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The IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2022


Introduction

To help track the Change in the IMDb Top 250, I grab a static copy of that list each 1st January. Here's the list as it was on 1st January, 2022, with some data that ties it to previous years.

Here are equivalent pages for 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2013 and 2004.

Of course, the list changes all the time. Here's the current version of the IMDb Top 250 at the Internet Movie Database.


The Usual Suspects | The New Batch | The Departed

Key

This list is in ranking order and lists the title, year and director of each film, with a link to its IMDb page, along with its position (if applicable) in the list I grabbed on 1st January of each year from 2021 to 2013, as well as at some point in mid-2004. The last column highlights the change in position over the last twelve months. A film that wasn't in the list in 2021 is a new entry, even if it was in the list in a previous year.

Notes

There's much worthy of note in this New Year's list.

Averages

The averages aren't surprising. The mean gradually gets newer at roughly one year per year and, no doubt, it will continue to do so because people keep on making new films. However, the mean stays at 1987 in 2022 for a third year.

The median ought to get newer too, but it does that less cleanly. In fact, it actually dropped in 2022 for the first time since I've been gathering data, from 1995 to 1994. My guess for the reason is that the new entries are spread across the decades, while the films they replaced are generally more recent. This means that there are as many films in the list released after 1994 as before it.

The mode, the year most represented in the list, is the one value that doesn't have to get newer at all. Right now, it's 1995, for an ninth year running, and there are eight films from that year represented. Those with seven are 1957 and 2019. 1957 is often seen as world cinema's greatest year, though only the two Ingmar Bergmans (The Seventh Seal and Wild Strawberries) and Nights of Cabiria are foreign language from those seven.

Decade Change

The oldest film in the list remains Charlie Chaplin's The Kid, released in 1921, so over a hundred years old. It's one of six films from the 1920s in this year's list, three years older than the next oldest, which is Buster Keaton's Sherlock, Jr.

It's rare for an older decade to increase in representation, but both the 1950s and 1960s did this year, with only the 1990s and the expected 2020s joining them in that increase. Pather Panchali and Nights of Cabiria are new for the 1950s, while Z is new for the 1960s. Going backwards from the 2010s, no decade has more films in the list, except for the 1950s, with 24, more than the 19 from the 1960s and 1970s.

New Entries

New entries used to include a combination of brand new English language films and classic foreign films, but recent foreign films have been becoming the norm too. There are only three 2021 films in the list, two of which are Hollywood features: Dune and Spider-Man: No Way Home. The other is Jai Bhim, from India. Also recent are The Father from 2020; a 2019 Turkish remake of a South Korean film, Miracle in Cell No. 7; and a 2016 anime, A Silent Voice: The Movie. Older films were all foreign, ranging from India's Pather Panchali to Japan's The End of Evangelion.

The highest new entry is Spider-Man: No Way Home, at 16 though it entered the list last month at 8, the highest entry since Inception. I'm interested to see how far it drops before it stabilises; this seems too high an entry to vanish, let alone quickly.

Two films re-enter the list, having been missing in 2019 and 2020 but mainstays for multiple years before that: Nights of Cabiria and Fanny and Alexander.

Ups

As always, more films dropped than rose, given that new entries inevitably bounce everything downwards. However, the list was more stable even than last time out with only two films climbing by more than eleven places.

That pair includes last year's highest climber, Come and See. The Russian war movie continues its ascent with another 19 place jump, meaning that, in the six years it's been in the Top 250, it's risen from 181 to 90. However, the unexpected highest climber this year was the 1928 silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc, which, counter to Come and See has been steadily dropping since it reentered the list in 2017 but recovered 22 places this year, ending at 204.

Downs and Outs

As always, the biggest drop was a mainstream Hollywood film that was a new entry last year: Soul, which entered at 163 last year but was gone this year, meaning a drop of at least 87 places. However, every other film to drop out of the list entirely (except for The Help) was foreign for a change: Anand and Time of the Gypsies entered at 167 and 208 last year but are both now gone, along with fifteen others. The films that fell furthest but still remain in the Top 250 follow in similar vein: the largest dropper was Hamilton, falling 34 places from 52 to 86, but followed by foreign films The Bandit, My Father and My Son and Autumn Sonata, which fell 33, 29 and 28 places respectively.

The films that fell furthest but still remain in the Top 250 follow in similar vein: the largest decrease was from the very American Hamilton, falling 34 places from 52 to 86, but it was followed by foreign films The Bandit, My Father and My Son and Autumn Sonata, which fell 33, 29 and 28 places respectively.

