Top 10 Best of the Best in Movies

This isn’t just another run-of-the-mill movie list; it’s unique. I’ve carefully curated this list by evaluating different facets of filmmaking and identifying the absolute finest in each category. From the greatest actor to the most exceptional actress in history, my selections are bound to spark debate. Feel free to share your thoughts and let me know if you agree or disagree.

10. Best Actor

Winner: Marlon Brando Notable Movies: A Streetcar Named Desire

Marlon Brando is universally regarded as the most exceptional actor in cinematic history, with only Laurence Olivier, known for his theatrical prowess, coming close in terms of acclaim. No performer has had a more profound impact on future generations of actors than Brando. Over five decades after his groundbreaking role as Stanley Kowalski in Tennessee Williams’ A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) and more than 25 years after his unforgettable portrayal of Col. Kurtz in Francis Ford Coppola’s Apocalypse Now (1979), Brando remains the benchmark against which all American actors are judged. He overshadowed other legendary actors of the 1950s, such as Paul Muni and Fredric March. Only Spencer Tracy’s legacy has managed to retain its brilliance alongside Brando’s. Yet, neither Tracy nor Olivier revolutionized acting through sheer personal influence. Brando achieved that.

9. Best Actress

Winner: Renée Jeanne Falconetti (often credited as Maria Falconetti) Notable Movies: The Passion of Saint Joan of Arc

Falconetti, a renowned stage actress for decades, is most celebrated for her role in The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928). Many film historians regard her performance as the most extraordinary ever captured on screen. Born in Sermano, Corsica, Falconetti began her acting career in Paris in 1918. By the time director Carl Dreyer discovered her in amateur theater and cast her as the lead in his upcoming production, La Passion de Jeanne d’Arc, she was already a distinguished stage performer and had starred in one film, La Comtesse de Somerive (1917), directed by Georges Denola and Jean Kemm. Her depiction of Joan of Arc in La Passion is hailed as one of the most remarkable performances in film history and marked her final appearance in cinema. You can view this masterpiece in its entirety on the Top 10 Brilliant Complete Movies Online.

8. Best Cinematographer

Winner: Conrad Hall Notable Movies: The Road to Perdition, American Beauty, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Runners Up: Gregg Toland, James Wong Howe

Conrad Hall, born in Tahiti as the son of James Norman Hall, the author of “Mutiny on the Bounty,” pursued filmmaking studies at USC. Alongside two classmates, he established a production company and successfully sold a project to a local TV station. The company expanded into creating industrial films and TV commercials, and they were later commissioned to film location shots for several feature films, including Disney’s The Living Desert (1953). In the early 1960s, Hall began as a camera assistant on various films and gradually advanced to the role of camera operator. He earned his first cinematographer credit in 1965. Hall gained recognition for his intricate and visually stunning compositions, particularly in In Cold Blood (1967), and won an Academy Award for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969). He later secured two more Oscars for American Beauty (1999) and Road to Perdition (2002).

7. Best Director

Winner: Orson Welles Notable Movies: Citizen Kane

Runners Up: Stanley Kubrick, Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini

Orson Welles displayed prodigious talent in various arts, including magic, piano, and painting, from a young age. After losing his mother at nine, he traveled the world with his father. When his father passed away when he was fifteen, he became the ward of Dr. Maurice Bernstein in Chicago. Thanks to recommendations from Thornton Wilder and Alexander Woollcott, he joined Katherine Cornell’s theater troupe, making his New York debut as Tybalt in 1934. That same year, he married, directed his first short film, and made his radio debut. His first publicly released film, Citizen Kane (1941), was a commercial failure, costing RKO $150,000, but is often hailed as the greatest film ever made. Many of his subsequent films also failed commercially, leading him to move to Europe in 1948. In 1956, he directed Touch of Evil (1958), which flopped in the U.S. but won an award at the 1958 Brussels World’s Fair. Despite his box-office struggles, he received the American Film Institute’s Lifetime Achievement Award in 1975 and the D.W. Griffith Award from the Directors Guild of America in 1984. His legacy as a filmmaker has only grown over time.

6. Best Production Designer

Winner: Cedric Gibbons Notable Movies: The Wizard of Oz, Pride and Prejudice, An American in Paris

Runners Up: John Box, Ken Adam

After completing his studies at New York’s Art Students League, he initially worked under his architect father before entering the film industry at Edison Studios in 1915 as an assistant to Hugo Ballin. By 1918, he transitioned to Goldwyn as an art director and, in 1924, began a remarkable 32-year tenure as supervising art director for approximately 1,500 MGM films, directly overseeing more than 150 of them. He designed the iconic Oscar statuette and won the award 11 times out of 37 nominations. His innovative designs influenced American interior aesthetics, and many consider him the most influential art director in the history of American cinema.

