Columbia Pictures, a part of the Sony studios family, turns 100, and like the lady in their famous logo, we’re raising the torch and shining a light on Columbia’s 100 essential movies.
Columbia Pictures is the house Frank Capra helped build. Partnership between studio and director yielded multiple classics in the 1930s, including Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, You Can’t Take It With You, and Mr. Smith Goes to Washington. 1934’s ultimate rom-com It Happened One Night was the first movie ever to sweep the five major Academy Awards for Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay.
In the 1940s and 1950s, Columbia produced film noirs (Gilda, The Lady from Shanghai, All the King’s Men, The Big Heat) and military epics (The Bridge on the River Kwai, From Here to Eternity). And Marlon Brando revolutionized acting with his iconic method performances in On the Waterfront and The Wild One.
In a decade of social revolution, Columbia started the 1960s with sweeping historical epics (Lawrence of Arabia, Major Dundee, A Man for All Seasons) and closed them out with the anti-war Dr. Strangelove, groundbreaking race dramedy Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner, and counter-culture anthem Easy Rider.
With the gritty and urbane New Hollywood taking over in the 1970s, Columbia bet and won with upstart directors Martin Scorsese (Taxi Driver) and Steven Spielberg (Close Encounters of the Third Kind), while winning Best Picture for more classical fare like The Last Picture Show and Kramer vs. Kramer.
For the next generation of the 1980s, the Columbia logo was certainly seen by young folks the world over in front of Ghostbusters and The Karate Kid, and with the expanding demographics for School Daze and La Bamba.
In the 1990s, the first full decade under Sony ownership, let’s hone in on Columbia’s elevated genre productions in action (Bad Boys, Desperado) and science fiction (Gattaca, The Fifth Element, Men in Black).
The 2000s set Columbia and Sony on the major trajectory we know up to today: comic books and comedies. Spider-Man proved superhero movies could succeed as pop culture blockbusters, and the character has carried into animation (Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse) and across collaboration with the Marvel Cinematic Universe (Spider-Man: No Way Home).
And you can’t think 21st-century comedy without movies like Step Brothers, Superbad, 21 Jump Street, Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle, and even Once Upon a Time In Hollywood.
Come celebrate a century of of cinema with Columbia Pictures’ 100 essential movies (sorted by release year)!
#1
Adjusted Score: 114981%
Critics Consensus: A bigger, bolder Spider-Man sequel, No Way Home expands the franchise’s scope and stakes without losing sight of its humor and heart.
#2
Adjusted Score: 118519%
Critics Consensus: With a stellar cast and a smart, sensitive retelling of its classic source material, Greta Gerwig’s Little Women proves some stories truly are timeless.
#3
Adjusted Score: 116321%
Critics Consensus: Thrillingly unrestrained yet solidly crafted, Once Upon a Time in Hollywood tempers Tarantino’s provocative impulses with the clarity of a mature filmmaker’s vision.
#4
Adjusted Score: 119451%
Critics Consensus: Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse matches bold storytelling with striking animation for a purely enjoyable adventure with heart, humor, and plenty of superhero action.
#5
Adjusted Score: 88985%
Critics Consensus: Jumanji: Welcome to the Jungle uses a charming cast and a humorous twist to offer an undemanding yet solidly entertaining update on its source material.
#6
Adjusted Score: 95729%
Critics Consensus: A smart, affectionate satire of ’80s nostalgia and teen movie tropes, 21 Jump Street offers rowdy mainstream comedy with a surprisingly satisfying bite.
#7
Adjusted Score: 109827%
Critics Consensus: Impeccably scripted, beautifully directed, and filled with fine performances, The Social Network is a riveting, ambitious example of modern filmmaking at its finest.
#8
Adjusted Score: 91328%
Critics Consensus: Quirky humor, plucky characters and solid slapstick make this family comedy a frenetically tasty time at the movies.
#9
Adjusted Score: 99443%
Critics Consensus: Wickedly funny and featuring plenty of gore, Zombieland is proof that the zombie subgenre is far from dead.
#10
Adjusted Score: 51174%
Critics Consensus: Though it begins with promise, Hancock suffers from a flimsy narrative and poor execution.
