17 of the most anticipated movies of 2023

Often overlooked in favor of narrative features, documentary films can be just as engaging—if not more so. If you're someone who doesn't normally watch documentaries but is curious to check out a few good ones, 2022 was a banner year for nonfiction filmmaking. These include films from all over the world, wide-ranging in content, style, and creator, often award-nominated and award-winning.

You could learn about the assassination attempt on a Russian presidential candidate ("Navalny"), the life of two ordinary dairy cows ("Cow"), or the history of an underground network of women who provided access to low-cost and free abortion ("The Janes"). Documentaries allow us to expand our understanding of the world in a riveting way, opening our minds to something we might never have thought to seek out. It is cinema that offers tangible discovery.

If you're looking to find a great documentary film to throw on, Stacker has you covered with a list of the 25 best documentaries that came out in 2022. Stacker used Metacritic data on all movies released in the U.S. in 2022 to rank the top 25 nonfiction films. Data is current as of Dec. 2, and ties were broken internally by digging deeper into the data from Metacritic.

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- Director: Jason Kohn

- Metascore: 79

- Runtime: 87 minutes

Taking a close look at a secretive industry, "Nothing Lasts Forever" reveals the unseen conflicts rising within the world of diamonds, and director Jason Kohn ends up discovering a widespread conspiracy that threatens the value of all diamonds. The film won the Sidewalk Film Festival's special jury prize for Best Documentary Feature. Kohn's previous documentary, "Love Means Zero," was nominated for a Sports Emmy for Outstanding Long Sports Documentary.

- Director: Andrea Arnold

- Metascore: 80

- Runtime: 94 minutes

This compassionate documentary takes a look at the life of two dairy cows in an attempt to grant humans a greater understanding of this often misunderstood and beautiful creature. The film was nominated for Best Documentary at the BAFTA Awards. "Cow" is director Andrea Arnold's first documentary feature, having previously directed critically acclaimed narrative films such as "Fish Tank" and "American Honey."

- Director: Sacha Jenkins

- Metascore: 80

- Runtime: 106 minutes

The legacy of one of jazz music's founding fathers is chronicled in this documentary exploring the life of Louis Armstrong. Using archival footage, real conversations, and recordings, the film traces Armstrong's roots in this intimate exploration of a titan in American music history. Writing for The Guardian, critic Leslie Felperin described the film as "packed with dynamics, sprinkled with astonishing high notes, and immensely pleasurable."

- Director: Alon Schwarz

- Metascore: 81

- Runtime: 94 minutes

Unearthing a controversial graduate thesis from the late 1990s, Alon Schwarz co-wrote and directed this revealing documentary that examines the founding of the state of Israel in 1948; a battle for land that Israelis refer to as "The War of Independence" and Palestinians call "Nakba," meaning "The Catastrophe." The film takes a look at the village of Tantura and an alleged massacre that was carried out there by Israeli troops. Schwarz won the Jury Award prize for Best Documentary Feature at the 2022 Philadelphia Film Festival.

- Director: Rosa Ruth Boesten

- Metascore: 81

- Runtime: 83 minutes

Black Classical painter George Anthony Morton went to prison for a decade on drug dealing charges, but was able to further hone his abilities while inside. Finally released, Morton travels back to his hometown to mend ties and paint his family members, while facing his past and the white-dominated art world. Writing for IndieWire, Robert Daniels wrote that "Master of Life" is "a gentle and graceful film defined by the capriciousness of sight."

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- Director: Andrew Dominik

- Metascore: 81

- Runtime: 105 minutes

Director Andrew Dominik depicts the performing and recording of songs for Nick Cave and Warren Ellis' most recent album, "Carnage," and Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds' "Ghosteen." The film explores the creative process that binds Ellis and Cave as both artists and fierce friends. Dominik (who also directed the 2022 Marilyn Monroe biopic "Blonde") documented Cave on film once before in 2016's "One More Time with Feeling."

- Director: Stefan Forbes

- Metascore: 82

- Runtime: 93 minutes

In 1973, a botched robbery by four Black Sunni Muslims in Brooklyn, New York, led to the longest hostage situation in NYPD history, after a police officer was killed in an exchange of fire. The NYPD had a deadly policy in place for dealing with hostage sieges, but police psychologist Dr. Harvey Schlossberg and the Black community fought to change the system and save lives.

- Director: Daniel Roher

- Metascore: 82

- Runtime: 98 minutes

In 2020, former Russian presidential candidate Alexei Navalny fell into a coma, later discovered to have been the result of poisoning by a military-grade nerve agent. Navalny's survival and subsequent quest to uncover his would-be assassins are chronicled in this urgent and shocking documentary. At the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, "Navalny" won both the Audience Award for best U.S. Documentary as well as the Festival Favorite Award.

