I’ve never been a big fan of making “Top 100” film lists. It makes more sense to me to rate all the films I’ve seen and make a list of the top-rated films. Here are the 274 films that I rated 5 out of 5 stars, in chronological order.

1. Intolerance (US, 1916) Dir: D.W. Griffith
2. The Pawnshop (US, 1916) Dir. Charles Chaplin
3. One A.M. (US, 1916) Dir: Charles Chaplin
4. The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (Germany, 1920) Dir: Robert Weine
5. Greed (US, 1924) Dir: Erich von Stroheim
6. Sherlock Jr. (US, 1924) Dir: Buster Keaton
7. The Gold Rush (US, 1925) Dir: Charles Chaplin
8. Battleship Potemkin (USSR, 1925) Dir: Sergei Eisenstein
9. The General (US, 1926) Dir: Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman
10. Napoleon (France, 1927) Dir: Abel Gance
11. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (US, 1927) Dir: F.W. Murnau
12. The Passion of Joan of Arc (France, 1928) Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer
13. Man with a Movie Camera (USSR 1929) Dir: Dziga Vertov
14. Un Chien Andalou (France, 1929) Dir: Luis Buñuel & Salvador Dali
15. L’Âge d’Or (France, 1930) Dir: Luis Buñuel
16. City Lights (US, 1931) Dir: Charles Chaplin
17. Trouble in Paradise (US, 1932) Dir: Ernst Lubitsch
18. King Kong (US, 1933) Dir: Ernest Schoedsack & Merian Cooper
19. Zéro de Conduite (France, 1933) Dir: Jean Vigo
20. L’Atalante (France, 1934) Dir: Jean Vigo
21. Bride of Frankenstein (US, 1935) Dir: James Whale
22. Swing Time (US, 1936) Dir: George Stevens
23. Modern Times (US, 1936) Dir: Charles Chaplin
24. Grand Illusion (France, 1937) Dir: Jean Renoir
25. Bringing Up Baby (US, 1938) Dir: Howard Hawks
26. Stagecoach (US, 1939) Dir: John Ford
27. The Rules of the Game (France, 1939) Dir: Jean Renoir
28. The Wizard of Oz (US, 1939) Dir: Victor Fleming
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (US, 1939) Dir: Frank Capra
30. Gone With the Wind (US, 1939) Dir: Victor Fleming
31. His Girl Friday (US, 1940) Dir: Howard Hawks
32. The Philadelphia Story (US, 1940) Dir: George Cukor
33. The Lady Eve (US, 1941) Dir: Preston Sturges
34. Citizen Kane (US, 1941) Dir: Orson Welles
35. The Maltese Falcon (US, 1941) Dir: John Huston
36. The Magnificent Ambersons (US, 1942) Dir: Orson Welles
37. Casablanca (US, 1942) Dir: Michael Curtiz
38. Shadow of a Doubt (US, 1943) Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
39. Double Indemnity (US, 1944) Dir: Billy Wilder
40. Meet Me in St. Louis (US, 1944) Dir: Vincente Minnelli
41. Ivan the Terrible, Part I (USSR, 1944) Dir: Sergei Eisenstein
42. Children of Paradise (France, 1945) Dir: Marcel Carne
43. Mildred Pierce (US, 1945) Dir: Michael Curtiz
44. Rome, Open City (Italy, 1945) Dir: Roberto Rossellini
45. Brief Encounter  (UK, 1945) Dir: David Lean
46. Shoe Shine (Italy, 1946) Dir: Vittorio De Sica
47. Notorious (US, 1946) Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
48. The Big Sleep  (US, 1946) Dir: Howard Hawks
49. Beauty and the Beast (France, 1946) Dir: Jean Cocteau
50. The Best Years of Our Lives (US, 1946) Dir: William Wyler
51. My Darling Clementine (US, 1946) Dir: John Ford
52. It’s a Wonderful Life (US, 1946) Dir: Frank Capra
53. Great Expectations (UK, 1946) Dir: David Lean