#11
Adjusted Score: 63115%
Critics Consensus: Step Brothers indulges in a cheerfully relentless immaturity that will quickly turn off viewers unamused by Ferrell and Reilly — and delight those who find their antics hilarious.
#12
Adjusted Score: 96199%
Critics Consensus: Deftly balancing vulgarity and sincerity while placing its protagonists in excessive situations, Superbad is an authentic take on friendship and the overarching awkwardness of the high school experience.
#13
Adjusted Score: 34473%
Critics Consensus: What makes Dan Brown’s novel a best seller is evidently not present in this dull and bloated movie adaptation of The Da Vinci Code.
#14
Adjusted Score: 78478%
Critics Consensus: Though it occasionally stalls, Talladega Nights’ mix of satire, clever gags, and excellent ensemble performances put it squarely in the winner’s circle.
#15
Adjusted Score: 82619%
Critics Consensus: A charming father-and-son tale filled with typical Tim Burton flourishes, Big Fish is an impressive catch.
#16
Adjusted Score: 97091%
Critics Consensus: Dizzyingly original, the loopy, multi-layered Adaptation is both funny and thought-provoking.
#17
Adjusted Score: 85706%
Critics Consensus: Odd, touching, and unique, Punch-Drunk Love is also delightfully funny, utilizing Adam Sandler’s comic persona to explore the life of a lonely guy who finds love.
#18
Adjusted Score: 98620%
Critics Consensus: Not only does Spider-Man provide a good dose of web-swinging fun, it also has a heart, thanks to the combined charms of director Sam Raimi and star Tobey Maguire.
#19
Adjusted Score: 73329%
Critics Consensus: Though perhaps no film could fully do justice to the fascinating life and personality of Muhammad Ali, Mann’s direction and Smith’s performance combine to pack a solid punch.
#20
Adjusted Score: 83194%
Critics Consensus: Though it’s light on character development and cultural empathy, Black Hawk Down is a visceral, pulse-pounding portrait of war, elevated by Ridley Scott’s superb technical skill.
#21
Adjusted Score: 43309%
Critics Consensus: Adam Sandler acquits himself admirably, but his charm isn’t enough to make up for Big Daddy‘s jarring shifts between crude humor and mawkish sentimentality.
#22
Adjusted Score: 75313%
Critics Consensus: Visually inventive and gleefully over the top, Luc Besson’s The Fifth Element is a fantastic piece of pop sci-fi that never takes itself too seriously.
#23
Adjusted Score: 86159%
Critics Consensus: Intelligent and scientifically provocative, Gattaca is an absorbing sci fi drama that poses important interesting ethical questions about the nature of science.
#24
Adjusted Score: 97161%
Critics Consensus: Thanks to a smart script, spectacular set pieces, and charismatic performances from its leads, Men in Black is an entirely satisfying summer blockbuster hit.
#25
Adjusted Score: 90774%
Critics Consensus: Bottle Rocket is Reservoir Dogs meets Breathless with a West Texas sensibility.
#26
Adjusted Score: 91588%
Critics Consensus: The People Vs. Larry Flynt pays entertaining tribute to an irascible iconoclast with a well-constructed biopic that openly acknowledges his troublesome flaws.
#27
Adjusted Score: 47668%
Critics Consensus: Bad Boys stars Will Smith and Martin Lawrence have enjoyable chemistry; unfortunately, director Michael Bay too often drowns it out with set pieces and explosions in place of an actual story.
#28
Adjusted Score: 72399%
Critics Consensus: Desperado contains almost too much action and too little story to sustain interest, but Antonio Banderas proves a charismatic lead in Robert Rodriguez’s inventive extravaganza.
#29
Adjusted Score: 101753%
Critics Consensus: Sense and Sensibility is an uncommonly deft, very funny Jane Austen adaptation, marked by Emma Thompson’s finely tuned performance.
#30
Adjusted Score: 93950%
Critics Consensus: Equal measures romantic and wistful, Martin Scorsese’s elegant adaptation of The Age of Innocence is a triumphant exercise in both stylistic and thematic restraint.
