The most influential films of all time

What about "Network"? Or "Young Frankenstein"?

I agree with the list for the most part, but can't believe that "The Godfather" has been omitted. I think one of the two John Wayne films ("Stagecoach" or "The Searchers") should be replaced by "The Godfather".

The Shawshank Redemption

What about the Godfather???

What about Ace Venture Pet Detective???? (I'm joking on this one)

What bunk.

Seven Samurai

Scarface

You are all on another planet!!! Attack of the Killer Tomatoes should be recognized as best ever!

left off???? There isn't enough space!!!

The Sound of Music
All About Eve
Jaw (the origional summer block buster)
Airplane
The Posideon Adventure (disaster movie at it's best and cheesist)

what about "Jaws"????

The movie Philadelphia.

I have to go with David Lean's masterpiece..."Lawrence of Arabia"

I think Jaws should be on the list as well. How many people don't or won't go swimming in the ocean after watching that film?

No Leone or Kubrick? Fail...

I totally agree with Mr. Klein and was thinking the same thing when I saw his post.

What about Jaws, that is the summer blockbuster that came before Star Wars. It's a great adventure story, buddy movie, and all around great Spielberg film, that forever changed the expectation of a summer movie.
And of course "The Godfather" should be at the top of the list.

According to this list, only one of the all-time most influential movies has been made in the past 45 years – and that was made over 30 years ago?? Who made this list, my grandmother?

there are probably another two dozen that might be included: Blade Runner, as noted by others, 2001 and the Godfather, also consider Rocky, one of the early James Bond movies, one Clint Eastwood Classic, White Chrsitmas and many others... perhaps A Clockwork Orange. What about influential foreign films, "Belle du'Jour" ?? Godzilla ??

To be fair you'd probably have to expand the list to about 100 films.

Casablanca, The Big Sleep, and The Maltese Falcon are noticably absent. As are Double Indemnity and the Thin Man.

What about Superman?

E.T.

the point of the list isnt the greatest movie, it is most influential. but, the first movie that comes to mind for me that isnt here is jaws. jaws kind of started the whole summer blockbuster thing. i also cant help but think of apocalypse nowbeing the first realistic(maybe im wrong) war movie. the late 1970's renassaince of film has to be represented here better than star wars.

The Shawshank Redemption? Do you even watch movies? What about Jaws

Stagecoach? Great movie, but how was it influential? I would rather see Mean Streets

What is up with this list-is the person who came up with this list like 95 years old? what about
Stand by Me
Shawshank Redemption
Forrest Gump
Dumb and Dumber
Come on people–get with the program
oh gotta get back to work!!!

'Star Wars' is the Godfather of the Summer Blockbuster? Come on – I like the movie as much as the next person, but I would argue that perhaps 'Jaws' was the real first summer blockbuster.

It's tough to argue with the original King Kong for special effects. But also Bladerunner for binging back Sci Fi, or even Wizard of Oz for bringing Technicolor to the screen. Last but not least, Toy Story. It is the CG benchmark that everyone not Pixar have been trying to reach.

How is "Earth Girls are Easy" not part of this list??

Quite a few should be on the list: Jaws, Godfather part 1 and 2, Day the Earth Stood Still (50's version), Cascablanca, Jazz Singer (first talkie), 2001, King Kong (30's version), Blazing Saddles, Modern Times (Chaplin), Blackboard Jungle, Longest Day, Judgement at Nuremberg.

You have to add Jaws. This is was the first blockbuster movie.

Yes to the Godfather, I would have to add the Exorcist.

"Network," definitely. And what about "American Graffiti," the first movie to combine different storylines into one narrative. Also, "Animal House" – paved the way for so many films.

Only one movie after 1960? How old are these guys?

I wouldn't replace any of the films on the list but I think the consensus is that "The Godfather" should be added. Crime, especially organized crime is a core genre in film and The Godfather stands out as an example. In addition, it and Casablanca are the most quotable films in the world and are therefore very influential.

Huge Star Wars fan, but JAWS is the real godfather of the Summer Blockbuster. Star Wars is the godfather of merchandising tie-ins and should be on the list.

What about "Some Like It Hot"? Or "The Wizard of Oz"? Or "Casablanca"?

The Godfather I & II should be a part of this list. How could you leave them out. At least part I should have been listed.

Casablanca

Well, there's Chaplin's City Lights and Modern Times; what about Spielberg's Duel; I could even mention Wilder's Stalag 17 and Kubrick's Dr. Fantastic to begin with....

The "Ten Commandments" was a favorite of my grandmother's. It should be on the list, too.

Count me among those who think two John Wayne westerns is one too many, and would take off one to make room for 'The Godfather.'

And certainly a late '60's film such as 'Bonnie & Clyde' or 'The Wild Bunch' should be on the list. How can this list jump from 'Psycho' to 'Star Wars' without acknowledging the stylistic and thematic shift that took place in between?

They Left out " To Kill A Mockingbird "????? HOW can you leave out " To Kill A Mockingbird "?? Are they nuts????

What about "Rebel Without a Cause", "Pork Chop Hill" or "Grapes of Wrath".

They certainly influenced me.

I'm so glad someone said The Shawshank Redemption! This movie is so often overlooked. Great movie, good choice Paul.

According to this list, no film in the past 32 years has impacted the industry enough to consider themselves influential. "The Godfather and "Shawshank" are great films, I agree, as are others, but have they created a new paradigm such as those on the list? Are there others that did?

THE GODFATHER, for sure. You blew it, kids.

Not a single film in the last 30 years qualifies?

What about "Wizard of Oz"??

I'm amazed that "The Wizard of Oz" is missing.

Schindler's List, The Wizard of Oz, Das Boot, The Ten Commandments, King Kong (the original one).

The Matrix.

Mr. Leopold is incorrect in his listing of "Star Wars" as the godfather of the summer blockbuster. "Jaws" in 1975 was the first summer blockbuster.

pulp fiction sparked the indie-to-mainstream blitz that we're still seeing (little miss sunshine, juno, etc...) as well as the kinetic energy seen most action flicks these days. from the great ones to the 3rd tier...
love it or hate it, pulp fiction is very influential. despite whether or not it was good.
oh, and halloween? or did pyscho take it's place?

It's missing "The Wizard of Oz"

I think the term "influential" needs to be defined. Influential...to the public??? I think this list leans more towards "influential to the movie industry". And if you take it as such, you might include movies that revolutionized the movie medium (insert Woody Allen movie here). But if the focus is on the public, then flicks such as "Wizard of Oz", "It's A Wonderful Life", "In The Heat of the Night", and even "Rocky Horror" should be considered. These influenced the "public" more.

The Exorcist.

This is the part where everyone will start naming their favorite movies that didn't make the list.

I think there is a good debate that could happen between TCM and Frederick Klein. I can see both sides. It would be difficult to take off any film from TCM's list because of the enormous impact on cinema each film had and how much each film inspired future films. But, "The Godfather" also meets that criteria. Difficult to decide....

However, I should mention. This is not a list of the best or favorite. It's the most influential. I'm not quite sure that "The Shawshank Redemption" could be considered "influential". It's a great film. I love it. But, influential?

I think that Bonnie and Clyde needs to be on the list. As much as Star Wars gave birth to the summer blockbuster, Bonnie and Clyde was the first to introduce the stark violence and the loud volume in a movie.

This list is useless without Chaplin or Keaton, especially The General.

An Inconvenient Truth
To Kill a Mockingbird

Casablanca?

"Dude, where's my Car?"

I guess the set contains only movies made in USA (with the exception of "Battleship Potemkin"). We are missing a host of movies from the east – particularly those made by Late Akira Kurosawa and Satyajit Ray.

As everything else in the United States, everything is "world famous in the US of A". Oh sorry, it should better be "World famous in my town in the US of A".

Guys, its "most influential" not a "best" list. Shawshank is a fine film as is the Godfather but they werent particularly ground breaking for their genre or in any aspect of the filming techniques or cinematography used.

