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 #563 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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View In the Name of the Father film page
Original poster artwork · Great Cinema Master List

Spoiler-free premise

A young Belfast man living in London is wrongly drawn into a terrorism investigation.

Read expanded premiseLonger, still spoiler-free

Belfast drifter Gerry Conlon is arrested in London after the 1974 Guildford pub bombing and pressured into a false confession. His father Giuseppe and friends are also imprisoned, while lawyer Gareth Peirce later examines withheld evidence.

Why it belongs

Jim Sheridan anchors wrongful conviction as a father-son drama, with Day-Lewis and Postlethwaite making prison, shame, and solidarity inseparable.

Read expanded why it belongsThe fuller editorial case

Interrogation rooms, typed statements, prison cells, protest noise, legal files, and U2 and Gavin Friday's music connect state pressure to family intimacy. Pete Postlethwaite's quiet Giuseppe challenges Gerry's defensive anger.

Major award record

Metadata only · zero points in 40/40/20
Berlin1 win1994 · official festival record ↗
Golden Bear1994 · Jim Sheridanofficial festival record ↗

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 250206AFI 100—
Reference metadata only · not part of the 40/40/20 score

Great Cinema Master List scores

Greatness8.0
Engagement8.4
Ease8.2

English · Not Rated
Narrative Feature
Mood: Absorbing & Reflective