100 Best Movies on HBO Max (January 2022)

Critics Consensus: Louis Malle's hypnotic debut is a noir with genuine soul, infusing its tale of best laid plans gone awry with wistful performances, swooning cinematography, and a sultry soundtrack.

Synopsis: Restless femme fatale Florence Carala (Jeanne Moreau) recruits her lover, Julien Tavernier (Maurice Ronet), to murder her wealthy husband, Simon (Jean Wall), in his office... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jeanne Moreau, Maurice Ronet, Jean Wall, Georges Poujouly

Directed By: Louis Malle

Critics Consensus: More than straight monster-movie fare, Gojira offers potent, sobering postwar commentary.

Synopsis: A fire-breathing behemoth terrorizes Japan after an atomic bomb awakens it from its centuries-old sleep.

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Momoko Kochi, Akira Takarada, Akihiko Hirata

Directed By: Ishirô Honda

Critics Consensus: With its epic story and breathtaking visuals, Princess Mononoke is a landmark in the world of animation.

Synopsis: A prince becomes involved in the struggle between a forest princess and the encroachment of mechanization.

Starring: Claire Danes, Billy Bob Thornton, Gillian Anderson, Billy Crudup

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Critics Consensus: A fine example of writer-director-star Christopher Guest's gift for improv comedy, Best in Show boasts an appealingly quirky premise and a brilliantly talented cast.

Synopsis: The tension is palpable, the excitement is mounting and the heady scent of competition is in the air as hundreds of eager contestants from across... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Hitchcock, Parker Posey, Eugene Levy, Catherine O'Hara

Directed By: Christopher Guest

Critics Consensus: Visually breathtaking and emotionally powerful, The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King is a moving and satisfying conclusion to a great trilogy.

Synopsis: The culmination of nearly 10 years' work and conclusion to Peter Jackson's epic trilogy based on the timeless J.R.R. Tolkien classic, "The Lord of the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Critics Consensus: Thrilling, earnest, and buoyed by Gal Gadot's charismatic performance, Wonder Woman succeeds in spectacular fashion.

Synopsis: Before she is Wonder Woman, she is Diana, princess of the Amazons, trained to be an unconquerable warrior. Raised on a sheltered island paradise, Diana... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gal Gadot, Chris Pine, Connie Nielsen, Robin Wright

Directed By: Patty Jenkins

Critics Consensus: Narratively bold and visually striking, The Seventh Seal brought Ingmar Bergman to the world stage -- and remains every bit as compelling today.

Synopsis: When disillusioned Swedish knight Antonius Block returns home from the Crusades to find his country in the grips of the Black Death, he challenges Death... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Max von Sydow, Gunnar Björnstrand, Nils Poppe, Bibi Andersson

Directed By: Ingmar Bergman

Critics Consensus: Powerfully effective, this anti-fascist political thriller stands out as both high-conscience melodrama and high-tempo action movie.

Synopsis: Repression is the rule of the day in this film that skewers Greek governance of the 1960s. Z (Yves Montand), a leftist rabble-rouser, is killed... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Yves Montand, Irene Papas, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jacques Perrin

Directed By: Costa-Gavras

Critics Consensus: A cinematic gift for Springsteen fans, Western Stars serves as a worthy companion piece to the album of the same name.

Synopsis: Backed by a band and a full orchestra, Bruce Springsteen performs all 13 songs from his new album "Western Stars," touching on themes of love,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Patti Scialfa, Bruce Springsteen

Directed By: Thom Zimny, Bruce Springsteen

Critics Consensus: L'Avventura marks a bewitchingly ambiguous milestone in Antonioni's career -- and European cinema in general.

Synopsis: In Michelangelo Antonioni's classic of Italian cinema, two lovely young women, Claudia (Monica Vitti) and Anna (Léa Massari), join the latter's lover, Sandro (Gabriele Ferzetti),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Monica Vitti, Gabriele Ferzetti, Lea Massari, Dominique Blanchar

Directed By: Michelangelo Antonioni

Critics Consensus: Led by an outstanding Peter Fonda performance, Ulee's Gold movingly depicts a family in crisis -- and a patriarch willing to sacrifice for the good of others.

Synopsis: Widowed beekeeper and Vietnam veteran Ulysses "Ulee" Jackson (Peter Fonda) raises his granddaughters because his son, Jimmy (Tom Wood), is in prison. When Jimmy finds... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Peter Fonda, Patricia Richardson, Jessica Biel, J. Kenneth Campbell

Directed By: Victor Nunez

Critics Consensus: Enlivened by the antagonistic chemistry between Robert De Niro and Charles Grodin, Midnight Run is an uncommonly entertaining odd couple comedy.

Synopsis: When Eddie Moscone (Joe Pantoliano) hires tight-lipped bounty hunter Jack Walsh (Robert De Niro) to locate a mob accountant named "The Duke" (Charles Grodin) and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert De Niro, Charles Grodin, Yaphet Kotto, John Ashton

Directed By: Martin Brest

Critics Consensus: My Neighbor Totoro is a heartwarming, sentimental masterpiece that captures the simple grace of childhood.

