Empire's 500 Greatest Movies Of All Time

273

The Maltese Falcon (1941)
Director: John Huston
Huston’s first film as a director and still his best, in which Bogart’s Sam Spade slaps dames, cracks wise and solves crimes in a plot that is gloriously unfathomable. Read Review

272

The Bird With The Crystal Plumage (1970)
Director: Dario Argento
Features a gloved murderer, kinky sex, lurid colours, politics and a great set-piece involving a glass cage. Vintage Argento, then.

271

Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure (1985)
Director: Tim Burton
Burton’s debut is a Bicycle Thieves for the ’80s, as Paul Reubens’ man-child quests for his missing bike. A live-action, eye-popping cartoon. Read Review

270

The Death Of Mr. Lazarescu (2005)
Director: Cristi Puiu
If Die Hard has explosions, this Romanian masterpiece has faltering bureaucracy and stomach pains, as a dying OAP is refused admittance to numerous Bucharest hospitals. Black, bleakly funny, brilliantly Kafkaesque. Read Review

269

A Place In The Sun (1951)
Director: George Stevens
Not the Channel 4 foreign property show but George Stevens’ character study of the American male in meltdown (a superb, poignant Montgomery Clift), underpinned with masterly filmmaking control. Read Review

268

The Lady Vanishes (1938)
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
An old dear goes missing onboard a Balkan Express, setting in motion cinema’s greatest railway romp. Making the most ridiculous plot engaging, Hitchcock has rarely been more blissfully entertaining. Read Review

This poll was conducted in November 2008. The list was compiled using votes from Empire readers, Hollywood actors, actress and key film critics.

In conjunction with the poll results, we produced 100 individual covers celebrating some of the key films in the list. View 100 Covers

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