The 25 Best Movies of the Century: No. 1 - 'The Social Network'

The Social Network 2010

The No. 1 pick, and the hosts say there was never any debate about the slot. Fincher directing a Sorkin script off Ben Mezrich's 'The Accidental Billionaires'; $225M on a $40M budget, a clean 120 minutes. Framed as their generation's 'Citizen Kane': a tech mogul who builds an empire while alienating everyone, ending alone refreshing a friend request. Jesse Eisenberg as an already-sour Mark Zuckerberg (not a heartbroken one), Andrew Garfield's Eduardo as the lone empathetic center, Justin Timberlake's Sean Parker weaponizing his own celebrity. The Reznor/Ross score is called a turning point for film music; won adapted screenplay, editing, and score. Lost Best Picture to 'The King's Speech' and Fincher lost director to Tom Hooper.

Zodiac 2007

No. 19 on the countdown. The proposed trade: Sean offered Zodiac over Social Network in exchange for One Battle over There Will Be Blood; Amanda refused. Called Fincher's most representative film: longer, more discursive, unresolved about obsession itself.

Gone Girl 2014

No. 64. A distant third among the Fincher contenders but still 'a great movie we love,' sharp about celebrity, marriage, and what couples perform in public.

Panic Room 2002

Named in passing as a 'very slick, cool thriller.'

The Curious Case of Benjamin Button 2008

The Oscar-nominated left turn Fincher made just before this: a mastery-of-form film reaching for emotion he can't quite access.

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo 2011

'Banger.' An underrated Christmas movie in Sean's telling.

Mank 2020

Fincher's sentimental side; Amanda thinks it's bad, but wonders what a Sorkin co-write would have done with it.

The Killer 2023

'This rules.' Loved, but never a contender for the top spot.

The King's Speech 2010

Beat 'The Social Network' for Best Picture. 'Not a bad film, just not really anything interesting.'

The Artist 2011

Won the very next year; the hosts read the back-to-back as the low point of the Weinstein era.

Black Swan 2010

Aronofsky, one of the four bigger auteurs Tom Hooper beat for director.

The Fighter 2010

David O. Russell, also nominated for director that year.

True Grit 2010

The Coens, rounding out the director field Hooper won over.

How Green Was My Valley 1941

Beat 'Citizen Kane': the canonical bad win the show cites, though a film you can 'kind of see.'

Citizen Kane 1941

The touchstone throughout: Social Network as 'Citizen Kane if Kane went on trial in the middle of the movie.'

Forrest Gump 1994

Won over 'Shawshank' and 'Pulp Fiction.' Sean's on the record liking it; still a bad win.

The Shawshank Redemption 1994

Pulp Fiction 1994

A new form of filmmaking that lost to 'Forrest Gump.'

Dances with Wolves 1990

Over 'Goodfellas': a tough one you can at least see the case for.

Goodfellas 1990

Shakespeare in Love 1998

Over 'Saving Private Ryan': the most defensible upset on the list, per Amanda, especially after 'Hamnet.'

Saving Private Ryan 1998

Crash 2005

Over 'Brokeback Mountain,' called just as indefensible as the Fincher loss. 'Crash sucks.'

Brokeback Mountain 2005

A borderline masterpiece, No. 27 or 28 on their countdown; should have won.

Schindler's List 1993

One of only three films to sweep the Big Four critics awards, and it did win Best Picture.

L.A. Confidential 1997

Swept the Big Four critics awards but did not win Best Picture; the other precedent for Social Network's sweep.