City Lights
Year Released: 1931 This pre-Code romantic comedy was made in 1931, when Charlie Chaplin was still producing his silent hits. The film is widely regarded as the star’s masterpiece, which follows The Little Tramp on his attempts to court a blind girl that he’s fallen for.
Sight and Sound magazine’s 1952 poll named it the second-best film of all time, and that was one of many times it’s been given that honor. American Film Institute has included it in seven of their “100 Years” lists and called it the single “Best Romantic Comedy” on their 2008 “10 Top 10.”
Goodfellas
Year Released: 1990 Martin Scorsese makes yet another appearance on the “best of” list with his classic 1990 gangster drama, Goodfellas. The film stars Robert De Niro and Ray Liotta as members of the infamous NYC Lucchese crime family.
Goodfellas holds a 96% fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and is widely regarded as one of the best movies in film history. It was nominated for six Academy Awards, including Best Director and Best Picture, and won the Best Supporting Actor (Joe Pesci.) That was among several other accolades and nominations, which include a number of Golden Globes and British Academy Film Awards.
Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
Year Released: 2018 This installment in Marvel’s Spider-Man franchise is a huge hit with children, families, critics, and just humans in general. The animated film made over $375 million at the box office upon its 2018 release, and nearly every review is glowing.
The film won both the Academy Award and Golden Globe for Best Animated Feature Film/Best Animated Feature Film. It also won a number of other awards in 2019 from all over the world, including Best Imported Film at the Bandung Film Festival in Indonesia.
Pulp Fiction
Year Released: 1994
If you’ve been expecting to see this one pop up on the list, you won't be disappointed! Pulp Fiction is one of director Quentin Tarantino’s best films and his follow-up to his mega-hit Reservoir Dogs.
The film stars Uma Thurman and John Travolta, a powerhouse on-screen team, along with Samuel L. Jackson and a score of other great actors. At the 1995 Independent Spirit Awards, it won four accolades, including Best Male Lead (Samuel L. Jackson.) It also won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay and the 1995 MTV Movie & TV Award for Best Movie.
Sunset Boulevard
Year Released: 1950
Produced during Hollywood’s Golden Age, Sunset Boulevard tells the story of an aging silent film star who refuses to let her career die. It is often referred to as one of the best movies in film history and holds a 98% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – from 63 reviews.
Critics had nothing but good things to say, with a 4/4 from Roger Ebert, and Scott Mignola from Common Sense Media writing, “the performances do justice to the ruthlessly witty script.” Sunset Boulevard brought home four Golden Globes in 1951 – including the award for Best Picture. That same year, it scored three Academy Awards as well.