When we think of the essential checklists of must-see movies, film buffs tend to gravitate towards Sight & Sound or my personal favorite, They Shoot Pictures, Don’t They?’s list of the 1,000 greatest films. And while they do give just about the most well-rounded syllabus for those interested in the history of cinema, they tend to lean a bit older. While that’s good and well and necessary for a comprehensive appreciation, some might want something more modern. But instead of the widely skewed IMDb list, we now have a new one: The New York Times list of The 100 Best Movies of the 21st Century.
Coming in at #1 on the list of best movies of the 21st century was Bong Joon Ho’s Parasite, which won the Palme d’Or and also the Best Picture Oscar, becoming the first foreign language film to do so. (Bong Joon Ho also had another film on the list, Memories of a Murder.) In at #2 was David Lynch’s Mulholland Drive, followed right behind by Paul Thomas Anderson’s There Will Be Blood. Rounding out the top five were Wong Kar-wai’s In the Mood for Love and another Best Picture winner (no, really!), Barry Jenkins Moonlight. (Surprisingly, La La Land didn’t make the cut.) Interestingly, Parasite ranked #2 when Rotten Tomatoes offered a similar list a couple of years ago, being edged out by Mad Max: Fury Road (#11 here).
Ranking 6-10 on the 21st century list was a collection of eclectic movies that still stand as essentials of their genres: the Coen Bros.’ No Country for Old Men, Michel Gondy’s Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Jordan Peele’s Get Out, Hayao Miyazaki’s Spirited Away, and David Fincher’s The Social Network.
A list like this which only honors those from the 21st century so far might suggest too much recency bias, but it’s worth noting that there isn’t a single movie from the final qualifying year, 2024. The most recent films were a batch from 2023: Past Lives (#86), Oppenheimer (#65), Anatomy of a Fall (#26), and The Zone of Interest (#12). 2022, meanwhile, had three, 2021 had just one, and 2020 also had zero.
In addition to polling more than 500 actors, directors and more within Hollywood (you can see a partial list here, including champion Bong Joon Ho’s), The New York Times also let readers file their own picks. For what it’s worth, I chose Almost Famous (#47), There Will Be Blood, Kill Bill: The Whole Bloody Affair (technically ineligible but Vol. 1 did hit #61), In Bruges (not ranked), It’s Such a Beautiful Day (not ranked), Gravity (#97), Lost in Translation (#30), Boyhood (#23), Closer (not ranked), and The Three Burials of Melquiades Estrada (not ranked).
What do you think of Parasite being ranked as the best movie of the 21st century? What would your personal top 10 be?