This list is also definitely biased towards American films.

What about The Third Man? Greatest Noir film ever. Or 8 and a half? Citizen Kane is a shoe in but what about Casablanca?

Blazing Saddle...it was a groundbreaking film and pushed the envelope on a lot of long held film rules.

Where is Heartbeeps? Crush Groove?

And although I didn't like it much, I think you can make a case for Titanic. But it's tough to know what TCM's criteria are.

The true "godfather of the Summer Blockbuster" is JAWS!. In the summer of 1975; a little known director, 3 good actors, John Williams' music, and a mechanical shark that did not work most of the time, (which made the director use imagination instead of visual effects to scare people durning most of the film), became the biggest money-maker of all time, until it was topped by Star Wars IV in 1977.

I agree: 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) and A Hard Day's Night (1964) should have made the list as well.

The Jazz Singer (1927) had talking and singing in it.

Here's a movie that had a lot of influence, Even If you hate and disaprove of the changes it brought to the cinema: Deep Throat (1972). That movie made "hardcore" films acceptable in the USA.

"Influential" and "great" are two different things.

The first two Godfather films were great, but I'm not sure if they were influential, beyond inspiring gangster wannabes.

"Ben Hur" could be the greatest film of all time, in my book.

@Paul:

"Shawshank"?

What about "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington," "It's A Wonderful Life," "The Blair Witch Project," or "Titanic"? Those are all amazing movies!

What about "Up in Smoke" or any of the other cheech and chong movies?

Very influential movies, made me want to turn on, tune in and drop out.......................

what about " Dazed and Confused "

"Influential" in what sense? Did these films supposedly influence other filmmakers to follow their lead? Did they supposedly influence viewers of these films in some profound way?

The godfather is overrated.

Not one influential movie from the past 32 years? I found that hard to believe...

What? No "Animal House", which taught young college students how to be stupid, self-destructive, and how to throw away their lives, thus reducing competition in the higher end job market and increasing the supply of minimum wage workers and military recruits? That movie was a HUGE contribution to America!

Star Wars was not the first summer blockbuster...that honor would go to Jaws.

What about The Exorcist which was basically the first "must see" movie or Pulp Fiction which ushered in the indie era?

- Spy Kids 2: The Island of Lost Dreams
– Spy Kids 3: Game Over
– The Pacifier
– Ultraviolet
– Aeon Flux
– Pokemon 2000
– 300
-The Little Mermaid 2
– Lion King 1 and 1/2
– Spy Kids 1
– Race to Witch Mountain
– Scary Movie 4
– Epic Movie
– The Matrix Reloaded
– Titanic 2 – The Resurfacing
– Triple X: State of the Union
– One Night in Paris

And the movie that set the standard for ALL following movies ..
(ta da!!) MY COUSIN VINNY

What about "The Wizard of Oz" ?

Uh, did somebody forget about Showgirls??

I would agree with "The Godfather" but should we represent the nations true favorite pastime (warfare) with either "Patton" or "Apocalypse Now"?

The Wizard of Oz!!

i'm unclear as to exactly how Shawshank is all that influential, as good as it is.

You have got to be kidding! The Godfather has got to be any list like this !

No Godfather? No Apocalypse Now?

You missed a bunch in that list.
Exorcist
Godfather
Jaws: the original summer blockbuster adventure, it changed the industry forever.
Blade runner
Alien

Jaws(1976) was the godfather of the summer blockbuster, not Star Wars(1977).

Snow White is important because it was the first color feature length movie.

Citizen Cane is considered the best movie by a select few teachers. The vastmajority of the population disagrees. It's a so-so movie.

2001 the first modersci-fi movie? Are you kidding. There were many before 2001. Planef the Apes came out sooner and made more money.

It seems any time these boneheads write anything, they mess things up. Good journlism Todd.

"The Birth of a Nation" is one of the most offensivly racist films that I have ever seen. Did TCM make any comment on this?

What about the Original The Day the Earth Stood Still?

What about "Jaws"? I never went swimming in the beach after that movie.

Definetly a miss, The Godfather. Very surprised that didn't make this list.

What about Dr. Strangelove??

"The Grand Illusion" is much better and more of an influential film than “Stagecoach”.

“2001” was much more influential artistically than “Star Wars.”

Also I would have to give the film "Tron" props for having boldly started the whole computer animated film thing.

I would argue that Kurosawa's Seven Samurai is far more influential than Rashomon.

How is Young Frankenstein influential? or Shawshank? Good movies, sure, but influential?

Sunset Boulevard, Schindler's List?

How can you leave out "Blazing Saddles"?! It was more than influential ... it was off-the-charts groundbreaking. It launched the film parody genre, and no other film had (or has since) tackled racial themes so boldly and with such comic success.

no Wizard Of Oz?
blinding obvious statement,ya think?

It's "Most Influential" movies, not "Most Innovative" or "Most Groundbreaking." By this criteria, an argument could be made for 2001 over Star Wars, since Star Wars was only possible because of 2001 (many of the innovative special effects in Star Wars were the next step by a lot of the same folks who had started experimenting on 2001). 2001 could be the movie that launched the modern visual effects movies, even though Star Wars was more popular ultimately.
As far as "A Hard Day's Night"... innovative, groundbreaking... yes. Influential, though? I do not see the multiplexes overrun by films combining "French new wave style with rock 'n' roll." I would say that no matter how good a movie it might have been, it's hardly one of the most influential.
I'd actually consider adding "Scary Movie" to the list, since it spawned this entire industry of cheap satire movies. I wish it wasn't influential, but clearly it was.

Wizard of Oz? The Godfather?

Rashomon, but not Seven Samurai? Fellini is missing. So is Chaplin. Lawrence of Arabia?

Godfather Part I or Part II....Raging Bull.......All About Eve.....Sunset Boulevard......I could go on forever! The ones they chose are Very subjective at the VERY least.

Shawshank belongs on the "greatest movies ever made" list. I dont know if it was very influential though. I wish it was influential, maybe we'd be getting better movies these days. I can't believe that not one of Steven Segal's movie's made it to the list. Oh well, maybe on the 30th anniversary of TCM. Start writing your letters now!

Not a single Bergman film? Are you kidding me?!

Typical list, all old hollywood films, very few internationals, and fewer modern films – get over it, these films are good, but not the only films ever made.

I think for influential, Godfather should definately be listed...but this isn't a "greatest" list, just "most influencial" – so I don't think "Young Frankenstein" makes the cut.

"Shawshank" also wasn't influencial either...just great.

I think "Jaws" is missing though.

I would have to go with The Shawshank Redemption as well.......a must see for any frequent movie watcher.

this list is seriously lacking. I find it hard to believe that the list does not include a film from the past 32 years. What does that say about the influence of movies from a whole generation. Where are "Schindler's List", "The Shawkshank Redemption", "Forrest Gump" and "Savng Private Ryan", to name a few.

When one says influential moves, my mind thinks of films that changed the landscape. Among those that come to mind that I don't see on this list are: "The Godfather", "Pretty In Pink", "Reservoir Dogs", "Schindler's List", "The Shawshank Redemption", "Casablanca", "The Matrix", "The Silence of the Lambs", "Apocalypse Now", "A Clockwork Orange", "Terminator 2", "Braveheart", "Fight Club". Probably some more if I took some time to think about it, most of those are modern films, but I find it insulting we should only consider the "classics" for lists like this. I mean, can anyone name a movie that has had a bigger influence on HOW MOVIES ARE MADE in the last decade than "The Matrix"? And while it's too early to tell, I'm hoping "The Dark Knight" will influence the way any comic book story is brought to the screen from here on out.

Jaws.

People were afraid to go the beach. Even in the middle of the summer.

So instead they spent more time going to the nice air conditioned theaters to watch movies. Not to mention the increase in shark hunting and sports fishing, and interest in study of the Great White Shark, an apex predator in the oceean.

Jaws was a HUGELY influential film.

