America's Favorite Movies

Raging Bull (1980)

Director: Martin Scorsese Cast: Robert De Niro (Jake La Motta), Joe Pesci (Joey La Motta) Famous quote: "If you win, you win. If you lose, you still win." — Joey La Motta Scorsese used chocolate as blood in the boxing scenes because it showed up better in black and white. That explains how De Niro gained 70 pounds.

12 Angry Men (1957)

Director: Sidney Lumet Cast: Henry Fonda (Juror #8), Lee J. Cobb (Juror #3) Martin Balsam (Juror #10) Famous quote: "Bright? He's a common, ignorant slob. He don't even speak good English." — Juror #10 The last surviving jurist, Jack Klugman, died in 2012.

The Shining (1980)

Director: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Jack Nicholson (Jack Torrance), Shelley Duvall (Wendy Torrance) Famous quote: "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy." — Jack Torrance Kubrick realized that the shot of Nicholson repeatedly typing "All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy" would make no sense to European audiences, so he had the line typed in Italian, German and Spanish.

The Seven Samurai (1954)

Director: Akira Kurosawa Cast: Toshiro Mifune, Takashi Shimura Famous quote: "What's the use of worrying about your beard when your head's about to be taken?" — Gisaku It's the only Japanese film on the list and later was remade as The Magnificent Seven, a Western with Steve McQueen and Charles Bronson.

All the President's Men (1976)

Director: Alan J. Pakula Cast: Dustin Hoffman (Carl Bernstein) , Robert Redford (Bob Woodward) Famous quote: "Follow the money." — Deep Throat Pakula was so intent on re-creating the Washington Post newsroom, he had the paper's trash shipped to Hollywood to clutter desks on the set.

Psycho (1960)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Anthony Perkins (Norman Bates) , Janet Leigh (Marion Crane) Famous quote: "They're probably watching me. Well, let them. Let them see what kind of a person I am. I'm not even going to swat that fly. I hope they are watching... they'll see. They'll see and they'll know, and they'll say, 'Why, she wouldn't even harm a fly...'" — Norman Bates Hitch's serial killer thriller was a shocker -- but not just because of the shower scene. It was the first film to show a toilet.

North by Northwest (1959)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: Cary Grant (Roger Thornhill), Eva Marie Saint (Eve Kendall), James Mason (Phillip Vandamm) Famous quote: "Now you listen to me, I'm an advertising man, not a red herring. I've got a job, a secretary, a mother, two ex-wives and several bartenders that depend upon me, and I don't intend to disappoint them all by getting myself "slightly" killed." — Roger Thornhill Martin Landau's character was secretly gay, at least according to Landau, who claimed it made more sense for the plot.

Vertigo (1958)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: James Stewart (John Ferguson), Kim Novak (Madeleine Elster) Famous quote: "Only one is a wanderer; two together are always going somewhere." — Madeleine The No. 1 film in the most recent Sight & Sound critics' poll (2012) has a ways to go on this list.

Rear Window (1954)

Director: Alfred Hitchcock Cast: James Stewart (L.B "Jeff" Jeffries), Grace Kelly (Lisa Carol Fremont) Famous quote: "When two people love each other, they come together - WHAM - like two taxis on Broadway." — Stella It's the only movie in which you can watch Kelly smoke a cigarette -- if you're into that sort of thing.

Wall-E (2008)

Director: Andrew Stanton Cast: Ben Burtt (Wall-E), Elissa Knight (EVE), Jeff Garlin (Captain B. McCrea) The most engaging silent movie since Chaplin left the screen: There's no "human" dialogue for the first 40 minutes.

Brokeback Mountain (2005)

Director: Ang Lee Cast: Jake Gyllenhaal (Jack Twist), Heath Ledger (Ennis del Mar) Famous quote: "I wish I knew how to quit you." — Jack Twist Lee won best director, but in one of the biggest Oscar upsets in recent memory, this movie lost best picture to Crash.

Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Director: Arthur Penn Cast: Warren Beatty (bay-tee) (Clyde), Faye Dunaway (Bonnie) Famous quote: "This here's Miss Bonnie Parker. I'm Clyde Barrow. We rob banks." — Clyde Barrow One of the films that buried the Hays Code, though today it looks about as risque as basic cable.

Some Like it Hot (1959)

Director: Billy Wilder Cast: Marilyn Monroe (Sugar Kane), Tony Curtis (Joe), Jack Lemmon (Jerry) Famous quote: "I'm a boy. I'm a boy. I wish I were dead. I'm a boy. Boy, oh boy, am I a boy. Now, what am I gonna do about my engagement present?" — Jerry "Everybody quotes me as saying kissing Marilyn was like kissing Hitler," Curtis told a reporter a few years before his death. "I never said that. I said that kissing Marilyn was like f--ing her, the way she would grind against me."

Sunset Boulevard (1950)

Director: Billy Wilder Cast: William Holden (Joe Gillis), Gloria Swanson (Norma Desmond) Famous quote: "All right, Mr. DeMille, I'm ready for my close-up." — Norma Desmond Directors, editors and writers like it most. Everybody else taking the poll still can't get over the fact that it's narrated by a dead guy.

