Rottentomatoes.com is a website ranking movies based on aggregate of film reviews. Since the website accumulates and aggregates the film reviews, it is a popular and relied one for measuring the quality of films. At the same time, this website is a window that through it one can see how film reviews are, many without sufficient or no research into the film, its subject, and else, but solely based on personal preference. In the following, first the 100 greatest films of all time on this website by aggregate of the film reviews will be discussed. Since the website is mostly relied on the number of reviews than the number of 100% positive reviews, then the films with higher reviews (that are mostly modern era films as they are more reviewers now than in the past), will get a higher ranking. But films with 100% positive reviews if they have lower number of reviews, such as old films as you will see, they will get lower rankings and many great films do not appear on this list of the greatest 100 films of all time, but some mediocre recent years films with more number of reviews appear in the list.
Rotten Tomatoes 100 Best movies of all time:
Rank Rating Title No. of Reviews
1 | 99% | Wizard of Oz (1939) | 109 |
2 | 100% | Citizen Kane (1941) | 73 |
3 | 100% | The third Man (1949) | 76 |
4 | 97% | Mad Max: Fury Road (2015) | 359 |
5 | 100% | All about Eve (1950) | 64 |
6 | 100% | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) | 49 |
7 | 98% | Inside Out (2015) | 319 |
8 | 99% | Godfather (1972) | 84 |
9 | 99% | Metropolis (1927) | 115 |
10 | 100% | Modern Times (1936) | 53 |
11 | 98% | E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982) | 112 |
12 | 100% | Singin’ in the Rain (1952) | 49 |
13 | 98% | It happened one night (1934) | 52 |
14 | 97% | Casablanca (1942) | 74 |
15 | 98% | Boyhood (2014) | 278 |
16 | 100% | Laura (1944) | 60 |
17 | 98% | A Hard Day’s Night (1964) | 102 |
18 | 97% | Nosferatu, a symphony of horror (1922) | 62 |
19 | 98% | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937) | 47 |
20 | 99% | The Battle of Algiers (1967) | 82 |
21 | 97% | Grand Illusion (1938) | 63 |
22 | 100% | North by Northwest (1959) | 64 |
23 | 100% | Repulsion (1965) | 60 |
24 | 100% | The Maltese Falcon (1941) | 49 |
25 | 96% | Gravity (2013) | 315 |
26 | 96% | 12 years a Slave (2013) | 314 |
27 | 98% | Moonlight (2016) | 269 |
28 | 98% | Sunset Boulevard (1950) | 60 |
29 | 98% | King Kong (1933) | 54 |
30 | 100% | The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) | 45 |
31 | 100% | Rear Window (1954) | 63 |
32 | 100% | Rashomon (1951) | 49 |
33 | 96% | Psycho (1960) | 84 |
34 | 96% | Spotlight (2015) | 302 |
35 | 99% | Selma (2015) | 229 |
36 | 99% | Toy Story 3 (2010) | 290 |
37 | 100% | Toy Story 2 (1999) | 163 |
38 | 96% | Argo (2012) | 313 |
39 | 99% | Taxi Driver (1976) | 75 |
40 | 100% | The Bride of Frankenstein (1935) | 41 |
41 | 100% | M (1931) | 51 |
42 | 100% | The Philadelphia Story (1940) | 54 |
43 | 100% | Seven Samurai (1956) | 57 |
44 | 98% | Zootopia (2016) | 243 |
45 | 100% | The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) | 45 |
46 | 100% | All quiet of the Western Front (1930) | 40 |
47 | 98% | Up (2009) | 285 |
48 | 100% | The 400 Blows (1959) | 54 |
49 | 97% | Alien (1979) | 102 |
50 | 98% | Bicycle Thieves (1949) | 56 |
51 | 97% | Army of Shadows (1969) | 73 |
52 | 100% | 12 Angry Men (1957) | 48 |
53 | 98% | A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) | 54 |
54 | 98% | The Night of the Hunter (1955) | 63 |
55 | 99% | Dr. Strangelove (1964) | 73 |
56 | 99% | Get Out (2017) | 145 |
57 | 100% | Rebecca (1940) | 48 |
58 | 99% | Rosemary’s Baby (1968) | 69 |
59 | 100% | Frankenstein (1931) | 45 |
60 | 98% | Hell or High Water (2016) | 226 |
