Introduction / 1,000 GF (alpha) / 1,000 GF (1000-1) / 1,000 GF (1-1000) / 1,000 GF (by year) / 1,000 GF (sortable table) / 1,000 GF (plain) / 1,000 GF (ranking history) / Alternative Titles / Analysis / Sources/Critics / Top 250 Directors / Starting List (sortable table) / Ex-1000 GF / Resources/Links
Introduction to the 1,000 GREATEST FILMS
by Bill Georgaris
Current Version: 2026 (21st edition)
Published on January 1, 2026
by Bill Georgaris
Current Version: 2026 (21st edition)
Published on January 1, 2026
"Often called "the list of lists," They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They? (TSPDT) is widely considered the most comprehensive and prestigious aggregate of cinematic greatness on the internet." - Google Gemini
"What started as a modest personal hobby on Geocities has grown into a cornerstone of the online film community." - Google Gemini
"Over the last two decades, it has become a "Cinephile’s Bible." For many movie lovers, completing the "TSPDT 1,000" is the ultimate badge of honor, representing a deep education in world cinema, from silent-era masterpieces to modern-day classics." - Google Gemini
"Unlike IMDb or Letterboxd, which are driven by user popularity, TSPDT is critic-driven. It prioritizes historical influence, artistic innovation, and critical consensus. It serves as a living archive that preserves the legacy of global cinema, ensuring that obscure masterpieces from Senegal, Japan, or France aren't lost to the passage of time." - Google Gemini
Hey, the robots can't be wrong! Can they?! Mind you, I only played with one robot. The other robots probably hate me.
Dear film and list lovers, welcome to the 21st version of the 1,000 Greatest Films.
Aside from the above amusing quotes, rest assured, They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? is AI-free (although I have no clue what my web hosts are up to). I do jest, but it must be acknowledged that some level of care will need to be taken to ensure no AI-generated resources are included in TSPDT's data. This is primarily what I am referring to with all this nonsense. If you spot any or have any suspicions, please make sure to let me know.
I trust that your 2025 was filled with many celluloid pleasures. Of course, the past year was otherwise mostly a turd mountain. But this is not that sort of forum. I will just say thank you to Kelly Reichardt and Johan Grimonprez for the best two new releases I saw (although, admittedly, I still haven't seen many of the supposedly best films of 2024/2025). Also, amongst many other highlights (which I will reveal in next month's updated 21st Century introduction), finally seeing the restored 81-minute Let it Be (Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1970) was a revelation.
As I have stated in the past, I am a man of few words, and this year's introduction, as always, is mostly a rehash of the previous year's introduction (with mostly numbers updated). Comforting, isn't it?
With that in mind, let's just get on with the business. What does this year's edition have in store? Well, it is pretty much rinse and repeat. If you were once again hoping for a shakeup of some sort, you will inevitably be a little disappointed. I can only input the lists at my disposal, and 2025 was pretty low-key, especially with regards to lists that would garner a heavy weighting, and subsequently make a meaningful impact. In reality, unless another substantial poll comes out of nowhere, we may have to wait until 2032 (assuming Sight & Sound starts their poll engine again) for the 1,000 Greatest Films to 'transform' itself again. Will I even be doing this then? Oh my.
This year, I did decide to include over 330 Letterboxd (Four Favorites) lists, but their impact was always going to be minimal (containing, of course, only four films per ballot, rather than the customary ten-or-more). Some of the more popular Letterboxd films were 2001: A Space Odyssey, Back to the Future, The Godfather Parts I & II, GoodFellas, It's a Wonderful Life, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Taxi Driver (these all appeared on at least ten lists). It certainly was an affirmation of the talent and influence of the "Movie Brats": Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg. Some of the Letterboxd lists included were from the filmmakers Aaron Schimberg, Adam Elliot, Alex Garland, Andrew Ahn, Andrew Haigh, Ava DuVernay, Azazel Jacobs, Ben Stiller, Benny Safdie, Bong Joon-ho, Boots Riley, Christopher Landon, Coralie Fargeat, Darren Aronofsky, David Leitch, Dean DeBlois, Denis Villeneuve, Edgar Wright, Edward Burns, Emerald Fennell, Errol Morris, Francis Ford Coppola, Francis Lawrence, Gareth Edwards, Gareth Evans, Garin Nugroho, George Clooney, Jackie Chan, Jane Schoenbrun, Jason Reitman, Jeremy Saulnier, John Carney, John Crowley, Jon M. Chu, Joseph Kosinski, Juan Antonio Bayona, Julie Delpy, Justine Triet, Kelly Reichardt, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Lee Daniels, Lee Isaac Chung, Lee Tamahori, M. Night Shyamalan, Marielle Heller, Matteo Garrone, Michael Mann, Michel Franco, Michel Gondry, Mike Leigh, Mike Mills, Morgan Neville, Na Hong-jin, Nicole Holofcener, Nobuhiro Yamashita, Osgood Perkins, Paul King, Pedro Almodóvar, Peter Jackson, Peter Ramsey, Peyton Reed, RaMell Ross, Rian Johnson, Richard Curtis, Richard LaGravenese, Richard Linklater, Ridley Scott, Robert Eggers, Robert Rodriguez, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Sam Raimi, Scott Cooper, Sean Baker, Shawn Levy, Steve Barron, Steve Buscemi, Steve McQueen, Sunao Katabuchi, Ti West, Todd Haynes, Walter Salles, Will Gluck, Yorgos Lanthimos and Zack Snyder.