The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

Director: Frank Darabont Cast: Tim Robbins (Andy Dufresne), Morgan Freeman (Red) Famous quote: "Remember Red, hope is a good thing, maybe the best of things, and no good thing ever dies." - Andy Dufresne [in letter to Red] Of all the adaptations of Stephen King stories -- and they are legion because he is the most-adapted living writer -- this is only one of two (along with The Shining) to make the list.

The Usual Suspects (1995)

Director: Bryan Singer Cast: Kevin Spacey (Verbal Kint), Stephen Baldwin (Michael McManus), Gabriel Byrne (Dean Keaton), Chazz Palminteri (Dave Kujan), Kevin Pollak (Todd Hockney) Famous quote: "After that my guess is that you will never hear from him again. The greatest trick the devil ever pulled was convincing the world he did not exist. And like that... he is gone." — Verbal "Who is Keyser Soze?" was the question that drove the summer of 1995. Shot on a $6 million budget, Singer's breakthrough crime thriller would win Oscars for Spacey and screenwriter Christopher McQuarrie.

Almost Famous (2000)

Director: Cameron Crowe Cast: Billy Crudup (Russell Hammond), Philip Seymour Hoffman (Lester Bangs) , Kate Hudson (Penny Lane) Famous quote: "I am a Golden God!" — Russell Hammond One of Hoffman's most beloved performances -- and he delivered the whole thing while suffering from the flu.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: Christian Bale (Bruce Wayne), Heath Ledger (Joker) Famous quote: "Some people just want to watch the world burn." — Alfred Pennyworth Ledger took the Joker very seriously, even applying his own face paint before each shot

Memento (2000)

Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: Guy Pearce (Leonard Shelby), Carrie-Anne Moss (Natalie), Joe Pantoliano (Teddy Gammell) Famous quote: "Memory can change the shape of a room; it can change the color of a car. And memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts." — Leonard Shelby Nolan reportedly was going to cast Alec Baldwin in Pearce's part, but he must have forgotten.

Inception (2010)

Director: Christopher Nolan Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Cobb), Joseph Gordon-Levitt (Arthur), Ellen Page (Ariadne), Tom Hardy (Eames), Marion Cotillard (Mal) Famous quote: "You're waiting for a train. A train that'll take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you. But you can't know for sure." — Cobb

Slumdog Millionaire (2008)

Director: Danny Boyle Cast: Dev Patel (Jamal Malik), Freida Pinto (Latika) Famous quote: "When somebody asks me a question, I tell them the answer." — Jamal Malik It nearly went straight to DVD but ended up sweeping the Oscars after Fox Searchlight gave it a theatrical release.

Fight Club (1999)

Director: David Fincher Cast: Brad Pitt (Tyler Durden), Edward Norton (The Narrator) , Helena Bonham Carter (Marla Singer) Famous quote: "Welcome to Fight Club. The first rule of Fight Club is: you do not talk about Fight Club. The second rule of Fight Club is: you DO NOT talk about Fight Club!" — Tyler Durden Bonham Carter's line after her sex scene with Pitt -- "That was the best f-- I've had since grade school" -- was a replacement. The original, more offensive line: "I want to have your abortion."

Seven (1995)

Director: David Fincher Cast: Morgan Freeman (Detective Lt. William Somerset), Brad Pitt (David Mills) Famous quote: "What's in the box?" — David Mills The studio wasn't thrilled with the "head in a box" ending, but Pitt and Freeman refused to promote the film if it got changed.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)

Director: David Lean Cast: Omar Sharif (Yuri Zhivago), Julie Christie (Lara Antipova) Famous quote: "Who are you to refuse my sugar? Who are you to refuse me anything?" — Komarovski Peter O'Toole turned down the title role, so Lean settled on another Lawrence of Arabia star, which is how Sharif went from playing an Arab prince to a Russian physician.

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Director: David Lean Cast: Peter O'Toole (T.E. Lawrence), Alec Guinness (Prince Feisal), Anthony Quinn (Auda Abu Tayi), Omar Sharif (Sherif Ali) Famous quote: "There may be honor among thieves, but there's none in politicians." — Lawrence Steven Spielberg once estimated that remaking it today would cost close to $300 million. Also, these days, they'd probably need to add some estrogen; the 227-minute movie has not a single line spoken by a woman.

The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)

Director: David Lean Cast: William Holden (Shears), Alec Guinness (Colonel Nicholson), Jack Hawkins (Major Warden) Famous quote: "Do not speak to me of rules. This is war! This is not a game of cricket!" - Colonel Saito Pierre Boulle, who wrote the 1952 French novel on which the movie is based, also wrote Planet of the Apes.

On the Waterfront (1954)

Director: Elia Kazan Cast: Marlon Brando (Terry Malloy), Karl Malden (Father Barry), Lee J. Cobb (Johnny Friendly), Eva Marie Saint (Edie Doyle) Famous quote: "I coulda had class. I coulda been a contender. I coulda been somebody, instead of a bum, which is what I am..." — Terry Malloy Contrary to popular belief, Brando's most famous line -- "I coulda been a contender" -- was not improvised.

The Godfather: Part II (1974)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Al Pacino (Michael Corleone), Robert De Niro (Vito Corleone), Robert Duvall (Tom Hagan), Diane Keaton (Kay Adams-Corleone) Famous quote: "There are many things my father taught me here in this room. He taught me: keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." — Michael Corleone The first film has the edge among this poll's respondents, but Part II has die-hard fans as well. "It's one of those movies," says producer Albert Berger, "that has every element of cinema working at the highest level. And it's entertaining, and it says something about our country."

