20 Greatest Movies of All Time

By Matt Baker   Updated 8 Jan 2013

The following chart counts down the twenty greatest movies of all time based on a combination of four factors:

1. Popularity (as measured by votes on IMDB)
2. Expert opinion (measured by AFI rankings)
3. Box office success (adjusted for inflation)
4. Academy Award nominations and wins

Notes: animated films and sequels were left out; the studio listed is the distributor, not necessarily the producer.

	Rank	Movie	Year	Genre	Director/Studio	Major Stars	Awards/Notes
	20	Pulp Fiction	1994	Crime	Quentin Tarantino Miramax Films	John Travolta Samuel L. Jackson Uma Thurman	- ranked #5 on IMDB - nominated for 7 Oscars
	19	The Silence of the Lambs	1991	Thriller	Jonathan Demme Orion Pictures	Jodie Foster Anthony Hopkins	- based on a novel by Thomas Harris - nominated for 7 Oscars, won 5 (including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, & Best Writing)
	18	The Graduate	1967	Comedy/ Drama	Mike Nichols Embassy Pictures	Dustin Hoffman Anne Bancroft	- based on a novel by Charles Webb - nominated for 7 Oscars, won 1 (Best Director)
	17	Sunset Boulevard	1950	Film Noir	Billy Wilder Paramount Pictures	William Holden Gloria Swanson Erich von Stroheim	- nominated for 11 Oscars, won 3 (including Best Writing)
	16	Citizen Kane	1941	Drama	Orson Welles RKO Pictures	Orson Welles Joseph Cotten Dorothy Comingore	- ranked #1 on AFI's 100 years ... 100 movies (2007 ed.) - nominated for 9 Oscars, won 1 (Best Picture)
	15	Jaws	1975	Horror/ Thriller	Steven Spielberg Universal Pictures	Roy Scheider Richard Dreyfuss Robert Shaw	- nominated for 4 Oscars, won 3 - was followed by Jaws 2, Jaws 3D & Jaws: The Revenge
	14	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	1982	Science Fiction	Steven Spielberg Universal Pictures	Henry Thomas Drew Barrymore Robert MacNaughton	- nominated for 9 Oscars, won 4
	13	Casablanca	1942	Romance	Michael Curtiz Warner Bros.	Humphrey Bogart Ingrid Bergman Paul Henreid	- ranked #3 on AFI's 100 years ... 100 movies (2007 ed.) - nominated for 8 Oscars, won 3 (Best Picture, Best Director & Best Writing)
	12	Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	2001	Fantasy/ Drama	Peter Jackson New Line Cinema	Elijah Wood Ian McKellen Viggo Mortensen	- based on a novel by J.R. Tolkien - nominated for 13 Oscars, won 4 - the film was followed by two sequels: The Two Towers & The Return of the King (which won 11 Oscars - including Best Picture)
	11	Ben-Hur	1959	Epic	William Wyler MGM	Charlton Heston Jack Hawkins	- nominated for 12 Oscars, won 11 (including Best Picture, Best Director & Best Actor)
	10	The Sound of Music	1965	Musical	Robert Wise 20th Century Fox	Julie Andrews Christopher Plummer	-based on a Broadway musical of the same name, which in turn was based on a highly fictionalized account of the Trapp Family Singers - third highest grossing film of all-time (adjusted dollars) - nominated for 10 Oscars, won 5 (including Best Picture & Best Director)
	9	Forrest Gump	1994	Comedy/ Drama	Robert Zemeckis Paramount Pictures	Tom Hanks Robin Wright	- based on a novel by Winston Groom - nominated for 13 Oscars, won 6 (including Best Picture & Best Actor)
	8	Raiders of the Lost Ark	1981	Action/ Adventure	Steven Spielberg Paramount Pictures	Harrison Ford Karen Allen	- nominated for 9 Oscars, won 5 - there have since been three more Indiana Jones movies: the Temple of Doom, the Last Crusade & the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
	7	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	1975	Drama	Milos Forman United Artists	Jack Nicholson Louise Fletcher	- based on a novel by Ken Kesey - nominated for 9 Oscars, won 5 (including Best Picture, Best Actor & Best Actress)
	6	Lawrence of Arabia	1962	Drama	David Lean Columbia Pictures	Peter O'Toole Alec Guinness Anthony Quinn	- based on the true story of T.E. Lawrence - nominated for 10 Oscars, won 7 (including Best Picture & Best Actor)
	5	Titanic	1997	Epic/ Romance/ Disaster	James Cameron Paramount Pictures	Leonardo DiCaprio Kate Winslet	- a highly fictionalized account of the sinking of the Titanic - nominated for 14 Oscars, won 11 (including Best Picture & Best Director)
	4	Schindler's List	1993	Biography	Steven Spielberg Universal Pictures	Liam Neeson Ben Kingsley Ralph Fiennes	- based on the true story of Oskar Schindler as described in a novel by Thomas Keneally - nominated for 12 Oscars, won 7 (including Best Picture, Best Director & Best Writing)
	3	Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope	1977	Epic Space Opera	George Lucas 20th Century Fox	Mark Hamill Harrison Ford Carrie Fisher	- second highest grossing film of all-time (adjusted dollars) - nominated for 10 Oscars, won 6
	2	The Godfather	1972	Crime	Francis Ford Coppola Paramount Pictures	Marlon Brando Al Pacino James Caan	- based on a novel by Mario Puzo - ranked #2 on IMDB and on AFI's 100 years ... 100 movies (2007 ed.) - nominated for 11 Oscars, won 3 (including Best Picture, Best Actor & Best Writing)
	1	Gone With The Wind	1939	Epic	Victor Fleming MGM	Clark Gable Vivien Leigh Leslie Howard	- based on a novel by Margaret Mitchell - highest grossing film of all-time (adjusted dollars) - nominated for 13 Oscars, won 8 (including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actress & Best Writing)