Movie trivia for the top 100 films of all time

- Director: Martin Scorsese
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 2 hours, 31 minutes

This fast-paced Martin Scorsese cops-and-robbers thriller features an A-list cast whose characters are locked in a race to find moles embedded on both sides of the law.

Next clue: After Clint Eastwood turned down the lead role, Charles Bronson was cast as the mysterious gunman dubbed "Harmonica," with Henry Fonda starring as the black-hatted villain.

- Director: Sergio Leone
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 2 hours, 46 minutes

Sergio Leone's 1968 masterpiece features the quintessential tropes of the spaghetti Western, such as wide-angle shots intercut with extreme close-ups and a cynical, revenge-infused rendering of the American West.

Next clue: Then-43-year-old Mel Gibson turned down the lead role of this Roman epic because he felt he was too old to portray the character faithfully.

- Director: Ridley Scott
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 2 hours, 35 minutes

Russell Crowe wound up playing the lead in "Gladiator"—and his efforts earned him an Academy Award for Best Actor. The film won five Oscars in total, including Best Picture, and was nominated for seven others.

Next clue: This tragicomedy about class struggles in South Korea featured an architectural marvel of a home that most don't know was designed and built for the film.

- Directors: Bong Joon-ho
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 96
- Runtime: 2 hours, 12 minutes

Writer-director Bong Joon-ho's "Parasite" became a household title after its surprising Oscar success. The construction of the Park household is one of several feats accomplished during the production, another being the construction and flooding of the entire semi-basement neighborhood.

Next clue: Several music experts and professors examined every stroke of every piano key played in this movie and determined that not a single note was out of place compared to what the audience heard on screen.

- Director: Milos Forman
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 2 hours, 40 minutes

F. Murray Abraham learned to conduct and read music for his role in "Amadeus," which tells the story of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart from the perspective of an envious rival.

Next clue: Although he was granted permission to film part of this movie inside Auschwitz by the Polish government, Steven Spielberg eventually decided against doing so because of objections from the World Jewish Congress.

- Director: Steven Spielberg
- IMDb user rating: 9
- Metascore: 95
- Runtime: 3 hours, 15 minutes

"Schindler's List" tells the true story of a German industrialist and Nazi party member who saves thousands of Jews from certain death by enlisting them as workers in his factory sanctuary.

Next clue: The German director of this tense submarine saga, known for its claustrophobic suspense, went on to direct Hollywood action hits like "Air Force One," "The Perfect Storm," and "Troy."

- Director: Wolfgang Petersen
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 2 hours, 29 minutes

Wolfgang Petersen's "Das Boot" follows the harrowing "war is hell" perils of the captain and crew of a World War II German submarine. It captured six Academy Award nominations and is still considered one of the best German films ever.

Next clue: This 1950 film noir features the famous line, "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up," as spoken by the tragic has-been actor Norma Desmond.

- Director: Billy Wilder
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes

Real-life silent film star Gloria Swanson stars in "Sunset Blvd.," a movie about a former star who's no longer famous or relevant. Silent film star Buster Keaton turns in a cameo as another "waxwork" from a bygone era.

Next clue: One of the highest-grossing French films, this entry into the buddy film genre is based on a true story and ends with footage of the real-life duo.

- Directors: Olivier Nakache, Éric Toledano
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 57
- Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes

"The Intouchables" dramatizes the unexpected friendship between a quadriplegic man and the caregiver who helps him connect with a woman whom he fears won't accept his disability.

Next clue: In this sequel to an iconic 1984 action film, the robotic villain is now the T-1000, a killer made of fluidic metal that can morph into increasingly terrifying forms.

- Director: James Cameron
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 2 hours, 17 minutes

In "Terminator 2: Judgement Day," Arnold Schwarzenegger returns as the "Terminator," this time fighting to protect the 10-year-old John (Edward Furlong) and his mother, Sarah Connor (Linda Hamilton), whom he was sent to kill in the first film.

Next clue: This tense drama about a playwright living under the surveillance of the East German Stasi authorities features a typewriter hidden under floorboards.

- Director: Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 2 hours, 17 minutes

"The Lives of Others" dramatizes the relationship between a writer and the Stasi ordered to surveil him before the fall of the Berlin Wall. It won an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 2007.

Next clue: This film follows young siblings in the aftermath of fire-bombings during World War II and crafts a strong, affecting anti-war theme for adult viewers despite being animated.

- Director: Isao Takahata
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 1 hour, 29 minutes

The Japanese anime "Grave of the Fireflies" adapts a semi-autobiographical novel by Akiyuki Nosaka, as it depicts a teenage boy and his young sister trying to survive alone in the harrowing aftermath of the fire-bombings of Japan during WWII.

