Over the course of history, it’s impossible to deny that some movies stand out for their cultural significance and their long-lasting impact on the medium as a whole. These films aren’t necessarily the best movies of all time (though they often are), but rather, the most influential, forever changing the landscape of cinematic storytelling and entertainment with their innovations.

20

The Birth Of A Nation

Horrible, Hateful, But Undeniably Important

The Birth of a Nation is a prime example of how the films that change cinematic techniques and expectations the most aren’t always the most admirable. By all accounts, The Birth of a Nation is an abhorrent film, a racist fantasy depicting the Ku Klux Klan hate group as valiant heroes. But its cinematic importance is unmistakable.

The first film to ever be shown at the White House, The Birth of a Nation is essentially the first movie to codify conventional filmmaking. Its epic scale, use of close-ups, and deliberate cross-cutting editing techniques continue to echo into present-day filmmaking after over 100 years, establishing the modern language of movies.

19

Battleship Potemkin

Was Unlike Anything Else At The Time

Another ancient movie that propelled the format of visual storytelling leaps and bounds forwards was Battleship Potemkin. Telling the story of how the тιтular warship defected with a daring mutiny during the Soviet Revolution, the film is a master class in montage editing, inspiring future filmmakers for generations to come.

In particular, the famous scene at the Odessa staircase has continued to reverberate in modern cinematic language thanks to its fast editing and emotional impact. Even today, the film’s lack of concern with following a single character’s journey puts it in a unique spot, embodying the Soviet collectivism it was meant to inspire.

18

Metropolis

The First Feature-Length Science Fiction Film

Few movies are as widely credited with the birth of an entire genre as Fritz Lang’s Metropolis. One of the great German expressionist films, the movie takes place in a futuristic yet dystopian city in which the gulf between the rich and the poor threatens to boil over into conflict.

Not only is the silent film a pioneering science fiction movie, one of the earliest feature-length films in the genre, but it also inspired the cyber punk and dystopia subgenres. With its cybernetic women, mᴀssive, looming machines, and class commentary, Metropolis can be seen in many prescient sci-fi stories today.

17

The Jazz Singer

Hollywood’s First Major “Talkie”

The same year as Metropolis’ release as a silent film in Germany, the medium of cinema was being changed forever in Hollywood thanks to The Jazz Singer. The film represents the first major studio effort to put forth what was then called a “talkie”, or simply, a film with sound.

Taking full advantage of the new sense available to audiences, The Jazz Singer was also a musical on top of having synchronized audio dialogue, shifting the favor of what audiences wanted to see even more. The profound impact of this new technology is not to be understated in the importance of cinema.

16

Citizen Kane

Considered To Be The Best For A Reason

For a long time, Citizen Kane has been considered to be one of the greatest films ever made, if not the single best. Watching it among its peers of the 1940s, it’s easy to see why. The story centers on the search for the meaning behind “Rosebud”, the last words of a wealthy media magnate.

Orson Welles’ epic drama has a well-deserved reputation. The thoughtful performances, enhanced pacing, and deep-focus cinematography employed by Citizen Kane are all groundbreaking, not to mention its use of an unconventional narrative that hops back and forth in time thanks to a framing device.

15

Bicycle Thieves

Authentic Italian Cinema In The Wake Of World War II

Sometimes, it’s the simplest stories that can have the biggest impact. The Bicycle Thieves is a 1948 film from Italy about an out-of-work father struggling in the ruined economy of post-War Italy whose bicycle is stolen, prompting him to feverishly search for it lest he lose his job that requires a bicycle.

The Bicycle Thieves is famous for starring untrained actors who essentially really lived the events of the story, which was more or less taking place in reality as the movie was being filmed. This raw authenticity shines through in their performances, embodying a kind of visceral human sympathy that’s hard to replicate by technique alone.

14

Rashomon

Helped Globalize Japanese Cinema

Akira Kurosawa is one of the most visionary filmmakers to ever live, popularizing both samurai movies and Japanese cinema as a whole on the global stage. One of his most important contributions to the medium is easily Rashomon, which sees several people describe the murder of a samurai from their own perspective.

The branching narratives of Rashomon aren’t just a gripping story that comments on the duplicitous and self-serving nature of subjectivity, but an innovative narrative technique that audiences hadn’t really seen before. Without Rashomon, plenty of other films might never have had the inspiration to shatter their character’s reliability of narration.

13

Singin’ In The Rain

Acknowledges The Pain Of Progress

Despite easily being written off as just another idealistic feather in the cap of Hollywood’s Golden Age, Singin’ in the Rain bears much more cinematic significance than most people realize. The musical stars Gene Kelly as a silent film star who navigates the transition to talkies while his co-star struggles.

Singin’ in the Rain is fascinating as both a critique and a celebration of Hollywood’s abrupt march towards progress, with many elements and stars of the silent film era being left in the dust while others thrive. Even if the тιтular lighthearted song has been ruined by A Clockwork Orange, Singin’ in the Rain is still an important classic.

12

Seven Samurai

Set The Standard For Ensemble Action

It says a lot that not one, but two of Akira Kurosawa’s films are some of the most important movies ever made. Seven Samurai is a simple, but lengthy tale of a group of seven warriors of feudal Japan who are called upon a village to defend them from bandits despite being hopelessly outnumbered.

Seven Samurai is a movie that’s truly the first of its kind, inspiring the ensemble action film for generations to come. Diverse movies fromThe Magnificent Seven to even Disney Pixar’s A Bug’s Life all owe their livelihoods to Kurosawa’s original team-up, proving the enduring appeal of an eclectic group of heroes forced to work together.

11

Vertigo

Arguably Hitchcock’s Magnum Opus

Another director worthy of two films breaking into the 20 most important movies ever made is Alfred Hitchcock, the original master of suspense and terror. In some circles, Vertigo has retroactively replaced Citizen Kane as the de-factor “greatest film ever”, and it’s easy to see why.

The thriller that posits an ex-cop with a crippling fear of heights being hired to keep his friend’s wife from committing suicide unfolds into a delicately layered story that has inspired waves of dramas for years to come. That’s not even to mention the daring, experimental imagery and editing techniques unheard of for a straightforward drama at the time.