The full list of my favorite movies of each year (1920 - 2020)
Welcome to my extended love letter to movies! Click any year in the list below — from 1920 to 2020 — for stuff about my favorite movies from that year: videos, photos, quotes, and more.
- Where to stream movies on this blog
- Movies I added to this blog based on watching them in 2023
- Which directors directed the most movies on this blog
Movies with an asterisk * were nominated for the Oscar for Best Picture, and movies with two ** won that award. The globe ๐ emoji is for movies nominated for what’s now called the Oscar for Best International Feature Film, and movies with two ๐ ๐ won that award. Movies with the plant ๐ฟ emoji won the Palme d’Or, the top prize at the Cannes Film Festival. Here are “the rules” for my list.
2020 | (1) The Father* |
(2) The Trip to Greece |
|
2019 | (1) Parasite** ๐ ๐ ๐ฟ |
(2) Rocketman | |
(3) Portrait of a Lady on Fire | |
(4) Knock Down the House | |
2018 | Burning (with in-depth notes) |
2017 | (1) Ingrid Goes West |
(2) The Trip to Spain |
|
2016 | Graduation |
2015 | Victoria |
2014 | (1) Gone Girl |
(2) They Came Together | |
(3) Mitt | |
2013 | (1) Blue Is the Warmest Color ๐ฟ |
(2) Nebraska* | |
(3) Before Midnight | |
2012 | Wadjda |
2011 | (1) A Separation ๐ ๐ |
(2) Margaret (NEW) | |
(3) Oslo, August 31st | |
2010 | (1) The Trip |
(2) Certified Copy | |
(3) The Social Network* | |
2009 | Mother |
2008 | (1) Happy-Go-Lucky |
(2) Milk* | |
(3) U2 3D | |
2007 | (1) 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days ๐ฟ |
(2) The Counterfeiters ๐ ๐ | |
(3) Secret Sunshine |
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2006 | The Lives of Others ๐ ๐ |
2005 | (1) Match Point |
(2) The Baxter |
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2004 | (1) Napoleon Dynamite (NEW) |
(2) Before Sunset |
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(3) Metallica: Some Kind of Monster |
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2003 | The Fog of War: Eleven Lessons from the Life of Robert S. McNamara |
2002 | (1) About Schmidt |
(2) Spellbound |
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2001 | Ghost World (with in-depth notes) |
2000 | Memento |
1999 | American Movie |
1998 | (1) Run Lola Run |
(2) Happiness |
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1997 | Boogie Nights |
1996 | (1) Fargo* |
(2) The People vs. Larry Flynt | |
(3) Secrets & Lies* ๐ฟ | |
(4) Hard Eight | |
1995 | (1) Welcome to the Dollhouse |
(2) Before Sunrise | |
(3) Living in Oblivion | |
1994 | (1) Heavenly Creatures (NEW) |
(2) Crumb | |
(3) Pulp Fiction* ๐ฟ | |
(4) What Happened Was … | |
(5) The Shawshank Redemption* | |
1993 | (1) The War Room |
(2) Red Rock West |
|
(3) The Scent of Green Papaya ๐ |
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1992 | (1) The Player |
(2) Howards End* | |
(3) Husbands and Wives | |
(4) Single White Female (NEW) | |
1991 | (1) Defending Your Life |
(2) Terminator 2: Judgment Day (NEW) | |
(3) Dogfight (NEW) | |
1990 | (1) Slacker |
(2) GoodFellas* | |
(3) Back to the Future Part III | |
(4) Life Is Sweet (NEW) | |
(5) Misery | |
1989 | (1) Back to the Future Part II |
(2) Crimes and Misdemeanors | |
1988 | (1) Talk Radio |
(2) Heathers |
|
