Revealed: your top 100 films of all time
Mel Gibson's The Passion of The Christ is the best film ever, according to a poll of Herald readers
20 March 2009

Gibson said he felt compelled to make The Passion of The Christ to atone for his wayward past

The Top 100

(Update: screenwriter Frank Cottrell Boyce on a 1986 biopic of Thérèse de Lisieux. Scroll down for the full list)

1. The Passion of the Christ (2004)

Peter Malone FSC Even before its release The Passion of The Christ was a sign of contradiction. Many welcomed Mel Gibson's attempt to focus strongly on Jesus's Passion. Others were sceptical about the commercial success of such a Gospel film, especially in Aramaic and Latin. There were also charges of anti-Semitism.

The film was an astounding box office success. It was appreciated by Catholics, Protestants and evangelicals in English-speaking countries. At Easter 2004 it was showing on 27 screens in Hong Kong and popular in diverse countries like Lebanon, Poland and the Philippines. On the other hand, critical response tended to be negative. Many secular reviewers showed that they did not "get it", lacking the religious background to assess it properly. Many branded it "a pornography of violence".

The negative response was not limited to non-Christians. European Catholics tended to find the film distasteful, especially in the scourging sequence, and lamented its focus on the Passion with minimal reference to the Resurrection. Some of the religious critics tended to disdain the film and said in somewhat "superior" and derogatory fashion that it would appeal to cultures which were more literal in their religion and followed a piety and spirituality that they judged, if not wrong, as limited.

Yet as the Herald film poll has revealed, it is a clear favourite among British Catholics.

Mel Gibson knows how to make films and communicate with an audience. The 15-minute segment of William Wallace's execution in his Oscar-winning Braveheart showed that he could stage extreme suffering in a moving way. Gibson made no secret that his Passion was a film he personally needed to make as an acknowledgement of the waywardness of his life and his prayer and conversion experiences. This focused his attention on the suffering and atonement of Jesus.

In this, he tapped into a long Catholic tradition of crucifixes, Stations of the Cross, and Sorrowful Mysteries, which Herald readers may say is why the film appealed to them and their devotion and prayer. We easily say the words scourge, agony, blood - it is different to see this dramatised visually for over two hours. But the Passion brought Jesus vividly to life. While a more complete spirituality of salvation requires a greater emphasis on the Resurrection and Jesus as the risen Lord who offers hope and salvation, a contemplation of the Passion is also significant in Christian prayer.

We flippantly say about many movies "it's only a film". And this is true of The Passion of the Christ. Not everybody had to like it, but for many it was obviously a film that mattered.

Peter Malone is an Australian Missionary of the Sacred Heart who served as president of SIGNIS, the World Catholic Association for Cinema, and now directs the SIGNIS cinema desk

2. A Man for all Seasons (1966)
3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

4. The Sound of Music (1965)

Julie Andrews

Peter Bradshaw If it's a guilty pleasure ... well, there's far more pleasure than guilt. Robert Wise's 1965 film version of the Rodgers and Hammerstein musical delivers a super-strength injection of unforgettable melodies and brazen drama directly into the vein. The von Trapp family's anti-Nazi heroism, and Julie Andrews and Christopher Plummer's romance in pre-war Austria, are the stuff of legend. The tunes are hypnotically hummable, although "Edelweiss", with its glassy-eyed patriotism and jaunty dotted rhythm, has always reminded me worryingly of "Tomorrow Belongs To Me". This really is a massively ambitious film which, like Kubrick's 2001, even has its own "overture" sequence. The "Do-Re-Mi" semi-fantasy scene in the streets of Salzburg is a treat.

Peter Bradshaw is a novelist and film critic for the Guardian

5. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
6. The Mission (1986)
7. The Lord of the Rings: Return of the King (2003)
8. The Song of Bernadette (1943)
9. The Godfather (1973)
10. Jesus of Nazareth (TVS) (1977)
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)
12. Becket (1964)
13. Casablanca (1942)
14. The Scarlet and the Black (TVM) (1983)
15. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)

16. Into Great Silence (2005)

Into Great Silence records the daily life of the Carthusians

Bishop John Arnold The challenge and attractiveness of this film is stark enough: can I accept silence and embrace it or have I lost the sense of what silence is all about? As in no other film I have seen, I think it confronts us with the reality of our misguided need to make noise and be busy when in fact there is a more profound beauty to be found in silence and stillness. Simply too much passes us by every day, unnoticed. This film, without plot or hero, and barely a word of dialogue, might just be the key to a conversation with God.