Two mainstays are gone entirely from this year's list: Rang de Basanti and The Help. Both entered the list in 2014 and, with the exception of the former two years later, have been there ever since. Other classics that dropped out this year include 1955's Rififi and 1971's Anand, the latter of which had entered so high in 2021.

Directors

This year's top directors are again balanced well between the modern and classic eras, with Akira Kurosawa up one to join Stanley Kubrick, Martin Scorsese and Christopher Nolan on seven titles each. Behind them on six are Alfred Hitchcock and Steven Spielberg, as last year.

The Top Ten

The Top Ten has remained relatively unchanged for a long while, being the same ten films, if in slightly different orders, since 2013. This year remains static for the second year running and, in fact, the only change in the top twenty is the addition of Spider-Man: No Way Home.


The Usual Suspects | The New Batch | The Departed


The List

# Title Year Director IMDb '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
1 The Shawshank Redemption 1994 Frank Darabont IMDb 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 =
2 The Godfather 1972 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 1 =
3 The Godfather: Part II 1974 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 3 4 =
4 The Dark Knight 2008 Christopher Nolan IMDb 4 4 4 4 4 4 4 6 7 =
5 12 Angry Men 1957 Sidney Lumet IMDb 5 5 5 5 5 5 7 7 6 21 =
6 Schindler’s List 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 6 6 6 6 6 6 8 8 8 6 =
7 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King 2003 Peter Jackson IMDb 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 9 9 3 =
8 Pulp Fiction 1994 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 8 8 8 7 7 7 5 4 4 16 =
9 The Good, the Bad and the Ugly 1966 Sergio Leone IMDb 9 9 9 9 9 8 6 5 5 20 =
10 The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 Peter Jackson IMDb 10 11 11 11 11 11 11 11 13 9 =
11 Fight Club 1999 David Fincher IMDb 11 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 10 41 =
12 Forrest Gump 1994 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 12 12 12 12 13 13 14 15 19 115 =
13 Inception 2010 Christopher Nolan IMDb 13 13 14 14 14 14 13 14 14 =
14 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers 2002 Peter Jackson IMDb 14 15 15 15 15 16 17 19 21 8 =
15 The Empire Strikes Back 1980 Irvin Kershner IMDb 15 14 13 13 12 12 12 12 11 13 =
16 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 Jon Watts IMDb
17 The Matrix 1999 Andy & Larry Wachowski IMDb 16 16 18 18 18 17 19 20 18 34 ↓1
18 Goodfellas 1990 Martin Scorsese IMDb 17 17 17 17 17 18 18 16 15 29 ↓1
19 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest 1975 Milos Forman IMDb 18 18 16 16 16 15 15 13 12 12 ↓1
20 Seven Samurai 1954 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 19 19 19 19 19 20 21 18 17 5 ↓1
21 Se7en 1995 David Fincher IMDb 20 20 21 22 22 22 23 22 23 55 ↓1
22 The Silence of the Lambs 1991 Jonathan Demme IMDb 23 23 23 23 23 23 25 24 24 28 ↑1
23 It’s a Wonderful Life 1946 Frank Capra IMDb 24 24 24 24 24 25 26 26 30 27 ↑1
24 City of God 2002 Fernando Meirelles & Kátia Lund IMDb 22 21 20 21 21 21 22 21 20 23 ↓2
25 Life is Beautiful 1997 Roberto Benigni IMDb 21 22 25 25 26 26 29 36 55 72 ↓4
26 Saving Private Ryan 1998 Steven Spielberg IMDb 26 27 28 29 29 30 34 34 39 58 =
27 Star Wars 1977 George Lucas IMDb 25 25 22 20 20 19 20 17 16 10 ↓2
28 Interstellar 2014 Christopher Nolan IMDb 29 31 32 32 33 29 16 ↑1
29 Spirited Away 2001 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 27 28 27 28 28 31 36 38 43 43 ↓2