Close Encounters of the Third Kind did a lot for influencing people in the search for extra terrestrial life (SETI).

What about:

A Trip to the Moon (Le Voyage dans la Lune) (1902) - The first science fiction film.

The Great Train Robbery (1903) - Popularized many innovative film techniques like cross-cutting, camera movement, on-location shooting.

The Jazz Singer (1927) - First feature with sound

Steamboat Willie (1928) - Film attributed as cause for many efforts to extend copyright protection (see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steamboat_Willie for details on Copyright Controversy)

The Wizard Of Oz (1939) - Like it or not, it's been more influential than most films for its use of Technicolor, Music, Characters, etc...

Dr. No (1962) - This film launched a 40+ year franchise, spawned countless TV series, and has led to multiple innovations for the Military and Commercial sectors

The Wizard of Oz

What about Spike Lee's "Do The Right Thing". Excellent Movie.

You mean "The Greatest Movies of All Time to Which TCM has the Right to Air" Only 4 of these 15 were made after 1950. Completely arbitrary marketing-driven list.

Great list, but there are definitely some sins of omission. Other commenters have mentioned "The Godfather," and with good reason. Also, the most recent film is Star Wars, but plenty of important movies have come out in the last 30 years. What about Schindler's List / Saving Private Ryan as modern anti-war epics? Easy Rider / Clerks / Memento as popular independent film movements? What about Robert Altman's films, which emphasize improvisation and "slice of life" cinema? Not saying that these movies should bump any on TCM's list – but maybe 15 is simply too small a number when listing the most influential films of all time!

For all these people who are wondering about "Influential to whom". Think of these movies as the foundation pillars of a huge building. The thirtieth floor of this building may be beautiful, however that floor could not exist without those foundation pillars at the base. This isnt a list all movies that have ever influenced anyone, this is a list of the "Patient zero" movies that have formed our film industry today.

Frederick and Matt you read my mind. The Godfather should definately be on the list. Also Laurence of Arabia should be listed too, but definately the Godfather. Ace Ventura was great, but Legally Blonde is better : ) LOL

I agree with some of the list; but not all of it and wonder why one of these films was not included?????

The King and I
Long Days Journay into Night
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Bonnie and Clyde
Saving Private Ryan
The Hours

Star Wars is, my opinion, important because it really shows how an audience can change the destiny of a movie. BUT I really would have added JAWS. Are you kidding me???

American History X.

What about Jurassic Park? It was the first movie to utilize CGI technology that has become ubiquitous over the past 15 years. Most people don't realize that Michael Crichton won a technical Oscar for this development!

I think it's a bit deceptive – those films may have influenced the movie business, but not much else.

The movie that is missing is Schindler's List. It really brought to the fore front the reality of the Holocaust. After that movie, I can't see how anyone on this planet could deny what happen all those years ago.

I don't recall people lining up around the block for Jaws, or going to see it a dozen times, so I'd have to say Star Wars beats it. Besides, what would today's movies look like without Lucas' ILM?

GREASE is the word

Schindler's List
Saving Private Ryan
Philadelphia

THE BIRTH OF A NATION is not a racist film, it simply tells the story of America's history... our history is racist, not the film.

No list is complete without "Plan 9 from Outer Space," the greatest bad movie ever made. Its influence can be seen in "Armageddon," "The Core", and every other bad sci fi film.

By far the biggest miss: Caddyshack ! Influence is cultural. It is great to be the slob (blue collar, every man) that beats the crap out of the snobs.

"Toy Story." The first using computer animation, it influenced countless movies since it's release in 1995.

"Birth of a Nation" doesn't deserve recognition.

Want more proof?!

On February 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith's controversial silent film, The Birth of a Nation, premiered in Los Angeles, California. Released under the title, The Clansman, the movie debuted only after Griffith sought an injunction from the court. Although local censors approved the film, city council members responded to concerns about the racist nature of the picture by ordering it suppressed.

American director D. W. Griffith's silent film about the rise of the Ku Klux Klan, one of the most controversial films of all time because of its demeaning portrayal of blacks.

The Birth of a Nation was first released on February 8, 1915. The film's depictions of blacks as idling and brutish sparked a massive wave of protests from thousands of African Americans. The explosive controversy set off by the film revealed Hollywood's power to reflect and to shape public attitudes about race, while it set the stage for what would be a decades-long struggle to improve the portrayal of blacks on film (see Film, Blacks in American). Unprecedentedly long-three hours (and 12 reels of film)-The Birth of a Nation chronicles the fall of the South during the Civil War (1861-1865) and the reemergence of white political domination over the interracial state governments of the Reconstruction era.

In the film's final scenes, the Ku Klux Klan, described in a New York Times review as "a company of avenging spectral crusaders sweeping along ... moonlit roads," takes revenge for the attempted rape of two white women by black men. The film is based on the racist novels of Thomas Dixon, The Leopard's Spots and The Clansman. It rushes through visually striking Civil War panoramas and melodramatic episodes about the plight of Southern soldiers and heroically depicts the rise of the Klan, all the while portraying blacks as lazy and weak or violent and dangerous

Grand Illusion?

I also agree with you that 2001 should have been on the list as well.

Everyone chill...these were groundbreaking films...not talking about the most inspiring films....the most influential. These all contained groundbreaking elements.

People, they are airing the MOST INFLUENTIAL films of all time. Many of the pics you are mentioning might be some of the best, but not the most influential.

All Quiet on the Western Front – The first movie (1930) to not romanticize war and to depict it as the hell it truly is. A truly life-changing movie if there ever was one.

ahhhh.....so many movies so little time.....or space on this list

How can anyone take any list like this seriously with out it mentioning "I Spit on Your Grave"?

What about 1992s "Malcolm X" or "School Daze" or "Jungle Fever" or "Do the Right Thing" (all Spike Lee by the way), and what about "Scarface", "Jaws", "The Godfather", "Boyz N the Hood"?????? How come the only film with African Americans in it is "Birth of A Nation" which is BY FAR the most racist film ever applauded? Whoever sits on the committee for these lists lives in a ridiculous bubble!

What about The Godfather? And no, Liz, it is not overrated. Some people consider it a Mafia movie but it soooo much more than that. It's Shakespearean – the story of a patriarch (Don Corleone) and his sons and the downfall of his family. If you knew Shakespeare, you'd know what I'm talking about.

for everyone saying shawshank redemption. THE LIST IS FOR MOST INFLUENTIAL MOVIE!!!!!!!!!!!! shawshank redemption was a great movie, and just cuz u love it and it makes you cry, it doesnt mean it belongs on this particular list. it was in NO WAY groundbreaking.

I think the main quibble is with the terms "influential" and "blockbuster." If it's your list, you can create whatever criteria you want for it. Marketing certainly has to be a factor in their choices. Incidentally, shouldn't movie titles be in italics rather than quotes.

My Neighbor Totoro
Princess Mononoke

Less likely but possibly, Laputa Castle in the Sky or Spirited Away

Ok, Star Wars is the original blockbuster because that's exactly what it did. It busted every record there was by a long shot. Plus it started a major following in pop culture that I think everyone sees on a daily basis one way or another. I don't see obsessed fans outside theaters dressed as great whites waiting to see a Jaws movie.... I do agree that they did not represent the last 20 to 30 years though. There should have been a Vietnam movie on here like (Apocolypse Now or Platoon) and The Godfather should have been here to since that really opened up the mafia movie genre.

If you list Citizen Kane, you must list Shakes The Clown–the Citizen Kane of alcoholic clown movies. It created, and owns, the genre.

For the record. The film was released in English as "The Bicycle Thief" not "Bicycle Thieves".

Casablanca
Wizard of Oz
The Best Years of our Life

For me "The Last Picture Show" and Cecille B. Demille and Stanley Kubrick should play major parts in the 15 most influential films of all time.

Little Big Man , African Queen.

