47. ERIN BROCKOVICH
 
United States
dir. Steven Soderbergh
world premiere 2000
U.S. release 2000

 

 
Because almost everyone I knew was jiving to it in 2000, but how many people realized how sturdily Erin had been built to last? I thought I got it, but I'm still awestruck by how electrically it holds up. You'd think it would need three different directors to nail the star performance, the communal cross-section, and the political platform, but Soderbergh works his own miraculous hat-trick.