After rolling out its official “21st Century’s Greatest Films” list — assembled from the votes of over 500 filmmakers, actors, and industry pros — The New York Times passed the baton to its readers. More than 200,000 votes came in, and the results? A full-blown fan-boy driven frenzy.
Christopher Nolan absolutely crushed it, landing two titles in the top 10 — “Interstellar” at #5 and “The Dark Knight” at #6 — and an impressive seven films overall in the Top 100. Meanwhile, Bong Joon-ho’s “Parasite,” which topped the critics’ list, held strong at #1 with readers too, cementing its status as the rare across-the-board consensus pick.
The readers’ list is a wild blend of blockbuster favorites and arthouse darlings— a lineup that feels far more personal than the industry’s. Titles that didn’t make the critics’ cut but found love from the public include “Barbie,” “Mean Girls,” “Sinners,” “Django Unchained,” “Little Women,” “Hereditary,” “Blade Runner 2049,” “Avengers: Endgame,” “Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse,” “The Prestige,” “The Lighthouse,” “Knives Out,” “Pride and Prejudice,” “The Holdovers,” “Midsommar,” and both of Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune” entries.
At long last, Damien Chazelle’s “La La Land” — whose absence from the industry list left plenty of people baffled — found its redemption with readers, landing a strong #16 spot. Also making welcome appearances: “The Handmaiden” (#67), “Perfect Days” (#83), “Drive My Car” (#89), “The Incredibles” (#92), “Killers of the Flower Moon” (#93), “Howl’s Moving Castle,” (#96) and “Fantastic Mr. Fox” (#65), which somehow keeps getting better with age.
That said, some things never change — seven of the critics’ top 10 held firm with readers as well: “Parasite,” “Mulholland Drive,” “The Social Network,” “There Will Be Blood,” “Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind,” “Spirited Away,” and “No Country for Old Men” all remained locked in.
Here’s the FULL LIST (which is actually a top 500)
Here are the 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century voted by its readers.
1. Parasite
2. Mulholland Drive
3. No Country for Old Men
4. There Will Be Blood
5. Interstellar
6. The Dark Knight
7. Mad Max: Fury Road
8. Spirited Away
9. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
10. The Social Network
11. Inglourious Basterds
12. In the Mood for Love
13. Everything Everywhere All at Once|
14. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
16. La La Land
17. Get Out
18. Moonlight
19. Whiplash
20. Arrival
21. Children of Men
22. The Grand Budapest Hotel
23. Oppenheimer
24. Inception
25. The Departed
26. Portrait of a Lady on Fire
27. Dune: Part Two
28. The Royal Tenenbaums
29. Once Upon a Time... in Hollywood
30. Brokeback Mountain
31. Before Sunset
32. Lost in Translation
33. Gladiator
34. Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse
35. Aftersun
36. Lady Bird
37. City of God
38. Call Me by Your Name
39. Pan’s Labyrinth
40. Oldboy
41. Zodiac
42. Little Miss Sunshine
43. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
44. WALL·E
45. Phantom Thread
46. Amélie
47. Past Lives
48. Kill Bill: Vol. 1
49. Memories of Murder
50. Pride & Prejudice
51. Almost Famous
52. Sinners
53. Superbad
54. The Wolf of Wall Street
55. Y tu mamá también
56. The Zone of Interest
57. Ocean’s Eleven
58. Ratatouille
59. Django Unchained
60. Little Women
61. Memento
62. Hereditary
63. Blade Runner 2049
64. Her
65. Fantastic Mr. Fox
66. O Brother, Where Art Thou?
67. The Handmaiden
68. Tár
69. Yi Yi
70. The Florida Project
71. The Tree of Life
72. Uncut Gems
73. Spotlight
74. Black Swan
75. Boyhood
76. The Worst Person in the World
77. The Prestige
78. Michael Clayton
79. Gone Girl
80. Anatomy of a Fall
81. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon
82. Mean Girls
83. Perfect Days
84. Barbie
85. Up
86. Dune: Part One
87. The Master
88. Top Gun: Maverick
89. Drive My Car
90. Bridesmaids
91. Knives Out
92. The Incredibles
93. Killers of the Flower Moon
94. Moneyball
95. Inside Llewyn Davis
96. Howl’s Moving Castle
97. The Lighthouse
98. The Holdovers
99. Midsommar
100. Avengers: Endgame
Criterion's December lineup has some great additions to the library, but the title that jumped out at me is Werner Herzog's "Grizzly Man," which officially joins the Collection on December 8.