30 The Green Mile 1999 Frank Darabont IMDb 28 29 31 34 37 40 42 48 65 132 ↓2
31 Parasite 2019 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 30 30 ↓1
32 Leon 1994 Luc Besson IMDb 31 32 30 27 27 27 28 28 31 64 ↓1
33 Harakiri 1962 Masaki Kobayashi IMDb 33 33 =
34 The Pianist 2002 Roman Polanski IMDb 35 39 39 40 42 42 43 43 49 37 ↑1
35 Terminator 2: Judgment Day 1991 James Cameron IMDb 37 38 42 44 44 41 40 39 36 110 ↑2
36 Back to the Future 1985 Robert Zemeckis IMDb 36 37 43 45 45 45 49 46 47 143 =
37 The Usual Suspects 1995 Bryan Singer IMDb 32 34 26 26 25 24 24 25 26 18 ↓5
38 Psycho 1960 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 40 41 33 35 35 35 33 31 29 25 ↑2
39 The Lion King 1994 Roger Allers & Rob Minkoff IMDb 34 35 47 48 51 54 54 69 79 ↓5
40 Modern Times 1936 Charles Chaplin IMDb 39 40 38 39 40 39 39 41 45 69 ↓1
41 Grave of the Fireflies 1988 Isao Takahata IMDb 47 50 55 58 59 64 71 82 104 171 ↑6
42 American History X 1998 Tony Kaye IMDb 38 36 34 31 32 32 32 32 34 61 ↓4
43 Whiplash 2014 Damien Chazelle IMDb 45 46 44 46 46 43 ↑2
44 Gladiator 2000 Ridley Scott IMDb 41 42 48 47 47 47 48 49 63 168 ↓3
45 City Lights 1931 Charles Chaplin IMDb 42 44 35 37 36 34 35 33 41 91 ↓3
46 The Departed 2006 Martin Scorsese IMDb 43 45 41 42 43 44 46 47 50 ↓3
47 The Intouchables 2011 Olivier Nakache & Eric Toledano IMDb 44 43 40 38 39 38 38 45 64 ↓3
48 The Prestige 2006 Christopher Nolan IMDb 46 48 49 49 50 51 51 61 68 ↓2
49 Casablanca 1942 Michael Curtiz IMDb 49 49 37 36 34 33 30 27 25 7 =
50 Once Upon a Time in the West 1968 Sergio Leone IMDb 48 47 36 33 30 28 27 23 22 32 ↓2
51 Rear Window 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 51 51 45 43 41 37 37 30 28 14 =
52 Cinema Paradiso 1988 Giuseppe Tornatore IMDb 50 52 54 55 57 57 57 64 76 99 ↓2
53 Alien 1979 Ridley Scott IMDb 53 53 52 52 52 53 50 44 40 60 =
54 Apocalypse Now 1979 Francis Ford Coppola IMDb 54 55 50 51 49 48 45 40 35 36 =
55 Memento 2000 Christopher Nolan IMDb 55 56 51 50 48 46 41 37 33 19 =
56 Raiders of the Lost Ark 1981 Steven Spielberg IMDb 57 54 46 41 38 36 31 29 27 17 ↑1
57 The Great Dictator 1940 Charles Chaplin IMDb 56 57 53 53 55 55 52 59 69 97 ↓1
58 Django Unchained 2012 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 58 60 62 60 60 60 56 53 =
59 The Lives of Others 2006 Florian Henckel von Donnersmarck IMDb 59 58 58 57 56 56 53 55 60 =
60 Paths of Glory 1957 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 61 63 60 59 58 58 59 54 54 40 ↑1
61 Sunset Boulevard 1950 Billy Wilder IMDb 65 66 57 54 54 50 44 35 32 31 ↑4
62 WALL-E 2008 Andrew Stanton IMDb 62 65 63 62 62 62 61 60 59 =
63 Avengers: Infinity War 2018 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 64 61 56 ↑1
64 Witness for the Prosecution 1957 Billy Wilder IMDb 66 70 65 67 71 76 83 83 102 164 ↑2
65 The Shining 1980 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 63 62 61 61 61 59 58 51 46 89 ↓2
66 Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse 2018 Bob Persichetti, Peter Ramsey & Rodney Rothman IMDb 69 64 29 ↑3
67 Dr. Strangelove 1964 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 70 68 59 56 53 49 47 42 37 15 ↑3
68 Princess Mononoke 1997 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 68 67 64 64 65 68 72 81 93 100 =
69 Oldboy 2003 Chan-wook Park IMDb 67 69 68 66 67 69 70 76 85 ↓2
70 Joker 2019 Todd Phillips IMDb 60 26 ↓10
71 Your Name 2016 Makoto Shinkai IMDb 74 74 80 79 ↑3
72 Coco 2017 Lee Unkrich & Adrian Molina IMDb 75 76 71 30 ↑3
73 The Dark Knight Rises 2012 Christopher Nolan IMDb 71 71 67 65 63 61 55 50 38 ↓2
