How many of the 100 best dramas in Hollywood history have you seen?

Dramatic elements elicit strong emotions and pull you into the intimate core of human relationships. Drama as a film category spans a range of genres, including horror, thrillers, noirs, and comedy. These movies can center on heartwarming subjects, be viewed with a tissue in hand, or take deep dives into serious matters. Alex Garland's 2024 sci-fi release "Civil War," for instance, explores the United States' potential future under an authoritarian dictatorship. "Dune: Part Two," the eagerly awaited 2024 sequel to Denis Villeneuve's 2021 "Dune" film, invites audiences to consider the corrupting nature of religious power.

This celebrated movie genre has its roots in the term "melodrama," which gets a bad rap as a description for films that are overwrought or sentimental. However, consider how the term "melos," a Greek word for "music," links with drama and becomes a word that captures the way sweeping scores and evocative musical soundtracks work in films to spark deep emotions. It's a drama if it evokes powerful emotions across subjects such as politics, mythology, and technology, among many others. Dramatic themes also appear in animated children's films, classic romances, and dark histories.

If it puts knots in the belly, makes the skin crawl, sets off fireworks, or gets the waterworks flowing, it's a movie indulging in drama in the most pleasurable sense. Drama undergirds suspense and fear. It's the element that makes the audience identify with the characters. Dramas inspire empathy as well as critical thinking.

Stacker examined data, as of July 2023, on more than 4,000 dramas across the globe to come up with a Stacker score—a weighted index between IMDb and Metacritic data. To qualify, a film had to have at least 5,000 IMDb user votes and a Metascore. Ties were broken by IMDb user votes. Every film on the list has been considered according to the cinematic history and development of drama.

Here are the top 100 films guaranteed to move you.

You may also like:How much does it cost to win Best Picture? Breaking down the biggest and smallest budgets.