Synopsis: This acclaimed animated tale by director Hayao Miyazaki follows schoolgirl Satsuke and her younger sister, Mei, as they settle into an old country house with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elle Fanning, Dakota Fanning, Tim Daly, Lea Salonga

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Critics Consensus: Superman: The Movie deftly blends humor and gravitas, taking advantage of the perfectly cast Christopher Reeve to craft a loving, nostalgic tribute to an American pop culture icon.

Synopsis: Just before the destruction of the planet Krypton, scientist Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sends his infant son Kal-El on a spaceship to Earth. Raised by kindly... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Margot Kidder

Directed By: Richard Donner

Critics Consensus: Jack Nicholson and Louise Fletcher are worthy adversaries in One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, with Miloš Forman's more grounded and morally ambiguous approach to Ken Kesey's surrealistic novel yielding a film of outsized power.

Synopsis: When Randle Patrick McMurphy gets transferred for evaluation from a prison farm to a mental institution, he assumes it will be a less restrictive environment.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Brad Dourif, William Redfield

Directed By: Milos Forman

Critics Consensus: Affectionate without sacrificing honesty, Behind the Candelabra couples award-worthy performances from Michael Douglas and Matt Damon with some typically sharp direction from Steven Soderbergh.

Synopsis: World-famous pianist Liberace (Michael Douglas) takes much-younger Scott Thorson (Matt Damon) as a lover, but the relationship deteriorates when Liberace takes other bedmates and Thorson... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Michael Douglas, Matt Damon, Dan Aykroyd, Scott Bakula

Directed By: Steven Soderbergh

Critics Consensus: Only the most hardened soul won't be moved by this heartwarming doc.

Synopsis: At the end of each Antarctic summer, the emperor penguins of the South Pole journey to their traditional breeding grounds in a fascinating mating ritual... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Morgan Freeman

Directed By: Luc Jacquet

Critics Consensus: Exhilarating both stylistically and for its entertaining, moving portrayal of an everyman, American Splendor is a portrait of a true underground original.

Synopsis: Underground comic book writer Harvey Pekar, portrayed by Paul Giamatti but also appearing as himself, is the subject of this inventive biopic. Much of the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Paul Giamatti, Harvey Pekar, Shari Springer Berman, Earl Billings

Directed By: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini

Critics Consensus: With death-defying action sequences and epic historic sweep, Hero offers everything a martial arts fan could ask for.

Synopsis: In this visually arresting martial arts epic set in ancient China, an unnamed fighter (Jet Li) is being honored for defeating three of the king's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jet Li, Tony Leung Chiu Wai, Maggie Cheung, Donnie Yen

Directed By: Yimou Zhang

Critics Consensus: Anchored by another tremendous performance in a career full of them, All Is Lost offers a moving, eminently worthwhile testament to Robert Redford's ability to hold the screen.

Synopsis: During a solo voyage in the Indian Ocean, a veteran mariner (Robert Redford) awakes to find his vessel taking on water after a collision with... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert Redford

Directed By: J.C. Chandor

Critics Consensus: Dark, complex, and unforgettable, The Dark Knight succeeds not just as an entertaining comic book film, but as a richly thrilling crime saga.

Synopsis: With the help of allies, Lt. Jim Gordon and DA Harvey Dent, Batman is able to keep a tight lid on crime in Gotham City.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Christian Bale, Heath Ledger, Aaron Eckhart, Michael Caine

Directed By: Christopher Nolan

Critics Consensus: A '60s time capsule stuffed with ideas about politics, pop culture, and the battle of the sexes, Masculine-Feminine is one of Godard's classic black-and-white films.

Synopsis: Paul (Jean-Pierre Léaud), a young idealist trying to figure out what he wants to do with his life, takes a job interviewing people for a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chantal Goya, Jean-Pierre Léaud, Marlène Jobert, Michel Debord

Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard

Critics Consensus: A career high point for Akira Kurosawa -- and one of the best film adaptations of a Shakespeare play.

Synopsis: Returning to their lord's castle, samurai warriors Washizu (Toshirô Mifune) and Miki (Minoru Chiaki) are waylaid by a spirit who predicts their futures. When the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Isuzu Yamada, Takashi Shimura, Minoru Chiaki

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

Critics Consensus: The radiantly filmed Belle de Jour entrances even as it resists easy interpretations.

Synopsis: Beautiful young housewife Séverine Serizy (Catherine Deneuve) cannot reconcile her masochistic fantasies with her everyday life alongside dutiful husband Pierre (Jean Sorel). When her lovestruck... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Jean Sorel, Michel Piccoli, Macha Méril

Directed By: Luis Buñuel

Critics Consensus: Ivan Reitman's refreshingly earnest political comedy benefits from an understated, charming script and a breezy performance by Kevin Kline.

Synopsis: Shifty White House chief of staff Bob Alexander hatches a scheme to use a double for the president at a public photo opportunity. Small business... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kevin Kline, Sigourney Weaver, Frank Langella, Ben Kingsley

Directed By: Ivan Reitman

Critics Consensus: Mean Streets is a powerful tale of urban sin and guilt that marks Scorsese's arrival as an important cinematic voice and features electrifying performances from Harvey Keitel and Robert De Niro.

