Letterboxd recently changed the algorithm for its “Official Top 250 Narrative Feature Films” list, aka the Letterboxd Top 250. In response to the newly released Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse claiming the #1 spot in a matter of days, it seems they deemed it necessary to re-calibrate how they weighted average ratings and ranked the top films (you can read more about their decision here). You can find the Letterboxd 250 written out below.
Here at Film Colossus, this rearrangement gave us an idea: to dissect all 250 of ’em. Although it’ll quite the undertaking, we’re committed to providing movie guides for every single film. For those unaware, our movie guides cover every important aspect of a film: title, themes, ending, motifs, key shots, and questions. Our goal is to provide a comprehensive guide that allows us to better understand a film’s core message, to illuminate the beauty of its art. So matter how long this takes, we will work our way through every movie on the Letterboxd Top 250.
We’ll continue to update this list as new movies are voted in and out. Even when a movie leaves the list, we’ll house its movie guide here. The goal is to provide the ultimate library of analytical material for what many consider to be the greatest films of all time.
As always, we invite you to participate in the comments section, as our movie guides are dependent upon the collective insight of movie lovers. If your theories and additions are quality, we’ll include them in the guide and include you as a source.
So, without further ado, let’s move onto the list. Here is every single film on the Letterboxd Top 250. We’ll include links as we write the movie guides. Enjoy!
- Harakiri (1962)
- Come and See (1985)
- 12 Angry Men (1957)
- Seven Samurai (1954)
- The Godfather Part II (1974)
- Parasite (2019)
- Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse (2022)
- The Godfather (1972)
- High and Low (1963)
- The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
- The Human Condition III: A Soldier’s Prayer (1961)
- Yi Yi (2000)
- Schindler’s List (1993)
- Ikiru (1952)
- City of God (2002)
- La Haine (1995)
- The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)
- Ran (1985)
- A Brighter Summer Day (1991)
- Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)
- GoodFellas (1990)
- Neon Genesis Evangelion: The End of Evangelion (1997)
- There Will Be Blood (2007)
- The Human Condition I: No Greater Love (1959)
- Spirited Away (2001)
- The Dark Knight (2008)
- Paths of Glory (1957)
- Portrait of a Lady on Fire (2019)
- Apocalypse Now (1979)
- Sunset Boulevard (1950)
- Stalker (1979)
- Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
- Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse (2018)
- Whiplash (2014)
- Tokyo Story (1953)
- The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
- Persona (1966)
- The Apartment (1960)
- Woman in the Dunes (1964)
- The Handmaiden (2016)
- Cinema Paradiso (1988)
- Autumn Sonata (1978)
- In the Mood for Love (2000)
- Andrei Rublev (1966)
- The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
- Paris, Texas (1984)
- Memories of Murder (2003)
- Perfect Blue (1997)
- Le Trou (1960)
- Oldboy (2003)
- Do the Right Thing (1989)
- Mishima: A Life in Four Chapters (1985)
- Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)
- Barry Lyndon (1975)
- Fanny & Alexander (1982)
- Incendies (2010)
- It’s Such a Beautiful Day (2012)
- The Human Condition II: The Road to Eternity (1959)
- Rear Window (1954)
- It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
- A Woman Under the Influence (1974)
- A Separation (2011)
- The Cranes Are Flying (1957)
- Princess Mononoke (1997)
- Before Sunset (2004)
- The Red Shoes (1948)
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
- The Battle of Algiers (1966)
- Sherlock Jr. (1924)
- Sancho the Bailiff (1954)
- The Thing (1982)
- Everything Everywhere All at Once (2022)
- Before Sunrise (1995)
- Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
- The Ascent (1977)
- The Seventh Seal (1957)
- Love Exposure (2008)
- The Pianist (2002)
- Mirror (1975)
- Scenes from a Marriage (1973)
- Three Colours: Red (1994)
- City Lights (1931)
- Satantango (1994)
- M (1931)
- Psycho (1960)
- The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
- No Country for Old Men (2007)
- Nights of Cabiria (1957)