The Godfather (1972)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Marlon Brando (Don Vito Corleone), Al Pacino (Michael Corleone), James Caan (Sonny Corleone), Robert Duvall (Tom Hagen), Diane Keaton (Kay Adams-Corleone), Talia Shire (Connie Corleone) Famous quote: "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse." — Don Corleone

Apocalypse Now (1979)

Director: Francis Ford Coppola Cast: Martin Sheen (Captain Willard), Marlon Brando (Colonel Kurtz), Robert Duvall (Bill Kilgore) Famous quote: "I love the smell of napalm in the morning." — Kilgore Harvey Keitel got fired. Brando showed up overweight and unprepared. Sheen had a heart attack and nearly died. And storms destroyed many of the sets. Has a better film ever been made from worse circumstances?

It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

Director: Frank Capra Cast: James Stewart (George Bailey), Donna Reed (Mary Hatch) Famous quote: "Teacher says, every time a bell rings an angel gets his wings." — Zuzu Bailey It was Capra's favorite, and Stewart's, too, but it bombed when it first was released. Like George Bailey, though, it got a second chance, becoming a holiday classic thanks to endless Christmas TV showings.

Star Wars (1977)

Director: George Lucas Cast: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) Famous quote: "Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." — Han Solo Star Wars set the bar for lots of things: special effects, box-office receipts, the incorporation of mythological storytelling structure, the number of aliens that can fit comfortably into a bar. But its real legacy is The Deal: Lucas negotiated rights to both the merchandising and the sequels -- deemed worthless by Fox in 1977, but today they are worth billions.

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Director: George Roy Hill Cast: Paul Newman (Butch Cassidy), Robert Redford (The Sundance Kid), Katharine Ross (Etta Place) Famous quote: "You know, when I was a kid, I always thought I'd grow up to be a hero." — Butch Cassidy In real life, Cassidy's gang was called The Wild Bunch, but Hill changed it to "Hole in the Wall" to avoid confusion with the Sam Peckinpah film.

Pan's Labyrinth (2006)

Director: Guillermo del Toro Cast: Ivana Baquero (Ofelia), Ariadna Gil (Carmen), Sergi Lopez (Captain Vidal) Famous quote: "Her father, the King, always knew that the Princess' soul would return, perhaps in another body, in another place, at another time. And he would wait for her, until he drew his last breath, until the world stopped turning..." — Pan It's the only Spanish-language movie to make the list.

Good Will Hunting (1997)

Director: Gus Van Sant Cast: Matt Damon (Will Hunting), Ben Affleck (Chuckie Sullivan), Robin Williams (Sean Maguire), Minnie Driver (Skylar) Famous quote: "It's not your fault..." — Sean Maguire Terrence Malick suggested the bittersweet ending (in the original version, Damon and Driver drive off into the sunset).

Groundhog Day (1993)

Director: Harold Ramis Cast: Bill Murray (Phil), Andie MacDowell (Rita) Famous quote: "This is one time where television really fails to capture the true excitement of a large squirrel predicting the weather." — Phil Murray reportedly was bitten by the groundhog twice during shooting. Why isn't that on the DVD extras?

The Empire Strikes Back (1980)

Director: Irvin Kershner Cast: Mark Hamill (Luke Skywalker), Harrison Ford (Han Solo), Carrie Fisher (Princess Leia) Famous quote: "No. I am your father." — Darth Vader An almost Shakespearean tragedy. The hero loses a hand but gains a father. And his best friend is frozen solid. Try and imagine the second installment of another giant sci-fi franchise that ends on such a downer. Go ahead.

Ghostbusters (1984)

Director: Ivan Reitman Cast: Bill Murray (Peter Venkman), Dan Aykroyd (Ray Stanz) Sigourney Weaver (Dana Barrett), Harold Ramis (Egon Spengler), Ernie Hudson (Winston Zeddemore) Famous quote: "Don't cross the streams!" — Dr. Egon Spengler In the original script, the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man was just one of 50 monsters, but Reitman estimated it would have cost $300 million to produce them all.

Titanic (1997)

Director: James Cameron Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio (Jack Dawson), Kate Winslet (Rose DeWitt Bukater) Famous quote: "I'll never let go, Jack. I'll never let go." — Rose Both were the biggest of their day (882 feet for the vessel; $200 million for the film). But the boat sank, while the film went on to become the second-largest grosser in history (after Avatar).

Avatar (2009)

Director: James Cameron Cast: Sam Worthington (Jake Sully), Zoe Saldana (Neytiri), Sigourney Weaver (Grace) Famous quote: "Everything is backwards now, like out there is the true world, and in here is the dream." — Jake Sully

Amelie (2001)

Director: Jean-Pierre Jeunet Cast: Audrey Tautou (Amelie Poulain) Famous quote: "At least you'll never be a vegetable - even artichokes have hearts." — Amélie Poulain The only French film to make it into the top 100.

Rocky (1976)

Director: John G. Avildsen Cast: Sylvester Stallone (Rocky Balboa), Talia Shire (Adrian Pennino), Burt Young (Paulie Pennino), Burgess Meredith (Mickey Goldmill), Carl Weathers (Apollo Creed) Famous quote: "Yo, Adrian! It's me, Rocky." — Rocky Stallone wrote the script's first draft in just three days, then refused to sell it unless he was cast in the lead role.