Next clue: Tom Hanks took a gamble by opting for percentage points of the revenue instead of a salary for this decade-spanning drama. The gamble paid off to the tune of about $40 million.

- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 2 hours, 22 minutes

In "Forrest Gump," a significant chunk of modern American history is seen through the eyes of an affable Alabama man with a low IQ.

Next clue: While filming this movie, from which they cut just five seconds for the final release, Eva Marie Saint learned, during the famous Mount Rushmore scene, that Cary Grant charged fans 15 cents for autographs.

- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 98
- Runtime: 2 hours, 16 minutes

An Alfred Hitchcock masterpiece, "North by Northwest" is a tale of mistaken identity that pits an insurance salesman against foreign spies intent on assassinating him after they mistake him for a government agent.

Next clue: Heath Ledger died before this movie, his final film, was released. The movie is also dedicated to the memory of stuntman Conway Wickliffe, who was killed in a car crash on set.

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- IMDb user rating: 9
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 2 hours, 32 minutes

Thanks in large part to Heath Ledger's diabolical Joker, "The Dark Knight" earned more money in just six days than "Batman Begins" did in its entire domestic box office run.

Next clue: This midcentury Masaki Kobayashi classic is named after a crude term for the ritual practice of honorable suicide in Japan, known more formally as "seppuku."

- Director: Masaki Kobayashi
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes

Originally titled "Seppuku" in Japan, "Harakiri" has reached legendary status, oft-cited as one of the greatest films to come out of the Land of the Rising Sun.

Next clue: This horror classic, which was so reviled by Walt Disney that he refused to let Alfred Hitchcock film at Disneyland after seeing it, was the first movie ever to focus on a toilet flushing.

- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 97
- Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes

The iconic film "Psycho," one of Alfred Hitchcock's highest-grossing movies, was arguably his first horror movie. It was also the last feature film he shot in black and white.

Next clue: To keep his throat lubricated for the demanding voice work required for his role in this movie, Andy Serkis drank a drink with honey, ginger, and lemon that he affectionately referred to as "Gollum juice."

- Director: Peter Jackson
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 2 hours, 59 minutes

"The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers" was nominated for six Oscars, two of which it won.

Next clue: This film was the first released by Pixar to earn six Academy Award nominations. It also won Best Animated Feature at the Oscars in 2009.

- Director: Andrew Stanton
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 95
- Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes

"WALL·E" tells the story of an adorable garbage-collecting robot on a future Earth who learns that he is destined to determine the fate of humankind.

Next clue: This Italian film's tear-jerking climax features a reel of spliced movie kisses that had been cut from films because of censorship.

- Director: Giuseppe Tornatore
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 80
- Runtime: 2 hours, 35 minutes

"Cinema Paradiso" is the story of a film projectionist and the little boy who befriends him and then grows up to be a movie director. It captures the power of the moving image and the enthralling pleasure of watching movies as depicted in its iconic scenes of audiences looking up at the big screen.

Next clue: Although this movie was a box-office flop when it was released, it became one of the most beloved films in history. In fact, the American Film Institute named it the #1 most inspirational movie of all time in 2006.

- Director: Frank Capra
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

In "It's a Wonderful Life," an angel appears on Earth to reveal to a disgruntled businessman what the world would be like had he never lived.

Next clue: The "last meal" scene in this World War I drama required 68 takes to get it right. Since the actors actually had to be pictured eating, a new roast duck platter had to be prepared for nearly all 68 takes.

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes

Set in 1916 and starring Kirk Douglas, "Paths of Glory" focuses on battles of armies and wills as men who refuse to attack a position are charged with cowardice.

Next clue: This dark, highly controversial antihero film was written and directed by none other than the mind behind classic contemporary comedies like "Old School" and "The Hangover," signaling a major shift in the filmmaker's career.

- Director: Todd Phillips
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes

Todd Phillips' "Joker" evolved from an unlikely project to the most controversial film in the country to the most Oscar-nominated film of the year after a wildly successful October that led the film to record-breaking numbers and a four-month stint in theaters.

Next clue: Jim Carrey and Kate Winslet became close during the making of this movie. The scene where Winslet punches Carrey on a train had not been planned or rehearsed—nor was Carrey's response.

- Director: Michel Gondry
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes

In this Oscar winner, a couple undergoes a medical procedure to have each removed from the other's memory after their relationship goes south.