For the third year in a row, 2026's edition encompasses exactly twelve changes to the 1,000 Greatest Films. Only two films, both from the 2010's, appear for the first time (Mariano Llinás's La Flor and Chantal Akerman's No Home Movie), whilst the remaining ten are re-entries. As it tends to, the top-ten has remained exactly the same (although Singin' in the Rain is very close to overtaking The Seven Samurai in 10th spot). The top-100 also remains unchanged.
In terms of sources, the number of best-of/all-time individual lists compiled now tallies 10,386. The number of miscellaneous lists used (genre-based, decade-based, country-based, etc.) now sits at 7,361. That equals 17,747 unique lists in total. 873 new lists were added during 2025.
In summary, here is an abbreviated breakdown of the 10,386 individual best-of/all-time ballots used (these are classified as A-Lists here), or if you like, from where I have begged, borrowed and pillaged:
Sight & Sound polls 1952-2022 (4,100 ballots)
Letterboxd (mostly the Four Favorites series) 2012-2025 (340 ballots) NEW
Rotten Tomatoes 2003-2023 (246 ballots)
Senses of Cinema 2000-2007 (201 ballots)
A.Frame 2020-2024 (196 ballots)
Filmes do Chico 2005-2017 (194 ballots)
Kino Muzeum’s 2015 poll (190 ballots)
LaCinetek 2014-2025 (146 ballots) UPDATED
Your Movie Database (YMDB) Critics Corner 2002-2005 (140 ballots)
Nickel Odeon 1994-1998 (136 ballots)
Positif’s 1991 & 2019 polls (132 ballots)
Time Out's 1995 poll (128 ballots)
Cinephilia's 2012 poll (128 ballots)
Kinema Junpo 1989-2009 (113 ballots)
PBS Independent Lens 2005-2008 (110 ballots)
El Mundo's 1995 poll (100 ballots)
Le CiNéMa Club 2015-2025 (91 ballots) UPDATED
Film-Magazine's (Iran) 2009 poll (83 ballots)
John Kobal Presents the Top 100 Movies [Book] (1988) (81 ballots)
Steadycam's 2007 poll (79 ballots)
Facets 2003-2008 (76 ballots)
Empire 1989-2020 (75 ballots)
The Cinematheque's Top 10 Project 2005-2009 (74 ballots)
One-Line Review's 2009 poll (69 ballots)
ABC Spain poll (62 ballots)
El Pais 2009-2010 (60 ballots)
HKinema 2011-2022 (58 ballots)
Cut Insight 2012-2018 (55 ballots)
Cinematheque Belgique's 1952 poll (54 ballots)
Cinema Review's 2002 poll (53 ballots)
Faróis do Cinema 2010-2015 (51 ballots)
Libre Journal du Cinéma's 2009 poll (50 ballots)
IONCINEMA.com 2009-2020 (50 ballots)
Plus 2,665 more ballots from other sources.