54. A Matter of Life and Death (Stairway to Heaven) (UK, 1946) Dir: Michael Powell & Emeric Pressburger
55. Out of the Past (US, 1947) Dir: Jacques Tourneur
56. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (US, 1948) Dir: John Huston
57. Bicycle Thieves (Italy, 1948) Dir: Vittorio de Sica
58. Kind Hearts and Coronets (UK, 1949) Dir: Robert Hamer
59. The Third Man (UK, 1949) Dir: Carol Reed
60. White Heat (US, 1949) Dir: Raoul Walsh
61. Sunset Blvd. (US, 1950) Dir: Billy Wilder
62. Rashomon (Japan, 1950) Dir: Akira Kurosawa
63. All About Eve (US, 1950) Dir: Joseph L. Mankiewicz
64. Diary of a Country Priest (France, 1951) Dir: Robert Bresson
65. A Streetcar Named Desire (US, 1951) Dir: Elia Kazan
66. The African Queen (US, 1951) Dir: John Huston
67. Singin’ in the Rain (US, 1952) Dir: Stanley Donen & Gene Kelly
68. Ikiru (Japan, 1952) Dir: Akira Kurosawa
69. Forbidden Games (France, 1952) Dir: René Clément
70. The Life of Oharu (Japan, 1952) Dir: Kenji Mizoguchi
71. The Naked Spur (US, 1953) Dir: Anthony Mann
72. Mr. Hulot’s Holiday (France, 1953) Dir: Jacques Tati
73. Ugetsu (Japan, 1953) Dir: Kenzo Mizoguchi
74. The Band Wagon (US, 1953) Dir: Vincente Minnelli
75. The Earrings of Madame de… (France, 1953) Dir: Max Ophüls
76. Tokyo Story (Japan, 1953) Dir: Yasujiro Ozu
77. Seven Samurai (Japan, 1954) Dir: Akira Kurosawa
78. On the Waterfront (US, 1954) Dir: Elia Kazan
79. La Strada (Italy, 1954) Dir: Federico Fellini
80. A Star Is Born  (US, 1954) Dir: George Cukor
81. Night and Fog (France, 1955) Dir: Alain Resnais
82. Kiss Me Deadly (US, 1955) Dir: Robert Aldrich
83. The Night of the Hunter (US, 1955) Dir: Charles Laughton
84. Pather Panchali  (India, 1955) Dir: Satyajit Ray
85. Ordet (Denmark, 1955) Dir: Carl Theodor Dreyer
86. One Froggy Evening (US, 1955) Dir: Chuck Jones
87. Aparajito (The Unvanquished) (India, 1956) Dir: Satyajit Ray
88. The Searchers (US, 1956) Dir: John Ford
89. A Man Escaped (France, 1956) Dir: Robert Bresson
90. The Seventh Seal (Sweden, 1957) Dir: Ingmar Bergman
91. Nights of Cabiria (Italy, 1957) Dir: Federico Fellini
92. Sweet Smell of Success (US, 1957) Dir: Alexander Mackendrick
93. The Bridge on the River Kwai (UK, 1957) Dir: David Lean
94. Wild Strawberries (Sweden, 1957) Dir: Ingmar Bergman
95. What’s Opera, Doc? (US, 1957) Dir: Chuck Jones
96. Touch of Evil (US, 1958) Dir: Orson Welles
97. Vertigo (US, 1958) Dir: Alfred Hitchcock
98. Ivan the Terrible, Part II (USSR, 1958) Dir: Sergei Eisenstein
99. Some Like It Hot (US, 1959) Dir: Billy Wilder
100. The World of Apu (India, 1959) Dir: Satyajit Ray
101. The 400 Blows (France, 1959) Dir: Francois Truffaut
102. Hiroshima Mon Amour (France, 1959) Dir: Alain Resnais
103. Anatomy of a Murder (US, 1959) Dir: Otto Preminger
104. La Dolce Vita (Italy, 1960) Dir: Federico Fellini
105. Breathless (France, 1960) Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
106. Peeping Tom (UK, 1960) Dir: Michael Powell
107. The Virgin Spring (Sweden, 1960) Dir: Ingmar Bergman
108. L’Avventura (Italy, 1960) Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni
109. The Apartment (US, 1960) Dir: Billy Wilder
110. Viridiana (Spain/Mexico, 1961) Dir: Luis Buñuel
