Joey here...just wanted to quickly recap the AFI special from a few days ago. They did the top 10 films in 10 Classic categories...and here's the rundown for our debating pleasure:
-ANIMATION
1. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs,” 1937.
2. “Pinocchio,” 1940.
3. “Bambi,” 1942.
4. “The Lion King,” 1994.
5. “Fantasia,” 1940.
6. “Toy Story,” 1995.
7. “Beauty and the Beast,” 1991.
8. “Shrek,” 2001.
9. “Cinderella,” 1950.
10. “Finding Nemo,” 2003
-FANTASY
1. “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939.
2. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2001.
3. “It’s a Wonderful Life,” 1946.
4. “King Kong,” 1933.
5. “Miracle on 34th Street, 1947.
6. “Field of Dreams,” 1989.
7. “Harvey,” 1950.
8. “Groundhog Day,” 1993.
9. “The Thief of Bagdad,” 1924.10. “Big,” 1988.
-GANGSTER
1. “The Godfather,” 1972.
2. “Goodfellas,” 1990.
3. “The Godfather Part II,” 1974.
4. “White Heat,” 1949.
5. “Bonnie and Clyde,” 1967.
6. “Scarface: The Shame of a Nation,” 1932.
7. “Pulp Fiction,” 1994.
8. “The Public Enemy,” 1931.
9. “Little Caesar,” 1930.
10. “Scarface,” 1983.
-SCIENCE FICTION
1. “2001: A Space Odyssey,” 1968.
2. “Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope,” 1977.
3. “E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial,” 1982.
4. “A Clockwork Orange,” 1971.
5. “The Day The Earth Stood Still,” 1951.
6. “Blade Runner,” 1982.
7. “Alien,” 1979.
8. “Terminator 2: Judgment Day,” 1991.
9. “Invasion of the Body Snatchers,” 1956.
10. “Back to the Future,” 1985.
-WESTERN
1. “The Searchers,” 1956.
2. “High Noon,” 1952.
3. “Shane,” 1953.
4. “Unforgiven,” 1992.
5. “Red River,” 1948.
6. “The Wild Bunch,” 1969.
7. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid,” 1969.
8. “McCabe & Mrs. Miller,” 1971.
9. “Stagecoach,” 1939.
10. “Cat Ballou,” 1965.
-SPORTS
1. “Raging Bull,” 1980.
2. “Rocky,” 1976.
3. “The Pride of the Yankees,” 1942.
4. “Hoosiers,” 1986.
5. “Bull Durham,” 1988.
6. “The Hustler,” 1961.
7. “Caddyshack,” 1980.
8. “Breaking Away,” 1979.
9. “National Velvet,” 1944.
10. “Jerry Maguire,” 1996.
-MYSTERY
1. “Vertigo,” 1958.
2. “Chinatown,” 1974.
3. “Rear Window,” 1954.
4. “Laura,” 1944.
5. “The Third Man,” 1949.
6. “The Maltese Falcon,” 1941.
7. “North By Northwest,” 1959.
8. “Blue Velvet,” 1986.
9. “Dial M for Murder,” 1954.
10. “The Usual Suspects,” 1995.
-ROMANTIC COMEDY
1. “City Lights,” 1931.
2. “Annie Hall,” 1977.
3. “It Happened One Night,” 1934.
4. “Roman Holiday,” 1953.
5. “The Philadelphia Story,” 1940.
6. “When Harry Met Sally …,” 1989.
7. “Adam’s Rib,” 1949.
8. “Moonstruck,” 1987.
9. “Harold and Maude,” 1971.
10. “Sleepless in Seattle,” 1993.
-COURTROOM DRAMA
1. “To Kill a Mockingbird,” 1962.
2. “12 Angry Men,” 1957.
3. “Kramer Vs. Kramer,” 1979.
4. “The Verdict,” 1982.
5. “A Few Good Men,” 1992.
6. “Witness for the Prosecution,” 1957.
7. “Anatomy of a Murder,” 1959.
8. “In Cold Blood,” 1967.
9. “A Cry in the Dark,” 1988.
10. “Judgment at Nuremberg,” 1961.
-EPIC
1. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962.
2. “Ben-Hur,” 1959.
3. “Schindler’s List,” 1993.
4. “Gone With the Wind,” 1939.
5. “Spartacus,” 1960.
6. “Titanic,” 1997.
7. “All Quiet on the Western Front,” 1930.
8. “Saving Private Ryan,” 1998.
9. “Reds,” 1981.
10. “The Ten Commandments,” 1956.
-My take is that overall this is a good primer on a wide variety of classics that everybody should see.
What do you guys think of this list?
Posts
As someone who voted for this list, here is my assessment
ReplyDeleteAnimation:
Good list overall, but I think they mailed it in with the Top 3. I would have like to see a more ballsy choice somewhere in the Top 3. Also, Ratatouille was not on the ballot for those who felt it should have been on the list. Last, Shrek????
Fantasy:
Not a huge fan of this list. I would hardly consider Big, Thief of Bagdad, and Groundhog Day as fantasies. Top 5 is a great choice though.
Gangster:
I don't know many gangster films, but both Scarface on the list...boring. Glad Pulp Fiction made it. Note: "Some Like it Hot" was considered a Gangster film
Sci-Fi:
Best list of the entire night. Every single movie deserved a spot of this list. The only change I would make is move Clockwork down a few spots.
Western:
I've seen like 3 Westerns ever so I'll pass
Mystery:
What happened to the Mystery genre? I haven't heard of three of these movies, but I guess its an okay list.
Romantic Comedy:
I'm happy with this list. From the clips on the show, I think each movie deserves a spot and City Lights is a good, but safe choice for #1
Courtroom Drama:
Haven't heard of 6-10 'cept for In Cold Blood, but I really liked the choices for the top 5. I'm really please To Kill a Mockingbird was #1
Epic:
Reds? Reds?? um......okay. Probably the weirdest choice of the night. I think as purely an Epic, Gone With the Wind should have been #3 and Schindler #4. The rest is understandable.
I thought that the lists were exactly what the AFI lists always are. They are fun to watch them reveil their picks against your own, and it is mostly a celebration of classic film to get the younger generation to watch a film made before 2000. As for the individual lists, I agree that the top three in the Animation category were mailed in, but they're great films as well. In the gangster category, I agreed with every choice (though I really wanted to see Once Upon a Time in America on this or the epic lists, neither of which it made). Science Fiction was also a spectacular list.
ReplyDeleteAs for the others, I would have prefered Field of Dreams as a sports film and Unforgiven to have been higher on the Westerns list. The Epic list was great with a notable exception that they left D.W. Griffith off of the list completely.
i think both of you make some excellent points, and yes, at the end of the day, the AFI lists are just fun to debate and hold no more merit than any list I could make...but for what they're worth, they get people talking about movies, and that's always good
ReplyDelete