Next clue: Tom Hanks filmed his voice work for this animated blockbuster during breaks from "A League of Their Own" and "Sleepless in Seattle." He refused to record on breaks from "Philadelphia" and "Forrest Gump" because he didn't want to corrupt dramatic acting with comedic interludes.

- Director: John Lasseter
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 96
- Runtime: 1 hour, 21 minutes

Toys come to life when no one is looking in this animated tale, and the toy that had always enjoyed top billing becomes jealous when his boy owner fawns over a new arrival.

Next clue: Edward Norton, who turned down "Saving Private Ryan" for this film, put on 30 pounds of muscle for the role.

- Director: Tony Kaye
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 62
- Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes

"American History X" follows a reformed neo-Nazi on his journey to right past wrongs and prevent his younger brother from following in his footsteps.

Next clue: The only two films to win the Academy Award for Best Picture in the 1990s that weren't period pieces were "Silence of the Lambs" and this movie.

- Director: Sam Mendes
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 2 hours, 2 minutes

"American Beauty," which follows a bored suburban father and husband through a midlife crisis, won five Oscars and was nominated for three more.

Next clue: Natalie Portman was only 13 years old when she made her film debut in this movie about a young girl who befriends an assassin.

- Director: Luc Besson
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 64
- Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes

This violent action drama offers a character study of a professional killer Léon (Jean Reno) and his Drug Enforcement Agency agent nemesis (Gary Oldman). Natalie Portman gets caught in the crossfire as a little girl raised among criminals and longing for vengeance.

Next clue: After Peter Sellers was paid $1 million to star in this film—a full 55% of the movie's budget—the man who wrote, directed, and produced it famously griped, "I got three for the price of six."

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 97
- Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes

The nuclear annihilation-themed plot of this Stanley Kubrick classic was so jarring that it actually led to changes in American policy.

Next clue: This visually stunning and fantastical anime features a bathhouse scene where a "river spirit" becomes cleansed of its gunk and pollution.

- Directors: Hayao Miyazaki, Kirk Wise
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 96
- Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Hayao Miyazaki's animated masterpiece "Spirited Away" was created without a script and follows the dreamlike story of young Chihiro, who must save her parents after a witch turns them into pigs.

Next clue: Anthony Hopkins won an Oscar for Best Actor for his role in this film despite spending fewer than 25 combined minutes on screen.

- Director: Jonathan Demme
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 1 hour, 58 minutes

In "The Silence of the Lambs," which won five Oscars, Jodie Foster's character must enlist the help of one serial killer to track down another.

Next clue: This superhero caper had the biggest worldwide box-office opening of all time when it released in 2019, in addition to being the fastest to surpass $1 billion at the box office in just five days.

- Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 3 hours, 1 minutes

In "Avengers: Endgame," the various Marvel heroes return to deal with the scoundrel Thanos and the aftermath of his scheme to destroy half the universe.

Next clue: The condition suffered by the lead in this movie, which took just 25 days to shoot, is a real-life disorder that prevents people from forming new memories after they suffer damage to their hippocampus.

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes

In "Memento," Guy Pearce plays a man obsessed with finding his wife's murderer despite his devastating short-term memory loss.

Next clue: This Charlie Chaplin satire so enraged Adolf Hitler that the Nazi dictator banned the movie in Germany and all Axis-occupied countries. Secretly, however, Hitler purchased a copy and screened it twice for private audiences.

- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes

Financed entirely by Charlie Chaplin himself, "The Great Dictator" was Chaplin's biggest box-office hit. However, the star became increasingly uneasy parodying Hitler as filming went on and more information came to light about the scale of Nazi atrocities in Europe.

Next clue: In this Jack Nicholson classic, which examined mental illness, many extras were actual mental patients.

- Director: Milos Forman
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes

In "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," Jack Nicholson's crooked character beats a legal rap by pleading insanity. When he arrives at the asylum, he riles up the inmates, takes on the joyless nurses, and seals his own demise.

Next clue: Actual members of the New Zealand army were used as extras for battle scenes in this movie. The real-life warriors were known for participation that was so zealous they routinely broke their wooden swords and spears.

- Director: Peter Jackson
- IMDb user rating: 9
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 3 hours, 21 minutes

"Lord of the Rings: Return of the King" won a whopping 11 Oscars at the 76th Academy Awards.

Next clue: Roberto Benigni directed his real-life wife in the production of this Holocaust "comedy."

- Director: Roberto Benigni
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 59
- Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

This critically acclaimed Italian film follows the story of a father and son imprisoned in a Nazi concentration camp. The father helps his son cope and survive by pretending the horrors are actually a game.

