Roger Ebert on Kathryn Bernheimer’s book The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies….“Wonderful book! Great idea! Well done….Her selection is sound, and her insights are pointed and provocative.”.
Leonard Maltin on Kathryn Bernheimer’s book The 50 Greatest Jewish Movies….“A welcome addition to the movie bookshelf, this well-written volume places each of its films into a social and historical context, and serves as an ideal companion for viewing (and re-viewing) some of the greatest movies of all time.”
We agree with Ebert and Maltin 100%….this is a great book. It is such a great book, that we decided, an UltimateMovieRankings (UMR) page that ranked her 50 selected movies needed to put together. The following table is the end result.
Factors to consider while looking at our rankings. (1) Bernheimer wrote the book in 1998….so obviously any movie made after 1998 had no chance to make this table. (2) Bernheimer actually lists 51 movies in her book….as Ben-Hur and The Ten Commandment finished tied for 10th place. (3) All of her selected movies, with the exception of 1977’s Holocaust, played in North American theaters. Since our UMR score needs box office to calculate a score Holocaust was not added to the table….but her having two 10th rated movies allows us to still have 50 movies on the table. (4) Bernheimer actually ranks the 50 movies from 1st to 50th….her top movie is pretty surprising.
50 Greatest Jewish Movies Can Be Ranked 6 Ways In This Table
The really cool thing about this table is that it is “user-sortable”. Rank the movies anyway you want.
- Sort 50 Greatest Jewish movies by movie title and movie trailers.
- Sort 50 Greatest Jewish movies by co-stars of his movies.
- Sort 50 Greatest Jewish movies by adjusted domestic box office grosses using current movie ticket cost (in millions)
- Sort 50 Greatest Jewish movies by yearly domestic box office rank
- Sort 50 Greatest Jewish movies how they were received by critics and audiences. 60% rating or higher should indicate a good movie.
- Sort by how many Oscar® nominations each 50 Greatest Jewish movie received and how many Oscar® wins each 50 Greatest Jewish movie won.
- Sort 50 Greatest Jewish by Ultimate Movie Rankings (UMR) Score. UMR Score puts box office, reviews and awards into a mathematical equation and gives each movie a score.
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| R | Movie (Year) | UMR Co-Star Links | Actual B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Domestic (mil) | Adj. B.O. Worldwide (mil) | B.O. Rank by Year | Review | Oscar Nom / Win | UMR Score | S |
| 1 | Schindler's List (1993) AA Best Picture Win |
Liam Neeson & Directed by Steven Spielberg |
96.10 | 290.1 | 970.10 | 9 | 94 | 12 / 07 | 100.0 | |
| 2 | Ben-Hur (1959) AA Best Picture Win |
Charlton Heston | 58.80 | 1,225.3 | 3,159.80 | 1 | 91 | 12 / 11 | 100.0 | |
| 3 | Annie Hall (1977) AA Best Picture Win |
Woody Allen & Diane Keaton |
48.90 | 274.1 | 274.10 | 11 | 92 | 05 / 04 | 99.9 | |
| 4 | Driving Miss Daisy (1989) AA Best Picture Win |
Morgan Freeman & Jessica Tandy |
106.60 | 335.6 | 459.00 | 9 | 81 | 09 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 5 | Chariots of Fire (1981) AA Best Picture Win |