Synopsis: A slice of street life in Little Italy among lower echelon Mafiosos, unbalanced punks, and petty criminals. A small-time hood gets in over his head... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert De Niro, Harvey Keitel, Richard Romanus, Amy Robinson

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Critics Consensus: Led by a volcanic performance from Elizabeth Taylor, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? is a scathing adaptation of the Edward Albee play that serves as a brilliant calling card for debuting director Mike Nichols.

Synopsis: History professor George (Richard Burton) and his boozy wife, Martha (Elizabeth Taylor), return late one Saturday night from a cocktail party at the home of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis

Directed By: Mike Nichols

Critics Consensus: With its magical optical effects and enchanting performances, Jean Cocteau's Beauty and the Beast remains the most surreal -- and soulful -- of the fairy tale's film adaptations.

Synopsis: The story of a gentlehearted beast in love with a simple and beautiful girl. She is drawn to the repellent but strangely fascinating Beast, who... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jean Marais, Josette Day, Mila Parély, Nane Germon

Directed By: Jean Cocteau

Critics Consensus: Thoroughly disquieting but impossible to ignore, Going Clear: Scientology and the Prison of Belief is a searing investigative work from a master documentarian.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Alex Gibney interviews former members of the Church of Scientology and reveals abuses and strange practices within the controversial organization.

Starring: Alex Gibney, Marina Zenovich, Sherry Stringfield, Paul Haggis

Directed By: Alex Gibney

Critics Consensus: A crowd-pleasing tribute to the magic of silent cinema, The Artist is a clever, joyous film with delightful performances and visual style to spare.

Synopsis: In the 1920s, actor George Valentin (Jean Dujardin) is a bona fide matinée idol with many adoring fans. While working on his latest film, George... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jean Dujardin, Bérénice Bejo, John Goodman, James Cromwell

Directed By: Michel Hazanavicius

Critics Consensus: Visually lush, refreshingly free of family-friendly clatter, and anchored with soulful depth, The Secret World of Arrietty lives up to Studio Ghibli's reputation.

Synopsis: Arrietty, a tiny teenager, lives with her parents in the recesses of a suburban home, unbeknown to the homeowner and housekeeper. Like others of her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bridgit Mendler, Amy Poehler, David Henrie, Will Arnett

Directed By: Hiromasa Yonebayashi, Gary Rydstrom

Critics Consensus: The Two Towers balances spectacular action with emotional storytelling, leaving audiences both wholly satisfied and eager for the final chapter.

Synopsis: The sequel to the Golden Globe-nominated and AFI Award-winning "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," "The Two Towers" follows the continuing... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen

Directed By: Peter Jackson

Critics Consensus: Framed by great work from director Sidney Lumet and fueled by a gripping performance from Al Pacino, Dog Day Afternoon offers a finely detailed snapshot of people in crisis with tension-soaked drama shaded in black humor.

Synopsis: When inexperienced criminal Sonny Wortzik (Al Pacino) leads a bank robbery in Brooklyn, things quickly go wrong, and a hostage situation develops. As Sonny and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Al Pacino, John Cazale, Charles Durning, Chris Sarandon

Directed By: Sidney Lumet

Critics Consensus: This re-imagining of Shakespeare's Crookback King relocates the story in 1930 and features an indelible star turn for Ian McKellen as the monstrous and magnetic King Richard.

Synopsis: A murderous lust for the British throne sees Richard III (Ian McKellen) descend into madness. Though the setting is transposed to the 1930s, England is... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ian McKellen, Annette Bening, Jim Broadbent, Robert Downey Jr.

Directed By: Richard Loncraine

Critics Consensus: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington -- and returns with an uplifting ode to idealism that distills the strengths of its director and leading man.

Synopsis: When the idealistic young Jefferson Smith (James Stewart) winds up appointed to the United States Senate, he gains the mentorship of Senator Joseph Paine (Claude... View Full Synopsis

Starring: James Stewart, Jean Arthur, Claude Rains, Edward Arnold

Directed By: Frank Capra

Critics Consensus: Wild Strawberries were never so bittersweet as Ingmar Bergman's beautifully written and filmed look at one man's nostalgic journey into the past.

Synopsis: Crotchety retired doctor Isak Borg (Victor Sjöström) travels from Stockholm to Lund, Sweden, with his pregnant and unhappy daughter-in-law, Marianne (Ingrid Thulin), in order to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Victor Sjöström, Ingrid Thulin, Bibi Andersson, Gunnar Björnstrand

Directed By: Ingmar Bergman

Critics Consensus: A complex and timely satire with as much darkness as slapstick, Ernst Lubitsch's To Be or Not To Be delicately balances humor and ethics.

Synopsis: Acting couple Joseph (Jack Benny) and Maria Tura (Carole Lombard) are managing a theatrical troupe when the Nazis invade Poland. Maria is having an affair... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carole Lombard, Jack Benny, Robert Stack, Felix Bressart

Directed By: Ernst Lubitsch

Critics Consensus: Cruel, dark, but undeniably effective, Diabolique is a suspense thriller as effective as Hitchcock's best work and with a brilliant twist ending.

Synopsis: In this classic of French suspense, the cruel and abusive headmaster of a boarding school, Michel Delassalle, becomes the target of a murder plot hatched... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Simone Signoret, Véra Clouzot, Paul Meurisse, Charles Vanel

Directed By: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Critics Consensus: This tense, paranoid thriller presents Francis Ford Coppola at his finest -- and makes some remarkably advanced arguments about technology's role in society that still resonate today.