The Breakfast Club (1985)

Director: John Hughes Cast: Emilio Estevez (Andrew), Judd Nelson (John), Molly Ringwald (Claire), Anthony Michael Hall (Brian), Paul Gleason (Richard), John Kapelos (Carl), Ally Sheedy (Allison) Famous quote: "We're all pretty bizarre. Some of us are just better at hiding it, that's all." — Andrew More proof that men and women are different: Hughes' after-school detention drama was the ninth most-popular film for female respondents, but 75th for males.

Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)

Director: John Hughes Cast: Matthew Broderick (Ferris Bueller), Mia Sara (Sloane Peterson), Jennifer Grey (Jeanie Bueller), Alan Ruck (Cameron Frye) Famous quote: "Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it." — Ferris Bueller Hughes paid homage to his earlier movies via the license plates on the characters' cars: "VCATION" for National Lampoon's Vacation, "MMOM" for Mr. Mom and "TBC" for The Breakfast Club.

Toy Story (1995)

Director: John Lasseter Cast: Tom Hanks (Sheriff Woody), Tim Allen (Buzz Lightyear) Famous quote: "To infinity, and beyond!" — Buzz Lightyear Each CGI frame took from four to 13 hours to render, nearly as long as the last iPhone update

Die Hard (1988)

Director: John McTiernan Cast: Bruce Willis (John McClane), Alan Rickman (Hans Gruber), Bonnie Bedelia (Holly McClane) Famous quote: "Yippee Ki-Yay, motherf*cker!" — John McClane The mini-mart on Olympic Boulevard where Reginald VelJohnson bought Twinkies is now a dry cleaners.

The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Director: Jonathan Demme Cast: Jodie Foster (Clarice Starling), Anthony Hopkins (Hannibal Lecter) Famous quote: "A census taker once tried to test me. I ate his liver with some fava beans and a nice chianti." — Hannibal Lecter The only horror film ever to win best picture. It also won best director, adapted screenplay, actress and actor (for Hopkins' 25-minute turn, the second-shortest performance to win that trophy behind Peter Finch's in Network).

All About Eve (1950)

Director: Joseph L. Mankiewicz Cast: Bette Davis (Margo Channing), Anne Baxter (Eve Harrington), George Sanders (Addison DeWitt), Celeste Holm (Karan Richards) Famous quote: "Fasten your seatbelts, it's going to be a bumpy night!" — Margo Channing It got 14 Oscar nominations, a record that stood until it was tied by Titanic 47 years later.

Goodfellas (1990)

Director: Martin Scorsese Cast: Robert De Niro (Jimmy Conway), Ray Liotta (Henry Hill), Joe Pesci (Tommy DeVito) Famous quote: "For as long as I can remember I always wanted to be a gangster. To me that was better than being president of the United States. To be a gangster was to own the world." — Henry Hill Scorsese's first film on this list is remembered for many things (like Pesci's "You think I'm funny?" riff), but it made the record books by dropping the F-bomb more than any other movie up till then (300 times). It was surpassed last year by The Wolf of Wall Street, which used the F-word 569 times.

Taxi Driver (1976)

Director: Martin Scorsese Cast: Robert De Niro (Travis Bickle), Jodie Foster (Iris), Cybill Shepherd (Betsy) Famous quote: "You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? You talkin' to me? Then who the hell else are you talking... you talking to me? Well I'm the only one here. Who the f**k do you think you're talking to?" — Travis Bickle Screenwriter Paul Schrader was inspired by the diaries of Arthur Bremer, who shot George Wallace, and Scorsese turned to Psycho composer Bernard Herrmann, who initially turned down the job ("I don't write music for car movies").

Blazing Saddles (1974)

Director: Mel Brooks Cast: Cleavon Little (Bart), Gene Wilder (Jim) Famous quote: "Gentlemen, please rest your sphincters." — Hedley Lamarr Brooks offered John Wayne a part in the film, but the Duke declined.

Young Frankenstein (1974)

Director: Mel Brooks Cast: Gene Wilder (Dr. Frederick Frankenstein), Peter Boyle (Frankenstein's Monster), Marty Feldman (Igor), Madeline Kahn (Elizabeth Lavenza) Famous quote: "My grandfather's work was doodoo! I am not interested in death! The only thing that concerns me is the preservation of life! Class... is... dismissed." — Dr. Frederick Frankenstein Wilder suggested the idea for the movie to Brooks while they were filming Blazing Saddles, which is why Wilder's name is first in the writing credits.

Braveheart (1995)

Director: Mel Gibson Cast: Mel Gibson (William Wallace), Sophie Marceau (Queen Isabella), Patrick McGoohan (King Edward I) Famous quote: "Every man dies, not every man really lives." — William Wallace Gibson didn't want to play the lead -- he thought he was too old -- but Paramount wouldn't make the film without him.

The Deer Hunter (1978)

Director: Michael Cimino Cast: Robert De Niro (Michael) , Christopher Walken (Nick), John Cazale (Stanley), John Savage (Steven), Meryl Streep (Linda) Famous quote: "You have to think about one shot. One shot is what it's all about. A deer's gotta be taken with one shot." — Michael When John Cazale got sick during filming, the studio wanted to recast, but Streep threatened to walk off the picture if it did.

