Best films turning 50 in 2025
ranked the top 50 films turning 50 in 2025, providing a strong overview of the innovative and long-lasting impact of 1975 cinema.
Best films turning 50 in 2025
Updated
In the summer of 1975, a young director named Steven Spielberg released a thriller called "Jaws." Amid an , Spielberg hoped the film would do well enough with audiences that his career wouldn't be over before it began. Spielberg later that he was sure he'd be relegated to directing low-budget indie films as soon as the shoot wrapped. Little did he know, "Jaws" would be so successful it would change the landscape of Hollywood itself.
Not only was "Jaws" the , thanks to its aggressive marketing campaign, but it was also the first film to make over $100 million in ticket sales. Still, it wasn't the only hugely influential project released in 1975. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," now regarded as an anti-establishment classic, became the second-ever film to , indicating a renewed interest in fresh perspectives in the industry. Meanwhile, more under-the-radar films like "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" and "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" began slowly accumulating their fan bases en route to becoming cult favorites, reminding studios that not everything had to be an instant hit to secure the status of a cultural touchstone.
Of course, these iconic movies weren't the only enduring titles released in 1975. Here, has compiled a list of the 50 best films turning 50 in 2025. Using data from , the movies have been ranked by their user ratings, with ties broken by the number of user votes. To qualify for the list, each film had to have at least 2,500 IMDb user votes, be rated by the Motion Picture Association of America, and be theatrically released in 1975. For international films, the original, rather than the U.S. release date, was considered. have been included for critical context.
Read on to discover how many of these era-defining classics you've seen.
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#50. Mandingo
Updated
- Director: Richard Fleischer
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
When "Mandingo" was released, it was a critical flop. About the violent relationships between a pre-Civil War family of enslavers and the Mandinka people they enslaved, film critic Roger Ebert called the movie ", obscene in its manipulation of human beings and feelings, and excruciating to sit through." In the 50 years since, "Mandingo" has been reevaluated, with many now agreeing with the contemporary assessment of the Museum of Modern Art, which called the film "one of the decade's most , in which the film industry's typically tamped-down depictions of American slavery … were replaced by a brutally honest, violent portrayal of cruelty, abuse, and viciousness on an 1840s Southern plantation."
#49. Switchblade Sisters
Updated
- Director: Jack Hill
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Described by Stephen Holden for The New York Times as "Switchblade Sisters" follows the lives and conflicts of a high school-aged girl gang. Starring three relatively unknown actors (Joanne Nail, Robbie Lee, and Monica Gayle), the low-budget movie was initially a flop but has since gained a sizable cult following thanks to under his Rolling Thunder distribution company.
#48. The Drowning Pool
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- Director: Stuart Rosenberg
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 48
- Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
Husband-and-wife team Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward star in this mystery thriller about a big-city private investigator who heads south to help his ex-girlfriend cover up her infidelity, only to find himself embroiled in a much bigger affair. Based on the Ross Macdonald novel of the same name, the movie received mixed reviews, with Roger Ebert dismissing it as only "."
#47. Rollerball
Updated
- Director: Norman Jewison
- IMDb user rating: 6.5
- Metascore: 56
- Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
Set in 2018, "Rollerball" is a dystopian sci-fi film about a player of the titular fictional sport who finds his life in jeopardy when the corporations that run the world become threatened by his individuality. Though critics both and agree that the film would have been more successful as a comedy—or at least a more pointed satire—many believe "Rollerball" still has something meaningful to say about capitalism and our place in it.
#46. Bite the Bullet
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- Director: Richard Brooks
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 2 hours, 12 minutes
Inspired by , "Bite the Bullet" is an American western set in the early 19th century. It follows a group of disparate individuals (including Gene Hackman, Candice Bergen, and James Coburn) who set off on a 700-mile cross-country horse race with a cash prize that could change their lives. Director Richard Brooks called the sweeping saga "[his] ."
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#45. Race with the Devil
Updated
- Director: Jack Starrett
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 53
- Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes
One of many collaborations between Warren Oates and Peter Fonda, "Race with the Devil" is an action horror movie about two couples who find their road trip ruined when members of a Satanic cult start pursuing them. Dubbed "a prime slice of " by The Austin Chronicle, the movie isn't terrifying by today's standards, but it has developed a cult following over the last few decades thanks to its entertaining qualities.
