The best drama movies of all time

TOPICAL scores 3,400 films listed as drama; here are the top 250, best first. The top three are The Godfather (1972), The Silence of the Lambs (1991), The Godfather Part II (1974). A film can be in more than one genre. The last column is each film's rank among all 6,624 films.

Rank	Film	Year	Score	All-time rank
1	The Godfather	1972	100.0	1
2	The Silence of the Lambs	1991	98.8	3
3	The Godfather Part II	1974	98.6	4
4	Schindler's List	1993	98.3	5
5	Casablanca	1942	98.1	6
6	One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest	1975	97.9	7
7	Apocalypse Now	1979	97.4	10
8	Forrest Gump	1994	96.9	13
9	Taxi Driver	1976	96.8	14
10	GoodFellas	1990	96.6	15
11	Gone with the Wind	1939	96.4	17
12	12 Angry Men	1957	96.1	19
13	12 Years a Slave	2013	95.8	22
14	Citizen Kane	1941	95.7	23
15	Parasite	2019	95.6	24
16	It's a Wonderful Life	1946	95.5	25
17	Titanic	1997	95.3	27
18	The Bridge on the River Kwai	1957	95.2	28
19	All About Eve	1950	95.0	30
20	On the Waterfront	1954	94.9	31
21	The Apartment	1960	94.8	32
22	Oppenheimer	2023	94.6	34
23	Saving Private Ryan	1998	94.5	35
24	The Departed	2006	94.4	36
25	Sunset Boulevard	1950	94.3	37
26	The Pianist	2002	94.0	41
27	Rear Window	1954	93.9	42
28	Brokeback Mountain	2005	93.7	44
29	Million Dollar Baby	2004	93.7	45
30	Raging Bull	1980	93.6	46
31	The Grand Budapest Hotel	2014	93.3	49
32	The Deer Hunter	1978	93.3	50
33	A Streetcar Named Desire	1951	93.2	51
34	Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	2004	93.0	53
35	The Sting	1973	93.0	54
36	Blade Runner	1982	92.8	56
37	The Shawshank Redemption	1994	92.6	59
38	Amadeus	1984	92.5	61
39	Fargo	1996	92.4	62
40	The King's Speech	2010	92.3	64
41	Ben-Hur	1959	92.2	65
42	Gladiator	2000	92.0	68
43	La La Land	2016	91.9	69
44	There Will Be Blood	2007	91.9	70
45	Annie Hall	1977	91.8	71
46	The Treasure of the Sierra Madre	1948	91.7	72
47	Django Unchained	2012	91.6	74
48	The Lion King	1994	91.6	75
49	Platoon	1986	91.5	76
50	Dead Poets Society	1989	91.4	77
51	All the President's Men	1976	91.3	79
52	The Graduate	1967	91.2	80
53	Good Will Hunting	1997	91.2	81
54	Spartacus	1960	91.1	82
55	The Father	2020	91.1	83
56	The Truman Show	1998	91.0	84
57	The Grapes of Wrath	1940	90.8	87
58	Network	1976	90.7	90
59	Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri	2017	90.6	91
60	Fight Club	1999	90.4	94
61	Once Upon a Time in the West	1968	90.2	98
62	Rashomon	1950	90.1	100
63	The Social Network	2010	90.0	101
64	Whiplash	2014	89.9	104
65	Her	2013	89.8	105
66	The Best Years of Our Lives	1946	89.8	106
67	Gravity	2013	89.7	107
68	To Kill a Mockingbird	1962	89.7	108
69	Modern Times	1936	89.6	109
70	Apollo 13	1995	89.6	110
71	Roman Holiday	1953	89.4	112
72	Seven Samurai	1954	89.4	113
73	Amour	2012	89.2	116
74	Roma	2018	89.2	117
75	My Fair Lady	1964	89.1	118
76	A Separation	2011	89.0	121
77	8½	1963	88.9	122
78	Rosemary's Baby	1968	88.8	124
79	City of God	2002	88.7	126
80	Birdman or (The Unexpected Virtue of Ignorance)	2014	88.7	127
