The best 50 US movies of substance
by JuguAbraham | created - 15 Apr 2013 | updated - 29 Mar 2023 | Public- Instant Watch Options
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1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
G | 149 min | Adventure, Sci-Fi
After uncovering a mysterious artifact buried beneath the Lunar surface, a spacecraft is sent to Jupiter to find its origins: a spacecraft manned by two men and the supercomputer HAL 9000.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester, Daniel Richter
Votes: 719,778 | Gross: $56.95M
2. The Tree of Life (2011)
PG-13 | 139 min | Drama, Fantasy
The story of a family in Waco, Texas in 1956. The eldest son witnesses the loss of innocence and struggles with his parents' conflicting teachings.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Brad Pitt, Sean Penn, Jessica Chastain, Hunter McCracken
Votes: 184,155 | Gross: $13.30M
An exquisite cinematic product grappling with metaphysics and theology. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2011/11/121-us-director-terrence-malicks-tree.html
3. Citizen Kane (1941)
PG | 119 min | Drama, Mystery
Following the death of publishing tycoon Charles Foster Kane, reporters scramble to uncover the meaning of his final utterance: 'Rosebud.'
Director: Orson Welles | Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore, Agnes Moorehead
Votes: 466,080 | Gross: $1.59M
4. The Thin Red Line (1998)
R | 170 min | Drama, History, War
Adaptation of James Jones' autobiographical 1962 novel, focusing on the conflict at Guadalcanal during the second World War.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Jim Caviezel, Sean Penn, Nick Nolte, Kirk Acevedo
Votes: 199,647 | Gross: $36.40M
“What’s this war in the heart of nature?” My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2009/10/90-us-director-terrence-malicks-thin.html
5. Heat (1995)
R | 170 min | Action, Crime, Drama
A group of high-end professional thieves start to feel the heat from the LAPD when they unknowingly leave a verbal clue at their latest heist.
Director: Michael Mann | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Val Kilmer, Jon Voight
Votes: 719,662 | Gross: $67.44M
6. Runaway Train (I) (1985)
R | 111 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
Two escaped convicts and a female railway worker find themselves trapped on a speeding train with no brakes and nobody driving.
Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy | Stars: Jon Voight, Eric Roberts, Rebecca De Mornay, Kyle T. Heffner
Votes: 33,016 | Gross: $7.94M
An unusual Hollywood film that intensely deals with philosophy and the choices one makes in life. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2015/09/183-russian-director-andrei-mikhalkov.html
7. Tár (2022)
R | 158 min | Drama, Music
Set in the international world of Western classical music, the film centers on Lydia Tár, widely considered one of the greatest living composer-conductors and the very first female director of a major German orchestra.
Director: Todd Field | Stars: Cate Blanchett, Noémie Merlant, Nina Hoss, Sophie Kauer
Votes: 93,860
Cate Blanchett's best performance to date, and she is one of my favourite actresses of the 21st century, It is is no surprise that she won the Best Actress award at the Venice International film festival for her performance in this film. I guess Oscar and Golden Globe nominations and possible wins are quite likely. Director Todd Field (he played the mysterious pianoplayer Nick Nightingale in Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut" and Kubrick casts his actors with considerable thought) proves his love for classical music with an awesome well-researched script and able direction. With the talented Nina Hoss (another of my favourite actresses of the current century and once a favourite of German director Christian Petzold) playing a significant role, the film is a major work from USA in a long while. Definitely one of my outstanding films of 2022 and a treat for anyone who pays attention to the spoken words and appreciates music, and the little known reasons for the composer to gift us the composed work. My detailed review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2022/12/278-us-film-director-todd-fields-third.html
8. The Conversation (1974)
PG | 113 min | Drama, Mystery, Thriller
A paranoid, secretive surveillance expert has a crisis of conscience when he suspects that the couple he is spying on will be murdered.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Gene Hackman, John Cazale, Allen Garfield, Frederic Forrest
Votes: 121,914 | Gross: $4.42M
9. Duel (1971 TV Movie)
PG | 90 min | Action, Thriller
A business commuter is pursued and terrorized by the malevolent driver of a massive tractor-trailer.