74 Aliens 1986 James Cameron IMDb 73 73 69 68 66 65 63 62 58 87 ↓1
75 Once Upon a Time in America 1984 Sergio Leone IMDb 72 72 70 69 68 72 74 77 77 124 ↓3
76 Avengers: Endgame 2019 Anthony & Joe Russo IMDb 76 59 =
77 Capernaum 2018 Nadine Labaki IMDb 82 110 ↑5
78 Das Boot 1981 Wolfgang Peterson IMDb 79 78 72 70 70 71 69 71 71 46 ↑1
79 High and Low 1963 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 83 ↑4
80 3 Idiots 2009 Rajkumar Hirani IMDb 80 79 87 94 103 114 120 158 240 =
81 Toy Story 1995 John Lasseter IMDb 81 82 91 95 95 97 107 113 118 177 =
82 American Beauty 1999 Sam Mendes IMDb 77 75 66 63 64 63 60 57 51 30 ↓5
83 Amadeus 1984 Milos Forman IMDb 84 83 81 86 89 88 89 92 88 79 ↑1
84 Braveheart 1995 Mel Gibson IMDb 78 77 74 76 77 78 79 79 83 85 ↓6
85 Inglourious Basterds 2009 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 85 85 95 98 98 100 101 109 113 =
86 Hamilton 2020 Thomas Kail IMDb 52 ↓34
87 Good Will Hunting 1997 Gus Van Sant IMDb 88 86 101 103 110 119 127 140 157 248 ↑1
88 Return of the Jedi 1983 Richard Marquand IMDb 86 80 78 75 74 73 73 78 81 131 ↓2
89 2001: A Space Odyssey 1968 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 90 88 89 93 93 92 98 103 92 73 ↑1
90 Come and See 1985 Elem Klimov IMDb 109 139 168 171 181 ↑19
91 Reservoir Dogs 1992 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 89 84 77 77 76 77 77 74 70 71 ↓2
92 Like Stars on Earth 2007 Aamir Khan IMDb 87 81 84 82 84 111 148 ↓5
93 Vertigo 1958 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 92 90 75 73 73 70 66 63 48 33 ↓1
94 M 1931 Fritz Lang IMDb 93 87 79 78 75 74 67 58 52 50 ↓1
95 Citizen Kane 1941 Orson Welles IMDb 96 93 73 72 69 66 64 56 44 11 ↑1
96 The Hunt 2012 Thomas Vinterberg IMDb 94 94 103 104 107 116 125 132 ↓2
97 Requiem for a Dream 2000 Darren Aronofsky IMDb 91 89 82 80 79 81 80 75 73 51 ↓6
98 Singin’ in the Rain 1952 Gene Kelly & Stanley Donen IMDb 99 103 94 92 96 90 86 86 86 47 ↑1
99 North by Northwest 1959 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 103 96 76 74 72 67 62 52 42 22 ↑4
100 Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind 2004 Michel Gondry IMDb 95 92 86 88 86 86 84 80 75 38 ↓5
101 Ikiru 1952 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 107 113 124 128 130 131 132 120 193 ↑6
102 The Bicycle Thief 1948 Vittorio De Sica IMDb 100 100 98 99 94 91 88 84 91 104 ↓2
103 Lawrence of Arabia 1962 David Lean IMDb 111 105 85 85 82 85 82 73 66 24 ↑8
104 The Kid 1921 Charles Chaplin IMDb 101 99 99 100 99 96 99 110 128 ↓3
105 Full Metal Jacket 1987 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 98 95 96 91 90 87 85 85 82 102 ↓7
106 Dangal 2016 Nitesh Tiwari IMDb 97 91 83 71 ↓9
107 Incendies 2010 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 116 118 125 131 148 159 174 202 226 ↑9
108 The Apartment 1960 Billy Wilder IMDb 118 115 109 108 106 102 97 96 96 81 ↑10
109 The Father 2020 Florian Zeller IMDb
110 Double Indemnity 1944 Billy Wilder IMDb 119 112 92 87 83 83 78 67 57 45 ↑9
111 Metropolis 1927 Fritz Lang IMDb 115 108 110 109 111 106 109 98 89 86 ↑4
112 Taxi Driver 1976 Martin Scorsese IMDb 108 104 93 89 81 82 76 68 53 42 ↓4
113 A Clockwork Orange 1971 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 104 97 88 84 80 79 75 70 61 74 ↓9
114 A Separation 2011 Asghar Farhadi IMDb 114 111 111 110 109 105 105 101 105 =
115 The Sting 1973 George Roy Hill IMDb 113 107 100 96 92 89 87 90 98 67 ↓2
116 Scarface 1983 Brian De Palma IMDb 106 102 105 106 104 108 113 121 129 ↓10
117 Snatch 2000 Guy Ritchie IMDb 105 98 104 101 97 93 91 104 112 221 ↓12
118 1917 2019 Sam Mendes IMDb 102 ↓16