TSPDT’s Top 10 Greatest Films
1. Citizen Kane (1)
2. Vertigo (2)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (3)
4. Tokyo Story (4)
5. The Rules of the Game (5)
6. The Godfather (6)
7. 8½ (7)
8. Sunrise (8)
9. The Searchers (9)
10. The Seven Samurai (10)
Listed below are the biggest climbers and sliders in this year’s edition:
Top Climbers within the 1,000
793 to 662 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes, 1986)
852 to 721 - Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)
759 to 629 - Raising Arizona (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, 1987)
983 to 878 - The Last Detail (Hal Ashby, 1973)
786 to 685 - An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981)
895 to 794 - Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker, 1980)
Highest Entrants into the 1,000
833 - After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985) re-entry
882 - The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987) re-entry
915 - Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004) re-entry
923 - The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980) re-entry
937 - La Flor (Mariano Llinás, 2018) new
Biggest Sliders within the 1,000
954 to 989 - The Ice Storm (Ang Lee, 1997)
455 to 488 - La Région centrale (Michael Snow, 1971)
730 to 759 - The Circus (Charles Chaplin, 1928)
731 to 760 - One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1977)
969 to 998 - Sawdust and Tinsel (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
Biggest Sliders from the 1,000
Previously ranked 906 - Hôtel Terminus (Marcel Ophüls, 1988)
Previously ranked 924 - Cemetery of Splendour (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2015)
Previously ranked 947 - Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986)
Previously ranked 977 - Moi, un Noir (Jean Rouch, 1958)
Previously ranked 984 - Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
Narrowed down from a starting list of 26,551 films, this is quite possibly the most definitive guide to the most-acclaimed movies of all-time. At the very least it is a rather spiffy place for all budding/established film buffs to commence/enhance their cinematic experiences.
The starting list with full rankings, can be viewed online here (mobile-friendly) or here (not mobile-friendly), or via the traditional Excel spreadsheet.
Thank you to everyone, from seemingly all corners of the globe, who have contributed lists and/or lent their support towards this venture over the years. It means a lot. A special shout out to Ángel González, VacantJoy, Dmytro Petryk and Tan Boon Wah for their consistent help and mighty contributions.
You Can Help…
If you have access to any additional film lists from critics and/or filmmakers that you think I may have missed (that is, those not mentioned here), then of course I’d love to see them. Please send all lists to bill@theyshootpictures.com. And, as always, I would love to read any feedback (good, bad, or otherwise) you have on this ongoing project. And, yes, if you see any mistakes (and there will be), please let me know.
Begin browsing the 1,000 Greatest Films by alphabetical order, descending ranking order, ascending ranking order or chronological order.
"What started as a modest personal hobby on Geocities has grown into a cornerstone of the online film community." - Google Gemini
"Over the last two decades, it has become a "Cinephile’s Bible." For many movie lovers, completing the "TSPDT 1,000" is the ultimate badge of honor, representing a deep education in world cinema, from silent-era masterpieces to modern-day classics." - Google Gemini
"Unlike IMDb or Letterboxd, which are driven by user popularity, TSPDT is critic-driven. It prioritizes historical influence, artistic innovation, and critical consensus. It serves as a living archive that preserves the legacy of global cinema, ensuring that obscure masterpieces from Senegal, Japan, or France aren't lost to the passage of time." - Google Gemini
Hey, the robots can't be wrong! Can they?! Mind you, I only played with one robot. The other robots probably hate me.
Dear film and list lovers, welcome to the 21st version of the 1,000 Greatest Films.
Aside from the above amusing quotes, rest assured, They Shoot Pictures, Don't They? is AI-free (although I have no clue what my web hosts are up to). I do jest, but it must be acknowledged that some level of care will need to be taken to ensure no AI-generated resources are included in TSPDT's data. This is primarily what I am referring to with all this nonsense. If you spot any or have any suspicions, please make sure to let me know.
I trust that your 2025 was filled with many celluloid pleasures. Of course, the past year was otherwise mostly a turd mountain. But this is not that sort of forum. I will just say thank you to Kelly Reichardt and Johan Grimonprez for the best two new releases I saw (although, admittedly, I still haven't seen many of the supposedly best films of 2024/2025). Also, amongst many other highlights (which I will reveal in next month's updated 21st Century introduction), finally seeing the restored 81-minute Let it Be (Michael Lindsay-Hogg, 1970) was a revelation.
As I have stated in the past, I am a man of few words, and this year's introduction, as always, is mostly a rehash of the previous year's introduction (with mostly numbers updated). Comforting, isn't it?
With that in mind, let's just get on with the business. What does this year's edition have in store? Well, it is pretty much rinse and repeat. If you were once again hoping for a shakeup of some sort, you will inevitably be a little disappointed. I can only input the lists at my disposal, and 2025 was pretty low-key, especially with regards to lists that would garner a heavy weighting, and subsequently make a meaningful impact. In reality, unless another substantial poll comes out of nowhere, we may have to wait until 2032 (assuming Sight & Sound starts their poll engine again) for the 1,000 Greatest Films to 'transform' itself again. Will I even be doing this then? Oh my.