Next clue: This movie, widely considered among the best in history, is based partly on publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst. The film angered Hearst so much that he accused its director (who was also its producer, writer, and star) of being a communist to try to shut down the production.

- Director: Orson Welles
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 100
- Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes

Director Orson Welles won an Oscar for Best Original Screenplay for "Citizen Kane," which remains at the top of countless lists of the best and most important movies ever made. It was nominated for eight other Oscars.

Next clue: Just 30% of the dialogue in this World War II revenge fantasy is spoken in English. Actor Christoph Waltz alone speaks four languages in the film: French, Italian, German, and English.

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 2 hours, 33 minutes

The intertwining plots of this Tarantino classic concern a band of Jewish American soldiers on a mission to hunt Nazis, as well as a brave French freedom fighter who was orphaned by a diabolical Nazi.

Next clue: In a pivotal scene of this recent war film, a lead actor's accidental collisions with two extras became dramatic moments in the final cut.

- Director: Sam Mendes
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes

In director Sam Mendes' "1917," two soldiers are given the harrowing task of delivering a message that will prevent 1,600 men from walking straight into a trap. Although "1917" was not, in fact, filmed in one two-hour take, it was filmed in long scenes expertly cut together to give the final movie a continuous feeling, and Mendes instructed the actors to keep going even if they messed up.

Next clue: Robert De Niro spent four months learning the Sicilian dialect for his role in this sequel, often heralded as being equal to or better than the masterpiece that preceded it.

- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- IMDb user rating: 9
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 3 hours, 22 minutes

In "The Godfather Part II," audiences travel back in time to Sicily and old New York to learn how a poor orphan boy would grow up to become the Godfather.

Next clue: The author of the book on which this movie was based came up with the idea for the story when he was assaulted on a weekend camping trip. When he returned to work, no one at the office acknowledged his injuries.

- Director: David Fincher
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 2 hours, 19 minutes

In "Fight Club," Edward Norton's meek and bored character meets his inner wild child in Brad Pitt.

Next clue: Charlie Chaplin claimed this movie was his favorite of those he made. Orson Welles also cited this movie as his favorite film of all time.

- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 99
- Runtime: 1 hour, 27 minutes

In "City Lights," Charlie Chaplin's character uses his relationship with a wealthy man to help a poor blind girl with whom he has fallen in love.

Next clue: When this film was released, John DeLorean wrote a letter to the writers thanking them for enshrining his namesake car in the annals of cinema.

- Director: Robert Zemeckis
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

The script for "Back to the Future," which follows Michael J. Fox's Marty McFly on his journey 30 years into the past, was rejected 40 times before it got the go-ahead.

Next clue: The appearance of oranges anywhere in this movie—often heralded as the finest ever made—signals imminent death.

- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- IMDb user rating: 9.2
- Metascore: 100
- Runtime: 2 hours, 55 minutes

"The Godfather" chronicles a generational transfer of power from the Sicilian immigrant who built a criminal empire to his reluctant, Americanized son.

Next clue: One of Akira Kurosawa and Toshirô Mifune's many timeless collaborations, this film was almost remade in English by a cinephilic dream team—with David Mamet writing, Martin Scorsese producing, and Mike Nichols directing. But despite over a decade of effort, the production never moved past the development stage.

- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 2 hours, 23 minutes

This nearly 2.5-hour crime movie about the kidnapping of a boy and the resulting extortion of a shoe company executive remains one of the acting-directing duo's most discussed films today, still raising evergreen questions that stem from the ethical dilemma at heart of the film.

Next clue: This expressionist film is known for its early use of highly stylized sound, including the thematically chilling repetition of "In the Hall of the Mountain King" from "Peer Gynt."

- Director: Fritz Lang
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Fritz Lang's dark drama "M" focuses on the hunt for a child murderer (Peter Lorre).

Next clue: This South Korean neo-noir features an infamous scene where the hero eats a live octopus—the actor Choi Min-sik actually ate four in different takes for the scene.

- Director: Park Chan-wook
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 2 hours

The thriller "Oldboy" follows Oh Dae-Su, who seeks revenge after 15 years of being drugged, tortured, and imprisoned.

Next clue: This movie represents the only time Grace Kelly was ever seen enjoying a smoke in a film. She refused on every other occasion.

- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 100
- Runtime: 1 hour, 52 minutes

In this Hitchcock thriller, a voyeuristic neighbor convinces himself he's witnessed a murder while spying on his unsuspecting neighbors.