- Directors: Celeste Bell, Paul Sng

- Metascore: 82

- Runtime: 96 minutes

Lead singer of the British punk band X-Ray Spex, Poly Styrene, died in 2011 at age 53 of cancer. Now, her daughter, Celeste Bell, the film's co-director, searches through archival footage and interviews in order to explore the legacy and history that her mother left behind. Lisa Kennedy's review in The New York Times called the film "a thoughtfully finessed filial reckoning."

- Directors: Tia Lessin, Emma Pildes

- Metascore: 82

- Runtime: 101 minutes

During the pre-Roe v. Wade era, an underground network of female activists who called themselves "JANE" established care and access to 11,000 women seeking an abortion. This riveting documentary honors the heroic women who put their lives on the line so that people could have affordable reproductive care. The film was nominated for the Grand Jury Prize in the Documentary category at the Sundance Film Festival.

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- Director: Elvis Mitchell

- Metascore: 83

- Runtime: 135 minutes

In this engaging documentary, director Elvis Mitchell traces the history and evolution of Black cinema in America, from its beginnings through the revolutionary films of the 1970s. Mitchell uses a mix of archival footage, interviews with artists like Laurence Fishburne, Whoopi Goldberg, and Samuel L. Jackson, as well as personal history in his cinematic exploration.

- Director: Sierra Pettengill

- Metascore: 83

- Runtime: 91 minutes

This documentary details how the United States took its strange first steps toward police militarization in the 1960s. Director Sierra Pettengill uses unearthed archival footage from a model town for military training purposes called "Riotsville," where law enforcement learned how to respond to civil unrest from the U.S. army. "Riotsville, U.S.A." was called a "transfixing doc [that] unveils the ugly truth of America's riot police" by IndieWire.

- Director: Brett Morgen

- Metascore: 83

- Runtime: 135 minutes

Brett Morgen's music documentary attempts an illuminating look at rock icon David Bowie, drawing mostly on his songs from the '70s and using never-before-seen performances and footage. "Moonage Daydream" has already grossed $12.2 million worldwide (as of December 2022), making it the highest-grossing documentary of 2022.

- Director: Alex Pritz

- Metascore: 83

- Runtime: 85 minutes

The lives of the Indigenous Uru-eu-wau-wau people are constantly under attack due to deforestation efforts in the Amazon, despite having been promised protected dominion over their territory. Partially shot by the Uru-eu-wau-wau themselves, "The Territory" looks at these threats and the Indigenous peoples fighting back against the destruction of their home by setting up their own news media team. Writing on the film for the Los Angeles Times, Robert Abele wrote that "your capacity to be both awed and enraged is ultimately well-served by 'The Territory,' a gripping portrait of an endangered community."

- Director: Sara Dosa

- Metascore: 83

- Runtime: 98 minutes

Married volcanologists Katia and Maurice Krafft were as in love with one another as they are with the subject of their research, some of nature's most beautiful and violent marvels. "Fire of Love" details the Kraffts' two-decade-long search to uncover the mysteries of these eruptions, leading up to their deaths during a volcanic explosion in 1991. The film was nominated for Sundance's Grand Jury Prize for Documentaries.

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- Director: David Siev

- Metascore: 85

- Runtime: 100 minutes

In the face of COVID-19 and a growing white nationalist movement, an Asian American family in rural Michigan fights to keep their restaurant in business. "Bad Axe" creates a portrait of a family trying to survive during the pandemic under the Trump administration. At the 2022 South By Southwest Film Festival, director David Siev took home the Audience Award for Best Documentary Feature.

- Director: Shaunak Sen

- Metascore: 86

- Runtime: 97 minutes

Two brothers dedicate their lives to saving the black kite, native birds of prey in New Delhi which have increasingly dropped from the skies due to pollution. Meanwhile, the city simmers with civil unrest as the brothers struggle to keep their home animal hospital above water. "All That Breathes" has received a plethora of awards and nominations, including the Grand Jury Prize for World Cinema - Documentary at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival.

- Director: Patricio Guzmán

- Metascore: 86

- Runtime: 83 minutes

In 2019, more than 1 million people flooded the streets of Santiago, Chile, to demand more democracy and social reform. Director Patricio Guzmán obtains footage of the frontline struggle and interviews with activist leaders to paint a portrait of a society no longer waiting for change. For Variety, Jessica Kiang wrote that "with unassuming, generous elegance, [Guzmán] finds hope and political optimism in his homeland's 2019 protest movement."

- Director: Payal Kapadia

- Metascore: 87

- Runtime: 99 minutes

Exploring university life in India, this doc chronicles letters written by a student named L at the Film and Television Institute of India to her estranged boyfriend. The letters offer insights into their relationship and reveal social changes against religious and caste-based discrimination happening under Narendra Modi. Director Payal Kapadia won the Golden Eye award at the 2021 Cannes Film Festival. Judges noted, "We were all won over by a film with a strong artistic vision, which combines the personal and the political in a hypnotic way. For a first film, that makes it even more amazing."

