Movies I Plan To Watch While Umemployed...

Rudiger Vogler and Hans Zischler travel around the perimeter of Germany repairing old movie projection equipment in Wim Wenders' "Kings of the Road," one of Ebert's 10 best of 1978.

Ebert's 10 Best Lists: 1967-present

BY ROGER EBERT / December 15, 2004


This is a complete directory of all Ebert's annual best movie lists since he began working as film critic of the Chicago Sun-Times in 1967. Click on any of the individual years at the tops of the lists to read his full essay about that year's films.


To the directory....

Gene Hackman, Warren Beatty and Faye Dunaway flee a bank robbery in "Bonnie and Clyde."

1967


1. "Bonnie and Clyde"
2. "Ulysses"
3. "Blowup"
4. "The Graduate"
5. "A Man for All Seasons"
6. "The War Game"
7. "Reflections in a Golden Eye"
8. "Cool Hand Luke"
9. "Elvira Madigan"
10. "In the Heat of the Night"
11. "The Family Way"
12. "Our Mother's House"
13. "Marat/Sade"
14. "Two for the Road"
15. "El Dorado"


1968


1. "The Battle of Algiers"
2. "2001: A Space Odyssey"
3. "Falstaff"
4. "Faces"
5. "The Two of Us"
6. "The Producers"
7. "Oliver!"
8. "The Fifth Horseman Is Fear"
9. "Rachel, Rachel"
10. "Romeo and Juliet"


1969


1. "Z"
2. "Medium Cool"
3. "Weekend"
4. "if..."
5. "Last Summer"
6. "The Wild Bunch"
7. "Easy Rider"
8. "True Grit"
9. "Downhill Racer"
10. "War and Peace"

Private Eye J.J. Gittes (Jack Nicholson) tries, and fails, to see the big picture in "Chinatown."

1970

1. "Five Easy Pieces"
2. "MASH"
3. "The Revolutionary"
4. "Patton"
5. "Woodstock"
6. "My Night at Maud's"
7. "Adalen 31"
8. "The Passion of Anna"
9. "The Wild Child"
10. "Fellini Satyricon"


1971


1. "The Last Picture Show"
2. "McCabe and Mrs. Miller"
3. "Claire's Knee"
4. "The French Connection"
5. "Sunday, Bloody Sunday"
6. "Taking Off"
7. "Carnal Knowledge"
8. "Tristana"
9. "Goin' Down the Road"
10. "Bed and Board"


1972


1. "The Godfather"
2. "Chloe in the Afternoon"
3. "Le Boucher"
4. "Murmur of the Heart"
5. "The Green Wall"
6. "The Sorrow and the Pity"
7. "The Garden of the Finzi-Continis"
8. "Minnie and Moskowitz"
9. "Sounder"
10. "The Great Northfield, Minnesota Raid"


1973


1. "Cries and Whispers"
2. "Last Tango in Paris"
3. "The Emigrants"/"The New Land"
4. "Blume in Love"
5. "The Iceman Cometh"
6. "The Exorcist"
7. "The Day of the Jackal"
8. "American Graffiti"
9. "Fellini's Roma"
10. "The Friends of Eddie Coyle"


1974


1. "Scenes from a Marriage"
2. "Chinatown"
3. "The Mother and the Whore"
4. "Amarcord"
5. "The Last Detail"
6. "The Mirages"
7. "Day for Night"
8. "Mean Streets"
9. "My Uncle Antoine"
10. "The Conversation"

Connie White (Karen Black) at the Grand Ol' Opry, with Haven Hamilton (Henry Gibson), background, in "Nashville."