119 Amelie 2001 Jean-Pierre Jeunet IMDb 112 101 90 83 78 75 65 65 62 26 ↓7
120 Pather Panchali 1955 Satyajit Ray IMDb
121 To Kill a Mockingbird 1962 Robert Mulligan IMDb 120 114 97 90 85 84 81 72 67 35 ↓1
122 Toy Story 3 2010 Lee Unkrich IMDb 110 106 102 97 88 80 68 66 56 ↓12
123 For a Few Dollars More 1965 Sergio Leone IMDb 117 109 107 105 102 99 95 108 111 ↓6
124 Up 2009 Pete Docter IMDb 121 117 114 115 118 115 115 118 114 ↓3
125 Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade 1989 Steven Spielberg IMDb 122 116 112 112 108 104 103 100 97 141 ↓3
126 Heat 1995 Michael Mann IMDb 123 121 123 123 126 123 124 122 119 245 ↓3
127 L.A. Confidential 1997 Curtis Hanson IMDb 124 119 108 107 101 98 94 93 80 49 ↓3
128 Yojimbo 1961 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 128 125 117 113 113 109 106 102 109 107 =
129 Die Hard 1988 John McTiernan IMDb 125 123 121 122 123 120 119 111 101 156 ↓4
130 Ran 1985 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 135 135 136 133 134 132 135 127 133 76 ↑5
131 Rashomon 1950 Akira Kurosawa IMDb 130 122 113 111 105 101 92 91 90 57 ↓1
132 Green Book 2018 Peter Farrelly IMDb 126 127 ↓6
133 Downfall 2004 Oliver Hirschbiegel IMDb 131 128 120 121 120 118 117 116 107 ↓2
134 Monty Python and the Holy Grail 1975 Terry Gilliam & Terry Jones IMDb 127 120 106 102 100 94 90 95 84 56 ↓7
135 All About Eve 1950 Joseph L Mankiewicz IMDb 137 137 115 114 114 103 96 88 95 54 ↑2
136 Some Like It Hot 1959 Billy Wilder IMDb 134 131 118 118 116 110 100 97 87 44 ↓2
137 Batman Begins 2005 Christopher Nolan IMDb 129 124 116 116 115 111 108 107 103 ↓8
138 Unforgiven 1992 Clint Eastwood IMDb 133 126 119 120 119 113 110 105 94 127 ↓5
139 Children of Heaven 1997 Majid Majidi IMDb 132 129 128 127 124 ↓7
140 Jai Bhim 2021 T. J. Gnanavel IMDb
141 Howl’s Moving Castle 2004 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 136 132 135 137 141 142 146 168 189 ↓5
142 The Wolf of Wall Street 2013 Martin Scorsese IMDb 141 144 149 150 154 144 130 ↓1
143 Judgment at Nuremberg 1961 Stanley Kramer IMDb 148 146 137 134 146 147 153 145 250 ↑5
144 There Will Be Blood 2007 Paul Thomas Anderson IMDb 144 151 160 166 182 175 184 185 173 =
145 The Great Escape 1963 John Sturges IMDb 140 133 127 126 125 121 118 119 110 77 ↓5
146 Casino 1995 Martin Scorsese IMDb 139 138 143 146 145 141 141 144 150 ↓7
147 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre 1948 John Huston IMDb 149 145 122 119 117 107 102 87 74 68 ↑2
148 Pan’s Labyrinth 2006 Guillermo Del Toro IMDb 142 140 129 130 129 126 123 117 106 ↓6
149 A Beautiful Mind 2001 Ron Howard IMDb 138 136 141 145 147 149 160 182 199 ↓11
150 The Secret in Their Eyes 2009 Juan José Campanella IMDb 143 142 138 136 136 135 139 143 155 ↓7
151 Raging Bull 1980 Martin Scorsese IMDb 147 141 126 124 121 117 112 106 99 59 ↓4
152 Chinatown 1974 Roman Polanski IMDb 154 149 131 129 127 122 116 99 78 48 ↑2
153 My Neighbor Totoro 1988 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 146 134 133 132 131 128 128 141 165 ↓7
154 Dersu Uzala 1975 Akira Kurosawa IMDb
155 Shutter Island 2010 Martin Scorsese IMDb 152 161 171 180 189 192 209 240 234 ↓3
156 Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels 1998 Guy Ritchie IMDb 145 143 142 143 142 137 138 137 142 224 ↓11
157 No Country for Old Men 2007 Joel & Ethan Coen IMDb 156 157 158 161 175 165 168 160 139 ↓1
158 Dial M for Murder 1954 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 150 152 155 154 162 158 162 166 167 ↓8
159 The Gold Rush 1925 Charles Chaplin IMDb 153 150 139 135 135 130 131 130 137 151 ↓6
160 Klaus 2019 Sergio Pablos & Carlos Martinez López IMDb 169 176 ↑9
