Favourite film from each year since I was born (1988 - present)
by benchwarmer-53023 | created - 24 Aug 2020 | updated - 2 months ago | Public• This list is going by the year of release listed beside the films on their individual IMDb pages. For example: My Neighbor Totoro is listed as a 1988 film because that was when it was first released in Japan, therefore I regard it as a film from 1988 (instead of 1991 when it was released in Australia).
• This list is subject to change at any time.
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1. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)
G | 86 min | Animation, Comedy, Family
When two girls move to the country to be near their ailing mother, they have adventures with the wondrous forest spirits who live nearby.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Hitoshi Takagi, Noriko Hidaka, Chika Sakamoto, Shigesato Itoi
Votes: 380,423 | Gross: $1.11M
2. Do the Right Thing (1989)
R | 120 min | Comedy, Drama
On the hottest day of the year on a street in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, everyone's hate and bigotry smolders and builds until it explodes into violence.
Director: Spike Lee | Stars: Danny Aiello, Ossie Davis, Ruby Dee, Richard Edson
Votes: 112,457 | Gross: $27.55M
3. Metropolitan (1989)
PG-13 | 98 min | Comedy, Drama, Romance
A group of young upper-class Manhattanites are blithely passing through the gala debutante season, when an unusual outsider joins them and stirs them up.
Director: Whit Stillman | Stars: Carolyn Farina, Edward Clements, Chris Eigeman, Taylor Nichols
Votes: 12,407 | Gross: $2.94M
4. Beauty and the Beast (1991)
G | 84 min | Animation, Family, Fantasy
A prince cursed to spend his days as a hideous monster sets out to regain his humanity by earning a young woman's love.
Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise | Stars: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Jesse Corti, Rex Everhart
Votes: 479,752 | Gross: $218.97M
5. A River Runs Through It (1992)
PG | 123 min | Drama
Two sons of a stern minister - one reserved, one rebellious - grow up in rural 1920s Montana while devoted to fly fishing.
Director: Robert Redford | Stars: Craig Sheffer, Brad Pitt, Tom Skerritt, Brenda Blethyn
Votes: 65,484 | Gross: $43.44M
6. Groundhog Day (1993)
PG | 101 min | Comedy, Drama, Fantasy
A narcissistic, self-centered weatherman finds himself in a time loop on Groundhog Day.
Director: Harold Ramis | Stars: Bill Murray, Andie MacDowell, Chris Elliott, Stephen Tobolowsky
Votes: 685,275 | Gross: $70.91M
7. Speed (1994)
R | 116 min | Action, Adventure, Thriller
A young police officer must prevent a bomb exploding aboard a city bus by keeping its speed above 50 mph.
Director: Jan de Bont | Stars: Keanu Reeves, Dennis Hopper, Sandra Bullock, Joe Morton
Votes: 392,037 | Gross: $121.25M
8. Babe (1995)
G | 91 min | Comedy, Drama, Family
Gentle farmer Arthur Hoggett wins a piglet Babe at a county fair. Narrowly escaping his fate as Christmas dinner, Babe bonds with motherly border collie Fly and discovers that he too can herd sheep. But will the other animals accept him?
Director: Chris Noonan | Stars: James Cromwell, Magda Szubanski, Christine Cavanaugh, Miriam Margolyes
Votes: 134,151 | Gross: $66.60M
9. 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: 726,904 | Gross: $24.61M
10. The Apostle (1997)
PG-13 | 134 min | Drama
After his happy life spins out of control, a preacher from Texas changes his name, goes to Louisiana and starts preaching on the radio.
Director: Robert Duvall | Stars: Robert Duvall, Todd Allen, Paul Bagget, Lenore Banks
Votes: 14,902 | Gross: $20.73M
11. The Truman Show (1998)
PG | 103 min | Comedy, Drama
An insurance salesman discovers his whole life is actually a reality TV show.
Director: Peter Weir | Stars: Jim Carrey, Ed Harris, Laura Linney, Noah Emmerich
Votes: 1,196,939 | Gross: $125.62M
12. The Straight Story (1999)
G | 112 min | Biography, Drama
An old man makes a long journey by lawnmower to mend his relationship with an ill brother.