This year, I did decide to include over 330 Letterboxd (Four Favorites) lists, but their impact was always going to be minimal (containing, of course, only four films per ballot, rather than the customary ten-or-more). Some of the more popular Letterboxd films were 2001: A Space Odyssey, Back to the Future, The Godfather Parts I & II, GoodFellas, It's a Wonderful Life, Jaws, Raiders of the Lost Ark, and Taxi Driver (these all appeared on at least ten lists). It certainly was an affirmation of the talent and influence of the "Movie Brats": Coppola, Scorsese and Spielberg. Some of the Letterboxd lists included were from the filmmakers Aaron Schimberg, Adam Elliot, Alex Garland, Andrew Ahn, Andrew Haigh, Ava DuVernay, Azazel Jacobs, Ben Stiller, Benny Safdie, Bong Joon-ho, Boots Riley, Christopher Landon, Coralie Fargeat, Darren Aronofsky, David Leitch, Dean DeBlois, Denis Villeneuve, Edgar Wright, Edward Burns, Emerald Fennell, Errol Morris, Francis Ford Coppola, Francis Lawrence, Gareth Edwards, Gareth Evans, Garin Nugroho, George Clooney, Jackie Chan, Jane Schoenbrun, Jason Reitman, Jeremy Saulnier, John Carney, John Crowley, Jon M. Chu, Joseph Kosinski, Juan Antonio Bayona, Julie Delpy, Justine Triet, Kelly Reichardt, Kleber Mendonça Filho, Lee Daniels, Lee Isaac Chung, Lee Tamahori, M. Night Shyamalan, Marielle Heller, Matteo Garrone, Michael Mann, Michel Franco, Michel Gondry, Mike Leigh, Mike Mills, Morgan Neville, Na Hong-jin, Nicole Holofcener, Nobuhiro Yamashita, Osgood Perkins, Paul King, Pedro Almodóvar, Peter Jackson, Peter Ramsey, Peyton Reed, RaMell Ross, Rian Johnson, Richard Curtis, Richard LaGravenese, Richard Linklater, Ridley Scott, Robert Eggers, Robert Rodriguez, Robert Zemeckis, Ron Howard, Ryusuke Hamaguchi, Sam Raimi, Scott Cooper, Sean Baker, Shawn Levy, Steve Barron, Steve Buscemi, Steve McQueen, Sunao Katabuchi, Ti West, Todd Haynes, Walter Salles, Will Gluck, Yorgos Lanthimos and Zack Snyder.
For the third year in a row, 2026's edition encompasses exactly twelve changes to the 1,000 Greatest Films. Only two films, both from the 2010's, appear for the first time (Mariano Llinás's La Flor and Chantal Akerman's No Home Movie), whilst the remaining ten are re-entries. As it tends to, the top-ten has remained exactly the same (although Singin' in the Rain is very close to overtaking The Seven Samurai in 10th spot). The top-100 also remains unchanged.
In terms of sources, the number of best-of/all-time individual lists compiled now tallies 10,386. The number of miscellaneous lists used (genre-based, decade-based, country-based, etc.) now sits at 7,361. That equals 17,747 unique lists in total. 873 new lists were added during 2025.
In summary, here is an abbreviated breakdown of the 10,386 individual best-of/all-time ballots used (these are classified as A-Lists here), or if you like, from where I have begged, borrowed and pillaged:
Sight & Sound polls 1952-2022 (4,100 ballots)
Letterboxd (mostly the Four Favorites series) 2012-2025 (340 ballots) NEW
Rotten Tomatoes 2003-2023 (246 ballots)
Senses of Cinema 2000-2007 (201 ballots)
A.Frame 2020-2024 (196 ballots)
Filmes do Chico 2005-2017 (194 ballots)
Kino Muzeum’s 2015 poll (190 ballots)
LaCinetek 2014-2025 (146 ballots) UPDATED
Your Movie Database (YMDB) Critics Corner 2002-2005 (140 ballots)
Nickel Odeon 1994-1998 (136 ballots)
Positif’s 1991 & 2019 polls (132 ballots)
Time Out's 1995 poll (128 ballots)
Cinephilia's 2012 poll (128 ballots)
Kinema Junpo 1989-2009 (113 ballots)
PBS Independent Lens 2005-2008 (110 ballots)
El Mundo's 1995 poll (100 ballots)
Le CiNéMa Club 2015-2025 (91 ballots) UPDATED
Film-Magazine's (Iran) 2009 poll (83 ballots)
John Kobal Presents the Top 100 Movies [Book] (1988) (81 ballots)
Steadycam's 2007 poll (79 ballots)
Facets 2003-2008 (76 ballots)
Empire 1989-2020 (75 ballots)
The Cinematheque's Top 10 Project 2005-2009 (74 ballots)
One-Line Review's 2009 poll (69 ballots)
ABC Spain poll (62 ballots)
El Pais 2009-2010 (60 ballots)
HKinema 2011-2022 (58 ballots)
Cut Insight 2012-2018 (55 ballots)
Cinematheque Belgique's 1952 poll (54 ballots)
Cinema Review's 2002 poll (53 ballots)
Faróis do Cinema 2010-2015 (51 ballots)
Libre Journal du Cinéma's 2009 poll (50 ballots)
IONCINEMA.com 2009-2020 (50 ballots)
Plus 2,665 more ballots from other sources.