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner is a suggestion

For those of you pointing to the lack of recent movies isn the list, there is a very good reason. Moviemakers have almost run out of original ideas. Therefore, it's very difficult to be influential anymore.. A very enjoyable film may not be influential on later films in the slightest. It is perfectly reasonable that the most influential films woudl mostly come from the earlier days of cinema when there was more ground to break.

Jaws – the original summer blockbuster.
The Godfather – perhaps one of the best movies of all time.
Seven Samurai – the great grand-daddy of all action films.

This list needs these three to be complete.

Influential should be based on how much of the world or how many people changed because of them? Not necessarily best or most popular films.
Maybe "China Syndrome"; although there are other things that happenned in the same time periord (Chernobyl and Three-Mile Island) the "China Syndrome" helped kill the nuclear energy construction industry in the US.
Maybe "Dr. Strangelove", "The Deer Hunter", "Apocolypse Now", "All the President's Men" to further scratch the surface.
For a newer movie consider "Slumdog Millionaire."

All the Jaws people: It was big, but just a year later, Star Wars was so much bigger. It was a phenomenon the world had never seen before. And it was both relevant for kids and adults in a way Jaws wasn't.

Agree with all you Godfather nuts.

Also agree with Wizard of Oz.

Bonnie and Clyde...the most graphic death scene ever produced in motion pictures and followed by The Godfather. Turning points for the worst, most gratuitous violence in film making my lifetime.

Regarding Jaws/Star Wars, I'm guessing TCM basically outlined 15 categories of movies and picked the most influential of each category. In terms of which movie is more influential to the movie industry, I'd have to give the edge to Star Wars for several reasons: merchandising, special effects (to see how far ahead of its time SW is, compare it to Buck Rogers or Midway, which were made at about the same time). As a note, if the SW category was for Sci-Fi rather than blockbuster, I'd also give it the edge over 2001. 2001 ushered not a single memorable sci-fi run of movies. Star Wars, however, has led to an enduring popularity of sci-fi cinema. In either case, just because something comes first, doesn't mean it is best, most important, or most influential.

One problem with TCM's method is that there are really more than 15 categories. Notably, modern sub-categories are missed. Toy Story should probably be listed for revolutionizing digital animation. Same goes for Matrix for perfecting digital special effects. Should Sci-Di and Fantasy be one category? Wizard of Oz' absence strikes me as odd, but I'd have to see their reasoning on that one.

I don't care how technical or groundbreaking it was, Birth of a Nation is one of the most racist movies in the history of the medium and it has no business being on this list.

The fact that the Godfather was left off the list says a lot about the state of mind of the person who compiled this list.

Reservoir Dogs / Pulp Fiction duo.

please stop forcing the idea that citizen kane is a great film...it's an overblown ego looking for a place to land...plus a stupid plot twist, since no one was there to hear the guy say 'rosebud' yet they spend the rest of the film trying to find out what it meant.

Want to see the excesses of wealth & power in a truly great film? Watch The Magnificent Ambersons.

Bonnie and Clyde, 1967. Period.

In the horror genre: Night of the Living Dead; Texas Chainsaw Massacre; Psycho; Dracula (1931 w/Lagosi)

In the SF genre: Forbidden Planet; Close Encounters of the Third Kind; E.T.

In the adventure genre: Dr. No (spawned a franchise lasting 35+ years)

In the History genre: The Ten Commandments; Ben Hur; All Quiet on the Western Front; Triumph des Willens (evil subject matter, but influential in the extreme)

In the comedy genre: Blazing Saddles

In the Westerns genre: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

I could go on. I suspect the TCM selections were made because they were either in the public domain or they had a license to show.

A lot of people are arguing Jaws over Star Wars because it came first , but I think TCM got it right for their list. They're listing the most influential movies, not the first movies to accomplish something. Jaws came first with the huge summer box office, but Star Wars had the summer blockbuster business model that everyone is still trying to copy today. Jaws didn't have the merchandising, product tie-ins, or re-releases (theatrical in Star Wars' day, multiple DVD editions today) that Star Wars had, all of which have become hallmarks of today's summer blockbusters. Jaws was the first summer blockbuster, but Star Wars was the standard business model to which summer blockbusters are still measured.

Influencing what? By the list and by the additions here, movies influence: 1) other movies 2) major social issues (race, etc) 3) views of history, 4) technology/sci-fi/futurism, etc. And they do so on these many criteria axes in different ways (comedy/drama/etc) to different generations. For that reason, I think 15 is about 15 too few to choose from. From 30 we could much more easily agree. But I'll add one of either Lawrenc of Arabia, Gandhi or Out of Africa for "cinematic scope."

the keyword here is influential. think about the movie you want to argue and think if you can think of a movie MORE influential in modern day life or movie history. Also if you have seen all 15 of the listed movies, SHUT UP! How can you dismiss a movie without seeing it?

I hope some of you realize that we are talking about Turner *CLASSIC* Movies. It may be the reason that a lot of the movies are, well, old. Sorry kiddies, movies from the 90s aren't quite classics yet. Just because they were big in OUR childhoood doesn't make them all-time classics.

Even so, the list seems to be missing a few good ones.

They missed it on "godfather of the summer blockbuster." As important as "Star Wars" was, it was "Jaws" that spawned the summer blockbuster two years earlier.

I agree that Jaws was the first summer movie blockbuster, not Star Wars. The Exorcist brought back the horror movie after the religious cynicism of the 1960s almost killed it. A Hard Day's Night was the first music video. A Trip to the Moon was the first science-fiction film. I would think that Goldfinger, instead of Dr. No, was more influential in starting the movies' love affair with secret agents, though.

8 1/2

You have to throw in Pulp Fiction, Saving Privtae Ryan, THX1138,
ALIEN (first one only pls) and Unforgiven

Thelma and Louise

The Godfather
No excuse for this not being on the list

Deep Throat.
Absolutely an influential film for the political uproar which followed.

Toy Story
First completely CGI Film

Pulp Fiction

Harold and Kumar Go To White Castle...clearly belongs on this list...very influential film.

Only a douchebag movie critic would take himself or movies so seriously as to pan Star Wars that deeply. The only thing lamer than his rant was the fact that it was even brought to the attention of the readers of cnn.com. What a pompous lameass.

Schindler’s List!!!!!!!!

influential movies?... I'm not a big fan but how about Rocky Picture Horror Show?

The Crawling Eye

9 to 5

I agree with everyone who mentioned Jaws. When I read the list, that was the first thing I thought: Jaws was the original summer blockbuster. Some readers seem to think "inlfuential" means films that influenced them personally, but it means other films. In that case, yes, I agree again, where is The Godfather. For that matter, where is The French Connection, which changed the look and feel of cop movies permanently?

It's always interesting to see what's been included or not included.

I would have included: Modern Times, Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, Casablanca, On the Waterfront, High Noon, The Day the Earth Stood Still, To Kill a Mockingbird, The Graduate, The Godfather, Do the Right Thing, and American Beauty moreso than some of those on this list.

I would add on two additional sci-fi movies, both directed by Ridley Scott:

Blade Runner
Alien

Their influence on cinematography and direction is undeniable.

The correct name of the 1948 Vittorio De Sica film is "The Bicycle Thief" or "Ladri di biciclette"

The Jazz Singer introduced sound to film. Is any film more infuential than that?

Luckily no influential films have come out in the past 32 years. Why not get some new blood in the "biz" and let them talk about influential movies? Stop drumming up the same list of 12 movies that are all about 50 years old. I'm sure they were influential but isn't it a slap in the face to the modern industry to never include them on some of these lists?

From a technical standpoint, "The Matrix" introduced the "bullet time" effect and various other techniques into the filmmaking lexicon. It should be noted as well.

A lot of great films but the key word is "infuential" . . . . . . . .
Yes, Stagecoach, because it changed Westerns from good guy cowboys wearing white hats and pearl handle six shooters to living breathing humans with feelings and shades of gray justice. Of course "It Happened One Night" was influential because when Clark Gable takes off his shirt and is not wearing any undershirt, undershirt sales plummeted all over the world . . . . . . . . . .
That's infuential !