#31
Adjusted Score: 108501%
Critics Consensus: Smart, sweet, and inventive, Groundhog Day highlights Murray’s dramatic gifts while still leaving plenty of room for laughs.
#32
Adjusted Score: 100025%
Critics Consensus: Smart, elegant, and blessed with impeccable performances from Anthony Hopkins and Emma Thompson, The Remains of the Day is a Merchant-Ivory classic.
#33
Adjusted Score: 83757%
Critics Consensus: Overblown in the best sense of the word, Francis Ford Coppola’s vision of Bram Stoker’s Dracula rescues the character from decades of campy interpretations — and features some terrific performances to boot.
#34
Adjusted Score: 89958%
Critics Consensus: An old-fashioned courtroom drama with a contemporary edge, A Few Good Men succeeds on the strength of its stars, with Tom Cruise, Demi Moore, and especially Jack Nicholson delivering powerful performances that more than compensate for the predictable plot.
#35
Adjusted Score: 87853%
Critics Consensus: Sentimental and light, but still thoroughly charming, A League of Their Own is buoyed by solid performances from a wonderful cast.
#36
Adjusted Score: 102009%
Critics Consensus: Well-acted and thematically rich, Boyz N the Hood observes Black America with far more depth and compassion than many of the like-minded films its success inspired.
#37
Adjusted Score: 50580%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#38
Adjusted Score: 70357%
Critics Consensus: Although the central romance arguably suffocates the heart of the drama, a moving performance by Nick Nolte and Barbra Streisand’s deft direction give The Prince of Tides a soulful edge.
#39
Adjusted Score: 86462%
Critics Consensus: Elevated by some of Robin Williams’ finest non-comedic work and a strong performance from Robert De Niro, Awakenings skirts the edges of melodrama, then soars above it.
#40
Adjusted Score: 85369%
Critics Consensus: Uniting a pair of powerhouse talents with a smart, sharply written script, Postcards from the Edge makes compelling drama out of reality-inspired trauma.
#41
Adjusted Score: 95197%
Critics Consensus: Bursting with Terry Gilliam’s typically imaginative flourishes, this story of a possibly deranged Baron recounting his storied life is a flamboyant and witty visual treat.
#42
Adjusted Score: 59017%
Critics Consensus: School Daze is undeniably messy, but thought-provoking themes, strong performances, and Spike Lee’s ingratiating energy help tie it all together.
#43
Adjusted Score: 89298%
Critics Consensus: Elevated by a perceptive performance by a perfectly cast Lou Diamond Phillips, La Bamba distills its subject’s creative energy — and reflects his music’s enduring appeal.
#44
Adjusted Score: 87605%
Critics Consensus: Fright Night deftly combines thrills and humor in this ghostly tale about a man living next to a vampire.
#45
Adjusted Score: 80836%
Critics Consensus: Boasting rich detail and well-told story, Silverado is a rare example of an ’80s Hollywood Western done right.
#46
Adjusted Score: 45794%
Critics Consensus: St. Elmo’s Fire is almost peak Brat Pack: it’s got the cast, the fashion, and the music, but the characters are too frequently unlikable.
#47
Adjusted Score: 80807%
Critics Consensus: Exemplifying Brian De Palma’s filmmaking bravura and polarizing taste, Body Double is a salacious love letter to moviemaking.
#48
Adjusted Score: 102129%
Critics Consensus: An infectiously fun blend of special effects and comedy, with Bill Murray’s hilarious deadpan performance leading a cast of great comic turns.
#49
Adjusted Score: 92630%
Critics Consensus: Utterly predictable and wholly of its time, but warm, sincere, and difficult to resist, due in large part to Pat Morita and Ralph Macchio’s relaxed chemistry.
#50
Adjusted Score: 80881%
Critics Consensus: A Passage to India is a visually striking exploration of colonialism and prejudice, although it doesn’t achieve the thematic breadth of director David Lean’s finest work.
#51
Adjusted Score: 88704%
Critics Consensus: What initially begins as sci-fi transforms into a surprisingly sweet, offbeat drama, courtesy of John Carpenter’s careful direction.
