Tonight the American Film Institute sucked up a couple of hours worth of viewing time on CBS, doing what they do best: listing movies. On this, their 100 year anniversary they’re not just listing movies, but listing the greatest movies of all time… at least as they see them.
Normally I’m bored by lists, but AFI has a knack for paying homage to great films. Watching all those great movies go by is more about your memories of seeing the films than the films themselves. Ok, maybe Vertigo and Rear Window should have switched places on the list, and yeah Citizen Kane is a pretty cliché and boring pick at number one; but agree or disagree with the order, there’s no denying that in their own way, each and every movie listed is a brilliant film. And half the fun of watching is in picking up the patterns. For instance, it’s amazing to realize how many truly amazing, brilliantly classic films Jimmy Stuart has been in. Every time I looked at the TV, it seemed like it was his face up on it staring back at me.
Great movies make great TV watching, even if you’re only seeing them in snippets. Actually, especially when you’re seeing them in snippets. Watching them this way washes away the impurities and leaves you with only the memories.
If there was any problem with AFI’s list, it was the presence of Halle Berry up there talking about movies as if she’s some great thespian authority. Scratch that. She has an Oscar, at least that gives her some credibility. Eva Mendes on the other hand, what the hell was she doing up there? Being hot I suppose.
Luckily, the other guest speakers were much better. Like ghosts from the past Jack Lemmon and Billy Wilder showed up to talk about their films. Steven Spielberg was there to talk about E.T., and other great luminaries sat around and talked just what it was that’s so important, so wonderful, about AFI’s Top 100 movies.
If you missed it, we’ll have the complete, ordered list below in just a minute. But it’s just a list. The magic is in the movies:
| AFI's Top 100 Movies Of All Time100. Ben-Hur (1959)99. Toy Story (1995)98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)97. Blade Runner (1982)96. Do the Right Thing (1989)95. The Last Picture Show (1971)94. Pulp Fiction (1994)93. The French Connection(1971)92. Goodfellas (1990)91. Sophie’s Choice (1982)90. Swing Time (1936)89. The Sixth Sense (1999)88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)87. 12 Angry Men (1957)86. Platoon (1986)85. A Night at the Opera (1935)84. Easy Rider (1969)83. Titanic (1997)82. Sunrise (1927)81. Spartacus (1960)80. The Apartment (1960)79. The Wild Bunch (1969)78. Modern Times (1936)77. All the President’s Men (1976)76. Forest Gump (1994)75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)74. Silence of the Lambs (1991)73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)69. Tootsie (1982)68. Unforgiven (1992)67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf (1966)66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)65. The African Queen (1951)64. Network (1976)63. Cabaret (1972)62. American Graffiti (1973)61. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)60. Duck Soup (1933)59. Nashville (1975)58. The Gold Rush (1925)57. Rocky (1976)56. Jaws (1975)55. North By Northwest (1959)54. M*A*S*H* (1970)53. The Deer Hunter (1978)52. Taxi Driver (1976)51. West Side Story (1961)50. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)49. Intolerance (1916)48. Rear Window (1954)47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)46. It Happened One Night (1934)45. Shane (1953)44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)42. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)41. King Kong (1933)40. The Sound of Music (1965)39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)38. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1941)35. Annie Hall (1977)34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (1937)33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Next (1975)32. The Godfather, Part II (1974)31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)30. Apocalypse Now (1979)29. Double Indemnity (1944)28. All About Eve (1950)27. High Noon (1952)26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)24. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)22. Some Like it Hot (1959)21. Chinatown (1974)20. It’s A Wonderful Life (1946)19. On the Waterfront (1954)18. The General (1927)17. The Graduate (1967)16. Sunset Blvd (1950)15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)14. Psycho (1960)13. Star Wars (1977)12. The Searchers (1956)11. City Lights (1931)10. Wizard of Oz (1939)9. Vertigo (1958)8. Schindler’s List (1993)7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)6. Gone with the Wind (1939)5. Singing in the Rain (1952)4. Raging Bull (1980)3. Casablanca (1942)2. The Godfather (1972)1. Citizen Kane (1941) |
