Few films are given the prized 100% Rotten Tomatoes score, which is only given to the greatest and most renowned motion pictures (or at least those with a sufficient number of reviews). The unusual occurrence is the ultimate victory for filmmakers and entertainment firms because only the best of the best can win the coveted rating.
Since its founding in 1998, the well-known review aggregation website Rotten Tomatoes has grown to be a major forum for both critics and viewers to voice their opinions on recently released movies. The “Tomatometer Rankings” are based on the custom of audiences tossing rotten tomatoes when they don’t like a subpar stage performance; the higher the percentage, the more “fresh” and, supposedly, better in the realm of show business, a movie is.
It’s not simple to achieve a certified fresh and perfect Rotten Tomatoes score, which makes it all the more exciting when a movie manages to do so. In fact, Marcel the Shell with Shoes recently made its debut on Rotten Tomatoes with a flawless score. The decisions can occasionally be unexpected and seem a little random.
Even so, the majority of the most lauded and famous movies in history—covering a wide range of genres and topics—have won. The exclusive list includes the 1967 classic prison drama Cool Hand Luke, two of the greatest Disney films, and even an action epic from the 1980s starring Arnold Schwarzenegger. Let’s look at some of the top films that also received the coveted 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating.
12 Angry Men (1957)
Although it has been replicated for the stage and the movie, the original 1957 version, which Henry Fonda directed, is the best. In a murder trial when the 12 jurors must deliberate after the closing arguments, 12 Angry Men takes place. If found guilty, the accused, a young man from the inner city, will die. One juror (Fonda) seriously questions certain aspects of the case as the twelve men strive to come to a unanimous judgement while locked in a room.
The delicate process that will determine one boy’s fate is immediately threatened by conflict as personal issues come to the surface. The movie consistently receives a perfect score on Rotten Tomatoes and is towards the top of the American Film Institute’s AFI’s 10 Top 10 list for best courtroom dramas. It shouldn’t be missed, especially by true movie buffs who watch the classics.
Cool Hand Luke (1967)
Sweetheart of the silver screen The acclaimed prison drama Cool Hand Luke, which stars Paul Newman as the title character Luke, centres on Lucas “Luke” Jackson, a distinguished World War II veteran who is sentenced to two years on a chain gang in a prison camp for indiscretions related to alcohol but refuses to submit to the rules. In this gripping thriller, Luke repeatedly tries to break out of the Florida prison, succeeding in doing so several times while defying and confronting the guards at every turn.
Time Out praised the prison drama, calling it “a caustically witty look at the American South and its still-surviving chain gangs, with Newman in fine sardonic form as the boss-baiter who refuses to submit and becomes a hero to his fellow prisoners,” and praised Newman’s performance as helping to solidify his status as one of the era’s top actors.
Grave of the Fireflies (1988)
The 1988 animated war tragedy Grave of the Firelies, from Studio Ghibli, tells the devastating story of Seita and Setsuko Yokokawa, two close siblings who, after their mother is tragically slain in the bombing of Kobe during World War II, must struggle to survive the conflict’s last stages. The magnificent film, which is based on the same-named short story by Akiyuki Nosaka, provides a moving look at human pain and perseverance as the orphaned pair persevere under the most dire circumstances.
Isao Takahata, the director, was moved to convey the poignant story of the sister and brother by his own personal experiences as a child with air attacks during World War II. One of the greatest war movies ever made, Grave of the Fireflies is widely regarded as Takahata’s cinematic masterpiece. As ReelViews stated in their review, “Some movies are such singular achievements that they deserve to be seen at least once by everyone who considers himself or herself to be a lover of film. Grave of the Fireflies belongs to that exclusive group.
How the Grinch Stole Christmas! (1966)
The Dr. Seuss children’s book was adapted into the 1966 holiday favourite How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, which tells the story of how the Grinch set out to ruin Christmas for all the Whos in Whoville. The mean, green misanthropic character was voiced by horror legend Boris Karloff, who also acted as the narrator for the acclaimed made-for-TV movie special. A Charlie Brown Christmas, Frosty the Snowman, and Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer also made their debuts during this decade), the cartoon was praised for its beautiful artwork, fidelity to the original source, and Karloff’s outstanding performance.
The Grinch’s story of stealing Christmas! almost fifty years later, it is still a yearly Christmas tradition that draws devoted spectators. The beloved Seuss character was the subject of two further television specials thanks to the success of the animated classic, which came in first place on TV Guide’s list of the 10 Best Family Holiday Specials.
Pinocchio (1940)
Based on the Italian children’s book of the same name by Carlo Collodi, Walt Disney’s 1940 animated musical fantasy picture Pinocchio tells the endearing story of a woodcarver named Geppetto who crafts a wooden puppet named Pinocchio. A blue fairy transforms his puppet into a real boy and tells him that in order to become a genuine boy, he must demonstrate that he is “brave, sincere, and unselfish.” Pinocchio meets a variety of eccentric people on his quest to earn his value, including the pampered pet cat Figaro and a wise 100-year-old talking cricket.
Everything that moves in Pinocchio—aside from the characters—was created by animators and lead artist Joshua Meador, making it a ground-breaking success in the field of effects animation. Pinocchio is here at last, is every bit as fine as we had wished it would be — if not finer — and that it is as gay and witty and entertaining a fantasy as any well-behaved child or jaded oldster could expect to behold, The New York Times declared upon the film’s release.
Seven Samurai (1954)
The 1954 Japanese epic drama Seven Samurai, which centres on a desperate group of villagers who hire an experienced samurai to protect them from a violent gang of bandits who have taken over their community, is unquestionably one of the most important films of the 20th century. A violent and explosive clash between the opposing forces results from the aged but talented rinin Kambei (Takashi Shimuri) enlisting the aid of his daring samurai colleagues to help purge the criminals from the mountain community.
