One of my absolute favourite things is that moment of darkness in the theatre, after the Feature Presentation graphic/bumper has played, right before the opening credit or first image has appeared on screen, when the movie I’m about to watch has the potential to be the best movie I’ve ever seen.

Here are (for the time being) my all-time top 100 favourite movies, more or less in the correct order:

100. Old Joy (Kelly Reichardt, 2006)

99. Adaptation (Spike Jonze, 2002)

98. Mad Dog and Glory (John McNaughton, 1993)

97. Edge of Tomorrow (Doug Liman, 2014)

06. The Matrix (Lana Wachowski, Lily Wachowski, 1999)

95. Proof of Life (Taylor Hackford, 2000)

94. Midnight Run (Martin Brest, 1988)

93. A Christmas Story (Bob Clark, 1983)

92. The Game (David Fincher, 1997)

91. Wings of Desire (Wim Wenders, 1987)

90. The Untouchables (Brian De Palma, 1987)

89. Jeremiah Johnson (Sydney Pollack, 1972)

88. The Player (Robert Altman, 1992)

87. The Black Stallion (Carroll Ballard, 1979)

86. Apocalypto (Mel Gibson, 2006)

85. Speed Racer (Lana Wachowski, Lily Wachowski, 2005)

84. Little Children (Todd Field, 2006)

83. Moneyball (Bennett Miller, 2011)

82. Three Colors: Blue (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1993)

81. Brazil (Terry Gilliam, 1984)

80. Risky Business (Paul Brickman, 1983)

79. Arrival (Denis Villeneuve, 2016)

78. The Seven Samurai (Akira Kurosawa, 1954)

77. Aguirre, The Wrath of God (Werner Herzog, 1972)

76. A Brighter Summer Day (Edward Yang, 1991)

75. Pee Wee’s Big Adventure (Tim Burton, 1985)

74. The Bourne Identity (Doug Liman, 2002)

73. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

72. Lawrence of Arabia (David Lean, 1962)

71. No Country for Old Men (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 2007)

70. Jerry Maguire (Cameron Crowe, 1996)

69. The Hudsucker Proxy (Joel Coen, Ethan Coen, 1994)

68. The Social Network (David Fincher, 2010)

67. The Shawshank Redemption (Frank Darabont, 1994)

66. Boogie Nights (Paul Thomas Anderson, 1997)

65. Joe Versus the Volcano (John Patrick Shanley, 1990)

64. Warrior (Gavin O’Connor, 2011)

63. Inglourious Basterds (Quentin Tarantino, 2009)

62. This is Spinal Tap (Rob Reiner, 1984)

61. Dawn of the Dead (George Romero, 1978)

60. The Usual Suspects (Brian Singer, 1995)

59. Runaway Train (Andrei Konchalovsky, 1985)

58. Safety Not Guaranteed (Colin Trevorrow, 2012)

57. The Road Warrior (George Miller, 1982)

55. Aliens (James Cameron, 1986)

55. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

54. Star Wars: The Last Jedi (Rian Johnson, 2017)

53. The Right Stuff (Phillip Kaufman, 1983)

52. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

51. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)

50. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

49. Robocop (Paul Verhoeven, 1987)

48. Mad Max: Fury Road (George Miller, 2015)

47. Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (George Miller (2024)

46. Once Upon a Time… In Hollywood (Quentin Tarantino, 2019)

45. Summer of Sam (Spike Lee, 1999)

44. The Guest (Adam Wingard, 2016)

43. Stalker (Andrei Tarkovsky, 1979)

42. Certified Copy (Abbas Kirarostami, 2010)

41. V for Vendetta (James McTeague, 2005)

40. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

39. The Thing (John Carpenter, 1982)

38. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)

37. The Third Man (Carol Reed, 1939)

36. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

35. Die Hard (John McTiernan, 1988)

34. Field of Dreams (Phil Alden Robinson, 1989)

33. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

32. The Truman Show (Peter Weir, 1998)

31. The Insider (Michael Mann, 1999)

30. Stepbrothers (Adam McKay, 2008)

29. Michael Clayton (Tony Gilroy, 2007)

28. Moulin Rouge (Baz Luhrman (2001)

27. Halloween (John Carpenter, 1978)

26. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

25. Zodiac (David Fincher, 2007)

24. Pather Panchali (Satyjit Ray, 1955)

23. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

22. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)

21. Escape from New York (John Carpenter, 1981)

20. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)

19. Almost Famous (Cameron Crowe, 2000)

18. Wet Hot American Summer (David Wain, 2001)

17. Hard Core Logo (Bruce McDonald, 1996)

16. Fearless (Peter Weir, 1993)

15. Heat (Michael Mann, 1995)

14. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

13. Dazed and Confused (Richard Linklater, 1993)

12. Punch-Drunk Love (Paul Thomas Anderson, 2002)

11. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

10. Big Trouble in Little China (John Carpenter, 1986)

9. JFK (Oliver Stone, 1991)

8. Manhunter (Michael Mann, 1986)

7. Superman (Richard Donner, 1978)

6. The Thin Red Line (Terrence Malick, 1998)

5. Three Colors: Red (Krzysztof Kieslowski, 1994)

4. Bottle Rocket (Wes Anderson, 1998)

3. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)

2. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

1. The Abyss (James Cameron, 1989)