Tackling the AFI Top 100 list

[yogi]

For the last few months, I've been making it a goal to see every movie listed in AFI's Top 100.

http://www.afi.com/tvevents/100years/movies.aspx

I'm at 62 I've seen. 38 to go.

I recently saw (working backwards) The Third Man (#57) and Dr. Strangelove (#26).
Dr. Strangelove was a cool flick but ranked a little high at #26. Somewhat wierd and off-beat, even by today's standards. I could imagine how it was viewed in 1964. Slim Pickens (previously only known to me from Blazing Saddles) bull riding the H bomb was great stuff. Peter Sellers was an unbelievable talent!

The Third Man was good also but no way its Top 100 stuff. The movie reminded a lot of Citizen Kane in look and feel. Probably because Orson Wells not only starred in it, he influenced the director and other actors. The scenery of a post WW2 blown up Vienna and the unusual music score were interesting.

Other movies recently viewed for the 1st time......

#10 Singin in the Rain - yeah, I'd seen the Gene Kelly dance number of the title song numerous times. I knew Kelly was great but I was surprised how good (and talented) Donald O'Connor was. Real good movie but too high at #10. I liked West Side Story and The Music Man better as musicals.

#19 Chinatown - Huh? OK movie but I don't get the hype? I wouldn't rank in the top 100.

#23 The Maltese Falcon - ANY Bogart movie is worthy of a top 100 mention. This movie is no different and the 23 ranking seems about right.

#30 The Treasure of the Sierra Madre - Great , great flick. Should be ranked higher. Bogie's 3rd best movie IMO only behind Casablanca & The African Queen. Walter Houston (John's father) as the crotchity old coot was just wonderful!

The List (for easier reference)
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)

2. CASABLANCA (1942)

3. THE GODFATHER (1972)

4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)

5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)

6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)

7. THE GRADUATE (1967)

8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)

9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)

10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)

11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)

12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)

13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)

14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)

15. STAR WARS (1977)

16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)

17. THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)

18. PSYCHO (1960)

19. CHINATOWN (1974)

20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)

21. THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)

22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)

23. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)

24. RAGING BULL (1980)

25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)

26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)

27. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)

28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)

29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)

30. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)

31. ANNIE HALL (1977)

32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)

33. HIGH NOON (1952)

34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)

35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)

36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)

37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)

40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)

41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)

42. REAR WINDOW (1954)

43. KING KONG (1933)

44. THE BIRTH OF A NATION (1915)

45. A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)

46. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)

47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)

48. JAWS (1975)

49. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)

50. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)

51. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)

52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)

53. AMADEUS (1984)

54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)

55. THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)

56. M*A*S*H (1970)

57. THE THIRD MAN (1949)

58. FANTASIA (1940)

59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)

60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)

61. VERTIGO (1958)

62. TOOTSIE (1982)

63. STAGECOACH (1939)

64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)

65. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)

66. NETWORK (1976)

67. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)

68. AN AMERICAN IN PARIS (1951)

69. SHANE (1953)

70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)

71. FORREST GUMP (1994)

72. BEN-HUR (1959)

73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)

74. THE GOLD RUSH (1925)

75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)

76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)

77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)

78. ROCKY (1976)

79. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)

80. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)

81. MODERN TIMES (1936)

82. GIANT (1956)

83. PLATOON (1986)

84. FARGO (1996)

85. DUCK SOUP (1933)

86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)

87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)

88. EASY RIDER (1969)

89. PATTON (1970)

90. THE JAZZ SINGER (1927)

91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)

92. A PLACE IN THE SUN (1951)

93. THE APARTMENT (1960)

94. GOODFELLAS (1990)

95. PULP FICTION (1994)

96. THE SEARCHERS (1956)

97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)

98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)

99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)

100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)



to be continued.......[url][/url]

[yogi]

#64 Close Encounters of the Third Kind This movie was done in the mid-70's and that seems about right. It's kinda dated. I loved the last 30 minutes or so but the movie was long and dragged out. No. 64 is too high, should be towards the bottom of the 100, maybe even missing the list. A worth see though.

#67 The Manchurian Candidate Interesting story that probably played real well with current events back in 1962. I though Sinatra although good, was a little mis-cast in his role. Laurence Harvey was terrific in the lead role.


The Other Fifty or so movies I'd seen over the years so I'm currently at 62.

I just took out #31 Annie Hall so I'll add my comments later.



Citizen Kane is Ranked No. 1 and I did like it, but I'm sorry, its just not my favorite.

Casablanca ranked #2 is. If you've never seen it, don't miss it. Its the top quoted movie by far of all time.

[swerb]

Yog, thanks for the updates on this. Its a project I'd like to undertake one day, but today is not the day with an 11 month old and a Netflix queue jam packed with recent movies I still have to get caught up on.

Enjoy reading the updates, keep em coming. If you wanted to do something for the front page about this, I'd love to run it, and I think it would have some sex appeal with our readers.

[yogi]

Thanks swerb, but I think Mitch is the man to do that.

Got a little run going so.......