#52
Adjusted Score: 74721%
Critics Consensus: The Big Chill captures a generation’s growing ennui with a terrific cast, a handful of perceptive insights, and one of the decade’s best film soundtracks.
#53
Adjusted Score: 72145%
Critics Consensus: The cracks are starting to show in John Carpenter’s directorial instincts, but Christine is nonetheless silly, zippy fun.
#54
Adjusted Score: 100556%
Critics Consensus: Director Richard Attenborough is typically sympathetic and sure-handed, but it’s Ben Kingsley’s magnetic performance that acts as the linchpin for this sprawling, lengthy biopic.
#55
Adjusted Score: 95995%
Critics Consensus: Tootsie doesn’t squander its high-concept comedy premise with fine dialogue and sympathetic treatment of the characters.
#56
Adjusted Score: 91427%
Critics Consensus: A raucous military comedy that features Bill Murray and his merry cohorts approaching the peak of their talents.
#57
Adjusted Score: 69876%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#58
Adjusted Score: 91518%
Critics Consensus: With gripping themes and a stellar cast, The China Syndrome is the rare thriller that’s as thought-provoking as it is tense.
#59
Adjusted Score: 99408%
Critics Consensus: The divorce subject isn’t as shocking, but the film is still a thoughtful, well-acted drama that resists the urge to take sides or give easy answers.
#60
Adjusted Score: 92806%
Critics Consensus: Raw and unrelenting, Midnight Express is riveting in its realistic depiction of incarceration — mining pathos from the simple act of enduring hardship.
#61
Adjusted Score: 101409%
Critics Consensus: Close Encounters of the Third Kind is deeply humane sci-fi exploring male obsession, cosmic mysticism, and music.
#62
Adjusted Score: 110584%
Critics Consensus: A must-see film for movie lovers, this Martin Scorsese masterpiece is as hard-hitting as it is compelling, with Robert De Niro at his best.
#63
Adjusted Score: 90373%
Critics Consensus: Very profane, very funny, very ’70s: Director Hal Ashby lets Jack Nicholson and the cast run loose, creating a unique dramedy that’s far out to sea.
#64
Adjusted Score: 67143%
Critics Consensus: The Way We Were is not politically confrontational enough for its story of ideological opposites falling in love to feel authentic, but Barbra Streisand and Robert Redford’s beaming star power gives this melodrama romantic lift.
#65
Adjusted Score: 111917%
Critics Consensus: Making excellent use of its period and setting, Peter Bogdanovich’s small town coming-of-age story is a sad but moving classic filled with impressive performances.
#66
Adjusted Score: 97333%
Critics Consensus: An important touchstone of the New Hollywood era, Five Easy Pieces is a haunting portrait of alienation that features one of Jack Nicholson’s greatest performances.
#67
Adjusted Score: 91573%
Critics Consensus: Edgy and seminal, Easy Rider encapsulates the dreams, hopes, and hopelessness of 1960s counterculture.
#68
Adjusted Score: 99995%
Critics Consensus: Barbara Streisand elevates this otherwise rote melodramatic musical with her ultra-memorable star turn as Fanny Brice.
#69
Adjusted Score: 100368%
Critics Consensus: Oliver! transforms Charles Dickens’ muckraking novel into a jaunty musical Victorian fairytale, buoyed by Ron Moody’s charming star turn and Onna White’s rapturous choreography.
#70
Adjusted Score: 85653%
Critics Consensus: In Cold Blood is a classic docudrama with a fictional thriller’s grip — and a pair of terrific lead performances from Robert Blake and Scott Wilson.
#71
Adjusted Score: 74995%
Critics Consensus: More well-intentioned than insightful in its approach to interracial marriage, Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner succeeds thanks to the fizzy chemistry of its star-studded ensemble.
#72
Adjusted Score: 99779%
Critics Consensus: Solid cinematography and enjoyable performances from Paul Scofield and Robert Shaw add a spark to this deliberately paced adaptation of the Robert Bolt play.
#73
Adjusted Score: 90735%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#74
Adjusted Score: 93454%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#75
Adjusted Score: 101493%
Critics Consensus: Major Dundee is a Western-type with big war scenes, shot with bombast typical of Sam Peckinpah.
