GREAT CINEMAMASTER LIST
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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 #527 on its own—not above the ranking.
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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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View Hacksaw Ridge film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

Army medic Desmond Doss refuses to carry a weapon yet insists on serving alongside combat troops during World War II.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Virginia Seventh-day Adventist Desmond Doss enlists as an Army medic during World War II but refuses weapons training on religious grounds. Court-martial pressure and hostility from his unit precede deployment to Okinawa's Maeda Escarpment, known as Hacksaw Ridge.

Why it belongs

Mel Gibson contrasts Doss's stubborn nonviolence with brutally physical battle, making rescue and conviction the action rather than retreat from it.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Barracks drills, courtroom procedure, cargo nets, mud, smoke, battlefield sound, and repeated lowering of wounded men make faith practical and exhausting—Andrew Garfield's openness keeps Doss's certainty from becoming self-righteous.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Academy Awards2 wins2017 · official ceremony record ↗

Plus 2 additional wins

No headline-category win to name

BAFTA1 win2017 · official BAFTA 2017 Film Awards results ↗

Plus 1 additional win

No headline-category win to name

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

Institutional reference ranks

Sight & Sound—IMDb Top 250187AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness8.1
Engagement8.5
Ease8.4

English · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Serious & Intense