Dr. J's Favourite Films Of All Time

This revised list was prepared in 2022 and includes films released in 2021 and before.  

2022

Title    

Director

Year

Country

2012

1

 Casablanca

Curtiz

1942

U.S.

1

2

 Spirited Away

Miyazaki

2002

Japan

3

3

 His Girl Friday

Hawks

1940

U.S.

11

4

 Some Like It Hot

Wilder

1959

U.S.

4

5

 Late Spring

Ozu

1949

Japan

9

6

 Sunset Boulevard

Wilder

1950

U.S.

7

7

 Singin' In The Rain

Donen / Kelly

1952

U.S.

5

8

 Petite Maman

Sciamma

2021

France

---

9

 Tootsie

Pollack

1982

U.S.

2

10

 Before Sunset

Linklater

2004

U.S.

36

.






11

 Les Parapluies de Cherbourg
 (The Umbrellas of Cherbourg)

Demy

1964

France

55

12

 The Big Sleep

Hawks

1946

U.S.

6

13

 Dr. Strangelove

Kubrick

1964

Great Britain

8

14

 A Night At The Opera

Wood

1935

U.S.

10

15

 Pan's Labyrinth

Del Toro

2006

Mexico

25

16

 Aliens

Cameron

1986

U.S.

16

17

 Mulholland Drive

Lynch

2001

U.S.

34

18

 All About Eve

Mankiewicz

1950

U.S.

12

19

 Manhatten

Allen

1979

U.S.

15

20

 Lost In Translation

S. Coppola

2003

U.S. / Japan

18

21

 Moulin Rouge

Luhrmann

2001

Australia

14

22

 Far From Heaven

Haynes

2002

U.S.

24

23

 Le Mépris (Contempt)

Godard

1964

France

22

24

 Tokyo Story

Ozu

1953

Japan

31

25

 Pandora's Box

Pabst

1928

Germany

30

26

 Sherlock, Jr.

Keaton

1924

U.S.

---

27

 Wizard of Oz

Fleming

1939

U.S.

13

28

 Beauty and The Beast

Trousdale / Wise

1991

U.S.

27

29

 The Godfather II

F. Coppola

1974

U.S.

28

30

 Rear Window

Hitchcock

1954

U.S.

52

31

 The Maltese Falcon

Huston

1941

U.S.

17

32

 The Grand Illusion

Renoir

1937

France

19

33

 Edward Scissorhands

Burton

1990

U.S.

26

34

 Andrei Rublev

Tarkovsky

1966

Russia

40

35

 Sabrina

Wilder

1954

U.S.

21

36

 The Rules Of The Game

Renoir

1939

France

23

37

 L'Aventurra

Antonioni

1960

Italy

33

38

 Up!

Docter

2009

U.S.

53

39

 My Man Godfrey

La Cava

1936

U.S.

39

40

 To Sir With Love

Clavell

1967

Great Britain

20

41

 The Godfather

F. Coppola

1972

U.S.

42

42

 Raiders Of The Lost Ark

Spielberg

1981

U.S.

29

43

 The Graduate

Nichols

1967

U.S.

32

44

 Blue Velvet

Lynch

1986

U.S.

44

45

 In The Mood For Love

Wong

2000

Hong Kong

38

46

 The Battle of Algiers

Pontecorvo

1966

Italy / Algeria

---

47

 The Apartment

Wilder

1960

U.S.

49

48

 Parasite

Bong Joon-ho

2019

South Korea

---

49

 Exotica

Egoyan

1994

Canada

72

50

 Les Enfants du Paradis
 (Children Of Paradise)

Carné

1945

France

50

.






51

 The General

Keaton

1926

U.S.

---

52

 Heathers

Lehmann

1989

U.S.

35

53

 Reservoir Dogs

Tarantino

1992

U.S.

37

54

 Planet Of The Apes

Schaffner

1968

U.S.

47

55

 To Live

Zhang

1994

China

48

56

 Star Trek II: Wrath Of Khan

Meyers

1982

U.S.

54

57

 Laura

Preminger

1944

U.S.

---

58

 The Player

Altman

1992

U.S.

41

59

 Life of Brian

Jones

1979

Great Britain

---

60

 City Lights

Chaplin

1931

U.S.

60

61

 American Beauty

Mendes

1999

U.S.

51

62

 The Empire Strikes Back

Kershner

1981

U.S.

43

63

 Double Indemnity

Wilder

1944

U.S.

91

64

 Sansho The Bailiff

Mizoguchi

1954

Japan

---

65

 Fanny and Alexander

Bergman

1973

Sweden

64

66

 Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon

Lee

2000

Hong Kong

65

67

 Shakespeare In Love

Madden

1998

Great Britain

46

68

 Vertigo

Hitchcock

1958

U.S.