61 | 100% | Conformist (1970) | 50 |
62 | 97% | Vertigo (1958) | 64 |
63 | 99% | Finding Nemo (2003) | 255 |
64 | 96% | Touch of Evil (1958) | 70 |
65 | 92% | Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens(2015) | 365 |
66 | 99% | Annie Hall (1977) | 67 |
67 | 97% | The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966) | 68 |
68 | 98% | The Wrestler (2008) | 220 |
69 | 99% | L.A .Confidential (1997) | 108 |
70 | 94% | The Dark Knight (2008) | 317 |
71 | 98% | The Hurt Locker (2009) | 256 |
72 | 98% | The 39 Steps (1935) | 44 |
73 | 98% | The Babdook (2014) | 206 |
74 | 94% | Gone With the Wind (1939) | 81 |
75 | 100% | Pinocchio (1940) | 45 |
76 | 93% | Skyfall (2012) | 347 |
77 | 97% | Brooklyn (2015) | 235 |
78 | 100% | Open City (1946) | 40 |
79 | 100% | Tokyo Story (1953) | 41 |
80 | 96% | High Noon (1952) | 50 |
81 | 93% | Star Trek (2009) | 333 |
82 | 93% | La La Land (2016) | 332 |
83 | 100% | The Last Picture Show (1971) | 51 |
84 | 100% | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) | 43 |
85 | 100% | The Wags of Fear (1953) | 40 |
86 | 96% | Manchester by the Sea (2016) | 257 |
87 | 94% | Arrival (2016) | 305 |
88 | 98% | Roman Holdiay (1953) | 40 |
89 | 98% | On the Waterfront (1954) | 60 |
90 | 96% | Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows-Part II (2011) | 310 |
91 | 97% | The Godfather Part II (1974) | 72 |
92 | 100% | Man on Wire (2008) | 154 |
93 | 100% | Toy Story (1995) | 78 |
94 | 97% | Jaws (1975) | 74 |
95 | 95% | The Jungle Book (2016) | 274 |
96 | 100% | Battleship Potemkin (1925) | 45 |
97 | 100% | Anatomy of a Murder (1959) | 42 |
98 | 97% | Lawrence of Arabia (1962) | 77 |
99 | 98% | The Lady Vanishes (1938) | 41 |
100 | 97% | It Follows (2015) | 219 |
As you see in the list, mediocre recent films due to high number of reviews even if they have lower ranking percentage, are in the list, but some great films are missing due to having been less reviewed in the past, when there were not many reviewers all around like nowadays. Some examples of the mediocre films to the surprise of many on this greatest list of all time as you see are: “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015) with 97% positive rating ranking surprisingly number 4 of the greatest films of all time, beating even “Godfather”, “Metropolis”, “Modern times” and many other greatest films, only because having 359 reviews. Similarly “Inside Out” (2015) with 98% ranking is the number 7 on the list because having 319 reviews; “Boyhood” (2014) also with 98% ranking number 15 on the list because having 278 reviews; Also “Gravity” (2013) with 96% ranking number 25 on the list because having 315 reviews; and so on! As you see a film with as low as 92% positive reviews such as “Star Wars: Episode VII- The Force Awakens” (2015) can get in the list and ranking 65 beating “Gone with the wind” and “High Noon” just for having 365 reviews (the highest number of reviews on the site). In the same token, mediocre recent films such as “The Dark Knight”, “Skyfall”, “Star Trek”, “La La Land”, “Manchester by the sea”, and “Arrival” have entered the list of this greatest films of all time, perhaps to the surprise of many critics themselves. Such a greatest film list is totally rotten as great films such as “Vertigo” (1958) that is ranked number one by “Sight & Sound” and ranking 9th in AFI 100 best films is ranked 62 in Rotten Tomatoes, and “The rule of the game” (1939), “Sunrise” (1927), “2001:A Space Odyssey” (1968) ranking 4, 5, & 6 by “Sight & Sound” are totally missing from the Rotten Tomatoes list of the 100 greatest films of all time! Similarly “Raging Bull” and “Schindler’s List” ranking 4 and 8 on AFI 100 best films of all time are missing in Rotten Tomatoes’ list.
