400 greatest films ever in Dry Styx ratings
My rankings are different than most on IMDB and differ from most critics in that my criteria is different. You will note that my chief criteria is "credible characters in incredible circumstances". Whereas most critics value technical perfection, that is low on my list. You will see that my films are higher instead in characters who are identifiable, believable, and definitely motivated more than most critics like. Character, plot, writing, and inspiration are the chief criteria for me. True, I have mostly positive films, but also many films about losing struggles. I'm not the complete optimist. I just seem that way compared to the usual critic. I will add number 401-500 soon, as the "honorable mentions" are usually fun views.
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400 titles
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsH.B. WarnerDorothy CummingErnest TorrenceJesus Christ faces religious and political oppression during his ministry and in the days before his death and resurrection.
- DirectorLeslie NormanStarsRichard ToddLaurence HarveyRichard HarrisIn 1942, a group of British soldiers is sent on a mission in the Malaysian jungle and gets lost into the Japanese controlled zone.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsBarbara StanwyckJoel McCreaAkim TamiroffIn 1862, Central Pacific and Union Pacific Railroads compete westward across the wilderness toward California.
- DirectorEdward BuzzellStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxThe Marx Brothers try to help the owner of a circus recover some stolen funds before he finds himself out of a job.
- DirectorMichael PowellStarsLeslie HowardLaurence OlivierRichard GeorgeA World War II U-boat crew are stranded in northern Canada. To avoid internment, they must make their way to the border and get into the still-neutral U.S.
- DirectorRudolph MatéStarsEdmond O'BrienPamela BrittonLuther AdlerFrank Bigelow, told he's been poisoned and has only a few days to live, tries to find out who killed him and why.
- DirectorAkira KurosawaStarsToshirô MifuneTakashi ShimuraKeiko TsushimaFarmers from a village exploited by bandits hire a veteran samurai for protection, who gathers six other samurai to join him.
- DirectorGordon DouglasStarsJames WhitmoreEdmund GwennJoan WeldonThe earliest atomic tests in New Mexico cause common ants to mutate into giant man-eating monsters that threaten civilization.
- DirectorMichael AndersonStarsJames CagneyDon MurrayDana WynterIn 1920s Ireland, I.R.A. members are being led by the war mongering Dr. Sean Lenihan (James Cagney), as they fight oppressive British forces.
- DirectorKurt MaetzigStarsYôko TaniOldrich LukesIgnacy MachowskiWhen an alien artifact discovered on Earth is found to have come from Venus, an international team of astronauts embarks to investigate its origins.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodViggo MortensenIan McKellenGandalf and Aragorn lead the World of Men against Sauron's army to draw his gaze from Frodo and Sam as they approach Mount Doom with the One Ring.
- DirectorSam PeckinpahStarsJoel McCreaRandolph ScottMariette HartleyAn ex-union soldier is hired to transport gold from a mining community through dangerous territory. But what he doesn't realize is that his partner and old friend is plotting to double-cross him.
- DirectorHenry KosterStarsDanny KayeWalter SlezakBarbara BatesA town's corrupt officials think a fool is actually an investigator in disguise.
- DirectorWilliam A. SeiterStarsGroucho MarxHarpo MarxChico MarxA penniless theatrical producer must outwit the hotel efficiency expert trying to evict him from his room, while securing a backer for his new play.
- DirectorMichael CarrerasLeslie NormanStarsEric PorterHildegard KnefSuzanna LeighThe captain, crew, and passengers of an old freighter-all of them with dark secrets to keep-find themselves adrift in a mysterious land full of monsters, conquistadors, and killer seaweed.
- DirectorMartin RittStarsPaul NewmanFredric MarchRichard BooneJohn Russell, disdained by his "respectable" fellow stagecoach passengers because he was raised by Native Americans, becomes their only hope for survival when they are set upon by outlaws.
- DirectorNathan JuranStarsRichard GreeneBoris KarloffStephen McNallyMan investigates the disappearance of two of his friends who were the guests of a sinister Austrian count.
- DirectorKoreyoshi KuraharaStarsKen TakakuraTsunehiko WataseEiji OkadaTwo Japanese scientists, Ushioda and Ochi, develop a bond with their sled dogs while on an expedition in Antarctica. Ushioda and Ochi eventually leave Antarctica, only to return to search for the dogs inadvertently marooned there.
