American Film Institute Top 100 Rerun

[RobertR]

Apparently AFI is running out of ideas since they're redoing their Top 100 American Films list. The special tomorrow night is a glorified clip show, but at least there will be good clips.

 

Here's the list from 10 years ago www.afi.com/Docs/tvevents...ies100.pdf

 

I expect the new list to be pretty similar. Biggest question will be if The Godfather or some other film, Casablanca maybe, overtakes Citizen Kane at the top of the list.

 

Recent films I expect to make the list this time around:

 

The Shawshank Redemption

Titanic (I'm just the messenger here)

Saving Private Ryan

The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King

 

Other classic films that didn't make it the first time that I expect will have a real shot this time:

 

Sunrise

The General

In the Heat of the Night

 

Movies I expect to fall off:

 

The Jazz Singer

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

A Place in the Sun

Yankee Doodle Dandy

Fargo

Ben Hur

My Fair Lady

Rocky

 

Any thoughts?

 

Robert

[GAME05]

I can't believe City Lights falls all the way to 76. it's a crime to put it that low.

 

and where's Ghostbusters on that list? it's one of those favourites, like Groundhog Day, that everyone likes but often people don't stop to think that it was really a well-made movie. Ghostbusters should be represented.

[iluvlamp]

I think My Fair Lady and Rocky certainly deserve to be on the list. MFL holds up to this day and Audrey Hepburn is hothttp://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/smile.gif A great actress also:http://forum.brewerfan.net/images/smilies/wink.gif

[tyguy20204]

Is there any chance that Heat makes it on there?

 

I find the movie to be absolutely perfect. I can't think of any flaws.

 

 

Also, I'm not sure why Indiana Jones is on the list. I guess it's well made but top 100 of all time? I disagree.

 

edit- just noticed Heat was released in '95, but I think it's gained standing since then in the eyes of audiences/critics.

[GAME05]

but shouldn't there be some consideration for the impact a whole series has made to movie history? maybe Indiana Jones wasn't the greatest singular movie, but together, the series is unforgettable.

[EdgarDiazRocks]

theres no way Dances With Wolves stays on there.

 

And sadly, I bet Unforgiven drops off too.

 

Persobally i would like Stalig 17 and The Wild Bunch to get some love.

[RobertR]

I think My Fair Lady and Rocky certainly deserve to be on the list. MFL holds up to this day and Audrey Hepburn is hot A great actress also:

 

I fully agree with the Audrey Hepburn love. One of the all time great movie beauties. She's on my shortlist anyways.

 

I'm just spitballing here though. Certainly, if it was a top 150 movies list I'd think they'd both be safe. We'll find out soon.

 

Dances With Wolves and Unforgiven might both get some extra credit as revisionist westerns. I certainly wouldn't complain if The Wild Bunch joined them. Or if Billy Wilder got more love.

 

Edit: While I'm at it, it would nice to see Blade Runner get some love this time around.

 

Robert

[iluvlamp]

The French Connection drops a full 20 spots. Could be a lot more changes than even expected.

[tyguy20204]

I'm a little surprised Sixth Sense made the list. It doesn't really have much going for it besides the twist.

 

I could never see myself watching it more than once.

[iluvlamp]

Missing from the 2007 list that appeared on the 1997 list:

39 Doctor Zhivago (1965)

44 The Birth of a Nation (1915)

52 From Here to Eternity (1953)

53 Amadeus (1984)

54 All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)

57 The Third Man (1949)

58 Fantasia (1940)

63 Stagecoach (1939)

64 Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

67 The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

68 An American in Paris (1951)

73 Wuthering Heights (1939)

75 Dances with Wolves (1990)

82 Giant (1956)

84 Fargo (1996)

86 Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)

87 Frankenstein (1931)

89 Patton (1970)

91 My Fair Lady (1964)

92 A Place in the Sun (1951)

99 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

 

From Yostal at deadspin. I have many problems with this. sigh

[pitchleague]

I'm kind of disappointed. I have only seen 32 of the 100 films. However, there are about 4-5 of the top 20 on my tivo at home waiting for me to watch them.

[saget]

The Graduate? Really? Come on. I've seen hundreds of movies better than that.

 

I love the movie, but it's not the 7th best movie of all time.

 

Personally I've always preferred Godfather II over I.

 

A Streetcar Named Desire? Meh.

[GAME05]

come on, A Streetcar Named Desire was great. an ordinary film with mediocre actors became a great film with the cast it held. it's like a lesson in how to be a great actor.

[saget]

That's all it is. While it was groundbreaking for actors it just wasn't that great of a movie.

 

I haven't seen it since I was a rebellious teenager, but it just never grew on me.

[RobertR]

I've seen 81 of the 100, and good bits and pieces of the others.

 

New additions to the list:

Toy Story #99

Blade Runner #97

Do the Right Thing #96

The Last Picture Show #95

Sophie's Choice #91 (This one seems questionable to me.)