Casablanca (1942)

Director: Michael Curtiz Cast: Humphrey Bogart (Rick Blaine), Ingrid Bergman (Ilsa Lund) Famous quote: "Here's looking at you, kid." — Rick Not surprisingly, Rick and Ilsa's war-torn romance was a big favorite among seasoned poll respondents. Among those in their 60s, it was the third-most-popular picture, while among those in their 20s, it was 37th. Also not a big shocker, men and women had different opinions

Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)

Director: Michel Gondry Cast: Jim Carrey (Joel Barish), Kate Winslet (Clementine Kruczynski) Famous quote: "Why do I fall in love with every woman I see who shows me the least bit of attention?" - Joel Barish The film helped revive Winslet's career by proving she could do (quirky) comedy. "It took me right away from that English period-film thing and put me in the U.S. market," she recently told THR.

The Graduate (1967)

Director: Mike Nichols Cast: Dustin Hoffman (Benjamin Braddock), Anne Bancroft (Mrs. Robinson), Katharine Ross (Elaine Robinson) Famous quote: "For god's sake, Mrs. Robinson. Here we are. You got me into your house. You give me a drink. You put on music. Now you start opening up your personal life to me and tell me your husband won't be home for hours ... Mrs. Robinson, you're trying to seduce me." — Benjamin

Amadeus (1984)

Director: Milos Forman Cast: F. Murray Abraham (Antonio Salieri), Tom Hulce (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart), Elizabeth Berridge (Constanze Mozart) Famous Quote: "Mediocrities everywhere... I absolve you... I absolve you... I absolve you... I absolve you... I absolve you all." — Salieri Hulce practiced piano four hours a day for the role, but the music ended up being dubbed in anyway.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)

Director: Milos Forman Cast: Jack Nicholson (Randle McMurphy), Louise Fletcher (Nurse Ratched), Will Sampson (Chief Bromden) Famous quote: "What do you think you are, for Chrissake, crazy or somethin'? Well you're not! You're not! You're no crazier than the average a**hole out walkin' around on the streets and that's it." — McMurphy Kirk Douglas optioned Ken Kesey's book in the early '60s but decided he was too old to play McMurphy, so he gave the rights to his son, Michael, who produced it instead.

Citizen Kane (1941)

Director: Orson Welles Cast: Orson Welles (Charles Foster Kane), Joseph Cotten (Jedediah Leland) , Dorothy Comingore (Susan Alexander Kane), Agnes Moorehead (Mary Kane), Ruth Warrick (Emily Monroe Norton Kane) Famous quote: "It isn't enough to tell us what a man did. You've got to tell us who he was." — Rawlson Critics have hailed this for decades as "the greatest American movie ever made," making it an all-too-easy pick for anyone's greatest-movie list. But not all moviegoers, especially younger ones, are enthralled with the story of Charles Foster Kane and his long-lost sled. Among poll respondents in their 20s, for instance, it was only the 26th-favorite film. Among the under-20s, it was 53rd. Among those over 60, though, it was No. 1 or 2.

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

Director: Peter Jackson Cast: Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas) Famous Quote: "You cannot pass! I am a servant of the Secret Fire, wielder of the Flame of Anor. The dark fire will not avail you, Flame of Udun! Go back to the shadow. You shall not pass!" — Gandalf There were many failed attempts at a live-action adaptation of LOTR, dating back to the 1960s, when The Beatles asked Stanley Kubrick to direct a version for them to star in.

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)

Director: Peter Jackson Cast: Elijah Wood (Frodo Baggins), Viggo Mortensen (Aragorn), Ian McKellen (Gandalf), Orlando Bloom (Legolas) Famous quote: "That still only counts as one." — Gimli Only one poll respondent claimed to be over 100 years old, and this was one of his top picks. Nice to know Gandalf likes online polls

Reservoir Dogs (1992)

Director: Quentin Tarantino Cast: Harvey Keitel (ky-tell) (Mr. White), Tim Roth (Mr. Orange), Chris Penn (Nice Guy Eddie Cabot), Steve Buscemi (Mr. Pink), Lawrence Tierney (Joe Cabot), Michael Madsen (Mr. Blonde) Famous quote: "I don't wanna kill anybody. But if I gotta get out that door, and you're standing in my way, one way or the other, you're gettin' outta my way." — Mr. Pink It's actually not Tarantino's debut feature; the first film he directed was 1987's My Best Friend's Birthday, much of which was destroyed in a lab

Pulp Fiction (1994)

Director: Quentin Tarantino Cast: John Travolta (Vincent Vega), Uma Thurman (Mia Wallace), Samuel L. Jackson (Jules Winnfield), Bruce Willis (Butch Coolidge), Ving Rhames (Marsellus Wallace) Famous quote: "If my answers frighten you then you should cease asking scary questions." — Jules "Quentin has always been a student of film, and after Reservoir Dogs he said to me: 'The second movie from a filmmaker is almost more important than the first. We've got to get it right,'" recalls Lawrence Bender, Tarantino's longtime producing partner.

Blade Runner (1982)

Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Harrison Ford (Rick Deckard), Rutger Hauer (Roy Batty), Sean Young (Rachael) Famous quote: "Quite an experience to live in fear, isn't it? That's what it is to be a slave." — Batty Despite studio tinkering (adding a voiceover, slapping in aerial footage shot for Kubrick's The Shining to give the ending a sunny feel), it remains the ultimate noir, sci-fi detective movie.