- DirectorTerry GilliamTerry JonesStarsGraham ChapmanJohn CleeseEric IdleKing Arthur and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsRutger HauerJennifer Jason LeighTom BurlinsonIn medieval Europe, a young girl from a noble family is obsessed with her captors - commoners.
- DirectorNicholas RayStarsJeffrey HunterSiobhan McKennaHurd HatfieldThe temporary physical life of the Biblical Savior, Jesus Christ.
- DirectorRichard LesterStarsGene HackmanChristopher ReeveMargot KidderSuperman agrees to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane, unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth.
- DirectorMel BrooksStarsCleavon LittleGene WilderSlim PickensIn order to ruin a western town, a corrupt politician appoints a black Sheriff, who promptly becomes his most formidable adversary.
- DirectorJacques TourneurStarsAldo RayAnne BancroftBrian KeithThrough a series of bizarre coincidences, an artist finds himself falsely accused of bank robbery and murder and is pursued by the authorities and the real killers.
- DirectorStanislav GovorukhinStarsVladimir ZeldinTatyana DrubichAleksandr KaydanovskiyA psychological thriller based on the novel by Agatha Christie. Ten strangers are forced to come face to face with their dark pasts after receiving invitation to an isolated island off the coast of England.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsCary GrantLeslie CaronTrevor HowardDuring World War II, a man persuaded to live on an isolated island and spot aircraft finds himself responsible for a teacher and several students, all female.
- DirectorJohn HustonStarsHumphrey BogartWalter HustonTim HoltTwo down-on-their-luck Americans searching for work in 1920s Mexico convince an old prospector to help them mine for gold in the Sierra Madre Mountains.
- DirectorLewis MilestoneStarsLew AyresLouis WolheimJohn WrayA German youth eagerly enters World War I, but his enthusiasm wanes as he gets a firsthand view of the horror.
- DirectorOliver StoneStarsCharlie SheenTom BerengerWillem DafoeChris Taylor, a neophyte recruit in Vietnam, finds himself caught in a battle of wills between two sergeants, one good and the other evil. A shrewd examination of the brutality of war and the duality of man in conflict.
- DirectorCedric GibbonsJames C. McKayJack ConwayStarsJohnny WeissmullerMaureen O'SullivanNeil HamiltonThe idyllic life of Tarzan and Jane is challenged by men on safari who come seeking ivory, and come seeking Jane as well.
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenOrlando BloomA meek Hobbit from the Shire and eight companions set out on a journey to destroy the powerful One Ring and save Middle-earth from the Dark Lord Sauron.
- DirectorCecil B. DeMilleStarsGary CooperMadeleine CarrollPaulette GoddardIn 1885, a Texas Ranger travels to Canada to arrest a trapper who's wanted for murder and who's stirring up the Natives in a rebellion against the Canadian government.
- DirectorOrson WellesStarsOrson WellesEdward G. RobinsonLoretta YoungAn investigator from the War Crimes Commission travels to Connecticut to find an infamous Nazi.
- DirectorByron HaskinStarsGene BarryAnn RobinsonLes TremayneA small town in California is attacked by Martians, beginning a worldwide invasion.
- DirectorRobert AldrichStarsJames StewartRichard AttenboroughPeter FinchAfter an oil company plane crashes in the Sahara, the survivors are buoyed with hope by one of the passengers, an airplane designer who plans for them to build a flyable plane from the wreckage.
- DirectorPaul VerhoevenStarsPeter WellerNancy AllenDan O'HerlihyIn a dystopic and crime-ridden Detroit, a terminally wounded cop returns to the force as a powerful cyborg haunted by submerged memories.
- DirectorStuart RosenbergStarsPaul NewmanGeorge KennedyStrother MartinA laid-back Southern man is sentenced to two years in a rural prison, but refuses to conform.
- DirectorTerry O. MorseStarsBruce KelloggOtto WaldisJim BannonScientists use a gigantic drilling machine for an expedition to the center of the earth.
- DirectorAlex NicolStarsFrank LatimoreAlex NicolBarry CahillUS Army personnel patrolling through Italy during World War 2, are being killed off by an unknown German agent posing as a fellow soldier.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneHenry FondaShirley TempleAt Fort Apache, an honorable and veteran war captain finds conflict when his regime is placed under the command of a young, glory hungry lieutenant colonel with no respect for the local Indian tribe.