TSPDT’s Top 10 Greatest Films
1. Citizen Kane (1)
2. Vertigo (2)
3. 2001: A Space Odyssey (3)
4. Tokyo Story (4)
5. The Rules of the Game (5)
6. The Godfather (6)
7. 8½ (7)
8. Sunrise (8)
9. The Searchers (9)
10. The Seven Samurai (10)
Listed below are the biggest climbers and sliders in this year’s edition:
Top Climbers within the 1,000
793 to 662 - Ferris Bueller's Day Off (John Hughes, 1986)
852 to 721 - Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)
759 to 629 - Raising Arizona (Joel Coen & Ethan Coen, 1987)
983 to 878 - The Last Detail (Hal Ashby, 1973)
786 to 685 - An American Werewolf in London (John Landis, 1981)
895 to 794 - Airplane! (Jim Abrahams, David Zucker & Jerry Zucker, 1980)
Highest Entrants into the 1,000
833 - After Hours (Martin Scorsese, 1985) re-entry
882 - The Princess Bride (Rob Reiner, 1987) re-entry
915 - Sideways (Alexander Payne, 2004) re-entry
923 - The Blues Brothers (John Landis, 1980) re-entry
937 - La Flor (Mariano Llinás, 2018) new
Biggest Sliders within the 1,000
954 to 989 - The Ice Storm (Ang Lee, 1997)
455 to 488 - La Région centrale (Michael Snow, 1971)
730 to 759 - The Circus (Charles Chaplin, 1928)
731 to 760 - One Way or Another (Sara Gómez, 1977)
969 to 998 - Sawdust and Tinsel (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
Biggest Sliders from the 1,000
Previously ranked 906 - Hôtel Terminus (Marcel Ophüls, 1988)
Previously ranked 924 - Cemetery of Splendour (Apichatpong Weerasethakul, 2015)
Previously ranked 947 - Dust in the Wind (Hou Hsiao-hsien, 1986)
Previously ranked 977 - Moi, un Noir (Jean Rouch, 1958)
Previously ranked 984 - Summer with Monika (Ingmar Bergman, 1953)
Narrowed down from a starting list of 26,551 films, this is quite possibly the most definitive guide to the most-acclaimed movies of all-time. At the very least it is a rather spiffy place for all budding/established film buffs to commence/enhance their cinematic experiences.
The starting list with full rankings, can be viewed online here (mobile-friendly) or here (not mobile-friendly), or via the traditional Excel spreadsheet.
Thank you to everyone, from seemingly all corners of the globe, who have contributed lists and/or lent their support towards this venture over the years. It means a lot. A special shout out to Ángel González, VacantJoy, Dmytro Petryk and Tan Boon Wah for their consistent help and mighty contributions.
You Can Help…
If you have access to any additional film lists from critics and/or filmmakers that you think I may have missed (that is, those not mentioned here), then of course I’d love to see them. Please send all lists to bill@theyshootpictures.com. And, as always, I would love to read any feedback (good, bad, or otherwise) you have on this ongoing project. And, yes, if you see any mistakes (and there will be), please let me know.
Begin browsing the 1,000 Greatest Films by alphabetical order, descending ranking order, ascending ranking order or chronological order.
Introduction / 1,000 GF (alpha) / 1,000 GF (1000-1) / 1,000 GF (1-1000) / 1,000 GF (by year) / 1,000 GF (sortable table) / 1,000 GF (plain) / 1,000 GF (ranking history) / Alternative Titles / Analysis / Sources/Critics / Top 250 Directors / Starting List (sortable table) / Ex-1000 GF / Resources/Links