HiT’s 25 Best* Movies of All Time
Deeply personal list detours from traditional 'Best Of' Roundups
Nothing inspires more arguments than a “Best Of” listicle.
These lists are obviously subjective. One person’s film classic is another’s stuffy, overwrought yarn. They still should adhere to some basic principles and not be a cinematic mash note meant for a very small gathering of like-minded souls.
That’s why HiT’s list is different.
These are by no means the “best” films in the traditional sense. You won’t find “Citizen Kane,” “Casablanca” or “Some Like It Hot” here.
Nor “Gone with the Wind,” “The Wizard of Oz” or “The Godfather.”
The following movies moved this film critic, reflecting why HiT exists in the first place. To paraphrase a Kevin Costner flick, it’s for the love of the movie.
Period.
These 25 films are essential to who this critic is as a person and film lover … for better and (what may will argue) worse!
- “Raising Arizona” – A comedy you can watch a dozen times and still discover new comic gems
- “Jaws” – A perfect movie, even with an imperfect robot shark stalking our heroes
- “Alien” – Mesmerizing. FX that haven’t aged a day. Claustrophobic, frightening and unforgettable
- “Aliens” – So good, so different, so essential as both an action epic and sci-fi triumph
- “Raiders of the Lost Ark” – Escapism at its zenith, pure popcorn entertainment
- “Star Wars”/”Empire Strikes Back”/”Return of the Jedi” – Yes, even “Jedi” – no apologies here
- “Superman” – We believed a film could cast the perfect Man of Steel
- “Airplane!” – It’s become synonymous with the word “comedy”
- “This Is Spinal Tap” – Put mockumentaries on the map, and none could match its brilliance
- “Young Frankenstein” – Mel Brooks’s best film
- “Poltergeist” – The faux ending puts this thriller over the top
- “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” – John Hughes working on another level of teen anxiety and humor
- “Robocop” (1987) – Funny, bittersweet and, ultimately, so achingly human (“Murphy, it’s you!”)
- “Avengers: Infinity War” – It’s the pinnacle of superhero action with a shocking dash of comedy
- “Shane” – A treatise on manhood capped by the ultimate duel
- “The Silence of the Lambs” – It gets better with every viewing (how is that even possible?)
- “The Graduate” – There’s never been a better film capturing the moment between college and adulthood
- “The Dark Knight” – No superhero film ever made comic books real like this
- “Hair” – The movie soundtrack crushes every Broadway variation
- “Predator” – Few action films are crafted with such care, intensity and heroism
- “The 40-Year-Old Virgin” – The peak of R-rated comedies in every way that matters
- “The Descent” – Be very, very afraid of the dark
- “Elf” – Will Ferrell and co. lap every other Christmas classic
- “Beautiful Girls” – The essence of the male mind, many warts and all
- “A Fish Called Wanda” – A sublime cast fuses the very best of British and American comic styles
Let the arguments begin!
As a fan of creature features, I think The Thing with Kurt Russell is one of the great horror movies of all time. In another category; The Big Lebowski is one I can watch anytime.
All good additions to the main list. I would add one more: Enter The Dragon. Bruce Lee made only 4 complete movies and yet has almost universal name recognition 53 years after his death. Truly a cultural phenomenon.
Nice list. Here are some of my favorites:
Hot Fuzz
Avengers (2012)
The Dark Knight
Matrix
It’s a Wonderful Life
Life is Beautiful
Jarhead
Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Wolf of Wall Street
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
The Incredibles
Project Hail Mary
The Road
Berry Gordy’s The Last Dragon
Good list but a few thoughts
Superman-the only time I ever experienced movie magic in the theater. It was a time when you got very little info for a movie and anticipation was sky high.
Airplane- The only movie I laughed in the theater from start to finish.
A Fish Called Wanda- the best John Cleese and Jamie Lee Curtis movie.
Elf-I don’t understand the love, definitely not even close to the best Christmas movie and Will Ferrell is not even funny. To be fair though, my first Farrell movie was Blades of Glory, the unfunniest movie of all time. It left scars.
Christian – could have added another 30-40 films but these have provided ongoing pleasure, and/or experience. I hope some of these strike a chord. Cheers
1. Zulu
2. The Battle of Algiers (dubbed into French with English subtitles)
3. The Odd Angry Shot (AUS film about the Vietnam War)
4. Excalibur
5. Tron
6. Blade Runner (1982)
7. Stop Making Sense
8. Platoon
9. Full Metal Jacket
10. Aliens
11. Ferris Bueller’s Day Off
12. Stormy Monday
13. Tequila Sunrise
14. Black Rain
15. True Lies (US version)
16. What I Have Written (AUS film, 1996)
17. Any Given Sunday
18. Sexy Beast
19. Amelie
20. District 9
21. Heat
22. The Long Kiss Goodnight
23. 13 Hours
24. A Private War
25. Quo Vadis, Aida?
Love this list … personal, a little quirky and very cool!
Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. It’s Moby Dick in space, with Shatner as the elusive whale.
The Lion in Winter— O’Toole and Hepburn as Henry and Eleanor. Incredible.
The Princess Bride (You really left this out? You did grow up in the ‘80s, right?)
Godzilla (1954)— Jaws is a putz.
Jason & the Argonauts, because Harryhausen.
Captain Blood— nobody pirates better than Flynn.
Robin Hood— nobody Saxons better than Flynn.
True Grit— John Wayne. Nothing else need be said.
Good list. Well done.
I’m not the only one on the planet who remembers Hair? Bravo
My list and yours would have a lot of overlap, especially the first half. I’d swap out:
Ferris Bueller for The Breakfast Club
The Graduate for Rocky
Hair for Singin’ In The Rain
Beautiful Girls for Army of Darkness
But that’s me.
Rocky…. dang, that could have cracked my list easily
I think a “best of all time” list would be very different for a younger person whose main experience of movies has been on a TV or even computer rather than in a theater. Big spectacles are far more spectacular on a big screen with blasting sound. And movies full of laughter, shocks, or moments of delight are magnified when you experience them with a full audience, rather than in your living room alone or with a couple of other people.
the movie watching experience is changing so rapidly … I agree with your take
I actually like this list.
Great list other than 40-Year Old Virgin. I’d put Naked Gun or Animal House or, even better, Duck Soup or It’s a Gift.
Good choices, all!
Pretty good list. A couple of ones that I really loved but weren’t major releases were David Lynch’s “Mulholland Drive” and Chris Nolan’s “Memento”. Couple of mind-benders. They would be in my personal top 20.
Probably would have to also include Revenge of the Sith. Yeah, that’s right, a prequel. I said it.
Too many woke, beta male picks.