Best Movies of 2001
The 50 highest rated movies released in 2001, ranked by viewer ratings on TMDB. Only titles with enough votes to count are included, so one-off five-star ratings can't skew the list.
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1
Spirited Away (2001)
A young girl, Chihiro, becomes trapped in a strange new world of spirits. When her parents undergo a mysterious transformation, she must call upon the courage she never knew she had to free her family.
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2
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
Young hobbit Frodo Baggins, after inheriting a mysterious ring from his uncle Bilbo, must leave his home in order to keep it from falling into the hands of its evil creator. Along the way, a fellowship is formed to protect the ringbearer…
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3
Amélie (2001)
At a tiny Parisian café, the adorable yet painfully shy Amélie accidentally discovers a gift for helping others. Soon Amelie is spending her days as a matchmaker, guardian angel, and all-around do-gooder. But when she bumps into a handsome…
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4
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (2001)
Harry Potter has lived under the stairs at his aunt and uncle's house his whole life. But on his 11th birthday, he learns he's a powerful wizard—with a place waiting for him at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. As he learns to…
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5
Monsters, Inc. (2001)
Lovable Sulley and his wisecracking sidekick Mike Wazowski are the top scare team at Monsters, Inc., the scream-processing factory in Monstropolis. When a little girl named Boo wanders into their world, it's the monsters who are scared…
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6
Werckmeister Harmonies (2001)
A naive young man witnesses an escalation of violence in his small hometown following the arrival of a mysterious circus attraction.
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7
A Beautiful Mind (2001)
From the heights of notoriety to the depths of depravity, John Forbes Nash Jr. experiences it all. As a brilliant but socially awkward mathematician, he made a groundbreaking discovery early in his career and stands on the brink of…
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8
Mulholland Drive (2001)
Blonde Betty Elms has only just arrived in Hollywood to become a movie star when she meets an enigmatic brunette with amnesia. Meanwhile, as the two set off to solve the second woman's identity, filmmaker Adam Kesher runs into ominous…
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9
Shrek (2001)
It ain't easy bein' green -- especially if you're a likable (albeit smelly) ogre named Shrek. On a mission to retrieve a gorgeous princess from the clutches of a fire-breathing dragon, Shrek teams up with an unlikely compatriot -- a…
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10
Donnie Darko (2001)
After narrowly escaping a bizarre accident, a troubled teenager is plagued by visions of a large bunny rabbit that manipulates him to commit a series of crimes.
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11
Vampire Hunter D: Bloodlust (2001)
Legendary dhampir D competes with a motley family of bounty hunters to track down Charlotte Elbourne, a young woman seemingly abducted by undead nobleman Meier Link.
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12
Cowboy Bebop: The Movie (2001)
The year is 2071. Following a terrorist bombing, a deadly virus is released on the populace of Mars and the government has issued the largest bounty in history, for the capture of whoever is behind it. The bounty hunter crew of the…
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13
Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham (2001)
Years after his father disowns his adopted brother for marrying a woman of lower social standing, a young man goes on a mission to reunite his family.
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14
The Others (2001)
Grace is a religious woman who lives in an old house kept dark because her two children, Anne and Nicholas, have a rare sensitivity to light. When the family begins to suspect the house is haunted, Grace fights to protect her children at…
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15
I Am Sam (2001)
Sam, a neurodivergent man, has a daughter with a homeless woman who abandons them when they leave the hospital, leaving Sam to raise Lucy on his own. But as Lucy grows up, Sam's limitations as a parent start to become a problem and the…
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16
Training Day (2001)
On his first day on the job as a narcotics officer, a rookie cop works with a rogue detective who isn't what he appears.
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17
My Sassy Girl (2001)
A young man’s world is turned upside down when a female force of nature takes his life by storm in this outrageous and uplifting ode to true love.
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18
Moulin Rouge! (2001)
A celebration of love and creative inspiration takes place in the infamous, gaudy and glamorous Parisian nightclub, at the cusp of the 20th century. A young poet, who is plunged into the heady world of Moulin Rouge, begins a passionate…
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19
The Man Who Wasn't There (2001)
A tale of murder, crime and punishment set in the summer of 1949. Ed Crane, a barber in a small California town, is dissatisfied with his life, but his wife Doris' infidelity and a mysterious opportunity presents him with a chance to change…
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20
No Man's Land (2001)
Two soldiers from opposite sides get stuck between the front lines in the same trench. The UN is asked to free them and both sides agree on a ceasefire, but will they stick to it?
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21
Godzilla, Mothra and King Ghidorah: Giant Monsters All-Out Attack (2001)
Godzilla has become a distant memory for Japan when the destruction of a US submarine raises alarms for Admiral Tachibana. His estranged daughter Yuri investigates the legend of the guardian monsters, who must rise to protect Japan against…
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22
All About Lily Chou-Chou (2001)
Charts the troubled teenage years of students Yūichi Hasumi and Shūsuke Hoshino, exploring the shifting and complex power dynamics of their relationship against the backdrop of Yūichi's love for the dreamy and abstract music of pop star…
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23
Ocean's Eleven (2001)
Less than 24 hours into his parole, charismatic thief Danny Ocean is already rolling out his next plan: In one night, Danny's hand-picked crew of specialists will attempt to steal more than $150 million from three Las Vegas casinos. But to…
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24
Waking Life (2001)
Waking Life is about a young man in a persistent lucid dream-like state. The film follows its protagonist as he initially observes and later participates in philosophical discussions that weave together issues like reality, free will, our…
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25
Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001)
Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an 'internationally ignored' but divinely talented rock diva, inhabiting a 'beautiful gender of one'.
