Oh yeah — almost forgot. What do you think of the American Film Institute’s updated, re-calibrated 10th Anniversary Edition of their 100 Greatest Movies list? I thought it was a helluva improvement over the AFI list from 1997, if only for the way that its 1,500 voters booted Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner out of the high 90’s and essentially installed a much better movie about race relations, Do the Right Thing, in its place.
At the other end of the list, isn’t it sort of amazing that Citizen Kane (pictured) held on to the No. 1 slot? I figured for sure The Godfather would usurp it, if only for the way pop culture (especially The Sopranos) has indirectly managed to keep Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece at the top of everybody’s brain for the past eight years, even as black-and-white film classic seemed to be drifting further and further into the past. In fact, I was actually rooting for The Godfather to come out ahead. I love Kane, I’ve seen it all the way through at least a half-dozen times, but I’m not sure I would’ve voted for it over The Godfather. Kane, deep down, is a movie you study; The Godfather is more emotionally involving, a slightly richer experience.
Still, for an old-movie hound like me, it’s great to see a 66-year-old geezer like Kane take the top prize in our 18-to-49 youth-culture age. And this list feels more in tune with wider film scholarship than the last one did — witness the ascension up the charts of Raging Bull (now at No. 4), Vertigo (No. 9), City Lights (No. 11), and The Searchers (No. 12), movies that (even ten years ago) anybody with film sense knew belonged higher up on the AFI’s list than No.’s 24, 61, 76, and 96, respectively.
Another good thing: the list of movies that got added this year — which includes The General, Nashville, Sullivan’s Travels, A Night at the Opera, Swing Time, and The Last Picture Show — is stronger than the list of movies that got 86′ed to make room for them, including Mutiny on the Bounty, Wuthering Heights, Amadeus, Doctor Zhivago, Rebel Without a Cause, and The Jazz Singer. My man Roger Ebert is disappointed Fargo didn’t survive the new cut, but I always thought Fargo was overrated; I’d much rather see The Big Lebowski on the list.
As for other movies that came out within this decade, only Saving Private Ryan, Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring, Titanic, and The Sixth Sense were squeezed on. I wouldn’t put any of these on my own personal best-of-the-last-decade list (well, maybe Titanic; that movie gets to me), but they do already seem "classic" in a way that fits in with the AFI’s stately ethos. Can you imagine Boogie Nights getting the buff-and-shine of an AFI slot?
What do you think? Is there a movie you’re sad still hasn’t made the AFI cut? I’d pick the neglected His Girl Friday, maybe the greatest, fastest romantic comedy of all time.
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I don’t care what’s on the list, just as long as “Kane” is king. That movie is phenomenal (sp???). It wrenches my heart every time I watch it, which is by now like three million.
They still can’t make room for This is Spinal Tap? Is it because it looks like they’ve got armadillos in their trousers?
I was surprised that they picked Fellowship over Return of the King for the LOTR pick – King, after all, won a slew of Oscars and is an amazingly moving epic while Fellowship, not surprisingly, spends a lot of its time on exposition. And I missed what the experts had to say about it because I had to, ya know, be a Mom at that precise moment (major bunk bed crisis). Can anyone fill me in?
Otherwise, I agree with everything you said. Thrilled to see Raging Bull move into the Top 10 and agree wholeheartedly about Fargo – I never got why the critics swooned so much over that film.
I fully agree with the inclusion of LOTR, but am still highly pissed that Rebel Without A Cause was axed to make way for such cinematic greatness such as…Titanic? When did that become more than an overblown love story? And, yes, I admit it makes me cry and yes, I do enjoy it but better than Rebel? Or even Pulp Fiction, Blade Runner, & Bringing Up Baby? I think not! For shame AFI, for shame ::shakes index finger sternly::
I love Citizen Kane. Rosebud has been said to be a reference to someone’s body part, which really surprised me. I know the sled had the name on it, but as it goes, with a hidden meaning. Stories such as this one had good acting, and because of censorship, the imagination played a big part in film. This lead writers, producers, etc. to be quite creative.
Guess who’s coming to dinner is still one of my favorites. I loved the look on Katharine Hepburn’s face when she was told of the budding romance. The meddlesome clergy friend was a nice touch to the story.
titanic being on there….no
Where is The Color Purple? Where is Audrey Hepburn this time? The Godfather…TWICE? I think this list turned out to be an overblown tribute to Italians in American cinema.
Kane still works brilliantly. I think it deserves the title. Indeed, I think it gets better with age. A lot of people talk about the puzzle structure of Kane, or the technical innovations, but forget all that. It’s an endlessly engaging yarn: briskly paced, full of clever dialogue and enigmatic, complex characterizations… The Godfather owes a debt to Citizen Kane but it lacks Kane’s energy… As for Raging Bull, I’m sorry, but I just don’t get it. I think Scorsese, while he seems like a great guy and a great film scholar, is vastly over-rated as a director. Goodfellas is his best movie, and even that’s lost something over time.