Next clue: When Robin Williams died in 2014, fans erected a makeshift memorial at a park bench where a famous scene between Williams and Matt Damon's characters took place in this movie. Damon co-wrote the film's screenplay with his friend Ben Affleck while attending Harvard University.

- Director: Gus Van Sant
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes

This heartwarming tale tells the story of a brilliant but troubled young man who finds a guiding hand from a noble psychologist.

Next clue: This visually stunning drama marked the directing debut of popular Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.

- Directors: Aamir Khan, Amole Gupte
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 42 minutes

"Like Stars on Earth" is the story of a young boy sent to boarding school because of undiagnosed dyslexia. Once there, his art teacher helps him thrive through understanding and the expressive power of art.

Next clue: This film is one of the two movies released in the fall of 2006 that starred both Andy Serkis and Hugh Jackman. The other is "Flushed Away."

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

The plot of "The Prestige" pits two rival magicians against each other in the wake of a dreadful accident.

Next clue: Unlike all the other lions in this Disney blockbuster, the evil uncle's claws are always out.

- Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 88
- Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes

"The Lion King" follows Simba, a young lion prince, and his rise to the throne amid the plots of his uncle, Scar.

Next clue: The director of this "Freaky Friday"-style anime film cites the time-travel movie "Interstellar" as one of its many influences.

- Director: Makoto Shinkai
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

"Your Name." features a gender-swapping plot centered on fate and destiny, in the story of two teenagers, a boy and a girl, who keep waking up in the other's body and living each other's lives.

Next clue: When the director of this fantasy epic gave Andy Serkis and Elijah Wood each a special ring used in the movie as a token of appreciation, they both believed they had the only one.

- Director: Peter Jackson
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- Metascore: 92
- Runtime: 2 hours, 58 minutes

This story about a meek hobbit who finds the courage to take on a mighty villain won four Oscars and was nominated for nine others.

Next clue: Madonna reportedly enjoyed this violent and dialogue-driven crime film, but she refuted a character's interpretation of her hit song "Like a Virgin" during the movie's famous diner scene.

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 1 hour, 39 minutes

A Tarantino masterpiece, "Reservoir Dogs" chronicles six professional criminals trying to ferret out a turncoat among them in the wake of a heist gone wrong.

Next clue: The Western "The Magnificent Seven" remade this Japanese masterpiece by resetting it in the American West.

- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 98
- Runtime: 3 hours, 27 minutes

"Seven Samurai" is set in 16th-century Japan, where villagers hire samurai to protect them from bandits. Director Akira Kurosawa's innovative cinematic style in editing, framing, and composition remains one of the most influential in film.

Next clue: The famous police lineup scene in this whodunit was scripted as a serious moment, but when the actors couldn't keep straight faces, the director used the funniest cuts.

- Director: Bryan Singer
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

After a bloody gunfight and fire leaves only one survivor to tell the tale, his story becomes the basis for "The Usual Suspects."

Next clue: This was the last major motion picture where Charlie Chaplin's Little Tramp appears.

- Director: Charlie Chaplin
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 96
- Runtime: 1 hour, 27 minutes

A young homeless woman guides a yesteryear tramp through life in the modern industrial era in this Chaplin classic.

Next clue: Writer Stephen King called this movie the most faithful on-screen representation of any of his works.

- Director: Frank Darabont
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 3 hours, 9 minutes

In "The Green Mile," prison guards become enamored with a falsely accused gentle giant who has a supernatural gift.

Next clue: When this sometimes confusing, reality-bending thriller aired in Japan, television broadcasts added on-screen texts to remind viewers which level of the dream sequence the film was currently exploring.

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 2 hours, 28 minutes

A corporate thief with the ability to enter people's minds through dreams gets a rare chance to implant an idea in the mind of a CEO, but is faced with a dangerous enemy every step of the way.

Next clue: Keanu Reeves actually climbed up a window 34 stories in the air without a stuntman for his black trench coat-clad role in this '90s sci-fi blockbuster.

- Directors: Lana Wachowski, Lilly Wachowski
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 73
- Runtime: 2 hours, 16 minutes

In "The Matrix," a legendary computer hacker chooses to leave the veneer of the "real world" behind to become an underground freedom fighter.

Next clue: This film won actor Mads Mikkelsen his first and only Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival for playing a disavowed kindergarten teacher.

- Director: Thomas Vinterberg
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes

A kindergarten teacher slowly puts his life together after a difficult divorce when a disturbing rumor spreads and puts his life in a precarious balance.

Next clue: This animated superhero movie combined CGI with a hand-drawn aesthetic to mimic the look of a comic book.