Synopsis: Surveillance expert Harry Caul (Gene Hackman) is hired by a mysterious client's brusque aide (Harrison Ford) to tail a young couple, Mark (Frederic Forrest) and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Frederic Forrest, Allen Garfield

Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola

Critics Consensus: Exhilarating and intense, this high-impact chase thriller is a model of taut and efficient formula filmmaking, and it features Harrison Ford at his frantic best.

Synopsis: Wrongfully accused of murdering his wife, Richard Kimble escapes from the law in an attempt to find her killer and clear his name. Pursuing him... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward, Julianne Moore

Directed By: Andrew Davis

Critics Consensus: With Revanche, Götz Spielmann has crafted a debut as surprising as it is suspenseful.

Synopsis: In a desperate attempt to improve life for his prostitute girlfriend, Tamara (Irina Potapenko), ex-con Alex (Johannes Krisch) returns to a life of crime and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Johannes Krisch, Andreas Lust, Irina Potapenko, Ursula Strauss

Directed By: Götz Spielmann

Critics Consensus: Hard-hitting and stylish, GoodFellas is a gangster classic -- and arguably the high point of Martin Scorsese's career.

Synopsis: Henry Hill, a poor Irish-Italian growing up in the 1950s New York City, rises through the ranks of his neighborhood's organized crime branch; he ends... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Robert De Niro, Ray Liotta, Joe Pesci, Lorraine Bracco

Directed By: Martin Scorsese

Critics Consensus: Birds of Passage traces the familiar arc of the drug crime thriller from a different direction that's as visually absorbing as it is hard-hitting.

Synopsis: The origins of the Colombian drug trade, as seen through the eyes of an indigenous Wayuu family that becomes involved in the booming business of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Carmina Martínez, Natalia Reyes, José Acosta, Jhon Narváez

Directed By: Cristina Gallego, Ciro Guerra

Critics Consensus: Thrilling, powerfully acted, and visually dazzling, Deathly Hallows Part II brings the Harry Potter franchise to a satisfying -- and suitably magical -- conclusion.

Synopsis: A clash between good and evil awaits as young Harry, Ron and Hermione prepare for a final battle against Lord Voldemort. Harry has grown into... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint, Emma Watson, Ralph Fiennes

Directed By: David Yates

Critics Consensus: Raw and rich in decade-spanning detail, Jane Fonda in Five Acts paints a living portrait of one popular culture's most compelling figures.

Synopsis: A look at the life, work, activism and controversies of actress and fitness tycoon Jane Fonda.

Starring: Jane Fonda, Tom Hayden, Robert Redford, Lily Tomlin

Directed By: Susan Lacy

Critics Consensus: A film that requires and rewards patience in equal measure, Pather Panchali finds director Satyajit Ray delivering a classic with his debut.

Synopsis: Impoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work. Alone, his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kanu Bannerjee, Karuna Bannerjee, Subir Bannerjee, Runki Banerjee

Directed By: Satyajit Ray

Critics Consensus: The Red Shoes is one of the best-looking movies ever, and blends multiple moods and styles with balletic grace.

Synopsis: In this classic drama, Vicky Page (Moira Shearer) is an aspiring ballerina torn between her dedication to dance and her desire to love. While her... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Moira Shearer, Anton Walbrook, Marius Goring, Robert Helpmann

Directed By: Michael Powell, Emeric Pressburger

Critics Consensus: Breathless rewrote the rules of cinema -- and more than 50 years after its arrival, Jean-Luc Godard's paradigm-shifting classic remains every bit as vital.

Synopsis: Petty thug Michel (Jean-Paul Belmondo) considers himself a suave bad guy in the manner of Humphrey Bogart, but panics and impulsively kills a policeman while... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jean-Paul Belmondo, Jean Seberg, Daniel Boulanger, Jean-Pierre Melville

Directed By: Jean-Luc Godard

Critics Consensus: Kurt Cobain: Montage of Heck makes a persuasive case for its subject without resorting to hagiography -- and includes plenty of rare and unreleased footage for fans.

Synopsis: Filmmaker Brett Morgen uses material from the Cobains' personal archives in an in-depth examination of the Nirvana frontman's childhood, music career and untimely death.

Starring: Aaron Burckhard, Don Cobain, Jenny Cobain, Kim Cobain

Directed By: Brett Morgen

Critics Consensus: A suspenseful, gripping documentary that features an engaging cross section of American children.

Synopsis: Eight youthful competitors, sponsored by their hometown newspapers, travel with their families to Washington, D.C., to compete in the 1999 Scripps National Spelling Bee. Now... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Paige Kimble, Jonathan Knisely, Balu Natarajan, Julianne Ruth

Directed By: Jeffrey Blitz

Critics Consensus: In a striking debut, Moreno carries the movie and puts a human face on the drug trade.

Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Colombian Maria (Catalina Sandino Moreno) is desperate: pregnant and with a large family to care for, she's forced to leave a demanding job after... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catalina Sandino Moreno, Yenny Paola Vega, Guilied Lopez, Jhon Álex Toro

Directed By: Joshua Marston

Critics Consensus: A haunting depiction of a disintegrating family, and a powerful argument on the elusiveness of truth.