161 The Thing 1982 John Carpenter IMDb 162 164 163 163 174 166 165 164 147 ↑1
162 Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri 2017 Martin McDonagh IMDb 151 147 144 ↓11
163 The Seventh Seal 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 159 155 146 141 140 133 129 124 117 95 ↓4
164 The Elephant Man 1980 David Lynch IMDb 160 159 148 148 151 140 133 126 116 130 ↓4
165 The Sixth Sense 1999 M Night Shyamalan IMDb 164 162 161 159 171 160 163 153 143 96 ↓1
166 The Truman Show 1998 Peter Weir IMDb 168 181 187 207 214 211 232 239 215 ↑2
167 Jurassic Park 1993 Steven Spielberg IMDb 166 169 182 199 209 199 237 250 245 ↓1
168 Wild Strawberries 1957 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 172 172 156 151 149 138 134 125 126 138 ↑4
169 The Third Man 1949 Carol Reed IMDb 180 168 132 125 122 112 104 89 72 39 ↑11
170 Memories of Murder 2003 Bong Joon Ho IMDb 176 189 196 201 211 216 227 218 ↑6
171 V for Vendetta 2005 James McTeigue IMDb 157 153 152 149 153 145 145 152 164 ↓14
172 Blade Runner 1982 Ridley Scott IMDb 173 167 154 147 139 134 136 128 124 94 ↑1
173 Trainspotting 1996 Danny Boyle IMDb 165 158 159 155 163 157 154 149 151 203 ↓8
174 Inside Out 2015 Pete Docter & Ronnie del Carmen IMDb 158 154 147 138 128 95 ↓16
175 The Bridge on the River Kwai 1957 David Lean IMDb 177 166 140 139 137 129 126 114 100 52 ↑2
176 Fargo 1996 Joel Coen IMDb 178 174 164 160 167 156 152 136 127 88 ↑2
177 Finding Nemo 2003 Andrew Stanton IMDb 171 171 167 164 170 163 167 170 163 75 ↓6
178 Warrior 2011 Gavin O’Connor IMDb 161 156 153 153 152 143 143 146 153 ↓17
179 Kill Bill: Vol 1 2003 Quentin Tarantino IMDb 175 177 172 173 178 170 171 163 152 63 ↓4
180 Gone with the Wind 1939 Victor Fleming IMDb 170 165 162 157 166 155 157 151 158 148 ↓10
181 Tokyo Story 1953 Yasujiro Ozu IMDb 184 180 175 167 165 ↑3
182 On the Waterfront 1954 Elia Kazan IMDb 183 170 145 140 132 125 121 115 115 78 ↑1
183 Dune 2021 Denis Villeneuve IMDb
184 My Father and My Son 2005 Çagan Irmak IMDb 155 148 130 117 87 ↓29
185 Wild Tales 2014 Damián Szifron IMDb 182 184 181 185 197 194 ↓3
186 Stalker 1979 Andrei Tarkovsky IMDb 174 182 194 206 213 198 206 217 213 ↓12
187 Prisoners 2013 Denis Villeneuve IMDb 196 198 208 216 233 232 246 234 ↑9
188 The Deer Hunter 1978 Michael Cimino IMDb 185 179 166 158 164 151 147 139 134 117 ↓3
189 The Grand Budapest Hotel 2014 Wes Anderson IMDb 189 193 189 195 203 186 182 =
190 The General 1926 Buster Keaton & Clyde Bruckman IMDb 200 192 157 152 150 139 137 123 120 93 ↑10
191 Sherlock, Jr. 1924 Buster Keaton IMDb 199 194 169 ↑8
192 Gran Torino 2008 Clint Eastwood IMDb 181 175 165 156 159 146 140 131 125 ↓11
193 Persona 1966 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 195 195 195 198 206 181 193 190 185 235 ↑2
194 Z 1969 Costa-Gavras IMDb
195 Before Sunrise 1995 Richard Linklater IMDb 191 196 205 212 219 207 215 231 ↓4
196 Mary and Max 2009 Adam Elliot IMDb 188 185 176 178 179 167 169 175 183 ↓8
197 Catch Me if You Can 2002 Steven Spielberg IMDb 193 197 215 220 236 245 ↓4
198 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington 1939 Frank Capra IMDb 206 190 151 144 138 127 122 112 108 66 ↑8
199 In the Name of the Father 1993 Jim Sheridan IMDb 187 186 186 191 195 187 188 200 221 ↓12
200 Barry Lyndon 1975 Stanley Kubrick IMDb 205 208 220 228 239 222 229 214 209 ↑5
201 Gone Girl 2014 David Fincher IMDb 190 187 178 179 180 164 114 ↓11
202 Room 2015 Lenny Abrahamson IMDb 179 160 150 142 133 ↓23
203 Hacksaw Ridge 2016 Mel Gibson IMDb 192 188 177 174 91 ↓11
204 The Passion of Joan of Arc 1928 Carl Theodor Dreyer IMDb 226 209 202 181 157 205 ↑22
