It’s been twenty years since some of the best films of the century released in theaters. 2007 is the only year of the decade that’s considered by film critics and historians to be among the best. Some, on the other hand, went by completely under the casual radar. While not exactly a revered year for cinema, this list will shine light on films from around the world that make it one of the greatest 12-month periods for movies.
Several of these entries are of the blockbuster variety, but most of them are on the more independent side of the spectrum. Plenty of them were made by notable directors, too. No matter the filmmaker, the budget, or even the genre, though, these are the twenty best movies of 2003.
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20 Once Upon a Time in Mexico
Sony Pictures Releasing
The final entry of Robert Rodriguez’s “Mexico Trilogy” featured Antonio Banderas and Salma Hayek reprising their roles as El Mariachi and Carolina, respectively. It isn’t exactly among his best films, but it’s well-structured and explosive in its plot nonetheless. Also featuring Johnny Depp, Mickey Rourke, and Eva Mendes, it’s a bit of an absurd project, but Once Upon a Time in Mexico (2003) provides enough zany moments that audience attention will undoubtedly be held.
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Rodriguez even came out and said at one point in phases of post-production that the film’s inanity was entirely intentional. It was meant to be over-the-top at every turn and around every corner. And when looking at it through a lens of leniency, it’s undoubtedly one of the year’s most entertaining projects.
19 The Matrix Reloaded
Warner Bros. Pictures
The third highest grossing movie of its year, The Matrix Reloaded (2003) is a sequel to The Matrix (1999). Another entry in the series called The Matrix Revolutions (2003) released mere months after this one, but it left far less to write home about than Reloaded.
All three films were written and directed by the Wachowskis — a pair of filmmaking siblings who also worked on titles like Speed Racer (2008) and Cloud Atlas (2012). There’s a solid argument to be made in saying The Matrix Reloaded is the last film of their catalog that held any sort of critical value, and that could undoubtedly be said from a financial standpoint as well. None of their films have broken even at the box office since 2003, and that fact might be set in stone.
18 Bad Santa
Miramax Films
The only true comedy on the list, Bad Santa (2003) remains a staple for Christmas movie fanatics even twenty years down the line. It’s raunchy, so fair warning in that regard, but it’s also entertaining and inventive from start to finish. Plus, the movie received pretty favorable reviews from critics, and even garnered decent money at the worldwide box office.
A sequel released in 2016, though its lackluster performance in theaters was matched by its negative response from critics. If any scrooges out there might be hankering for a sort of anti-Christmas movie, Bad Santa is definitely the move. But in this case, it’s best to stick to the original from 2003.
17 Cold Mountain
An epic period war film written and directed by Anthony Minghella, Cold Mountain (2003) received seven nominations at the Academy Awards, including a Best Supporting Actress win for Renee Zellweger. It remains the standout Zellweger performance, but the movie also featured other stars including Jude Law, Nicole Kidman, and Phillip Seymour Hoffman.
While it’s not the most popular film for today’s audiences looking to rewatch something from the early aughts, Cold Mountain stands out as a project from experienced filmmakers nonetheless. Its roster of supporting characters create truly memorable dynamics, and it’s just a beautiful film through and through.
16 The Barbarian Invasions
Telefilm Canada
Written and directed by Denys Arcand, The Barbarian Invasions (2003) was nominated for both Best Foreign Language Feature and Best Original Screenplay at the 76th Academy Awards. It won for the former and lost for the latter.
A Canadian-French sex comedy-drama, the film is actually a sequel to The Decline of the American Empire (1986), also written and directed by Denys Arcand. Both films follow a character named Rémy, but here in The Barbarian Invasions, the history professor just found out he’s terminally ill with cancer. Garnering positive reviews across the critical board, it is a truly intelligent film, and a must-watch from the year 2003.
15 Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
Walt Disney Pictures
Even after twenty years and four top-grossing sequels, The Curse of the Black Pearl (2003) remains the finest Pirates of the Caribbean film to date. Starring Johnny Depp, Orlando Bloom, Keira Knightley, and Geoffrey Rush, this first entry received five nominations at the Academy Awards, including Best Actor for Depp.
It also holds an 80% approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes, and went down as the fourth highest grossing film of its year. Adored by audiences and critics alike, The Curse of the Black Pearl was the first large-scale production about pirates. And when the waves have settled and the franchise eventually ends, this will go down as the definitive movie about sailing the seven seas.