Synopsis: The Friedmans seem at first to be a typical family - until one Thanksgiving while they are gathered at home preparing for a quiet holiday... View Full Synopsis

Starring: David Friedman, Jesse Friedman, Elaine Friedman

Directed By: Andrew Jarecki

Critics Consensus: Spirited Away is a dazzling, enchanting, and gorgeously drawn fairy tale that will leave viewers a little more curious and fascinated by the world around them.

Synopsis: 10-year-old Chihiro moves with her parents to a new home in the Japanese countryside. After taking a wrong turn down a wooded path, Chihiro and... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Jason Marsden, Susan Egan

Directed By: Hayao Miyazaki

Critics Consensus: A slapstick skewering of industrialized America, Modern Times is as politically incisive as it is laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Synopsis: This comedic masterpiece finds the iconic Little Tramp (Charlie Chaplin) employed at a state-of-the-art factory where the inescapable machinery completely overwhelms him, and where various... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Paulette Goddard, Henry Bergman, Tiny Sandford

Directed By: Charlie Chaplin

Critics Consensus: An engrossing documentary that's as much about a time and a place as it is about a fight.

Synopsis: On October 30, 1974, perhaps the most famous heavyweight championship boxing match of all time took place in Kinshasa, Zaire: the "Rumble in the Jungle"... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Muhammad Ali, George Foreman, Don King, B.B. King

Directed By: Leon Gast

Critics Consensus: No doubt most will come to My Left Foot for Daniel Day-Lewis' performance, but the movie's refusal to go downbeat will keep it in viewer minds afterwards.

Synopsis: No one expects much from Christy Brown (Daniel Day-Lewis), a boy with cerebral palsy born into a working-class Irish family. Though Christy is a spastic... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Daniel Day-Lewis, Ray McAnally, Brenda Fricker, Ruth McCabe

Directed By: Jim Sheridan

Critics Consensus: A Star is Born is a movie of grand scope and intimate moments, featuring Judy Garland's possibly greatest performance.

Synopsis: Hollywood actor Norman Maine (James Mason) is a celebrity whose star is on the wane, but when he meets aspiring actress Esther Blodgett (Judy Garland),... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Judy Garland, James Mason, Jack Carson, Charles Bickford

Directed By: George Cukor

Critics Consensus: Ikiru is a well-acted and deeply moving humanist tale about a man facing his own mortality, one of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most intimate films.

Synopsis: Mr. Watanabe suddenly finds that he has terminal cancer. He vows to make his final days meaningful. His attempts to communicate his anguish to his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Takashi Shimura, Miki Odagiri, Kyôko Seki

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

Critics Consensus: The Young Girls of Rochefort pays colorful homage to classic Hollywood musicals while earning its own emotionally affecting place of honor in the genre.

Synopsis: Delphine (Catherine Deneuve) and Solange (Françoise Dorléac) are twin sisters who each want to find romance and leave their small seaside town of Rochefort, France.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Françoise Dorléac, Jacques Perrin, Danielle Darrieux

Directed By: Jacques Demy

Critics Consensus: One of Alfred Hitchcock's last British films, this glamorous thriller provides an early glimpse of the director at his most stylishly entertaining.

Synopsis: On a train headed for England a group of travelers is delayed by an avalanche. Holed up in a hotel in a fictional European country,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Margaret Lockwood, Michael Redgrave, Dame May Whitty, Paul Lukas

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock

Critics Consensus: Three Colors: Blue contains some of director/co-writer Krzysztof Kieslowski's most visually arresting, emotionally resonant work -- and boasts an outstanding performance from Juliette Binoche in the bargain.

Synopsis: Julie (Juliette Binoche) is haunted by her grief after living through a tragic auto wreck that claimed the life of her composer husband and young... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Juliette Binoche, Benoît Régent, Florence Pernel, Charlotte Véry

Directed By: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Critics Consensus: Inventive, thought-provoking, and funny, 8 1/2 represents the arguable peak of Federico Fellini's many towering feats of cinema.

Synopsis: Troubled Italian filmmaker Guido Anselmi (Marcello Mastroianni) struggles with creative stasis as he attempts to get a new movie off the ground. Overwhelmed by his... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Marcello Mastroianni, Claudia Cardinale, Anouk Aimée, Sandra Milo

Directed By: Federico Fellini

Critics Consensus: A horrific tale of guilt and obsession, Eyes Without a Face is just as chilling and poetic today as it was when it was first released.

Synopsis: Dr. Génessier (Pierre Brasseur) is riddled with guilt after an accident that he caused disfigures the face of his daughter, the once beautiful Christiane (Edith... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Pierre Brasseur, Alida Valli, Edith Scob, Juliette Mayniel

Directed By: Georges Franju

Critics Consensus: One of legendary director Akira Kurosawa's most acclaimed films, Rashomon features an innovative narrative structure, brilliant acting, and a thoughtful exploration of reality versus perception.

Synopsis: Brimming with action while incisively examining the nature of truth, "Rashomon" is perhaps the finest film ever to investigate the philosophy of justice. Through an... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Machiko Kyō, Takashi Shimura, Masayuki Mori

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

Critics Consensus: Beyond ravishing, Wings of Desire is Wim Wenders' is aching and heartbreaking exploration of how love makes us human.