Director: David Lynch | Stars: Richard Farnsworth, Sissy Spacek, Jane Galloway Heitz, Joseph A. Carpenter
Votes: 97,490 | Gross: $6.20M
13. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
PG-13 | 120 min | Action, Adventure, Drama
A young Chinese warrior steals a sword from a famed swordsman and then escapes into a world of romantic adventure with a mysterious man in the frontier of the nation.
Director: Ang Lee | Stars: Chow Yun-Fat, Michelle Yeoh, Ziyi Zhang, Chang Chen
Votes: 281,666 | Gross: $128.08M
14. Spirited Away (2001)
PG | 125 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
During her family's move to the suburbs, a sullen 10-year-old girl wanders into a world ruled by gods, witches and spirits, and where humans are changed into beasts.
Director: Hayao Miyazaki | Stars: Daveigh Chase, Suzanne Pleshette, Miyu Irino, Rumi Hiiragi
Votes: 849,811 | Gross: $10.06M
15. The Son (2002)
103 min | Drama, Mystery
A joinery instructor at a rehab center refuses to take a new teen as his apprentice, but then begins to follow the boy through the hallways and streets.
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Olivier Gourmet, Morgan Marinne, Isabella Soupart, Nassim Hassaïni
Votes: 10,094 | Gross: $0.07M
16. Finding Nemo (2003)
G | 100 min | Animation, Adventure, Comedy
After his son is captured in the Great Barrier Reef and taken to Sydney, a timid clownfish sets out on a journey to bring him home.
Directors: Andrew Stanton, Lee Unkrich | Stars: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould, Willem Dafoe
Votes: 1,113,725 | Gross: $380.84M
17. The Incredibles (2004)
PG | 115 min | Animation, Action, Adventure
While trying to lead a quiet suburban life, a family of undercover superheroes are forced into action to save the world.
Director: Brad Bird | Stars: Craig T. Nelson, Samuel L. Jackson, Holly Hunter, Jason Lee
Votes: 809,005 | Gross: $261.44M
18. The Death of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
R | 153 min | Comedy, Drama
Mr. Lãzãrescu, a dying old man, is shuttled from hospital to hospital by a loyal paramedic as doctors refuse to operate and no one can agree on a diagnosis.
Director: Cristi Puiu | Stars: Doru Ana, Monica Barladeanu, Alina Berzunteanu, Dorian Boguta
Votes: 15,925 | Gross: $0.08M
19. United 93 (2006)
R | 111 min | Action, Drama, History
A real-time account of the events on United Flight 93, one of the planes hijacked on September 11th, 2001 that crashed near Shanksville, Pennsylvania when passengers foiled the terrorist plot.
Director: Paul Greengrass | Stars: David Alan Basche, Olivia Thirlby, Liza Colón-Zayas, J.J. Johnson
Votes: 110,953 | Gross: $31.57M
20. 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
Not Rated | 113 min | Drama
A woman assists her friend in arranging an illegal abortion in 1980s Romania.
Director: Cristian Mungiu | Stars: Anamaria Marinca, Laura Vasiliu, Vlad Ivanov, Alexandru Potocean
Votes: 63,298 | Gross: $1.19M
21. WALL·E (2008)
G | 98 min | Animation, Adventure, Family
In the distant future, a small waste-collecting robot inadvertently embarks on a space journey that will ultimately decide the fate of mankind.
Director: Andrew Stanton | Stars: Ben Burtt, Elissa Knight, Jeff Garlin, Fred Willard
Votes: 1,200,798 | Gross: $223.81M
22. Bright Star (2009)
PG | 119 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The three-year romance between 19th-century poet John Keats and Fanny Brawne near the end of his life.
Director: Jane Campion | Stars: Abbie Cornish, Ben Whishaw, Paul Schneider, Kerry Fox
Votes: 28,706 | Gross: $4.44M
23. Of Gods and Men (2010)
PG-13 | 122 min | Drama, History
Under threat by fundamentalist terrorists, a group of Trappist monks stationed with an impoverished Algerian community must decide whether to leave or stay.
Director: Xavier Beauvois | Stars: Lambert Wilson, Michael Lonsdale, Olivier Rabourdin, Philippe Laudenbach
Votes: 16,100 | Gross: $3.95M
24. A Separation (2011)
PG-13 | 123 min | Drama
A married couple are faced with a difficult decision - to improve the life of their child by moving to another country or to stay in Iran and look after a deteriorating parent who has Alzheimer's disease.