#44. Tommy
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- Director: Ken Russell
- IMDb user rating: 6.6
- Metascore: 66
- Runtime: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Based on the Who's 1969 concept album of the same name, "Tommy" follows a blind and deaf boy who becomes a pinball champion and eventually a cult leader. The psychedelic musical had an ensemble cast of big names, including all the members of the Who, Elton John, Tina Turner, Eric Clapton, Jack Nicholson, Oliver Reed, and Ann-Margret, who and was nominated for an Oscar. "Tommy" was also an awards contender outside Ann-Margret's performance, earning a for Best Motion Picture – Musical or Comedy.
#43. Katie Tippel
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- Director: Paul Verhoeven
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
A Dutch classic, "Katie Tippel" follows an impoverished young woman in the late 19th century who turns to sex work to escape her situation. Based on the memoirs of writer Neel Doff, the film covers gritty subject matter, features a bizarre ending, and is regarded as one of director Paul Verhoeven's most works.
#42. Let's Do It Again
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- Director: Sidney Poitier
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 50 minutes
Sidney Poitier, Bill Cosby, and Jimmie Walker co-star in this crime comedy about blue-collar workers who rig a series of fundraising boxing matches, which attracts the mob's attention. Many people remember the film for its title song—performed by the Staple Singers—which hit in December 1975.
#41. The Prisoner of Second Avenue
Updated
- Director: Melvin Frank
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 38 minutes
Adapted from a play by Neil Simon—who also wrote the screenplay—"The Prisoner of Second Avenue" follows a middle-aged ad executive as he heads toward a nervous breakdown after losing his job. Although some critics complained that the , stars Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft were highlighted as a perfect fit for Simon's distinctive brand of comedy, making the movie a fun watch overall.
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#40. The Great Waldo Pepper
Updated
- Director: George Roy Hill
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 60
- Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
A WWI pilot struggles with a return to civilian life and takes up barnstorming in this period drama. "The Great Waldo Pepper," which stars Robert Redford in the title role, has drawn some modern criticism for its overblown but was like Roger Ebert, who called it "​​a sort of bittersweet farewell to a time when a man with an airplane could make a living taking the citizens of Nebraska on their first five-minute flights."
#39. Breakheart Pass
Updated
- Director: Tom Gries
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Based on the 1974 novel of the same name, "Breakheart Pass" follows a prisoner as they are transported via a passenger train to Fort Humboldt, Nevada, during a snowstorm. Along the way, the convict helps uncover a much larger conspiracy. Much of the film's action was operated by the Camas Prairie Railroad, which ran along a series of tracks in northern Idaho.
#38. French Connection II
Updated
- Director: John Frankenheimer
- IMDb user rating: 6.7
- Metascore: 68
- Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
A sequel to 1971's "The French Connection," this Gene Hackman vehicle sees Detective Jimmy "Popeye" Doyle heading to France to track down the drug smuggler who eluded him at the close of the original film. Although critics panned the follow-up, calling it and than its Oscar-winning predecessor, fans drove ticket sales to almost . Hackman's performance also earned him a .
#37. The Wind and the Lion
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- Director: John Milius
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: 67
- Runtime: 1 hour, 59 minutes
Loosely based on the —a kidnapping incident in the early 20th century—"The Wind and the Lion" is a historical epic about a Berber rebel who kidnaps a widow and her young children. Beloved for its stunning cinematography and immersive battle scenes, the movie stars Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, and John Huston.
#36. Rooster Cogburn
Updated
- Director: Stuart Millar
- IMDb user rating: 6.8
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
A sequel to the 1969 classic "True Grit," "Rooster Cogburn" sees John Wayne reprising his role as the one-eyed, blood-spilling U.S. Marshal. Offered a chance to redeem himself by arresting a group of bandits, Cogburn partners with a spinster (Katharine Hepburn) who has a personal stake in the downfall of the outlaw gang. Described as "a cheerful " by The New York Times, the movie was widely praised for its lead actors' performances despite the script's weakness.