#31 Annie Hall (1977) Only Woody Allen movie on the list. I'm not a Woody Allen fan, although I do find him off beat and funny, not hysterical though. Worthy top 100 candidate but too high for my tastes at 31.
The movie is about Woody Allen's character's relationships with women and life in general. Annie Hall (played by Diane Keaton, who never looked better) is another slightly off-center character that dresses differently. Actually, this character is responsible for the late 70's fashion trend for women.
Well written, funny, quirky and nice look-back at love 30 years ago.

#12 Sunset Boulevard (1950) This was a major surprise for me, I really liked this movie!
Gloria Swanson was absolutely wonderful in a role that really wasn't too far from her in reality. She plays a washed-up old time silent movie star that's been forgotten about and dreams of her comeback. No, wait, not a comeback.... her return to the big screen.
William Holden playes the down on his luck Hollywood screenwriter and Cecil B DeMille plays himself.
This movie (wriiten and directed by Billy Wilder) looks at the not so nice side of Hollywood and earns it high #12 ranking.
Highly recommended!

[yogi]

more updates:

#68. An American in Paris: Another Gene Kelly musical to crack the list. Leslie Caron was young and gorgeous! Good Flick IMO but not a must see. Ranked a little high.

#47. Taxi Driver: I saw this when it first came out in the movie theaters 1976. Remembered bits and pieces of it, not alot of it though. So I figured if it didn't leave that big an impression, it must not have been that good a movie, right? WRONG!. I guess watching a movie at 17 years of age and at 47 makes a bit of a difference. DiNero was great, Marty Scorsese was brilliant, Cybil Shepard was even OK. Truly, Truly a must see and ranked a little low at 47.

#45 A Streetcar Named Desire: Adapted from the stage, a Tennessee Williams play comes off as dark and disturbing. Of course Brando was Brando but the rest of the cast was excellent. Karl Malden (I think won the Bets Supporting Actor) Kim Hunter (previously only known to me with Ape make-up on in the original "Planet of the Apes") and Vivian Leigh (Gone With the Wind) match performances with Brando.
Another must see, especially for anyone that wants to see acting at its finest.

#21 The Grapes of Wrath: I'd be lying if I didn't tell you I was a little disappointed. After seeing Taxi Driver and Streetcar, I figured it'd keep going at a very high quality, but it was not to be. This is a good movie but not worthy of the lofty 21 position. The film is about a family's struggles during the depression and you get a sense of almost watching a documentary. Fonda was good in the lead role and the female lead (playing Fonda's mother) was also very good.

[Guest]

OK...I'll comment more on these later...but just a brief hit for now before hitting the golf course.

Singing in the Rain: Sucked. Donald O'Connor was great, and Gene Kelly is a terrific actor, but it has no place on a Top 100 list, let alone top 10.

Chinatown: I actually bought the hype, and don't have a problem with it at #19.

Maltese Falcon/Treasure of the Sierra Madre: Both great.

Never saw The Third Man.

Dr. Strangelove is a classic...but as a Certified Cynic, you'd probably expect nothing less from me.

Close Encounters: Good Spielberg flick, but far from his best. I'd argue that it probably should be on the Top 100.

Manchurian Candidate: Excellent, excellent film, and I'm no Sinatra fan.

Annie Hall: Best Woody Allen film ever.

Sunset Blvd: Never saw it.

An American in Paris: Another overrated Gene Kelly musical. bleh.

Taxi Driver: Should be rated higher than 47

Sttreetcar Named Desire: Great movie...but I still have a major, major problem with it, having acted in the play before (playing Mitch, no less). The movie pussied out and had Stella leaving Stanley at the end. That's not how Williams wrote it...just a sacchrine hollywood ending.

Grapes of Wrath: Not a huge fan of it...but I can see why others love it.

[yogi]

thanks for you thoughts, Mitch, look forward to reading more from you on this subject.

You MUST see Sunset Blvd(#12). I'm off on vacation to Ocean City MD and Cape May, will be getting some golf time in as well. I'm bringing "All About Eve"(#16), Bette Davis flick and "Easy Rider"(#88) with me to continue my little hobby.

[yogi]

I'm now up to 86 seen, just 14 movies to go.

Some movies, Like "All Quient on the Western Front" and "Birth of a Nation" will be tough to find. Heck, I found "Wuthering Heights" with Sir Lawrence Olivier not on DVD but VHS, I hope to watch that tonight!

[jfiling]

The Third Man, if anything, is rather underrated. Mitch, you've gotta see it; it's a masterpiece of characterization and plot development. The two male leads were also the leads in Citizen Kane. And again, you have to see Sunset Boulevard, which, like The Third Man is a noir classic, if you're into that sort of thing.

[yogi]

And again, you have to see Sunset Boulevard, which, like The Third Man is a noir classic, if you're into that sort of thing.

If you are into noir classic, you MUST see "Double Indemnity"

I'll get a blurb in on that movie plus others to catch up.

[jfiling]

Double Indemnity has been on my view list forever, I just haven't gotten around to it yet.