Director: Steven Spielberg | Stars: Dennis Weaver, Jacqueline Scott, Eddie Firestone, Lou Frizzell
Votes: 78,423
10. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
R | 229 min | Crime, Drama
A former Prohibition-era Jewish gangster returns to the Lower East Side of Manhattan 35 years later, where he must once again confront the ghosts and regrets of his old life.
Director: Sergio Leone | Stars: Robert De Niro, James Woods, Elizabeth McGovern, Treat Williams
Votes: 377,847 | Gross: $5.32M
A great swansong from the acclaimed director. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2006/09/14-late-italian-director-sergio-leones.html
11. Days of Heaven (1978)
PG | 94 min | Drama, Romance
A hot-tempered farm laborer convinces the woman he loves to marry their rich but dying boss so that they can have a claim to his fortune.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Richard Gere, Brooke Adams, Sam Shepard, Linda Manz
Votes: 62,773
Seeing heaven by twilight on earth. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2007/04/36-us-director-terence-mallicks-days-of.html
12. Koyaanisqatsi (1982)
Not Rated | 86 min | Documentary, Music
A collection of expertly photographed phenomena with no conventional plot. The footage focuses on the relationship between nature, humanity, and technology.
Director: Godfrey Reggio | Stars: Edward Asner, Pat Benatar, Jerry Brown, Johnny Carson
Votes: 41,495 | Gross: $1.72M
13. Shy People (1987)
R | 118 min | Drama
New York journalist visits her distant cousin for the first time to write an article about her hard life in the bayous of Louisiana. Journalist's wild drug addicted daughter just adds to tensions between two families' cultures.
Director: Andrey Konchalovskiy | Stars: Jill Clayburgh, Barbara Hershey, Martha Plimpton, Merritt Butrick
Votes: 1,525 | Gross: $0.77M
An original story/screenplay by the film’s director with notable performances and cinematography, all worthy of greater recognition than bestowed. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2018/05/222-russian-director-andrei.html
14. Limbo (I) (1999)
R | 126 min | Adventure, Drama, Thriller
In an economically devastated Alaskan town, a fisherman with a troublesome past dates a woman whose young daughter does not approve of him. When he witnesses the murder of his shady brother, he, the woman and the kid run to the wilderness.
Director: John Sayles | Stars: David Strathairn, Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio, Vanessa Martinez, Michael Laskin
Votes: 6,391 | Gross: $2.00M
15. The Kid (1921)
Passed | 68 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
The Tramp cares for an abandoned child, but events put their relationship in jeopardy.
Director: Charles Chaplin | Stars: Charles Chaplin, Edna Purviance, Jackie Coogan, Carl Miller
Votes: 134,856 | Gross: $5.45M
16. Castle Keep (1969)
R | 107 min | Action, Comedy, Drama
During the Battle of the Bulge, an anachronistic count shelters a ragtag squad of Americans in his remote 10th Century castle hoping a battle there against the advancing Germans will not lead to its destruction and all the heritage within.
Director: Sydney Pollack | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Patrick O'Neal, Jean-Pierre Aumont, Peter Falk
Votes: 3,484
17. F for Fake (1973)
PG | 89 min | Documentary
A documentary about fraud and fakery.
Directors: Orson Welles, Gary Graver, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach | Stars: Orson Welles, Oja Kodar, François Reichenbach, Elmyr de Hory
Votes: 18,304
The most thought-provoking film on illusion and reality from an exceptionally gifted filmmaker and intellectual. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/07/147-us-maestro-orson-welles-last-film-f.html
18. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
Not Rated | 131 min | Drama
A bitter, aging couple, with the help of alcohol, use their young houseguests to fuel anguish and emotional pain towards each other over the course of a distressing night.
Director: Mike Nichols | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, Sandy Dennis
Votes: 79,930
Nichols’ debut film is his finest work to date. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2012/10/134-us-film-director-mike-nichols-debut.html
19. Tell Them Willie Boy Is Here (1969)
PG | 98 min | Drama, Western
In 1909, when young Paiute Indian Willie Boy returns to his California reservation to be with Lola, whose father disapproves of him, a killing in self defense takes place, triggering a massive man hunt for Willie.