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#35. The Day of the Locust
Updated
- Director: John Schlesinger
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 2 hours, 24 minutes
Set in pre-WWII Hollywood, "The Day of the Locust" is a thinly veiled critique of the film industry. It stars William Atherton as newly arrived art director Tod Hackett, who attempts to make an aspiring woman actor (Karen Black) a big name despite the burdens of her alcoholic father (Burgess Meredith) and her obsessed stalker (Donald Sutherland). Its message—that of presenting us with such absorbing fantasies that we fail to live reality—resonates 50 years on.
#34. The Stepford Wives
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- Director: Bryan Forbes
- IMDb user rating: 6.9
- Metascore: 54
- Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes
By now, the general plot points of this feminist horror story are familiar to most people, even those unfamiliar with the movie or the Ira Levin novel on which it's based. But just in case you've forgotten, the story follows a woman (Katharine Ross) who moves with her family from Manhattan to Stepford, Connecticut, and finds that all the wives in her new community are flawless and strangely bland. While the 2004 remake starring Nicole Kidman might be more familiar to readers, still like the original iteration for its "slow-building dread, nail-biting suspense, and satirical punch."
#33. The Night Caller
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- Director: Henri Verneuil
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes
In this action thriller, a detective trots around Paris, trying to hunt down a one-eyed serial killer who strangles women. Popular in its homeland of France—where it was released as "Peur sur la ville" or "Fear Over the City"—the film is well regarded for its performed by lead actor Jean-Paul Belmondo himself.
#32. That Most Important Thing: Love
Updated
- Director: Andrzej Żuławski
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 49 minutes
Another French-language film, this Andrzej Żuławski film follows a photographer who—having fallen head-over-heels in love with an aspiring woman actor—turns to loan sharks to finance a production of "Richard III" that he hopes will launch her career. Unbeknownst to him, she is married to another man, and an intense love triangle ensues. Melissa Anderson of The Village Voice called "That Most Important Thing: Love" "."
#31. Farewell, My Lovely
Updated
- Director: Dick Richards
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 70
- Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
An adaptation of a Raymond Chandler novel of the same name, "Farewell, My Lovely" follows detective Philip Marlowe (played in this iteration by Robert Mitchum) as he works to track down a paroled convict's old girlfriend. The neo-noir mystery masterfully maintains its gritty tone throughout its 95-minute run time, with Roger Ebert singling out its as the two factors that make it sing.
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#30. The Return of the Pink Panther
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- Director: Blake Edwards
- IMDb user rating: 7.0
- Metascore: 61
- Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
The fourth entry in the "Pink Panther" series "almost single-handedly ," according to Turner Classic Movies. After the massive disappointment of the third movie, the studios brought back Peter Sellers to reprise his role as Inspector Clouseau, with Blake Edwards in the director's chair and Henry Mancini writing the score. In this installment, the bumbling detective sets off to unmask the mysterious "Phantom" (played by Christopher Plummer) who's stolen the iconic Pink Panther diamond.
#29. Smile
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- Director: Michael Ritchie
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 79
- Runtime: 1 hour, 53 minutes
Set in small-town America, "Smile" follows a group of teenage beauty queens as they prepare for a local pageant. of director Michael Ritchie (who had judged a beauty pageant in Mill Valley, California, a few years prior), the social comedy didn't do so well with contemporary audiences. And yet, while Ritchie claimed that only 92,000 tickets were sold due to lackluster marketing, the film was and has since become a cult classic. "Smile" was later adapted into a 1986 musical by Marvin Hamlisch and Howard Ashman, now best remembered for the song
#28. Cooley High
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- Director: Michael Schultz
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 72
- Runtime: 1 hour, 47 minutes
Dubbed "" by Derek John for NPR, "Cooley High" follows two best friends as they navigate their senior year of high school. Set to a soundtrack of Motown hits, the movie is "an endearingly funny, tender, and striving toward a brighter future," according to the Criterion Collection. Glynn Turman and Lawrence Hilton-Jacobs' performances as Preach and Cochise make the movie's tragic ending all the more heart-wrenching.
#27. The Sunshine Boys
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- Director: Herbert Ross
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 51 minutes
Another film adaptation of a Neil Simon play, "The Sunshine Boys" follows two old and grumpy comedy icons brought together for a final revival of their legendary vaudeville act. Walter Matthau and George Burns star as the odd couple, whose relationship was reportedly based on . The movie was , including Best Adapted Screenplay, but only won one (Burns for Best Supporting Actor).