205 Andhadhun 2018 Siram Raghavan IMDb 194 173 ↓11
206 Ford v Ferrari 2019 James Mangold IMDb 203 130 ↓3
207 12 Years a Slave 2013 Steve McQueen IMDb 204 200 199 202 201 184 175 ↓3
208 To Be or Not to Be 1942 Ernst Lubitsch IMDb 198 179 ↓10
209 The Big Lebowski 1998 Joel Coen IMDb 197 183 170 165 161 148 142 133 131 222 ↓12
210 Dead Poets Society 1989 Peter Weir IMDb 211 223 224 243 ↑1
211 How to Train Your Dragon 2010 Dean DeBlois & Chris Sanders IMDb 201 191 179 175 176 153 151 165 166 ↓10
212 Ben-Hur 1959 William Wyler IMDb 213 217 197 196 202 191 185 186 169 129 ↑1
213 Mad Max: Fury Road 2015 George Miller IMDb 207 206 206 204 199 152 ↓6
214 Autumn Sonata 1978 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 186 ↓28
215 Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 2011 David Yates IMDb 214 220 217 218 224 219 217 227 220 ↓1
216 Million Dollar Baby 2004 Clint Eastwood IMDb 209 210 200 203 205 189 190 183 172 ↓7
217 The Handmaiden 2016 Chan-wook Park IMDb 218 229 240 248 ↑1
218 The Wages of Fear 1953 Henri-Georges Clouzot IMDb 222 202 203 192 191 173 161 ↑4
219 Stand by Me 1986 Rob Reiner IMDb 212 204 190 193 194 180 183 184 175 196 ↓7
220 Network 1976 Sidney Lumet IMDb 210 203 193 190 190 177 176 172 170 217 ↓10
221 Logan 2017 James Mangold IMDb 219 214 211 188 ↓2
222 La haine 1995 Mathieu Kassovitz IMDb 228 234 229 234 238 224 224 224 230 ↑6
223 Cool Hand Luke 1967 Stuart Rosenberg IMDb 215 199 173 170 172 154 150 138 135 121 ↓8
224 Hachi: A Dog's Tale 2009 Lasse Hallström IMDb 216 211 209 211 210 195 192 213 ↓8
225 A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016 Naoko Yamada IMDb
226 The 400 Blows 1959 François Truffaut IMDb 224 219 207 200 198 179 187 179 184 160 ↓2
227 Gangs of Wasseypur 2012 Anurag Kashyap IMDb 232 236 196 ↑5
228 Platoon 1986 Oliver Stone IMDb 217 207 191 187 187 174 172 162 144 147 ↓11
229 Spotlight 2015 Tom McCarthy IMDb 225 224 210 205 193 ↓4
230 Monsters, Inc. 2001 Pete Docter & David Silverman IMDb 233 231 221 224 228 213 223 226 222 161 ↑3
231 Rebecca 1940 Alfred Hitchcock IMDb 236 226 174 172 173 150 144 129 123 105 ↑5
232 Life of Brian 1979 Terry Jones IMDb 223 205 185 183 184 171 173 174 162 159 ↓9
233 In the Mood for Love 2000 Wong Kar Wai IMDb 240 240 236 241 242 238 ↑7
234 Hotel Rwanda 2004 Terry George IMDb 227 221 198 189 186 172 164 155 146 ↓7
235 The Bandit 1996 Yavuz Turgul IMDb 202 178 192 168 143 ↓33
236 Rush 2013 Ron Howard IMDb 221 212 201 194 185 168 156 142 ↓15
237 Into the Wild 2007 Sean Penn IMDb 220 201 183 182 177 161 158 161 161 ↓17
238 Rocky 1976 John G Avildsen IMDb 231 227 219 221 222 215 220 212 201 ↓7
239 Amores Perros 2000 Alejandro González Iñárritu IMDb 230 222 212 208 207 188 186 180 181 139 ↓9
240 Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind 1984 Hayao Miyazaki IMDb 234 218 216 213 212 196 197 210 ↓6
241 It Happened One Night 1934 Frank Capra IMDb 243 233 188 184 183 162 149 135 140 113 ↑2
242 Before Sunset 2004 Richard Linklater IMDb 239 238 238 244 249 ↓3
243 Fanny and Alexander 1982 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 249 223 214 194 236
244 The End of Evangelion 1997 Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki IMDb
245 Andrei Rublev 1966 Andrei Tarkovsky IMDb 229 216 204 169 ↓16
246 The Battle of Algiers 1966 Gillo Pontecorvo IMDb 248 247 247 217 218 ↑2
247 Nights of Cabiria 1957 Federico Fellini IMDb 234 217 192
248 The Princess Bride 1987 Rob Reiner IMDb 247 237 214 214 208 185 181 188 191 101 ↓1
249 Paris, Texas 1984 Wim Wenders IMDb 241 245 242 244 250 ↓8
250 Miracle in Cell No. 7 2019 Mehmet Ada Öztekin IMDb