- DirectorRonald NeameStarsAlbert FinneyAlec GuinnessEdith EvansA musical retelling of Charles Dickens' classic novel about an old bitter miser taken on a journey of self-redemption, courtesy of several mysterious Christmas apparitions.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsJohn GielgudMadeleine CarrollRobert YoungAfter three British Agents are assigned to assassinate a mysterious German spy during World War I, two of them become ambivalent when their duty to the mission conflicts with their consciences.
- DirectorSam WoodEdmund GouldingStarsGroucho MarxChico MarxHarpo MarxA sly business manager and the wacky friends of two opera singers in Italy help them achieve success in America while humiliating their stuffy and snobbish enemies.
- DirectorMark RobsonStarsWilliam HoldenGrace KellyFredric MarchSet during the Korean War, a Navy fighter pilot must come to terms with with his own ambivalence towards the war and the fear of having to bomb a set of highly defended bridges. The ending of this grim war drama is all tension.
- DirectorHenry HathawayStarsDon MurrayDiane VarsiChill WillsAfter ranch hand Tod Lohman accidentally kills the son of a powerful rancher, he panics and flees, but the rancher and his vengeful crew hunt Tod down.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsBill PaxtonIce-TWilliam SadlerTwo firemen in a burning building get a treasure map - stolen gold church items are hidden in a closed down factory in St. Louis. Once there, they're trapped in by a black gang considering it their territory.
- DirectorJohn FordStarsJohn WayneJeffrey HunterVera MilesAn American Civil War veteran embarks on a years-long journey to rescue his niece from the Comanches after the rest of his brother's family is massacred in a raid on their Texas farm.
- DirectorLewis GilbertStarsRoger MooreBarbara BachCurd JürgensJames Bond investigates the hijacking of British and Russian submarines carrying nuclear warheads, with the help of a K.G.B. agent whose lover he killed.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsGregory PeckJoan CollinsStephen BoydA man is chasing four outlaws who killed his wife and finds them in a small town's jail, but they escape to Mexico.
- DirectorJerry ZuckerStarsPatrick SwayzeDemi MooreWhoopi GoldbergAfter a young man is murdered, his spirit stays behind to warn his lover of impending danger, with the help of a reluctant psychic.
- DirectorRoy Del RuthStarsDon DeForeAnn HardingCharles RugglesTwo homeless men move into a mansion while its owners are wintering in the South.
- DirectorSidney LanfieldStarsBob HopeLucille BallWilliam DemarestA young girl is left with the notoriously cheap Sorrowful Jones as a marker for a bet. Her father disappears and he learns that taking care of her cramps his free-wheeling life. Sorrowful must evade gangsters and do some horse-thieving.
- DirectorTod BrowningStarsWallace FordLeila HyamsOlga BaclanovaA 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.
- DirectorLewis SeilerStarsWayne MorrisBrenda MarshallAlexis SmithAn heiress seems to be cursed as each of her intended grooms meets with a horrible end.
- DirectorCharles Marquis WarrenStarsJohn HowardMala PowersPaul RichardsA millionaire leads an expedition into a remote jungle to find his wife's long-lost brother, but instead the group finds a mad scientist who has created a fungus monster that feeds on the local inhabitants.
- DirectorGeorge StevensStarsAlan LaddJean ArthurVan HeflinA weary gunfighter in 1880s Wyoming begins to envision a quieter life after befriending a homestead family with a young son who idolizes him, but a smoldering range war forces him to act.
- DirectorJohn BoormanStarsJon VoightBurt ReynoldsNed BeattyIntent on seeing the Cahulawassee River before it's dammed and turned into a lake, outdoor fanatic Lewis Medlock takes his friends on a canoeing trip they'll never forget into the dangerous American back-country.
- DirectorWolfgang PetersenStarsBrad PittEric BanaOrlando BloomAn adaptation of Homer's great epic, the film follows the assault on Troy by the united Greek forces and chronicles the fates of the men involved.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsAnny OndraCarl BrissonMalcolm KeenA fisherman and a rising young lawyer, who grew up as brothers, fall in love with the same girl.
- DirectorStanley DonenStarsCary GrantAudrey HepburnWalter MatthauRomance and suspense ensue in Paris as a woman is pursued by several men who want a fortune her murdered husband had stolen. Whom can she trust?
- DirectorPeter JacksonStarsElijah WoodIan McKellenViggo MortensenWhile Frodo and Sam edge closer to Mordor with the help of the shifty Gollum, the divided fellowship makes a stand against Sauron's new ally, Saruman, and his hordes of Isengard.