56

69

 Kill Bill Vol. 1

Tarantino

2003

U.S.

66

70

 Ace In The Hole

Wilder

1951

U.S.

68

71

 Lawrence Of Arabia

Lean

1962

Great Britain

69

72

 A Nos Amours

Pialat

1983

France

62

73

 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Murnau

1927

U.S.

58

74

 My Night At Maud's

Rohmer

1969

France

59

75

 Duck Soup

McCarey

1933

U.S.

70

76

 Lolita

Kubrick

1962

Great Britain

57

77

 Spider-Man

Raimi

2002

U.S.

61

78

 Crash

Haggis

2005

U.S.

63

79

 Manchurian Candidate

Frankenheimer

1962

Great Britain

74

80

 The Sweet Smell of Success

Mackendrick

1957

U.S.

---

81

 Red Shoes

Powell/Pressburger

1948

Great Britain

75

82

 Brief Encounter

Lean

1945

Great Britain

80

83

 The Descendents

Payne

2011

U.S.

81

84

 Gilda

C. Vidor

1946

U.S.

---

85

 Monty Python and the Holy Grail

Jones / Gilliam

1975

Great Britain

---

86

 The Searchers

Ford

1956

U.S.

90

87

 Citizen Kane

Welles

1941

U.S.

76

88

 In The Company Of Men

LaBute

1997

U.S.

45

89

 Shawshank Redemption

Darabont

1994

U.S.

67

90

 Ben-Hur

Wyler

1959

U.S.

86

91

 Ex Machina

Garland

2015

Great Britain

---

92

 Schindler's List

Spielberg

1993

U.S.

88

93

 Ninotchka

Lubitsch

1939

U.S.

79

94

 The Birds

Hitchcock

1963

U.S.

---

95

 Get Shorty

Sonnenfeld

1995

U.S.

78

96

 Scenes From A Marriage

Bergman

1973

Sweden

95

97

 War Of The Roses

DeVito

1989

U.S.

93

98

 La Dolce Vita

Fellini

1960

Italy

---

99

 In A Lonely Place

Ray

1950

U.S.

---

100

 Raise The Red Lantern

Zhang

1991

China

94

.






101

 The Ten Commandments

De Mille

1956

U.S.

92

102

 The 400 Blows

Truffaut

1959

France

97

103

 Risky Business

Brickman

1983

U.S.

---

104

 Back To The Future

Zemeckis

1985

U.S.

99

105

 Wings of Desire

Wenders

1987

Germany

83

106

 Pulp Fiction

Tarantino

1994

U.S.

100

107

 Trainspotting

Boyle

1996

Great Britain

---

108

 Die Hard

McTiernan

1988

U.S.

---

109

 The English Patient

Minghella

1996

Great Britain

89

110

 Ikiru

Kurosawa

1953

Japan

96

111

 ROMA

Cuarón

2018

Mexico

---

112

 Cinderella

Jackson / Luske

1950

U.S.

---

113

 Airplane!

Abrahams / Zucker

1980

U.S.

---

114

 Run Lola Run

Tykwer

1999

Germany

73

115

 To Have And Have Not

Hawks

1944

U.S.

87

116

 La La Land

Chazelle

2016

U.S.

---

117

 Kick-Ass

Vaughn

2010

U.S.

---

118

 North By Northwest

Hitchcock

1959

U.S.

---

119

 Full Metal Jacket

Kubrick

1987

Great Britain

82

120

 The Social Network

Fincher

2010

U.S.

---

121

 Castle In The Sky

Miyazaki

1986

Japan

---

122

 Do The Right Thing

Lee

1989

U.S.

---

123

 Silence of the Lambs

Demme

1991

U.S.

---

124

 All That Jazz

Fosse

1979

U.S.

85

125

 Roman Holiday

Wyler

1953

U.S.

---

126

 Blue Is The Warmest Colour

Kechiche

2013

France

---

127

 Swept Away

Wertmuller

1974

Italy

77

128

 The Sweet Hereafter

Egoyan

1997

Canada

84

129

 Yi-Yi

Yang

2000

Taiwan

---

130

 Early Summer

Ozu

1951

Japan

---

131

 Before Midnight

Linklater

2013

U.S.

---

132

 Florida Project

Baker

2017

U.S.

---

133

 Cabaret

Fosse

1972

U.S.

98

134

 Mon Oncle Antoine

Jutra

1971

Canada

---

135

 The Power Of The Dog

Campion

2021

New Zealand

---

136

 Donnie Darko

R. Kelly

2001

U.S.

---

137

 The Big Chill

Kasdan

1983

U.S.

---

138

 Kiss Me Deadly

Aldrich

1955

U.S.