I would add TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD

I think the looooooooong list of comments to this post (which now out-number the length of the original post itself) shows how subjective this topic is, and also how passionate people are about their favorite films. Excellent movies like The Shawshank Redemption (which is an exercise in emotional manipulation) and Jaws (which preys on our fears of the unknown and is perhaps the ultimate monster movie) may not necessarily be the most INFLUENTIAL. See the distinction? I can see why early films were included on the list because they influenced the genre of film and the way films were directed and edited (a la Stagecoach). But I also agree that this list could have been expanded from a mere 10 films.

"Bonnie & Clyde" the film that changed movies. A watershed film...

Harold and Maude! She was the original cougar.

Caddyshack, the most quoted movie of all time

Correction: It is not "Bicycle Thieves" of 1947, but rather "The Bicycle Thief" of 1949.

Why can't reporters ever get anything right?

Three words "HOWARD THE DUCK"

Forrest Gump, Saving Private Ryan, The Great Escape???

Night of the Living Dead?

Wizard of Oz – - the 1st color film....

Where's Jaws? The real godfather of the modern summer blockbuster.

Putting aside personal opinion, only 2-3 movies belong on this list. The rest is bunk.

Annie Hall – very influential to the genre and many film makers
Fellini's 8 1/2 – Any questions?
Chinatown
The Godfather
Band of Outsiders
The 400 Blows

Dr. Strangelove
What's Up Tiger Lily?
Raging Bull
Lenny
Blue Velvet
Raising Arizona
Spinal Tap
Easy Rider
One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest
The Last Picture Show
The Good the Bad and the Ugly
Indiana Jones and the last Crusade

Blazing Saddles not included? Well raise my rent!!!

What about "Play Misty for Me"? "The Big Chill"? "Terms of Endearment"? "The Shining"(original)? There should of been a vote, not left up to staffers to pick and choose, should have been a nationwide vote.

The only real use of lists like this is to get people worked up over what is left off. But who really cares? Especially when "influential" is very different from "important" or "groundbreaking." All it means is that it had an impact on the sheep that watched it (hence Star Wars making the list). "Triumph of the Will" was pretty darn influential on the German people. Nothing is more influential than well made propoganda.

What about SLAPSHOT?

What about the Wizard of Oz?

The only real use of lists like this is to get people worked up over what is left off. But who really cares? Especially when "influential" is very different from "important" or "groundbreaking." All it means is that it had an impact on the sheep that watched it (hence Star Wars making the list). "Triumph of the Will" was pretty darn influential on the German people. Nothing is more influential than well made propaganda.

I must point out that the list is MOST INFLUENTIAL, not the best, movies ever made. Many of the commetns have recommended great flicks, but an case must be made for their influence on modern cinema.

I think what alot of people offering up other movies are confusing what this list is. It is not a list of the best movies of all time. It is a list of the most INFLUENTIAL. Now of course this leaves the list open to discussion still especially since we really need to decide what is meant by "influential."

In this case it seems to me they mean movies that changed the movie making process/industry. I don't think they are looking at ones that change our individual lives.

That being said, many good , even great movies did not change movie making or the industry.

I definitely agree with the post from Paul, "The Shawshank Redemption."

The Godfather and Casablanca both are the epitome or "influential" when it comes to American films.

what about the Graduate?

WHAT ABOUT THE GODFATHER?

i think this "TOP List" will always be a futile exercise. I agree, Birth of a Nation or Potemkin are must in terms of influence, not to mention Goddard's Breathless. But the you think, how about Intolerance by Griffith or October by Einsesitein, they are the summit of both director's filomgraphy. How about Germania Anno Zero or Roma Cita Aperta by Rosselini, or Mamma Roma and Accatone by Passolini? How about Fellini's 8 1/2? What about Abel Gance's Napoleon? or how about Casablanca, The Godfather I and II, Blade Runner, Pierrot Le Fou, Seven Samurais, How Green was my Valley, The Blue Angel, Nosferatus, M, The Golden Age, and those are just the ones that i can think in this instant...
Futile exercise in my humble opinion

I agree. Wizard of Oz has to be on that list due to its major influence on the film industry. How can you not have the first color film on that list?

Airplane!

How about one of the greatest and most honored films of all time-The Ten Commandments

I did't see anyone mention The Deer Hunter. Very influential.

Pulp Fiction

I think it's an oversight to not include any movie after 1977. Pulp Fiction epitomized the independent film movement (though there are others that could be on yhat list as well- "sex, lies, and videotape"

Grease; The Pink Panther movies

What about Godfather 1 and 2???

Nobody has "The Fish that Saved Pittsburgh" on this list?

Just goes to show what idiots live in this world.

The Great Escape and The Day the Earth Stood Still (original of course)

what about "To Kill a mockingbird"!!

Behind the Green Door. Or is this just ones we admit to seeing.

The orginal ODD COUPLE staring Jack Lemmon and Walter Matheau is indeed an influential classic!

I understand old movies being on this list since it is for the most "influential" movies ever, not necessarily the top 15. That being said, I would put Jaws on there in place of one of the John Wayne movies, and probably The Wizard of Oz somewhere in there. You could literally expand this to 100 films easily, but that's not a bad list, and it's good to see 4 foreign films on there as well.

Also noticed that the list contained mostly pre 1960's films. What about Pulp Fiction? I mean that movie changed the way movies were filmed and many films have tried to duplicate its authenticity and most been very unsuccessful. Then you have Toy Story which gave the re-birth to animated film. Also Jurassic Park that introduced the first movie containing CGI graphics. I just think you have to represent the past and the present and the present was not given due credit.

Liz is overrated.

Who can really say wehat the most "influential" films really are? In what way? For me I believe that the most influential film was also listed by entertainment Weekly as the #1 sci-fi of the past 25 years – The Matrix. It spawned a multi-billion $$$ franchise and became the most popular western film in eastern nations, because it blended tenets of both western and eastern philosophy. If you only saw the movie once, then you really didn't see it at all. The explosions and martial arts sequences are a distraction from the script, which actually qualifies as literature in the truest sense of the word. In fact, there are hundreds of fan sites all over the web methodically dissecting the film, and numerous college courses using the film to explore the thought experiments and visual imagery used.

Night of the Living Dead

I'd like to give a shout out to George Romero's 'Night of the Living Dead'. Social commentary mixed with horror – go George.

Birth of a Nation? Vile, stereotypical, hateful racist white man's propaganda. Influencial? It turned black actors into cringing, submissive, uncle toms and aunt jemima's for generations in American film. An awful and stupid choice.

No Casablanca?? Blade Runner? Alien? Where's Psycho? How about The Last Metro or Day for Night? Hannah and Her Sisters? Close Encounters of the Third KInd? Indiana Jones and Raiders of the Lost Ark? The Godfather 1 and 2. Casino. Taxi Driver.

What about Pulp Fiction? Not only was it a great film, it was groundbreaking. How many copy-cat films have come out since 1994?

Define "influential". Influence on society, if so western society? World society? Influence on humanity? Influence on moviemaking?
For this argument I will assume the "influence" is on western culture in general and American culture in particular.
If, as it has been said, the job of the arts is to hold a mirror up to scoiety to show it it's own "form and pressure", and if that is the "influence" considered, then I submit this list of mirror-like movies (in no partucilar order):
1) Easy Rider
2) American Grafitti
3) Taxi Driver
4) An Inconvient Truth
5) Apocalypse Now
6) Woodstock
7) MASH
Forest Gump
9) Manhattan
10) Mr Smith Goes to Washington
11) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?
12) The African Queen
and of course
13) Pink Flamingos

But, then again, I think the list that TNT put out is selected from the library they control. So most of my picks didn't have a chance anyway against such a loaded deck.

Star Wars...influenced the movie merchandising – changed the model on movie marketing

The Wizard of Oz?

Seven Samurai – The first modern action-adventure film that started the plot device of recruiting a band of misfits for a mission.

