The Movies of 2001
(Movies Marked With a
Are Reviewed in Full)
(Includes films first exhibited to commercial audiences in America between Jan. 1, 2001, and Dec. 31, 2001.
Consequently, certain entries, especially foreign films, are indexed here despite being produced in earlier years.)
SPECIAL SECTION: THE 2001 ACADEMY AWARDS
My Top Ten List
  1. Apocalypse Now Redux [re-issue] Dir. Francis Ford Coppola. With Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando A
  2. In the Mood for Love ³ Dir. Wong Kar-wai. With Maggie Cheung, Tony Leung, Rebecca Pan A–
  3. Amores Perros Dir. Alejandro González Iñárritu. With Emilio Echevarría, Gael García Bernal A–
       The Circle Dir. Jafar Panahi. With Nargess Mamizadeh, Maryam Parvin Almani, Fatemah Naghavi A–
  4. Gosford Park Dir. Robert Altman. With Michael Gambon, Kristin Scott Thomas, Kelly MacDonald A–
  5. Mulholland Drive ³ Dir. David Lynch. With Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring, Justin Theroux A–
  6. Ocean's Eleven ² Dir. Steven Soderbergh. With George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Carl Reiner A–
  7. Donnie Darko Dir. Richard Kelly. With Jake Gyllenhaal, Jena Malone, Mary McDonnell A– 
  8. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring ² Dir. Peter Jackson. With Elijah Wood A– 
  9. Hedwig and the Angry Inch Dir. John Cameron Mitchell. With John Cameron Mitchell, Michael Pitt A-
       Moulin Rouge ² Dir. Baz Luhrmann. With Ewan McGregor, Nicole Kidman, Jim Broadbent A- 
10. O Dir. Tim Blake Nelson. With Mekhi Phifer, Josh Hartnett, Julia Stiles, Martin Sheen A–
Other Releases from the Year 2001
- The Affair of the Necklace Dir. Charles Shyer. With Hilary Swank, Simon Baker, Jonathan Pryce D
- A.I. Artificial Intelligence Dir. Steven Spielberg. With Haley Joel Osment, Frances O'Connor, Jude Law B+
- Ali Dir. Michael Mann. With Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Jon Voight, Mario Van Peebles B+
- Amélie ² Dir. Jean-Pierre Jeunet. With Audrey Tautou, Mathieu Kassovitz, Serge Merlin B
- Angel Eyes Dir. Luis Mandoki. With Jennifer Lopez, Jim Caviezel, Terrence Howard D+
- The Anniversary Party Dirs. Alan Cumming & Jennifer Jason Leigh. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, Alan Cumming B
- Audition Dir. Takashi Miike. With Ryo Ishibashi, Eihi Shiina, Jun Kunimura C+
- A Beautiful Mind Dir. Ron Howard. With Russell Crowe, Jennifer Connelly, Ed Harris B
- Black Hawk Down Dir. Ridley Scott. With Josh Hartnett, Sam Shepard, Eric Bana B–
- Bridget Jones's Diary Dir. Sharon Maguire. With Renée Zellweger, Colin Firth, Hugh Grant B–
- The Brothers Dir. Gary Hardwick. With Morris Chesnutt, D.L. Hughley, Bill Bellamy D–
- Bully Dir. Larry Clark. With Brad Renfro, Nick Stahl, Rachel Miner D
- The Business of Strangers Dir. Patrick Stettner. With Stockard Channing, Julia Stiles, Frederick Weller C
- The Caveman's Valentine Dir. Kasi Lemmons. With Samuel L. Jackson, Colm Feore, Ann Magnuson B–
- crazy/beautiful Dir. John Stockwell. With Kirsten Dunst, Jay Hernandez, Bruce Davison C
- Charlotte Gray Dir. Gillian Armstrong. With Cate Blanchett, Billy Crudup, Michael Gambon C+