14 Big Fish
Fun fact: this movie was almost directed by Steven Spielberg, and he wanted it to star Jack Nicholson. In the end, though, Big Fish (2003) was directed by Tim Burton, while starring Ewan McGregor. A far disparate pairing.
Based on the 1998 novel of the same name by Daniel Wallace, Big Fish tells the tale of a father who begins dying of cancer while his son explores the truth of his past. The project also features Helena Bonham Carter, Steve Buscemi, and Danny Devito in supporting roles, and it’s worth noting that Danny Elfman was nominated for Best Original Score at the 76th Academy Awards. There’s plenty more to write home about here, but just know: Big Fish was among the best films of 2003.
13 Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
20th Century Fox
Directed by Peter Weir and starring the king of melodrama Russel Crowe, Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World (2003) is an epic period war drama set during the Napoleonic Wars. It was made with a whopping $150 million budget, and grossed $211.6 million at the worldwide box office. It also holds an 85% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Most prominently, though, it was nominated ten times at the 76th Academy Awards, for honors that included Best Picture and Best Director. It won for both Best Cinematography and Best Sound Editing, and despite a straightforward plot, the project did facilitate some interesting character dynamics with impressive performances to boot.
12 American Splendor
Fine Line Features
Appearing on several critical top ten lists by the end of the year, American Splendor (2003) boasts an impressive 94% approval rating on critical consensus website Rotten Tomatoes. It also garnered a Best Adapted Screenplay nomination at the Academy Awards for writer/director duo Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini.
In front of the camera, though, was Paul Giamatti as the real-life creator of the American Splendor comic book series: Harvey Pekar. It’s an endlessly fascinating project, and the casting was just perfect with Giamatti as Pekar and Hope Davis as his wife Joyce Brabner. They carried the film to reach this far on the list.
11 The Triplets of Belleville
Les Armateurs
Oozing with a keen artistic panache and a strong directorial confidence, The Triplets of Belleville (2003) was one of three projects nominated at the 76th Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature. It would end up losing to a film that appears later in the list, but don’t let that fact fool you — this is a special movie from comic writer, animator, and film director Sylvain Chomet.
His specialties as a content creator blended perfectly with one another to produce this masterpiece of animation, and it will forever define his legacy as a filmmaker. To anyone who hasn’t seen The Triplets of Belleville: it’s a must-watch for any fans of animation, comedy, or cinema in general.
10 House of Sand and Fog
DreamWorks Pictures
This is undoubtedly among the more underrated movies of its year. A psychological drama by Vadim Perelman, House of Sand and Fog (2003) barely made its money back at the box office, but it was subsequently recognized at the Academy Awards. It garnered a Best Actor nomination for Ben Kingsley, along with a Best Supporting Actress nomination for Shohreh Aghdashloo and a Best Original Score nomination for James Horner.
It only has a 74% on Rotten Tomatoes, but among the favorable critiques was one given by Roger Ebert. He awarded the film four stars out of four with particular praise for its characters, and included it among his top ten films of 2003.
9 21 Grams
Focus Features
Directed by Alexandro Gonzales Iñárritu, this film sits in the middle of his “Trilogy of Death”, right between Amores perros (2000) and Babel (2006). This is perhaps the most revered of the three, and it’s among the best of Iñárritu’s career. Among the best of 2003, too.
Starring Sean Penn, Naomi Watts, Benicio Del Toro, and Melissa Leo, 21 Grams(2003) helps render 2003 as an underrated year of cinema thanks to its bold structure and career-defining performances. For any fan of crime films, this one is mandatory.
8 Monster
Newmarket Films
Regarding this biographical crime drama, famous film critic Roger Ebert called actress Charlize Theron’s work as, “The performance of the year, in the film of the year”. Written and directed by Patty Jenkins in her feature film debut, Monster (2009) a prostitute as she falls in love with a girl and attempts to turn her life around.
This is Charlize Theron in the definitive role of her career. She was given the Best Actress honor from both the Golden Globes and the Academy Awards, and even today, it’s the role that materializes in audience’s heads when they consider the career of Theron. It’s some truly transformative stuff, and she deserved every shred of the acclaim.
