34. Gladiator
Gladiator is a 2000 historical epic film set in Ancient Rome. The film follows the story of General Maximus Decimus Meridius, a successful and respected Roman general. After being betrayed by the emperor, Maximus is sold into slavery and forced to fight as a gladiator. Despite his circumstances, he rises to become one of the greatest gladiators in the arena and seeks revenge against the emperor.
35. Glory
Glory is a 1989 American war drama film about the 54th Massachusetts Infantry Regiment, the first African-American regiment to fight for the Union in the American Civil War. The film follows the regiment’s journey from training camp to battle, as they fight for the freedoms they were denied back home.
36. Good Will Hunting
Matt Damon and Robin Williams star in this 1997 drama film about a young man from a working-class neighborhood in Boston who discovers a unique talent for mathematics. Despite his troubled past, Will Hunting is determined to make something of his life and sets out to challenge the world with his genius. With the help of a therapist and his friends, Will begins to confront his past and to find his own identity and self-worth.
37. Goodfellas
Goodfellas is a 1990 crime drama film about the rise and fall of three mobsters in the New York mafia. The film follows the story of Henry Hill, an associate of the Luchese crime family, as he rises up the ranks of the mafia and lives the high life. But as his ambitions grow, Henry finds himself on a collision course with the law and his own conscience.
38. Heat
Heat is a 1995 crime drama film about an intense rivalry between a seasoned police officer and a master criminal. Detective Vincent Hanna is determined to take down master thief Neil McCauley and his crew, while McCauley is equally determined to stay one step ahead of the law. As the two men battle for the upper hand, a complex game of cat and mouse ensues, with both men using their skills and knowledge to try and outwit the other.
39. High Fidelity
This 2000 comedy-drama film about a record store owner who is struggling to come to terms with his failed relationships. Rob Gordon re-evaluates his life and past loves as he reflects on his five most significant breakups.
40. Inside Llewyn Davis
Inside Llewyn Davis is a 2013 drama film about a struggling folk singer in 1960s
New York City. After being kicked out of his friend’s apartment, Llewyn Davis embarks on a journey that takes him to Chicago, across the country, and back to New York. Along the way, he encounters a variety of characters and experiences, both good and bad, and through his struggles he discovers the power of resilience and hope. It’s about music, grief, and cruel, cruel New York. It’s not about a cat.
41. Into the Wild
Into the Wild is a 2007 adventure drama film about a young man’s journey of self-discovery as he embarks on a solo trek across North America. After graduating from college, Christopher McCandless abandons his possessions and sets off alone into the wilderness in an attempt to find himself. Along the way, he meets a variety of people who help him understand the world and himself.
42. Jerry Maguire
Jerry Maguire is a 1996 romantic comedy-drama about a sports agent who has a moral epiphany and is forced to reevaluate his life and career. Jerry Maguire is a successful agent, but when he has a crisis of conscience, he is fired from his job and must start his own agency from scratch. Along the way, he meets a single mother, Dorothy Boyd, and the two embark on an unlikely journey as they struggle to make their dreams come true.
43. Kiss Kiss Bang Bang
After being mistaken for an actor, petty thief Harry Lockhart is thrown into the middle of a deadly investigation. Along with his newfound partner, a private investigator, Harry must find the murderer before he becomes the next victim.
44. Leon: The Professional
Leon: The Professional is a 1994 action thriller film about a professional assassin who forms an unlikely bond with a young girl. Leon is an assassin hired to take out a corrupt DEA agent, but when he meets Mathilda, a young girl whose family has been killed, he takes her in and teaches her the skills she needs to survive. Together, they embark on a mission to take down the corrupt DEA agent and his associates.
45. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels
Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels is a 1998 crime comedy film about four Londoners who plan to double their money by stealing from a notorious local gangster. After a botched card game, the four friends are left with a debt of half a million pounds, and they hatch a plan to steal from the gangster who runs the game. As they attempt to carry out their plan, they find themselves in a web of deceit and danger, and must use all their skills and resources to make it out alive.
46. Lost in Translation
Lost in Translation is a 2003 romantic comedy-drama about two Americans, Bob and Charlotte, who form an unlikely bond while stuck in a foreign city. Bob, a fading movie star, and Charlotte, a recent college graduate, find solace in each other as they explore the city of Tokyo and confront their feelings of alienation and loneliness.
47. Mad Max: Fury Road
This 2015 action-adventure film about a lone warrior and a group of survivors who embark on a dangerous journey across a post-apocalyptic wasteland is a visual feast that ditched plot in favor of flame-throwing guitars and nightmare fuel. Max, a drifter and former lawman, teams up with Imperator Furiosa and a group of female prisoners to escape from the clutches of a tyrannical warlord. As they traverse the dangerous wasteland, they face off against the warlord’s forces and make unexpected allies along the way.
48. Moneyball
A biographical sports drama about the Oakland Athletics baseball team and their general manager Billy Beane. After suffering from a series of losing seasons, Beane and his assistant Peter Brand use sabermetrics, a new approach to the game, to assemble a team of players who will help the A’s win. As the team begins to succeed, Beane must overcome the team’s limited budget and the resistance of traditional baseball scouts in order to continue their winning streak.
49. No Country For Old Men
In No Country for Old Men (2007), Llewelyn Moss (Josh Brolin) discovers the remains of a botched drug deal in the desert landscape of 1980 West Texas, setting off a chain of violence and mayhem. He takes the two million dollars present for himself, leading to an intense pursuit by Anton Chigurh (Javier Bardem), a psychopathic hitman. Meanwhile, Sheriff Ed Tom Bell (Tommy Lee Jones) investigates the crime and is haunted by his own sense of mortality.
