45 behind-the-scenes photos of 45 of the best movies of all time

Silver Screen Collection // Getty Images Omar Sharif has a moment with director David Lean on the set of “Lawrence of Arabia.” Sharif would go on to work with Lean a few years later when the former starred in “Doctor Zhivago,” with both films being larger-than-life epics that have had a lasting influence on cinema. Chinatown (1974) Fairchild Archive/WWD/Penske Media via Getty Images Stars James Hong, Faye Dunaway, and Jack Nicholson wait on set with director Roman Polanski. Screenwriter Robert Towne won the Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay for “Chinatown” and the film is widely regarded as one of cinema’s greatest film noirs. North by Northwest (1959) John Springer Collection/CORBIS/Corbis via Getty Images Star Cary Grant takes direction from director Alfred Hitchcock. Grant made four films with Hitchcock, and “North by Northwest” was their final collaboration. Hitchcock enjoyed playing off of Grant’s good-guy persona and handsome looks–elements that added surprise to his films’ sinister and anxious undertones. The Apartment (1960) Richard C. Miller/Donaldson Collection // Getty Images Here, Shirley MacLaine sits with director Billy Wilder. MacLaine has since discussed the spontaneousness on set of the romantic dramedy, and how she and co-star Jack Lemmon weren’t always sure how the film’s plot would conclude. The film won Best Picture at the Academy Awards, while Wilder won Best Director and Best Original Screenplay, the latter award with co-writer I.A.L. Diamond. Saving Private Ryan (1998) Paramount Pictures/Fotos International // Getty Images Steven Spielberg and Tom Hanks stand on the beaches of Normandy while filming the opening sequences of the film, which depicted the storming of the beaches on D-Day. Unlike a normal film production schedule, “Saving Private Ryan” was filmed almost completely in sequence from the first scene to the last. The production started with these intense scenes on the beach, which amount to about 25 minutes of the film. Taxi Driver (1976) Fairchild Archive/Penske Media via Getty Images A young Martin Scorsese stands with a young Robert De Niro, who stars in “Taxi Driver” as Travis Bickle. This was the pair’s second collaboration, and the 2023 film “Killers of the Flower Moon” is their 10th collaboration. Anatomy of a Murder (1959) Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images “Anatomy of a Murder” director Otto Preminger watches as Duke Ellington works on the film’s score. The film was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry by the Library of Congress in 2012 and is one of the earliest films to use jazz music as its primary soundtrack. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948) Sunset Boulevard // Corbis via Getty Images Actors Tim Holt and Walter Huston join Huston’s son and director of the film, John Huston, on set. Both father and son won Oscars for the film, for Best Supporting Actor and Best Director, respectively, with John also winning an Oscar for the screenplay. The Godfather Part II (1974) Paramount Pictures // Getty Images Director Francis Ford Coppola sits at the camera with the film’s star Robert De Niro standing in costume. “The Godfather Part II” is the second in Coppola’s trilogy and his first and only collaboration with De Niro. Both Coppola and De Niro won Oscars for the film, and it was the first film sequel to ever win Best Picture. The Night of the Hunter (1955) United Artists // Getty Images Stars Robert Mitchum and Shelley Winters share a look at a book while in costume. The horror film was the only film to be directed by prolific actor Charles Laughton. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope (1977) Sunset Boulevard // Corbis via Getty Images Director George Lucas sits with actor Sir Alec Guinness, who played Obi-Wan Kenobi in the film. The groundbreaking science fiction film, which began a multibillion-dollar franchise that continues today, was shot in a number of alien-like, picturesque locales, from Tunisia to Death Valley in California. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964) Columbia Pictures/Archive Photos // Getty Images “Dr. Strangelove” stars Peter Sellers and Sterling Hayden are joined by director Stanley Kubrick, who is using a director’s viewfinder. The satirical film has been ranked by the American Film Institute as 26th on its list of best American movies, and third on its list of funniest American movies. It has also been selected for preservation by the National Film Registry. La Dolce Vita (1959) Sunset Boulevard // Corbis via Getty Images “A Streetcar Named Desire” star Marlon Brando has a discussion with the film’s director, Elia Kazan. During the peak of his success, which coincided with McCarthy-era politics, Kazan found himself at the center of controversy when he appeared before the House Un-American Activities Committee and named eight friends who were fellow former members of the American Communist Party. Apocalypse Now (1979) Caterine Milinaire/Sygma via Getty Images Actor Dennis Hopper, in costume as an American soldier in Vietnam, stands with director Francis Ford Coppola. The filming process for “Apocalypse Now” has been described as chaotic and extremely stressful–Coppola, who had invested $30 million of his own money into the production, had an epileptic seizure during filming and the film’s star, Martin Sheen, suffered a heart attack. Alien (1979) Slava Katamidze Collection // Getty Images Sergei Eisenstein directs alongside his cinematographers Vladimir Popov and Eduard Tisse. “Battleship Potemkin” features an iconic and suspenseful sequence set on the Odessa Steps, a scene whose influence can be seen in similar scenes from “The Untouchables” and in a number of other films. The Philadelphia Story (1940) Silver Screen Collection // Getty Images George Cukor directs John Howard, Katharine Hepburn, and Cary Grant on set. Prior to this film, Hepburn had spent a few years starring mostly in box office flops before she took on the role of the glamorous but messy (and ultimately relatable) Tracy Lord. Rear Window (1954) Michael Ochs Archives // Getty Images Alfred Hitchcock frames a shot with his stars Grace Kelly and James Stewart. “Rear Window” famously used only a single set and was entirely filmed in a constructed apartment as the location. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)