(3) The Unbearable Lightness of Being |
|
1987 | (1) Au Revoir les Enfants* ๐ |
(2) No Way Out | |
1986 | (1) Something Wild |
(2) The Fly | |
(3) Hannah and Her Sisters* |
|
(4) About Last Night … | |
1985 | (1) Back to the Future |
(2) After Hours (with in-depth notes) | |
1984 | (1) Paris, Texas ๐ฟ |
(2) The Terminator |
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(3) Stop Making Sense |
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(4) Purple Rain |
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(5) Broadway Danny Rose | |
1983 | The Big Chill* |
1982 | (1) Fast Times at Ridgemont High |
(2) Tenebrae (NEW) | |
1981 | My Dinner with Andre |
1980 | (1) The Shining |
(2) Atlantic City* | |
1979 | Manhattan |
1978 | (1) Days of Heaven |
(2) Girlfriends |
|
1977 | (1) Annie Hall** |
(2) A Special Day (NEW) | |
1976 | Taxi Driver* ๐ฟ |
1975 | (1) One Flew over the Cuckoo’s Nest** |
(2) Dog Day Afternoon* | |
1974 | (1) The Conversation* ๐ฟ |
(2) Chinatown* (NEW) | |
(3) Young Frankenstein (NEW) | |
(4) The Godfather Part II** | |
(5) Lacombe, Lucien ๐ | |
1973 | (1) American Graffiti* |
(2) Sleeper (NEW) | |
1972 | (1) The Godfather** |
(2) The New Land ๐ |
|
1971 | (1) A Clockwork Orange* |
(2) The Last Picture Show* | |
(3) The Emigrants* ๐ | |
(4) Bananas (NEW) | |
1970 | Five Easy Pieces* |
1969 | (1) Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice |
(2) Law and Order |
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1968 | (1) Monterey Pop |
(2) Romeo and Juliet* |
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(3) High School |
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(4) Shame |
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(5) Planet of the Apes | |
1967 | Le Samouraรฏ |
1966 | Persona |
1965 | The Shop on Main Street ๐ ๐ |
1964 | (1) A Hard Day’s Night |
(2) Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb* | |
1963 | (1) The Fire Within |
(2) High and Low | |
1962 | (1) Lolita |
(2) The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (NEW) | |
(3) Le Doulos (NEW) | |
(4) What Ever Happened to Baby Jane? (NEW) | |
1961 | (1) West Side Story** |
(2) Through a Glass Darkly ๐ ๐ | |
(3) Breakfast at Tiffany’s | |
(4) Cash on Demand (NEW) | |
1960 | (1) The Apartment** |
(2) Psycho | |
(3) Zazie dans le Mรฉtro | |
(4) The Time Machine | |
1959 | (1) Some Like It Hot |
(2) Anatomy of a Murder* (NEW) | |
(3) Imitation of Life | |
1958 | (1) Vertigo |
(2) The Music Room | |
(3) Elevator to the Gallows | |
1957 | (1) Paths of Glory |
(2) The Cranes Are Flying ๐ฟ | |
(3) Witness for the Prosecution* | |
(4) Wild Strawberries | |
(5) White Nights | |
1956 | (1) The Wrong Man |
(2) The Killing | |
1955 | (1) The Night of the Hunter |
(2) Rififi | |
(3) All That Heaven Allows | |
(4) Smiles of a Summer Night | |
(5) The Big Combo | |
1954 | (1) Rear Window |
(2) La Strada ๐ ๐ | |
(3) Dial M for Murder | |
(4) Human Desire | |
(5) Sansho the Bailiff | |
1953 | (1) Summer with Monika |
(2) Gentlemen Prefer Blondes | |
(3) From Here to Eternity** (NEW) | |
(4) Stalag 17 | |
(5) Niagara | |
(6) Sawdust and Tinsel | |
(7) Dangerous Crossing (NEW) | |
(8) The Big Heat | |
1952 | (1) Sudden Fear |
(2) Singin’ in the Rain |