- Directors: Emily Kunstler, Sarah Kunstler

- Metascore: 87

- Runtime: 117 minutes

Going back from the time of slavery up into our present era, civil rights lawyer Jeffrey Robinson paints a portrait of America as inextricably impacted by white supremacy and anti-Black racism, using his own interviews, personal anecdotes, and lectures. In her review for The Wrap, critic Ronda Racha Penrice writes, "[The film's] existence speaks to the power of cinema to reflect the times by sparking conversations and changing minds."

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- Directors: Paula Eiselt, Tonya Lewis Lee

- Metascore: 87

- Runtime: 86 minutes

This shocking documentary sounds the alarm on a little-known crisis in America. "Aftershock" takes a look at how the maternal health system in America routinely fails Black and Brown women, leading to a disproportionate number of deaths due to complications during childbirth. Shot during the height of the pandemic, the documentary has a grassroots feel and, to many viewers' surprise, also follows Black fathers whose partners died in childbirth. Speaking to The New York Times, co-director Tonya Lee noted that this wasn't just a women's issue, "It's a family issue. It's a community issue. It's everybody's issue."

- Director: Margaret Brown

- Metascore: 88

- Runtime: 109 minutes

The remains of the ship Clotilda—the last known illegal slave ship which arrived on the shores of Mobile, Alabama, in 1860—are discovered, and it offers the chance for direct descendants of the ship's passengers, who now live in Africatown, to reconnect with their heritage and seek justice. "Descendant" premiered at the 2022 Sundance Film Festival, where it won the U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Creative Vision.

- Director: Bianca Stigter

- Metascore: 90

- Runtime: 69 minutes

A three-minute snippet of home movie footage from 1938, depicting residents of the town of Nasielsk in Poland offers a brief, emotional, and historically precious glimpse of Jewish life right before the start of World War II. In addition to directing "Three Minutes: A Lengthening," Bianca Stigter also served as an associate producer for Steve McQueen's films "12 Years a Slave" and "Widows."

- Director: Laura Poitras

- Metascore: 90

- Runtime: 113 minutes

Using Nan Goldin's own slideshows, interviews, and photography, the documentary follows the artist-activist as she works to take down Purdue Pharma owners the Sackler family, who are accountable for the opioid epidemic. The film also covers Goldin's founding of the advocacy group P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now). "All The Beauty and the Bloodshed" was named Best Non-Fiction Film by the New York Film Critics Circle and won the Golden Lion for Best Film at the Venice Film Festival.

- Director: Maria Speth

- Metascore: 92

- Runtime: 217 minutes

In a German industrial town, middle school teacher Dieter Bachmann teaches immigrant students from nine different countries. Using unconventional teaching methods that often don't align with the cultural realities of the town they live in, Bachmann forms a close bond with his students as he attempts to instill in them a sense of belonging. In his review for The New York Times, A.O. Scott described the film as "an acknowledgment of the hard work of learning, and the magic of simple decency."

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Today's sprawling television landscape has a never-ending supply of new and original offerings from streaming services.

No matter which service reigns supreme, Netflix will always be the progenitor of the online streaming trend. With its vast library of original content, the ubiquitous platform also remains one of the best places to binge-watch during the holidays. Among Netflix's library are some of the top-rated television shows of all time, joined by recent smash hits including "Dahmer - Monster: The Jeffrey Dahmer Story" and "Wednesday."

Stacker surveyed IMDb data on all Netflix original series and ranked the top 30 according to IMDb user ratings, with ties broken by votes. To qualify, the series had to have at least 2,500 votes, be distributed on Netflix in the U.S., and be produced and/or exclusively distributed by Netflix for at least one season (e.g., "Arrested Development" is included despite only its latter seasons being produced by Netflix).

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What began as a planned reboot of the 1981 cult classic "Heavy Metal" became this animated anthology series with a similar sensibility. It touches down on various styles and genres over the course of three acclaimed seasons. Directors Tim Miller and David Fincher co-executive produced and also helmed certain episodes, respectively.

This award-winning British dramedy welcomes viewers to Moordale Secondary School, where eccentric students grapple with their sexual awakenings. Actor Asa Butterfield leads a talented ensemble cast and anchors a number of the main storylines. Its fourth season is currently in production.

This animated series adapts a graphic novel of the same name and centers around the 11-year-old title character. After growing up on the edge of the woods, the free-spirited Hilda (Bella Ramsey) takes her adventures into a nearby city. Its blend of magical characters and emotional themes will resonate with viewers of all ages.