A Fistful of Dollars – Saved the Western from an early grave and started the Spaghetti Western craze.

Blade Runner – Visually the most influential film in the last 27 years. From other films, tv series, commercials in both tv and print, comic books, animation, video games, etc... have been inspired by this cult classic.

Reservoir Dogs/Pulp Fiction – The coming of Quentin Tarantino... 'nuff said!

Actually "The Poseidon Adventure" predates Jaws as the first Summer Blockbuster.

two words: Pulp Fiction

Hitchcock's "The 39 Steps" (1935). The 1st innocent man on the run movie?

Halloween

Alien

2001 (even if it's the hardest film to watch end to end other than maybe Che) should be on this list for sure, so should Easy Rider (rise of the independent scene began wit it), but it's a good list, not exclusively American at least.

Your post is actually wrong on one item and TCM actually acknowledges this. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs was not the first feature-length animated motion picture. That honor goes to "Die Abenteuer des Prinzen Achmed", or in English, "The Adventures of Prince Achmed". The film was the creation of Lotte Reiniger and instead of hand-drawn animation, the film used paper silhouette animation to bring its Arabian Nights story to life. Where Disney's Snow White premiered in 1937, Prince Achmed preceeded it in 1929.

Granted, the animation styles were vastly different, but both are animated and experts give the nod to Achmed for being there first.

Don't you people get it, (Most influential movies) not what you enjoyed more!
Who cares what era a movie was made..........most influential.

Now think about that........didn't any movie, help change the way you acted or thought?............Now go back over your list.........and think!
Many movies that were mentioned, I too loved, and thought they were
great movies, but they didn't change the way I thought about life.

Dah!

A lot of great stories told well on film, but few of these films really rewrote any rules. Some notable rule breakers (or makers) that didn't make the list. "The Graduate", and "Midnight Cowboy" from Hoffman. I agree that something CG like "Toy Story" should be included. We will never have a return to old style film making since newer is actually better. How about the "Technicolor" pioneer. "How the West Was Won"!

Pulp Fiction. How many other movies do you walk out of saying to yourself "What in the hell did I just see"?

I think it speaks volumes that there are no post 1980 films mentioned...

The list should define influential and then incorporate the Casablanca, the Godfather and either “Rebel Without a Cause” or “Street car Named Desire” because of the influence in and on actors. “Jaws” over “Star wars and oddly “pulp Fiction” for making the Indy movie the mainstream movie.

Good or bad...without "Stagecoach" we might have never of had "Citizen Kane" as we know it. Orson Welles studied it to learn how to do film. It's pretty impressive movie making, especially for the time period in which it was made.

How about Rocky?

JAWS was the birth of the summer blockbuster, not Star Wars, which came out two years after. Take that misquote out and you have another space movie after 2001: A Space Odyssey.

Influential? Try "Wall Street". A whole generation of bankers grew up with "Greed is Good", not recognizing the irony from Gordon Gekko's speech. Now look at where we are – that's influential.

Not that everyone liked it, but The Matrix has so many copycats I've lost count.

Godfather was very influential in a) how it redefined how movies looked. Note the lighting, and the attention to pacing – reminenscent of the impact of Citizen Cane. The fifteen years that separate the filmmaking of The Ten Commandments and the look of Godfather sums up the change well, and many filmakers followed suit thereafter, and b) it was the first series in which the second movie was judged to be the equal of the first. Can't think of a good example prior to 1972. This brought about the tidal wave of sequels that we have seen since – mostly not a good thing, but highly influential in and of itself.

It's influential movies being discussed, not great movies. Pulp Fiction is missing from the list.

Not Stagecoach, too much an archtype. The General instead.
Not Citizen Kane, brilliant, but again an archtype; add Toy Story.
Replace Star Wars with Jaws.
Annie Hall replaces one of the older dramas; you pick.
Not so upset about older movies. They have had the time to really be evaluated. And the US-centric nature of the list is just the context of TCM and this audience. Only serious scholars would even appreciate an academically significant list.

You people for the most part blow chunks. I will agree that they need Airplane and the Godfather ones and maybe even Jaws. But Shawshank Redemption does not need to be in there. But, what about Gimme Shelter or Woodstock.? They also need anything by Clint Eastwood and definitely Bronson's Death Wish. That's the best movie of all time. About a Conscientious Objector who decides to become a real man and blow away just about everyone. PERFECT movie making....

John Ford's "Stagecoach" (1939) absolutely belongs on the list. Welles is said to have watched it over and over to prepare for making "Citizen Kane."

But Richard Lester's "A Hard Day's Night" should also be there.

Influential = Dr. Strangelove

Wizard of Oz isn't listed because Gone With the Wind is. 1939 was one oft hose years for great films and like it or not GWTW is and was much more influential than Oz.

But definately! The Godfather is missing.

And people who list Dumb and Dumber and the like as influential....get a life and take a film class – D&D should not even be considered a FILM.

Most of the people commenting missed the point. This isn't the greatest list. This is a list of films that provoked change in filming so most of them would be older films. The Jazz Singer should be in this list as a result. I would prefer Quiet Man over Searchers. Searchers is great but think of all the films that were inspired byt the idea of getting a small town cast. together and illumintating a culture. This could have influenced Moonstruck for instance or Doc Hollywood. Give a basis for your selections.

Here's one movie that I think constantly gets overlooked in lists such as these: "Tora, Tora, Tora." I'm not big on the war movie genre, but what a phenomenally well-crafted film this is. I re-watched "Pearl Harbor" over this past weekend and even with the special effects it pales in comparison to "Tora, Tora, Tora." The flying sequences are so astoundingly authentic it still makes me go "How did they DO that?" (and with NO "CGI" effects). The movie runs fluid, scene by scene just like chapters of a book. It has memorable lines ("You want confirmation? THERE'S your confirmation") and an excellent cast (Martin Balsam, Jason Robards to name just a few). I don't care how late it is, I get sucked into this movie every time.

I also forgot about Dr. Strangelove. And Enter the Dragon. Bycicle Thieves and Rashomon can eat me.

FAILSAFE

more accurate name of this list is...
"The 15 most influential films of all time (for which TCM has the broadcast rights)."

Philadelphia was influential to Culture and the Movement toward empathy and action. It may not have been groundbreaking as far as special effects; however, it was groundbreaking in other ways.

Any 3 Stooges movie has to be added to the list. What kid from the 50's, 60's and 70's didn't grow up watching and imitating them? yuk, yuk, yuk you knuckleheads.

Resevior Dogs

What influence are they speaking of? Influencing movies or moviegoers? Very different movies answer those two very different questions.

The King and I, Sound of Music. come on.....

Tron, it brought scifi and computer interaction togehert

It's good to see the TCM is bucking the trend of ignoring Birth of a Nation (looking at you AFI) due to P.C. reasons. Undeniably, the movie was influential.

Overall the list is decent. My initial thoughts were Rashoman and Metropolis and they were on the list, but no Godfather, 2001, or Dr. Strangelove is odd.

Keep in mind, this is a list of hte ten most influential films of all time. Not the best. "Birth Of A Nation" is dated racist claptrap, but nobody can deny its status as highly influential in the development of movies.

True, "Jaws" came before "Star Wars". But "Star Wars" deserves mention over "Jaws" because of what it spawned in terms of a summer blockbuster, namely pre- and post-release hype and massive merchandising. Keep in mind that George Lucas got the "Star Wars" merchandising rights as part of his contract for next to nothing in 1977, because 20th Century Fox didn't think those rights were worth anything. How wrong they were. Now, merchandising is HUGE business.

I agree that "Toy Story" should be in the list - arguably, it revolutionized what we can expect from computer animation in movies.

"The Shawshank Redemption" - absolutely, a great film. But influential? Did it influence the direction of movies in a significant way? I don't think so.

Jaws and Shawshank Redemption need to be on this list. We are talking about influential movies here, not the greatest. Although, these 2 should be on that list too.