1975


1. "Nashville"
2. "Night Moves"
3. "Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore"
4. "Farewell, My Lovely"
5. "The Phantom of Liberty"
6. "A Brief Vacation"
7. "And Now My Love"
8. "A Woman Under the Influence"
9. "In Celebration"
10. "Dog Day Afternoon"


1976


1. "Small Change"
2. "Taxi Driver"
3. "The Magic Flute"
4. "The Clockmaker"
5. "Network"
6. "Swept Away by an Unusual Destiny in the Blue Sea of August"
7. "Rocky"
8. "All the President's Men"
9. "Silent Movie"
10. "The Shootist"


1977


1. "Three Women" (aka "3 Women")
2. "Providence"
3. "The Late Show"
4. "A Woman's Decision"
5. "Jail Bait"
6. "Close Encounters of the Third Kind"
7. "Aguirre, the Wrath of God"
8. "Annie Hall"
9. "Sorcerer"
10. "Star Wars"


1978


1. "An Unmarried Woman"
2. "Days of Heaven"
3. "Heart of Glass"
4. "Stroszek"
5. "Autumn Sonata"
6. "Interiors"
7. "Halloween"
8. "National Lampoon's Animal House"
9. "Kings of the Road"
10. "Superman"


1979


1. "Apocalypse Now"
2. "Breaking Away"
3. "The Deer Hunter"
4. "The Marriage of Maria Braun"
5. "Hair"
6. "Saint Jack"
7. "Kramer vs. Kramer"
8. "The China Syndrome"
9. "Nosferatu the Vampyre"
10. "10"

Henry Thomas and E.T. take flight in "E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial."

1980


1. "The Black Stallion"
2. "Raging Bull"
3. "Kagemusha"
4. "Being There"
5. "Ordinary People"
6. "The Great Santini"
7. "The Empire Strikes Back"
8. "Coal Miner's Daughter"
9. "American Gigolo"
10. "Best Boy"


1981


1. "My Dinner with Andre"
2. "Chariots of Fire"
3. "Gates of Heaven"
4. "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
5. "Heartland"
6. "Atlantic City"
7. "Thief"
8. "Body Heat"
9. "Tess"
10. "Reds"


1982


1. "Sophie's Choice"
2. "Diva"
3. "E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial"
4. "Fitzcarraldo"/"Burden of Dreams"
5. "Personal Best"
6. "Das Boot"
7. "Mephisto"
8. "Moonlighting"
9. "The Verdict"
10. "The Weavers: Wasn't That a Time!"


1983


1. "The Right Stuff"
2. "Terms of Endearment"
3. "The Year of Living Dangerously"
4. "Fanny and Alexander"
5. "Gandhi"
6. "El Norte"
7. "Testament"
8. "Silkwood"
9. "Say Amen, Somebody"
10. "Risky Business"


1984


1. "Amadeus"
2. "Paris, Texas"
3. "Love Streams"
4. "This Is Spinal Tap"
5. "The Cotton Club"
6. "Secret Honor"
7. "The Killing Fields"
8. "Stranger Than Paradise"
9. "Choose Me"
10. "Purple Rain"

Buggin' Out (Giancarlo Esposito) in "Do the Right Thing."

1985


1. "The Color Purple"
2. "After Hours"
3. "The Falcon and the Snowman"
4. "Prizzi's Honor"
5. "Ran"
6. "Witness"
7. "Mad Max Beyond Thunderdome"
8. "Lost in America"
9. "Streetwise"
10. "Blood Simple"


1986


1. "Platoon"
2. "Round Midnight"
3. "Hannah and Her Sisters"
4. "Sid & Nancy"
5. "Lucas"
6. "Vagabond"
7. "Trouble in Mind"
8. "Down and Out in Beverly Hills"
9. "Peggy Sue Got Married"
10. "Hard Choices"


1987


1. "House of Games"
2. "The Big Easy"
3. "Barfly"
4. "The Last Emperor"
5. "Moonstruck"
6. "Prick Up Your Ears"
7. "Radio Days"
8. "Broadcast News"
9. "Lethal Weapon"
10. "Housekeeping"