This salivating documentary series highlights a different world-class chef in every episode. It offers far more than a glimpse into the cooking methods of each subject, covering personal journeys with food and life. Featured cuisines stand not as simple means of survival but as digestible works of art.

This reboot of a blockbuster Bravo series introduces five new experts in the respective fields of fashion, culture, design, grooming, and the culinary arts. In each episode, the experts join forces to help individuals bring out their best selves. Compulsively watchable, it's rendered a notable impact on LGBTQ+ representation in popular culture.

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This British historical saga culls from a book series and unfolds in the ninth century against a backdrop of perennial conflict. Born a Saxon but raised a Viking, a vengeful warrior (Alexander Dreymon) finds himself torn between two worlds. Its story will reportedly conclude with an upcoming feature-length film called "Seven Kings Must Die."

The zeitgeist-capturing comedy that few saw coming first aired on YouTube Red before migrating over to Netflix. It picks up decades after the original Karate Kid film series and cleverly reintroduces several major characters. At the same time, a new generation of young fighters squares off in a never-ending battle for dominance.

This action-packed series makes up part of the MCU and functions as a direct spin-off to the hit show "Daredevil."

Jon Bernthal plays the vengeful vigilante who blazes a trail of violence through New York City's criminal underworld. The series was canceled after two seasons as part of a broader programming shake-up at Netflix.

In the vein of shows like "Breaking Bad" comes this violent crime drama about desperate people taking desperate measures. Corrupt financial advisor Martin Byrde (Jason Bateman) moves his family from Chicago to the Lake of the Ozarks, where he's forced to launder money for a cartel kingpin. A nail-biting struggle for power and survival ensues.

This thrilling documentary series explores the world of Formula 1 racing from every conceivable angle. It goes deep behind the scenes to offer candid portrayals of famous drivers and multi-billion dollar business decisions. Upcoming fifth and sixth seasons have already been confirmed.

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This beloved mockumentary series premiered on Canada's Showcase Network and moved over to Netflix starting in its eighth season. Set in the Sunnyvale Trailer Park, it follows quirky characters through several hair-brained, criminal schemes. It now comprises a larger franchise, including movies, specials, and spinoffs.

This epoch-making documentary series re-examines the murder convictions of Steven Avery and Brendan Dassey and asks whether justice was truly served. Its explosive revelations and gripping execution helped usher in a new era for the true crime genre. The first season alone was reportedly 13 years in the making.

- IMDb user rating: 8.6

- On air: 2018

Director Michael Flanagan's "The Haunting of Hill House" is the perfect binge for fans of the horror genre, the jump scare, and family drama.

The adaptation of a 1959 novel by the same name follows the Crains, a family who moves into Hill House to renovate the old mansion but is plagued by paranormal activity. The 10-episode miniseries jumps back and forth between their time in the mansion and their present-day lives, which are haunted by the home's sinister history. The show garnered much acclaim.

Although the storyline of "The Haunting of Hill House" is, for the most part, wrapped up by the final episode, fans can be satiated by Flanagan's next standalone series in the anthology called "The Haunting of Bly Manor." This new series features new characters and a new storyline while retaining the same feel as "Hill House."

- IMDb user rating: 8.6

- On air: 2017-2019

If you're the kind of person who can fall asleep soundly while watching a true-crime documentary, "Mindhunter" will certainly not disappoint. The psychological thriller, based on the true-crime book "Mindhunter: Inside the FBI's Elite Serial Crime Unit," digs into the origination of the FBI's Behavioral Science Unit and the strategy of criminal profiling.

Seasons one and two feature portrayals of serial killers such as Edmund Kemper, Charles Manson, and Wayne Williams.

- IMDb user rating: 8.6

- On air: 2015-2018

The Netflix series "Daredevil" is based on the Stan Lee Marvel superhero of the same name. The show follows the main character Matt Murdock, a blind lawyer by trade who is based in New York City with a superhero alter ego. "Daredevil," which takes place in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, is the first in a series of shows leading into a crossover miniseries called "The Defenders."

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- IMDb user rating: 8.6

- On air: 2020

In this seven-episode period drama set in the 1950s, Anya Taylor-Joy portrays Beth Harmon, a chess prodigy of global renown who suffers from drug and alcohol addiction.

Co-creator Allan Scott purchased the rights to the story, which was originally a novel written by Walter Tevis, from Tevis' widow in 1992 and had sought to adapt it for television ever since. The show won 11 Primetime Emmy Awards, two Golden Globes, and broke several Netflix viewership records.

Romance blossoms between teens Nick (Kit Connor) and Charlie (Joe Locke) in this British dramedy with LGBTQ+ themes. It's based on a graphic novel and webcomic series by show creator Alice Oseman. "Heartstopper" holds a Critic Score of 100% and an Audience Score of 97% on Rotten Tomatoes.

