The top ranked adventure films from our internet survey, with 38 of making the top 1000. These obviously cross multiple genres, so we listed an alternate genre for each. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy definitely should be here, even though it's primary genre is fantasy and they'll be on that list as well. They are also war films, but I didn't list them there as they don't fit the mold of the typical war film, these wars never occurred, at least in mankind's memory. © 2009, William L. Sinclair
1. Seven Samurai, The [Kurosawa, Akira, 1954, Japan] #7 -Drama/War
2. Raiders of the Lost Ark [Spielberg, Steven, 1981, US] #34 -Fantasy
3. Jaws [Spielberg, Steven, 1975, US] #66 - Horror
4. Aguirre: The Wrath of God [Herzog, Werner, 1972, Germany] #72 -Drama
5. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The [Jackson, Peter, 2001, US-New Zealand] #84 -Fantasy/War
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The [Jackson, Peter, 2003,US-New Zealand] #97 -Fantasy/War
7. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The [Jackson, Peter, 2002,US-New Zealand] #144 -Fantasy/War
8. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Lee, Ang, 2000, China-Taiwan-US] #152 - Romance
9. African Queen, The [Huston, John, 1951, US] #161 - Romance
10. Adventures of Robin Hood, The [Curtiz, Michael/William Keighley, 1938, US] #171 - Romance
11. Spirited Away [Miyazaki, Hayao, 2001, Japan] #259 - Fantasy
12. Bourne Ultimatum, The [Greengrass, Paul, 2007, US] #370 - Crime
13. Gladiator [Scott, Ridley, 2000, US] #395 - Drama
14. Thief of Bagdad, The [Powell, Michael, Berger, & Whelan, 1940, UK] #434 - Fantasy
15. Tabu [Murnau, F.W., 1931, US] #450 - Romance
16. Batman Begins [Nolan, Christopher, 2005, Algeria-Italy] #517 - Fantasy
17. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade [Spielberg, Steven, 1989, US] #519 - Fantasy
18. Mononoke-hime (anime)[Miyazaki, Hayao, 1997, UK] #554 - Fantasy
19. Superman II [Lester, Richard, 1980, US] #556 - Fantasy
20. Fitzcarraldo [Herzog, Werner, 1982, West Germany] #565 - Romance [photo top]
21. Bambi [Hand, David, 1942, US] #575 - Childrens
22. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 [Tarantino, Quentin, 2003, US] #579 - Crime
23. Mad Max 2 [Miller, George, 1981, Australia] #590 - SciFi
24. Touch of Zen, A [Hu, King, 1969, Taiwan] #661 - Crime
25. Dumbo [Sharpsteen, Ben, 1941, US] #692 - Childrens
26. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou, 2004, China] #711 - History
27. Tiger of Eschnapur, The [Lang, Fritz, 1959, Germany] #742 - Romance
28. Superman: The Movie [Donner, Richard, 1978, US] #748 - SciFi
29. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 [Tarantino, Quentin, 2004, US] #765 - Crime
30. Man Who Would Be King, The [Huston, John, 1975, US] #796 - Romance
31. Moonfleet [Lang, Fritz, 1955, US] #846 - Drama
32. Hatari! [Hawks, Howard, 1962, US] #857 - Romance
33. Arabian Nights [Pasolini, Pier Paolo, 1974,France-Italy] #866Fantasy
34. Indian Tomb, The [Lang, Fritz, 1959, France-Italy-West Germany] #879 - Romance
35. Goldfinger [Hamilton, Guy, 1964, UK] #904 - Crime
36. Orlando [Potter, Sally, 1992, UK-Russia-Fr-It-Neth] #910 - Romance
37. Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The [Butler, George, 2000, Sw-UK-Gy-US] #971 - Docudrama
38. Shanghai Express [von Sternberg, Josef, 1932, US] #998 - Romance
39. Mutiny on the Bounty [Lloyd, Frank, 1935, US] #1116 - Drama
40. Ben-Hur [Niblo, Fred, 1925, US] #1152 - Drama
41. Excalibur [Boorman, John, 1981, UK] #1159 - Fantasy
42. The Thief of Bagdad [Walsh, Raoul, 1924, US] #1173 - Fantasy
43. Last of the Mohicans, The [Mann, Michael, 1992, US] #1204 - Romance
44. David Copperfield [Cukor, George, 1935, US] #1216 - Drama
45. Lost Horizon[Capra, Frank, 1937, US] #1232 - Fantasy
46. Sheltering Sky, The[Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1990, UK-Italy] #1265 - Drama
To These I Would Add
Never Cry Wolf [Ballard, Carol, 1983] - the true story of a biologist sharing a season with wolves in the Yukon
White Fang [Kleiser, Randall, 1991] - the Jack London classic of a wolf with several human masters
Himalaya [Valli, Eric, 1999 ] - a documentary style story of remote villagers in the Himalayans who make an annual 3 month trek for supplies over treacherous trails with a yak train
Into the Wild [Penn, Sean, 2006] - based on a true story of a youth who went into the Alaskan wilderness rather than graduate school