111. Jules and Jim (France, 1962) Dir: Francois Truffaut
112. La Jetée (France, 1962) Dir: Chris Marker
113. Cosmic Ray (US, 1962) Dir: Bruce Conner
114. Knife in the Water (Poland, 1962) Dir: Roman Polanski
115. The Exterminating Angel (Mexico, 1962) Dir: Luis Buñuel
116. Vivre Sa Vie (My Life to Live) (France, 1962) Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
117. The Manchurian Candidate  (US, 1962) Dir: John Frankenheimer
118. Lawrence of Arabia (UK, 1962) Dir: David Lean
119. The Trial (France, 1962) Dir: Orson Welles
120. Cléo From 5 to 7 (France, 1962) Dir: Agnès Varda
121. 8 ½ (Italy, 1963) Dir: Federico Fellini
122. The Servant (UK, 1963) Dir: Joseph Losey
123. The Leopard (Italy, 1963) Dir: Luchino Visconti
124. Dr. Strangelove, or How I Learned to Stop Worrying & Love the Bomb (UK, 1964) Dir: Stanley Kubrick
125. Band of Outsiders (France, 1964) Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
126. The Gospel According to St. Matthew (Italy, 1964) Dir: Pier Paolo Pasolini
127. Repulsion (UK, 1965) Dir: Roman Polanski
128. Darling (UK, 1965) Dir: John Schlesinger
129. Chimes at Midnight (Spain, 1965) Dir: Orson Welles
130. Ruka (The Hand) (Czechoslovakia, 1965) Dir: Jiří Trnka
131. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (US, 1966) Dir: Mike Nichols
132. Blow-Up (Italy/UK, 1966) Dir: Michelangelo Antonioni
133. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (Italy, 1966) Dir: Sergio Leone
134. Persona (Sweden, 1966) Dir: Ingmar Bergman
135. The Battle of Algiers (Italy/Algeria, 1966) Dir: Gillo Pontecorvo
136. Belle de Jour (France, 1967) Dir: Luis Buñuel
137. Bonnie and Clyde (US, 1967) Dir: Arthur Penn
138. Play Time (France, 1967) Dir: Jacques Tati
139. The Graduate (US, 1967) Dir: Mike Nichols
140. Weekend (France, 1967) Dir: Jean-Luc Godard
141. De Düva: The Dove (US, 1968) Dir: George Coe & Anthony Lover
142. Symbiopsychotaxiplasm: Take One (US, 1968) Dir: William Greaves
143. 2001: A Space Odyssey (UK/US, 1968) Dir: Stanley Kubrick
144. Faces  (US, 1968) Dir: John Cassavetes
145. Night of the Living Dead (1968) Dir: George Romero
146. Midnight Cowboy (US, 1969) Dir: John Schlesinger
147. Women in Love (UK, 1969) Dir: Ken Russell
148. Kes (UK, 1969) Dir: Ken Loach
149. My Night at Maud’s (France, 1969) Dir: Eric Rohmer
150. M*A*S*H  (US, 1970) Dir: Robert Altman
151. Five Easy Pieces (US, 1970) Dir: Bob Rafelson
152. The Garden of the Finzi-Continis (Italy, 1970) Dir: Vittorio de Sica
153. The Conformist (Italy/France, 1970) Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci
154. The Last Picture Show (US, 1971) Dir: Peter Bogdanovich
155. A Clockwork Orange (UK, 1971) Dir: Stanley Kubrick
156. Harold and Maude (US, 1971) Dir: Hal Ashby
157. The Godfather (US, 1972) Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
158. The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie (France, 1972) Dir: Luis Buñuel
159. Last Tango in Paris (France/Italy, 1972) Dir: Bernardo Bertolucci
160. Cries and Whispers (Sweden, 1972) Dir: Ingmar Bergman
161. Aguirre, the Wrath of God (West Germany, 1972) Dir: Werner Herzog
162. Badlands (US, 1973) Dir: Terence Malick
163. The Conversation (US, 1974) Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
