|
In the 2000 edition of Leonard Maltin’s Movie & Video Guide, he included his list of 100 essential classics. The list, presented chronologically, included only two movies from the 1980s and four from the 1990s. While his list was presented unranked, the titles have been presented here in order of their overall status in Dave’s Movie Database.
1. The Godfather (1972)
2. Gone with the Wind (1939)
3. Star Wars – Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)
4. Casablanca (1942)
5. Citizen Kane (1941)
6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
7. Schindler’s List (1993)
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
9. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
10. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
11. Jaws (1975)
12. Psycho (1960)
13. Apocalypse Now (1979)
14. The Godfather Part II (1974)
15. Vertigo (1958)
16. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
17. Pulp Fiction (1994)
18. Raging Bull (1980)
19. Some Like It Hot (1959)
20. Goodfellas (1990)
21. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
22. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
23. Annie Hall (1977)
24. On the Waterfront (1954)
25. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
26. The Graduate (1967)
27. All About Eve (1950)
28. North by Northwest (1959)
29. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
30. The Searchers (1956)
31. Double Indemnity (1944)
32. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
33. The Seven Samurai (Schichinin no Samurai) (1954)
34. Fargo (1996)
35. City Lights (1931)
36. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
37. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
38. Modern Times (1936)
39. Metropolis (1927)
40. It Happened One Night (1934)
41. King Kong (1933)
42. The Deer Hunter (1978)
43. 8 ½ (Otto e Mezzo) (1963)
44. Nashville (1975)
45. The Bicycle Thief (Ladri di Biciclette) (1947)
46. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
47. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
48. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
49. Mary Poppins (1964)
50. The Wild Bunch (1969)
51. The Sweet Life (La Dolce Vita) (1969)
52. The 400 Blows (Les Quatre Cents Coups) (1959)
53. High Noon (1952)
54. The Gold Rush (1925)
55. The General (1927)
56. Duck Soup (1933)
57. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
58. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
59. Rashômon (1950)
60. Paths of Glory (1957)
61. Fantasia (1940)
62. Stagecoach (1939)
63. Bride of Frankenstein (1935)
64. Battleship Potemkin (Bronenosets Potyomkin) (1925)
65. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
66. The Conversation (1974)
67. Blazing Saddles (1974)
68. The Seventh Seal (Det Sjunde Inseglet) (1957)
69. M – Eine Stadt Sucht Einen Mörder (1931)
70. His Girl Friday (1940)
71. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
72. Frankenstein (1931)
73. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
74. Grand Illusion (La Grande Illusion) (1937)
75. Mean Streets (1973)
76. Greed (1924)
77. The Lady Eve (1941)
78. Intolerance: Love’s Struggle Throughout the Ages (1916)
79. Blow-Up (1966)
80. Swing Time (1936)
81. Trouble in Paradise (1932)
82. My Darling Clementine (1946)
83. Strangers on a Train (1951)
84. A Night at the Opera (1935)
85. The Crowd (1928)
86. Great Expectations (1946)
87. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
88. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
89. Dodsworth (1936)
90. Dracula (1931)
91. The 39 Steps (1935)
92. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers (1954)
93. It’s a Gift (1934)
94. The Big Parade (1925)
95. Gun Crazy (1950)
96. The Miracle of Morgan’s Creek (1944)
97. The Lady Vanishes (1938)
98. Our Hospitality (1923)
99. Sons of the Desert (1933)
100. The Freshman (1925)
Resources:
Originally posted 8/14/2019; last updated 6/9/2023. | 