Director: Abraham Polonsky | Stars: Robert Redford, Katharine Ross, Robert Blake, Susan Clark
Votes: 3,265 | Gross: $6.00M
20. The Petrified Forest (1936)
Passed | 82 min | Drama, Thriller
A waitress, a hobo and a bank robber get mixed up at a lonely diner in the desert.
Director: Archie Mayo | Stars: Leslie Howard, Humphrey Bogart, Bette Davis, Genevieve Tobin
Votes: 14,936
21. The Night of the Iguana (1964)
Approved | 125 min | Drama
An ostracized Episcopal clergyman leads a busload of middle-aged Baptist women on a tour of the Mexican coast and comes to terms with the failure haunting his life.
Director: John Huston | Stars: Richard Burton, Ava Gardner, Deborah Kerr, Sue Lyon
Votes: 13,120 | Gross: $9.43M
22. Night Moves (1975)
R | 100 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
Los Angeles private investigator Harry Moseby is hired by a client to find her runaway teenage daughter. Moseby tracks the daughter down, only to stumble upon something much more intriguing and sinister.
Director: Arthur Penn | Stars: Gene Hackman, Jennifer Warren, Edward Binns, Harris Yulin
Votes: 17,720
23. The Swimmer (1968)
M/PG | 95 min | Drama
A man spends a summer day swimming as many pools as he can all over a quiet suburban town.
Directors: Frank Perry, Sydney Pollack | Stars: Burt Lancaster, Janet Landgard, Janice Rule, Tony Bickley
Votes: 13,775
Social satire on the typical WASP US male, an abstract morality tale, rewinding in time, presented with intelligence, rarely encountered in Hollywood cinema. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2015/11/186-us-directors-frank-perrys-and.html
24. Freaks (1932)
Not Rated | 64 min | Drama, Horror
A circus' beautiful trapeze artist agrees to marry the leader of side-show performers, but his deformed friends discover she is only marrying him for his inheritance.
Director: Tod Browning | Stars: Wallace Ford, Leila Hyams, Olga Baclanova, Roscoe Ates
Votes: 50,624 | Gross: $0.63M
25. Monte Walsh (1970)
PG-13 | 106 min | Western
An aging cowboy realizes that the West he knew and loved will soon be no more--and that there will be no room for him, either.
Director: William A. Fraker | Stars: Lee Marvin, Jeanne Moreau, Jack Palance, Mitchell Ryan
Votes: 3,035
26. Titus (1999)
R | 162 min | Drama, History, Thriller
Titus returns victorious from war, only to plant the seeds of future turmoil for himself and his family.
Director: Julie Taymor | Stars: Anthony Hopkins, Jessica Lange, Osheen Jones, Dario D'Ambrosi
Votes: 21,468 | Gross: $1.92M
One of the most striking adaptations of Shakespeare on screen. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2006/12/24-us-director-julie-taymors-titus-1999.html
27. The Godfather Part II (1974)
R | 202 min | Crime, Drama
The early life and career of Vito Corleone in 1920s New York City is portrayed, while his son, Michael, expands and tightens his grip on the family crime syndicate.
Director: Francis Ford Coppola | Stars: Al Pacino, Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall, Diane Keaton
Votes: 1,364,682 | Gross: $57.30M
28. As Good as It Gets (1997)
PG-13 | 139 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A single mother and waitress, a misanthropic author, and a gay artist form an unlikely friendship after the artist is assaulted in a robbery.
Director: James L. Brooks | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Helen Hunt, Greg Kinnear, Cuba Gooding Jr.
Votes: 318,521 | Gross: $148.48M
29. Nine Lives (2005)
R | 115 min | Drama
Captives of the very relationships that define and sustain them, nine women resiliently meet the travails and disappointments of life.
Director: Rodrigo García | Stars: Kathy Baker, Amy Brenneman, Glenn Close, LisaGay Hamilton
Votes: 7,135 | Gross: $0.48M
30. Scarecrow (1973)
R | 112 min | Drama
An ex-con drifter with a penchant for brawling is amused by a homeless ex-sailor, so they partner up as they head east together.