Director: Asghar Farhadi | Stars: Payman Maadi, Leila Hatami, Sareh Bayat, Shahab Hosseini
Votes: 258,603 | Gross: $7.10M
25. Moonrise Kingdom (2012)
PG-13 | 94 min | Adventure, Comedy, Drama
Two 12-year-olds, who live on an island, fall in love with each other and elope into the wilderness. While people set out on a search mission, a violent storm approaching them catches their attention.
Director: Wes Anderson | Stars: Jared Gilman, Kara Hayward, Bruce Willis, Bill Murray
Votes: 366,804 | Gross: $45.51M
26. This Is Martin Bonner (2013)
R | 83 min | Drama
Martin Bonner has just moved to Nevada from the East Coast, leaving behind his two adult children and a life he spent more than two decades building.
Director: Chad Hartigan | Stars: Paul Eenhoorn, Demetrius Grosse, Tom Plunkett, Christy Lighthouse
Votes: 1,012 | Gross: $0.01M
27. Two Days, One Night (2014)
PG-13 | 95 min | Drama
Liège, Belgium. Sandra is a factory worker who discovers that her workmates have opted for a EUR1,000 bonus in exchange for her dismissal. She has only a weekend to convince her colleagues to give up their bonuses in order to keep her job.
Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne | Stars: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée, Baptiste Sornin
Votes: 50,544 | Gross: $1.44M
28. 45 Years (2015)
R | 95 min | Drama, Romance
A married couple preparing to celebrate their wedding anniversary receives shattering news that promises to forever change the course of their lives.
Director: Andrew Haigh | Stars: Charlotte Rampling, Tom Courtenay, Geraldine James, Dolly Wells
Votes: 35,146 | Gross: $4.25M
29. Silence (I) (2016)
R | 161 min | Drama, History
In the 17th century, two Portuguese Jesuit priests travel to Japan in an attempt to locate their mentor, who is rumored to have committed apostasy, and to propagate Catholicism.
Director: Martin Scorsese | Stars: Andrew Garfield, Adam Driver, Liam Neeson, Tadanobu Asano
Votes: 123,017 | Gross: $7.10M
30. The Rider (2017)
R | 104 min | Drama, Western
After suffering a near fatal head injury, a young cowboy undertakes a search for new identity and what it means to be a man in the heartland of America.
Director: Chloé Zhao | Stars: Brady Jandreau, Mooney, Tim Jandreau, Lilly Jandreau
Votes: 20,638 | Gross: $2.42M
31. Amazing Grace (2018)
G | 89 min | Documentary, Music
A documentary presenting Aretha Franklin with choir at the New Bethel Baptist Church in Watts, Los Angeles in January 1972.
Directors: Alan Elliott, Sydney Pollack | Stars: Aretha Franklin, James Cleveland, Alexander Hamilton, Cornell Dupree
Votes: 5,153 | Gross: $4.45M
32. A Hidden Life (2019)
PG-13 | 174 min | Biography, Drama, Romance
The Austrian Franz Jägerstätter, a conscientious objector, refuses to fight for the Nazis in World War II.
Director: Terrence Malick | Stars: August Diehl, Valerie Pachner, Maria Simon, Karin Neuhäuser
Votes: 28,178
33. Minari (2020)
PG-13 | 115 min | Drama
A Korean American family moves to an Arkansas farm in search of its own American dream. Amidst the challenges of new life in the strange and rugged Ozarks, they discover the undeniable resilience of family and what really makes a home.
Director: Lee Isaac Chung | Stars: Steven Yeun, Han Yeri, Alan Kim, Noel Cho
Votes: 97,092
34. Petite Maman (2021)
PG | 73 min | Drama, Fantasy
Nelly has just lost her grandmother and is helping her parents clean out her mother's childhood home. She explores the house and the surrounding woods. One day she meets a girl her age building a tree-house.
Director: Céline Sciamma | Stars: Joséphine Sanz, Gabrielle Sanz, Nina Meurisse, Stéphane Varupenne
Votes: 17,711
35. 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: 93,857
36. The Zone of Interest (2023)
PG-13 | 105 min | Drama, History, War
Auschwitz commandant Rudolf Höss and his wife Hedwig strive to build a dream life for their family in a house and garden beside the camp.
Director: Jonathan Glazer | Stars: Christian Friedel, Sandra Hüller, Johann Karthaus, Luis Noah Witte
Votes: 83,604
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