1988


1. "Mississippi Burning"
2. "The Accidental Tourist"
3. "The Unbearable Lightness of Being"
4. "Shy People"
5. "Salaam Bombay!"
6. "A Fish Called Wanda"
7. "Wings of Desire"
8. "Who Framed Roger Rabbit"
9. "Dear America: Letters Home From Vietnam"
10. "Running on Empty"


1989


1. "Do the Right Thing"
2. "Drugstore Cowboy"
3. "My Left Foot"
4. "Born on the Fourth of July"
5. "Roger & Me"
6. "The Mighty Quinn"
7. "Field of Dreams"
8. "Crimes and Misdemeanors"
9. "Driving Miss Daisy"
10. "Say Anything"


Best films of the 1980s


1. "Raging Bull"
2. "The Right Stuff"
3. "E.T. -- The Extra-Terrestrial"
4. "Do the Right Thing"
5. "My Dinner with Andre"
6. "Raiders of the Lost Ark"
7. "Ran"
8. "Mississippi Burning"
9. "Platoon"
10. "House of Games"

A coupla GoodFellas: Ray Liotta and Robert De Niro.

1990s


1. "GoodFellas"
2. "Monsieur Hire"
3. "Dances With Wolves"
4. "The Grifters"
5. "Reversal of Fortune"
6. "Santa Sangre"
7. "Last Exit to Brooklyn"
8. "Awakenings"
9. "The Cook, the Thief, his Wife & her Lover"
10. "Mountains of the Moon"


1991


1. "JFK"
2. "Boyz N the Hood"
3. "Beauty and the Beast"
4. "Grand Canyon"
5. "My Father's Glory"/"My Mother's Castle"
6. "A Woman's Tale"
7. "Life is Sweet"
8. "The Man in the Moon"
9. "Thelma & Louise"
10. "The Rapture"


1992


1. "Malcolm X"
2. "One False Move"
3. "Howards End"
4. "Flirting"
5. "The Crying Game"
6. "Damage"
7. "The Hairdresser's Husband"
8. "The Player"
9. "Unforgiven"
10. "Bad Lieutenant"


1993


1. "Schindler's List"
2. "The Age of Innocence"
3. "The Piano"
4. "The Fugitive"
5. "The Joy Luck Club"
6. "Kalifornia"
7. "Like Water for Chocolate"
8. "Menace II Society"
9. "What's Love Got to Do with It"
10. "Ruby in Paradise"


1994


1. "Hoop Dreams"
2. "Three Colors Trilogy": "Blue," "White," "Red"
3. "Pulp Fiction"
4. "Forrest Gump"
5. "The Last Seduction"
6. "Fresh"
7. "The Blue Kite"
8. "Natural Born Killers"
9. "The New Age"
10. "Quiz Show"

Marge (Frances McDormand) and corpse in "Fargo."

1995


1. "Leaving Las Vegas"
2. "Crumb"
3. "Dead Man Walking"
4. "Nixon"
5. "Casino"
6. "Apollo 13"
7. "Exotica"
8. "My Family"
9. "Carrington"
10. "A Walk in the Clouds"


1996


1. "Fargo"
2. "Breaking the Waves"
3. "Secrets & Lies"
4. "Lone Star"
5. "Welcome to the Dollhouse"
6. "Bound"
7. "Hamlet" (Kenneth Branagh version)
8. "Everyone Says I Love You"
9. "Heidi Fleiss: Hollywood Madam"
10. "Big Night"


1997


1. "Eve's Bayou"
2. "The Sweet Hereafter"
3. "Boogie Nights"
4. "Maborosi"
5. "Jackie Brown"
6. "Fast, Cheap & Out of Control"
7. "L.A. Confidential"
8. "In the Company of Men"
9. "Titanic"
10. "Wag the Dog"


1998


1. "Dark City"
2. "Pleasantville"
3. "Saving Private Ryan"
4. "A Simple Plan"
5. "Happiness"
6. "Elizabeth"
7. "Babe: Pig in the City"
8. "Shakespeare in Love"
9. "Life is Beautiful"
10. "Primary Colors"


