10 Greatest Movies of the 20th Century, Ranked

Cinema was the defining art form of the 20th century, growing from a novelty into a global commercial force and powerful means of expression. Between 1900 and 1999 the medium produced countless masterpieces across a dizzying array of styles, and this list attempts to rank some of the most important and influential films that captured imaginations and reshaped the medium.

Pinocchio stands as one of the greatest achievements in animation: a dreamlike fable that feels both whimsical and terrifying. "Always let your conscience be your guide," says the film that follows a wooden puppet guided by Jiminy Cricket and threatened by Stromboli, Pleasure Island, and the whale Monstro, blending innocence with genuine moral darkness in a tale about growing up.

Quentin Tarantino's Pulp Fiction revived cinematic invention in the 1990s with a non-linear tapestry of hitmen, boxers, gangsters, and drifters whose lives intersect in scenes that turned dialogue into operatic action; John Travolta, Samuel L.