Nick's Top 100 Films
Last Updated: January 2006 ... Check Back in January 2009!
Check Out Other Personal Pets in the Ongoing Favorites Countdown
I first published a roster of what I then considered the best 50 movies I had ever seen in June 1998, as a response to
the then-recent publication of the American Film Institute's "100 Greatest American Movies" list.
Obviously, I felt my list was superior to AFI's—who among us doesn't think we hold the secret to great taste and true quality?
(Only 16 of my own 100 entries correspond to the AFI group, though yes, Citizen Kane still ranks high.)

Over the years, I've seen more movies, and my estimations of some films occasionally change. I maintain the feature
both out of an inveterate mania for lists, especially of films I love, and so that you, readers, can quickly determine
how similar your tastes are to mine—or else to debate why certain films do or do not appear here.

Not only is the list wildly subjective (obviously), but it shifts in my own mind all the time, particularly when I have just
re-watched one of these gems. For another list of films close to my heart, even when they aren't necessarily "great," click here.

#1
In 2004: 1
The Piano
(1993; dir. Jane Campion; cin. Stuart Dryburgh; with Holly Hunter, Harvey Keitel)
#2
In 2004: 3
Modern Times
(1936; dir. Charlie Chaplin; cin. Roland Totheroh and Ira Morgan; with Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard)
Read Full Review
#3
In 2004: 9
Diary of a Country Priest
(1950; dir. Robert Bresson; cin. Léonce-Henry Burel; with Claude Laydu)
#4
In 2004: 2
Citizen Kane
(1941; dir. Orson Welles; cin. Gregg Toland; with Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten)
#5
In 2004: 5
Persona
(1966; dir. Ingmar Bergman; cin. Sven Nykvist; with Bibi Andersson, Liv Ullmann)
#6
In 2004: 8
The Earrings of Madame de...
(1953; dir. Max Ophuls; cin. Christian Matras; with Danielle Darrieux, Charles Boyer)
#7
In 2004: 7
Singin' in the Rain
(1952; dirs. Gene Kelly and Stanley Donen; cin. Harold Rosson; with Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds)
#8
Debut
The Ballad of Narayama
(1983; dir. Shohei Imamura; cin. Masao Tochizawa; with Ken Ogata, Sumiko Sakamoto)
#9
In 2004: 18
Harlan County, U.S.A.
(1976; dir. Barbara Kopple; cin. Hart Perry and Kevin Keating)
#10
In 2004: 6
The Passion of Joan of Arc
(1928; dir. Carl-Theodor Dreyer; cin. Rudolph Maté and Goestula Kottula; with Renée Falconetti)
Read Full Review
#11
In 2004: 12
Nashville
(1975; dir. Robert Altman; cin. Paul Lohmann; with Ronee Blakley, Keith Carradine)
#12
In 2004: 4
Pinocchio
(1940; dirs. Ben Sharpsteen and Hamilton Luske; with the voices of Dickie Jones, Evelyn Venable)
#13
In 2004: 11
Vertigo
(1958; dir. Alfred Hitchcock; cin. Robert Burks; with James Stewart, Kim Novak)
#14
In 2004: 14
Meshes of the Afternoon
(1943; dir. Maya Deren, with Alexander Hammid; cin. Alexander Hammid; with Maya Deren, Alexander Hammid)
#15
In 2004: 33
Andrei Rublev
(1969; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky; cin. Vadim Yusov; with Anatoly Solonitsyn, Nikolai Grinko)
#16
In 2004: 26
The Green Ray/Summer
(1986; dir. Eric Rohmer; cin. Sophie Maintignieux; with Marie Rivière)
#17
In 2004: 15
Man with a Movie Camera