#26. Night Moves
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- Director: Arthur Penn
- IMDb user rating: 7.1
- Metascore: 82
- Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Praised as one of the late , "Night Moves" is a neo-noir thriller about a football star turned private investigator tasked with locating the daughter of a famous woman actor. Melanie Griffith, in her debut role, plays the missing daughter—a casting choice that as the character has several nude scenes, which were all shot when Griffith was still underage.
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#25. The Story of Adele H.
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- Director: François Truffaut
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 36 minutes
"The Story of Adele H." centers on the daughter of Victor Hugo, whose obsessive, unrequited love for a military officer leads to her downfall. Based partially on the turn-of-the-century diaries of the , the film was met with and award nominations, including an for lead actor Isabelle Adjani.
#24. Hard Times
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- Director: Walter Hill
- IMDb user rating: 7.2
- Metascore: 69
- Runtime: 1 hour, 33 minutes
Marking Walter Hill's directorial debut, "Hard Times" is a sports drama about a freight hopper who becomes a boxing legend. Set during the Great Depression, the movie is stripped back and spare, but lead actors Charles Bronson and James Coburn's perfectly measured performances make it a , per Roger Ebert.
#23. The Lost Honor of Katharina Blum
Updated
- Directors: Volker Schlöndorff, Margarethe von Trotta
- IMDb user rating: 7.3
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 46 minutes
In this German-language film, a young woman's reputation is called into question after she spends the night with a terrorist. A commentary on both the role of the state and the press, experts say the movie perfectly encapsulates both the as well as themes relevant to many contemporary American viewers.
#22. The Magic Flute
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- Director: Ingmar Bergman
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 15 minutes
Originally intended to be a TV special, this adaptation of Mozart's opera "The Magic Flute" was such a hit that it in the latter half of 1975. Presented as an imagined theatrical performance (complete with shots of a staged audience), Bergman recreated the beautiful Baroque theater of Drottningholm Palace to serve as a backdrop for the fantastical story. The result is, as the Criterion Collection puts it, "among the ever made."
#21. Picnic at Hanging Rock
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- Director: Peter Weir
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 81
- Runtime: 1 hour, 55 minutes
The Guardian called "Picnic at Hanging Rock" "an ," and a more accurate description simply doesn't exist. Adapting Joan Lindsay's 1967 novel, the movie tells the story of the disappearance of some school girls and one of their teachers during a field trip on Valentine's Day 1900. Viewers who require answers to mysteries may not be satisfied with the movie's conclusion, but those who enjoy the journey as much as the destination are likely to appreciate this one.
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#20. Three Days of the Condor
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- Director: Sydney Pollack
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 63
- Runtime: 1 hour, 57 minutes
A bookish CIA agent returns from lunch one afternoon to find his colleagues murdered and goes on the run to outwit his faceless enemies in this action-packed thriller. Starring Robert Redford, Faye Dunaway, Cliff Robertson, and Max von Sydow, "Three Days of the Condor" perfectly encapsulates the paranoid, of a post-Watergate America.
#19. The Rocky Horror Picture Show
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- Director: Jim Sharman
- IMDb user rating: 7.4
- Metascore: 65
- Runtime: 1 hour, 40 minutes
Crowned "" by BBC Features Correspondent Larushka Ivan-Zadeh, "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" has such a massive and devoted fan base that there are and dedicated how-to guides for audience participation. The independent film was a complete flop when it was first released in 1975. Audiences didn't initially connect with its unconventional style of the B-movie throwback musical, which follows a couple who seek refuge in the home of the leather-clad Dr. Frank-N-Furter after their car breaks down. As of 2025, however, the movie is the longest continually running release ever.
#18. The Old Gun
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- Director: Robert Enrico
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 43 minutes
"The Old Gun" ("Le vieux fusil" in its original French) follows a pacifist surgeon who ruthlessly takes down an SS squad after they decimate his childhood village. A co-production between France and West Germany, the film was (given by the French Film Academy) and took home three for Best Film, Best Actor, and Best Music.
