200 ESSENTIAL MOVIES TO WATCH NOW

Rotten Tomatoes staff presents 200 essential movies to watch now, whether you’re a film buff or just starting your journey into cinema! We culled choices across genres, film movements, and centuries, mixed with staff favorites to shake things up. Best of all, every movie on the list is Certified Fresh!

Ready to take on the watching challenge? Click here and head to FandangoNOW where you can sort the list and buy or rent any of the movies!

THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
99%

Critics Consensus: An absolute masterpiece whose groundbreaking visuals and deft storytelling are still every bit as resonant, The Wizard of Oz is a must-see film for young and old.

Synopsis: L. Frank Baum's classic tale comes to magisterial Technicolor life! The Wizard of Oz stars legendary Judy Garland as Dorothy,... [More]

Starring: Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr

Directed By: King Vidor, Victor Fleming

CITIZEN KANE (1941)
100%

Critics Consensus: Orson Welles's epic tale of a publishing tycoon's rise and fall is entertaining, poignant, and inventive in its storytelling, earning its reputation as a landmark achievement in film.

Synopsis: This is the labyrinthine study of the life of a newspaper tycoon....[More]

Starring: Orson Welles, Dorothy Comingore, Joseph Cotten, Everett Sloane

Directed By: Orson Welles

THE THIRD MAN (1949)
99%

Critics Consensus: This atmospheric thriller is one of the undisputed masterpieces of cinema, and boasts iconic performances from Joseph Cotten and Orson Welles.

Synopsis: American writer, Holly Martins, arrives in post-war Vienna to visit his old friend Harry Lime. On arrival, he learns that... [More]

Starring: Joseph Cotten, Alida Valli, Orson Welles, Trevor Howard

Directed By: Carol Reed

GET OUT (2017)
99%

Critics Consensus: Funny, scary, and thought-provoking, Get Out seamlessly weaves its trenchant social critiques into a brilliantly effective and entertaining horror/comedy thrill ride.

Synopsis: Now that Chris and his girlfriend, Rose, have reached the meet-the-parents milestone of dating, she invites him for a weekend... [More]

Starring: Daniel Kaluuya, Allison Williams, Catherine Keener, Bradley Whitford

Directed By: Jordan Peele

MAD MAX: FURY ROAD (2015)
97%

Critics Consensus: With exhilarating action and a surprising amount of narrative heft, Mad Max: Fury Road brings George Miller's post-apocalyptic franchise roaring vigorously back to life.

Synopsis: Filmmaker George Miller gears up for another post-apocalyptic action adventure with Fury Road, the fourth outing in the Mad Max... [More]

Starring: Tom Hardy, Charlize Theron, Nicholas Hoult, Rosie Huntington-Whiteley

Directed By: George Miller

ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
100%

Critics Consensus: Smart, sophisticated, and devastatingly funny, All About Eve is a Hollywood classic that only improves with age.

Synopsis: Based on the story The Wisdom of Eve by Mary Orr, All About Eve is an elegantly bitchy backstage story... [More]

Starring: Bette Davis, Anne Baxter, Gary Merrill, George Sanders

Directed By: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

INSIDE OUT (2015)
98%

Critics Consensus: Inventive, gorgeously animated, and powerfully moving, Inside Out is another outstanding addition to the Pixar library of modern animated classics.

Synopsis: Growing up can be a bumpy road, and it's no exception for Riley, who is uprooted from her Midwest life... [More]

Starring: Mindy Kaling, Amy Poehler, Phyllis Smith, Bill Hader

Directed By: Pete Docter, Ronnie del Carmen

THE GODFATHER (1972)
98%

Critics Consensus: One of Hollywood's greatest critical and commercial successes, The Godfather gets everything right; not only did the movie transcend expectations, it established new benchmarks for American cinema.

Synopsis: Popularly viewed as one of the best American films ever made, the multi-generational crime saga The Godfather is a touchstone... [More]

Starring: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan, Richard S. Castellano

Directed By: Francis Ford Coppola

METROPOLIS (1927)
99%

Critics Consensus: A visually awe-inspiring science fiction classic from the silent era.