50. Office Space
1999’s Office Space follows Peter Gibbons (Ron Livingston) and his two downsized colleagues, Michael Bolton (David Herman) and Samir Nagheenanajar (Ajay Naidu) as they infect Initech’s accounting system with a virus to embezzle money from the company.
51. Once Upon a Time in America
Once Upon A Time In America is a 1984 epic crime drama directed by Sergio Leone, starring Robert De Niro, James Woods, and Elizabeth McGovern. Set in the 1920s, the movie follows a group of childhood friends in New York City, from the slums to their gangster adulthood. The movie explores themes of loyalty, friendship, and betrayal as the friends navigate the gangster underworld, as well as the effects of the Great Depression. It culminates in a powerful emotional climax as the friends come to terms with the choices they have made and their lives as gangsters.
52. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest is a 1975 American drama film directed by Miloš Forman, based on the 1962 novel of the same name by Ken Kesey. Randle McMurphy, a criminal who feigns insanity in order to avoid jail time and is sent to a psychiatric hospital, clashes with the authoritarian Nurse Ratched as he and the other patients as he encourages stand up for their rights and fight for freedom.
53. Platoon
Platoon is a 1986 American war drama film written and directed by Oliver Stone, based on Stone’s experiences in the Vietnam War. The movie follows a young American soldier, Chris Taylor, as he is drafted into the Vietnam War and witnesses the horrors of war first-hand. Chris struggles to navigate the moral complexities of the war, while also trying to cope with the psychological trauma of his experiences.
54. Pulp Fiction
This 1994 American classic written and directed by Quentin Tarantino centers on Vincent Vega and Jules Winnfield as they attempt a series of criminal odd jobs, interacting with the various criminals and gangs of Los Angeles and all the while exploring themes of morality, redemption, and violence.
55. Raging Bull
Raging Bull is a 1980 American biographical sports drama film directed by Martin Scorsese and based on the memoir of boxer Jake LaMotta. Jake rises and falls in the world of boxing and struggles with his own inner demons as he attempts to come to terms with his life and his mistakes.
56. Raiders of the Lost Ark
It doesn’t get much more American than an action-adventure film directed by Steven Spielberg and based on a story by George Lucas. Indiana Jones battles evil Nazis, snakes, and giant boulders as he attempts to locate and secure the Biblical artifact known as the Ark of the Covenant and stop the Nazis from using it for evil.
57. Raising Arizona
This 1987 Coen Brothers film centers on ex-convict H.I. McDunnough and his wife Edwina as they attempt to kidnap a baby from a wealthy family. The movie is an early look at what is now classic Coen Brothers: the couple navigates the humorous consequences of their illegal activities, while also exploring themes of family, love, and morality.
58. Rear Window
Rear Window is a 1954 American mystery thriller film directed by Alfred Hitchcock, based on a short story by Cornell Woolrich. The movie follows a professional photographer, Jeff, who is confined to his apartment and becomes obsessed with spying on his neighbors. The movie follows Jeff as he attempts to uncover the truth behind a murder in his building, while exploring themes of voyeurism, guilt, and morality.
59. Reservoir Dogs
Quentin Tarantino’s 1992 thriller Reservoir Dogs is about a group of criminals as they attempt a diamond heist that goes wrong. In true Tarantino form, it culminates in a bloddy climax.
60. Rocky
How many movie characters get their own statue in a city’s public square? The original Rocky from 1976 started a franchise that’s still going strong thanks to the powerful character of Rocky Balboa, a small-time boxer from Philadelphia, as he gets a chance to fight for the world heavyweight championship. It’s about fighting Apollo Creed, yes, but also so much more.
61. Rounders
Mike, a law student and former gambler, attempts to help his friend Worm, who is in deep with a loan shark, by playing high-stakes poker. While the true poker games may take hours to complete, there’s no slow down in the action and tension in this movie (and you might learn a thing or two about winning a game yourself).
62. Rush
Overlooked by many due to the slew of great movies that came out at the end of 2013, Rush was a brilliant take on one of F1’s most legendary rivalries. Rush is a biographical sports drama starring Chris Hemsworth and Daniel Brühl depicting the rivalry between Formula 1 drivers James Hunt and Niki Lauda in the 1976 Formula 1 season.
63. Rushmore
Wes Anderson assembled the now-iconic team of Owen Wilson, Jason Schwartzman, and Bill Murray for Rushmore, a 1998 comedy-drama about Max Fischer, a precocious and eccentric 15-year-old student at Rushmore Academy, as he attempts to make his mark on the world.
64. Saving Private Ryan
Steven Spielberg’s 1998 war drama stars Tom Hanks as he follows a group of U.S. soldiers attempting to rescue a paratrooper whose three brothers have all been killed in the war. It has just about everything: duty, heroism, and sacrifice.
65. Schindler’s List
Another iconic Steven Spielberg movie, 1993’s Schindler’s List tells the story of Oskar Schindler, a German industrialist who saved the lives of over 1,100 Jews during the Holocaust.
66. Sideways
How a man copes with loss and failure can, in turn, define him. Here, it’s with lots and lots of wine. Sideways starring Paul Giamatti and Thomas Haden Church as Miles and Jack, two friends on a wine tasting road trip, as they attempt to escape the pressures of life and reconnect with each other.