Ian Holm & Ben Cross |
59.00 | 265.2 | 265.20 | 7 | 82 | 07 / 04 | 99.8 | |
| 6 | Oliver! (1968) AA Best Picture Win |
Ron Moody & Oliver Reed |
48.00 | 458.0 | 458.00 | 5 | 71 | 11 / 05 | 99.8 | |
| 7 | Gentleman's Agreement (1947) AA Best Picture Win |
Gregory Peck & John Garfield |
10.50 | 356.1 | 356.10 | 12 | 75 | 08 / 03 | 99.8 | |
| 8 | Cabaret (1972) AA Best Picture Nom |
Liza Minnelli | 61.40 | 451.2 | 451.20 | 5 | 85 | 10 / 08 | 99.7 | |
| 9 | The Great Dictator (1940) AA Best Picture Nom |
Charles Chaplin & Paulette Goddard |
10.00 | 446.4 | 446.40 | 4 | 90 | 05 / 00 | 99.5 | |
| 8 | The Ten Commandments (1956) AA Best Picture Nom |
Charlton Heston | 72.00 | 1,637.3 | 3,969.20 | 1 | 85 | 07 / 01 | 99.3 | |
| 9 | Fiddler on the Roof (1971) AA Best Picture Nom |
Topol & Leonard Frey |
90.90 | 688.7 | 688.70 | 2 | 81 | 08 / 03 | 99.3 | |
| 12 | Funny Girl (1968) AA Best Picture Nom |
Barbra Streisand & Directed by William Wyler |
52.40 | 499.6 | 499.60 | 3 | 82 | 08 / 01 | 99.2 | |
| 13 | Julia (1977) AA Best Picture Nom |
Jane Fonda & Meryl Streep |
35.30 | 197.8 | 197.80 | 26 | 71 | 11 / 03 | 98.6 | |
| 14 | Blazing Saddles (1974) | Gene Wilder & Mel Brooks |
118.10 | 789.4 | 789.40 | 1 | 81 | 03 / 00 | 97.9 | |
| 15 | Marathon Man (1976) | Dustin Hoffman & Laurence Olivier |
50.20 | 294.8 | 294.80 | 12 | 78 | 01 / 00 | 96.8 | |
| 15 | The Young Lions (1958) Uncredited Role |
Marlon Brando & Montgomery Clift |
12.80 | 266.7 | 266.70 | 8 | 74 | 03 / 00 | 96.4 | |
| 17 | Bugsy (1991) AA Best Picture Nom |
Warren Beatty & Annette Bening |
49.10 | 145.8 | 145.80 | 24 | 76 | 10 / 02 | 96.2 | |
| 18 | Down and Out in Beverly Hills (1986) | Richard Dreyfuss & Nick Nolte |
62.10 | 209.3 | 209.30 | 12 | 73 | 00 / 00 | 95.4 | |
| 21 | Yentl (1983) | Barbra Streisand | 56.20 | 223.1 | 223.10 | 15 | 67 | 05 / 01 | 95.0 | |
| 22 | Dirty Dancing (1987) | Patrick Swayze | 63.40 | 202.8 | 682.40 | 12 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 95.0 | |
| 18 | Exodus (1960) | Paul Newman & Eva Marie Saint |
23.80 | 431.2 | 431.20 | 4 | 67 | 03 / 01 | 94.9 | |
| 23 | The Diary of Anne Frank (1959) AA Best Picture Nom |
Shelley Winters & Directed by George Stevens |
6.60 | 136.9 | 189.00 | 38 | 74 | 08 / 03 | 94.7 | |
| 20 | The Golem (1920) | Paul Wegener | 4.00 | 250.0 | 250.00 | 9 | 70 | 00 / 00 | 94.5 | |
| 23 | Goodbye, Columbus (1969) | Richard Benjamin & Ali MacGraw |
30.00 | 264.1 | 264.10 | 10 | 67 | 01 / 00 | 94.1 | |
| 25 | The Jazz Singer (1927) | Al Jolson | 6.90 | 267.7 | 267.70 | 3 | 67 | 01 / 00 | 93.8 | |
| 25 | Shine (1996) AA Best Picture Nom |
Geoffrey Rush | 35.90 | 101.5 | 101.50 | 41 | 83 | 07 / 01 | 93.0 | |
| 27 | Body and Soul (1947) | John Garfield | 3.80 | 127.8 | 127.80 | 91 | 84 | 03 / 01 | 92.9 | |
| 30 | The Pawnbroker (1964) | Rod Steiger | 7.10 | 95.0 | 95.00 | 40 | 83 | 01 / 00 | 87.9 | |
| 29 | Biloxi Blues (1988) | Mathew Broderick & Christopher Walken |
43.20 | 131.3 | 157.20 | 23 | 68 | 00 / 00 | 86.6 | |
| 31 | A Majority of One (1961) | Rosalind Russell & Alec Guinness |
7.10 | 120.7 | 120.70 | 29 | 70 | 01 / 00 | 86.0 | |