If as you see in the following table, including all films with 100% positive reviews and more than 30 reviews, we will get 122 best films of all time, excluding many of the recent mediocre films with less than 100% positive reviews, so this adjustment will make it a better list.
Reviewers 122 Best movies of all time:
Rank Rating Title No. of Reviews
1 | 100% | Citizen Kane (1941) | 73 |
2 | 100% | The third Man (1949) | 76 |
3 | 100% | All about Eve (1950) | 64 |
4 | 100% | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) | 49 |
5 | 100% | Modern Times (1936) | 53 |
6 | 100% | Singin’ in the Rain (1952) | 49 |
7 | 100% | Laura (1944) | 60 |
8 | 100% | North by Northwest (1959) | 64 |
9 | 100% | Repulsion (1965) | 60 |
10 | 100% | The Maltese Falcon (1941) | 49 |
11 | 100% | The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) | 45 |
12 | 100% | Rear Window (1954) | 63 |
13 | 100% | Rashomon (1951) | 49 |
14 | 100% | Toy Story 2 (1999) | 163 |
15 | 100% | The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)/Frankenstein (1931) | 41/45 |
16 | 100% | M (1931) | 51 |
17 | 100% | The Philadelphia Story (1940) | 54 |
18 | 100% | Seven Samurai (1956) | 57 |
19 | 100% | The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) | 45 |
20 | 100% | All quiet of the Western Front (1930) | 40 |
21 | 100% | The 400 Blows (1959) | 54 |
22 | 100% | 12 Angry Men (1957) | 48 |
23 | 100% | Rebecca (1940) | 48 |
24 | 100% | Frankenstein (1931) | 45 |
25 | 100% | Conformist (1970) | 50 |
26 | 100% | Pinocchio (1940) | 45 |
27 | 100% | Open City (1946) | 40 |
28 | 100% | Tokyo Story (1953) | 41 |
29 | 100% | The Last Picture Show (1971) | 51 |
30 | 100% | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) | 43 |
31 | 100% | The Wags of Fear (1953) | 40 |
32 | 100% | Man on Wire (2008) | 154 |
33 | 100% | Toy Story (1995) | 78 |
34 | 100% | Battleship Potemkin (1925) | 45 |
*35 | 100% | Anatomy of a Murder (1959) | 42 |
36 | 100% | The Birth of a Nation (1915) | 38 |
37 | 100% | Scarface (1932) | 34 |
38 | 100% | The Invisible Man (1933) | 36 |
39 | 100% | Top Hat (1935) | 37 |
40 | 100% | Pepe le Moko (1937) | 30 |
41 | 100% | Satagecoach (1939) | 36 |
42 | 100% | The Lady Eve (1941) | 32 |
43 | 100% | Sullivan’s Travels (1941) | 32 |
44 | 100% | Shadow of Doubt (1943) | 34 |
45 | 100% | Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) | 30 |
46 | 100% | The Lost Weekend (1945) | 33 |
47 | 100% | The Killers (1946) | 34 |
48 | 100% | The Fallen Idol (1948) | 31 |
49 | 100% | Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) | 38 |
50 | 100% | The African Queen (1951) | 38 |
51 | 100% | Ikiru (1952) | 32 |
52 | 100% | The Earrings of Madame de…(1953) | 33 |
53 | 100% | Marty (1955) | 31 |
54 | 100% | A Man Escaped (1956) | 32 |
55 | 100% | Rio Bravo (1959) | 38 |
56 | 100% | Purple Noon (1960) | 33 |
57 | 100% | Knife in the Water (1962) | 32 |
58 | 100% | The Leopard (1963) | 45 |
59 | 100% | Mary Poppins (1964) | 46 |