Don't you mean the "The movies Turner Classic Movies has rights to broadcast top ten movies of all time"? Come-on, has anybody actually viewed the AFI top movies. At least Kane is on the list.

According to François Truffaut, the French New Wave film movement would not have happened unless the little-know film "Little Fugitive," had not been made. This film was nominated for an oscar for best film in 1953 and was a winner at Cannes.

I see the listings of films here that didn't make the list. Ask yourself, "What did these films influence?" The Godfather? Another long winded drama. 2001? VERY long winded snorefest sci-fi (read the book, it's MUCH better). Jaws? Scary and started the career of a young filmmaker, but what did it do to influence future film?

Star Wars broke bold new strides in special effects technology (Lucas was told the effects he wanted was impossible by the 2001 special effects supervisor Doug Trumbull) and story telling.

I could go on, but I think you get the picture...

I agree with everyone who has mentioned "Casablanca" and "The Matrix," and I would add "North by Northwest" and "Brokeback Mountain."

Yes, The Godfather should be on this list.

Here's one that effected Ted and countless others

Barberella

ater all he did marry her!

What about "Night of the Living Dead?" Or "The Matrix?"

The list is indefinite.

Casablanca, for sure, but.........

I can't believe that only one comment mentioned "Saving Private Ryan" the best war movie ever made. It either reminded, or showed for the first time, two generations of the sacrifices that their fathers/grandfathers made for them.

The films are touted as the most 'influential'...what's everyone's guess on just what that means, per TCM?

Uh, obviously The Godfather. Huge mistake of omission...

pulp fiction
saving private Ryan
airplane
braveheart

>>Kaushik Das

Actually, there are five non-US films on that list.

"Battleship Potemkin”; “Metropolis”; “Bicycle Thief”; “Rashomon”; “Breathless"

Should there be more? Yeah, probably...

Such lists are always purely subjective, as evidenced by some of the reactions people have posted here. I read "influential" as meaning "influenced film" not as making people afraid to go in the water.

To Kill a Mockingbird

I can't believe that "Harold and Maude" is not on the list. Just watch "Juno," any Wes Anderson movie, or any other pseudo-indie film nowadays, and see how the cinematography, dialogue, score, soundtrack, and overall mood of the movie is an homage (hack?) to "Harold and Maude."

ha ha, the Wallstreet comment is great. Hard to argue that one – except we're talking about movies influencing future movie making – Wallstreet maybe the most influential on society.

Geez, I've only seen 1 of the 15 films on their list.

I feel culturally bereft!

I guess I should rent some of those oldies and see what all the talk is about.

"Influential"? That's going to create a list that many will argue about. Because there have been films that were very influential but just not very good. "The Robe" comes to mind. I personally don't think the film was very good. But it was the first CinemaScope film released by 20th.

The CinemaScope format has been around for over half a century. It fairly quickly became the global standard for widescreen motion picture production and exhibition. it's still to this day in wide commercial theater use thoughtout the world. I'd call that "influential".

"Star Wars" should be on the list not for it's place as a summer blockbuster (that should be "Jaws") but rather for it's pioneering use of computer-managed motion control. Very influential. "Rocky" for it's use of the Steadicam. Very, very influential.

"Ben-Hur" (my favorite film of all time) ... and "Lawrence Of Arabia" (my 2nd favorite) have no real place on this list.

Despite not being a fan of such fare, I'd say one of the early all-CG movies, Toy Story perhaps, would be a fitting addition to such a list. Or better yet, Jurassic Park for its integration of CG effects. Considering the prevalence, good or bad, of such visual effects in movies these days, some mention should be made...Oh wait! these lists are always populated almost entirely with utterly unwatchable flicks (yes, I include Citizen Kane in that category!) from the pre-1960s!

to all those suggesting The Godfather... can you please explain why it is one of the most influential movies? what can you point to coming out post 1972 to support this. Scarface (1932) is the "godfather" of crime drama. just because Godfather 1 & 2 are two of the best films ever, they are not the most influential. Scorcese was not influenced by them. he already came up with his formula with Mean Streets and Who's that Knocking at My Door.

The Graduate, Slap Shot, Harold and Maud, An Andalusian Dog, Cleopatra, Ben Hur, Wait Until Dark, The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Easy Rider, Reds, Fantasia, Fists of Fury

Good luck ever finding something on these lists with a main character whose skin color is anything but a whiter shade of pale.

Shawshank? what in the name that all that is holy did that influence. what is wrong with you people? a nice story does not equal influence. give me one film that would never have been made had it not been for Shawshank? websters.com will provide a full definition of "influential" for those that have a hard time with the english language.

Sean Of The Dead should be on the list! For sure!

Magic Johnson testing positive for HIV did much much much more for educating the public than Philadelphia. overrated. good, but far from great.

Gotta say Easy Rider and Midnight Cowboy (the only X-rated movie to win an Oscar). Both spoke volumes to the American Culture of the time.

High Noon.

"The Passion of Christ"?

it seems most people are not understanding the point of the list, or even the title of the list. Influential does not mean good, and good does not mean influential. Birth of a nation isn't the greatest story telling of all time, but it certainly changed the way anybody wielding a camera thought about telling a story. and that's why Godfather is not on the list. there is nothing really new about it other than content. same for Shawshank Redemption. they are both absolutely great movies, but they did not affect the moviemaking process or industry in a profound sense. if there is any notable omission from the list, I'd say it is Pulp Fiction, which ushered in an era of multiple independent story lines and non-linear narrative. incidentally, I'm not sure The Searchers belongs on this list either...

Deep Throat

Influential to what? Movie making, pop culture, global politics, etc.? Evening limiting it to influencing the movie making business still leaves large gaps starting with Lawrence of Arabia which influenced Speilberg who influenced everyone in movies since.

This is a list of INFLUENTIAL movies, not BEST. It's pretty good in that regard, except for Breathless. Surely The 400 Blows is more representative of that era. Actually the more I think of it, The Seventh Seal is even better. I mean, if you're talking about that late 50s foreign film influence–which surely this entry is–it's more from Sweden than from France. I mean, what does Breathless have that isnt present in the Bicycle Thieves, at least as far as the neo-realist form goes? Breathless has got the gritty realism thing and handheld camera stuff down, but really, it was hardly the first. The Italians did it much better a decade before–which is where The Bicycle Thieves influence is–and in terms of the Art of film you see it more in Bergman than Godard or Truffaut or any of the French New Wave. I mean, come on, Wild Strawberries, Virgin Spring, The Silence...all of em better than Breathless. But even still, if you feel a need to honor the French New Wave, you're better off with Truffaut. The 400 Blows or Jules and Jim...much better than Breathless. Maybe that's just me. Like the ol' "people are either Beatles or Rolling Stones" thing, I think people are either Truffaut or Godard, and I'm Truffaut all the way. Ironically, Godard made a film about the Rolling Stones. Go figure.

Wizard of Oz
Godfather
Network
Kraemer vs Kraemer
Scarface
Jaws
ET
Halloween
Casablanca
– These movies are influential because MOST people have seen MOST movies on this list. "Bicycle Thieves"? "Roshomon"? - maybe if you've taken a film appreciation class... but think of society as a whole, not just film buffs.

A couple do overlap, but here are my 15:

The Gold Rush (Chaplin/1925), Citizen Kane (Welles/1941), Casablanca (Curtiz/1941), Ladri di Biciclette (De Sica/1948), The Third Man (Reed/1949), The Seven Samurai (Kurosawa/1954), The Seventh Seal (Bergman/1957), The 400 Blows (Truffaut/1959), To Kill A Mockingbird (Mulligan/1962), Dr. Strangelove (Kubrick/1964), The Wild Bunch (Peckinpah/1969), Annie Hall (Allen/1977), The Thin Blue Line (Morris/1988), Do The Right Thing (Lee/1989), JFK (Stone/1991),

Wait, guys – not EXCELLENT movies, but influential ones. Not "I like it" but "everybody copied it." See the difference?