Swing Time #90

The Sixth Sense #89 (of all the movies on the list, this is the most questionable to me)

12 Angry Men #87

Titanic #83

Sunrise #82

Spartacus #81

In the Heat of the Night #75

The Shawshank Redemption #72

Saving Private Ryan #71

Cabaret #63

Sullivan's Travels #61 (very pleased and surprised to see this one)

Nashville #59 (I didn't realize it missed the original list)

Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring #50

Intolerance #49 (As influential and important as Birth of the Nation, but not racist)

The General #18 (The biggest glaring omission from the original list)

 

Biggest climbers, obviously The General. But, from the original list, The Searchers climbed 84 spots, City Lights climbed 65 spots, and Vertigo climbed 52 spots. Next tier, Unforgiven climbed 30 spots, the Deer Hunter climbed 26 spots, Duck Soup climbed 25 spots, Shane climbed 24 spots, and Raging Bull climbed 20 spots.

 

Biggest fallers, besides Dr. Zhivago, Birth of a Nation, etc.. The African Queen fell 48 spots (and I attribute a lot of that to prints of the movie being in poor shape). Other major fallers, Ben Hur fell 28 spots, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and The French Connection each fell 23 spots.

 

The three movies that fell off the list that I thought should have remained are All Quiet on the Western Front, The Third Man, and Stagecoach.

 

Overall, I think this might be a better list this time around. The only major omission is the lack of horror.

 

Robert

[RobertR]

Re: Streetcar

 

Aside from the actual quality of the film and being groundbreaking for actors, it had several other things going for it.

 

1. It made Marlon Brando a star.

2. It made Elia Kazan a director with influence.

3. It won major awards (which is one of the AFI's criteria)

4. It dealt with sexuality in a much rawer way than films which had been hamstrung by the Hayes Code and opened up subject matters for films.

 

I consider all of those significant.

 

Robert

[EdgarDiazRocks]

Wow.

 

The removal of both The Third Man and Manchurian Candidiate for things like Sixth Sense is appaling.

 

And I still don't understand the fascination with Vertigo.

 

EDIT: after a quick check i clock in at 78. The newfound Altman and Bogdanovich love killed me.

[da5thelement]

I am really disappointed with myself, I only own 6 of the 100 movies. But I have seen alot of the 100. I was surprised Braveheart or the Matrix did not make the list.

 

The 6 I own are, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Mash, Shawshank Redemption, Lord of the Rings and Saving Private Ryan. I do own alot of movies but they all must be bad.

[FVBrewerFan]

I notice, as expected, a complete lack of modern comedies. There are comedies from the silent era and golden era- some have stood the test of time, some haevn't in my opinion. Yet they remain o nthe lsit because I'm sure they were important films for that era.

 

So why aren't any modern comedies on the list? There is a whole generation of people who can identofy with movies like Caddyshack, Stripes, John Hughes flicks, Planes, Trains & Automobiles, etc. Even something like Parenthood- what I would call a "comedy plus."

 

If Hollywood is too snooty to give a few films like this the nod, how can older comedies be seen as brilliant films? They really aren't that funny, but I'm sure they were huge for people of that era.

 

I guess what I'm saying is this. Isn't the purpose of a movie to really move people one way or another? And modern comedies certainly fall into that category. Who can put in a round of golf without at lest one Caddyshack reference?

[GAME05]

sure everyone likes Caddyshack, but the movie didn't change filmmaking or challenge social thinking like a good lot of the list movies. and quotability definitely shouldn't play a part in it. I quote Napoleon or Tommy Boy a lot more than I do Caddyshack, but neither of those movies would make a best ever list.

 

I agree about Sixth Sense, it really shouldn't be on there. Was that just a concession to the types of moviegoers who have whatever last film they saw as their all-time favourite, that black and white automatically makes it a bad movie, and that subtitles are a crime?

[RobertR]

Danny Noonan is also a bore, which is why Caddyshack will probably never make a list of this nature. It's the supporting characters that make Caddyshack. OTOH, Groundhog Day seems to be gaining critical acceptance over the years. Animal House, Airplane, Young Frankenstein, and Ghostbusters are probably stronger contenders for this sort of list.

 

I can't see The Sixth Sense sticking around for next time. I enjoy the movie, but The Exorcist, Alien, Night of the Living Dead, Frankenstein, and The Thing From Another World, are all equally as good and more important horror films.

 

Robert

[brewizard]

Sixth Sense is a joke on that list. So is Sophie's Choice, Lord of the Rings, The Shawshank Redemption and Spartacus.

 

Intolerance is intolerable. I will bet you my favorite bobblehead that you can't sit through it. I think AFI was just uncomfortable with Birth of a Nation - which is a completely superior film in every way - despite the racism.

 

Toy Story, Do the Right Thing, Sunrise, Nashville, The General, and The Last Picture Show all solidly belong there.

 

Sullivan's Travels and 12 Angry Men are good sentimental picks.

 

There is no way Saving Private Ryan is a better movie than Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

 

Stagecoach... Meh. The Searchers is far better. Mose knows.

 

Caddyshack, funny as it may or may not be, doesn't belong in this discussion. Groundhog Day is infinitely superior..

 

As for Dr. Zhivago, it is huge but boring. Not Lean's best work. Giant can go (because Shane is there) but Dances With Wolves is worthy. Forget Fantasia, but The Manchurian Candidate is important. So is Fargo, which I think will have to be added back to the list again some day.

 

As for the list fallers, Ben Hur, The Bridge on the River Kwai, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid can all just fall off the list as far as I'm concerned. The Deer Hunter and Duck Soup too for all I care. Boring movies.

 

Where is Badlands?

 

And I agree about Alien. That is a kickass movie tarnished by the franchise which followed it.