60 | 100% | I am Cuba (1964) | 32 |
61 | 100% | Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) | 37 |
62 | 100% | Cool Hand Luke (1967) | 47 |
63 | 100% | The Gold Rush (1925) | 42 |
64 | 100% | The Searchers (1956) | 41 |
65 | 100% | Playtime (1967) | 41 |
66 | 100% | The Odd couple (1968) | 33 |
67 | 100% | Wake in Fright (1971) | 46 |
68 | 100% | Day for Night (1973) | 31 |
69 | 100% | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) | 34 |
70 | 100% | Atlantic City (1980) | 30 |
71 | 100% | Fanny and Alexander (1982) | 33 |
72 | 100% | Local Hero (1983) | 31 |
73 | 100% | The Terminator (1984) | 56 |
74 | 100% | My Beautiful Laundrette (1985) | 35 |
75 | 100% | My Life as a Dog (1985) | 30 |
76 | 100% | Shoah (1985) | 32 |
77 | 100% | Tampopo (1985) | 39 |
78 | 100% | Henry V (1989) | 34 |
79 | 100% | The Witches (1990) | 33 |
80 | 100% | Bob Roberts (1992) | 36 |
81 | 100% | Searching for Bobby Fischer (1993) | 36 |
82 | 100% | Three Colors: Blue (1993) | 40 |
83 | 100% | Three Colors: Red (1994) | 48 |
84 | 100% | Before Sunrise (1995) | 42 |
85 | 100% | The Sweet Hereafter (1997) | 55 |
86 | 100% | Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) | 40 |
87 | 100% | Yana’s Friends (1999) | 30 |
88 | 100% | The Taste of Others (2000) | 58 |
89 | 100% | Hukkle (2002) | 31 |
90 | 100% | Cama Adentro (2004) | 32 |
91 | 100% | Deliver Us from Evil (2006) | 73 |
92 | 100% | Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) | 91 |
93 | 100% | The Order of Myths (2008) | 32 |
94 | 100% | Pray the Devil Back to Hell (2008) | 36 |
95 | 100% | Still Walking (2008) | 61 |
96 | 100% | Afghan Star (2008) | 59 |
97 | 100% | Sita Sings the Blues (2008) | 32 |
98 | 100% | Last Train Home (2009) | 52 |
99 | 100% | Nostalgia for the Light (2010) | 43 |
100 | 100% | Poetry (2010) | 61 |
101 | 100% | Waste Land (2010) | 68 |
102 | 100% | Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2010) | 43 |
103 | 100% | Sholem Aleichem: Laughing in the Darkness (2011) | 39 |
104 | 100% | We Were Here (2011) | 41 |
105 | 100% | More Than Honey (2012) | 37 |
106 | 100% | The Waiting Room (2012) | 34 |
107 | 100% | The Square (2013) | 60 |
108 | 100% | Ilo Ilo (2013) | 41 |
109 | 100% | Sound City (2013) | 42 |
110 | 100% | The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) | 83 |
111 | 100% | Nas: Time Is Illmatic (2014) | 36 |
112 | 100% | Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) | 70 |
113 | 100% | Glen Campbell: I’ll Be Me (2014) | 31 |
114 | 100% | Seymour: An Introduction (2014) | 61 |
115 | 100% | Tales of the Grim Sleeper (2014) | 35 |
116 | 100% | Court (2014) | 36 |
117 | 100% | 3 ½ Minutes, 10 Bullets (2015) | 38 |
118 | 100% | Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015) | 51 |
119 | 100% | O.J. Made in America (2016) | 44 |
120 | 100% | Tower (2016) | 43 |
121 | 100% | Things to Come (2016) | 98 |
122 | 100% | My life as a Courgette (2016) | 53 |