#76
Adjusted Score: 108850%
Critics Consensus: Stanley Kubrick’s brilliant Cold War satire remains as funny and razor-sharp today as it was in 1964.
#77
Adjusted Score: 89079%
Critics Consensus: A poppy satire on pop music, Bye Bye Birdie is silly, light, and very, very pink.
#78
Adjusted Score: 94470%
Critics Consensus: Don Chaffey’s Jason and the Argonauts is an outlandish, transportive piece of nostalgia whose real star is the masterful stop-motion animation work of Ray Harryhausen.
#79
Adjusted Score: 110639%
Critics Consensus: The epic of all epics, Lawrence of Arabia cements director David Lean’s status in the filmmaking pantheon with nearly four hours of grand scope, brilliant performances, and beautiful cinematography.
#80
Adjusted Score: 94408%
Critics Consensus: Bolstered by a cast of memorable stars and an impressive sense of scale, The Guns of the Navarone fires with vivid characterization and entertaining spectacle.
#81
Adjusted Score: 95554%
Critics Consensus: Led by a masterful performance from Sidney Poitier, A Raisin in the Sun expertly blends social commentary with pure entertainment.
#82
Adjusted Score: 105758%
Critics Consensus: One of cinema’s greatest courtroom dramas, Anatomy of a Murder is tense, thought-provoking, and brilliantly acted, with great performances from James Stewart and George C. Scott.
#83
Adjusted Score: 55431%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#84
Adjusted Score: 90300%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#85
Adjusted Score: 111818%
Critics Consensus: This complex war epic asks hard questions, resists easy answers, and boasts career-defining work from star Alec Guinness and director David Lean.
#86
Adjusted Score: 50600%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#87
Adjusted Score: 96010%
Critics Consensus: Humphrey Bogart is superb as a domineering captain with brittle composure in The Caine Mutiny, an inquisitive courtroom drama teeming with memorable performances.
#88
Adjusted Score: 113488%
Critics Consensus: With his electrifying performance in Elia Kazan’s thought-provoking, expertly constructed melodrama, Marlon Brando redefined the possibilities of acting for film and helped permanently alter the cinematic landscape.
#89
Adjusted Score: 77319%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#90
Adjusted Score: 103802%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#91
Adjusted Score: 101550%
Critics Consensus: It has perhaps aged poorly, but this languidly paced WWII romance remains an iconic, well-acted film, featuring particularly strong performances from Burt Lancaster and Montgomery Clift.
#92
Adjusted Score: 101877%
Critics Consensus: Marrying screwball romance with political satire, Born Yesterday is a substantive romp with a ferociously smart performance by Judy Holliday as an uncouth bombshell.
#93
Adjusted Score: 109954%
Critics Consensus: Broderick Crawford is spellbinding as politician Willie Stark in director Robert Rossen’s adaptation of the Robert Penn Warren novel about the corrosive effects of power on the human soul.
#94
Adjusted Score: 92850%
Critics Consensus: Energetic and inventive, The Lady from Shanghai overcomes its script deficiencies with some of Orson Welles’ brilliantly conceived set pieces.
#95
Adjusted Score: 100711%
Critics Consensus: Rita Hayworth carries Gilda on the sheer strength of her screen presence, rendering the film’s somewhat middling story almost irrelevant.
#96
Adjusted Score: 110239%
Critics Consensus: Mr. Smith Goes to Washington — and returns with an uplifting ode to idealism that distills the strengths of its director and leading man.
#97
Adjusted Score: 112435%
Critics Consensus: It’s predictably uplifting fare from Frank Capra, perhaps the most consciously uplifting of all great American directors — but thanks to immensely appealing performances and a nimble script, You Can’t Take It With You is hard not to love.
#98
Adjusted Score: 94950%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#99
Adjusted Score: 94529%
Critics Consensus: No consensus yet.
#100
Adjusted Score: 122204%
Critics Consensus: Capturing its stars and director at their finest, It Happened One Night remains unsurpassed by the countless romantic comedies it has inspired.