Bishop John Arnold is an auxiliary bishop of Westminster

Lawrence Lew OP This unique film allows us to glimpse the hidden life of one of the Church's spiritual treasures: the Carthusians. To benefit from it, one needs to be prepared to enter a beautiful cinematic experience, leaving behind the noisy utilitarian concerns of our world to be immersed in the tranquility and rhythm of contemplative life. Nothing seems to happen, but everything does in this silence, as grace is powerfully at work in the lives of those who fall in love with the God of love. Thus we perceive through a lens, dimly, God's sanctifying activity in our own Christian lives.

Lawrence Lew OP is a Dominican student brother at Blackfriars, Oxford

17. Ben-Hur (1959)
18. Groundhog Day (1993)
19. Schindler's List (1993)

20. Star Wars (1977)

James Abbott If, like me, you're forging into your 30s, there's a good chance Star Wars (or A New Hope as we must call it) was one of your first feature-length films.

You don't have to dig too deep to find faith (notwithstanding the 390,000 wags claiming to be Jedi Knights in the 2001 census). To overcome evil, the young hero is asked to forget his pride and place his trust in a "force" for good that he may never truly comprehend - sound familiar?

George Lucas's 1977 original is the classic good versus evil, David versus Goliath rampage. Set in space with light sabres instead of guns and laser-flashing intergalactic stand-offs in the shadows of ships as big as planets, it has rightly hooked generations of young (and not so young) fans.

James Abbott is webmaster for the Catholic Communications Network

21. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
22. Gone With The Wind (1939)

23. The Searchers (1956)

John Wayne, as Ethan Edwards, is equally heroic and heinous

Richard Blake SJ The Searchers, the masterpiece of America's greatest director, John Ford, is simply, I would argue, the greatest film ever made anywhere. The main character, Ethan Edwards, a tormented figure played by John Wayne, both embodies and undermines the foundation myth of the American nation. He is heroic and heinous in equal measure. Monument Valley radiates a kind of brutal loveliness that dwarfs the settlers, lures them with the challenge of building a nation and yet threatens to destroy the values they came to impose. After his triumph, Edwards becomes a tragic anachronism. Excluded from the civilisation he has built with his courage and his gun, he must turn back to the wilderness alone.

Richard Blake SJ is the film critic for America magazine and is the co-director of film studies at Boston College, Massachusetts

24. Andrei Rublev (1969)
25. Babette's Feast (1987)
26. Bella (2006)
27. The Bells of St Mary's (1945)
28. The Chronicles of Narnia: the Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe (2005)

29. The Dark Knight (2008)

The Dark Knight: A ballet between order and chaos

Mark Davoren OP Very few sequels exceed their predecessor but The Dark Knight is certainly a member of this exclusive group. It is the definitive super-hero movie, perfectly capturing the mood of the source material. Christopher Nolan crafts a turbulent ballet between order and chaos which reflects the dilemmas of the post-9/11 world. The confrontation between Heath Ledger's Joker and Christian Bale's Batman not only provides the action a $185 (£92) million budget would suggest, but also highlights the need society has for hope and morality. The death of Ledger overshadowed the release of the film, but it is a fitting tribute to him. Mark Davoren OP is a Dominican student brother at Blackfriars, Oxford

30. Gladiator (2000)
31. Life is Beautiful (1997)
32. North by Northwest (1959)
33. On The Waterfront (1954)
34. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
35. Shadowlands (1993)
36. Chariots of Fire (1981)
37. The Diary of a Country Priest (1951)
38. Gandhi (1982)
39. Going My Way (1944)
40. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
41. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
42. The Lilies of the Field (1963)