(1929; dir. Dziga Vertov; cin. Mikhail Kaufman)
#18
In 2004: 13
Chinatown
(1974; dir. Roman Polanski; cin. John A. Alonzo; with Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway)
#19
In 2004: 16
His Girl Friday
(1940; dir. Howard Hawks; cin. Joseph Walker; with Rosalind Russell, Cary Grant)
#20
In 2004: 23
Taste of Cherry
(1997; dir. Abbas Kiarostami; cin. Homayun Payvar; with Homayoun Ershadi, Abdolhossein Bagheri)
Read Full Review
#21
In 2004: 10
Laura
(1944; dir. Otto Preminger; cin. Joseph La Shelle; with Gene Tierney, Dana Andrews)
#22
In 2004: 21
Grand Illusion
(1937; dir. Jean Renoir; cin. Christian Matras; with Jean Gabin, Pierre Fresnay)
#23
In 2004: 31
Aguirre, the Wrath of God
(1972; dir. Werner Herzog; cin. Thomas Bauch; with Klaus Kinski, Ruy Guerra)
#24
Debut
The Fall of the House of Usher
(1928; dirs. and cin. James Sibley Watson and Melville Webber; with Herbert Stern, Hildegarde Watson)
Read Full Review
#25
In 2004: 57
The Thin Red Line
(1998; dir. Terrence Malick; cin. John Toll; with Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn)
Read Full Review
#26
In 2004: 22
Taxi Driver
(1976; dir. Martin Scorsese; cin. Michael Chapman; with Robert De Niro, Cybill Shepherd)
#27
In 2004: 28
Hannah and Her Sisters
(1986; dir. Woody Allen; cin. Carlo di Palma; with Mia Farrow, Barbara Hershey)
Read Full Review
#28
In 2004: 38
Apocalypse Now/Redux
(1979/2001; dir. Francis Ford Coppola; cin. Vittorio Storaro; with Martin Sheen, Marlon Brando)
#29
Debut
The Battle of Algiers
(1965; dir. Gillo Pontecorvo; cin. Marcello Gatti; with Brahim Hadjadj, Jean Martin)
#30
In 2004: 17
Casablanca
(1942; dir. Michael Curtiz; cin. Arthur Edeson; with Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman)
#31
In 2004: 45
A Woman under the Influence
(1974; dir. John Cassavetes; cin. Mitch Breit; with Gena Rowlands, Peter Falk)
#32
In 2004: 30
The Lady Eve
(1941; dir. Preston Sturges; cin. Victor Milner; with Barbara Stanwyck, Henry Fonda)
#33
In 2004: 35
Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles
(1975; dir. Chantal Akerman; cin. Babette Mangolte; with Delphine Seyrig)
#34
In 2004: 29
Nanook of the North
(1922; dir. Robert J. Flaherty; cin. Robert J. Flaherty)
#35
In 2004: 19
Nosferatu: A Symphony of Horror
(1922; dir. F.W. Murnau; cin. Fritz Arno Wagner; with Max Schreck, Alexander Granach)
#36
In 2004: 27
Imitation of Life
(1959; dir. Douglas Sirk; cin. Russell Metty; with Lana Turner, Juanita Moore)
#37
In 2004: 20
The Scarlet Empress
(1934; dir. Josef von Sternberg; cin. Bert Glennon; with Marlene Dietrich, Sam Jaffe)
#38
In 2004: 46
The Conversation
(1974; dir. Francis Ford Coppola; cin. Bill Butler; with Gene Hackman, John Cazale)
#39
In 2004: 65
Safe
(1995; dir. Todd Haynes; cin. Alex Nepomniaschy; with Julianne Moore, Xander Berkeley)
#40
In 2004: 64
Morvern Callar
(2002; dir. Lynne Ramsay; cin. Alwin Küchler; with Samantha Morton, Kathleen McDermott)
#41
In 2004: 39
Woman in the Dunes
(1964; dir. Hiroshi Teshigahara; cin. Hiroshi Segawa; with Eiji Okada, Kyoko Kishida)
#42
Debut
Holiday
(1938; dir. George Cukor; cin. Franz Planer; with Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn)
Read Full Review
#43
In 2004: 37
When Harry Met Sally...
