
1963

 What an action-packed movie! We sit riveted as an all-star cast led by Steve McQueen and Richard Attenborough devise a risky scheme to escape the prisoner-of-war camp Stalag Luft III. We cheer when they escape, cringe when they get caught, and cry as some of our favorite characters are killed. Still need a reason to watch? It’s based on a true story. Remarkable!

6.

 Directed by Sidney Lumet
Cast: Henry Fonda, Lee J. Cobb, E.G. Marshall
1957

 Sidney Lumet’s 12 Angry Men does for the American justice system what Frank Capra’s It’s a Wonderful Life did for Christmas; it restores our humanity. With the exception of the opening and closing scenes, the movie takes place in the jury room. We get the bird’s eye view as the jurors contentiously decide whether or not a young Hispanic boy stabbed his father. We watch as the jurors confront the issue of racism, deal with anger, and agonize over keeping the status quo. This movie is so good it actually makes you want to go to law school.

7.

 Directed by Jean Negulesco
Cast: Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, Betty Grable, William Powell
1953

 Before Chick Lit ever hit the scene, Marilyn Monroe, Lauren Bacall, and Betty Grable were renting posh apartments on the Upper East Side, wearing fabulous clothes, and devising hair-brained schemes to marry a millionaire. How to Marry a Millionaire makes you want to put your feet up, grab a martini, and laugh right along with this talented trio of actors.

8.

 Directed by Sidney Lumet
Cast: Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch and Robert Duvall
1976

 Sidney Lumet’s back on our list with the show-stopper Network, a film that foreshadows the network’s disdain for the public. It aptly demonstrates the anger the public feels towards both television programming and news network politics. Courtney Cox’s new show, Dirt, demonstrates just how relevant this movie still is today.

9.

 Directed by Mike Nichols
Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Anne Bancroft, Katherine Ross
1967

 This coming-of age-tale about a recent college graduate, Dustin Hoffman, and his affair with the sultry and stunning Anne Bancroft forever changed popular culture. The Graduate is an iconic piece of American film.

10.

 Directed by Michael Curiz
Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Itenreid, Claude Rains, Conrad Veidt, Peter Lorre.

 Humphrey Bogart is torn between the love of his life, and his need to do the right thing in this 1942 romantic movie classic. See this movie not only for its stellar performances and musical score, but also to note its influence on today’s entertainment industry.

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