This Canadian period drama reimagines the seminal 1908 children's novel "Anne of Green Gables." It takes place on Prince Edward Island and follows a young orphan girl (Amybeth McNulty) as she overcomes obstacles big and small. "A darker, sadder, more realistic story about an outsider's will to survive," wrote critic Chitra Ramaswamy for the Guardian.

Netflix's foremost prestige drama spends decades in the life of Queen Elizabeth and the royal family. It features lavish production values and top-notch performances by a rotating door of veteran actors. The most recent fifth season examines the crumbling marriage between Prince Charles and Princess Diana.

- IMDb user rating: 8.7

- On air: 2003-2019

Riches-to-rags sitcom "Arrested Development" had a popular run on the Fox network in the early 2000s before what many fans deemed to be an untimely cancellation after three seasons.

Netflix revived the show in 2013, though conflicting schedules of stars Jason Bateman and Will Arnett forced disjointed filming schedules where characters were isolated. The show returned to its ensemble roots in 2018.

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To the delight of sci-fi lovers everywhere, this gripping German series takes the concept of time travel to a labyrinthian extreme. It uses a small-town mystery involving missing children as the gateway to a shape-shifting journey through the past, present, and future. Watch it without distraction or risk losing the plot altogether.

- IMDb user rating: 8.7

- On air: 2013-2018

"House of Cards" is a remake of a BBC series that was based on a novel of the same name. Created by playwright Beau Willimon and produced and directed by David Fincher, the show had Kevin Spacey as the cutthroat House Minority Whip Francis Underwood as he plotted his way to greater power in Washington D.C. with the help of his wife, Claire (Robin Wright).

Spacey was fired from the sixth and final season after a number of sexual misconduct allegations, with Wright's Claire moving into the lead role.

- IMDb user rating: 8.7

- On air: 2016-present

Arguably the most pop-culturally significant Netflix original is "Stranger Things," an homage to 1980s fiction and trends by the Duffer brothers. Like "E.T." or a Stephen King story, "Stranger Things" follows a group of children as they encounter mysterious forces in their hometown of Hawkins, Indiana One such force is a telekinetic girl named Eleven (Millie Bobby Brown), who helps the children fight beings from the Upside Down. The show is slated for a fifth and final season.

- IMDb user rating: 8.8

- On air: 2014-2020

The adult animated sitcom "BoJack Horseman" got off to a shaky start during its inaugural season but eventually landed on many "best of" lists. The show follows a self-destructive anthropomorphic horse named BoJack (voiced by Will Arnett), a former sitcom star from the '90s on a journey to regain celebrity status and cultural relevance.

The star-studded cast is rounded out by Amy Sedaris, Alison Brie, and Aaron Paul.

- IMDb user rating: 8.8

- On air: 2015-2017

Based on the real-life story of drug lord Pablo Escobar, "Narcos" is a Netflix original starring Wagner Moura as Escobar, Boyd Holbrook as DEA agent Steve Murphy, and Pedro Pascal as DEA agent Javier Peña. The third season takes place after the death of Escobar and focuses on Peña's efforts against the Cali Cartel. Instead of a fourth season, the show "reset" into a show titled "Narcos: Mexico" with a different cast and story.

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- IMDb user rating: 8.8

- On air: 2011-2019

Originally on British television, this now-Netflix original show is an anthology series by humorist and writer Charlie Brooker. In a similar style to "The Twilight Zone," each episode provides its own unique narrative and cast of characters, with every story depicting an aspect of society and life twisted by technology in some manner.

Netflix experimented with interactive storytelling with "Bandersnatch," a choose-your-own-adventure "Black Mirror" film.

- IMDb user rating: 8.9

- On air: 2019

The limited series "When They See Us" was conceptualized and directed by "Selma" director Ava DuVernay and dramatizes the case of the Central Park Five. Five young actors portray the five young men, all people of color, with performers like Vera Farmiga, John Leguizamo, and Michael K. Williams filling out the rest of the cast. The four-part miniseries was highly praised and helped win an acting Emmy for Jharrel Jerome.

- IMDb user rating: 9.0

- On air: 2021-present

Riot Games is known for, well, gaming. The video game developer and e-sports engine is known for "League of Legends," one of the most played video games in the world. It was only a matter of time before their successes opened up other doors, like an animated TV series. "Arcane" is set in the League of Legends world, but it serves as a prequel to the game, building out origin stories for some of the game's most iconic characters.