(1989; dir. Rob Reiner; cin. Barry Sonnenfeld; with Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan)
#44
In 2004: 41
Raging Bull
(1980; dir. Martin Scorsese; cin. Michael Chapman; with Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci)
#45
Debut
The Travelling Players
(1975; dir. Theo Angelopoulos; cin. Yorgos Arvanitis; with Eva Kotamanidou, Strahos Pahis)
Read Full Review
#46
In 2004: 42
Aliens
(1986; dir. James Cameron; cin. Adrian Biddle; with Sigourney Weaver, Michael Biehn)
#47
In 2004: 49
Cries and Whispers
(1972; dir. Ingmar Bergman; cin. Sven Nykvist; with Ingrid Thulin, Liv Ullmann)
#48
In 2004: 72
Sunrise
(1927; dir. F.W. Murnau; cin. Charles Rosher and Karl Struss; with George O'Brien, Janet Gaynor)
#49
In 2004: 50
The Last of England
(1987; dir. Derek Jarman; cin. Christopher Hughes; with John Phillips, Tilda Swinton)
#50
In 2004: 78
Shoah
(1985; dir. Claude Lanzmann; cin. Dominique Cahpuis and Jimmy Glasberg)
#51
In 2004: 40
Pickup on South Street
(1953; dir. Sam Fuller; cin. Joseph MacDonald; with Richard Widmark, Jean Peters)
#52
In 2004: 74
Days of Heaven
(1978; dir. Terrence Malick; cin. Nestor Almendros; with Brooke Adams, Richard Gere)
Read Full Review
#53
Debut
Bicycle Thieves
(1949; dir. Vittorio de Sica; cin. Carlo Montuori; with Lamberto Maggiorani, Enzo Staiola)
#54
In 2004: 60
Dead Ringers
(1988; dir. David Cronenberg; cin. Peter Suschitzky; with Jeremy Irons, Geneviève Bujold)
#55
In 2004: 24
Notorious
(1946; dir. Alfred Hitchcock; cin. Ted Tetzlaff; with Ingrid Bergman, Cary Grant)
#56
In 2004: 69
Russian Ark
(2002; dir. Aleksandr Sokurov; cin. Tilman Büttner; with Sergei Dreiden)
Read Full Review
#57
In 2004: 25
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari
(1919; dir. Robert Wiene; cin. Willy Hameister; with Werner Krauss, Conrad Veidt)
#58
In 2004: 44
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
(1971; dir. Robert Altman; cin. Vilmos Zsigmond; with Warren Beatty, Julie Christie)
#59
In 2004: 48
It Happened One Night
(1934; dir. Frank Capra; cin. Joseph Walker; with Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable)
#60
In 2004: 59
42nd Street
(1933; dir. Lloyd Bacon; cin. Sol Polito; with Bebe Daniels, Ruby Keeler)
#61
In 2004: 58
The Gospel According to St. Matthew
(1964; dir. Pier Paolo Pasolini; cin. Tonino Delli Colli; with Enrique Irazoqui, Otello Sestili)
#62
In 2004: 55
2001: A Space Odyssey
(1968; dir. Stanley Kubrick; cin. Geoffrey Unsworth; with Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood)
#63
In 2004: 66
Xala
(1974; dir. Ousmane Sembène; cin. Georges Caristan and Orlando R. Lopez; with Thierno Leye, Seune Samb)
#64
In 2004: 34
Metropolis
(1926; dir. Fritz Lang; cin. Karl Freund and Günther Rittau; with Gustav Fröhlich, Brigitte Helm)
#65
In 2004: 75
The Letter
(1940; dir. William Wyler; cin. Tony Gaudio; with Bette Davis, Herbert Marshall)
#66
In 2004: 67
Sunset Boulevard
(1950; dir. Billy Wilder; cin. John F. Seitz; with Gloria Swanson, William Holden)
#67
Debut
Belle de Jour
(1967; dir. Luis Buñuel; cin. Sacha Vierny; with Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel)
#68
In 2004: 36
All About Eve
(1950; dir. Joseph L. Mankiewicz; cin. Milton Krasner; with Bette Davis, Anne Baxter)
#69
In 2004: 80
Long Day's Journey into Night
(1962; dir. Sidney Lumet; cin. Boris Kaufman; with Katharine Hepburn, Ralph Richardson)
#70
Debut
Pather Panchali
(1955; dir. Satyajit Ray; cin. Subrata Mitra; with Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee)
#71
In 2004: 53
Annie Hall
(1977; dir. Woody Allen; cin. Gordon Willis; with Woody Allen, Diane Keaton)
#72
In 2004: 68
Dancer in the Dark
(2000; dir. Lars von Trier; cin. Robby Müller; with Björk, Catherine Deneuve)
Read Full Review
#73
Debut
The Battleship Potemkin
(1925; dir. Sergei Eisenstein; cin. Vladimir Popov; with Alexander Antonov, Vladimir Barsky)
#74
In 2004: 71
Flesh
(1968; dir. Paul Morrissey; cin. Paul Morrissey; with Joe Dallesandro, Geraldine Smith)
#75
Debut
The Docks of New York
(1928; dir. Josef von Sternberg; cin. Harold Rosson; with George Bancroft, Betty Compson)
#76
In 2004: 85
The 400 Blows
(1959; dir. François Truffaut; cin. Henri Decaë; with Jean-Pierre Léaud, Patrick Auffay)
#77
In 2004: 54
New York, New York
(1977; dir. Martin Scorsese; cin. Laszlo Kovacs; with Liza Minnelli, Robert De Niro)
#78
In 2004: 52
Touch of Evil
(1958; dir. Orson Welles; cin. Russell Metty; with Charlton Heston, Orson Welles)
#79
In 2004: 63
Eyes Wide Shut
(1999; dir. Stanley Kubrick; cin. Larry Smith; with Tom Cruise, Nicole Kidman)
Read Full Review
#80
Debut
These Hands
(1992; dir. Flora M'mbugu-Schelling; cin. Suleiman Kissoky)
Moved over to the Favorites Countdown... Look for its replacement in January 2009!
