A hand-ranked Top 100 for this topic, ordered from the most obvious names near #1 to the hidden gems near #100.
This list was researched and ranked by hand for Centumth. Entries near #1 are the names almost everyone thinks of first. Entries near #100 are true, a little obscure, and still fair if you think sideways. Sources below are the starting point — the final order can include small editorial calls so the daily puzzle stays balanced.
You can play this archive puzzle with five guesses, or reveal the complete ranking if you came here looking for the list. Revealing locks this puzzle — you won’t be able to play it afterward.
The full Top 100
- #1The Shawshank Redemption
- #2The Godfather
- #3The Dark Knight
- #4The Godfather Part II
- #512 Angry Men
- #6Schindler's List
- #7The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
- #8Pulp Fiction
- #9The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- #10The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
- #11Forrest Gump
- #12Fight Club
- #13The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
- #14Inception
- #15Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
- #16The Matrix
- #17Goodfellas
- #18One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- #19Se7en
- #20Seven Samurai
- #21It's a Wonderful Life
- #22The Silence of the Lambs
- #23Interstellar
- #24City of God
- #25Saving Private Ryan
- #26Life Is Beautiful
- #27The Green Mile
- #28Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
- #29Terminator 2: Judgment Day
- #30Back to the Future
- #31Spirited Away
- #32The Pianist
- #33Psycho
- #34Parasite
- #35Léon: The Professional
- #36Gladiator
- #37The Lion King
- #38American History X
- #39The Departed
- #40Whiplash
- #41The Prestige
- #42The Usual Suspects
- #43Casablanca
- #44Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse
- #45Grave of the Fireflies
- #46Harakiri
- #47The Intouchables
- #48Modern Times
- #49Once Upon a Time in the West
- #50Oppenheimer
- #51Cinema Paradiso
- #52Rear Window
- #53Alien
- #54City Lights
- #55Apocalypse Now
- #56Memento
- #57Django Unchained
- #58Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark
- #59WALL·E
- #60The Lives of Others
- #61Sunset Blvd.
- #62Paths of Glory
- #63The Shining
- #64The Great Dictator
- #65Avengers: Infinity War
- #66Witness for the Prosecution
- #67Aliens
- #68Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
- #69American Beauty
- #70Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
- #71The Dark Knight Rises
- #72Oldboy
- #73Inglourious Basterds
- #74Amadeus
- #75Coco
- #76Toy Story
- #77Joker
- #78Braveheart
- #79Das Boot
- #80Avengers: Endgame
- #81Princess Mononoke
- #82Once Upon a Time in America
- #83Good Will Hunting
- #84Your Name.
- #853 Idiots
- #86Singin' in the Rain
- #87High and Low
- #88Requiem for a Dream
- #89Toy Story 3
- #90Capernaum
- #91Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi
- #92Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
- #932001: A Space Odyssey
- #94Reservoir Dogs
- #95Come and See
- #96The Hunt
- #97Citizen Kane
- #98M
- #99Lawrence of Arabia
- #100North by Northwest
The full ranked list is included on this page. Use Reveal full 100 list to read it, or play the game above.

