GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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great film.

Search 713 spoiler-free recommendations from 1916 to 2026. Filter by the night you want—not the list you’re supposed to finish.

Direct film viewShowing master rank #233 on its own—not above the ranking.
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Artwork
DirectorAll directors

Most represented · 6+ films

More recurring directors · 3–5 films54
All directors · surname A–Z438
ActorAll actors

Most represented actors

Big Three membership
Major award winners

1 selected film

Master Rank balances Greatness, Engagement, and Ease. Sort by Greatness for the artistic-canon view.

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Cast:
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Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

A Hollywood stunt performer who moonlights as a wheelman for criminals discovers that a contract has been put on him after a heist gone wrong.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

A quiet Los Angeles mechanic works as a Hollywood stunt driver and criminal getaway specialist. His growing attachment to neighbor Irene and her son leads him to help her indebted husband Standard with a robbery that quickly exposes a larger betrayal.

Why it belongs

Nicolas Winding Refn makes nocturnal Los Angeles a neon romance whose long silences and synth-pop tenderness can rupture into shocking violence.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Refn bathes nocturnal Los Angeles in neon, reflective windshields, empty pauses, synth-pop longing, and abrupt bodily violence, while Ryan Gosling's minimal performance makes the Driver's self-created heroic identity both alluring and brittle.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Cannes1 win2011 · official festival record ↗
Award for Best Director2011 · Nicolas WINDING REFNofficial festival record ↗

Totals include every recorded competitive win. Only Picture or top-film honors, Direction, Screenplay, and lead or supporting performances are named.

Good for
Date NightFilm Club
Descriptive guidance derived from rating, genre, runtime, mood, and GCML scores.

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250—AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness8.5
Engagement9.3
Ease8.9

English · R
Narrative Feature
Mood: Exhilarating & Gripping