- IMDb user rating: 9.1

- On air: 2020

ESPN proved a commitment to quality when they entered the docuseries arena with "Kings Ransom," the first installment of their now famous 30 for 30 series, in October 2009. And they've never slowed down. Perhaps their greatest achievement yet, which is saying a lot, is "The Last Dance": a 10-part, eight-hour deep dive into the rise of the '90s Chicago Bulls under Michael Jordan and Phil Jackson. It doesn't matter whether you lived through it or have somehow never heard of Michael Jordan. The docuseries is a riveting experience that gets the story straight from the horse's mouth.

- IMDb user rating: 9.3

- On air: 2019

The production team that made "Planet Earth" and related documentaries directly collaborated with Netflix for "Our Planet," an eight-part series. While the team's other documentaries focused on nature and the environment that animals and plants inhabit, this documentary is fixated on human impact on these environments. This documentary is also narrated by David Attenborough.

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Costuming is one of the most unsung aspects of the movie industry. For the most part, when it's done right, the viewer hardly even notices it. A beautiful, period-appropriate, Gilded Age gown, for example, only helps sink the viewer further into a story about the turn of the 20th-century woman. It's when the costuming is done poorly, when it doesn't match the time and space and pulls us from the world, that we tend to take note of it.

Once in a while, however, an outfit stands out for all the right reasons. Maybe a certain outfit perfectly encapsulates a character's identity. Or it's just a stunning, well-crafted piece of clothing. Or maybe the ensemble inspires trends beyond the cinema and begins to affect how we dress in real life (a la "Bridgerton" costumes).

To celebrate these outstanding moments in costuming, Stacker dug into fashion in film history to highlight 25 of the most iconic outfits ever to grace the silver screen. From Audrey Hepburn's "Breakfast at Tiffany's" dress to Uma Thurman's "Kill Bill" getup and everything in between, these looks live in our minds rent-free.

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Say what you will about Holly Golightly's morals, but there's no denying the "Breakfast at Tiffany's" socialite was an absolute fashion plate. Her most iconic outfit comes right at the film's start—the "little black dress" she pairs with pearls, a croissant, and a cup of takeout coffee to look at Tiffany's window displays.

Designed by Hubert de Givenchy, the dress is made of Italian silk and has been described as a perfect example of 1960s fashion—chic, delicate, sensual, and Parisian. All told, there were three versions of the dress: one that sits in Givenchy's archives, one in a Madrid museum, and one that sold to a private collector at auction for $800,000 in 2007.

In Grace Kelly's third and final collaboration with Alfred Hitchcock, she dons the most iconic costume of their partnership—a white, strapless organza dress accessorized with an elaborate diamond necklace. Worn in 1995's "To Catch a Thief," the dress was designed by costumer Edith Head, who had worked with Hitchcock on many of his other films. While the actress-turned-princess throws on the gown to watch fireworks from her hotel room with her love interest (who is also a suspected cat burglar), modern designers have recreated the timeless dress for a much bigger occasion: your wedding day.

Costume designer William Travilla's white cocktail dress for Marilyn Monroe's role in "The Seven Year Itch" is arguably the most iconic clothing item she's ever worn. If nothing else, the shot of her attempting to hold down the draped skirt as it billows around her due to the whoosh of a subway train is one of Hollywood's defining images.

According to Hollywood lore, Monroe's then-husband, Joe DiMaggio, stormed off set after seeing the scene filmed, feeling that the dress was too revealing—and while we may not bat an eye at it now, it definitely showed a lot of leg for 1955. In 2011, the dress sold at auction for $4.6 million.

The film "Basic Instinct" is widely praised for the groundbreaking way it depicts sex and sexuality. A prime example of this revolutionary approach is the dress Sharon Stone's Catherine Tramell wears—or, rather, what she doesn't wear—while under police interrogation. The white, high-necked, sleeveless dress she dons was designed to allow Stone to sit and move like a man, acting decisions that felt very in line with the essence of the character. In 2022, Stone told InStyle that she'd kept the dress but hadn't tried it on since filming wrapped.

The high-waisted spandex pants Olivia Newton-John wears in the final scenes of "Grease" were already vintage when the film was shot in 1977 and released the following year. They were so tight that, according to Vogue, she had to be sewn into them each morning and could barely move without fearing split seams.

In 2019, the actress auctioned off both the pants and the matching leather jacket to raise money for cancer research. Together, the items sold for $405,700, though the buyer returned the jacket to Newton-John just days later, saying it rightfully belonged to her and shouldn't be relegated to some billionaire's collection for bragging rights.

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Before filming began on "Legally Blonde," costume designer Sophie De Rakoff visited several sororities around Los Angeles to get a feel for what colors college-age girls were gravitating toward. She was searching for a signature color for Elle Woods and, after her visits, said she realized it just had to be pink. The color carries over into "Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde," where Reese Witherspoon dons this Jackie O-inspired look.

The actress reportedly had it written into her contract that she could keep every one of the outfits she wore in the second film, so, as far as we know, this iconic getup is still taking up space in the back of one of her closets.

