Autostraddle's 200 Best Lesbian, Queer & Bisexual Movies Of All Time (2021)

Autostraddle's 200 Best Lesbian, Queer & Bisexual Movies Of All Time (2021)'s icon

Created by PurpleGalaxy.

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"The goal with this list was to create a canon of Lesbian+ film that honors all the different types of work worthy of viewing. There are films that are simply fun for a casual night in, there are deeply thought-provoking films, and there are films that are mostly just here to turn you on.

This list was created through a rigorous multi-step process that involved a lot of watching, a lot of voting, and a lot of weighing factors often ignored on mainstream film lists. It was important to us that we not take into account any metric voted on by institutions composed mostly of cis straight white men. While it’s impressive when a film about queer women or nonbinary people manages to get Oscar nominations or a high Rotten Tomatoes score, the films that get those recognitions are not often made by us or specifically for us.

This list does not include films about trans men (e.g. Boys Don't Cry, By Hook or By Crook), films about trans women exclusively interested in men (e.g. Tangerine, A Fantastic Woman), films based on queer books that had their explicit queerness removed (e.g. The Color Purple, Fried Green Tomatoes), or films where the queerness is just subtext (e.g. A League of Their Own, Rebecca). This list also doesn’t include short films, documentaries, or porn — with a handful of exceptions where length/genre lines were blurred."


Note: This version of the list was published in early 2021. The list has since been updated again but I'll be keeping this version up for reference. The source URL on this will take you to an archived version of Autostraddle's list that matches this list.

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  1. 56 new

    Mulholland Dr.

    2001 — a.k.a. Mulholland Drive, in 26 top lists Check
  2. 62 new

    Persona

    1966, in 25 top lists Check
  3. 68 new

    Black Swan

    2010, in 12 top lists Check
  4. 105 new

    V for Vendetta

    2005, in 10 top lists Check
  5. 130 new

    La vie d'Adèle

    2013 — a.k.a. Blue Is the Warmest Colour, in 13 top lists Check
  6. 37 new

    Todo sobre mi madre

    1999 — a.k.a. All About My Mother, in 18 top lists Check
  7. 119 new

    The Rocky Horror Picture Show

    1975, in 13 top lists Check
  8. 113 new

    The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo

    2011, in 1 top list Check
  9. 12 new

    Carol

    2015, in 8 top lists Check
  10. 11 new

    Ah-ga-ssi

    2016 — a.k.a. The Handmaiden, in 13 top lists Check
  11. 74 new

    The Haunting

    1963, in 6 top lists Check
  12. 6 new

    Portrait de la jeune fille en feu

    2019 — a.k.a. Portrait of a Lady on Fire, in 12 top lists
    Check
  13. 45 new

    The Favourite

    2018, in 7 top lists Check
  14. 80 new

    Die bitteren Tränen der Petra von Kant

    1972 — a.k.a. The Bitter Tears of Petra von Kant, in 8 top lists Check
  15. 108 new

    Heavenly Creatures

    1994, in 7 top lists Check
  16. 13 new

    Fucking Åmål

    1998 — a.k.a. Show Me Love, in 6 top lists Check
  17. 92 new

    The Hours

    2002, in 7 top lists Check
  18. 122 new

    Annihilation

    2018, in 3 top lists Check
  19. 7 new

    Bound

    1996, in 6 top lists Check
  20. 144 new

    The Kids Are All Right

    2010, in 6 top lists Check
  21. 126 new

    Monster

    2003, in 3 top lists Check
  22. 112 new

    Män som hatar kvinnor

    2009 — a.k.a. The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo, in 1 top list Check
  23. 100 new

    The Hunger

    1983, in 2 top lists Check
  24. 66 new

    Tomboy

    2011, in 4 top lists Check
  25. 10 new

    Mädchen in Uniform

    1931, in 5 top lists Check
  26. 29 new

    Les rendez-vous d'Anna

    1978 — a.k.a. The Meetings of Anna, in 6 top lists Check
  27. 67 new

    Thelma

    2017, in 0 top lists
    Check
  28. 164 new

    Frida

    2002, in 0 top lists Check
  29. 134 new

    The Duke of Burgundy

    2014, in 5 top lists Check
  30. 51 new

    The Children's Hour

    1961, in 0 top lists Check
  31. 54 new

    Booksmart

    2019, in 3 top lists
    Check
  32. 3 new

    Pariah

    2011, in 7 top lists Check
  33. 1 new

    But I'm a Cheerleader

    1999, in 3 top lists Check
  34. 146 new

    Jennifer's Body

    2009, in 1 top list Check
  35. 16 new

    Je tu il elle

    1974 — a.k.a. Je Tu Il Elle, in 5 top lists Check
  36. 27 new

    Certain Women

    2016, in 5 top lists Check
  37. 33 new

    Born in Flames

    1983, in 5 top lists Check
  38. 166 new

    Antonia

    1995 — a.k.a. Antonia's Line, in 5 top lists Check
  39. 4 new

    Desert Hearts

    1985, in 3 top lists Check
  40. 121 new

    Shortbus

    2006, in 2 top lists Check
  41. 84 new

    Can You Ever Forgive Me?

    2018, in 0 top lists
    Check
  42. 83 new

    Atomic Blonde

    2017, in 0 top lists Check
  43. 5 new

    The Watermelon Woman

    1996, in 7 top lists Check
  44. 137 new

    My Summer of Love

    2004, in 3 top lists Check
  45. 78 new

    Dope

    2015, in 0 top lists Check
  46. 79 new

    Glen or Glenda

    1953, in 3 top lists Check
  47. 150 new

    Birds of Prey and the Fantabulous Emancipation...

    2020 — a.k.a. Birds of Prey, in 1 top list
    Check
  48. 28 new

    Naissance des pieuvres

    2007 — a.k.a. Water Lilies, in 1 top list Check
  49. 185 new

    Les biches

    1968 — a.k.a. Les Biches, in 2 top lists Check
  50. 117 new

    Vampyros Lesbos

    1971 — a.k.a. El signo del vampiro, in 1 top list Check
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Last updated on Jan 26, 2021; source