IMDB top 250

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This entry was published at least two years ago (originally posted on January 13, 2004). Since that time the information may have become outdated or my beliefs may have changed (in general, assume a more open and liberal current viewpoint). A fuller disclaimer is available.

The Internet Movie Database top 250 films, as voted by IMDB members.

Movies I’ve seen are in bold and prepended with “»” — exactly half, as it turns out.

  1. » Godfather, The (1972) 9.0/10 (85952 votes)
  2. » Shawshank Redemption, The (1994) 8.9/10 (107497 votes)
  3. » Godfather: Part II, The (1974) 8.8/10 (50123 votes)
  4. » Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The (2003) 8.8/10 (40590 votes)
  5. » Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The (2002) 8.8/10 (70481 votes)
  6. Casablanca (1942) 8.7/10 (49906 votes)
  7. » Schindler’s List (1993) 8.7/10 (73500 votes)
  8. » Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The (2001) 8.7/10 (114811 votes)
  9. Shichinin no samurai (1954) 8.7/10 (21004 votes)
  10. » Star Wars (1977) 8.7/10 (105325 votes)
  11. » Citizen Kane (1941) 8.7/10 (46642 votes)
  12. » One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975) 8.6/10 (52255 votes)
  13. » Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) 8.6/10 (47315 votes)
  14. Rear Window (1954) 8.6/10 (30471 votes)
  15. » Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980) 8.6/10 (81067 votes)
  16. » Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981) 8.6/10 (71871 votes)
  17. » Memento (2000) 8.6/10 (63647 votes)
  18. » Usual Suspects, The (1995) 8.6/10 (79025 votes)
  19. » Pulp Fiction (1994) 8.6/10 (95386 votes)
  20. North by Northwest (1959) 8.5/10 (27150 votes)
  21. 12 Angry Men (1957) 8.5/10 (20783 votes)
  22. » Fabuleux destin d’Amélie Poulain, Le (2001) 8.5/10 (39774 votes)
  23. » Psycho (1960) 8.5/10 (41388 votes)
  24. » Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 8.5/10 (23439 votes)
  25. Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, Il (1966) 8.5/10 (18600 votes)
  26. » Silence of the Lambs, The (1991) 8.5/10 (70778 votes)
  27. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946) 8.5/10 (31918 votes)
  28. Goodfellas (1990) 8.5/10 (49407 votes)
  29. » American Beauty (1999) 8.4/10 (83671 votes)
  30. » Vertigo (1958) 8.4/10 (25776 votes)
  31. Sunset Blvd. (1950) 8.4/10 (11430 votes)
  32. » Matrix, The (1999) 8.4/10 (108909 votes)
  33. » Apocalypse Now (1979) 8.4/10 (47828 votes)
  34. Pianist, The (2002) 8.4/10 (16132 votes)
  35. » To Kill a Mockingbird (1962) 8.4/10 (22416 votes)
  36. Some Like It Hot (1959) 8.3/10 (18683 votes)
  37. » Taxi Driver (1976) 8.3/10 (34534 votes)
  38. C’era una volta il West (1968) 8.3/10 (9817 votes)
  39. Third Man, The (1949) 8.3/10 (13750 votes)
  40. Paths of Glory (1957) 8.3/10 (10303 votes)
  41. » Fight Club (1999) 8.3/10 (78071 votes)
  42. Sen to Chihiro no kamikakushi (2001) 8.3/10 (12419 votes)
  43. » Boot, Das (1981) 8.3/10 (21611 votes)
  44. Double Indemnity (1944) 8.3/10 (8656 votes)
  45. » L.A. Confidential (1997) 8.3/10 (54347 votes)
  46. » Chinatown (1974) 8.3/10 (18982 votes)
  47. Singin’ in the Rain (1952) 8.3/10 (15379 votes)
  48. » Maltese Falcon, The (1941) 8.3/10 (15057 votes)
  49. » Requiem for a Dream (2000) 8.3/10 (30066 votes)
  50. M (1931) 8.3/10 (8591 votes)
  51. » Bridge on the River Kwai, The (1957) 8.3/10 (17003 votes)
  52. All About Eve (1950) 8.3/10 (9819 votes)