- Code Unknown Dir. Michael Haneke. With Juliette Binoche, Thierry Neuvic, Alexandre Hamidi B+
- The Curse of the Jade Scorpion Dir. Woody Allen. With Woody Allen, Helen Hunt, Dan Aykroyd F
- The Deep End ² Dirs. Scott McGehee & David Siegel. With Tilda Swinton, Goran Visnjic B+
- Dinner with Friends Dir. Norman Jewison. With Dennis Quaid, Andie MacDowell, Greg Kinnear C+
- Fat Girl [À Ma Soeur!] Dir. Catherine Breillat. With Anaïs Reboux, Roxane Mesquida, Libero de Rienzo C+
- From Hell Dirs. Allen & Albert Hughes. With Johnny Depp, Heather Graham, Robbie Coltrane F
- Gaudí Afternoon Dir. Susan Seidelman. With Judy Davis, Marcia Gay Harden, Lili Taylor F
- Get Over It Dir. Tommy O'Haver. With Ben Foster, Kirsten Dunst, Shane West, Colin Hanks D
- Ghost World Dir. Terry Zwigoff. With Thora Birch, Steve Buscemi, Scarlett Johansson B–
- The Gleaners and I Dir. Agnès Varda. Documentary. Tracks various gleaners around France B+
- Glitter Dir. Vondie Curtis-Hall. With Mariah Carey, Max Beesley, Terrence Howard D+
- The Golden Bowl Dir. James Ivory. With Uma Thurman, Jeremy Northam, Nick Nolte D+
- Hannibal Dir. Ridley Scott. With Anthony Hopkins, Julianne Moore, Gary Oldman B
- Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone Dir. Chris Columbus. With Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint B–
- I Am Sam Dir. Jessie Nelson. With Sean Penn, Michelle Pfeiffer, Dakota Fanning F
- In the Bedroom Dir. Todd Field. With Tom Wilkinson, Sissy Spacek, Marisa Tomei C+
- Intimacy Dir. Patrice Chéreau. With Mark Rylance, Kerry Fox, Timothy Spall D+
- Iris Dir. Richard Eyre. With Judi Dench, Jim Broadbent, Kate Winslet B–
- Jesus Christ, Vampire Hunter Dir. Lee Gordon Demarbre. With Phil Caracas, Murielle Varhelyi D–
- Joy Ride Dir. John Dahl. With Paul Walker, Steve Zahn, Leelee Sobieski B+
- Jurassic Park III Dir. Joe Johnston. With Sam Neill, William H. Macy, Téa Leoni C
- Kandahar Dir. Mohsen Makhmalbaf. With Nelofer Pazira, Hassan Tantai, Sadou Teymouri B
- Kate & Leopold Dir. James Mangold. With Meg Ryan, Hugh Jackman, Liev Schreiber C
- The King Is Alive Dir. Kristian Levring. With Jennifer Jason Leigh, David Bradley, Janet McTeer D–
- Kiss of the Spider Woman [re-issue] Dir. Hector Babenco. With William Hurt, Raul Julia B+
- K-PAX Dir. Iain Softely. With Kevin Spacey, Jeff Bridges, Mary McCormack C–
- Lantana Dir. Ray Lawrence. With Anthony LaPaglia, Rachael Blake, Kerry Armstrong B
- Legally Blonde Dir. Robert Luketic. With Reese Witherspoon, Victor Garber, Selma Blair C
- L.I.E. Dir. Michael Cuesta. With Paul Franklin Dano, Brian Cox, Bruce Altman B
- Life as a House Dir. Irwin Winkler. With Kevin Kline, Kristin Scott Thomas, Hayden Christensen D+
- Maelström Dir. Denis Villeneuve. With Marie-Josée Croze, Jean-Nicolas Verreault, Stéphanie Morgenstern B–
- The Man Who Cried Dir. Sally Potter. With Christina Ricci, Cate Blanchett, Johnny Depp D
- The Man Who Wasn't There Dir. Joel Coen. With Billy Bob Thornton, Frances McDormand, Joe Polito B
- Memento ³ Dir. Christopher Nolan. With Guy Pearce, Joe Pantoliano, Carrie-Anne Moss B+
- The Mexican Dir. Gore Verbinski. With Brad Pitt, Julia Roberts, James Gandolfini, Bob Balaban D
