These are the 100 best films ever made, according to Empire poll.

1 day ago7 min read3 comments

In the grand, ongoing symphony of cinematic debate, the question of the 'greatest film ever made' is the crescendo that never truly resolves, a topic as perennial as it is passionately contested. Empire magazine's latest poll, declaring the 100 best films, has thrown another log onto this eternal fire, and the results offer a fascinating snapshot of contemporary critical and popular taste.While the specific film that clinched the top spot remains tantalizingly undisclosed in the prompt, one can immediately envision the usual suspects jostling for position: Coppola's operatic 'The Godfather,' with Marlon Brando's monumental, mumbled power; the sprawling, existential dread of Tarkovsky's 'Stalker'; or perhaps the technical and narrative revolution of 'Citizen Kane,' a film whose shadow still looms over every auteur who dares to pick up a camera. These lists are never merely inventories; they are cultural artifacts in themselves, reflecting not just objective quality but the zeitgeist, the shifting priorities of what we value in storytelling—be it technical innovation, emotional resonance, or pure, unadulterated spectacle.The inclusion of more modern masterpieces, say, the heartbreaking minimalism of a 'Moonlight' or the genre-bending ambition of 'Everything Everywhere All at Once,' would signal a maturation of the canon, an acknowledgment that greatness is not frozen in the amber of the 1970s. Conversely, a list heavily weighted towards classic Hollywood or a specific national cinema would tell a different story, one of tradition over rebellion.The methodology of such polls is equally critical; is this the voice of a select panel of critics, a democratic vote from the readership, or a hybrid? Each approach yields a different hierarchy, a different truth. For the cinephile, dissecting the list's composition—the snubs, the surprises, the slow climbers, the sudden falls—is a ritual as cherished as the films themselves.It reignites conversations in coffee shops and online forums, challenges personal top tens, and ultimately, sends us all back to the screen, to re-watch, re-evaluate, and rediscover the magic that makes us argue so fervently in the first place. The true winner of any such poll is not a single title, but cinema itself, forever compelling us to look, to feel, and to debate.

#Empire

#best films

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#The Godfather

#Marlon Brando

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