Synopsis: Two angels, Damiel (Bruno Ganz) and Cassiel (Otto Sander), glide through the streets of Berlin, observing the bustling population, providing invisible rays of hope to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Bruno Ganz, Solveig Dommartin, Otto Sander, Curt Bois

Directed By: Wim Wenders

Critics Consensus: The Passion of Joan of Arc is must-see cinema for Renée Maria Falconetti's incredible performance alone -- and an all-time classic for innumerable other reasons.

Synopsis: Spiritual rapture and institutional hypocrisy come to stark, vivid life in one of the most transcendent masterpieces of the silent era. Chronicling the trial of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Maria Falconetti, Eugene Silvain, André Berley, Maurice Schultz

Directed By: Carl Theodor Dreyer

Critics Consensus: One of the most critically acclaimed documentaries of all time, Hoop Dreams is a rich, complex, heartbreaking, and ultimately deeply rewarding film that uses high school hoops as a jumping-off point to explore issues of race, class, and education in modern America.

Synopsis: Every school day, African-American teenagers William Gates and Arthur Agee travel 90 minutes each way from inner-city Chicago to St. Joseph High School in Westchester,... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Steve James, William Gates, Arthur Agee, Sheila Agee

Directed By: Steve James

Critics Consensus: A feverish rendition of a heart-rending story, A Streetcar Named Desire gives Tennessee Williams' stage play explosive power on the screen thanks to Elia Kazan's searing direction and a sterling ensemble at the peak of their craft.

Synopsis: Based on the play by Tennessee Williams, this renowned drama follows troubled former schoolteacher Blanche DuBois (Vivien Leigh) as she leaves small-town Mississippi and moves... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Marlon Brando, Vivien Leigh, Kim Hunter, Karl Malden

Directed By: Elia Kazan

Critics Consensus: An Italian neorealism exemplar, Bicycle Thieves thrives on its non-flashy performances and searing emotion.

Synopsis: Unemployed Antonio Ricci (Lamberto Maggiorani) is elated when he finally finds work hanging posters around war-torn Rome. His wife, Maria (Lianella Carell), sells the family's... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Lamberto Maggiorani, Lianella Carell, Enzo Staiola, Elena Altieri

Directed By: Vittorio De Sica

Critics Consensus: Stanley Kubrick's brilliant Cold War satire remains as funny and razor-sharp today as it was in 1964.

Synopsis: A film about what could happen if the wrong person pushed the wrong button -- and it played the situation for laughs. U.S. Air Force... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Keenan Wynn, Slim Pickens

Directed By: Stanley Kubrick

Critics Consensus: King Kong explores the soul of a monster -- making audiences scream and cry throughout the film -- in large part due to Kong's breakthrough special effects.

Synopsis: Actress Ann Darrow (Fay Wray) and director Carl Denham (Robert Armstrong) travel to the Indian Ocean to do location shoots for Denham's new jungle picture.... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot, Robert Armstrong, Frank Reicher

Directed By: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack

Critics Consensus: Bitingly cynical without succumbing to bitterness, The Player is one of the all-time great Hollywood satires -- and an ensemble-driven highlight of the Altman oeuvre.

Synopsis: Certain that the anonymous threats he's been receiving are the work of David Kahane (Vincent D'Onofrio), producer Griffin Mill (Tim Robbins) tries to fix things... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Tim Robbins, Greta Scacchi, Fred Ward, Whoopi Goldberg

Directed By: Robert Altman

Critics Consensus: A triumphant coda to a beloved series, Deadwood: The Movie will satisfy fans longing for a little f---ing closure.

Synopsis: Saloon owner Al Swearengen clashes with Sheriff Seth Bullock as the residents of Deadwood celebrate South Dakota's statehood in 1889.

Starring: Ian McShane, Timothy Olyphant, Molly Parker, Paula Malcomson

Directed By: Daniel Minahan

Critics Consensus: A Hard Day's Night, despite its age, is still a delight to watch and has proven itself to be a rock-and-roll movie classic.

Synopsis: The Beatles in their feature film debut, one of the greatest rock-and-roll comedy adventures ever. The film has a fully restored negative and digitally restored... View Full Synopsis

Starring: The Beatles, Wilfrid Brambell, Norman Rossington, John Junkin

Directed By: Richard Lester

Critics Consensus: Helmed in elegant and exhilarating style by Spike Lee, David Byrne's American Utopia is a concert film that doubles as a joyously cathartic celebration.

Synopsis: Singer David Byrne and a group of international musicians perform songs from the hit Broadway musical "American Utopia."

Starring: David Byrne

Directed By: Spike Lee

Critics Consensus: An absolute masterpiece whose groundbreaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant, The Wizard of Oz is a must-see film for young and old.

Synopsis: When a tornado rips through Kansas, Dorothy and her dog, Toto, are whisked away in their house to the magical land of Oz. They follow... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger, Bert Lahr

Directed By: Victor Fleming

Critics Consensus: Jacques Demy elevates the basic drama of everyday life into a soaring opera full of bittersweet passion and playful charm, featuring a timeless performance from Catherine Deneuve.