Everything Fellini did particularly La Strada, Nights of Cabiria and La Dolce Vita and oh yes 81/2

For a list of influential movies, I think the list is pretty interesting. Not good, but interesting. I'd have to find out just how they defined that term. In terms of character development, special effects, or plot development? Lists like this always are thrown out with the proper framework about how they were selected.

What about one of the very first commercial moving pictures, Georges Méliès "Le Voyage dans la Lune" (A Trip to the Moon) (1902)? Personally, influential pictures to me would have to include "Network", "2001: A Space Odyssey", and "All About Eve"!

While I can't really argue with anything on the list, I can't help but feel that other than It Happened One Night, comedy is woefully underrepresented.

I think something along the lines of a Duck Soup or a City Lights/Modern Times would have suited this list just fine.

HAPPY 15TH TCM!!

The world is a better place due to TCM....it's a film lovers paradise.

Robert Osborne....you're a big part of the success story behind TCM.
Keep your informative commentary coming.

"Top Hat" with Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers. Fred Astaire changed the movie musical from set piece numbers to blend the song and dance as an outcome of the plot. Most film musicals after his early Astaire and Rogers films followed that pattern.

I think you have to wait 25-30 years before even considering a film for this list. Influence must stand the test of time. People like me who saw Star Wars as a kid at a drive-in still think about the film from time to time 30 years later, but it took 30 years to realize that.

So a recent film might deserve to be on the list eventually, but life hasn't revealed that to us yet.

For all of you who say that "Jaws" was the original summer blockbuster, I just gotta ask this, "When was the last time you stood in line for a 'Jaws' convention?" Sure I think that "Jaws" was a really good movie, but I've never been to a convention for it. Plus, if it wasn't for "Star Wars," we would have some of the Special Effect that we have now. We would probably have different Stop-Motion still providing our effects. George was the first to change the way we look at Special Effects. Sure it wasn't computer graphics, but he was one of the first supporters of it.

Your- Belonging to you. You're – You are. Their – Belonging to them. They're – They are. There – Not here.

TCM should add K. Asif's Mughal-e-Azam (India, 1960) to the list– no doubt the highest quality popular film ever produced in any country (however, to fully experience its grandeur, only watch on a big screen [as it was intended]). Every line of dialogue is poetry and the visuals are ravishing. Even the recent colorized version (commissioned by the original production company to fulfill the director's stated wish) will take your breath away.

I agree with TCM's picks, although its hard to see past the heavy-handed racism in Birth of a Nation; I'd replace it with Griffith's follow-up film Intolerance (1916), an amazingly complex, passionate, pioneering, and visually stunning work of art.

Glad to see TCM fanning the great debate.

How about Halloween, which ignited the "Slasher" movie genre? Or Toy Story, which changed the face of cinematic animation forever?

"According to this list, only one of the all-time most influential movies has been made in the past 45 years – and that was made over 30 years ago?? Who made this list, my grandmother?"

Duh? Duh? Don't you realize that It Takes Time for anything socially to become deeply influential?
Golly – that's elementary.

By the way, "Forbidden Planet" from 1956 is probably the most influential S.F. film of all time.
DAW

Stagecoach? Bicycle Thieves? One question comes to mind regarding those two movies in particular - WHY ARE THEY ON THE LIST?

Notable omissions for the effect they've had on films following them: Who Framed Roger Rabbit? and Toy Story. What about The Godfather?

These lists make for amusing reading at best.

Conspicuously absent are "The Godfather" and "Wizard of Oz.." Also, "Casablanca," "Double Indemnity," "Bonnie and Clyde," "The Graduate," and "Psycho" should have been considered most influential movies.

""I don’t see obsessed fans outside theaters dressed as great whites waiting to see a Jaws movie…. ""

That's because they weren't childish geeks.

I saw both Jaws and Star Wars at the cinema in the 1970s. The Jaws audience was of a far wider ranging age group than the Star Wars audience. Even my granny went to see Jaws and loved it. Few people over 30 went to see Star Wars (parents apart). I don't recall any adults being a big fan of Star Wars back in the 1970s. It was basically just kids and young people.

Jaws was the first true summer blockbuster and movies today are still following the same trend. The pre-release hype, the opening to a nationwide release in summer, the merchandise tie in etc etc. Jaws initiated all this together, not Star Wars.

Oh yes there was plenty of merchandising with Jaws. You young noobs are so ignorant. You think Star Wars started everything. It didn't. I well remember after Jaws came out that the posters, t-shirts, coffee cups, games etc etc all appeared in shops by the following Christmas. We all had our bit of Jaws memorabilia by the wend of '75.

The Jaws phenomenon swept the world in such a short space of time like no other movie before. Star Wars was released in the manner it was BECAUSE of Jaws and the success of Jaws 2 years before. Star Wars was influenced by Jaws and that's a fact. Spielberg and Lucas were great buddies.

I don't know anybody who is seriously affected by Star Wars in their everyday lives. I know plenty of people who won't go swimming in the sea because of Jaws. That's the different. Jaws influenced our REAL lives. Star Wars didn't.

Here ends the lesson.

P.S) Regarding a merchandising tie in with a film subject...it was really Planet of the Apes and the sequels, followed by the t.v series that really was the first money making merchandising concept.

The best wordy comedy of all time is not on this list. "Some Like It Hot" with Marilyn Monroe, Tony Curtis and Jack Lemon. A total hoot and racy holler. My all time favorite.

The most influential silent film of all time is Erich Von Stroheim's Foolish Wives, as it was the film that invented the modern editing techniques still used today, like the eyeline match and the shot-reverse shot. Also, Yojimbo has far more influence than Rashomon, which was innovative but not very influencial. Yojimbo, which was Kurosawa's adaptation of Dashiell Hammet's novel Red Harvest, had it's plot redone by Fist Full of Dollars, Last Man Standing, Fresh, The Warrior and the Sorceress and Miller's Crossing, as well as many other films.

The Godfather not on a list? Hurrah!!!

They don't include the real top 15 because they are not allowed to show them on their network.

Here's a more modern list of hugely influential films:

Enter the Dragon (martial arts)
Seven Samurai (misfits buddy adventure)
Halloween (slasher horror)
Toy Story (CGI)
Alien (sci fi / horror)
Jaws (horror /adventure/ box office)
Blade Runner (sci fi/ future/ action)
Airplane (parody – could be substituted with Blazing Saddles)
Star Wars (music, imagery, sci fi, etc)
Matrix (for editing and cinematography)
Blair Witch (handicam etc)
Pulp Fiction (attitude, music integration – or American Graffiti
Behind the Green Door / Deep Throat (mainstream porn)

But all of these have antecedents...none of these arose in a vacuum.

What about Mariah Carey in "Glitter"??

How about Lawrence of Arabia, Sophies Choice, The Seven Samurai.
Star Wars? You've got to be kidding.

Ryan? Where in the heck have you been?

Are you kidding about your comment made about Toy Story being a Movie that truely changed the CGI Industry??

I think that has to go to a single film. And... I am referring to CGI film making.

That must go to The Last Starfighter.

That was the first film that completely integrated CGI/VR work. Not even Disney's Tron or The Black Hole came close to The Last Starfighter.

I must also give you the benefit of the doubt, that you may not be of the same generation that I am also, (Born in 1972), so you may not know about that film.

If not, check it out have laugh at the goofy looking graphics. But marvel at the technology of the time. Because I remember when our Video Games used to look like that. Yep, I am of the Intel 80486 era.

Hope this logs? 1st time writing on this particular blog,etc

However, am a bona-fide "TCM-ITE!"

Thugh do have a few splits with it's #15 compilation, as most do

Most notably *Brando literally changed the face of acting as Stanley Kowalski in "A Streetcar"

& same with "2001" as others already cted it's glaring omssion

& "Jaws" singlehandedly altered the way the industry looked at the summer $Box-0ffice$ from 1975 on!

Thank You