7 Kill Bill: Volume 1
Thanks to an audacious style of filmmaking, Kill Bill: Volume 1 (2003) could still be considered the most inventive film in Quentin Tarantino’s catalog. With ambition around every corner, this first entry in the Uma Thurman-led series has several scenes that still stand out upon a revisit: the penultimate fighting sequence against the Crazy 88, for example.
There are some great exchanges of dialogue, too, like with The Bride and Hattori Hanzo. But perhaps what stands out so prominently about this film twenty years down the line was how bold the director was with his script — there’s even a gruesome animated sequence that runs over seven minutes long. If that doesn’t stand out among Tarantino’s filmography, then at this point nothing else will.
6 Mystic River
A dark, nearly melodramatic mystery directed by Clint Eastwood, Mystic River (2003) features Sean Penn in the starring role, with supporting performances from the likes of Tim Robbins — in the most revered role of his career, mind you — along with Kevin Bacon and Laurence Fishburne.
This is among the most revered films of Eastwood’s career, and had it not been for a film that appears later on in the list, Mystic River would’ve won several more honors than it did at the 76th Academy Awards. It’ll have audiences guessing around every corner of its plot, and even if they’re revisiting the film, the performances hold the film on their backs.
5 Finding Nemo
Pixar Animation Studios
At the time of release, Finding Nemo (2003) was Pixar’s most poignant film to-date. Nobody saw that opening scene coming, but no matter the volume of tears shed by the death of Marvin’s entire family, this is also one of the animation studio’s most gleeful and heartwarming projects, as well.
This remains among the more popular titles in Pixar’s catalog, even spawning a sequel after more than a decade: Finding Dory (2016). Everything they made from this period — like Monster’s Inc (2001) and The Incredibles (2004), for example — is among the most lauded animated films ever made. Perhaps the most touching, though, was the 2003 film Finding Nemo.
4 Oldboy
CJ Entertainment
In this the second entry of his “Vengeance” trilogy, South Korean director Park Chan-wook shocked the cinematic world for one reason in particular: the hallway scene. Oldboy (2003) has become known almost exclusively for this well-shot, action-packed sequence, but the quality of the film is anything but limited to that one scene.
A neo-noir action thriller, Oldboy — along with, spoilers, another title on this list — helped put South Korea on the cinematic map, and many critics claim it’s still the most significant title thereof. It holds an audience rating of 94% on Rotten Tomatoes, and was actually remade in 2013 by American director Spike Lee. It was far less well-received, though.
3 Lost in Translation
Thanks to American writer-director Wes Anderson, Bill Murray’s career had recently seen a resurgence prior to the release of Lost in Translation (2003). However, his role in this Sofia Coppola film is undoubtedly the most critically acclaimed of his life. It’s his only ever nomination at the Academy Awards — one for Best Actor — and he garnered wins in the same category from both the Golden Globes and the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.
It was an emotional project, with beautiful imagery and thoughtful dialogue. But there’s no talking about Lost in Translation without mentioning the other starring role: one from Scarlett Johansson. This was before she made it big, but it really kick-started her career. She was nominated across the board for Best Actress, and even won the award at the BAFTAs. Even for the most financially successful actress of all time, this remains Johansson’s quintessential role.
2 Memories of Murder
Directed by Bong Joon-ho, it was the second feature film of the South Korean writer-director’s career, and the second film from the region to appear on this list. A mystery crime film often compared to the American film Zodiac (2007) by David Fincher, Memories of Murder (2003) is among the more underrated titles ever filmed, let alone from 2003.
Bong Joon-ho reached worldwide superstar status after his sweep of the 92nd Academy Awards. His film Parasite (2019) received widespread acclaim, including wins for Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay. But critics and hardcore film fans have been singing Joon-ho’s praises for decades, starting here with Memories of Murder.
1 The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
New Line Cinema
It’s not at all hyperbole to say that very few films have the Academy Award credentials and records as The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003). Directed by Peter Jackson, this was of course the final entry of the epic fantasy trilogy by J.R.R. Tolkien, and it put the perfect capstone on the critically acclaimed blockbuster franchise.
Film fans would’ve been up in arms, going ballistic on all corners of the internet if this didn’t place at the number one spot. And with good reason. Many cite it as the best movie of the trilogy, and no matter your opinion on the ranking of the films, this was undoubtedly a faithful adaptation of many people’s childhoods. It was also a fabulous film in itself, ultimately topping the list of 2003’s twenty best films.