- DirectorWalter HillStarsKeith CarradinePowers BootheFred WardDuring a routine exercise, a team of National Guardsmen are threatened by angry and violent locals.
- DirectorDavid ButlerSidney LanfieldStarsBob HopeVirginia MayoWalter BrennanA cowardly actor and a runaway princess are voyaging on a ship that is captured by a notorious pirate who recently buried his treasure on a secretly mapped island.
- DirectorMelvin FrankNorman PanamaStarsDanny KayeGlynis JohnsBasil RathboneA hapless carnival performer masquerades as the court jester as part of a plot against an evil ruler who has overthrown the rightful King.
- DirectorVictor FlemingKing VidorStarsJudy GarlandFrank MorganRay BolgerYoung Dorothy Gale and her dog Toto are swept away by a tornado from their Kansas farm to the magical Land of Oz, and embark on a quest with three new friends to see the Wizard, who can return her to her home and fulfill the others' wishes.
- DirectorWilliam WylerStarsSylvia SidneyJoel McCreaHumphrey BogartThe lives of a young man, a young woman, an notorious gangster, and a group of street kids converge one day in a volatile New York City slum.
- DirectorHenry KingStarsTyrone PowerOrson WellesWanda HendrixAn unscrupulous agent for the Borgias suffers a change of heart when asked to betray a noble count and his much younger, very beautiful wife.
- DirectorDavid BradleyStarsKen ClarkMichi KobiTom ConwayAn international team embarks on an expedition to the moon in an uncommonly spacious rocketship. There they encounter a faceless alien intelligence who conclude that the human race is too immature and dangerous and must be destroyed.
- DirectorJ.J. AbramsStarsDaisy RidleyJohn BoyegaOscar IsaacAs a new threat to the galaxy rises, Rey, a desert scavenger, and Finn, an ex-stormtrooper, must join Han Solo and Chewbacca to search for the one hope of restoring peace.
- DirectorJim SharmanStarsTim CurrySusan SarandonBarry BostwickA newly-engaged couple have a breakdown in an isolated area and must seek shelter at the bizarre residence of Dr. Frank-n-Furter.
- DirectorMichael PowellEmeric PressburgerStarsEric PortmanSheila SimDennis PriceThree modern-day pilgrims investigate a bizarre crime in a small town while on their way to Canterbury.
- DirectorFerde Grofé Jr.StarsGeorge MontgomeryTom DrakeConrad ParhamAt the end of World War Two, a reporter follows a Colonel and his men searching for small groups of Japanese soldiers hiding in the jungle.
- DirectorHark TsuiStarsBiao YuenHoi MangAdam ChengA Chinese soldier in an ancient civil war flees the battlefield and gets caught up in a fantastical quest to save the world from evil.
- DirectorPeter WeirStarsRussell CrowePaul BettanyBilly BoydDuring the Napoleonic Wars, a brash British captain pushes his ship and crew to their limits in pursuit of a formidable French war vessel around South America.
- DirectorDaniel AttiasStarsGary BuseyEverett McGillCorey HaimIn a small town, brutal killings start to plague the close knit community. Marty Coslaw, a paraplegic boy, is convinced the murders are the doings of a werewolf.
- DirectorTerence FisherStarsChristopher LeePatrick AllenPeter CushingWhile mainland Britain shivers in deepest winter, the northern island of Fara bakes in the nineties.
- DirectorAlfred HitchcockStarsCary GrantEva Marie SaintJames MasonA New York City advertising executive goes on the run after being mistaken for a government agent by a group of foreign spies, and falls for a woman whose loyalties he begins to doubt.
- DirectorWei LoStarsPei-Pei ChengHua YuehLieh LoAfter being implicated in the theft of the Jade Dragon Sword, Fan Ying is banished to the Dragon Swamp for 20 years.
- DirectorWilliam A. WellmanStarsHenry FondaDana AndrewsMary Beth HughesWhen a posse captures three men suspected of killing a local farmer, they become strongly divided over whether or not to lynch the men.
- DirectorMilos FormanStarsJohn SavageTreat WilliamsBeverly D'AngeloClaude Bukowski leaves the family ranch in Oklahoma for New York where he is rapidly embraced into the hippie group of youngsters led by Berger, yet he's already been drafted. He soon falls in love with Sheila Franklin, a rich girl but still a rebel inside.