#17. Grey Gardens
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- Directors: Ellen Hovde, Albert Maysles, David Maysles
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 83
- Runtime: 1 hour, 35 minutes
Two cousins of Jackie Onassis, both named Edith Beale, are the subjects of this intimate documentary. The film follows the mother-daughter pair, who call themselves Big Edie and Little Edie, through their daily lives in a crumbling mansion in the wealthy enclave of East Hampton, New York. "Grey Gardens" is so iconic and enduring that it inspired additional documentaries (2006's "The Beales of Grey Gardens" and 2017's "That Summer") and a 2006 musical and 2009 TV movie, both called "Grey Gardens."
#16. The Passenger
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- Director: Michelangelo Antonioni
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 90
- Runtime: 2 hours, 6 minutes
Jack Nicholson stars in this drama about a journalist working in Chad who gets into trouble when he begins impersonating a dead man, unaware that the man was an arms dealer with nefarious connections. Described by critics at Roger Ebert and The Guardian as and (but in a good way), respectively, the film contains a palpable sense of disillusionment. But despite how highly it ranks on this list, watching "The Passenger" has proven exceptionally difficult. Owing to protracted legal disputes, it was only , when Sony Pictures issued an anniversary rerelease.
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#15. Deep Red
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- Director: Dario Argento
- IMDb user rating: 7.5
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 2 hours, 7 minutes
An Italian giallo horror film, "Deep Red" (or "Profondo rosso") is about a jazz musician who gets sucked into the web of a vicious murderer. Director Dario Argento's approach to filmmaking has been described as "." But his appreciation for blood and gore, captivating camera work, and stunning art direction have inspired many a modern-day great like .
#14. Nashville
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- Director: Robert Altman
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 96
- Runtime: 2 hours, 40 minutes
With 24 main characters, dozens of storylines, and an hour's worth of musical numbers, the scope of "Nashville" is one of the film's most impressive aspects. The nearly three-hour film follows a host of folks involved in the music industry as they prepare for a political gala concert. The enormous cast of performers improvised much of the script and its scenarios, a directorial approach that paid off when the movie was nominated for five Academy Awards and 11 Golden Globes.
#13. Love and Death
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- Director: Woody Allen
- IMDb user rating: 7.6
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 1 hour, 25 minutes
Director Woody Allen has said that "Love and Death," a satire of Russian literature about two cousins who fall in love and concoct a plot to assassinate Napoleon, is one of his favorite and . Allen stars alongside Diane Keaton, and while the film didn't garner any major awards nominations or wins, Roger Ebert described it as "a good movie to watch … because it's been done with such ."
#12. Seven Beauties
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- Director: Lina Wertmüller
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 56 minutes
The story of Pasqualino Frafuso, an Italian man of questionable morals, "Seven Beauties" follows Frafuso's journey in the lead-up to WWII as he attempts to defend his sister's honor and during WWII as a prisoner in a German war camp. Lina Wertmüller (who also wrote the screenplay) became the with the project.
#11. The Man Who Would Be King
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- Director: John Huston
- IMDb user rating: 7.7
- Metascore: 91
- Runtime: 2 hours, 9 minutes
Adapted from an 1888 Rudyard Kipling novella, "The Man Who Would Be King" follows two ex-British soldiers who set out from British-occupied India into uncolonized parts of the Middle East, where one is taken for a god. Starring Sean Connery, Michael Caine, Saeed Jaffrey, and Christopher Plummer, the movie is a " … unabashed and thrilling and fun," according to Roger Ebert.
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#10. Afonya
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- Director: Georgiy Daneliya
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 32 minutes
One of two Soviet films to make the list, "Afonya" is a rom-com about an alcoholic plumber who spends his days drinking and chasing women—until the emptiness of that lifestyle starts to catch up with him. A , the film didn't enjoy as wide a release as other entries on this list. Nevertheless, its themes endure, making it an easy watch for modern-day viewers.
#9. Fantozzi
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- Director: Luciano Salce
- IMDb user rating: 7.8
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 48 minutes
A parody of the Italian middle class of the 1970s, "Fantozzi" follows an unlucky accountant who always finds himself in terrible situations but maintains his happy-go-lucky outlook on life. The of Italian actor Paolo Villaggio, the character was so well loved by audiences that he appeared in nine sequels between 1976 and 1999.