One of cinema’s most “remade, rewritten, and referenced” movies, Seven Samurai introduced a new wave of storytelling and style that swept Japan and the rest of the globe off their feet. It has been compared favourably to Western genre movies. According to a poll of worldwide reviewers held by the BBC in 2018, Seven Samurai is the best foreign-language movie of all time.
Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
The 1952 musical romantic comedy Singin’ in the Rain, which stars Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O’Connor and is widely regarded as the greatest classical Hollywood musical ever produced, tells the tale of three Hollywood stars in the late 1920s who struggle with the switch from silent films to “talkies.” The humorous movie features a number of upbeat songs, most notably the title song, which Kelly sang while twirling an umbrella and splashing through puddles while also suffering from a 103 degree fever.
The musical was notorious for some on-set conflict between the experienced dancer Kelly and the newcomer Reynolds; it is said that the actor insulted her for not having any dancing experience, which upset her to the point where she hid under a piano and sobbed before being discovered by the legendary Fred Astaire. Singin’ in the Rain is regarded as one of the best movies of its type despite production issues. It won over moviegoers.
The Kid (1921)
The Kid, a fantastic 1921 silent comedy starring Jackie Coogan and starring Charlie Chaplin, is a masterpiece that the iconic actor also directed, wrote, and produced. The Kid follows Charlie Chaplin’s enduring on-screen persona The Tramp as he takes care of an orphaned child. The film, which is regarded as one of the best works of the silent era, had an enormous amount of success and recognition, making Coogan, the six-year-old actor, the first significant child star in cinema. The Kid is “the perfect blend of comedy and pathos, it is undoubtedly Chaplin’s most intimate and autobiographical work,” claims Chaplin’s biographer Jeffrey Vance.
The Kid continues to be a revered comedy powerhouse with plenty of slapstick humour, heartfelt dramatic scenes, and outstanding performances by its talented stars. The Chaplin classic has remained a fixture in the entertainment business for more than a century, and in 2011 it was chosen to be conserved in the National Film Registry. According to the collection, it is “an exquisite mixing of heartfelt drama, social critique, and innovative humour.”
The Last Picture Show (1971)
The Last Picture Show, a 1971 coming-of-age drama directed by the late, great Peter Bogdanovich, is set in the small Texas town of Anarenein in 1951 and centres on two friends who are seniors in high school, Sonny Crawford and Duane Jackson. As they navigate this uncertain time in their lives, they learn difficult lessons about love, jealousy, and ultimately hope. When he was given the opportunity to direct his first movie, the excellent criminal thriller Targets, Bogdanovich, a stage actor and essayist, was still somewhat obscure.
He had discussed the subject with his notable house guest at the time, Orson Welles, who concurred that shooting the play in black and white would be an uncommon choice that would yet work aesthetically. Two Academy Awards were given to The Last Picture Show, which was also chosen by the Library of Congress in 1998 for inclusion in the U.S. National Film Registry.
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
stars of Hollywood The 1940 romantic comedy The Philadelphia Story stars Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, and James Stewart as socialite Tracy Lord, whose wedding plans are hampered by the simultaneous arrival of her ex-husband and a tabloid magazine writer. The film is regarded as one of cinema’s best illustrations of a comedy of remarriage, a well-liked subgenre of the 1930s and 1940s in which a couple divorces, engages in playful liaisons, and eventually remarries.
After a string of failures that left Hepburn on an infamous 1938 list of actors considered “box office poison,” the rom-com served as her highly-anticipated screen comeback with the support of Grant and Stewart. It is one of the best Jimmy Stewart films. Grace Kelly, Bing Crosby, and Frank Sinatra starred in the 1956 musical version of The Philadelphia Story, which went on to win two Academy Awards.
The Terminator (1984)
James Cameron’s 1984 science fiction classic The Terminator centres on the cyborg assassin as he is sent back in time from 2029 to 1984 to kill Sarah Connor, whose unborn son will one day cause the extinction of a hostile artificial intelligence and save the human world. It is an epic action film that spawned a successful franchise and helped elevate Arnold Schwarzenegger to superstar status. The visionary director was also influenced by John Carpenter’s low-budget Halloween and came up with the plot of the film after having a fever dream about a metallic torso holding kitchen knives dragging itself from an explosion. Cameron used the dream as a “launching pad” to write a slasher-style project.
Action icons Sylvester Stallone and Mel Gibson turned down the part before Arnold Schwarzenegger was selected as the renowned cybernetic android, and, ironically, when the studio recommended O.J. Simpson, director James Cameron didn’t think he would make a convincing killer. The popularity of The Terminator spawned a number of sequels, a television series, comic books, and computer games, and made Schwarzenegger and Cameron hot commodities in Hollywood.
Toy Story (1995)
Disney invited Pixar to create a computer-animated picture presented from a small toy’s perspective, and the result was the magnificent animated comedy Toy Story, released in 1995. The wonderful children’s movie introduced the world to the dynamic combo Wood and Buzz Lightyear, an antique pull-string cowboy doll and a contemporary astronaut action figure. It is set in an universe where toys come to life when humans are not around. It shows the characters’ transformation from rivals vying for their master Andy’s favour to buddies banding together to find him when they become separated.
Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles, and John Ratzenberger all give outstanding voice acting performances in Toy Story, which has made over $350 million worldwide. The film’s appeal to a range of age groups was noted by many reviewers, including Entertainment Weekly, which stated that it “has the purity, the joyful freedom of imagination, that’s the hallmark of the greatest children’s pictures.” It also occasionally tickles adults more than it tickles kids because of its spring-loaded allusive prankishness. Due to its popularity, a multimedia franchise and three sequels were produced.