Synopsis: In a futuristic city sharply divided between the working class and the city planners, the son of the city's mastermind... [More]

Starring: Alfred Abel, Gustav Frolich, Brigitte Helm, Gustav Fröhlich

Directed By: Fritz Lang

E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
98%

#10

Critics Consensus: Playing as both an exciting sci-fi adventure and a remarkable portrait of childhood, Steven Spielberg's touching tale of a homesick alien remains a piece of movie magic for young and old.

Synopsis: Both a classic movie for kids and a remarkable portrait of childhood, E.T. is a sci-fi adventure that captures that... [More]

Starring: Tamara De Treaux, Henry Thomas, Drew Barrymore, Dee Wallace

Directed By: Steven Spielberg

IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
98%

#11

Critics Consensus: Capturing its stars and director at their finest, It Happened One Night remains unsurpassed by the countless romantic comedies it has inspired.

Synopsis: Frank Capra's seminal screwball comedy, which won all five major Academy Awards for 1934, is still as breezy and beguiling... [More]

Starring: Claudette Colbert, Clark Gable, Walter Connolly, Jason Thomas

Directed By: Frank Capra

SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
100%

#12

Critics Consensus: Clever, incisive, and funny, Singin' in the Rain is a masterpiece of the classical Hollywood musical.

Synopsis: Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor star in Singin' in the Rain, one of the greatest and most successful... [More]

Starring: Gene Kelly, Donald O'Connor, Debbie Reynolds, Jean Hagen

Directed By: Stanley Donen, Gene Kelly

CASABLANCA (1942)
97%

#13

Critics Consensus: An undisputed masterpiece and perhaps Hollywood's quintessential statement on love and romance, Casablanca has only improved with age, boasting career-defining performances from Humphrey Bogart and Ingrid Bergman.

Synopsis: One of the most beloved American films, this captivating wartime adventure of romance and intrigue from director Michael Curtiz defies... [More]

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains, Paul Henreid

Directed By: Michael Curtiz

MOONLIGHT (2016)
98%

#14

Critics Consensus: Moonlight uses one man's story to offer a remarkable and brilliantly crafted look at lives too rarely seen in cinema.

Synopsis: The tender, heartbreaking story of a young man's struggle to find himself, told across three defining chapters in his life... [More]

Starring: Naomie Harris, André Holland, Mahershala Ali, Janelle Monáe

Directed By: Barry Jenkins (III)

A HARD DAY'S NIGHT (1964)
98%

#15

Critics Consensus: A Hard Day's Night, despite its age, is still a delight to watch and has proven itself to be a rock-and-roll movie classic.

Synopsis: The year is 1964 and four young lads from Liverpool are about to change the world - if only the... [More]

Starring: Paul McCartney, John Lennon, Ringo Starr, George Harrison

Directed By: Richard Lester

SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
98%

#16

Critics Consensus: With its involving story and characters, vibrant art, and memorable songs, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs set the animation standard for decades to come.

Synopsis: It was called "Disney's Folly." Who on earth would want to sit still for 90 minutes to watch an animated... [More]

Starring: Adriana Caselotti, Marge Champion, Harry Stockwell, Stuart Buchanan

Directed By: David Hand, William Cottrell, David D. Hand, Wilfred Jackson

NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
100%

#17

Critics Consensus: Gripping, suspenseful, and visually iconic, this late-period Hitchcock classic laid the groundwork for countless action thrillers to follow.

Synopsis: While having lunch at the Plaza Hotel in New York, advertising executive Roger O. Thornhill (Cary Grant) has the bad... [More]

Starring: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason, Leo G Carroll

Directed By: Alfred Hitchcock

THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
100%

#18

Critics Consensus: Suspenseful, labyrinthine, and brilliantly cast, The Maltese Falcon is one of the most influential noirs -- as well as a showcase for Humphrey Bogart at his finest.

Synopsis: After two previous film versions of Dashiell Hammett's detective classic The Maltese Falcon, Warner Bros. finally got it right in... [More]

Starring: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Peter Lorre, Sydney Greenstreet

Directed By: John Huston

KING KONG (1933)
98%

#19

Critics Consensus: King Kong explores the soul of a monster -- making audiences scream and cry throughout the film -- in large part due to Kong's breakthrough special effects.

Synopsis: "How would you like to star opposite the tallest, darkest leading man in Hollywood?" Enticed by these words, brunette leading... [More]

Starring: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot, Sam Hardy

Directed By: Ernest B. Schoedsack, Merian C. Cooper