| 29 | Crimes and Misdemeanors (1989) | Alan Alda & Martin Landau |
18.30 | 57.5 | 57.50 | 58 | 87 | 03 / 00 | 85.3 | |
| 31 | Reversal of Fortune (1990) | Glenn Close & Jeremy Irons |
15.40 | 45.6 | 45.60 | 79 | 88 | 03 / 01 | 85.0 | |
| 35 | Marjorie Morningstar (1958) | Gene Kelly & Natalie Wood |
7.50 | 156.1 | 156.10 | 29 | 54 | 01 / 00 | 84.2 | |
| 34 | The Front (1976) | Woody Allen & Zero Mostel |
15.10 | 88.8 | 88.80 | 44 | 74 | 01 / 00 | 83.5 | |
| 33 | Broadway Danny Rose (1984) | Woody Allen & Mia Farrow |
10.60 | 39.4 | 39.40 | 75 | 86 | 02 / 00 | 81.9 | |
| 36 | The Last Angry Man (1959) | Paul Muni | 4.80 | 99.7 | 99.70 | 53 | 65 | 02 / 00 | 81.2 | |
| 37 | Shoah (1985) | Simon Srebnik & Documentary |
0.00 | 0.1 | 0.10 | 215 | 89 | 00 / 00 | 74.9 | |
| 38 | The Big Fix (1978) | Richard Dreyfuss | 15.50 | 82.8 | 82.80 | 46 | 61 | 00 / 00 | 73.6 | |
| 39 | Homicide (1991) | Joe Mantegna & William H. Macy |
3.00 | 8.8 | 8.80 | 137 | 83 | 00 / 00 | 72.0 | |
| 40 | Crossing Delancey (1988) | Peter Riegert & Amy Irving |
16.30 | 49.5 | 49.50 | 60 | 69 | 00 / 00 | 70.8 | |
| 39 | Au Revoir les Enfants (1987) | Gaspard Manesse & Raphael Fejtö |
4.50 | 14.5 | 14.50 | 109 | 77 | 02 / 00 | 69.2 | |
| 44 | The Apprenticeship of Duddy Kravitz (1974) | Richard Dreyfuss & Jack Warden |
5.20 | 34.4 | 34.40 | 63 | 71 | 01 / 00 | 69.2 | |
| 40 | Europa Europa (1990) | Solomon Perel | 5.60 | 16.5 | 16.50 | 117 | 77 | 01 / 00 | 69.0 | |
| 43 | Madame Rosa (1977) | Simone Signoret | 5.40 | 30.0 | 30.00 | 84 | 71 | 01 / 01 | 69.0 | |
| 45 | Enemies: A Love Story (1989) | Anjelica Huston & Lena Olin |
7.80 | 24.4 | 24.40 | 93 | 68 | 03 / 00 | 63.2 | |
| 46 | The Chosen (1981) | Rod Steiger & Maximilian Schell |
1.00 | 4.4 | 4.40 | 141 | 74 | 00 / 00 | 59.8 | |
| 46 | The Revolt of Job (1983) | Hédi Temessy | 0.70 | 2.6 | 2.60 | 141 | 74 | 01 / 00 | 59.6 | |
| 48 | The Outside Chance of Maximilian Glick (1988) | Saul Rubinek | 0.30 | 1.0 | 1.00 | 228 | 71 | 00 / 00 | 52.3 | |
| 49 | Daniel (1983) | Daniel Stern & Directed by Sidney Lumet |
0.70 | 2.7 | 2.70 | 140 | 66 | 00 / 00 | 44.6 | |
| 50 | Almonds and Raisins (1984) | Celia Adler & Documentary |
0.50 | 1.9 | 1.90 | 169 | 62 | 00 / 00 | 34.0 |
Kathryn Bernheimer is the founding director of the Boulder Jewish Film Festival.
You can buy her book…..New, Used or As A Collectible.
https://www.amazon.com/50-Greatest-Jewish-Movies-Critics/dp/1559724579
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Saw 29 including top 20. favorites; fiddler on the roof 10 yentl10, blazing saddles 9, funny girl 10, chariots of fire 10(greatest sports movie ever), driving miss daisy 10, gentlemans agreement 10. other 10s schindlers list, annie hall, ben hur , cabaret . lots more good movies. hidden gem: crossing delancy
Hey bob cox. A very good tally for you….one of your best finishes. Cogerson 31, bob cox 29, Flora 22, PhilHOF17 21 and Steve 18. Impressive that you have seen the Top 20. I would include Blazing Saddles, Driving Miss Daisy, Annie Hall and Ben-Hur among my favorites. Been ages since I saw Crossing Delancey…..have to check that one out again. Good feedback.