Now if we remove recent films with less than 40 reviews among the 100% positive reviews list, then we will have the following table that give us 100 films that could be even better:
Reviewers 100 Best movies of all time:
Rank Rating Title No. of Reviews
1 | 100% | Citizen Kane (1941) | 73 |
2 | 100% | The third Man (1949) | 76 |
3 | 100% | All about Eve (1950) | 64 |
4 | 100% | The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari (1920) | 49 |
5 | 100% | Modern Times (1936) | 53 |
6 | 100% | Singin’ in the Rain (1952) | 49 |
7 | 100% | Laura (1944) | 60 |
8 | 100% | North by Northwest (1959) | 64 |
9 | 100% | Repulsion (1965) | 60 |
10 | 100% | The Maltese Falcon (1941) | 49 |
11 | 100% | The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938) | 45 |
12 | 100% | Rear Window (1954) | 63 |
13 | 100% | Rashomon (1951) | 49 |
14 | 100% | Toy Story 2 (1999) | 163 |
15 | 100% | The Bride of Frankenstein (1935)/Frankenstein (1931) | 41/45 |
16 | 100% | M (1931) | 51 |
17 | 100% | The Philadelphia Story (1940) | 54 |
18 | 100% | Seven Samurai (1956) | 57 |
19 | 100% | The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948) | 45 |
20 | 100% | All quiet of the Western Front (1930) | 40 |
21 | 100% | The 400 Blows (1959) | 54 |
22 | 100% | 12 Angry Men (1957) | 48 |
23 | 100% | Rebecca (1940) | 48 |
24 | 100% | Frankenstein (1931) | 45 |
25 | 100% | Conformist (1970) | 50 |
26 | 100% | Pinocchio (1940) | 45 |
27 | 100% | Open City (1946) | 40 |
28 | 100% | Tokyo Story (1953) | 41 |
29 | 100% | The Last Picture Show (1971) | 51 |
30 | 100% | The Grapes of Wrath (1940) | 43 |
31 | 100% | The Wags of Fear (1953) | 40 |
32 | 100% | Man on Wire (2008) | 154 |
33 | 100% | Toy Story (1995) | 78 |
34 | 100% | Battleship Potemkin (1925) | 45 |
*35 | 100% | Anatomy of a Murder (1959) | 42 |
36 | 100% | The Birth of a Nation (1915) | 38 |
37 | 100% | Scarface (1932) | 34 |
38 | 100% | The Invisible Man (1933) | 36 |
39 | 100% | Top Hat (1935) | 37 |
40 | 100% | Pepe le Moko (1937) | 30 |
41 | 100% | Satagecoach (1939) | 36 |
42 | 100% | The Lady Eve (1941) | 32 |
43 | 100% | Sullivan’s Travels (1941) | 32 |
44 | 100% | Shadow of Doubt (1943) | 34 |
45 | 100% | Meet Me in St. Louis (1944) | 30 |
46 | 100% | The Lost Weekend (1945) | 33 |
47 | 100% | The Killers (1946) | 34 |
48 | 100% | The Fallen Idol (1948) | 31 |
49 | 100% | Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949) | 38 |
50 | 100% | The African Queen (1951) | 38 |
51 | 100% | Ikiru (1952) | 32 |
52 | 100% | The Earrings of Madame de…(1953) | 33 |
53 | 100% | Marty (1955) | 31 |
54 | 100% | A Man Escaped (1956) | 32 |
55 | 100% | Rio Bravo (1959) | 38 |
56 | 100% | Purple Noon (1960) | 33 |
57 | 100% | Knife in the Water (1962) | 32 |
58 | 100% | The Leopard (1963) | 45 |
59 | 100% | Mary Poppins (1964) | 46 |
60 | 100% | I am Cuba (1964) | 32 |
61 | 100% | Au Hasard Balthazar (1966) | 37 |
62 | 100% | Cool Hand Luke (1967) | 47 |
63 | 100% | The Gold Rush (1925) | 42 |