Gladiator (2000)

Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Russell Crowe (Maximus), Joaquin Phoenix (Commodus), Oliver Reed (Proximo) Famous quote: "What we do in life echoes in eternity." — Maximus It was Crowe's big entrance as a Hollywood star (he won an Oscar) and Reed's big exit (he suffered a fatal heart attack during filming).

Alien (1979)

Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Sigourney Weaver (Ellen Ripley), Tom Skerritt (Dallas), Veronica Cartwright (Lambert), John Hurt (Kane) Famous quote: "You are my lucky star. You... Lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky, lucky." — Ripley When they shot the film's most famous scene -- the alien bursting through Hurt's chest -- the filmmakers didn't tell the cast what would happen. The horror on their faces is real.

Thelma and Louise (1991)

Director: Ridley Scott Cast: Susan Sarandon (Louise), Geena Davis (Thelma), Brad Pitt (J.D.) Famous quote: "In the future, when a woman is crying like that, she isn't having any fun." — Louise Sawyer

When Harry Met Sally (1989)

Director: Rob Reiner Cast: Billy Crystal (Harry Burns), Meg Ryan (Sally Albright) Famous quote: "I came here tonight because when you realize you want to spend the rest of your life with somebody, you want the rest of your life to start as soon as possible." — Harry Burns Talk about great acting. According to sources on the set, Crystal and Ryan hated each other's guts. (Although Crystal denies it, saying he and Ryan had a great working relationship)

The Princess Bride (1987)

Director: Rob Reiner Cast: Cary Elwes (Westley), Robin Wright (Buttercup), Mandy Patinkin (Inigo Montoya) Famous quote: "Hello. My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." — Inigo Montoya Hardly anyone saw Rob Reiner's adaptation of William Goldman's comic-fantasy novel in theaters. But this was back when video could create a cult hit -- and that's precisely what happened.

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)

Director: Robert Mulligan Cast: Gregory Peck (Atticus Finch), Robert Duvall (Boo Radley), Mary Badham (Scout Finch), Phillip Alford (Jem Finch) Famous quote: "You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view ... Until you climb inside of his skin and walk around in it." — Atticus Finch More than 50 years later, this is still a pitch-perfect portrait of race and rural America during the Great Depression. No wonder it's Superman's favorite movie (according to Clark Kent's Wikipedia page, at any rate).

Mary Poppins (1964)

Director: Robert Stevenson Cast: Julie Andrews (Mary Poppins), Dick Van Dyke (Bert) Famous quote: "Oh, supercalifragilisticexpialidocious! Even though the sound of it is something quite atrocious, if you say it loud enough, you'll always sound precocious! Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious!" — Mary Poppins Andrews did the film because she lost My Fair Lady to Audrey Hepburn. But Andrews got the last laugh: She won the Oscar

The Sound of Music (1965)

Director: Robert Wise Cast: Julie Andrews (Maria von Trapp), Christopher Plummer (Baron von Trapp) Famous quote: "When the Lord closes a door, somewhere he opens a window." — Maria Such a cheery spirit-lifter, during the Cold War the BBC reportedly planned to air the film after a nuclear strike to improve the morale of survivors. "So Long, Farewell" being the perfect post-apocalyptic melody.

Back to the Future (1985)

Director: Robert Zemeckis Cast: Michael J. Fox (Marty McFly), Christopher Lloyd (Dr. Emmett Brown), Lea Thompson (Lorraine Baines McFly), Crispin Glover (George McFly) Famous quote: "If my calculations are correct, when this baby hits 88 miles per hour... you're gonna see some serious shit." — Dr. Emmett Brown Fox was filming Family Ties when Zemeckis tapped the 24-year-old television star to play unwitting time traveler Marty McFly. (He was replacing Eric Stoltz, who had shot a few scenes but proved the wrong fit.) Fox worked nights and weekends, which explains why he looks so exasperated in most of the film.

Forrest Gump (1994)

Director: Robert Zemeckis Cast: Tom Hanks (Forrest Gump), Robin Wright (Jenny Curran), Gary Sinise (Lt. Dan Taylor) Famous quote: "My momma always said, 'Life was like a box of chocolates. You never know what you're gonna get.'" — Forrest Gump The mind-blowing CGI -- from the floating feather to removing Sinise's legs -- helped put Gump over the top in one of the most competitive best picture races in memory. The Shawshank Redemption and Pulp Fiction also were nominated that year.

Chinatown (1974)

Director: Roman Polanski Cast: Jack Nicholson (Jake Gittes), Faye Dunaway (Evelyn Cross Mulwray) Famous quote: " 'Course I'm respectable. I'm old. Politicians, ugly buildings, and whores all get respectable if they last long enough." — Noah Cross

American Beauty (1999)

Director: Sam Mendes Cast: Kevin Spacey (Lester Burnham), Annette Bening (Carolyn Burnham) Famous quote: "Remember those posters that said, 'Today is the first day of the rest of your life?' Well, that's true of every day but one — the day you die." — Lester Burnham Chevy Chase, Kevin Costner, and John Travolta all reportedly were considered for the part of Lester Burnham (which, incidentally, is an anagram for "Humbert learns," one of the film's many hat tips to Lolita).