Director: Jerry Schatzberg | Stars: Gene Hackman, Al Pacino, Dorothy Tristan, Ann Wedgeworth
Votes: 19,237 | Gross: $9.00M
31. An Unmarried Woman (1978)
R | 124 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A wealthy woman from Manhattan's Upper East Side struggles to deal with her new identity and her sexuality after her husband of 16 years leaves her for a younger woman.
Director: Paul Mazursky | Stars: Jill Clayburgh, Alan Bates, Michael Murphy, Cliff Gorman
Votes: 6,051 | Gross: $24.00M
32. Giant (1956)
G | 201 min | Drama, Western
Sprawling epic covering the life of a Texas cattle rancher and his family and associates.
Director: George Stevens | Stars: Elizabeth Taylor, Rock Hudson, James Dean, Carroll Baker
Votes: 42,258
33. Paris, Texas (1984)
R | 145 min | Drama
Travis Henderson, an aimless drifter who has been missing for four years, wanders out of the desert and must reconnect with society, himself, his life, and his family.
Director: Wim Wenders | Stars: Harry Dean Stanton, Nastassja Kinski, Dean Stockwell, Sam Berry
Votes: 119,051 | Gross: $2.18M
34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Approved | 129 min | Crime, Drama
Atticus Finch, a widowed lawyer in Depression-era Alabama, defends a Black man against an undeserved rape charge, and tries to educate his young children against prejudice.
Director: Robert Mulligan | Stars: Gregory Peck, John Megna, Frank Overton, Rosemary Murphy
Votes: 332,965
35. The Reivers (1969)
PG-13 | 107 min | Comedy, Drama
In turn-of-the-century Mississippi, an 11-year-old boy comes of age as two mischievous adult friends talk him into sneaking the family car out for a trip to Memphis and a series of adventures.
Director: Mark Rydell | Stars: Steve McQueen, Sharon Farrell, Ruth White, Michael Constantine
Votes: 3,297 | Gross: $18.70M
36. Michael Clayton (2007)
R | 119 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
A law firm brings in its "fixer" to remedy the situation after a lawyer has a breakdown while representing a chemical company that he knows is guilty in a multibillion-dollar class action suit.
Director: Tony Gilroy | Stars: George Clooney, Tilda Swinton, Tom Wilkinson, Michael O'Keefe
Votes: 174,092 | Gross: $49.03M
A screenplay, a writer would like to direct without compromises, My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2009/04/82-us-director-screenplay-writer-tony.html
37. The New World (2005)
PG-13 | 135 min | Biography, Drama, History
The story of the English exploration of Virginia, and of the changing world and loves of Pocahontas.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Colin Farrell, Q'orianka Kilcher, Christopher Plummer, Christian Bale
Votes: 89,908 | Gross: $12.71M
38. To the Wonder (2012)
R | 112 min | Drama, Romance
After falling in love in Paris, Marina and Neil come to Oklahoma, where problems arise. Their church's Spanish-born pastor struggles with his faith, while Neil encounters a woman from his childhood.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Ben Affleck, Olga Kurylenko, Javier Bardem, Rachel McAdams
Votes: 29,975 | Gross: $0.59M
Love your spouse in the context of divine love, suggests Malick. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2013/04/144-us-director-terrence-malicks-sixth.html
39. Paper Moon (1973)
PG | 102 min | Comedy, Crime, Drama
During the Great Depression, a con man finds himself saddled with a young girl who may or may not be his daughter, and the two forge an unlikely partnership.
Director: Peter Bogdanovich | Stars: Ryan O'Neal, Tatum O'Neal, Madeline Kahn, John Hillerman
Votes: 52,473 | Gross: $30.93M
40. How the West Was Won (1962)
G | 164 min | Adventure, War, Western
A family saga covering several decades of Westward expansion in the 19th century, including the Gold Rush, the Civil War, and the building of the railroads.