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26
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001)
Royal Tenenbaum and his wife Etheline had three children and then they separated. All three children are extraordinary --- all geniuses. Virtually all memory of the brilliance of the young Tenenbaums was subsequently erased by two decades…
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27
Y Tu Mamá También (2001)
In Mexico, two teenage boys and an attractive older woman embark on a road trip and learn a thing or two about life, friendship, sex, and each other.
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28
Enemy at the Gates (2001)
A Russian and a German sniper play a game of cat-and-mouse during the Battle of Stalingrad in WWII.
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29
The Experiment (2001)
20 volunteers agree to take part in a seemingly well-paid experiment advertised by the university. It is supposed to be about aggressive behavior in an artificial prison situation. A journalist senses a story behind the ad and smuggles…
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30
Black Hawk Down (2001)
When U.S. Rangers and an elite Delta Force team attempt to kidnap two underlings of a Somali warlord, their Black Hawk helicopters are shot down, and the Americans suffer heavy casualties, facing intense fighting from the militia on the…
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31
Blow (2001)
The story of how George Jung, together with the Medellín Cartel led by Pablo Escobar, established the billion-dollar cocaine empire in the United States in the 1970s.
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32
Lagaan: Once Upon a Time in India (2001)
The year is 1893 and India is under British occupation. In a small village, the tyrannical Captain Russell has imposed an unprecedented land tax on its citizens. Outraged, Bhuvan, a rebellious farmer, rallies the villagers to publicly…
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33
The Devil's Backbone (2001)
Spain, 1939. In the last days of the Spanish Civil War, the young Carlos arrives at the Santa Lucía orphanage, where he will make friends and enemies as he follows the quiet footsteps of a mysterious presence eager for revenge.
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34
Conspiracy (2001)
At the Wannsee Conference on January 20, 1942, senior Nazi officials meet to determine the manner in which the so-called "Final Solution to the Jewish Question" can be best implemented.
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35
His Secret Life (2001)
When Antonia's husband Massimo is killed in a car accident, she accidentally discovers that he has been having a same-sex affair with a produce wholesaler named Michele.
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36
Scooby-Doo and the Cyber Chase (2001)
When Scooby and the gang get trapped in a video game created for the gang, they must fight against the 'Phantom Virus.' To escape the game they must go level by level and defeat the game once and for all.
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37
The Piano Teacher (2001)
Erika Kohut, a sexually repressed piano teacher living with her domineering mother, meets a young man who starts romantically pursuing her.
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38
Shaolin Soccer (2001)
A young Shaolin follower reunites with his discouraged brothers to form a soccer team using their martial art skills to their advantage.
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39
K-PAX (2001)
Prot is a patient at a mental hospital who claims to be from a far away planet. His psychiatrist tries to help him, only to begin to doubt his own explanations.
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40
Metropolis (2001)
In the midst of societal conflict in the futuristic city of Metropolis, Kenichi and his uncle Shunsaku Ban set out to uncover the mystery behind the first human-like robot, Tima.
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41
The Last Castle (2001)
A court-martialed general rallies together 1200 inmates to rise against the system that put him away.
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42
Baby Boy (2001)
The story of Jody, a misguided, 20-year-old African-American who is really just a baby boy finally forced-kicking and screaming to face the commitments of real life. Streetwise and jobless, he has not only fathered two children by two…
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43
Life as a House (2001)
When a man is diagnosed with terminal cancer, he takes custody of his misanthropic teenage son, for whom quality time means getting high, engaging in small-time prostitution, and avoiding his father.
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44
The Son's Room (2001)
A psychoanalyst and his family go through profound emotional trauma when their son dies in a scuba diving accident.
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45
Ghost World (2001)
Two quirky, cynical, teenaged girls try to figure out what to do with their lives following high school graduation. After they play a prank on an eccentric, middle-aged record collector, one of them befriends him, which causes a rift in the…
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46
One Man Up (2001)
Two men, both named Antonio Pisapia, see their lives go downhill in 1980s Naples. One is a crooner embroiled in a sex scandal; the other is a football player whose career is cut short by an injury.
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47
A.I. Artificial Intelligence (2001)
David, a robotic boy—the first of his kind programmed to love—is adopted as a test case by a Cybertronics employee and his wife. Though he gradually becomes their child, a series of unexpected circumstances make this life impossible for…
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48
Atlantis: The Lost Empire (2001)
A young linguist named Milo Thatch joins an intrepid group of explorers to find the mysterious lost continent of Atlantis.
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49
Read My Lips (2001)
She is almost deaf and she lip-reads. He is an ex-convict. She wants to help him. He thinks no one can help except himself.
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50
Santa Maradona (2001)
An aimless college graduate jumping from one job interview to another — killing time in between with his wisecracking and deadbeat room-mate — falls in love with an actress.