1999


1. "Being John Malkovich"
2. "Magnolia"
3. "Three Kings"
4. "Boys Don't Cry"
5. "Bringing Out the Dead"
6. "Princess Mononoke"
7. "The War Zone"
8. "American Beauty"
9. "Topsy-Turvy"
10. "The Insider"


Best films of the 1990s


1. "Hoop Dreams"
2. "Pulp Fiction"
3. "GoodFellas"
4. "Fargo"
5. "Three Colors Trilogy": "Blue," "White," and "Red"
6. "Schindler's List"
7. "Breaking the Waves"
8. "Leaving Las Vegas"
9. "Malcolm X"
10. "JFK"

Julianne Moore in Todd Haynes' "Far From Heaven."

2000s


1. "Almost Famous"
2, "Wonder Boys"
3. "You Can Count on Me"
4. "Traffic"
5. "George Washington"
6. "The Cell"
7. "High Fidelity"
8. "Pollock"
9. "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon"
10. "Requiem for a Dream"


2001


1. "Monster's Ball"
2. "Black Hawk Down"
3. "In the Bedroom"
4. "Ghost World"
5. "Mulholland Drive"
6. "Waking Life"
7. "Innocence"
8. "Wit"
9. "A Beautiful Mind"
10. "Gosford Park"


2002


1. "Minority Report"
2. "City of God"
3. "Adaptation."
4. "Far from Heaven"
5. "13 Conversations About One Thing"
6. "Y Tu Mama Tambien"
7. "Invincible"
8. "Spirited Away"
9. "All or Nothing"
10. "The Quiet American"


2003


1. "Monster"
2. "Lost in Translation"
3. "American Splendor"
4. "Finding Nemo"
5. "Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World"
6. "Mystic River"
7. "Owning Mahowny"
8. "The Son"
9. "Whale Rider"
10. "In America"


2004


1. "Million Dollar Baby"
2. "Kill Bill, Volume 2"
3. "Vera Drake"
4. "Spider-Man 2"
5. "Moolaade"
6. "The Aviator"
7. "Baadasssss!"
8. "Sideways"
9. "Hotel Rwanda"
10. "Undertow"


2005


1. "Crash"
2. "Syriana"
3. "Munich"
4. "Junebug"
5. "Brokeback Mountain"
6. "Me and You and Everyone We Know"
7. "Nine Lives"
8. "King Kong"
9. "Yes"
10. "Millions"


2006


1. "Pan’s Labyrinth"
2. "Bubble"
3. "Children of Men"
4. "The Departed"
5. "The Lives of Others"
6. "United 93"
7. "Flags of Our Fathers"
8. "Perfume"
9. "Babel"
10. "Man Push Cart"


2007


1. "Juno"
2. "No Country for Old Men"
3. "Before the Devil Knows You’re Dead"
4. "Atonement"
5. "The Kite Runner"
6. "Away from Her"
7. "Across the Universe"
8. "La Vie en Rose"
9. "The Great Debaters"
10. "Into the Wild"


2008


(alphabetical order)


"Ballast"
"The Band's Visit"
"Che"
"Chop Shop"
"The Dark Knight"
"Doubt"
"The Fall"
"Frost/Nixon"
"Frozen River"
"Happy-Go-Lucky"
"Iron Man"
"Milk"
"Rachel Getting Married"
"The Reader"
"Revolutionary Road"
"Shotgun Stories"
"Slumdog Millionaire"
"Synecdoche, New York"
"W."
"WALL-E"


Best foreign-language films


(alphabetical order)


"A Christmas Tale"
"The Duchess of Langeais"
"The Edge of Heaven"
"4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days"
"A Girl Cut in Two"
"I've Loved You So Long"
"The Last Mistress"
"Let the Right One In"
"Tell No One"
"XXY"