Synopsis: Geneviève (Catherine Deneuve), a beautiful young Frenchwoman who works at a small-town boutique selling umbrellas, falls for dashing mechanic Guy (Nino Castelnuovo). Their brief romance... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Catherine Deneuve, Nino Castelnuovo, Anne Vernon, Marc Michel

Directed By: Jacques Demy

Critics Consensus: The Tale handles its extraordinarily challenging subject matter with sensitivity, grace, and the power of some standout performances led by a remarkable Laura Dern.

Synopsis: Jennifer has it all, with a loving boyfriend and a great career as a journalist and professor. But when her mother discovers a story -... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Laura Dern, Elizabeth Debicki, Laura Allen, Jason Ritter

Directed By: Jennifer Fox

Critics Consensus: A documentary-like depiction of a nation's real-life efforts to expel a colonizing force, The Battle of Algiers puts viewers on the front lines with gripping realism.

Synopsis: Paratrooper commander Colonel Mathieu (Jean Martin), a former French Resistance fighter during World War II, is sent to 1950s Algeria to reinforce efforts to squelch... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Jean Martin, Yacef Saadi, Brahim Haggiag, Tommaso Neri

Directed By: Gillo Pontecorvo

Critics Consensus: Orson Welles's epic tale of a publishing tycoon's rise and fall is entertaining, poignant, and inventive in its storytelling, earning its reputation as a landmark achievement in film.

Synopsis: When a reporter is assigned to decipher newspaper magnate Charles Foster Kane's (Orson Welles) dying words, his investigation gradually reveals the fascinating portrait of a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Ruth Warrick, Everett Sloane

Directed By: Orson Welles

Critics Consensus: An undisputed masterpiece and perhaps Hollywood's quintessential statement on love and romance, Casablanca has only improved with age, boasting career-defining performances from Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Synopsis: Rick Blaine (Humphrey Bogart), who owns a nightclub in Casablanca, discovers his old flame Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) is in town with her husband, Victor Laszlo... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid, Claude Rains

Directed By: Michael Curtiz

Critics Consensus: Marvelously directed by Sebastian Lelio and beautifully led by a powerful performance from Paulina Garcia, Gloria takes an honest, sweetly poignant look at a type of character that's all too often neglected in Hollywood.

Synopsis: An aging divorcee (Paulina García) embarks on an intense affair with a man (Sergio Hernández) she picked up at a disco.

Starring: Paulina García, Sergio Hernández, Diego Fontecilla, Coca Guazzini

Directed By: Sebastián Lelio

Critics Consensus: Powerfully acted and directed, Never Rarely Sometimes Always reaffirms writer-director Eliza Hittman as a filmmaker of uncommon sensitivity and grace.

Synopsis: Faced with an unintended pregnancy and a lack of local support, Autumn and her cousin, Skylar, travel across state lines to New York City on... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Ryan Eggold, Théodore Pellerin, Sharon Van Etten, Sidney Flanigan

Directed By: Eliza Hittman

Critics Consensus: Perhaps Kenneth Branagh's most fully realized Shakespeare adaptation, Henry V is an energetic, passionate, and wonderfully acted film.

Synopsis: In this gritty screen adaptation of Shakespeare's play about the heroic and ruthless king, Henry V of England (Kenneth Branagh) determines to lay claim to... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Kenneth Branagh, Derek Jacobi, Brian Blessed, Ian Holm

Directed By: Kenneth Branagh

Critics Consensus: Open City fills in the familiar contours of its storyline with three-dimensional characters and a narrative depth that add up to a towering -- and still powerfully resonant -- cinematic achievement.

Synopsis: Rome, 1944. Giorgio Manfredi, one of the leaders of the Resistance is tracked down by the Nazis. He goes to his friend Francesco's, and asks... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Aldo Fabrizi, Anna Magnani, Marcello Pagliero, Maria Michi

Directed By: Roberto Rossellini

Critics Consensus: An existential suspense classic, The Wages of Fear blends nonstop suspense with biting satire; its influence is still being felt on today's thrillers.

Synopsis: In the South American jungle, supplies of nitroglycerine are needed at a remote oil field. The oil company pays four men to deliver the supplies... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Yves Montand, Charles Vanel, Peter van Eyck, Véra Clouzot

Directed By: Henri-Georges Clouzot

Critics Consensus: Typifying the best that the Western genre has to offer, Stagecoach is a rip-roaring adventure given dramatic heft by John Ford's dynamic direction and John Wayne's mesmerizing star turn.

Synopsis: John Ford's landmark Western revolves around an assorted group of colorful passengers aboard the Overland stagecoach bound for Lordsburg, New Mexico, in the 1880s. An... View Full Synopsis

Starring: John Wayne, Claire Trevor, Andy Devine, John Carradine

Directed By: John Ford

Critics Consensus: Tokyo Story is a Yasujiro Ozu masterpiece whose rewarding complexity has lost none of its power more than half a century on.

Synopsis: The elderly Shukishi (Chishu Ryu) and his wife, Tomi (Chieko Higashiyama), take the long journey from their small seaside village to visit their adult children... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chishu Ryu, Chieko Higashiyama, Setsuko Hara, Haruko Sugimura

Directed By: Yasujirô Ozu

Critics Consensus: A technical masterpiece, Battleship Potemkin is Soviet cinema at its finest, and its montage editing techniques remain influential to this day.

