I recently completed adding 2-3 genres for each film in the Top Ranked list we compiled, so as a prelude to those upcoming posts, here's the top ranked film for each major genre. Many films are hard to categorize, like the Wizard of Oz, which is a children's musical comedy fantasy film, or Star Wars, a science fiction war fantasy with humor, so I had to judge which was most prevalent in the film. And what is "epic", a reference to size and scale, or a genre itself?
© 2009, William L. Sinclair
Top-Ranked Films in Each Genre (25 categories)
Drama (and Crime): The Godfather (1972, #1)
Science Fiction: 2001 - A Space Odyssey (1968, #2)
Children's/Family: Star Wars (1978, #4)
Mystery: Vertigo (1958, #6)
Foreign Language: The Seven Samurai (1954, #7) Japan
Horror: Psycho (1960, #8)
Fantasy: It's a Wonderful Life (1946, #10)
Silent: Metropolis (1927, #23)
Comedy: Dr. Strangelove (1964, #17)
Musical: The Wizard of Oz (1938, #18)
Docudrama: Raging Bull (1980, #24)
War Drama: Apocalypse Now (1979, #25)
Musical/Comedy: Singin in the Rain (1952, #26)
Drama/Romance: All About Eve (1950, #33)
Adventure: Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, #34)
Monster: King Kong (1933, #40)
Western: The Searchers (1956, #46)
Comedy/Romance: L'Atalante (1932, #49)
History: Lawrence of Arabia (1962, #50)
Religion: The Passion of Joan d'Arc (1928, #51), The Gospel According to St. Matthew (1964, #103)
Animated: Toy Story (1982, #82), WALL-E (2008, #182)
Documentary: Man With the Movie Camera (1929, #78)
Documentary Music: Don't Look Back (1967, #545)
Music Concert: Stop Making Sense (1984, #734)
Art/Experimental: La Jetee (1961, #185)-not only a short film, but a montage of still images, it's not a 'motion picture'