64 | 100% | The Searchers (1956) | 41 |
65 | 100% | Playtime (1967) | 41 |
66 | 100% | The Odd couple (1968) | 33 |
67 | 100% | Wake in Fright (1971) | 46 |
68 | 100% | Day for Night (1973) | 31 |
69 | 100% | The Taking of Pelham One Two Three (1974) | 34 |
70 | 100% | Atlantic City (1980) | 30 |
71 | 100% | Fanny and Alexander (1982) | 33 |
72 | 100% | The Terminator (1984) | 56 |
73 | 100% | Three Colors: Blue (1993) | 40 |
74 | 100% | Three Colors: Red (1994) | 48 |
75 | 100% | Before Sunrise (1995) | 42 |
76 | 100% | The Sweet Hereafter (1997) | 55 |
77 | 100% | Mr. Death: The Rise and Fall of Fred A. Leuchter, Jr. (1999) | 40 |
78 | 100% | The Taste of Others (2000) | 58 |
79 | 100% | Deliver Us from Evil (2006) | 73 |
80 | 100% | Taxi to the Dark Side (2007) | 91 |
81 | 100% | Still Walking (2008) | 61 |
82 | 100% | Afghan Star (2008) | 59 |
83 | 100% | Last Train Home (2009) | 52 |
84 | 100% | Nostalgia for the Light (2010) | 43 |
85 | 100% | Poetry (2010) | 61 |
86 | 100% | Waste Land (2010) | 68 |
87 | 100% | Everyday Sunshine: The Story of Fishbone (2010) | 43 |
88 | 100% | We Were Here (2011) | 41 |
89 | 100% | The Square (2013) | 60 |
90 | 100% | Ilo Ilo (2013) | 41 |
91 | 100% | Sound City (2013) | 42 |
92 | 100% | The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013) | 83 |
93 | 100% | Nas: Time Is Illmatic (2014) | 36 |
94 | 100% | Gett: The Trial of Viviane Amsalem (2014) | 70 |
95 | 100% | Seymour: An Introduction (2014) | 61 |
96 | 100% | Ingrid Bergman: In Her Own Words (2015) | 51 |
97 | 100% | O.J. Made in America (2016) | 44 |
98 | 100% | Tower (2016) | 43 |
99 | 100% | Things to Come (2016) | 98 |
100 | 100% | My life as a Courgette (2016) | 53 |
But no matter how one cuts and tries to fix the Rotten Tomatoes greatest films list, one cannot succeed to include really greatest films of all time to satisfy true film critics, historians and even the seasoned viewers and true cinema lovers. That is the reason why great and even good films are not measured by the number of reviews, but by the quality of the film that is measured truly and scientifically by a careful and researching critic and historian. No one can deny the greatness of classic films such as “The Kid” of Charlie Chaplin (1921) for having had only 24 reviews, or “Greed” of Ercih Von Stroheim (1924) for having had 17 reviews, “Un Chien Andalou” of Louis Bunuel (1929) for having had 21 reviews, though they all had 100% positive reviews. Even a great film such as “Man with a movie camera” (1929) ranking 2nd on our site, has only 97% positive reviews on Rotten Tomatoes and out of their greatest list! The same with “Intolerance” (1916), “Wings” (1927), Jazz Singer (1927). “The Passion of Joan of Arc” 1927) ranking 5, 10, 12, and 13 on our greatest films of all time, but no great ranking at Rotten Tomatoes!
Therefore it seems that Rotten Tomatoes, pick mostly the rotten tomatoes as the name implies, not the good or great tomatoes!