Directors: John Ford, Henry Hathaway, George Marshall, Richard Thorpe | Stars: James Stewart, John Wayne, Gregory Peck, Henry Fonda
Votes: 23,335 | Gross: $46.50M
41. Point Blank (1967)
Not Rated | 92 min | Crime, Drama, Thriller
After being double-crossed and left for dead, a mysterious man named Walker single-mindedly tries to retrieve the money that was stolen from him.
Director: John Boorman | Stars: Lee Marvin, Angie Dickinson, Keenan Wynn, Carroll O'Connor
Votes: 23,235
Alienation at its best surfaces in a Hollywood action film! My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2007/10/45-british-director-john-boormans-us.html
42. Cheyenne Autumn (1964)
PG | 154 min | Drama, History, Western
The Cheyenne, tired of broken U.S. government promises, head for their ancestral lands but a sympathetic cavalry officer is tasked to bring them back to their reservation.
Director: John Ford | Stars: Richard Widmark, Carroll Baker, Karl Malden, Sal Mineo
Votes: 6,452
43. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
GP | 127 min | Crime, Drama
A laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.
Director: Stuart Rosenberg | Stars: Paul Newman, George Kennedy, Strother Martin, J.D. Cannon
Votes: 188,581 | Gross: $16.22M
44. Wrestling Ernest Hemingway (1993)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama, Romance
Two lonely, retired septuagenarians, an unkempt, hard-drinking Irish sea captain, and a fussy, well-mannered Cuban barber form an uneasy friendship.
Director: Randa Haines | Stars: Robert Duvall, Richard Harris, Shirley MacLaine, Sandra Bullock
Votes: 3,331 | Gross: $0.23M
45. The Usual Suspects (1995)
R | 106 min | Crime, Drama, Mystery
The sole survivor of a pier shoot-out tells the story of how a notorious criminal influenced the events that began with five criminals meeting in a seemingly random police lineup.
Director: Bryan Singer | Stars: Kevin Spacey, Gabriel Byrne, Chazz Palminteri, Stephen Baldwin
Votes: 1,145,772 | Gross: $23.34M
46. Fargo (1996)
R | 98 min | Crime, Thriller
Minnesota car salesman Jerry Lundegaard's inept crime falls apart due to his and his henchmen's bungling and the persistent police work of the quite pregnant Marge Gunderson.
Directors: Joel Coen, Ethan Coen | Stars: William H. Macy, Frances McDormand, Steve Buscemi, Peter Stormare
Votes: 726,921 | Gross: $24.61M
47. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
R | 133 min | Drama
In the Fall of 1963, a Korean War veteran and criminal pleads insanity and is admitted to a mental institution, where he rallies up the scared patients against the tyrannical nurse.
Director: Milos Forman | Stars: Jack Nicholson, Louise Fletcher, Michael Berryman, Peter Brocco
Votes: 1,072,672 | Gross: $112.00M
48. Paths of Glory (1957)
Approved | 88 min | Drama, War
After a failed attack on a German position, a general orders three soldiers, chosen at random, court-martialed for cowardice and their commanding officer must defend them.
Director: Stanley Kubrick | Stars: Kirk Douglas, Ralph Meeker, Adolphe Menjou, George Macready
Votes: 212,325
Rich in content and relevance. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2008/08/70-us-film-director-stanley-kubricks.html
49. Edge of the City (1957)
Approved | 85 min | Drama
The growing friendship of two NYC longshoremen is threatened by a notably repellent punk.
Director: Martin Ritt | Stars: John Cassavetes, Sidney Poitier, Jack Warden, Kathleen Maguire
Votes: 3,588
50. Knight of Cups (2015)
R | 118 min | Drama, Fantasy, Romance
A writer indulging in all that Los Angeles and Las Vegas have to offer, undertakes a search for love and self via a series of adventures with six different women.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: Christian Bale, Cate Blanchett, Natalie Portman, Brian Dennehy
Votes: 29,440 | Gross: $0.56M
A personal and intense theological statement pushing the envelope of theism. My review is at http://moviessansfrontiers.blogspot.com/2016/10/197-us-director-terrence-malicks-knight.html
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