New AFI 100 (best American films)

[econophile]

On Wednesday, American Film Institute revealed their new ranking of America's best films in a CBS television special. They had previously ranked American films in 1997, and there were several changes compared to that list. For example, "Toy Story" is new to the list while "Fargo" is gone. Everyone will probably find something to complain about with lists like this. I think there's still too many old films that aren't that great (like "To Kill a Mockingbird") and that there aren't enough promising new films (maybe something by P.T. Anderson).

Here's some commentary on the new list and the ranking process: Ebert

And here's the 1997 list with a comparison to the present list: wiki

And finally, the list:

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE'S GREATEST MOVIES

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. "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)

[secretprankster]

I'm going to hate the replies to this thread. ty econjim

[otnemem]

Wait a minute! No Boondock Saints!?

[secretprankster]

Pulp still getting the short end.

[Baloosh]

[ QUOTE ]
Pulp still getting the short end.

[/ QUOTE ]

That and "Do the Right Thing" are both travesties.

[Borodog]

Surprisingly, I think this is a pretty solid list. I agree with the inclusion of every one of the films from the 90s, and it's hard to quibble about positioning on such a list.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
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)

[/ QUOTE ]

I find it hard to believe that of the 12 best movies ever, 9 were made between 1931 and 1963 (32 years), and 3 have been since (44 years).

have movie making skills gone down that much?

is this a case of "it takes a long time to appreciate the arts"?

this seems to be the one area where old stuff is considered better than new stuff. humans are much more scientifically advanced & athletic than ever before. but we can't produce movies as good as we used to?

I guess we don't make classical music as good as we used to, but I don't know how many classical composers there are today.

painting might be another area where old stuff is considered better than new. or perhaps it takes a while for something to be considered great.

[secretprankster]

It's not best KB4Z, it's greatest.

[disjunction]

When the last list came out, my roommate and I tried to watch all 100 in reverse order. We got through almost half. I definitely recommend it. We knew it would turn out good when "Yankee Doodle Dandy" at 100 was surprisingly entertaining, "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner" was crazy-outdated (I guess it didn't make this list) but still entertaining and made us say OMG-they-thought-like-that-in-the-60's, and the Chaplin movies were absolutely awesome.

KBZ: Moviemaking is one area where getting there first is significant. For instance, in the last list, "The Jazz Singer" was listed. It wasn't a great movie, but it did usher in the use of sound.

[Kneel B4 Zod]

[ QUOTE ]
It's not best KB4Z, it's greatest.

[/ QUOTE ]

I'm not sure what the difference is. and neither does econophile I guess.

[ QUOTE ]
Re: New AFI 100 (best American films)

[/ QUOTE ]