81	Interstellar	2014	88.6	128
82	Dog Day Afternoon	1975	88.6	129
83	The Wolf of Wall Street	2013	88.5	130
84	Spotlight	2015	88.4	133
85	Bicycle Thieves	1948	88.2	136
86	Dunkirk	2017	88.2	137
87	City Lights	1931	88.2	138
88	Rocky	1976	88.1	139
89	The Hurt Locker	2008	88.1	140
90	La Dolce Vita	1960	87.9	143
91	Dances with Wolves	1990	87.9	144
92	Midnight Cowboy	1969	87.8	145
93	The Sound of Music	1965	87.8	146
94	Cinema Paradiso	1988	87.7	147
95	Notorious	1946	87.7	148
96	Bonnie and Clyde	1967	87.6	149
97	Life Is Beautiful	1997	87.5	152
98	The Elephant Man	1980	87.4	154
99	The Irishman	2019	87.3	156
100	The Leopard	1963	87.3	157
101	Patton	1970	87.1	161
102	Mystic River	2003	87.1	162
103	A Beautiful Mind	2001	87.0	164
104	Rain Man	1988	86.9	165
105	Argo	2012	86.8	167
106	From Here to Eternity	1953	86.8	168
107	Pan's Labyrinth	2006	86.7	170
108	Manchester by the Sea	2016	86.7	171
109	Mr. Smith Goes to Washington	1939	86.6	172
110	Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge	1995	86.6	173
111	Inglourious Basterds	2009	86.5	175
112	The Conversation	1974	86.4	176
113	Kramer vs. Kramer	1979	86.4	177
114	Barry Lyndon	1975	86.4	178
115	Slumdog Millionaire	2008	86.3	179
116	Wild Strawberries	1957	86.3	180
117	The Battle of Algiers	1966	86.2	182
118	Lost in Translation	2003	86.2	183
119	The Shape of Water	2017	86.1	184
120	Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans	1927	86.1	185
121	The Favourite	2018	86.0	186
122	Top Gun: Maverick	2022	85.9	189
123	Arrival	2016	85.9	190
124	Cool Hand Luke	1967	85.8	191
125	Inside Out	2015	85.8	192
126	The Artist	2011	85.7	193
127	Fanny and Alexander	1982	85.7	194
128	The English Patient	1996	85.7	195
129	Boyhood	2014	85.6	196
130	In the Heat of the Night	1967	85.5	198
131	Silver Linings Playbook	2012	85.5	199
132	All Quiet on the Western Front	1930	85.5	200
133	Grave of the Fireflies	1988	85.4	201
134	Thelma & Louise	1991	85.3	204
135	Call Me by Your Name	2017	85.3	205
136	West Side Story	1961	85.2	206
137	The Last Picture Show	1971	85.2	207
138	Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon	2000	85.1	208
139	Anatomy of a Murder	1959	85.1	209
140	Moonlight	2016	85.1	210
141	Anora	2024	85.0	212
142	The Hustler	1961	84.9	213
143	In the Mood for Love	2000	84.9	215
144	Paths of Glory	1957	84.8	216
145	The Big Short	2015	84.8	217
146	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	1969	84.7	219
147	Marriage Story	2019	84.7	220
148	Paris, Texas	1984	84.6	221
149	The Piano	1993	84.6	222
150	Gandhi	1982	84.6	223
151	The Revenant	2015	84.5	224
152	The African Queen	1951	84.5	225
153	Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood	2019	84.4	228
154	Cabaret	1972	84.3	230
155	Sense and Sensibility	1995	84.2	231
156	American Beauty	1999	84.2	232
157	Dallas Buyers Club	2013	84.1	235
158	Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	1966	84.0	237
159	Room	2015	84.0	238
160	Soul	2020	83.9	239
161	The Imitation Game	2014	83.9	240
162	The Gold Rush	1925	83.8	242