- Directors: Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey, Rodney Rothman
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes

Known for its masterful visual style that combines multiple genres, "Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse" tells the dimension-hopping tale of teen Miles Morales' adventures as the spider-bitten hero.

Next clue: The blue laser lights seen in the egg chamber of the alien ship in this sci-fi masterpiece were loaned to the movie's crew by the rock band the Who. The band was experimenting with the stage props in a neighboring studio.

- Director: Ridley Scott
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes

"Alien," which portrays a crew of space merchants fighting for their lives against a cosmic monster, won an Oscar for its groundbreaking special effects.

Next clue: In the third installment of what is arguably the world's most iconic film franchise, six people were required to operate the massive animatronic of a vile, snakelike gangster.

- Director: Richard Marquand
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 58
- Runtime: 2 hours, 11 minutes

Jabba the Hutt isn't the only obstacle standing in the way of Luke Skywalker and the rest of the Rebel Alliance in "Return of the Jedi." They also have to contend with an invasion of the planet Endor, a rebuilt Death Star, and a cunning trap set by the Emperor.

Next clue: To avoid being typecast, Al Pacino turned down a role in this movie, which might just be the greatest gangster film of all time.

- Director: Martin Scorsese
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 92
- Runtime: 2 hours, 25 minutes

In "Goodfellas," Ray Liotta, Robert De Niro, Joe Pesci, and Paul Sorvino tell the tale of mobster-turned-rat Henry Hill.

Next clue: During the filming of this classic Western, Eli Wallach spoke almost no Italian and Sergio Leone barely spoke English. To get past the language barrier, they communicated in French.

- Director: Sergio Leone
- IMDb user rating: 8.8
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 2 hours, 58 minutes

In "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly," three rough men form an uneasy partnership in a quest for gold.

Next clue: This crime film set in Rio de Janeiro features one of the most harrowing scenes of all time in which a child is shot after being asked if he'd rather take a bullet to his hand or foot.

- Directors: Fernando Meirelles, Kátia Lund
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 2 hours, 10 minutes

"City of God" explores the divergent paths of two children: one who is a struggling photographer and another who transforms into a drug dealer.

Next clue: The imaginary Land of the Dead portrayed in this animated blockbuster was based on Guanajuato, a real-life hilltop town in Mexico, whose colorful houses appear to be stacked on top of each other.

- Directors: Lee Unkrich, Adrian Molina
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 1 hour, 45 minutes

"Coco" portrays a skeptical, rebellious boy who travels between the worlds of the living and the dead on Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead).

Next clue: Since she's a full foot shorter than him, Carrie Fisher had to stand on a box for many of her scenes with Harrison Ford in this iconic science fiction sequel.

- Director: Irvin Kershner
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes

In this installment of the "Star Wars" franchise, Luke begins learning the ways of the Jedi from Yoda as the Rebels are beaten back from the frozen planet Hoth.

Next clue: Alfred Hitchcock once said that many fans erroneously believed he was the director of this film starring Marlene Dietrich and Tyrone Power.

- Director: Billy Wilder
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

Agatha Christie wrote this courtroom drama, which follows a case that shocks even a veteran British barrister.

Next clue: This Bollywood movie is based on the true story of an amateur wrestler who dreams of seeing his home country take home Olympic gold.

- Director: Nitesh Tiwari
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 41 minutes

"Dangal" stars Bollywood actor Aamir Khan as a wrestling champion who longs to coach his sons in the sport. When he ends up with daughters, he trains them to be contenders in the sport instead.

Next clue: A 14-year-old Laurence Fishburne lied about his age to join the cast of this film.

- Director: Francis Ford Coppola
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 94
- Runtime: 2 hours, 27 minutes

Based loosely on Joseph Conrad's novel "Heart of Darkness," "Apocalypse Now" stars Marlon Brando as a celebrated Vietnam War commander who goes mad and positions himself as a deity to a native tribe.

Next clue: Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup, and Minnie Driver provided voices for the North American release of this anime fantasy that was a blockbuster in Japan.

- Director: Hayao Miyazaki
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 76
- Runtime: 2 hours, 14 minutes

"Princess Mononoke" is Hayao Miyazaki's breakout anime hit, and it features the fantastical visuals his work is known for as it tells the story of various forest gods and their clash with humans in Japan's late Muromachi period.

Next clue: The actors were reportedly actually inebriated in the scene where the three friends in this iconic Indian comedy get drunk.

- Director: Rajkumar Hirani
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 2 hours, 50 minutes

"3 Idiots" follows the story of three engineering students with a close-knit bond. When their ringleader disappears, the other two set out to find him, as the film jumps back and forth from the present to the past to showcase the trio's adventures.

