I am a simple guy so I don't see film as sophisticated film critics see.  For instance, "Julius Caesar": for me there is too much dialogue to understand what's going on.  "Thief of Bagdad" :  I've seen bits and pieces on Youtube but it doesn't give me motivation to see it from the beginning to the end - It's too old fashioned.  I've never seen all the films Lee had listed exept "The Private Life of SH" I haven't seen "The Lost Weekend, Asphalt Jungle, Something of Value"  That is my preface and now my best 10 list.
1  Ben Hur: need no explanation
2 King of Kings:  Judah was not portrayed as an evil person: on that point only, this is a good film.  Bazlem - cute.
3 El Cid: Nice joist battle.  Genevieve Page - breathtaking.
4 Sodom and Gomorrah: weak plot but handsome actors and actresses offset the weakness.
5 Quo Vadis:  Authenticity.  Great performance of Ustinov.
6 Lust for Life:  Van Gogh's paintings come alive
7 The Red House:  Scary
8 A Song to Remember: Anything to do with Chopin, it should be automatically great art.
9 Ivanhoe:  Liz Taylor and Robert Taylor- good looking people    Love triangle
10 Young Bess:   beautiful Jean Simmons    I pick this over "Diane" because the plot is more realistic/ believable.