This is a partial list of films that have been regarded as the greatest ever.
There is no uniform opinion as to which film is the greatest ever, but a number of films have been presented as such.
Generally speaking, these tend to be films that can be said to have advanced both the art form and the technique of cinema, and are usually agreed upon by a consensus of critics and scholars to have been inordinately successful on both these grounds.
Different groups have very different criteria for what is greatness, however. While critics and film aficionados would agree to the above definition, others would argue that popular appeal is a more important measure of greatness. Those who work in the movie industry, however, would probably consider the most profitable film to be the greatest.
There is very often incompatibility between these definitions. Commercial popularity is rarely a criterion for artistic excellence; often the films most popular with the public are entertainments that work within established artistic formulas, rather than striking out into new artistic territory. And yet it can fairly be said that the films considered the best of all time are, for the most part, quite popular with general audiences as well.
- Battleship Potemkin: for many years generally considered the greatest film ever; voted as such by a panel of experts at the 1958 World's Fair.
- Ben-Hur (1959 version): tied with Titanic for the most Academy Awards ever.
- The Bicycle Thief: voted top film in a Sight & Sound magazine poll in 1952.
- Casablanca: widely cited as the greatest film of all time and voted as such by readers of the Los Angeles Daily News in 1997.
- Citizen Kane: Roger Ebert has stated that he considers it the best film ever; selected as number one for the last forty years in Sight & Sound’s poll of film critics. Extremely influential in pioneering numerous artistic innovations.
- The Godfather: has long stood atop IMDb's list of the top 250 films.
- The Godfather Part II: often considered better than the original; voted best film ever by TV Guide readers in 1998.
- Gone With the Wind: nine Academy Awards, National Film Registry, when adjusted for inflation is still the highest grossing film ever.
- Titanic: highest grossing film ever and winner of eleven Academy Awards.
Films that are considered among the greatest in their particular genre:
Films that are considered greatest from a particular country:
Movies that are widely considered important, if not the greatest ever
See also: List of movies that have been considered the worst ever
Lists of Great Films