- The Middle Passage Dir. Guy Deslauriers. Docudrama. Narrated by Djimon Hounsou B–
- Monster's Ball ² Dir. Marc Forster. With Billy Bob Thornton, Halle Berry, Peter Boyle B–
- Monsters, Inc. Dirs. Pete Docter, David Silverman & Lee Unkrich. Animated C–
- My Migrant Soul Dir. Yasmine Kabir. Documentary. Profile of a late Bangladeshi migrant worker B+
- Mysterious Object at Noon Dir. Apichatpong Weereasethakul. Somsri Pinyopol, Duangjai Hiransri, To Hanudomlapr A
- Nico and Dani Dir. Cesc Gay. With Fernando Ramallo, Jordi Vilches, Marieta Orozco C
- No Man's Land Dir. Danis Tanovic. With Branko Djuric, Rene Bitorajac, Filip Sovagovic B–
- The Others Dir. Alejandro Amenábar. With Nicole Kidman, Fionnula Flanagan, Christopher Eccleston C+
- Planet of the Apes Dir. Tim Burton. With Mark Wahlberg, Helena Bonham Carter, Tim Roth D+
- The Pledge Dir. Sean Penn. With Jack Nicholson, Robin Wright Penn, Aaron Eckhart C–
- The Princess and the Warrior Dir. Tom Tykwer. With Franka Potente, Benno Fürmann, Joachim Król B
- Rat Race Dir. Jerry Zucker. With John Cleese, Cuba Gooding Jr., Breckin Meyer, Whoopi Goldberg C
- The Royal Tenenbaums Dir. Wes Anderson. With Gene Hackman, Anjelica Huston, Luke Wilson B
- Save the Last Dance Dir. Thomas Carter. With Julia Stiles, Sean Patrick Thomas, Kerry Washington C
- The Score Dir. Frank Oz. With Robert De Niro, Edward Norton, Marlon Brando B
- Scout's Honor Dir. Tom Shepard. Documentary. Portrait of California's "Scouting For All" movement B
- Sexy Beast Dir. Jonathan Glazer. With Ray Winstone, Ben Kingsley, Ian McShane B
- Shallow Hal Dirs. Petery & Bobby Farrelly. With Jack Black, Gwyneth Paltrow, Jason Alexander C
- The Shipping News Dir. Lasse Hallström. With Kevin Spacey, Julianne Moore, Judi Dench C–
- Shrek Dir. Andrew Adamson and Vicky Jenson. Animated. With the voices of Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy C–
- 61* TV Movie. Dir. Billy Crystal. With Barry Pepper, Thomas Jane, Jennifer Crystal Foley B–
- Songcatcher Dir. Maggie Greenwald. With Janet McTeer, Aidan Quinn, Emmy Rossum C+
- Startup.com Dirs. Jehane Noujaim and Chris Hegedus. Documentary. With Kaleil Isaza Tuzman B
- Together Dir. Lukas Moodysson. With Gustav Hammarsten, Michael Nyqvist, Lisa Lindgren B
- Training Day Dir. Antoine Fuqua. With Denzel Washington, Ethan Hawke, Scott Glenn B
- Trouble Every Day Dir. Claire Denis. With Vincent Gallo, Tricia Vessey, Alex Descas B+
- The Turandot Project Dir. Allan Miller. Documentary. Portrait of 1998 Beijing opera production B–
- 2001: A Space Odyssey [re-issue] Dir. Stanley Kubrick. With Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood A–
- Under the Sand Dir. François Ozon. With Charlotte Rampling, Bruno Cremer, Alexandra Stewart B+
- Vanilla Sky Dir. Cameron Crowe. With Tom Cruise, Penélope Cruz, Cameron Diaz C–
- Waking Life Dir. Richard Linklater. Animated. With the voices of Wiley Wiggins, Richard Linklater B–
- Wild Iris TV Movie. Dir. Daniel Petrie. With Laura Linney, Gena Rowlands, Emile Hirsch D
- Wit TV Movie. Dir. Mike Nichols. With Emma Thompson, Jonathan M. Woodward, Audra McDonald B+
² Seen twice in a cinema; ³ Seen three times in a cinema; * Seen four times or more in a cinema