The Greatest Films in Cinematic History: Filmsite.org

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This section presents an overview of the rankings of films regarded as 'greatest' by other critics and film-makers' polls, box-office totals, awards organizations, and other tallies.

It includes the Most Critically-Acclaimed Films, the Greatest 'Foreign Language' Films, Film-Goers' Favorite Films, the Most Academy Award-Winning Films, Box-Office Blockbusters of All-Time, and Recommended Films of the Greatest Directors.

Although this website doesn't strongly believe in the value of ranking films, it is nonetheless interesting to see how a certain number of films often appear at the very top of the rankings, box-office or ratings. (Not all entries are listed - these are only a representative sample.)

The Last Detail (1973), L.A. Story (1991), Duel in the Sun (1946), The Sixth Sense (1999), The Sting (1973), Doctor Zhivago (1965), One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975), Spirited Away (2001), The Hangover (2009), Airplane! (1980), The Lion King (1994), Toy Story (1995), Beauty and the Beast (1991), Lawrence of Arabia (1962), Pinocchio (1940)

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About Filmsite

Filmsite.org is an award-winning, in-depth resource for film analysis, offering detailed, illustrated reviews, plot summaries, and historical context for hundreds and hundreds of the greatest films. Written by Film Historian Tim Dirks, and celebrating its 30th Year Anniversary, it provides comprehensive, scholarly commentary rather than quick, modern reviews, making it ideal for academic study. Key features of Filmsite's film reviews include:

Comprehensive Coverage: Detailed reviews for classics such as Casablanca, Citizen Kane, The Wizard of Oz, and 12 Angry Men.

In-Depth Analysis: Articles include historical background, thematic, and technical analysis.

Detailed Structure: Reviews typically feature a synopsis, film posters, quoted dialogue, and screenshots to illustrate specific scenes.

Organized by Decade/Genre: Reviews are accessible by decade, covering early cinema to the 2020s, and by genre, also including Film Noir, Cult Films, and Westerns.

Specific Film Guides: The site includes specialized sections on the "Greatest Plot Twists," "Best Film Speeches," "Most Controversial Films," and "Film History By Decade," and much more.

Filmsite serves as a premier resource for students, teachers, and film buffs looking for deep, analytical content.

Popular Sections

100 Greatest Films

Greatest Films Lists

Greatest Films: Illustrated Reviews

Most Controversial Films

All-Time Greatest Film Franchises - Box Office

Sex in Film: Comprehensive History

The Academy Awards: The Oscars

Filmsite's Analytical Film Reviews

Greatest Film Quotes of All-Time

Film Genres

1000's of Movie Title Screens

Top 100 All-Time Box Office Blockbusters

All-Time Box-Office Top 100 Films

Film History: Decades Overview

Film History Milestones By Year

Collections of the Greatest and Best Films

Filmsite's Greatest and Best Films: Categories

Movie Trivia Quizzes

See All Sections - Site Map

More About Filmsite.org

About Filmsite Filmsite.org (aka Filmsite) is an award-winning website for classic film buffs, students, moviegoers and anyone else interested in the great movies of the last century and beyond. Detailed plot synopses, review commentary and film reference materials are just some of the features available on the site. The site also contains film analysis, original content, information on the top films and most memorable movie scenes, "Best of..." articles, and the most popular film quotes in all genres of film.

Its many resources include a comprehensive overview of film history, a complete survey of the Academy Awards (Oscars), milestones and turning points in the industry, and background and descriptions for hundreds of classic Hollywood/American and other English-language movies from the last one hundred years. In the mid-1990s when it was first launched, filmsite.org was one of the first websites to initiate the trend to select 100 Greatest Films in the history of cinema.

More About Film Historian: Tim Dirks

Filmsite Author/Manager: Tim Dirks Tim Dirks created the popular filmsite.org website, aka Filmsite or Greatest Films, in mid-1996, and the site celebrates its landmark 30th anniversary in 2026. He has been writing about and reviewing films on the site ever since its start. Tim originated Filmsite and has remained its sole contributor, manager, and editor - he adds significant content to the site spanning all the years of cinematic history, often writes blogs and other film-related articles, and has engaged in a number of on-camera interviews about film. According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, this site has a "rich collection of commentary and information about masterpieces of American cinema." In mid-2003, Variety featured the site in an article titled: "Filmsite on unique spin on top pix." Wikipedia has called the site "an introduction to cinematic literacy," and CultureSonar referred to the site as "A One-Man IMDb."

Roger Ebert: Endorsement

Film critic and columnist Roger Ebert, author of The Great Movies (2002), The Great Movies II (2005), and The Great Movies III (2010) made many detailed references to filmsite.org in his Chicago Sun-Times "Answer Man" column and in his many writings about the Great Movies over the years. He has written that the site is "an invaluable repository of movie descriptions and dialogue" and that it is an "awesome website [that] contains detailed descriptions of 300 great American films, along with many other riches."