Paris, Texas
Fanny and Alexander
Faces
8 1/2
The Godfather I/II
Vertigo
The Wizard of Oz
Casablanca
Taxi Driver
Lawrence of Arabia

That was the hardest for me to say its not a masterpiece. De Niro was amazing in and one of the best performances of all time, as with Keitel, but there is something about it I can't put my finger, that makes it not an instant masterpiece. It's extremely close though

A few that so far have been overlooked (in no order):
Blow Up
Touch Of Evil
L'avventura
Has anyone mentioned The Third Man
Rashomon
Ugetsu
Purple Noon
Ghost In The Shell

I understand. Those films on that list all gave me that weird emotion I sometimes feel that tells me I have just witnessed something amazing. That is my personal measure beyond just appreciating all the things that are technically brilliant about a film.
Brazil for instance is a movie I really enjoyed, but I always found something about it lacking that could keep me from personally feeling its a masterpiece. A bit weird considering 1984 is my all time favorite book and Brazil shares some of that viewpoint, but it was a bit off for me. No arguement though that all four of those films are excellent.

I use the word to mean a brilliant work that is the crowning achievement of its maker. Therefore, each film director has at most one masterpiece, and not every director has one. Using this category, I would mention films like Aguirre, the Wrath of God (Herzog) or 2001 (Kubrick).

The aforementioned definition does restrict me to only those directors whose every film I've seen, though...

Does the word 'masterpiece' have any inherent value or meaning? Isn't its use just as subjective as any other descriptive word?