164. Chinatown (US, 1974) Dir: Roman Polanski
165. The Enigma of Kaspar Hauser (West Germany, 1974) Dir: Werner Herzog
166. A Woman Under the Influence (US, 1974) Dir: John Cassavetes
167. Swept Away… (Italy, 1974) Dir: Lina Wertmüller
168. The Godfather: Part II (US, 1974) Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
169. Mirror (USSR, 1975) Dir: Andrei Tarkovsky
170. Nashville (US, 1975) Dir: Robert Altman
171. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (US, 1975) Dir: Milos Forman
172. Jeanne Dielman, 23 Quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (Belgium/France, 1975) Dir: Chantal Akerman
173. Taxi Driver  (US, 1976) Dir: Martin Scorsese
174. Eraserhead (US, 1977) Dir: David Lynch
175. 3 Women (US, 1977) Dir: Robert Altman
176. Annie Hall (US, 1977) Dir: Woody Allen
177. Opening Night (US, 1977) Dir: John Cassavetes
178. The Marriage of Maria Braun (West Germany, 1979) Dir: Rainer Maria Fassbinder
179. Apocalypse Now (US, 1979) Dir: Francis Ford Coppola
180. Being There (US, 1979) Dir: Hal Ashby
181. Return of the Secaucus Seven (US, 1980) Dir: John Sayles
182. Atlantic City (US/Canada 1980) Dir: Louis Malle
183. Stardust Memories (US, 1980) Dir: Woody Allen
184. Raging Bull (US, 1980) Dir: Martin Scorsese
185. My Dinner with Andre (US, 1981) Dir: Louis Malle
186. Fanny and Alexander (Sweden, 1982) Dir: Ingmar Bergman
187. Local Hero (UK, 1983) Dir: Bill Forsyth
188. The King of Comedy (US, 1983) Dir: Martin Scorsese
189. Baby It’s You (US, 1983) Dir: John Sayles
190. This Is Spinal Tap (US, 1984) Dir: Rob Reiner
191. Jumping (Japan, 1984) Dir: Osamu Tezuka
192. Brazil (US, 1985) Dir: Terry Gilliam
193. Hannah and Her Sisters (US, 1986) Dir: Woody Allen
194. The Sacrifice (USSR/(Sweden, 1986) Dir: Andrei Tarkovsky
195. Blue Velvet (US, 1986) Dir: David Lynch
196. The Singing Detective (UK, 1986) Dir: John Amiel (TV)
197. Street of Crocodiles (UK, 1986) Dir: Stephen Quay & Timothy Quay
198. Raising Arizona  (US, 1987) Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen
199. Wings of Desire (West Germany, 1987) Dir: Wim Wenders
200. The Thin Blue Line (US, 1988) Dir: Errol Morris
201. The Vanishing (The Netherlands, 1988) Dir: George Sluizer
202. sex, lies, and videotape (US, 1989) Dir: Steve Soderbergh
203. Say Anything… (US, 1989) Dir: Cameron Crowe
204. Do the Right Thing (US, 1989) Dir: Spike Lee
205. Crimes and Misdemeanors (US, 1989) Dir: Woody Allen
206. The Decalogue (Poland, 1989) Dir: Krzysztof Kieślowski (TV)
207. Unforgiven (US, 1992) Dir: Clint Eastwood
208. Groundhog Day (US, 1993) Dir: Harold Ramis
209. Naked (UK, 1993) Dir: Mike Leigh
210. Short Cuts (US, 1993) Dir: Robert Altman
211. The Wrong Trousers (UK, 1993) Dir: Nick Park
212. Schindler’s List (US, 1993) Dir: Steven Spielberg
213. Pulp Fiction (US, 1994) Dir: Quentin Tarantino
214. Ed Wood (US, 1994) Dir: Tim Burton
215. Before Sunrise (US, 1995) Dir: Richard Linklater
216. Pride and Prejudice (UK, 1995) Dir: Simon Langton (TV)
217. Fargo (US, 1996) Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen
218. Secrets & Lies (UK, 1996) Dir: Mike Leigh
219. Lone Star (US, 1996) Dir: John Sayles
220. Microcosmos (France, 1996) Dir: Claude Nuridsany & Marie Pérennou