  53. » Se7en (1995) 8.3/10 (64280 votes)
  54. » Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975) 8.3/10 (45177 votes)
  55. » Saving Private Ryan (1998) 8.2/10 (76604 votes)
  56. Cidade de Deus (2002) 8.2/10 (7771 votes)
  57. Raging Bull (1980) 8.2/10 (19140 votes)
  58. » Wizard of Oz, The (1939) 8.2/10 (29356 votes)
  59. Rashômon (1950) 8.2/10 (7934 votes)
  60. » Sting, The (1973) 8.2/10 (17916 votes)
  61. » Alien (1979) 8.2/10 (47259 votes)
  62. » American History X (1998) 8.2/10 (40805 votes)
  63. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939) 8.2/10 (8687 votes)
  64. » Léon (1994) 8.2/10 (36366 votes)
  65. Vita è bella, La (1997) 8.2/10 (28985 votes)
  66. Manchurian Candidate, The (1962) 8.2/10 (9860 votes)
  67. Touch of Evil (1958) 8.2/10 (8917 votes)
  68. » 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) 8.2/10 (50844 votes)
  69. Treasure of the Sierra Madre, The (1948) 8.2/10 (7720 votes)
  70. Wo hu cang long (2000) 8.2/10 (40663 votes)
  71. Great Escape, The (1963) 8.2/10 (14435 votes)
  72. » Clockwork Orange, A (1971) 8.2/10 (48619 votes)
  73. » Reservoir Dogs (1992) 8.2/10 (48741 votes)
  74. » Amadeus (1984) 8.2/10 (28249 votes)
  75. Annie Hall (1977) 8.2/10 (15702 votes)
  76. Ran (1985) 8.2/10 (8438 votes)
  77. » Jaws (1975) 8.2/10 (35421 votes)
  78. Modern Times (1936) 8.2/10 (7209 votes)
  79. On the Waterfront (1954) 8.2/10 (8989 votes)
  80. » Braveheart (1995) 8.1/10 (70455 votes)
  81. High Noon (1952) 8.1/10 (9106 votes)
  82. Apartment, The (1960) 8.1/10 (8123 votes)
  83. » Fargo (1996) 8.1/10 (50814 votes)
  84. » Sixth Sense, The (1999) 8.1/10 (73059 votes)
  85. » Aliens (1986) 8.1/10 (49225 votes)
  86. » Shining, The (1980) 8.1/10 (36774 votes)
  87. Strangers on a Train (1951) 8.1/10 (7568 votes)
  88. » Blade Runner (1982) 8.1/10 (59265 votes)
  89. » Metropolis (1927) 8.1/10 (8500 votes)
  90. Duck Soup (1933) 8.1/10 (7369 votes)
  91. Donnie Darko (2001) 8.1/10 (24871 votes)
  92. » Finding Nemo (2003) 8.1/10 (19004 votes)
  93. General, The (1927) 8.1/10 (4897 votes)
  94. » Princess Bride, The (1987) 8.1/10 (42145 votes)
  95. » Toy Story 2 (1999) 8.1/10 (30186 votes)
  96. City Lights (1931) 8.1/10 (5514 votes)
  97. Great Dictator, The (1940) 8.1/10 (6981 votes)
  98. » Lola rennt (1998) 8.0/10 (23936 votes)
  99. » Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003) 8.0/10 (24285 votes)
  100. Notorious (1946) 8.0/10 (7646 votes)
  101. » Full Metal Jacket (1987) 8.0/10 (34726 votes)
  102. Sjunde inseglet, Det (1957) 8.0/10 (6501 votes)
  103. » Nuovo cinema Paradiso (1989) 8.0/10 (10365 votes)
  104. Rebecca (1940) 8.0/10 (8314 votes)
  105. » Mononoke-hime (1997) 8.0/10 (12922 votes)
  106. » Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) 8.0/10 (15175 votes)
  107. Big Sleep, The (1946) 8.0/10 (7487 votes)
  108. » Graduate, The (1967) 8.0/10 (20785 votes)
  109. It Happened One Night (1934) 8.0/10 (5693 votes)
  110. Manhattan (1979) 8.0/10 (9389 votes)
  111. » Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991) 8.0/10 (59058 votes)
  112. Deer Hunter, The (1978) 8.0/10 (20594 votes)
  113. Patton (1970) 8.0/10 (10548 votes)
  114. Best Years of Our Lives, The (1946) 8.0/10 (4519 votes)
  115. Searchers, The (1956) 8.0/10 (7644 votes)
  116. » Glory (1989) 8.0/10 (16893 votes)
  117. Yojimbo (1961) 8.0/10 (5840 votes)
  118. Ladri di biciclette (1948) 8.0/10 (5236 votes)
  119. » Philadelphia Story, The (1940) 8.0/10 (7994 votes)
  120. African Queen, The (1951) 8.0/10 (10810 votes)