Next clue: In this dystopian sci-fi classic, actor Malcolm McDowell suffered damage to his eyes—even though they were anesthetized—during the scene where his character was tortured with his eyes forced open.

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 77
- Runtime: 2 hours, 16 minutes

In "A Clockwork Orange," a violent, sadistic, milk-drinking young man leads his gang on a terror spree across future Britain—before he's caught and terrorized himself.

Next clue: The famous "Here's Johnny!" bathroom door scene in this horror classic took three days and 60 doors to get right, according to the film's leading lady.

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 2 hours, 26 minutes

Stephen King's story and Stanley Kubrick's vision, combined with the acting prowess of Jack Nicholson and Shelley Duvall, led to the creation of one of the most celebrated and terrifying horror movies in history: "The Shining," which tells the story of a family trip to an isolated hotel where an evil presence makes itself felt.

Next clue: Many Scots were outraged by this historical film's portrayal of Robert the Bruce, one of its heroes.

- Director: Mel Gibson
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 2 hours, 58 minutes

Mel Gibson, who admitted to taking significant dramatic license with historical facts, was nearly 40 when he played William Wallace in "Braveheart." The movie loosely tells the tale of Wallace, who stands up to British tyranny in defense of his wife and for the freedom of Scotland.

Next clue: This film takes place four years after "Guardians of the Galaxy" and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2," both of which occur during the same year.

- Directors: Anthony Russo, Joe Russo
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 2 hours, 29 minutes

In "Avengers: Infinity War," the titular crew of superheroes is tasked with stopping the mighty Thanos from destroying half of all life in the universe.

Next clue: Horror master Alfred Hitchcock blamed this movie's poor box office on the advanced age of James Stewart, who had always been one of his favorite collaborators. The pair never worked together again.

- Director: Alfred Hitchcock
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 100
- Runtime: 2 hours, 8 minutes

The first movie to use computer graphics, "Vertigo" tells the tale of a detective—who is deathly afraid of heights—investigating a woman he develops an obsession for.

Next clue: Vincent D'Onofrio put on 70 pounds for his haunting role in this movie, which topped even Robert De Niro's legendary 60-pound weight gain for "Raging Bull."

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes

"Full Metal Jacket" follows a band of trainees from the challenges of basic training all the way to the bloody Battle of Hué, forming a picture of the Vietnam War through the eyes of those on the ground.

Next clue: This movie was a box-office flop—even after a second run following its seven Oscar nominations.

- Director: Frank Darabont
- IMDb user rating: 9.3
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 2 hours, 22 minutes

Based on a Stephen King novella, "The Shawshank Redemption" chronicles the life of an innocent man wrongly convicted, imprisoned, brutalized, and finally redeemed.

Next clue: Out of respect for the memory of the late Heath Ledger, the Joker isn't mentioned a single time during this entire movie.

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 78
- Runtime: 2 hours, 44 minutes

Eight years after the reign of the Joker, "The Dark Knight Rises" pits Batman against a new enemy in the form of the diabolical Bane.

Next clue: The F-word is used 265 times in this Quentin Tarantino masterpiece, which grossed over $200 million against an $8 million budget.

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- IMDb user rating: 8.9
- Metascore: 95
- Runtime: 2 hours, 34 minutes

In "Pulp Fiction," one of the most notable casts ever assembled form four separate yet interconnected storylines in a dialogue-driven rollercoaster of crime, violence, love, betrayal, and redemption.

Next clue: Jamie Foxx used his own horse in this slavery revenge fantasy. He received "Cheetah" four years before as a birthday gift.

- Director: Quentin Tarantino
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 2 hours, 45 minutes

A formerly enslaved person goes on a rescue mission to free his wife in "Django Unchained."

Next clue: Sigourney Weaver's Best Actress Academy Award nomination for her role in this sci-fi sequel represents the first time a woman ever earned an Oscar nod in that category for an action movie.

- Director: James Cameron
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 2 hours, 17 minutes

In this sequel to "Alien," Ellen Ripley (Sigourney Weaver) is sent to save a space colony, battling the Alien Queen and her progeny in the process.

Next clue: In a famous scene where refugees sing "La Marseillaise" to drown out Nazi officers, the actress Madeleine Lebeau has tears in her eyes. She fled her hometown of Paris just hours before the Nazi invasion.