#8. Amici miei
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- Director: Mario Monicelli
- IMDb user rating: 7.9
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 20 minutes
In "Amici miei," four friends attempt to stave off middle age by engaging in pranks and spur-of-the-moment day trips. Set in the Italian provinces, this comedy is laugh-out-loud funny, according to Vincent Canby's , even though some of the film's underlying themes are quite bleak.
#7. Dog Day Afternoon
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- Director: Sidney Lumet
- IMDb user rating: 8.0
- Metascore: 86
- Runtime: 2 hours, 5 minutes
A seminal crime film based on a in Brooklyn in 1972, "Dog Day Afternoon," follows amateur bank robbers whose plans go awry. Starring Al Pacino in an early role alongside John Cazale, James Broderick, and Charles Durning, the movie was nominated for seven Golden Globes, six BAFTAs, and six Academy Awards, taking home the Oscar for Best Original Screenplay.
#6. Barry Lyndon
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- Director: Stanley Kubrick
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 89
- Runtime: 3 hours, 5 minutes
Based on a William Makepeace Thackeray novel, "Barry Lyndon" follows an Irish rogue who woos a wealthy widow and assumes her husband's aristocratic title. Ryan O'Neal stars in what the Criterion Collection has deemed "the of [Stanley Kubrick's] career." Nominated for seven Academy Awards, the movie won four, for Best Art Direction, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and Best Original Score.
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#5. Jaws
Updated
- Director: Steven Spielberg
- IMDb user rating: 8.1
- Metascore: 87
- Runtime: 2 hours, 4 minutes
It may have a relatively simple premise—a police chief and a marine biologist teaming up to rid their resort town of a man-eating shark—but "Jaws" forever, becoming the first big summer blockbuster and paving the way for the inescapable marketing tactics we've become accustomed to. The film was director Steven Spielberg's second feature (it was made when he was 26), and it remains one of his most difficult film shoots of all time due to the malfunctioning mechanical shark, tensions between stars, and the unpredictability of the open sea, where much of the movie was shot. , the movie won three, most notably Best Score for John Williams.
#4. Dersu Uzala
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- Director: Akira Kurosawa
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 2 hours, 22 minutes
Drawing on the memoir of , "Dersu Uzala" follows the budding friendship between a Russian cartographer and a seasoned Nanai hunter. A co-production between Japan and the Soviet Union, the movie won the Academy Award for and has been praised as a humanist masterwork.
#3. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
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- Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones
- IMDb user rating: 8.2
- Metascore: 91
- Runtime: 1 hour, 31 minutes
Written and performed by the Monty Python comedy troupe (whose members included Graham Chapman, John Cleese, Terry Gilliam, Eric Idle, Terry Jones, and Michael Palin), "Monty Python and the Holy Grail" is a silly spoof of Arthurian legend. The movie had an initially disappointing reception, doing and earning mixed reviews. It has since become a cult classic (Forbes lists it among its 40 of all time) and the basis for the Tony Award-winning Broadway musical "Spamalot."
#2. The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix
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- Director: Ivo Caprino
- IMDb user rating: 8.4
- Metascore: Data not available
- Runtime: 1 hour, 28 minutes
A stop-motion film about a car race, "The Pinchcliffe Grand Prix" is based on a series of books by the cartoonist and author Kjell Aukrust. A in its home country, the movie quickly became the bestselling Norwegian film of all time and is one of the few titles on the list that could be described as truly family-friendly.
#1. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
Updated
- Director: Milos Forman
- IMDb user rating: 8.7
- Metascore: 84
- Runtime: 2 hours, 13 minutes
Known for its anti-establishment themes, "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest" follows a criminal who pleads insanity and is placed in a mental institution where he rallies his fellow patients against the tyrannical Nurse Ratched. Starring Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, and Danny DeVito, the movie (Best Picture, Best Actor, Best Actress, Best Director, and Best Screenplay) at the 1976 ceremony, as well as a slew of . Interestingly, the in a wing of the Oregon State Hospital in Salem, exactly where the story unfolds in the Ken Kesey book on which it's based.
Story editing by Louis Peitzman. Copy editing by Meg Shields.
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Originally published on , part of the .