- Inglourious Basterds (2009)
- 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
- A Man Escaped (1956)
- The 400 Blows (1959)
- Wild Strawberries (1957)
- I Am Cuba (1964)
- All About Eve (1950)
- Bicycle Thieves (1948)
- Mommy (2014)
- Se7en (1995)
- Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
- Late Spring (1949)
- Where is the Friend’s House? (1987)
- Ordet (1955)
- Apur Sansar (1959)
- Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
- Chungking Express (1994)
- Children of Men (2006)
- Amadeus (1984)
- Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
- Yojimbo (1961)
- 8½ (1963)
- Army of Shadows (1969)
- Witness for the Prosecution (1957)
- Eternity and a Day (1998)
- Life is Beautiful (1997)
- The Great Dictator (1940)
- An Elephant Sitting Still (2018)
- Still Working (2022)
- Alien (1979)
- Shoplifters (2018)
- The Father (2020)
- The Wages of Fear (1953)
- Howl’s Moving Castle (2004)
- Chinatown (1974)
- The Hunt (2012)
- Paper Moon (1973)
- Taste of Cherry (1997)
- Werckmeister Harmonies (2000)
- Nobody Knows (2004)
- Brief Encounter (1945)
- Wings of Desire (1987)
- Casablanca (1942)
- Pather Panchali (1955)
- The Departed (2006)
- Pulp Fiction (1994)
- Modern Times (1936)
- Landscape in the Mist (1988)
- All That Jazz (1979)
- Tampopo (1985)
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
- Fight Club (1999)
- The Sacrifice (1986)
- The Third Man (1949)
- The Night of the Hunter (1955)
- Prisoners (2013)
- Funeral Parade of Roses (1969)
- The Young Girls of Rochefort (1967)
- Interstellar (2014)
- Red Beard (1965)
- To Be or Not to Be (1942)
- La Dolce Vita (1960)
- War and Peace (1966)
- Akira (1988)
- Double Indemnity (1944)
- The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948)
- Z (1969)
- Heat (1995)
- Good Will Hunting (1997)
- The Shining (1980)
- Network (1976)
- Metropolis (1927)
- Raging Bull (1980)
- Raise the Red Lantern (1991)
- The Lives of Others (2006)
- Mulholland Drive (2001)
- Throne of Blood (1957)
- Das Boot (1981)
- The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)
- Aftersun (2023)
- Fantastic Mr. Fox (2009)
- Le Samouraï (1967)
- Solaris (1972)
- The Best of Youth (2003)
- Jeanne Dielman, 23, quai du Commerce, 1080 Bruxelles (1975)
- Fargo (1996)
- Vertigo (1958)
- The Celebration (1998)
- Rocco and His Brothers (1960)
- Django Unchained (2012)
- Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)
- Rashomon (1950)
- Ugetsu (1953)
- Evangelion: 3.0+1.0 Thrice Upon a Time (2021)
- A Special Day (1977)
- Citizen Kane (1941)
- The King of Comedy (1982)
- The Iron Giant (1999)
- Ace in the Hole (1951)
- Eureka (2000)
- Rififi (1955)
- Some Like It Hot (1959)
- La Notte (1961)
- Nostalgia (1983)
- Marcel the Shell with Shoes On (2022)
- Saving Private Ryan (1998)
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
- Magnolia (1999)
- Children of Paradise (1945)
- Boogie Nights (1997)
- The Elephant Man (1980)
- The Sweet Smell of Success (1957)
- Past Lives (2022)
- Winter Light (1963)
- The Disappearance of Haruhi Suzumiya (2010)
- Life, and Nothing More… (1992)
- Umberto D. (1952)
- The Tale of the Princess Kaguya (2013)
- The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
- Secrets & Lies (1996)
- Happy Together (1997)
- Once Upon a Time in America (1984)
- The Lion King (1994)
- Your Name (2016)
- Make Way for Tomorrow (1937)
- Fallen Angels (1995)
- Cure (1997)
- Opening Night (1977)
- Dead Poets Society (1989)
- Back to the Future (1985)
- The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (1962)
- 4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days (2007)
- Amour (2012)
- Moonlight (2016)
- Rosemary’s Baby (1968)
- Farewell My Concubine (1993)
- The Cremator (1969)
- A Matter of Life and Death (1946)
- The Prestige (2006)
- Mary and Max (2009)
- Samurai Rebellion (1967)
- Underground (1995)
- Millennium Actress (2001)
- Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)
- Napoleon (1927)
- Full Metal Jacket (1987)
- The Big City (1963)
- Ritual (2023)
- Drive My Car (2021)
- Cléo from 5 to 7 (1962)
- RRR (2023)
- The Life and Death of Colonel Blimp (1943)
- Kizumonogatari Part 3: Reiketsu (2017)
- Aparajito (1956)
- Taxi Driver (1976)
- A Moment of Innocence (1996)
- An Autumn Afternoon (1962)
- The Truman Show (1998)
- Synecdoche, New York (2008)
- North By Northwest (1959)