If you're at all familiar with the making of "The Wizard of Oz," you're probably well aware of the fact that several pairs of Dorothy's ruby slippers have disappeared since the film wrapped in 1939. What you may not know is that her blue-and-white gingham dress was also lost for years.

It was only rediscovered in 2021 when the Catholic University of America (to which the dress was donated back in the 1970s) was doing a major cleanout of its drama department and found it tucked away in an unassuming bag. The pinafore's color was reportedly chosen so it would pop against Oz's other vibrant colors, and the straps, according to a Smithsonian expert, show signs of being mended over and over, indicating that Garland frequently ripped the costume during shooting.

Susan Seidelman, the director of "Desperately Seeking Susan," said Madonna won the role of the film's main character, a grifter named Susan, because she embodied 1980s downtown Manhattan. This is why Seidelman and costume director Santo Loquasto dug through the pop star's closet for wardrobe inspiration.

The character Susan's jacket, a cropped tuxedo fit with gold mosaic lapels and a bedazzled pyramid emblem on the back, wasn't pulled directly from Madonna's private collection the way other costume pieces were, but it sounds as if it could have been. In 2016, the iconic garment sold for $87,500 at auction.

According to Alicia Silverstone, who played Cher Horowitz in "Clueless," the costume designer had three color options for the Dolce & Gabbana plaid suit she wears near the film's beginning. Ultimately, they decided to go with yellow because they felt it was most appropriate for the scene. As for where the suit is today, Silverstone tells Vogue no one knows; it's been lost to the annals of Hollywood.

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Vivian Ward's outfits in "Pretty Woman" tell the story of a woman on a journey. At the beginning of the film, her clothes are more revealing and look cheaply made, but by the time the opera scene happens—where she dons this stunning red evening gown—she's started to dress more demurely, like a "real lady."

The costume is just sexy enough, however, with its off-the-shoulder sweetheart neckline and sky-high slit, to assure the viewer Vivian hasn't totally lost sight of herself. According to costume designer Marilyn Vance, producers initially wanted the dress to be black, but she convinced them that red was the way to go.

The clothing in "In the Mood for Love" is so critical to the storytelling that it's essentially its own character. The film's costumer, William Chang, designed 50 cheongsams (which were very popular in 1960s Hong Kong, having descended from the robes Qing dynasty women had worn for centuries) for Maggie Cheung, though she only wore about 30 of them. The multicolored, rose-covered cheongsam pops up at the film's climax when Cheung and Tony Leung Chiu-wai's characters confess their love for one another.

"La Dolce Vita" introduced the world to Italian fashion—clean, simple clothes that flattered the wearer's figure rather than overshadowing it. The black strapless gown Anita Ekberg's character, Sylvia, wears as she frolics in the Trevi Fountain is a perfect example of this. Designed by the Fontana sisters, the dress is featured front and center on the film's poster.

Legend has it that Diana Ross, who both starred in and designed the costumes for "Mahogany," took eight months to come up with all 50 of her character's looks. While many of the outfits are over-the-top and campy, some scholars have argued that they helped address the bias many held against flashy and brightly colored clothing, which, at the time, was largely worn by women of color and seen as cheap or of bad taste. The tangerine kimono in question is worn by Ross while she walks a runway and is adorned with a sequined Chinese-style dragon across the front.

Back in 2010, the University of Texas raised $30,000 to restore the green "curtain" dress Vivien Leigh wore as Scarlett O'Hara in the 1939 film "Gone with the Wind." In the movie, Scarlett tears down the curtains in her living room and uses the material to make a dress meant to impress Rhett Butler. In real life, the gown wasn't made of actual curtains but of green velvet treated to look aged and sun-worn. Some 70 years later, the dress was literally falling apart at the seams because, as one conservationist told NPR, it was only made to last for as long as it took to film the movie.

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At the outset of "Sex and the City: The Movie," Sarah Jessica Parker's Carrie Bradshaw heads downtown to marry Mr. Big. The wedding doesn't happen, of course, but the enormous Vivienne Westwood gown she wore stuck in audiences' minds nonetheless. It was so legendary that, according to Glamour, a knock-off version of the dress reportedly sold out within hours of being released.

The maximalist style in "Romy and Michele's High School Reunion" is iconic across the board, but the pink and blue metallic minidresses Lisa Kudrow and Mia Sorvino's characters wear near the end of the movie really stand out. Ironically, the fashion moment almost didn't happen.

The film's costume designer, Mona May, had originally planned to put Kudrow in a flowy, pink chiffon number, but the comedian pushed for something that looked more like Sorvino's outfit to illustrate the friends' closeness and unity.

