Miramax
Given that movies are art — and art, by its very nature, is subjective — the idea of compiling a “Best Of” list has always been inherently divisive. Everyone has their own opinions, whose to say one is better than the other?
Still, all that said, there are things most people simply agree are great: ice cream, sunny weather, days off from work, etc. And certain movies fall under that category, as well, as the overwhelming tide of positive subjective viewpoints homogenize into an objective opinion.
As such, while you could make the case that there is no such thing as a “correct” top ten, there are movies that most people would EXPECT to appear on such a list, and as far as the New York Times’ Top 10 movies of the century are concerned, they pretty much nailed it (they compiled a list of 100, but the top 10 was recently announced).
There are no genuine curve balls or artsy-fartsy picks for the sole purpose of being bourgeoisie — all ten are stone-cold populist modern classics no matter how you slice it. For example, albeit anecdotally: I posted my Top 10 about a day before The Times did, and we had four films overlap, which I will denote with an asterisk below.
10. The Social Network*; Dir. David Fincher
9. Spirited Away; Dir. Hayao Miyazaki
8. Get Out; Dir. Jordan Peele
7. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind*; Dir. Michel Gondry
6. No Country For Old Men*; Dir. The Coen Brothers
5. Moonlight; Dir. Barry Jenkins
4. In the Mood for Love; Dir. Wong Kar-wai
3. There Will Be Blood; Dir. Paul Thomas Anderson
2. Mulholland Drive; Dir. David Lynch (RIP)
1. Parasite*; Dir. Bong joon-ho
The other films in MY PERSONAL top ten were:
–The Dark Knight; Dir. Christopher Nolan (The Times has this at #28)
–Blade Runner 2049; Dir. Denis Villeneuve (not listed — Villneuve is represented by his film Arrival at #29)
–Inglourious Basterds; Dir. Quentin Tarantino (The Times has this at #14)
–Mad Max: Fury Road; Dir. George Miller (The Times has this at #11)
–The Grand Budapest Hotel; Dir. Wes Anderson (The Times has this at #22)
–Hell or High Water; Dir. David Mackenzie (not listed)
here’s what I’ve got pic.twitter.com/S9AfYq02rZ
— Eric Italiano (@eric_ital) June 25, 2025