Synopsis: When they are fed rancid meat, the sailors on the Potemkin revolt against their harsh conditions. Led by Vakulinchuk, the sailors kill the officers of... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Aleksandr Antonov, Vladimir Barskiy, Grigoriy Aleksandrov, Mikhail Gomorov

Directed By: Sergei M. Eisenstein

Critics Consensus: A delightful blend of slapstick humor, poignant emotion, and social commentary, The Gold Rush encapsulates Chaplin's strengths as a writer, director, and star.

Synopsis: In this classic silent comedy, the Little Tramp (Charles Chaplin) heads north to join in the Klondike gold rush. Trapped in a small cabin by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Charlie Chaplin, Mack Swain, Tom Murray, Georgia Hale

Directed By: Charlie Chaplin

Critics Consensus: A complex, stirring, and beautifully realized portrait of interconnected lives, Red is the captivating conclusion to a remarkable trilogy.

Synopsis: Part-time model Valentine (Irène Jacob) meets a retired judge (Jean-Louis Trintignant) who lives in her neighborhood after she runs over his dog. At first the... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Irène Jacob, Jean-Louis Trintignant, Jean-Pierre Lorit, Frédérique Feder

Directed By: Krzysztof Kieslowski

Critics Consensus: Thanks to director Juzo Itami's offbeat humor and sharp satirical edge, Tampopo is a funny, sexy, affectionate celebration of food and its broad influence on Japanese culture.

Synopsis: Two Japanese milk-truck drivers (Tsutomu Yamazaki, Ken Watanabe) help a restaurant owner (Nobuko Miyamoto) learn how to cook great noodles.

Starring: Tsutomu Yamazaki, Nobuko Miyamoto, Ken Watanabe, Kôji Yakusho

Directed By: Juzo Itami

Critics Consensus: Only Yesterday's long-delayed U.S. debut fills a frustrating gap for American Ghibli fans while offering further proof of the studio's incredibly consistent commitment to quality.

Synopsis: A put-upon 27-year-old Japanese office worker travels to the countryside and reminisces about her childhood in Tokyo and what life could have been.

Starring: Daisy Ridley, Dev Patel, Ashley Eckstein, Alison Fernandez

Directed By: Isao Takahata

Critics Consensus: Suspenseful, labyrinthine, and brilliantly cast, The Maltese Falcon is one of the most influential noirs -- as well as a showcase for Humphrey Bogart at his finest.

Synopsis: In this noir classic, detective Sam Spade (Humphrey Bogart) gets more than he bargained for when he takes a case brought to him by a... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Gladys George

Directed By: John Huston

Critics Consensus: Bright Lights: Starring Carrie Fisher and Debbie Reynolds is a touching, bittersweet, and ultimately charming love story that serves as a poignantly effective tribute to the strangely complicated, uniquely resilient mother/daughter duo.

Synopsis: A portrait of Hollywood royalty Carrie Fisher and her mother, Debbie Reynolds.

Starring: Carrie Fisher, Debbie Reynolds

Directed By: Alexis Bloom, Fisher Stevens

Critics Consensus: A landmark psychological thriller with arresting images, deep thoughts on modern society, and Peter Lorre in his finest performance.

Synopsis: In this classic German thriller, Hans Beckert, a serial killer who preys on children, becomes the focus of a massive Berlin police manhunt. Beckert's heinous... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Peter Lorre, Ellen Widmann, Inge Landgut, Otto Wernicke

Directed By: Fritz Lang

Critics Consensus: Clever, incisive, and funny, Singin' in the Rain is a masterpiece of the classical Hollywood musical.

Synopsis: A spoof of the turmoil that afflicted the movie industry in the late 1920s when movies went from silent to sound. When two silent movie... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, Donald O'Connor, Jean Hagen

Directed By: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

Critics Consensus: Offering a wonderfully witty script, spotless direction from George Cukor, and typically excellent lead performances, The Philadelphia Story is an unqualified classic.

Synopsis: This classic romantic comedy focuses on Tracy Lord (Katharine Hepburn), a Philadelphia socialite who has split from her husband, C.K. Dexter Haven (Cary Grant), due... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart, Ruth Hussey

Directed By: George Cukor

Critics Consensus: Arguably Akira Kurosawa's masterpiece, The Seven Samurai is an epic adventure classic with an engrossing story, memorable characters, and stunning action sequences that make it one of the most influential films ever made.

Synopsis: A samurai answers a village's request for protection after he falls on hard times. The town needs protection from bandits, so the samurai gathers six... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura, Yoshio Inaba, Seiji Miyaguchi

Directed By: Akira Kurosawa

Critics Consensus: Boasting narrative depth, frank honesty, and exquisite visual beauty, The Tale of the Princess Kaguya is a modern animated treasure with timeless appeal.

Synopsis: A tiny nymph found inside a bamboo stalk grows into a beautiful and desirable young woman, who orders her suitors to prove their love by... View Full Synopsis

Starring: Chloë Grace Moretz, James Caan, Mary Steenburgen, Darren Criss

Directed By: Isao Takahata