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Director: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Keir Dullea (David Bowman), Gary Lockwood (Frank Poole), William Sylvester (Heywood R. Floyd) Famous quote: "Well, I don't think there is any question about it. It can only be attributable to human error. This sort of thing has cropped up before, and it has always been due to human error." — Hal And even though the smooth-talking computer in the film has an operating system that's 46 years old, people still want to own it: The HAL 9000 app on iTunes has been downloaded an estimated quarter-million times.

A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Director: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Malcolm McDowell (Alex), Patrick Magee (Mr. Alexander) Famous quote: "It's funny how the colors of the real world only seem really real when you viddy them on the screen." — Alex It's the film that began the debate over violence in cinema. Kubrick was so horrified by a copycat murder in England that he pulled the movie from U.K. theaters.

Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)

Director: Stanley Kubrick Cast: Peter Sellers (President Merkin Muffley), George C. Scott (Gen. Buck Turgidson), Sterling Hayden (Brig. Gen. Jack Ripper), Slim Pickens (Major King Kong) Famous quote: "Gentlemen, you can't fight in here! This is the War Room." — President Merkin Muffley Sellers was the first actor to be nominated for a single Oscar for playing three characters (he lost on all three counts to Rex Harrison in My Fair Lady).

Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Harrison Ford (Indiana Jones), Karen Allen (Marion Ravenwood) Famous quote: "You want to talk to God? Let's go see him together, I've got nothing better to do." — Indiana Jones Dreamed up while George Lucas and Spielberg were vacationing in Hawaii, Raiders indulged Lucas' desire to make an old-fashioned serial and scratched Spielberg's itch to make a globe-trotting James Bond film (incredibly, the 007 producers had turned down his services). When Jeff Bridges said no to the role of Indiana Jones (initially named Smith) and Tom Selleck couldn't get out of his Magnum P.I. contract, Lucas turned to his Han Solo.

E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Henry Thomas (Elliott), Drew Barrymore (Gertie), Dee Wallace (Mary) Famous quote: "Be good." — E.T. It's the first Spielberg film on the list but hardly the last (he has seven). And it totally makes sense that E.T. would be his most popular because it's basically The Wizard of Oz in reverse. Think about it: A 3-foot-tall munchkin lands on Earth, where he's befriended by a trio of locals (and their little dog) who help him phone to no-place-like-home until, at the end, where does E.T. go in his spaceship? That's right -- over the rainbow. "I never thought of that before," said Spielberg a few years ago when the theory was presented to him. "Do you mind if I steal that?"

Schindler's List (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Liam Neeson (Oskar Schindler), Ralph Fiennes (Amon Goeth), Ben Kingsley (Itzhak Stern) Famous quote: "Stern, if this factory ever produces a shell that can actually be fired, I'll be very unhappy." — Oskar Schindler The most shocking thing about this emotionally wrenching black-and-white drama isn't that it's about an act of heartbreaking kindness during the Holocaust; it's that Spielberg released it only months after his other big hit of 1993, the one with the dinosaurs. Unlike Jurassic Park, this film took home seven Oscars, including best director and best picture (the first black-and-white movie to win that statuette since 1960's The Apartment).

Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Richard Dreyfuss (Roy Neary), Francois Truffaut (Claude Lacombe) Famous quote: "How come I know so much? What the hell is going on around here? Who the hell are you people?" — Roy Neary John Williams experimented with hundreds of five-note melodies before hitting on just the right impossible-to-forget theme.

Jaws (1975)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Roy Scheider (Martin Brody), Robert Shaw (Quint), Richard Dreyfuss (Matt Hooper) Famous quote: "You're gonna need a bigger boat." — Brody The original summer blockbuster. It cost only $9 million to make and grossed nearly as much its first weekend alone. And yet ... the shark still looks fake.

Jurassic Park (1993)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Sam Neill (Alan Grant), Laura Dern (Ellie Sattler), Jeff Goldblum (Ian Malcolm), Richard Attenborough (John Hammond) Famous quote: "Hold on to your butts." — Ray Arnold There was a four-way bidding war for Michael Crichton's novel: Warner Bros. wanted it for Tim Burton, Fox liked it for Joe Dante, Columbia chased it for Richard Donner, but Universal won for Spielberg.

Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Director: Steven Spielberg Cast: Tom Hanks (Captain Miller), Matt Damon (Private Ryan), Edward Burns (Private Reiben), Tom Sizemore (Sergeant Horvath) Famous quote: "I just know that every man I kill the farther away from home I feel." — Captain Miller Spielberg used real amputees wearing prosthetics to simulate soldiers losing their limbs during the opening Omaha Beach battle scene.

Gone with the Wind (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming Cast: Clark Gable (Rhett Butler), Vivien Leigh (Scarlett O'Hara) Famous quote: "I can't think about that right now. If I do, I'll go crazy. I'll think about that tomorrow." — Scarlett It's still the longest film to win best picture (nearly four hours) and the first to have an African-American cast member win an Oscar (Hattie McDaniel). Ironically, its only surviving star is Olivia de Havilland, 97, whose character was the main one to die.

