AFI Top 100 Films... Again

[Mr-K]

2007 List
1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. The Godfather (1972)
3. Casablanca (1942)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
5. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
6. Gone With the Wind (1939)
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
8. Schindler's List (1993)
9. Vertigo (1958)
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
11. City Lights (1931)
12. The Searchers (1956)
13. Star Wars (1977)
14. Psycho (1960)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
16. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
17. The Graduate (1967)
18. The General (1927)
19. On the Waterfront (1954)
20. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
21. Chinatown (1974)
22. Some Like It Hot (1959)
23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
24. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
27. High Noon (1952)
28. All About Eve (1950)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
35. Annie Hall (1977)
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
40. The Sound of Music (1965)
41. King Kong (1933)
42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
45. Shane (1953)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
48. Rear Window (1954)
49. Intolerance (1916)
50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
51. West Side Story (1961)
52. Taxi Driver (1976)
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. North by Northwest (1959)
56. Jaws (1975)
57. Rocky (1976)
58. The Gold Rush (1925)
59. Nashville (1975)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
61. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
62. American Graffiti (1973)
63. Cabaret (1972)
64. Network (1976)
65. The African Queen (1951)
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
69. Tootsie (1982)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
74. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
76. Forrest Gump (1994)
77. All The President's Men (1976)
78. Modern Times (1936)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
80. The Apartment (1960)
81. Spartacus (1960)
82. Sunrise (1927)
83. Titanic (1997)
84. Easy Rider (1969)
85. A Night at the Opera (1935)
86. Platoon (1986)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
90. Swing Time (1936)
91. Sophie's Choice (1982)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The French Connection (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994)
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
96. Do the Right Thing (1989)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Toy Story (1995)
100. Ben-Hur (1959)

A lot of fairly interesting changes were made to the old list with the exception of Kane retaining the #1 spot (a decision I agree with). I would have liked to of seen Casablanca go down more because I've always found it grossly overrated, but I was super pleased to see Vertigo make it into the top 10 (jumping 20-someodd spots).

The Searchers jumped up 84 spots, and the most puzzling change to me is Raging Bull at #4. Really? Really? I don't even think it's Scorsese's best movie, let alone the 4th best American movie ever made.

In any case, the new additions were:

The General (1927) Intolerance (1916) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001) Nashville (1975) Sullivan's Travels (1941) Cabaret (1972) Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) Saving Private Ryan (1998) The Shawshank Redemption (1994) In the Heat of the Night (1967) All The President's Men (1976) Spartacus (1960) Sunrise (1927) Titanic (1997) A Night at the Opera (1935) 12 Angry Men (1957) The Sixth Sense (1999) Swing Time (1936) Sophie's Choice (1982) The Last Picture Show (1971) Do the Right Thing (1989) Blade Runner (1982) Toy Story (1995)

The movies outright removed were:

The Birth of a Nation (1915) From Here to Eternity (1953) Amadeus (1984) All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) The Third Man (1949) Fantasia (1940) Rebel Without a Cause (1955) Stagecoach (1939) Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977) The Manchurian Candidate (1962) An American in Paris (1951) Wuthering Heights (1939) Dances with Wolves (1990) Giant (1956) Fargo (1996) Mutiny on the Bounty (1935) Frankenstein (1931) Patton (1970) The Jazz Singer (1927) My Fair Lady (1964) A Place in the Sun (1951) Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1967)

My biggest complaint in what was dropped is probably Amadeus, The Third Man and Stagecoach. And I find it pretty funny yet somewhat sad that Birth of a Nation was replaced simply with Griffith's next movie, it's like they're trying to erase it from history.

I'm not sure why I'm a sucker for these fairly pointless lists by the way. I just think they're a neat cinematic touchstone.

[bbobb]

Lord of the Rings?

Number 50?

You gotta be kidding me.

[Mr-K]

I agree with LOTR being on the list more than... something like Dances with Wolves if for cultural reasons alone.

I'd be interested to see the 100 greatest films of all time including internationally made movies. I'm not even sure what I would rank in the top ten really.

[bbobb]

Oh yeah, it's better then Dances with Wolves... but 50? Better then things like Goodfellas? Oh hell no.

[magnifiedplaid]

How do they come up with this 100 Greatest Films of all time list? What the hell kind of criteria are they using for this. The choices seem to be so random at times.

Why is Titanic on that list at all. There are tons of movies released every year that are better than that film...and The Sixth Sense. Give me a freaking break.

I love how Toy Story is just randomly slotted in there at number 99 too...

[Mr-K]

According to wikipedia: "AFI distributed a ballot with 400 nominated movies to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians."

Criteria:
"Criteria

AFI asks jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection process:

* Feature-length: Narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length.
* American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.
* Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print, television, and digital media.
* Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.
* Popularity Over Time: This includes success at the box office, television and cable airings, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.
* Historical Significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation or other groundbreaking achievements.
* Cultural Impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance."

Really I just see this list as a way to get great movies out to the public that they may have never seen and it let's film geeks bicker about things. It shouldn't really be taken seriously.

[Advocate]

I disagree with the Manchurian Candidate drop. That was an amazing movie. Much better than the remake and actually more suspenseful.

[Klonoa]

Good to see Rear Window on that list and ahead of North by Northwest.

[Rem]

I like Raging Bull, but there is no way it is the 4th best american movie.

[Gonzo]

I thought Rear Window was better than Vertigo. And speaking of Hitchcock, did I overlook Rope? Supposedly, there were no cuts in the entire film, but there is a possibility of just one as someone walked by the camera. It's a great film nonetheless.

I never totally agree w/their lists anyway.

Rem--great avatar. That's from Parasite, right? I used to read that until Mixx Zine took it out several years ago leaving me to cancel my subscription. Is it still being made?