5. Best Special Effects

Winner: Douglas Trumbull Notable Movies: 2001, A Space Odyssey, Blade Runner, Close Encounters of the Third Kind

Douglas Trumbull, a legendary filmmaker and visual effects innovator, served as one of the Special Photographic Effects Supervisors for 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968). He later became the Visual Effects Supervisor for iconic films like Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Star Trek: The Motion Picture (1979), and Blade Runner (1982), earning Academy Award nominations for Best Visual Effects for each. He has received an Academy Award for Scientific and Technical Achievement, along with the International Monitor Award and the American Society of Cinematographers’ Lifetime Achievement Award for his groundbreaking contributions to filmmaking. Many of the cinematic projects Trumbull has worked on have become timeless classics, attracting growing audiences over the years. Brainstorm foreshadowed the rise of virtual reality, while Silent Running mirrored the early 1970s environmental movement and is now celebrated as a sci-fi masterpiece.

4. Best Sound Designer

Winner: Walter Murch Notable Movies: Apocalypse Now, The Godfather, The English Patient

Walter Murch began his sound editing career in Hollywood with Francis Ford Coppola’s “The Rain People” (1969). He worked on “American Graffiti” (1973) and “The Godfather Part II” (1974), earning his first Academy Award nomination for “The Conversation” (1974). He won his first Oscar for “Apocalypse Now” (1979) and achieved a historic double win for sound and film editing with “The English Patient” (1996). Recently, he reconstructed “Touch of Evil” based on Orson Welles’ original notes and edited “The Talented Mr. Ripley.” Murch directed “Return to Oz” (1985) and aspires to direct again, but as an editor and sound designer, he is widely regarded as a master in his field. He coined the term “Sound Designer” during his work on “Apocalypse Now” and, alongside peers like Ben Burtt, revolutionized the art and impact of film sound.

3. Best Costume Designer

Winner: Edith Head Notable Movies: Roman Holiday, Samson and Delilah, The Sting

Runners Up: Milena Canonero, Colleen Atwood

Edith Head holds the record for the most Oscar nominations (35) and wins (8) in the costume design category, making her the most celebrated costume designer and the most honored woman in Academy Award history. Her contributions to costume design were commemorated on a 37¢ U.S. postage stamp issued on February 25, 2003, as part of a series celebrating American Filmmaking: Behind the Scenes. Head crafted iconic Hollywood fashion looks worn by the era’s most famous actresses, seen by millions worldwide. Her influence extended beyond film, shaping global fashion trends, particularly in the 1950s, when she appeared on Art Linkletter’s TV show and authored fashion books. While she was known for occasionally taking credit for others’ work, this was not uncommon for department heads during the studio era.

Sources: IMDB, Wikipedia

2. Best Screenwriter

Winner: Billy Wilder Notable Movies: Sunset Boulevard, The Lost Weekend, The Apartment

Runners up: Woody Allen

Billy Wilder began his film career as a screenwriter in 1929, crafting scripts for numerous German films until Adolf Hitler’s rise to power in 1933. Recognizing the danger posed by his Jewish heritage, Wilder fled to Paris and later to the United States. Despite arriving in Hollywood without knowing English, he quickly adapted and, with the help of contacts like Peter Lorre (with whom he shared a home), he successfully entered the American film industry. His collaboration with Charles Brackett began in 1938, and together they penned some of Hollywood’s most iconic comedies, including Ninotchka (1939) and Ball of Fire (1941). Wilder is celebrated as one of the most talented and versatile filmmakers of Hollywood’s golden era, with many of his films earning both critical acclaim and popular success. He won 7 Academy Awards and received 15 nominations.

1. Best Editor

Winner: William Hornbeck Notable Movies: A Place in the Sun, It’s a Wonderful Life, Shane

Frank Capra hailed William Hornbeck as “the greatest film editor in the history of motion pictures,” and in a 1977 poll, 100 of his peers named him the best editor in the industry—high praise for a man largely unknown to the general public. Following his passing, the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences honored him with a tribute, stating, “If William Hornbeck had pursued any other profession, the world would have recognized him as the Hollywood legend his colleagues always knew him to be.” Though his name is unfamiliar to most moviegoers and rarely mentioned in film literature, Hornbeck was undeniably a trailblazer in film editing. His career was marked by its lasting influence and adaptability. Hornbeck’s approach to editing was versatile and devoid of rigid rules, as he believed, “If editing had rules, it could be taught from a book, and anyone could become an editor.” His technique was straightforward: it served the story and the director’s vision with precision, craftsmanship, and a humanistic touch. Films like Shane and A Place in the Sun, both edited for George Stevens, exemplify his exceptional skill.