The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Director: Victor Fleming Cast: Judy Garland (Dorothy Gale), Frank Morgan (The Wizard of Oz), Ray Bolger (Scarecrow), Bert Lahr (The Cowardly Lion), Jack Haley (The Tin Man) Famous quote: "Lions, and tigers, and bears! Oh, my!" — Dorothy "If I was on a desert island, I'd bring The Wizard of Oz with me," says Elizabeth Daley, dean of the USC School of Cinematic Arts. "It always makes me feel alive. I could watch it over and over." And people have, generation after generation. In fact, it's the most-watched film of all time, according to the Library of Congress, thanks to regular showings on broadcast television since the mid-1950s (and on cable since the '90s). That's not including sequels and prequels, which Hollywood keeps releasing each decade like swarms of flying monkeys. The most recent, Oz the Great and Powerful, starring James Franco as a hunky young wizard, grossed more than $230 million domestically. That yellow brick road clearly is made of gold.

Annie Hall (1977)

Director: Woody Allen Cast: Woody Allen (Alvy Singer), Diane Keaton (Annie Hall) Famous quote: "A relationship, I think, is like a shark. You know? It has to constantly move forward or it dies. And I think what we got on our hands is a dead shark." — Alvy Singer For years there have been rumors of a bootleg cut of an original, much longer version -- titled Anhedonia -- which supposedly was more of a surreal murder mystery than a love story. Please let THR know if you've got a copy.

The Matrix (1999)

Directors: Andy and Lana Wachowski Cast: Keanu Reeves (Neo), Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus) , Carrie-Anne Moss (Trinity) Famous quote: "This is your last chance. After this, there is no turning back. You take the blue pill - the story ends, you wake up in your bed and believe whatever you want to believe. You take the red pill - you stay in Wonderland and I show you how deep the rabbit-hole goes." — Morpheus

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise Cast: Paige O'Hara (Belle), Robby Benson (Beast) Richard White (Gaston) It was the first animated film ever nominated for best picture.

West Side Story (1961)

Directors: Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise Cast: Natalie Wood (Maria), Rita Moreno (Anita), George Chakiris (Bernardo) Famous quote: "I feel pretty, oh so pretty! I feel pretty, and witty, and gay!" — Maria "The beautiful thing about the evening was that we went together," recalls Chakiris of the night he and Moreno picked up Oscars for their performances as Bernardo and Anita.

Airplane (1980)

Directors: Jim Abrahams, David Zucker, Jerry Zucker Cast: Robert Hays (Ted Striker), Julie Hagerty (Elaine Dickinson), Leslie Nielsen (Dr. Rumack) Famous quote: "There's no reason to become alarmed, and we hope you'll enjoy the rest of your flight. By the way, is there anyone on board who knows how to fly a plane?" — Elaine Dickinson The film that forever changed the way people think about Robert Stack, Lloyd Bridges, Peter Graves, Barbara Billingsley and especially Nielsen; guest appearance by Kareem Abdul Jabbar as "Roger Murdock"

Fargo (1996)

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen Cast: Frances McDormand (Marge Gunderson), William H. Macy (Jerry Lundegaard) Famous quote: "Just keep it still back there, lady, or we're going to have to, you know, shoot you." — Carl Showalter This is one of four films on the list to have inspired hit TV shows that are current Emmy contenders. The other shows are Bonnie and Clyde, Hannibal and Bates Motel.

The Big Lebowski (1998)

Directors: Joel and Ethan Coen Cast: Jeff Bridges ("The Dude"), John Goodman (Walter Sobchak), Julianne Moore (Maude Lebowski) Famous quote: "Let me explain something to you. Um, I am not "Mr. Lebowski". You're Mr. Lebowski. I'm the Dude. So that's what you call me. You know, that or, uh, His Dudeness, or uh, Duder, or El Duderino if you're not into the whole brevity thing." — The Dude The Dude was inspired by film promoter Jeff Dowd, who helped secure distribution for the Coen brothers' first film, Blood Simple.

Up (2009)

Directors: Pete Docter, Bob Peterson Cast: Edward Asner (Carl Fredricksen), Christopher Plummer (Charles Muntz), Jordan Nagai (Russell) Famous quote: "Adventure is out there!" — Charles Muntz Pixar has calculated it would take 26.5 million balloons to actually lift the house in the animated feature.

The Lion King (1994)

Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff Cast: Matthew Broderick (Simba), Jeremy Irons (Scar), James Earl Jones (Mufasa) Famous quote: "When we die, our bodies become the grass, and the antelope eat the grass. And so we are all connected in the great Circle of Life." — Mufasa

Singin' in the Rain (1952)

Directors: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly Cast: Gene Kelly (Don Lockwood), Donald O'Connor (Cosmo Brown), Debbie Reynolds (Kathy Selden) Famous quote: "Lina. She can't act, she can't sing, she can't dance. A triple threat." — Cosmo Brown Reynolds once said that making this film and giving birth were the two hardest things she'd ever done. Kelly reportedly was a tyrant on the set.

Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)

Directors: Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones Cast: Graham Chapman (King Arthur), John Cleese (Lancelot), Eric Idle (Sir Robin), Terry Gilliam (Green Knight), Terry Jones (Sir Bedivere), Michael Palin (Galahad) Famous quote: "Oh, but you can't expect to wield supreme executive power just because some watery tart threw a sword at you." — Dennis The original script was set half in the Middle Ages, half in the 20th century until Jones suggested doing the King Arthur story.