Empire Magazine Names the 500 Greatest Movies of All-Time

Posted by Neil Miller (neil@filmschoolrejects.com) on October 6, 2008

Empire Magazine: 500 Greatest Movies of All-Time

As if someone hasn’t done it before (or for that matter, won’t do it again), Empire Magazine has published their list of the 500 Greatest Films of All-Time, as voted on by their fans in what they are calling ‘the biggest movie poll of all-time.’ Along with fan votes, they also used insights from the likes of Quentin Tarantino, Mike Leigh and Guillermo Del Toro, among others.

Of course, it has all yielded an interesting, albeit predictable list. As you can see from the Top 50 listed below, there are a few surprises in the bunch, including Evil Dead 2 at #49. I’m not saying it doesn’t belong, but it does surprise me that it made it into the Top 50 — and rightfully so, it’s a stellar flick. Also, I am not surprised to see Pulp Fiction and Fight Club rounding out the top ten — proof that this list was, in fact, impacted by the same folk who frequent the pages of this very site.

Check out the top 50 movies below:

1. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)
3. Star Wars Episode V: Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner,1980)
4. Shawsank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994)
5. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)
6. GoodFellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)
7. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)
8. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly, 1952)
9. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)
10. Fight Club (David Fincher, 1999)
11. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)
12. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)
13. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)
14. Once Upon A Time In The West (Sergio Leone, 1968)
15. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2007)
16. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)
17. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)
18. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz)
19. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)
20. Blade Runner (Ridley Scott, 1982)
21. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1949)
22. Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (George Lucas, 1977)
23. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)
24. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (Peter Jackson, 2001)
25. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (Sergio Leone, 1967)
26. Dr. Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)
27. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)
28. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)
29. Die Hard (John McTiernan 1988)
30. Aliens (James Cameron, 1986)
31. Gone with The Wind (Victor Fleming, George Cukor, Sam Wood, 1939)
32. Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (George Roy Hill, 1969)
33. Alien (Ridley Scott, 1979)
34. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (Peter Jackson, 2003)
35. Terminator 2: Judgement Day (James Cameron, 1991)
36. Andrei Rublev (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1969)
37. A Clockwork Orange (Stanley Kubrick, 1971)
38. Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)
39. The Matrix (The Wachowski Brothers, 1999)
40. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)
41. The 400 Blows (Truffaut, 1959)
42. Kind Hearts And Coronets (Robert Hamer, 1949)
43. The Big Lebowski (The Coen Brothers, 1998)
44. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)
45. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)
46. On The Waterfront (Elia Kazan 1954)
47. E.T. (Steven Spielberg, 1982)
48. This Is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)
49. Evil Dead 2 (Sam Raimi, 1987)
50. Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)

For the full listing, head over to EmpireOnline.com/500

What would be on your list of the ten greatest films of all-time?


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  • My entire top ten made the list somewhere or other so I am rather happy. I expect a lot of moaners though who say oooo number 38 should be higher than 21 GRRRRR despite it having no bearing.
  • nevernude
    did anyone notice that the dark knight at no 15 is the highest placed post year 2000 movie in the list...and that there are only 3 post year 2000 movies in the top 50? hmmmm...very interesting...

    i don't think i would be mistaken in pointing out that the quality of story telling has fallen badly since we hit the 2000's. in fact, you could make a point that the lord of the rings adaptations are straight from the novel therefore the only really outstanding movie since year 2000 in that list is TDK.
    thank you hollywood for churning out the sad dribble of mindless violence and pointless CGI instead of sticking to old fashion entertainment.

    p.s why isnt Pan's Labyrinth in the top 50 at least?!
  • Mladen
    These kinds of lists are always vaguely pointless. I'm not sure if working out whether "Die Hard" is greater than "Schindler’s List" is worth the effort.

    But its good to get some people's attention to films that are definately must-see but may not be well known: "The Third Man".

    Is anyone else kind of annoyed that The Dark Knight keeps making these lists? Sure, it was one of the better films this year, but in the top 15 best films of all time? Really?
  • I think its being heavily overthought. The Dark Knights there because it was at its highest point of excitement when voting commenced. Why not look at it as a list of 500 films that are worth owning.
  • Nate
    Miaden, I completely agree with everything said.

    Coming up with a top 100 is so frustrating, I don't know why anyone does it. I mean, how can you choose between #100 and 101? Choosing a Top 10 is a little easier.

    Oh, and The Dark Knight in front of 2001? I mean, sure Dark Knight is a great movie and could end up being the best of this year, but 2001 is arguably the greatest movie ever made. Aren't we getting just a little bit ahead of ourselves? I don't think this list is very credible.
  • I honestly don't give much stock in any list of "Greatest Films" that are longer than ten, its all about someone's personal opinion, and just because a consensus of magazine readers finds The Godfather to be the best film ever, doesn't mean I do. Remember that old saying about oppinions and exit's on a persons body?

    I think everyone should be entitled to give a top ten favorite film list, but beyond that its stretches into an extreme that is a bit ridiculous. Top 500, really? Completely unnecessary.
  • @Will C

    Just read the top ten then.
  • TL
    500?

    Wow, I guess they wanted to keep everybody happy.

    But I'm not happy. Fight Club Before Godfather II?

    Are they @#%$!! nuts?
  • The Dark Knight, Fight Club and Goodfellas beating 2001 was the main thing that bothered me about this list, aside from the lack of Lawrence of Arabia.

    The greatest thing about these kind of lists is because I can take them, print them out, check off the one's I've seen and still see that I've missed like 30 equally great movies, which I can then add to my Netflix queue or something.
  • Emmm Homero Laurence of Arabia was #57
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