People Break Down The Best Cinematic Masterpieces Of All-Time

The Thing (1982)

"John Carpenter's The Thing, a masterpiece of horror, suspense, and special effects that has yet to be beaten."

Daigey

The Thing is exceptional and likely the gold standard by which all subsequent horror remakes have been measured.

City of God (2002)

"When I saw City of God I thought it was a masterpiece. Haven’t seen it in years, but that’s how I remember it."

CreepyLaw5186

A chilling film. Almost everyone in it is an amateur actor and the work they do is so wonderful.

The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)

"The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly, for its cinematography, soundtrack and storyline."

Villa-restal

The score is a work of genius. Ennio Morricone was just sublime.

The Lord of the Rings trilogy (2001, 2002, 2003)

"The Lord of the Rings trilogy. All of them, just beautifully filmed, perfectly cast and expertly put together. I don’t think we’ll ever get something as good as that again."

KalitheDryad

Not one single role was miscast. It's impressive. They nailed like literally everything.

Jurassic Park (1993)

"Jurassic Park. The movie delivered well on its promise to show us dinosaurs."

SuvenPan

This is a movie that has aged like a fine wine and that looks so much better than any of the Jurassic World films that have been in cinemas these last few years.

No Country for Old Men (2007)

"No Country for Old Men."

"Cormac McCarthy is one of the greatest American authors of all time, and yet the Coen Brothers adaptation is better than the novel. And the coin flip scene at the gas station? Incredible."

[deleted]

This is truly a perfect film. I'd say the novel and the film adaptation are pretty much on par.

Children of Men (2006)

"Children of Men. Your heart nearly breaks for a future that doesn’t even exist, except that you feel it possibly could exist."

daveescaped

I saw this again a few months back and it feels more relevant than ever, especially in the context of the climate crisis.

Whiplash (2014)

"Whiplash. J.K. Simmons as a sociopathic band conductor may be the most realistically harrowing villain I’ve ever seen."

marmaloser

And he won the Oscar for it! Clearly the Academy felt he was doing something right.

Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)

"Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon. Top 5 for me. Absolutely brilliant film. The scene in the bamboo trees was so beautiful."

thomriddle45

Along with being visually stunning, it's also one of the greatest film titles of all time.

The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)

"In The Grand Budapest Hotel, it seems like Ralph Fiennes was made for a Wes Anderson movie."

highlander2189

He pretty much was — and can you believe he missed out on an Academy Award nomination for the role? What a sin!

There is no shortage of good movies out there, and some are even exceptional or great. In another 20 years we'll be able to see what movies that came in the last few years have stood the test of time.

Have some suggestions of your own? Feel free to tell us more in the comments below!