#81
In 2004: 47
E.T.: the Extra-Terrestrial
(1982; dir. Steven Spielberg; cin. Allen Daviau; with Henry Thomas, Dee Wallace)
#82
In 2004: 82
The Joyless Street
(1925; dir. G.W. Pabst; cin. Guido Seeber, Curt Oertel, and Robert Lach; with Greta Garbo, Asta Nielsen)
#83
In 2004: 51
Adam's Rib
(1949; dir. George Cukor; cin. George Folsey; with Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn)
Moved over to the Favorites Countdown... Look for its replacement in January 2009!
#84
In 2004: 32
L'Atalante
(1934; dir. Jean Vigo; cin. Boris Kaufman; with Michel Simon, Jean Dasté)
#85
In 2004: 77
Mulholland Drive
(2001; dir. David Lynch; cin. Peter Deming; with Naomi Watts, Laura Elena Harring)
#86
In 2004: 89
Nostalghia
(1983; dir. Andrei Tarkovsky; cin. Giuseppe Lanci; with Oleg Jankovsky, Erland Josephson)
#87
In 2004: 81
Faster, Pussycat! Kill! Kill!
(1965; dir. Russ Meyer; cin. Walter Schenk; with Tura Satana, Lori Williams)
Moved over to the Favorites Countdown... Look for its replacement in January 2009!
#88
In 2004: 84
Daughters of the Dust
(1991; dir. Julie Dash; cin. Arthur Jaffa; with Cora Lee Day, Barbara-O)
#89
Debut
Black Rain
(1989; dir. Shohei Imamura; cin. Takashi Kawamata; with Yoshiko Tanaka, Kazuo Kitamura)
#90
In 2004: 73
Star Wars
(1977; dir. George Lucas; cin. Gilbert Taylor; with Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford)
#91
Debut
Demonlover
(2002; dir. Olivier Assayas; cin. Denis Lenoir; with Connie Nielsen, Charles Berling)
#92
Debut
Smiles of a Summer Night
(1955; dir. Ingmar Bergman; cin. Gunnar Fischer; with Gunnar Björnstrand, Eva Dahlbeck)
#93
In 2004: 97
Close-Up
(1990; dir. Abbas Kiarostami; cin. Ali Reza Zarrin-Dast; with Hossain Sabzian, Mohsen Makhmalbaf)
#94
In 2004: 56
Marat/Sade
(1967; dir. Peter Brook; cin. David Watkin; with Patrick Magee, Ian Richardson)
#95
In 2004: 76
Riddles of the Sphinx
(1977; dirs. Laura Mulvey and Peter Wollen; cin. Diana Tammes; with Diana Stabb, Merdelle Jordine)
#96
Debut
Under the Sun of Satan
(1987; dir. Maurice Pialat; cin. Willy Kurant; with Gérard Depardieu, Sandrine Bonnaire)
#97
Velvet Goldmine
(1998; dir. Todd Haynes; cin. Maryse Alberti; with Jonathan Rhys-Meyers, Ewan McGregor)
Read Full Review
#98
In 2004: 91
Fox and His Friends
(1975; dir. Rainer Werner Fassbinder; cin. Michael Ballhaus; with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Peter Chatel)
Read Full Review
#99
Debut
Mary Poppins
(1964; dir. Robert Stevenson; cin. Edward Colman; with Julie Andrews, Dick Van Dyke)
#100
In 2004: 86
Happy Together
(1997; dir. Wong Kar-wai; cin. Christopher Doyle; with Tony Leung, Leslie Cheung)

Dropped after 2004: Written on the Wind (43), The Thin Man (61), Jaws (62), A Streetcar Named Desire (70), The Cell (79),
The China Syndrome (83), Naked Lunch (87), Boyz N the Hood (88), This Is Spinal Tap (90), L.A. Confidential (92),
Dog Day Afternoon (93), 3 Women (94), Swept Away (96), The Fly (98), Sherman's March (99), and Heavenly Creatures (100).

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