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(3) Forbidden Games ๐ ๐ (NEW) | |
(4) Ikiru |
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(5) Limelight | |
(6) Don’t Bother to Knock |
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1951 | (1) A Streetcar Named Desire* (NEW) |
(2) A Place in the Sun* (NEW) | |
(3) Ace in the Hole | |
(4) Strangers on a Train | |
1950 | (1) The Asphalt Jungle |
(2) In a Lonely Place (NEW) | |
(3) Sunset Boulevard* | |
(4) All About Eve** | |
(5) Rashomon ๐ ๐ | |
(6) Harvey | |
(7) The Man Who Cheated Himself |
|
1949 | (1) Gun Crazy |
(2) A Letter to Three Wives* | |
(3) Thieves’ Highway (NEW) | |
(4) The Heiress* | |
(5) Bitter Rice | |
(6) Obsession | |
1948 | (1) Unfaithfully Yours |
(2) Bicycle Thieves ๐ ๐ | |
(3) Rope | |
(4) The Big Clock | |
(5) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre* | |
(6) Road House | |
(7) Pitfall | |
1947 | (1) Out of the Past |
(2) Brute Force | |
(3) Repeat Performance (NEW) | |
1946 | (1) The Strange Love of Martha Ivers |
(2) It’s a Wonderful Life* | |
(3) Notorious | |
(4) The Best Years of Our Lives** | |
(5) The Postman Always Rings Twice | |
1945 | (1) Leave Her to Heaven |
(2) Scarlet Street |
|
(3) Hangover Square | |
(4) The Lost Weekend** | |
1944 | (1) Double Indemnity* |
(2) Laura (NEW) | |
(3) Gaslight* | |
1943 | (1) Meshes of the Afternoon (NEW) |
(2) Stormy Weather | |
(3) Shadow of a Doubt | |
1942 | (1) Casablanca** |
(2) Cat People | |
1941 | (1) Citizen Kane* |
(2) Sullivan’s Travels | |
(3) The Sea Wolf | |
(4) Love Crazy | |
1940 | (1) Rebecca** (with in-depth notes) |
(2) The Great Dictator* |
|
(3) The Bank Dick | |
(4) The Shop Around the Corner | |
1939 | (1) Mr. Smith Goes to Washington* |
(2) The Wizard of Oz* | |
(3) Gone with the Wind** | |
(4) The Women (NEW) | |
(5) Wuthering Heights* | |
(6) Destry Rides Again | |
1938 | Bringing up Baby |
1937 | (1) Confession |
(2) The Awful Truth* (NEW) | |
1936 | (1) Modern Times |
(2) Dodsworth* | |
1935 | (1) A Night at the Opera |
(2) Bride of Frankenstein | |
(3) Top Hat (NEW) | |
(4) The Whole Town’s Talking | |
1934 | (1) It’s a Gift |
(2) It Happened One Night** | |
1933 | (1) Duck Soup |
(2) The Story of Temple Drake |
|
(3) Design for Living | |
(4) The Invisible Man | |
1932 | (1) I Am a Fugitive from a Chain Gang* (NEW) |
(2) Horse Feathers | |
(3) Broken Lullaby (NEW) | |
(4) Trouble in Paradise | |
(5) Jewel Robbery (NEW) | |
(6) Island of Lost Souls | |
1931 | (1) City Lights |
(2) Frankenstein | |
(3) Monkey Business | |
(4) Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde (NEW) | |
(5) M | |
1930 | Animal Crackers |
1929 | Pandora’s Box |
1928 | The Wind |
1927 | (1) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans |
(2) Metropolis | |
(3) The Unknown | |
(4) The Kid Brother | |
1926 | (1) The General |
(2) Mรฉnilmontant | |
1925 | The Gold Rush |
1924 | Girl Shy |
1923 | (1) Safety Last! |
(2) Our Hospitality | |
1922 | Day Dreams |
1921 | The Kid |
1920 | Way Down East |
MORE:
• Letterboxd list: my #1 favorite movie of each year from 1920 to 2020
• Movies I added to this blog based on watching them in 2022
• Which composers wrote the musical score for the most movies on this list?
• Which acclaimed movies did I see but leave off the list?