Much has been said about the AFI 100 greatest films of all time. Can you really make such a list? Apparently. Can it really be accurate? No. What does it reflect? The views of a lot of pompous critics with supposedly "sophisticated" tastes who know better than the riff raff what is good and what is bad.
The same is true with the Oscars really. Can we really weigh Shakespeare in Love vs. Saving Private Ryan and decide which is the BEST film of the year, as the academy had to do a few years ago. It is really like comparing apples and oranges. I give credit to the Golden Globes for having categories for comedies so that at least certain movies that otherwise would not get prestigious rewards, still get their due. Although, certainly we can compare Saving Private Ryan to say, "Beverly Hills Ninja" and come to a reasonable consensus and say one if better than the other. (As a general rule, if Chris Farley was in you movie, it will lose most comparison tests).
What makes a film "good" or "great" or "one of the best films ever made." It is hard to say and it is largely a matter of personal taste of course. But in the spirit of this exercise I will give my thoughts on the AFI list and I will also create my own list.
A word about my list
My list is mainly my favorite 100 films of all time. In the interest of maintaining some credibility, I keep a lot of the critically acclaimed films in here. These might not be on my list of the most enjoyable movies to sit through, but I still recognize their greatness.
But I have deleted certain "important" but bad films. The "Jazz Singer" and "Birth of a Nation" are very important films and at the time, they were popular films and maybe even considered to be great. But by today's standards, most people would agree that they sucked. They might be better than "Beverly Hills Ninja" but that doesn't mean they will make my list of great films.
And in the interest of avoiding the Shakespeare in Love vs. Saving Private Ryan, my list is organized alphabetically because I recognize that trying to rank 100 great films is like trying to compare 100 different varieties of apples, oranges, peaches, pears, bananas, strawberries, raspberries….. you get the idea.
AFI 100
Check out the official AFI web site at www.afionlie.org
LIST:
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)
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
13. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
15. STAR WARS (1977)
18. PSYCHO (1960)
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
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)
32. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
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. MASH (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)
My list:
Bold indicates they were not in the original 100. Plus there may be a few non-American films in here. Sue me.
2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
ALIENS
AMADEUS
american beauty
AMERICAN GRAFFITI
American History X
APOCALYPSE NOW
Armageddon
As Good As It Gets
Batman
BEN-HUR
BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES
Blade
Bob Roberts
BONNIE AND CLYDE
Bowfinger
BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI
BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
CASABLANCA
CHINATOWN
CITIZEN KANE
City Slickers
CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND
crouching tiger, hidden dragon
Cube
DANCES WITH WOLVES
Desperado
Devil's Advocate
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
DR. STRANGELOVE
DUCK SOUP
E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
Erin Brockavich
FANTASIA
FARGO
FORREST GUMP
Galaxy Quest
Ghostbusters
Gladiator
GODFATHER
GODFATHER PART II
Goldeneye
Goldfinger
GONE WITH THE WIND
Good Will Hunting
GOODFELLAS
GRADUATE
GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER
In The Line of Fire
IRON GIANT
IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
JAWS
JFK
KING KONG
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
Matrix
Memento
MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
ON THE WATERFRONT
ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
PATTON
Pi
PLATOON
PSYCHO
PULP FICTION
Pump Up the Volume
RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
REAR WINDOW
Reservoir Dogs
ROCK, THE
ROCKY
saving private ryan
Scent of a Woman
SCHINDLER'S LIST
Seven
Shakespeare in Love
Shawshank Redemption
Sixth Sense
SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
Spanish Prisoner
STAGECOACH
STAR WARS
SUBURBIA
Tarzan (Walt Disney)
Terminator 2
There's Something About Mary
TOOTSIE
TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE
UNFORGIVEN
Usual Suspects
VERTIGO
Wag the Dog
WEST SIDE STORY
WIZARD OF OZ
Wolf
Zero Effect
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