What is the best film of 2007?

By IQ Score on TV Intelligentsia, There Will Be Blood and No Country for Old Men anchor the year's Masterclass tier — the two films widely cited as the year's strongest. Zodiac, Michael Clayton, and Ratatouille round out the canonical entries.

Why was 2007 such a strong year?

2007 was the last year before the late-2000s prestige-mid-budget studio contraction. Major auteurs (PTA, the Coens, Fincher, Gilroy) had unusual studio support; international entries reached American screens at scale. The result was the year's unusual catalog density.

Is 2007 better than 1999 or 1994?

It's a defensible argument. By IQ Score density, 2007 holds two of the highest-rated American films of its decade (There Will Be Blood, No Country for Old Men), plus the strongest documentary entry of its half-decade (4 Months 3 Weeks and 2 Days) and the strongest Pixar entry of the studio's late-2000s renaissance (Ratatouille). The case for 1999 rests on canonical-popular impact; 2007 rests on prestige-auteur density.

Cinema · 2007 Ranked

Best Films of 2007, Ranked by IQ Score

The single year most-frequently cited as the 2000s' greatest. The cinema of 2007, ranked by IQ Score.

2007 is the single year most-frequently cited as the 2000s' greatest in cinema. No Country for Old Men, There Will Be Blood, Zodiac, Michael Clayton, and Eastern Promises all released within twelve months. The rubric reads what the actual catalog supports.

The structural argument for 2007-as-best-decade-year: the year prestige-mid-budget studio filmmaking peaked before the late-2000s contraction. The Coen Brothers' McCarthy adaptation, Paul Thomas Anderson's Sinclair-Lewis-coded oil epic, Fincher's Zodiac investigation, Tony Gilroy's lawyer-thriller debut — all the same year. Plus international entries (4 Months, 3 Weeks and 2 Days, Persepolis), animated work (Ratatouille), and documentary (Sicko).

13 titles · ranked by IQ Score