Woody Allen had so much faith in Diane Keaton's ability to portray Annie Hall that he gave her almost free rein to compose the character exactly how she wanted; that included creating Annie's costumes. The classic menswear mashup she wears in one of the film's first scenes was entirely Keaton's own creation and was very much a play on her personal sense of style.

Rumor has it that the "Annie Hall" costume designer, Ruth Morley, hated many of the outfits Keaton put together, including this one, but we're glad Allen overruled her—the costume inspired an entire movement in women's fashion.

When Susan Nininger was tapped to create the costumes for "The Bodyguard," it was the first major film she had ever worked on. While the pressure may have been too much for some, she certainly rose to the occasion and created one of the most iconic outfits in all of film history—Whitney Houston's futuristic performance costume.

In a clip celebrating the 30th anniversary of the film, Nininger revealed the outfit was inspired by the movie "Metropolis" and the breastplates designer Thierry Mugler made at the time. In 2018, the costume, which Nininger admitted was super difficult for Houston to wear because of its complexity, went up for auction with a starting bid of $10,000.

When Jack first stumbles upon Rose in the 1997 blockbuster "Titanic," she's wearing this iconic red-and-black sequined dress and preparing to throw herself over the side of the ship, fed up with living life in a gilded cage. He talks her down, of course, and one of cinema's greatest love stories begins.

Designed by Deborah Lynn Scott (who won an Oscar for her costume work in the movie), the dress was made in multiples so that the necessary stunts could be completed. The design involved a lot of intricate beading, as was popular with evening gowns at the time. In 2012, the dress sold for $330,000 at a movie memorabilia auction.

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Uma Thurman's skintight black-and-yellow tracksuit from "Kill Bill" might be a favorite Halloween costume among 20-something women, but the actress reportedly hated wearing it. This might come as a shock, as the costume appears to be one of the more comfortable on our list, but as Thurman told reporters when she first put it on back in 2003, she had just given birth to her son and didn't yet feel comfortable in her new skin.

The form-fitting tracksuit revealed more than she was comfortable with, and she felt quite anxious about having to wear it (and move so actively in it) for months, day after day.

Salvador Perez, the president of the Costume Designers Guild from 2013 to 2022, once told The Hollywood Reporter the most iconic costume from the beautifully fashioned 1964 film "My Fair Lady" was Audrey Hepburn's black-and-white ascot race dress and hat. The longsleeved lace dress, accessorized with graphic black-and-white ribbons and an elaborate hat sure made an impression even with several designers.

The ensemble inspired a good portion of Ralph Lauren's Spring/Summer 2008 collection, and L'Wren Scott designed a red carpet outfit for Nicole Kidman in 2012 that was nearly identical to the original.

Elizabeth Taylor wore over 65 costumes in "Cleopatra," the film that would spark her infamous affair with Richard Burton and make her the highest-paid woman in the world. But the one that stands out the most is, without a doubt, her gold, phoenix-inspired getup. The bird on the cape is made of 24-karat gold and decorated with thousands of beads. Taylor's outfits cost the film $194,800 on costumes (the largest budget for a single actor's wardrobe in film history). It was auctioned off for a whopping $59,365 in 2012.

The hot pink dress Marilyn Monroe wears while singing "Diamonds Are a Girl's Best Friend" in "Gentlemen Prefer Blondes" was costume designer William Travilla's backup option. He originally wanted to put the bombshell in a skin-toned bodystocking covered with fishnet hose and carefully placed jewels, but when her nude calendar scandal broke, producers insisted he return to the drawing board. So he came up with a pink silk dress lined with green billiard felt (for shaping) that she would essentially be folded and sewn into. His last-minute vision was clearly successful, and in 2010, the dress (or at least, one version of the dress) was sold at auction for over $300,000.

Jean Louis, the mastermind behind the strapless black dress Rita Hayworth wears in "Gilda," teamed up with the actress on nine other films. As a result of their longtime collaboration, he knew what would work on her body almost as well as she did, which allowed this moment of movie magic to take place.

The gown, worn during Hayworth's striptease scene, is reportedly based on the dress in John Singer Sargent's famous "Madame X" portrait and has three hidden stays in the torso that ensured it wouldn't budge an inch no matter how risqué her dance moves got. The dress has come up for auction several times, but a sale has never been finalized, and the gown remains in a private collection as of this writing.

Jacqueline Durran, the Oscar-winning costume designer who crafted the brilliant, emerald green gown Keira Knightley's character wore in "Atonement," told Entertainment Weekly the idea for the gown began with just two specifics from director Joe Wright: bare-backed and full-skirted.

A compilation of stylistic elements from the '30s, '40s, and early 2000s, the dress, worn in the film's climactic scene, is an outfit that has really stuck with viewers thanks to its eye-catching color and sexy, sultry feel. Duplicates of the gown (some from the set, some made by outside parties) have sold for tens of thousands of dollars.

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