---

139

 La Passion de Jeanne d'Arc

Dreyer

1928

France

---

140

 Modern Times

Chaplin

1936

U.S.

---

141

 Miracle On 34th Street

Seaton

1947

U.S.

---

142

 Star Wars

Lucas

1979

U.S.

---

143

 High Noon

Zinnemann

1952

U.S.

---

144

 Gosford Park

Altman

2001

U.S.

---

145

 Nomadland

Chao

2020

U.S.

---

146

 Witness For The Prosecution

Wilder

1957

U.S.

---

147

 Dangerous Liasons

Frears

1988

U.S.

---

148

 Diary of a Lost Girl

Pabst

1929

Germany

---

149

 Slap Shot

Hill

1977

U.S.

---

150

 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Ford

1962

U.S.

---

151

 Like Water For Chocolate

Arau

1993

Mexico

---

152

 Great Expectations

Lean

1946

Great Britain

---

153

 The Big Heat

Lang

1953

U.S.

---

154

 A Man For All Seasons

Zinnemann

1966

Great Britain

---

155

 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Miyazaki

1984

Japan

---

156

 Aladdin

Musker / Clements

1992

U.S.

---

157

 To Kill A Mockingbird

Mulligan

1962

U.S.

---

158

 The Grand Budapest Hotel

W. Anderson

2014

U.S.

---

159

 Rome, Open City

Rossellini

1945

Italy

---

160

 Rio Bravo

Hawks

1959

U.S.

---

161

 Amelie

Jeunet

2001

France

---

162

 A Scanner Darkly

Linklater

2006

U.S.

---

163

 Adam's Rib

Cukor

1949

U.S.

---

164

 Léon: The Professional

Besson

1994

France

---

165

 Pleasantville

Ross

1998

U.S.

---

166

 Vicky Cristina Barcelona

Allen

2008

U.S./Spain

---

167

 Lethal Weapon 2

Donner

1989

U.S.

---

168

 Elle

Verhoeven

2016

France

---

169

 A Separation

Farhadi

2011

Iran

---

170

 The Lion In Winter

Harvey

1968

Great Britain

---

171

 The Death of Stalin

Iannucci

2018

Great Britain

---

172

 The Piano

Campion

1993

New Zealand

---

173

 Spotlight

McCarthy

2015

U.S.

---

174

 Election

Payne

1999

U.S.

---

175

 Boyhood

Linklater

2014

U.S.

---

176

 The Farewell

Wang

2019

U.S.

---

177

 Gone With The Wind

Fleming

1939

U.S.

71

178

 Lost Horizon

Capra

1937

U.S.

---

179

 Deer Hunter

Cimino

1978

U.S.

---

180

 An Education

Scherfig

2009

Great Britain

---

181

 Marriage Story

Baumbach

2019

U.S.

---

182

 Zero Dark Thirty

Bigelow

2012

U.S.

---

183

 Magnolia

P.T. Anderson

1999

U.S.

---

184

 Her

Jonze

2013

U.S.

---

185

 The Hurt Locker

Bigelow

2009

U.S.

---

186

 Husbands and Wives

Allen

1992

U.S.

---

187

 Touch of Evil

Welles

1957

U.S.

---

188

 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Huston

1948

U.S.

---

189

 When Harry Met Sally

Reiner

1989

U.S.

---

190

 A Man Escaped

Bresson

1956

France

---

191

 12 Angry Men

Lumet

1957

U.S.

---

192

 Million Dollar Baby

Eastwood

2004

U.S.

---

193

 Battle Royale

Fukasaku

2000

Japan

---

194

 Annie Hall

Allen

1977

U.S.

---

195

 All That Heaven Allows

Sirk

1955

U.S.

---

196

 Crash

Cronenberg

1996

Canada

---

197

 I Was Born But ...

Ozu

1932

Japan

---

198

 Leaving Las Vegas

Figgis

1995

U.S.

---

199

 Silver Linings Playbook

Russell

2012

U.S.

---

200

 Judgement at Nuremburg

Kramer

1961

U.S.

---


Director Appearances In The Top 200

  Director

Appearances

  Billy Wilder

7

 

.

  Woody Allen

4

  Howard Hawks

4

  Alfred Hitchcock

4

  Richard Linklater

4

  Yasujiro Ozu

4

 

.

  Stanley Kubrick

3

  David Lean

3

  Hayao Miyazaki

3

  Quentin Tarantino

3

 

.

  Robert Altman

2

  Ingmar Bergman

2

  Kathryn Bigelow

2

  Jane Campion

2

  Charlie Chaplin

2

  Atom Egoyan

2

  Victor Fleming

2

  Francis Ford Coppola

2

  John Ford

2

  Bob Fosse

2

  John Huston

2

  Terry Jones

2

  Buster Keaton

2

  David Lynch

2

  G. W. Pabst

2

  Alexander Payne

2

  Jean Renoir

2

  Steven Spielberg

2

  William Wyler

2

  Zhang Yimou

2

  Fred Zinneman

2


Favourite Silent Films

Rank

Title    

Director

Year

Country

2022

1

 Pandora's Box

Pabst

1928

Germany

25

2

 Sherlock, Jr.

