What are the greatest American movies of all time? Below are some different lists that look at popularity, box office revenue, and technical aspects for the top 10 movies of all time. No movies make every list … but Citizen Kane, Star Wars, Schindler’s List, Pirates of the Caribbean, Lord of the Rings, Singin’ in the Rain, and The Godfather are mentioned on multiple lists.

Would you have included some other movies? A John Wayne movie? James Bond? Seven Samurai? Ben-Hur? Sound of Music? Animal House? Terminator? Psycho? Jaws? West Side Story? Matrix? It’s a Wonderful Life? … Anyway, below are some of the top 10 movie lists.  

The American Film Institute (AFI) in 2007 updated their list of the 100 greatest American films. The top 10 is shown below:
1 Citizen Kane
2 The Godfather 
3 Casablanca
4 Raging Bull 
5 Singin’ in the Rain 
6 Gone With The Wind 
7 Lawrence of Arabia 
8 Schindler’s List 
9 Vertigo
10 The Wizard of Oz

The British Film Institute most recent poll (2002) of critics around the world came up with their top 10 movies of all time (including foreign films) as:
1 Citizen Kane
2 Vertigo
3 La Regle du jeu
4 The Godfather and The Godfather Part II
5 Tokyo Story
6 2011: A Space Odyssey
7 Battleship Potemkin 
7 Sunrise
9 8 1/2 (Eight and a Half)
9 Singin’ In the Rain

The Internet Movie Database lists their top 10 movies as voted by users:
1 The Godfather
2 The Shawshank Redemption
3 The Godfather (Part II)
4 Buono, il brutto, il cattivo, II
5 Pulp Fiction
6 Schindler’s List
7 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
8 Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back
9 Casablanca
10 Shichinin no Samurai

The Internet Movie Database lists their top 10 All-Time by Worldwide Box Office Revenue:
1 Titanic
2 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
3 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
4 Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
5 Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End
6 Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
7 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
8 The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
9 Jurassic Park
10 Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire

MovieWeb lists the top 10 US Grossing (Box Office) Films of all time as:
1 Titanic
2 Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
3 Shrek 2
4 E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial
5 Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace
6 Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest
7 Spider-Man
8 Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith
9 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
10 Spider-Man 2