Third 100 Greatest Films
The Third
100 Greatest Films
(of the 20th Century)



The Third 100 Greatest Films (of the 20th Century)

Major motion picture history is continually evolving, even more so than merely growing. Not only are new films being constantly added, but older ones gain recognition and overdue respect - with greater perspective that is afforded by the passage of time, the growing reputation of its stars and directors, as well as the ever-expanding home viewing market. This suggested list of the Third 100 Greatest Films provides a more comprehensive collection, with many selections that could easily be interchanged with the original lists: the 100 Greatest Films or Another 100 Greatest Films.

These films were chosen using the same Selection Criteria that was employed for the previous 200 selections. The views of distinguished critics, other polls, awards recognitions, and other criteria have been considered to produce this compilation. Arguably, there is reasonable consensus by most film historians, critics and reviewers that these selections are among cinema's most critically-acclaimed, significant "must-see" films (of predominantly Hollywood-American production). A compiled, chronological listing of all film choices is indexed at 300 Greatest Films. (A few ties have been noted there.)

As before, these choices were limited to English-language, theatrically-distributed, narrative feature films. That means foreign-language films, documentaries, TV movies and mini-series, and short films were not considered. Emphasis in these selections is purposely directed toward earlier, more classic Hollywood/American films (and other English-language films) than more recent films, although some recent films (and British films) are included. All of these choices are influential films with a singular vision - they provide a diverse palette of movie memories and experiences.

In this third list of 100 films, the choices were made more difficult than before because there were no truly obvious choices, such as Citizen Kane (1941), Casablanca (1942), or All About Eve (1950).

Hopefully, for now, this list will inspire debate over inclusions and exclusions, which is always the aim of any list -- to renew interest and passion in cinema. The lists (and links to reviews) provide your own private film studies course or a crash course in cinema literacy. Comparative analysis and criticism provide the rationale for having many Other Greatest Film Lists available for viewing on this site, such as AFI's 100 Greatest American Films.



Third 100 Greatest Films
The Third 100 Greatest Films
(of the 20th Century)


(alphabetical, in 8 parts)

Each of the 8 parts below includes a short synopsis of each selection with links to longer reviews for each film

Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

Part 1
(Descriptive Summaries)

Ace in the Hole (1951)

(aka The Big Carnival)

Airplane! (1980)

All the King's Men (1949)


Amadeus (1984)

American Beauty (1999)

Arsenic and Old Lace (1944)

Atlantic City (1981)

Babe (1995)

Baby Doll (1956)

Bambi (1942)

The Band Wagon (1953)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Being There (1979)

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Part 2
(Descriptive Summaries)

The Birds (1963)

Black Narcissus (1947, UK)

Blow-Up (1966)

Bull Durham (1988)

Bus Stop (1956)
Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989)

Dark Victory (1939)

The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

The Defiant Ones (1958)

Deliverance (1972)

Dial M For Murder (1954)

Dinner at Eight (1933)

Do the Right Thing (1989)

East of Eden (1955)

Eyes Wide Shut (1999)

Part 3
(Descriptive Summaries)

A Face in the Crowd (1957)

Field of Dreams (1989)

A Fish Called Wanda (1988)

Footlight Parade (1933)

Forbidden Planet (1956)

Freaks (1932)

The Freshman (1925)

Full Metal Jacket (1987)

Gaslight (1944)

Giant (1956)

Goldfinger (1964)
Grand Hotel (1932)
Grand Hotel (1932)

The Great Dictator (1940)

Groundhog Day (1993)

Halloween (1978)

Hannah and Her Sisters (1986)
       

Part 4
(Descriptive Summaries)

A Hard Day's Night (1964, UK)

The Hunchback of Notre Dame (1939)


In the Heat of the Night (1967)

Inherit the Wind (1960)

Jailhouse Rock (1957)

Key Largo (1948)

The Kid (1921)

The Killing (1956)

The King of Comedy (1982)

Kings Row (1942)

Part 5
(Descriptive Summaries)

L.A. Confidential (1997)

The Lady From Shanghai (1948)

Last Tango in Paris (1972)

The Letter (1940)

The Lion in Winter (1968)

A Man for All Seasons (1966)

Marty (1955)

M*A*S*H (1970)

The Matrix (1999)

Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

Part 6
(Descriptive Summaries)

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Night of the Living Dead (1968)


The Nightmare Before Christmas (1993)

Once Upon a Time in the West (1968) (aka C'era una Volta il West)

The Palm Beach Story (1942)

Patton (1970)

Planet of the Apes (1968)

Poltergeist (1982)

The Producers (1968)

Repulsion (1965, UK)

The Road Warrior (1982)
(aka Mad Max 2 (1981))

Part 7
(Descriptive Summaries)

Rocky (1976)

The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)


Saturday Night Fever (1977)

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

The Scarlet Empress (1934)

Sherlock Jr. (1924)

The Shining (1980)

Sleeper (1973)

Spartacus (1960)

Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

Thelma & Louise (1991)

The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
 

Part 8
(Descriptive Summaries)

The Thing (From Another World) (1951)

This Is Spinal Tap (1984)

Titanic (1997)

Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story 2 (1999) (tie)

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Way Out West (1937)

What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (1962)

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)


Who Framed Roger Rabbit (1988)

The Wind (1928)

Witness for the Prosecution (1957)

Young Frankenstein (1974)
 

Additional Greatest Films (of the 20th Century)

Two other groupings expanded this list: the original list of 100 films, and a second collection of 100 films:

100 Greatest Films
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8

Another 100 Greatest Films
Part 1
Part 2
Part 3
Part 4
Part 5
Part 6
Part 7
Part 8



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