221. The Sweet Hereafter (Canada, 1997) Dir: Atom Egoyan
222. Fast, Cheap and Out of Control (US, 1997) Dir: Errol Morris
223. Boogie Nights (US, 1997) Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson
224. Happiness (US, 1998) Dir: Todd Solondz
225. The Celebration (Denmark, 1998) Dir: Thomas Vinterberg
226. Rushmore (US, 1998) Dir: Wes Anderson
227. All About My Mother (Spain, 1999) Dir: Pedro Almodóvar
228. Being John Malkovich (US, 1999) Dir: Spike Jonze
229. Magnolia (US, 1999) Dir: Paul Thomas Anderson
230. Yi Yi (Taiwan, 2000) Dir: Edward Yang
231. In the Mood for Love (China, 2000) Dir: Wong Kar-Wai
232. Requiem for a Dream (US, 2000) Dir: Darren Aronofsky
233. Songs from the Second Floor (Sweden, 2000) Dir: Roy Andersson
234. Traffic (US, 2000) Dir: Steven Soderbergh
235. Waking Life (US, 2001) Dir: Richard Linklater
236. Fat Girl (France, 2001) Dir: Catherine Breillat
237. Mulholland Dr. (US, 2001) Dir: David Lynch
238. Moulin Rouge! (US, 2001) Dir: Baz Luhrmann
239. The Royal Tenenbaums (US, 2001) Dir: Wes Anderson
240. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (US/NZ 2001) Dir: Peter Jackson
241. Talk to Her (Spain, 2002) Dir: Pedro Almodóvar
242. Dogville (Denmark, 2003) Dir: Lars von Trier
243. Capturing the Friedmans (US, 2003) Dir: Andrew Jarecki
244. American Splendor (US, 2003) Dir: Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini
245. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (US/NZ 2003) Dir: Peter Jackson
246. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (US, 2004) Dir: Michel Gondry
247. Fahrenheit 9/11 (US, 2004) Dir: Michael Moore
248. Downfall (Germany, 2004) Dir: Oliver Hirschbiegel
249. Tarnation (US, 2004) Dir: Jonathan Caouette
250. Born Into Brothels: Calcutta’s Red Light Kids (US/India) Dir: Zana Briski & Ross Kauffman
251. Grizzly Man (US, 2005) Dir: Werner Herzog
252. The Lives of Others (Germany, 2006) Dir: Florian Henckel von Donnersmark
253. Once (Ireland, 2006) Dir: John Carney
254. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (Romania, 2007) Dir: Cristian Mungiu
255. Encounters at the End of the World (US, 2007) Dir: Werner Herzog
256. Juno (US, 2007) Dir: Jason Reitman
257. No Country for Old Men (US, 2007) Dir: Joel & Ethan Coen
258. Slumdog Millionaire (UK, 2008) Dir: Danny Boyle
259. Food, Inc. (US, 2008) Dir: Robert Kenner
260. The White Ribbon (Germany/Austria 2009) Dir: Michael Haneke
261. Cave of Forgotten Dreams (US, 2010) Dir: Werner Herzog
262. The Tree of Life (US, 2011) Dir: Terence Malick
263. Moonrise Kingdom (US, 2012) Dir: Wes Anderson
264. The Act of Killing (Denmark, 2012) Dir: Joshua Oppenheimer
265. Boyhood (US, 2014) Dir: Richard Linklater
266. Anomalisa (US, 2015) Dir: Charlie Kaufman & Duke Johnson
267. Moonlight (US, 2016) Dir: Barry Jenkins
268. The Florida Project (US, 2017) Dir: Sean Baker
269. The Favourite (Ireland/UK/US, 2018) Dir: Yorgos Lanthimos
270. The Souvenir (UK, 2019) Dir: Joanna Hogg
271. The Irishman (US, 2019) Dir: Martin Scorsese
272. I’m Thinking of Ending Things (US, 2020) Dir: Charlie Kaufman
273. Aftersun (US/UK, 2022) Dir: Charlotte Wells
274. The Zone of Interest (UK/Poland, 2023) Dir: Jonathan Glazer