Keaton

1924

U.S.

26

3

 The General

Keaton

1926

U.S.

51

4

 City Lights

Chaplin

1931

U.S.

60

5

 Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans

Murnau

1927

U.S.

73

6

 The Passion of Jeanne d'Arc

Dreyer

1928

France

139

7

 Modern Times

Chaplin

1936

U.S.

140

8

 Diary of a Lost Girl

Pabst

1929

Germany

148

9

 I Was Born But ...

Ozu

1932

Japan

197

10

 Steamboat Bill Jr.

Keaton

1928

U.S.

---


Favourite Film Noir

Rank

Title    

Director

Year

Country

2022

1

 Sunset Boulevard

Wilder

1950

U.S.

7

2

 The Big Sleep

Hawks

1946

U.S.

12

3

 The Maltese Falcon

Huston

1941

U.S.

31

4

 Laura

Preminger

1944

U.S.

57

5

 Double Indemnity

Wilder

1944

U.S.

59

6

 Ace In The Hole

Wilder

1951

U.S.

70

7

 The Sweet Smell of Success

Mackendrick

1957

U.S.

79

8

 Gilda

C. Vidor

1946

U.S.

84

9

 In A Lonely Place

Ray

1950

U.S.

99

10

 Kiss Me Deadly

Aldrich

1955

U.S.

138

11

 The Big Heat

Lang

1953

U.S.

153

12

 Touch of Evil

Welles

1957

U.S.

187


Favourite Musicals

Rank

Title    

Director

Year

Country

2022

1

 Singin' In The Rain

Donen / Kelly

1952

U.S.

6

2

 The Umbrellas of Cherbourg

Demy

1964

France

11

3

 Moulin Rouge

Luhrmann

2001

Australia

21

4

 Wizard of Oz

Fleming

1939

U.S.

27

5

 Beauty and The Beast

Trousdale / Wise

1991

U.S.

28

6

 Cinderella

Jackson / Luske

1950

U.S.

112

7

 La La Land

Chazelle

2016

U.S.

116

8

 All That Jazz

Fosse

1979

U.S.

124

9

 Cabaret

Fosse

1972

U.S.

133

10

 Aladdin

Musker / Clements

1992

U.S.

156


Favourite Animated Films

Rank

Title    

Director

Year

Country

2022

1

 Spirited Away

Miyazaki

2002

Japan

2

2

 Beauty and The Beast

Trousdale / Wise

1991

U.S.

28

3

 Up!

Docter

2009

U.S.

38

4

 Cinderella

Jackson / Luske

1950

U.S.

112

5

 Castle In The Sky

Miyazaki

1986

Japan

121

6

 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind

Miyazaki

1984

Japan

155

7

 Aladdin

Musker / Clements

1992

U.S.

156

8

 A Scanner Darkly

Linklater

2006

U.S.

160

9

 Shrek

Adamson / Jenson

2001

U.S.

---

10

 The Lion King

Allers / Minkoff

1994

U.S.

---


Favourite Westerns

Rank

Title    

Director

Year

Country

2022

1

 The Searchers

Ford

1956

U.S.

86

2

 The Power Of The Dog

Campion

2021

New Zealand

135

3

 High Noon

Zinnemann

1952

U.S.

143

4

 The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance

Ford

1962

U.S.

150

5

 Rio Bravo

Hawks

1958

U.S.

160

6

 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre

Huston

1948

U.S.

188



The Life of Oharu (1952) The Grapes of Wrath (1940) Platoon (1986) Gone Girl (2014) Best Years of Our Lives (1946) Bambi (1942) Moonrise Kingdom (2012) Mank (2020) The Favourite (2018) No Country For Old Men (2007) Wag The Dog (1997) Being There (1979) The Lion King (1994) Lady and the Tramp (1955) A Christmas Carol (1951) The Jungle Book (1967) Network (1976) One Flew Over The Cuckoos Nest (1975) Bridge Over The River Kwai (1957) Blade Runner (1982) Bicycle Thieves (1948) The Untouchables (1987) My Neighbour Totoro (1988) Goodfellas (1990) Saving Private Ryan (1998) Spider-Man 2 (1984) Big (1988) Speed (1994) The Usual Suspects (1995) Iron Man (2008) Shrek (2001) The Bishop's Wife (1947) Wuthering Heights (1939) Seven Samurai (1954) Last Tango In Paris (1972)