Movies: What are the most universally loved movies of all time?

[Trap Jesus]

Usually when anything gets popular, there's always some kind of pushback, either some people don't like it because it's "too popular" or critics don't like it because it's too mainstream/generic. What are some movies that have almost everyone loving it across the board?

To me, The Lord of the Rings franchise comes to mind. General audiences love it for the action set pieces and the adventure aspect, Tolkien/book fans love it for being a pretty true to form adaptation and the care and thought Jackson put into translating that world on screen, critics love it for all the technical aspects and the scope of it all, and the film industry recognized it with a ton of awards. I think it's one of the few movie franchises or movies in general that ticks all of the boxes.

Jurassic Park is another singular movie (just the original, not the franchise) that comes to mind.

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[Babe Ruth]

Original Star Wars trilogy.. I don't remember the critical response.. but growing up I can't remember a bigger, more beloved, pop cultural influence than Star Wars (?)

And it's had 40 years of staying power.

 

[Pilky01]

Goodfellas

 

[Pranzo Oltranzista]

Schindler's List, The Dark Knight, The Shawshank Redemption

(and for the record, I hate LOTR!)

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Schindler's List, The Dark Knight, The Shawshank Redemption

(and for the record, I hate LOTR!)

Just watched that last night. Soooo damn good. Every time.

 

[Shareefruck]

There's a definite faction of people who outright dislike Shawshank and The Dark Knight (count me in as one of them), and many who find Lord of the Rings dull. These aren't movies that are free from criticism, IMO.

 

[NyQuil]

The Godfather and The Godfather Part II are fairly universally admired.

 

[Trap Jesus]

There's a definite faction of people who outright dislike Shawshank and The Dark Knight (count me in as one of them), and many who find Lord of the Rings dull. These aren't movies that are free from criticism, IMO.

Well, nothing is of course, but just looking for movies that are the MOST beloved.

Shawshank has basically reached parody levels of divisiveness after it was considered IMDB's top rated movie of all time or whatever that was.

 

[I am not exposed]

Goodfellas

Came here to say this and Shawshank Redemption!

LOTR is a strange entry imo. The first one was pretty well regarded, but by the time of the 3rd one, there was certainly a backlash. I knew plenty of people who didn't care for that one. And the hardcore book fans certainly do not like the film adaptations!

 

[Shareefruck]

Well, nothing is of course, but just looking for movies that are the MOST beloved.

Shawshank has basically reached parody levels of divisiveness after it was considered IMDB's top rated movie of all time or whatever that was.

Nothing technically is, but many movies avoid criticism/polarization better than these ones do, IMO. I figured you were asking for movies who are agree-ably beloved without getting much push-back, not just the most popular thing that gets the most love (which is a much less interesting question). Finding Lord of the Rings boring (and by the time of the sequels, repetitive) or The Dark Knight laughably overrated are very common takes, even though tons of people obviously love them, from my experience.

For example, cultural phenomenons like Goodfellas, The Shining, or Alien/Aliens seem to have far less backlash. I don't recall too many common complaints about them, anyways (although I have a major issue with Aliens).

 

[montreal]

There's just so many, in no order,

Casablanca, Dr. Zhivago, Citizen Kane, Shawshank, Godfather I and II, Star Wars trilogy, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Apocalypse Now, It's a Wonderful Life, Forrest Gump, Lawrence of Arabia, Full Metal Jacket, The Lion King, Goodfellas, The Matrix, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, The Lord of the Rings trilogy, Back to the Future, Jaws, etc..

 

[the squared circle]

Wizard of Oz - my favourite movie of all time - Happy 80th birthday! (yesterday)

 

[ORRFForever]

Schindler's List, The Dark Knight, The Shawshank Redemption

I agree with Shawshank.

 

[Pay Carl]

Green Mile
Anything Nolan really

Also gonna go out on a limb and say the Spider-verse movie, I have not heard anyone say they didnt love that

 

[OhCaptainMyCaptain]

Green Mile
Anything Nolan really

Also gonna go out on a limb and say the Spider-verse movie, I have not heard anyone say they didnt love that

I actually heard the first person ever say they didn't like Spider-Verse last week. I was confused.. because as you said, you just don't hear people hate on that movie ever. Of course, I'm sure we have some on here that don't like. Not sure I've ever seen this place has a clear consensus on a movie.

 

[Ducks in a row]

A lot of people don't like crime movies.
A lot of people don't like sci-fi movies.
A lot of people don't like fantasy movies.
A lot of people don't like political movies.
A lot of people don't like sports movies.
A lot of people don't like comic book movies.

A lot of people don't like well you get the idea so no such thing as universally loved movie because no matter how good a movie is there will always be a lot of people that don't like it or have no interest in.

 

[discostu]

Wizard of Oz - my favourite movie of all time - Happy 80th birthday! (yesterday)

This is what I came to say. It's probably the most beloved. It's a movie that people not only love, but it's an easy one for people to watch.

I think that moves out films like Citizen Kane or even the Godfather. There are many people who haven't seen those films, as even though they know they are considered classics, it's hard to motivate people to watch.

I think Spiderverse is a great selection for a recent film. I think it hit the sweet spot of being successful, but not successful enough that it built up any resentment against it.

 

[Mescaleroman]

Sound of Music , Spinal Tap , The Princess Bride .

 

[LeafalCrusader]

A lot of people don't like crime movies.
A lot of people don't like sci-fi movies.
A lot of people don't like fantasy movies.
A lot of people don't like political movies.
A lot of people don't like sports movies.
A lot of people don't like comic book movies.

A lot of people don't like well you get the idea so no such thing as universally loved movie because no matter how good a movie is there will always be a lot of people that don't like it or have no interest in.

Yeah there's always people who don't like the popular things

I do agree with Brian on Titanic though

 

[Tkachuk4MVP]

If you don't like either Back to the Future or The Princess Bride, then I don't know what to tell you.

 

[izzy]

shawshank redemption or paul blart mall cop

 

[Chili]

Blues Brothers (Aykroyd and Belushi)
Adventures of Robin Hood (Errol Flynn)
The Grapes of Wrath (Henry Fonda)
Treasure of the Sierra Madre (Humphrey Bogart)
Cool Hand Luke (Paul Newman)
On the Waterfront (Marlon Brando)
The Graduate (Dustin Hoffman)
The Kid (Charlie Chaplin)

 

[Jussi]

Freddy Got Fingered

 

[kihei]

Adjusted for inflation, I'd go with Box Office Mojo's top five money winners:

Gone with the Wind
Star Wars
ET
Titanic
The Ten Commandments

 

[RandV]

A lot of people don't like crime movies.
A lot of people don't like sci-fi movies.
A lot of people don't like fantasy movies.
A lot of people don't like political movies.
A lot of people don't like sports movies.
A lot of people don't like comic book movies.

A lot of people don't like well you get the idea so no such thing as universally loved movie because no matter how good a movie is there will always be a lot of people that don't like it or have no interest in.

You can probably just rule people who out who simply dont like a genre, there's no getting around that. I for exanple hate mob movies, so just choosr to abstain from seeing or commenting on The Godfather and the like