The New Batch

The following films were not part of the IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2021, but had entered (or re-entered) it by 1st January, 2022:

# Title Year Director IMDb '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
16 Spider-Man: No Way Home 2021 Jon Watts IMDb
109 The Father 2020 Florian Zeller IMDb
120 Pather Panchali 1955 Satyajit Ray IMDb
140 Jai Bhim 2021 T. J. Gnanavel IMDb
154 Dersu Uzala 1975 Akira Kurosawa IMDb
183 Dune 2021 Denis Villeneuve IMDb
194 Z 1969 Costa-Gavras IMDb
225 A Silent Voice: The Movie 2016 Naoko Yamada IMDb
243 Fanny and Alexander 1982 Ingmar Bergman IMDb 249 223 214 194 236
244 The End of Evangelion 1997 Hideaki Anno & Kazuya Tsurumaki IMDb
247 Nights of Cabiria 1957 Federico Fellini IMDb 234 217 192
250 Miracle in Cell No. 7 2019 Mehmet Ada Öztekin IMDb


The Departed

The following films were part of the IMDb Top 250 on 1st January, 2021, but had dropped out of it by 1st January, 2022:

# Title Year Director IMDb '21 '20 '19 '18 '17 '16 '15 '14 '13 '04 Change
Soul 2020 Pete Docter & Kemp Powers IMDb 163
Anand 1971 Hrishikesh Mukherjee IMDb 167
Time of the Gypsies 1988 Emir Kustarica IMDb 208
Vikram Vedha 2017 Gayatri & Pushkar IMDb 235
Rififi 1955 Jules Dassin IMDb 237
Rang de Basanti 2006 Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra IMDb 238 215 213 176 160 148 156
Portrait of a Lady on Fire 2019 Céline Sciamma IMDb 242
The Invisible Guest 2016 Oriol Paulo IMDb 244
The Help 2011 Tate Taylor IMDb 245 239 235 242 248 235 234 248
Drishyam 2013 Jeethu Joseph IMDb 246 232
Winter Sleep 2014 Nuri Bilge Ceylan IMDb 249 248
Tangerines 2013 Zaza Urashadze IMDb 250 237




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Last update: 1st January, 2022