163	Hacksaw Ridge	2016	83.8	243
164	The Usual Suspects	1995	83.8	244
165	Manhattan	1979	83.7	245
166	The Right Stuff	1983	83.7	246
167	Sabrina	1954	83.6	248
168	Gaslight	1944	83.6	249
169	The Night of the Hunter	1955	83.5	250
170	Adaptation.	2002	83.5	251
171	Green Book	2018	83.5	252
172	Portrait of a Lady on Fire	2019	83.4	255
173	Ford v Ferrari	2019	83.3	256
174	1917	2019	83.3	257
175	American Hustle	2013	83.3	258
176	The Lives of Others	2006	83.2	259
177	How Green Was My Valley	1941	83.2	260
178	Witness for the Prosecution	1957	83.1	261
179	Blade Runner 2049	2017	83.1	262
180	The Ten Commandments	1956	83.0	265
181	Solaris	1972	83.0	266
182	Hannah and Her Sisters	1986	82.9	267
183	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	1977	82.9	268
184	Glory	1989	82.9	269
185	Shakespeare in Love	1998	82.8	271
186	The Quiet Man	1952	82.8	272
187	Three Colors: Red	1994	82.7	273
188	The Prestige	2006	82.7	275
189	The Lost Weekend	1945	82.6	277
190	Magnolia	1999	82.5	279
191	Being There	1979	82.5	280
192	In the Name of the Father	1993	82.4	281
193	Rio Bravo	1959	82.4	283
194	Catch Me If You Can	2002	82.3	284
195	Moneyball	2011	82.2	287
196	The Last Emperor	1987	82.2	288
197	Philadelphia	1993	82.2	289
198	Giant	1956	82.1	290
199	The Kid	1921	82.1	292
200	La Strada	1954	82.0	294
201	Do the Right Thing	1989	81.9	296
202	The Bourne Ultimatum	2007	81.9	297
203	The Boy and the Heron	2023	81.9	298
204	Days of Heaven	1978	81.8	299
205	Guess Who's Coming to Dinner	1967	81.8	301
206	Nomadland	2020	81.7	302
207	Judgment at Nuremberg	1961	81.7	303
208	Doctor Zhivago	1965	81.7	304
209	The Tree of Life	2011	81.6	306
210	Trainspotting	1996	81.6	307
211	Black Swan	2010	81.5	308
212	Ran	1985	81.5	309
213	Das Boot	1981	81.4	311
214	All Quiet on the Western Front	2022	81.3	314
215	The Hours	2002	81.3	315
216	Once Upon a Time in America	1984	81.3	316
217	Marty	1955	81.2	317
218	The Fighter	2010	81.2	318
219	Life of Pi	2012	81.2	319
220	Drive	2011	81.1	320
221	Heat	1995	81.1	321
222	The Insider	1999	81.1	322
223	Shoplifters	2018	81.0	324
224	Breakfast at Tiffany's	1961	81.0	325
225	True Grit	2010	80.9	326
226	The Martian	2015	80.9	327
227	My Left Foot: The Story of Christy Brown	1979	80.9	328
228	The Fugitive	1993	80.9	329
229	Drive My Car	2021	80.8	330
230	The Sixth Sense	1999	80.8	331
231	The Green Mile	1999	80.7	335
232	A Place in the Sun	1951	80.6	337
233	The Help	2011	80.6	338
234	The Heiress	1949	80.5	339
235	Talk to Her	2002	80.5	340
236	The Queen	2006	80.5	341
237	All About My Mother	1999	80.4	342
238	4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days	2007	80.3	345
239	Being John Malkovich	1999	80.3	346
240	Little Women	2019	80.3	347
241	Nashville	1975	80.3	348
242	Breathless	1960	80.2	349
243	East of Eden	1955	80.2	350
244	American Graffiti	1973	80.2	351
245	Little Miss Sunshine	2006	80.1	352
246	Moulin Rouge!	2001	80.1	353
247	The Brutalist	2024	80.0	356
248	Dangerous Liaisons	1988	80.0	357
249	CODA	2021	79.9	358
250	Chicago	2002	79.9	359