- DirectorSam RaimiStarsSharon StoneGene HackmanRussell CroweA female gunfighter returns to a frontier town where a dueling tournament is being held, which she enters in an effort to avenge her father's death.
- DirectorRichard DonnerStarsChristopher ReeveMargot KidderGene HackmanAn alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
- DirectorSergey BondarchukStarsVasiliy ShukshinVyacheslav TikhonovSergey BondarchukJuly 1942. Soviet forces are retreating in the face of a massive German onslaught towards Stalingrad. An infantry platoon is tasked with holding a vital hill in order to give their comrades time to cross the Don River and regroup.
- StarsLiev SchreiberJamie DutcherJim DutcherDuring centuries wolves were characterized as blood-thirsty beasts, enemies of owners of ranch and killer of helpless live-stock. Adjusted to overcome this misunderstanding, the cameramen-naturalists of Jamie and Jim Dutcher lived six years in a tent camp, in the wilderness of Idaho, living with the covey of wolves, listening to them and earning their trust.
- DirectorPhil KarlsonStarsVan HeflinTab HunterKathryn GrantA powerful rancher always protects his wild adult son by paying for damages and bribing witnesses, until his crimes become too serious to rectify.
- DirectorJohn SaylesStarsChris CooperJames Earl JonesMary McDonnellA labor union organizer comes to an embattled mining community brutally and violently dominated and harassed by the mining company.
- DirectorGuy HamiltonStarsAlastair SimArthur YoungOlga LindoA wealthy family is visited by a police inspector, who questions the family about the suicide of a young working-class woman.
- DirectorJohn GlenStarsRoger MooreCarole BouquetTopolSecret service agent James Bond is assigned to find a missing British vessel equipped with a weapons encryption device and prevent it from falling into enemy hands.
- DirectorCosta-GavrasStarsJack LemmonSissy SpacekMelanie MayronWhen an idealistic American writer disappears during the Chilean coup d'état in September 1973, his wife and father try to find him.
- DirectorBarbara PeetersStarsDixie PeabodyTerry MaceClyde VenturaTautly directed biker film, told from the woman's point of view. The heroine sets out on the road to avenge her brother's murder, toting a shotgun and meaning business.
- DirectorRalph NelsonStarsSidney PoitierLilia SkalaLisa MannA travelling handyman becomes the answer to the prayers of nuns who wish to build a chapel in the desert.
- DirectorKinji FukasakuStarsTatsuya FujiwaraAki MaedaTarô YamamotoIn the future, the Japanese government captures a class of ninth-grade students and forces them to kill one another under the revolutionary "Battle Royale" act.
- DirectorTed PostStarsClint EastwoodInger StevensPat HingleWhen an innocent man barely survives a lynching, he returns as a lawman determined to bring the vigilantes to justice.
- DirectorDrew GoddardStarsKristen ConnollyChris HemsworthAnna HutchisonFive college friends head out to a remote cabin for a getaway, but things don't go as planned when they start getting killed. They soon discover that there is more to the cabin than it seems.
- DirectorBilly WilderStarsWilliam HoldenDon TaylorOtto PremingerAfter two Americans are killed while escaping from a German P.O.W. camp in World War II, the barracks black marketeer, J.J. Sefton, is suspected of being an informer.
- DirectorHarold RamisStarsChevy ChaseBeverly D'AngeloImogene CocaThe Griswold family's cross-country drive to the Walley World theme park proves to be much more arduous than they ever anticipated.
- DirectorJohn McTiernanStarsBruce WillisAlan RickmanBonnie BedeliaA New York City police officer tries to save his estranged wife and several others taken hostage by terrorists during a Christmas party at the Nakatomi Plaza in Los Angeles.
- DirectorGeorge A. RomeroStarsLori CardilleTerry AlexanderJoseph PilatoAs the world is overrun by zombies, a group of scientists and military personnel sheltering in an underground bunker in Florida must decide on how they should deal with the undead horde.
- DirectorAlberto CavalcantiStarsLeslie BanksC.V. FranceValerie TaylorAn English village is occupied by disguised German paratroopers as an advance post for a planned invasion.
- DirectorFred F. SearsStarsJohn HodiakJohn DerekDavid BrianAn innocent cowboy convicted with three robbers, fresh out of Yuma Territorial Prison, travels with them to get a share of their hidden loot.