- Director: Michael Curtiz
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 100
- Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

Few movies in history have achieved the level of commercial and critical significance of "Casablanca," which won Oscars for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Screenplay while being nominated for five others. This classic tells the story of a cafe owner struggling with the decision to help his former love and her husband escape the grasp of Nazis.

Next clue: This crime drama runs a whopping three hours and 49 minutes—and that's the pared-down version. The film was originally eight to 10 hours long before being cut to six hours and then finally edited to its release version.

- Director: Sergio Leone
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 75
- Runtime: 3 hours, 49 minutes

Decades after his rise in gangster ranks, a mobster returns to the Lower East Side to confront ghosts and regrets of his past.

Next clue: This was the final movie to portray people walking on the moon before Neil Armstrong and his crew did it in real life. Nearly half a century later, the movie is still tied to conspiracy theories about the Apollo 11 mission.

- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 2 hours, 29 minutes

"2001: A Space Odyssey" pits man against machine when astronauts are sent to investigate a mysterious black structure with the aid of the spaceship's computer system, HAL.

Next clue: After receiving criticisms that his characters were too hard to understand, this British director wrote a role for the film in question that was intentionally very difficult to understand. The role ended up going to Brad Pitt.

- Director: Guy Ritchie
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 55
- Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

A caper film, "Snatch" follows two boxing promoters who somehow get roped into the troubles of a gangster with a gambling problem, as the characters go on the hunt for a diamond.

Next clue: The famous scene in this adventure movie, where the hero shoots an acrobatic swordsman, was never supposed to occur. Sick with food poisoning, the actor was too ill to perform the original stunt, which was supposed to feature him using his trusty whip.

- Director: Steven Spielberg
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes

Indiana Jones goes on the hunt for the Ark of the Covenant, which supposedly holds the Ten Commandments.

Next clue: The director cast Matt Damon as the title character in this World War II epic because, in part, he was unknown. Little did the director know that Damon would win an Oscar for "Good Will Hunting" and rise to global superstardom before the movie hit theaters.

- Director: Steven Spielberg
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 91
- Runtime: 2 hours, 49 minutes

"Saving Private Ryan" depicts the bloody realities of D-Day. In the film, a few survivors are tasked with rescuing a missing private whose brothers all died in combat.

Next clue: This heavy Holocaust drama was personal for its director; his father survived a concentration camp, and his mother was murdered at Auschwitz.

- Director: Roman Polanski
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 85
- Runtime: 2 hours, 30 minutes

A Polish Jewish radio station pianist is separated from his family and hides throughout Warsaw, Poland, as World War II begins.

Next clue: In this movie, which explores addiction, the director asked stars Jared Leto and Marlon Wayans to abstain from intimacy and sugar for a month so they could understand the intense cravings their characters endured.

- Director: Darren Aronofsky
- IMDb user rating: 8.3
- Metascore: 71
- Runtime: 1 hour, 42 minutes

"Requiem for a Dream" chronicles the struggles of four people coping with addiction in Brooklyn's Coney Island.

Next clue: The Force was with this science fiction masterpiece. It was the first movie ever to earn more than $300 million at the box office.

- Director: George Lucas
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 2 hours, 1 minute

The original "Star Wars" introduced the world to the likes of Darth Vader, Princess Leia, Luke Skywalker, Chewbacca, Han Solo, and everyone's favorite duo of droids.

Next clue: Brad Pitt refused to participate in this movie about the sinful nature of man if film executives changed the ending.

- Director: David Fincher
- IMDb user rating: 8.6
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes

Nominated for one Oscar, "Se7en" pits a pair of detectives against a serial killer whose murder spree has biblical motivations.

Next clue: The director ordered 500 acres of corn to be grown for a special scene in this otherworldly movie. When filming wrapped, he sold the corn for a profit.

- Director: Christopher Nolan
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 74
- Runtime: 2 hours, 49 minutes

To ensure the survival of the species, space explorers are forced to travel through a cosmic wormhole in "Interstellar."

Next clue: Shot in just 19 days, this film is one of the lowest-budget movies ever to be honored with an Oscar nomination for Best Picture.

- Director: Damien Chazelle
- IMDb user rating: 8.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes

"Whiplash" portrays a zealous instructor who relentlessly pressures a promising young drummer to work up to his vast potential.

Next clue: To simulate the emotions and frustrations felt by a real-life pent-up jury, the director had his actors do their lines over and over in a small room without filming them.

- Director: Sidney Lumet
- IMDb user rating: 9
- Metascore: 97
- Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes

Nominated for three Oscars, "12 Angry Men" tells the story of a potentially innocent man whose life is in the hands of a single holdout to a jury's guilty verdict.