I Asked ChatGPT and Gemini to Rank the 10 Greatest Movies—Here's My Take

What are the 10 greatest movies of all time? For a movie lover like myself, it's an impossible question. Could I name 10 movies that I believe to be great? Absolutely. The only problem is that I will regret my answers within five minutes of posting this article. I'll forget about an all-time movie that deserves to be on this list and get mad at myself for not putting it on. I feel the same anxiety when ordering at a restaurant — as soon as the waiter walks away, I want to change my selection.

A top 10 list of the greatest movies of all time is subjective, but I do have an understanding of what would be in contention for a spot on the list. Instead of coming up with the list myself, I've decided to ask ChatGPT and Gemini for help. Let's see what these programs can come up with, and then I can critique the list and make some changes to the top 10. That way, I can pretend I'm smarter than AI and walk away a hero. Sounds like a plan.

I gave ChatGPT and Gemini the same prompt
With a minor adjustment after some trial and error

When I first asked ChatGPT and Gemini to rank the greatest movies of all time, I kept things very simple to start. Think of it as a test drive. My prompt for each AI service: "Please list and rank the 10 greatest movies of all time." Before listing the rankings, ChatGPT and Gemini both told me that these lists are subjective, which is a fair point.

To determine its ranking, ChatGPT incorporated "artistic achievement, cultural impact, innovation, influence on filmmaking, performances, and long-term legacy." The list:

10 greatest movies of all time, according to ChatGPT
Citizen Kane
The Godfather
2001: A Space Odyssey
Casablanca
Seven Samurai
The Shawshank Redemption
Schindler's List
The Empire Strikes Back
Vertigo
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

On the other hand, Gemini took three prominent institutions — the Sight & Sound critics' poll, the American Film Institute (AFI), and IMDb — and determined the rankings based on the consensus of these lists.

10 greatest movies of all time, according to Gemini
Citizen Kane
The Godfather
Vertigo
2001: A Space Odyssey
Seven Samurai
Singin' in the Rain
Tokyo Story
Casablanca
Schindler's List
The Searchers

Upon first glance, the lists are solid. I expected to see some of the unassailable classics on both lists, including Citizen Kane, The Godfather, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and Casablanca. My problem with the data is how ChatGPT and Gemini generated the 10 movies. ChatGPT used qualifiers like cultural impact and influence on filmmaking to determine its list. Meanwhile, Gemini prioritized well-known lists to generate its top 10.

I didn't want ChatGPT and Gemini to use different criteria to create the top 10, so I created a new prompt: "Please list and rank the 10 greatest movies of all time. When determining the list, please take the following criteria into consideration: critical acclaim, box office totals, awards success, and fan reception."

Is it a perfect way to determine the greatness of movies? Probably not, but at least ChatGPT and Gemini would be using the same elements to craft a conclusion. That I can live with regardless of the answer.

ChatGPT's revised list
The Godfather stands tall

We have the new greatest movie of all time. Using the new criteria, ChatGPT selected The Godfather as the top movie on the list. Spoiler alert — I agree with ChatGPT. As much as Citizen Kane has an argument for the No. 1 movie of all time, Francis Ford Coppola's gangster epic is the perfect combination of critical acclaim and commercial success. It also has the accolades to back it up, including the Oscars for Best Picture, Best Actor (Marlon Brando), and Best Adapted Screenplay (Mario Puzo and Coppola).

As a Middle-earth fan, I was pleasantly surprised to see The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King as the second movie on the list. Peter Jackson's sensational conclusion to the LOTR trilogy is a billion-dollar movie that won 11 Oscars, tied with Ben-Hur and Titanic for the most in Academy Awards history. Honestly, I prefer The Two Towers, so having The Return of the King in the second spot is a stretch, but I'm not mad at it.

Compared to the first ChatGPT list, this second one features more crowd-pleasing blockbusters and box-office juggernauts, including Titanic, The Dark Knight, and Parasite. It leans a little too heavily into box office receipts, but I appreciate that the list rewards popcorn entertainment, a genre rarely recognized at the Oscars.

Gemini's revised list
A swap at the top

Like ChatGPT, Gemini elected to put The Godfather in the top spot, too. This time, Citizen Kane slipped one spot to the No. 2 position. I think that's right. Citizen Kane is probably the movie you'll find the most in the top three of any list, so having it at two feels correct.

This time around, Gemini also took financial profitability and pop culture impact into consideration with entries like The Dark Knight and Star Wars: A New Hope. Schindler's List is an interesting entry on both lists. While I agree it's in the running for Steven Spielberg's greatest achievement, it doesn't even crack my top five for best Spielberg movies. I'd even argue Jurassic Park, a movie that came out roughly six months prior to Schindler’s List, has had more of a cultural impact.

Another movie that I'm surprised to see on the list is Parasite, Bong Joon Ho's Oscar-winning masterpiece about a poor family who infiltrate the lives of their wealthy employers. I have no issue with Parasite being mentioned with great films — I believe it's one of the 10 best movies of the last 10 years. However, it's only been seven years since Parasite premiered at Cannes. That's not enough time to crack a list featuring cinema's 10 greatest movies. Give it some more time.

Top 10 greatest movies of all time, according to my rankings
Here's what I would change

The Godfather should be the No. 1 movie on the list. However, I prefer the sequel, The Godfather Part II, over its predecessor. I cannot leave The Godfather off this list because without it, there is no second Godfather movie. I'm also trying to represent the history of cinema in 10 movies. As much as I want to put the sequel, I can't have two Godfather movies on the list, so The Godfather stays in the top spot.

The Shawshank Redemption and Citizen Kane will stay in the top three. Then, I'm going to review the most influential movie in certain genres. For example, Casablanca gets a spot for greatest romance, and 2001: A Space Odyssey earns a nod for the sci-fi genre. Again, I prefer other romance and sci-fi movies, but I can acknowledge that those two are the most important.

I do want to include some blockbusters, so The Empire Strikes Back and The Dark Knight make the cut. You might apply my sequel argument that I made on behalf of The Godfather against me. However, I'd argue that the gap between A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back is wider than the one between The Godfather and The Godfather Part II. The same can be said for Batman Begins and The Dark Knight. I'm already anxious thinking about the movies I'm going to leave off the list, so let's get on with it.

10 greatest movies of all time, according to my rankings
The Godfather
The Shawshank Redemption
Citizen Kane
Seven Samurai
Casablanca
2001: A Space Odyssey
The Dark Knight
The Empire Strikes Back
The Wizard of Oz
Jaws

More movie recommendations
If you're reading this post, then you probably love to stream movies in your spare time. Well, you've come to the right place to read recommendations. If you have HBO Max, check out a forgotten action movie, like Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga. Elsewhere, try one of the new movies on streaming, including The Crash on Netflix.