  121. » Forrest Gump (1994) 8.0/10 (66094 votes)
  122. Bringing Up Baby (1938) 8.0/10 (6803 votes)
  123. » Cool Hand Luke (1967) 8.0/10 (10603 votes)
  124. » Ben-Hur (1959) 8.0/10 (15834 votes)
  125. » Green Mile, The (1999) 8.0/10 (42534 votes)
  126. » Shrek (2001) 8.0/10 (43296 votes)
  127. Once Upon a Time in America (1984) 8.0/10 (12557 votes)
  128. » Star Wars: Episode VI – Return of the Jedi (1983) 8.0/10 (63418 votes)
  129. » Unforgiven (1992) 8.0/10 (22661 votes)
  130. Hable con ella (2002) 8.0/10 (7512 votes)
  131. Stalag 17 (1953) 8.0/10 (5119 votes)
  132. » Arsenic and Old Lace (1944) 7.9/10 (8502 votes)
  133. » Grapes of Wrath, The (1940) 7.9/10 (5750 votes)
  134. » Gone with the Wind (1939) 7.9/10 (21876 votes)
  135. Night of the Hunter, The (1955) 7.9/10 (5452 votes)
  136. Wild Bunch, The (1969) 7.9/10 (8046 votes)
  137. Straight Story, The (1999) 7.9/10 (10466 votes)
  138. Elephant Man, The (1980) 7.9/10 (11833 votes)
  139. Christmas Story, A (1983) 7.9/10 (14954 votes)
  140. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) 7.9/10 (4890 votes)
  141. » Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989) 7.9/10 (46461 votes)
  142. » Platoon (1986) 7.9/10 (25539 votes)
  143. Hustler, The (1961) 7.9/10 (6050 votes)
  144. » Back to the Future (1985) 7.9/10 (51627 votes)
  145. » Young Frankenstein (1974) 7.9/10 (16567 votes)
  146. » His Girl Friday (1940) 7.9/10 (4837 votes)
  147. » Monsters, Inc. (2001) 7.9/10 (26100 votes)
  148. » Die Hard (1988) 7.9/10 (44845 votes)
  149. Amores perros (2000) 7.9/10 (8940 votes)
  150. Grande illusion, La (1937) 7.9/10 (3686 votes)
  151. Adventures of Robin Hood, The (1938) 7.9/10 (5145 votes)
  152. » Gold Rush, The (1925) 7.9/10 (4560 votes)
  153. » Almost Famous (2000) 7.9/10 (27984 votes)
  154. » Spartacus (1960) 7.9/10 (12390 votes)
  155. » Life of Brian (1979) 7.9/10 (24447 votes)
  156. Charade (1963) 7.9/10 (6386 votes)
  157. Conversation, The (1974) 7.9/10 (7325 votes)
  158. » Gladiator (2000) 7.9/10 (68872 votes)
  159. Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, The (1962) 7.9/10 (5236 votes)
  160. Festen (1998) 7.9/10 (8900 votes)
  161. Lost in Translation (2003) 7.9/10 (7081 votes)
  162. Magnolia (1999) 7.9/10 (33292 votes)
  163. » Being John Malkovich (1999) 7.9/10 (40325 votes)
  164. Sling Blade (1996) 7.9/10 (16093 votes)
  165. Smultronstället (1957) 7.9/10 (3359 votes)
  166. » Toy Story (1995) 7.9/10 (34938 votes)
  167. Bronenosets Potyomkin (1925) 7.9/10 (4074 votes)
  168. » Insider, The (1999) 7.9/10 (21327 votes)
  169. Witness for the Prosecution (1957) 7.9/10 (3683 votes)
  170. Roman Holiday (1953) 7.9/10 (6796 votes)
  171. » Brazil (1985) 7.8/10 (23606 votes)
  172. Night at the Opera, A (1935) 7.8/10 (4411 votes)
  173. » Mulholland Dr. (2001) 7.8/10 (23334 votes)
  174. Streetcar Named Desire, A (1951) 7.8/10 (6955 votes)
  175. Day the Earth Stood Still, The (1951) 7.8/10 (7618 votes)
  176. All the President’s Men (1976) 7.8/10 (9542 votes)
  177. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) 7.8/10 (5294 votes)
  178. » Exorcist, The (1973) 7.8/10 (24380 votes)
  179. Shadow of a Doubt (1943) 7.8/10 (3854 votes)
  180. To Be or Not to Be (1942) 7.8/10 (2538 votes)
  181. Quatre cents coups, Les (1959) 7.8/10 (4348 votes)
  182. Killing, The (1956) 7.8/10 (4732 votes)
  183. Mystic River (2003) 7.8/10 (6971 votes)
  184. Ed Wood (1994) 7.8/10 (15336 votes)
  185. » Terminator, The (1984) 7.8/10 (45057 votes)