43. Little Women (1994)

Daniel Mary Jeffries OP In the third big-screen adaptation of the popular classic by Louisa May Alcott, Robin Swicord (screenplay) deftly captures the warmth and charm of the novel and the courageous spirit of the March sisters. In a secular age, it is an achievement indeed for the cast to have so successfully portrayed a family whose whole existence is imbued with Christian values: faith, hope, kindness, generosity and modesty - but without the slightest hint of prudery or dourness. That this was achieved is a tribute to the cast (among whom Winona Ryder, Susan Sarandon and Christian Bale stand out for their realism and sensitivity) and a mark of the affection that the American public has for the novel.

Daniel Mary Jeffries OP is a Dominican student brother at Blackfriars, Oxford

44. The Matrix (1999)
45. The Miracle of Marcelino (1955)
46. The Pianist (2002)
47. The Shoes of the Fisherman (1968)
48. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
49. The Ten Commandments (1956)

50. Thérèse (1986)

Frank Cottrell Boyce Alain Cavalier's extraordinary 1986 biopic of Thérèse of Lisieux is unlike any other film. It was shot on an empty sound stage on which a few props are used to suggest the setting - a copper boiler for the kitchen, a bed for Thérèse's cell. This simplicity reflects perfectly Thérèse's own - increasingly important - ideas about paying attention to the little things. The film is nevertheless beautiful to look at. Cavalier is a fan of George de la Tour and this film has de la Tour's gift for making the domestic look epic. There's an intense and illuminating performance from Catherine Mouchet in the lead role. It feels less like a movie, more like an animated icon.

Frank Cottrell Boyce is a screenwriter and novelist

51. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
52. 12 Angry Men (1957)
53. A Room with a View (1985)
54. Au Revoir, Les Enfants (1987)
55. Beauty and the Beast (1946)
56. Blade Runner (1982)
57. Braveheart (1995)
58. The Cardinal (1963)
59. Dead Man Walking (1995)
60. The Exorcist (1973)
61. Field of Dreams (1989)

62. The Godfather: Part 2 (1974)

Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith The Godfather: Part 2 is both prequel and sequel to the original film, which it in every way surpasses. Who can forget the murder of the flamboyant Don Fanucci, which takes place during the procession of Our Lady through the streets of Little Italy? Or the equally unbearable tension of the Cuban revolution breaking out just as Michael Corleone is having Hyman Roth assassinated? The constant presence of religion - a First Communion, a funeral, a murder carried out while its victim says the Hail Mary - underlines Francis Ford Coppola's great theme: the dual nature of humanity, steeped in sin, yet called to repentance.

Fr Alexander Lucie-Smith is a moral theologian and author of Narrative Theology and Moral Theology (Ashgate, 2007)

63. The Godfather: Part 3 (1990)
64. The Good, The Bad and The Ugly (1966)
65. Jaws (1975)
66. Jean de Florette (1986)
67. Pope John Paul II (TVM) (2005)
68. Juno (2007)
69. Karol: A Man Who Became Pope (TVM) (2005)
70. Master and Commander (2003)
71. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)
72. The Princess Bride (1987)
73. The Quiet Man (1952)
74. Quo Vadis (1951)
75. Rear Window (1954)
76. The Robe (1953)
77. Slumdog Millionaire (2008)
78. Sophie Scholl - The Final Days (2005)
79. The Third Man (1949)
80. Vertigo (1958)
81. Wall-E (2008)
82. Zulu (1964)
83. Brother Sun, Sister Moon (1972)
84. Double Indemnity (1944)
85. Fiddler on the Roof (1971)
86. The Gospel According to Saint Matthew (1964)
87. The Great Escape (1963)
88. I Confess (1953)
89. The Longest Day (1962)
90. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
91. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
92. Pride and Prejudice (2005)
93. The Railway Children (1970)
94. Rebecca (1940)
95. The Remains of the Day (1993)
96. Sense and Sensibility (1995)
97. The Seven Samurai (1954)
98. The Seventh Seal (1957)
99. Some Like It Hot (1959)
100. Wizard of Oz, The (1939)