Hero [Yimou, Zhang, 2002, China] - terrific Chinese action film about assassins after the King of Q'in, with great effects and a twisty plot, their top grossing film of all time
Mongol [Russia, 2006] - first of a proposed epic trilogy about the amazing life of Genghis Khan
1. Seven Samurai, The [Kurosawa, Akira, 1954, Japan] #7 -Drama/War2. Raiders of the Lost Ark [Spielberg, Steven, 1981, US] #34 -Fantasy
3. Jaws [Spielberg, Steven, 1975, US] #66 - Horror
4. Aguirre: The Wrath of God [Herzog, Werner, 1972, Germany] #72 -Drama
5. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, The [Jackson, Peter, 2001, US-New Zealand] #84 -Fantasy/War
6. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King, The [Jackson, Peter, 2003,US-New Zealand] #97 -Fantasy/War
7. Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers, The [Jackson, Peter, 2002,US-New Zealand] #144 -Fantasy/War
8. Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon [Lee, Ang, 2000, China-Taiwan-US] #152 - Romance
9. African Queen, The [Huston, John, 1951, US] #161 - Romance
10. Adventures of Robin Hood, The [Curtiz, Michael/William Keighley, 1938, US] #171 - Romance
11. Spirited Away [Miyazaki, Hayao, 2001, Japan] #259 - Fantasy
12. Bourne Ultimatum, The [Greengrass, Paul, 2007, US] #370 - Crime
13. Gladiator [Scott, Ridley, 2000, US] #395 - Drama
14. Thief of Bagdad, The [Powell, Michael, Berger, & Whelan, 1940, UK] #434 - Fantasy
15. Tabu [Murnau, F.W., 1931, US] #450 - Romance
16. Batman Begins [Nolan, Christopher, 2005, Algeria-Italy] #517 - Fantasy
17. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade [Spielberg, Steven, 1989, US] #519 - Fantasy
18. Mononoke-hime (anime)[Miyazaki, Hayao, 1997, UK] #554 - Fantasy
19. Superman II [Lester, Richard, 1980, US] #556 - Fantasy
20. Fitzcarraldo [Herzog, Werner, 1982, West Germany] #565 - Romance [photo top]
21. Bambi [Hand, David, 1942, US] #575 - Childrens
22. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 [Tarantino, Quentin, 2003, US] #579 - Crime
23. Mad Max 2 [Miller, George, 1981, Australia] #590 - SciFi
24. Touch of Zen, A [Hu, King, 1969, Taiwan] #661 - Crime
25. Dumbo [Sharpsteen, Ben, 1941, US] #692 - Childrens
26. House of Flying Daggers [Zhang Yimou, 2004, China] #711 - History
27. Tiger of Eschnapur, The [Lang, Fritz, 1959, Germany] #742 - Romance
28. Superman: The Movie [Donner, Richard, 1978, US] #748 - SciFi
29. Kill Bill: Vol. 2 [Tarantino, Quentin, 2004, US] #765 - Crime
30. Man Who Would Be King, The [Huston, John, 1975, US] #796 - Romance
31. Moonfleet [Lang, Fritz, 1955, US] #846 - Drama
32. Hatari! [Hawks, Howard, 1962, US] #857 - Romance
33. Arabian Nights [Pasolini, Pier Paolo, 1974,France-Italy] #866Fantasy
34. Indian Tomb, The [Lang, Fritz, 1959, France-Italy-West Germany] #879 - Romance
35. Goldfinger [Hamilton, Guy, 1964, UK] #904 - Crime
36. Orlando [Potter, Sally, 1992, UK-Russia-Fr-It-Neth] #910 - Romance
37. Endurance: Shackleton's Legendary Antarctic Expedition, The [Butler, George, 2000, Sw-UK-Gy-US] #971 - Docudrama
38. Shanghai Express [von Sternberg, Josef, 1932, US] #998 - Romance
39. Mutiny on the Bounty [Lloyd, Frank, 1935, US] #1116 - Drama
40. Ben-Hur [Niblo, Fred, 1925, US] #1152 - Drama
41. Excalibur [Boorman, John, 1981, UK] #1159 - Fantasy
42. The Thief of Bagdad [Walsh, Raoul, 1924, US] #1173 - Fantasy
43. Last of the Mohicans, The [Mann, Michael, 1992, US] #1204 - Romance
44. David Copperfield [Cukor, George, 1935, US] #1216 - Drama
45. Lost Horizon[Capra, Frank, 1937, US] #1232 - Fantasy
46. Sheltering Sky, The[Bertolucci, Bernardo, 1990, UK-Italy] #1265 - Drama
To These I Would Add
Never Cry Wolf [Ballard, Carol, 1983] - the true story of a biologist sharing a season with wolves in the Yukon
White Fang [Kleiser, Randall, 1991] - the Jack London classic of a wolf with several human masters
Himalaya [Valli, Eric, 1999 ] - a documentary style story of remote villagers in the Himalayans who make an annual 3 month trek for supplies over treacherous trails with a yak train
Into the Wild [Penn, Sean, 2006] - based on a true story of a youth who went into the Alaskan wilderness rather than graduate school
Hero [Yimou, Zhang, 2002, China] - terrific Chinese action film about assassins after the King of Q'in, with great effects and a twisty plot, their top grossing film of all time
Mongol [Russia, 2006] - first of a proposed epic trilogy about the amazing life of Genghis Khan
