8 Best Rated Movies Of All Time

What 3 things make them the best?

Movie budgets are getting bigger year on year. Visual effects are more eye-catching and competition from streaming services like Netflix has forced the whole industry to raise their game, with an emphasis on creating quality.

With this being said, only a small handful of movies survive the test of time and can be truly called an ‘All-Time Great’.

This got me thinking about what key themes and characteristics help a movie last the test of time.

What key components give it longevity and relevance, even in a completely different era and world.

Below is a list of the top 8 movies of all time, according to IMDB.

IMDB is the site I go to look up a movie's rating, before investing time into it.

I have wasted too many precious hours over the years consuming sub-par movies. My rule of thumb now is a movie needs to get at least 7/10, or I won’t bother (although comedies tend to rank lower, so depends on who is in it.)

Although there are different ranking systems out there, the above movies will feature on any list.

Will be a few spoilers here, but as these are all-time classics, I am assuming you have probably already watched most of them.

Here are my top 3 reasons why these movies are considered the best of all time.

To feature in this list and be considered an All-Time Great, the movie needs to have at least 2/3 of these, although some indeed have all 3.

1. Moves the audience and makes them feel

Most movies you watch and think to yourself, that was pretty good, and then go about your day as usual.

But when a movie is special, it really moves you and can alter your biology. May bring you to tears, make you have goosebumps, and even have butterflies in your stomach. This doesn’t happen often, so when it does you know you have witnessed a great.

I remember being in the cinema watching LODR: The Return of the King and everyone applauded as credits rolled. Some people cried, some looked around shaking their heads in amazement and smiling.

It had been an epic trilogy that the audience had been taken on. What a journey (of about 10 hours). I remember the hairs on my neck standing up and not being able to get out of my seat, just soaking it all in. This rarely ever happens to me.

2. Great, relatable characters

The emotions you feel for the characters are powerful and one of the things that makes a movie so memorable.

I have watched countless movies that were a good watch, but there was something about the main character that didn't resonate with you and you simply didn't care about them enough.

The movies on the list tend to have built strong characters, that the audience truly feels for and have such an interest in what happens to them.

One of my favorite movies of all time is Shawshank Redemption. It was no surprise to me to see this right at the top of the list. We didn't know the full extent of the story of Andy Dufresne. Was he set up, or was he a cold-blooded killer? Who knows.

All I know is Shawshank took us on an unbelievable journey and by the end of it, you had almost forgotten that factor altogether. The characters had gone through so much together in jail.

And when Andy was crawling through shit to escape, there was almost a beautiful metaphor taking place that the audience could relate to. We all have to go through some shit in life to reach the other side and make it to paradise. And when he is reunited with Red at the end of it, it is a magical moment.

3. Originality— never seen anything like it before

Some All-Time Great movies that stand the test of time get there through originality and doing something different for the first time.

Pulp Fiction comes to mind with this one. I remember watching this for the first time and had never seen any movie like it. Tarantino has made some great movies since, but for me, this is the pinnacle and is not going to be topped. The way the movie is fragmented and moves through past and future scenes so seamlessly was nothing I had seen before (or since).

The Dark Night was also a complete shock to me. We have seen so many superhero movies over the years. The plot of this one was unbelievable. The Joker was a stand-out performance by Heath Ledger. But what also threw a spanner in the works was the journey Harvey Dent went on to become Two-Face, which came as a complete shock to me. So many twists and turns in this one, with a completely original take on the Joker that sat with the audience for a long time.

One Final Thing All These Movies Needed

*One final thing that all these needed to be the best — A Great Storyline.

All of the above were so well written, from start to finish. One thing that annoys me about action movies now is that there is such a focus on ‘epic’ fight scenes through the use of CGI, the plot loses itself.

To be amongst the greats, the story is so important. Group a great plot with relatable characters, shocking events that keep the audience gripped, and scenes that make them feel something are all hallmarks of a winning movie.