Movies are a reflection of society, and some movies are here not just for entertainment; they alter the way a movie can be comprehended. Movies that outlasted trends, generations, and decades of competition, standing today as the most universally celebrated movie ever made by human hands so systematically that IMDb, Rotten Tomatoes, AFI, and BFI can’t stop praising.
The Shawshank Redemption
A disappointment at the time of release, this movie received its reputation the hard way. The plot revolves around a banker, accused of murdering his wife and her lover, who claims to be not guilty. This movie features some hardcore talent in Morgen Freeman and Tim Robbins, among others.
The Godfather
Second in the list of 100 Greatest American Films by AFI, along with three Academy Awards, including Best Picture, The Godfather is something you need to see to believe why people continue to quote this movie at dinner tables. Arguably the best gangster drama and an absolute masterpiece with an incredible star cast including Al Pacino and Marlon Brando.
The Godfather Part 2
Sequels are seldom the same as the original- this was even better. It is the only sequel in Oscar history to have won the Best Picture by a clean sweep and merits it.
The Dark Knight
Box Office Mojo certified that this movie made one billion dollars worldwide in 2009. No one left the theater as they entered, leaving the audience in a sensory shock and earning Heath Ledger an Academy Award.
12 Angry Men
A movie taking the pride of holding a rare Tomatometer score of 100 percent by Rotten Tomatoes and maintaining the position in the AFI list for the top movie in America at all times. This happens when there is one room, twelve men, and no action sequences, but still, you cannot help but look.
Schindler’s List
When Steven Spielberg is testifying and not making movies for awards, something like this is created. Seven Oscars, including Best Picture, for documenting the noble acts of Oskar Schindler, as a result of exceptional bravery, this masterpiece received a 98 percent critics’ score on Rotten Tomatoes.
Pulp Fiction
Before this film, films just did not operate as they do in this film. It has received the Palme d’Or at the 1994 Cannes film festival, seven nominations at the Academy Awards, and it is currently listed number 94 on the AFI 100 Greatest American Films list.
The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly
A Clint Eastwood classic continues to freeze 60 years later. A classical gold bounty chase by three gunslingers, this epic movie earned a 97 percent critics rating, and the validated review analysis of Plex proves that it continues to attract first-time audiences around the world regularly in 2026.
The Return of The King
One of those that were worth watching those three hours and twenty-two minutes on the screen, and Peter Jackson himself testified to it, is The Lord of the Rings trilogy. Winning every one of the eleven nominations and certifications it made with the Motion Picture Arts and Sciences, Return of the King, has an emotional impact; it is grandiloquently illuminated and arrayed around the rich human heart.
Jaws
A movie that sent a chill down the spine and changed the face of the cinema when sharks hit the screens and turned Hollywood upside down. It tops the AFI 100 Years of Thrills list, and is verified by Box Office Mojo to have been the first movie to exceed 100 million dollars domestically.
About the Author
