The Best 100 Films To See Before You Die
The Best 100 Films Before You Die [Updated for 2026]
If you love cinema, this one is for you!
My friend Katie (Lifewithktkinnes) tagged me in her list of The Best 100 Films Before You Die and I had to know how many I’ve watched.
Challenge accepted!
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I grabbed the list, made a brew, and started counting.
What followed truly surprised me. I did better than I ever expected, and it reminded me why storytelling on screen matters so much.
Let’s just dive in, shall we?
100 Films Challenge
Section 1
This first section of the 100 films to see before you die list kicks off strong with absolute classics.
1. The Shawshank Redemption
2. Goodfellas
3. Forrest Gump
4. Raiders of the Lost Ark
5. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade
6. Saving Private Ryan
7. Back to the Future
8. Back to the Future Part II
9. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
10. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers
Current Total: 10 out of 10
100 Films to See in Your Lifetime: Section 2
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
12. Casino
13. The Godfather
14. The Matrix
15. Pulp Fiction
16. The Sixth Sense
17. Rain Man
18. Equilibrium
19. The Silence of the Lambs
20. The King’s Speech
New Total: 20 out of 20
So far, I’ve seen every single one. Not bad at all, eh?
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100 Films: Section 3
This section delivers intensity and emotional depth.
21. Fight Club
22. Gladiator
23. A Beautiful Mind
24. City of God
25. Interview with the Vampire: The Vampire Chronicles
26. Die Hard
27. The Green Mile
28. The Last Samurai
29. Cast Away
30. Schindler’s List
Current Total: 30 out of 30!
100 Films to See in Your Life: Section 4
31. Leon
32. K-PAX
33. Jurassic Park
34. The Da Vinci Code
35. Mystic River
36. Good Will Hunting
37. Falling Down
38. Apollo 13
39. Groundhog Day
40. Braveheart
Current Total: 39 out of 40
Well, it’s happened! There’s a movie I’ve not seen. And here in 2026, I still haven’t watched K PAX.
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100 Films Movie Bucket List: Section 5
41. Ghostbusters
42. Alien
43. The Terminator
44. The Pianist
45. Spy Game
46. Das Boot
47. Enemy at the Gates
48. Pearl Harbor
49. The Birds
50. Once Upon a Time in America
Current Total: 48 out of 50
I’ve still not watched Das Boot yet. I remember people discussing it at college years ago though.
100 Films to See in Your Life: Section 6
51. First Blood
52. Rocky
53. American History X
54. The Name of the Rose
55. Dirty Dancing
56. Catch Me If You Can
57. The Others
58. Dead Poets Society
59. Mission: Impossible
60. Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas
Current Total: 57 out of 60
In this section I’ve not watched The Name of the Rose, and I’ve never heard of it either. That probably needs to change.
100 Films Challenge: Section 7
61. Meet Joe Black
62. Rosemary’s Baby
63. The Postman
64. Dangerous Minds
65. The Blair Witch Project
66. A Perfect World
67. Speed
68. Seven Years in Tibet
69. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
70. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
New Total: 65 out of 70
In this section I still need to watch The Postman and Seven Years in Tibet.
I did try to watch The Postman after this post originally went live, but unfortunately only got about 15 minutes in before chaos in the house erupted, and I’ve never seen the rest.
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100 Films to See in Your Life: Section 8
71. The Ninth Gate
72. Empire of the Sun
73. Into the Wild
74. The Reader
75. The Butterfly Effect
76. Bridget Jones’s Diary
77. The Mummy
78. Philadelphia
79. Stardust
80. City of Angels
Current Total: 75 out of 80
Wooo! Happy to say I have seen every movie in this section.
100 Films Movie Bucket List: Section 9
81. Armageddon
82. The Number 23
83. The Bank Job
84. Ocean’s Eleven
85. Ocean’s Twelve
86. The Fugitive
87. Vanilla Sky
88. Dances with Wolves
89. Eyes Wide Shut
90. Life of Pi
Current Total: 84 out of 90
Vanilla Sky still sits on my to watch list unfortunately.
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100 Movies You Need to See: Final Section
91. The Jacket
92. The Boondock Saints
93. Underworld
94. 28 Days Later
95. The Ghost and the Darkness
96. Final Destination
97. Tango & Cash
98. The Beach
99. The Fast and the Furious
100. The Chronicles of Riddick
Current Total: 93 out of 100
And I still need to watch The Boondock Saints. I will fix that soon… maybe.
Final Thoughts
And there you have it, the 100 movies to see before you die.
I have to admit, ticking off 93 out of 100 movies feels like a proper achievement.
I plan to rewatch a few favourites soon after diving into this list again. The Butterfly Effect is already calling my name.
Now it is your turn.
How many of these 100 films to see before you die have you ticked off?
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I have watched majority of these films. I feel like I will definitely binge watch the other movies left during this lockdown lol! Thank you for this list ❤️
this is wonderful! thanks for sharing
Oh god I haven't seen that many at all! I do need to make more time to watch films! x
Lucy
Ohh! I did well! The only one's I've not seen are K-PAX, Das Boot, The Name of the Rose and The Boondock Saints. To be honest I've not even heard of them!
Dead Poets Society and Forrest Gump are classics for me. Great list friend. Happy Sunday.
Wow 93 is really impressive. I don't think I've seen half of these movies.
Bettie
I've seen 79, though I admit there was a few where i was in doubt. might have seen them but only know their danish titles (older movies often got their names changed when released in denmark for some reason) so I didn't count them 😛
I'm ashamed to say that I've only seen two of these films! 🙈