The film industry: A magical workplace where dreams come true. So much has been written about it, so many wish to take part in it, and those who succeed, enter our lives and delineate the culture we absorb. The truly great films are those that manage to provoke emotions and add value and further insight.
There are different rankings for over a century of filmmaking, and, of course, when it comes to culture, there are some criteria that all critics agree on. However, sometimes it’s a matter of a subjective point of view. For example, most film critics would agree that from an artistic angle Citizen Kane (1941) is the greatest film ever made. Yet, The Shawshank Redemption (1994) has been at the top of the IMDB chart - sorted by website user votes - for many years now.
Most of the important and influential films are also quite profitable. Box office gross charts place director James Cameron at the top, with Avatar (2009) and Titanic (1997) leading the list. This is, of course, correlated with today’s movie tickets cost, adjust for inflation charts tale a slightly different tale.
According to Guinness World Records, the highest box office film gross adjusted for inflation is Gone with the Wind (1939) with an approximated record of almost $3.5 Billion. The civil war love story, based on Margaret Mitchell’s novel is one of the most memorable films in history, not only for timeless catch phrases such as “Frankly, my dear, I don’t give a damn,” and “Tomorrow is another day,” but also for all of the drama it provided behind the scenes of the mega-production.
The runner up is Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977), the first of George Lucas’ successful science fiction franchise. Third comes the touching story of the Von Trapp family who escaped the Nazis while singing with the lovely Maria in The Sound of Music (1965). Next is E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982), the film that made us believe in friendly aliens that only want a chance to “phone home.”
Last, but defiantly not least, is Titanic, The film that broke numerous teenage hearts while establishing Leonardo DiCaprio’s status as a successful leading man and an eternal heartthrob.