  186. Trois couleurs: Rouge (1994) 7.8/10 (7787 votes)
  187. » Stand by Me (1986) 7.8/10 (23046 votes)
  188. » Adaptation. (2002) 7.8/10 (14009 votes)
  189. » Nosferatu, eine Symphonie des Grauens (1922) 7.8/10 (5735 votes)
  190. » Twelve Monkeys (1995) 7.8/10 (47687 votes)
  191. Dog Day Afternoon (1975) 7.8/10 (10389 votes)
  192. » This Is Spinal Tap (1984) 7.8/10 (14517 votes)
  193. » Harvey (1950) 7.8/10 (5761 votes)
  194. Right Stuff, The (1983) 7.8/10 (10181 votes)
  195. Gandhi (1982) 7.8/10 (11787 votes)
  196. » Trainspotting (1996) 7.8/10 (38817 votes)
  197. Network (1976) 7.8/10 (6855 votes)
  198. Miller’s Crossing (1990) 7.8/10 (10096 votes)
  199. Midnight Cowboy (1969) 7.8/10 (9605 votes)
  200. Ying xiong (2002) 7.8/10 (5199 votes)
  201. Lion in Winter, The (1968) 7.8/10 (4297 votes)
  202. Bonnie and Clyde (1967) 7.8/10 (9249 votes)
  203. » Groundhog Day (1993) 7.8/10 (32166 votes)
  204. » Minority Report (2002) 7.8/10 (35042 votes)
  205. » Rain Man (1988) 7.8/10 (32212 votes)
  206. » Others, The (2001) 7.8/10 (25521 votes)
  207. King Kong (1933) 7.8/10 (7367 votes)
  208. Laura (1944) 7.8/10 (3414 votes)
  209. Stagecoach (1939) 7.8/10 (4080 votes)
  210. 8½ (1963) 7.8/10 (5605 votes)
  211. » Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998) 7.8/10 (23790 votes)
  212. » Snatch. (2000) 7.8/10 (29700 votes)
  213. 39 Steps, The (1935) 7.8/10 (5571 votes)
  214. » Traffic (2000) 7.8/10 (31902 votes)
  215. Whale Rider (2002) 7.8/10 (4151 votes)
  216. » Untouchables, The (1987) 7.7/10 (22841 votes)
  217. Hotaru no haka (1988) 7.7/10 (3922 votes)
  218. Strada, La (1954) 7.7/10 (3443 votes)
  219. » Beauty and the Beast (1991) 7.7/10 (18809 votes)
  220. » Big Lebowski, The (1998) 7.7/10 (34322 votes)
  221. » Henry V (1989) 7.7/10 (6772 votes)
  222. Rio Bravo (1959) 7.7/10 (5216 votes)
  223. In the Heat of the Night (1967) 7.7/10 (4720 votes)
  224. Thin Man, The (1934) 7.7/10 (3438 votes)
  225. Todo sobre mi madre (1999) 7.7/10 (9705 votes)
  226. Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, La (1928) 7.7/10 (2176 votes)
  227. » Planet of the Apes (1968) 7.7/10 (15050 votes)
  228. Die xue shuang xiong (1989) 7.7/10 (6670 votes)
  229. » Fantasia (1940) 7.7/10 (11720 votes)
  230. » Good Will Hunting (1997) 7.7/10 (47630 votes)
  231. Being There (1979) 7.7/10 (7884 votes)
  232. » Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) 7.7/10 (31423 votes)
  233. » Clerks. (1994) 7.7/10 (30777 votes)
  234. Beautiful Mind, A (2001) 7.7/10 (30319 votes)
  235. Red River (1948) 7.7/10 (2676 votes)
  236. Bride of Frankenstein (1935) 7.7/10 (3016 votes)
  237. » E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) 7.7/10 (34144 votes)
  238. MASH (1970) 7.7/10 (11881 votes)
  239. » Man Who Would Be King, The (1975) 7.7/10 (6294 votes)
  240. Road to Perdition (2002) 7.7/10 (20995 votes)
  241. » X2 (2003) 7.7/10 (23029 votes)
  242. Sleuth (1972) 7.7/10 (3522 votes)
  243. Quiet Man, The (1952) 7.7/10 (5455 votes)
  244. » Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) 7.7/10 (10818 votes)
  245. JFK (1991) 7.7/10 (20430 votes)
  246. » Heat (1995) 7.7/10 (31817 votes)
  247. » O Brother, Where Art Thou? (2000) 7.7/10 (28294 votes)
  248. Birds, The (1963) 7.7/10 (15314 votes)
  249. » Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) 7.7/10 (21030 votes)
  250. Killing Fields, The (1984) 7.7/10 (7391 votes)

(via kalyx and prettyman63)

iTunes: “900° (Cool Down)” by Pooley, Ian from the album Essential Chillout (2000, 6:47).