As a Disney fan, I am sad to see that Fantasia was dropped from th;e list, but at least they brought in Toy Story, an equally worthy cinematic achievement. Still, I can’t help feeling that the AFI has little love for Pinocchio, which I feel is a much better film than Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs. Not that Snow White doesn’t belong up there, quite the contrary. It was, and still is, an extraordinary film, especially for being someone’s debut feature. It’s just that I consider Pinocchio to be more mature artistically. As for Toy Story, I like it better than Snow White, yet it’s not even my favorite Pixar film. That would be Finding Nemo.
Casablanca is my favorite film, but you can’t argue with Citizen Kane. And while it’s nice to see Toy Story on the list, it doesn’t belong way down in the 90s any more than “The Searchers” did on the last list. You could make the case that “Toy Story” is the most influential movie since “Jaws” and “Star Wars” helped shaped Hollywood’s blockbuster mentality.
I want both Fargo and Lebowski on there but that’s me. I find it a bummer that no Coen work is on there considering the amount of great films they have made.
How is it that a movie can move up on this list? I mean I know that a new movie can come in above an old movie thus knocking it down a peg, but how does one movie rise 20 spaces…Rocky was in the 70’s on the last list, now it’s in the 50’s. Don’t get me wrong, Rocky is my favorite movie of all time…but I don’t understand how it gets better with age?!
Pretty good list but in what world is the Sixth Sense better than Pulp Fiction? Also, I’m totally with you on giving a nod to His Girl Friday – maybe the best screenplay of all time.
movies move up the list with their staying power and relevancy in current culture. Some may move down perhaps because rave reviews lose support through time.
I was pulling for Casablanca to be #1 this time. Citizen Kane is a masterpiece artistically. But once you get past studying frames and camera angles, it’s boring. Casablanca isn’t only artistically wonderful, but it’s got an emotional story that captivates you from almost the beginning. As for The Godfather usurping it? Well, I can’t be too upset about that because The Godfather is amazing too. I really do feel bad for thinking Citizen Kane is boring. I appreciate it for its artistic merit and what it did for filmmaking, but a film has to enthrall me at the same time.
So happy Singing in the Rain made it higher! It really is the best musical ever. I was a little upset On the Waterfront dropped so much, but it still made the top 20. And even though I knew it didn’t have a chance, I think Eternal Sunshine should have been on the list. But then again, all the more recent films on the list had a significant cultural impact and Sunshine hasn’t yet. And Top Hat is a better than Swingtime.
Excuse me? “Doctor Zhivago” gets booted from the Top 100? Blasphemy!
Also, “Singin’ in the Rain” may be the perfect movie musical, but does it really deserve a higher ranking than Hitchcock’s masterpiece “Vertigo” or epics such as “Gone With the Wind” and “Lawrence of Arabia”?
As Amy Winehouse would say, “No. No. No.”
Kane is an awful movie. It’s an overrated two hour ego-fest for a director that did much better work in other films. It shouldn’t even be on the list.
I think, considering these are results of a survey, that Fellowship was chosen over ROTK because it made more of an impact, cinematically, business-wise, and emotionally. To be honest, even as a big fan, by the time ROTK came around, there was a front-runner victory-lap to the whole thing, and a lot of people were starting to get sick of hobbits and Gollum and dirty bearded men and most of all Legolas. Fellowship was a risk, it was emotionally complete, its timing during that weird period after September 2001 but before March 2003 was perfect for its message, and it was visually and linguistically startling — straight up sincere. It gets better with each viewing, whereas ROTK starts to nag. Besides, it’s commonly accepted that ROTK’s 11 wins were for the trilogy as a whole, not for the movie in itself.
I agree that only Titanic really deserved to be on the list from the movies from the 90s. Saving Private Ryan is great, not top 100 of all time great, and Lord of the Rings and Sixth Sense are both movies that were okay but haven’t really aged well (M. Night’s continuation with making bad movies seems to make his old ones just seem so lame because his gimmicks are more obvious). I would have liked to see Notorious by Hitchcock make the list, one that rarely makes list but is one of his finest, and something a little more unique like Being John Malkovich or Magnolia would’ve been nice, and agreed that This Is Spinal Tap should be on there.
If we’re going to talk about the Coen brothers’ movies that should be on the list, you young’uns can weep over Fargo’s omission and the obliviousness of The Big Lebowski all you like. For me, there’s only one Coens movie that deserves a spot in the official 100 list, one that made its 100 comedies list even:
Raising Arizona.
I think ROTK should have been on the list instead of Fellowship…both movies are amazing but ROTK is a much more emotional and engaging film. And i will always wish that Star Wars nabbed the number one spot. I haven’t seen Citizen Kane and I know that its probably brilliant and artistic, but I’ve never had more fun watching a movie than when I watch Star Wars. And in the end…isnt that what its all about? Even today, 30 years after it was released, people who haven’t even seen the movie know what it is. Has there ever been a film that has stayed with people as long as Star Wars has? I at least believe it deserves a spot in the top 10.
“Titanic” is one of the 100 best movies of all time??? It’s not even the best movie about the Titanic. See the 1953 version, also called “Titanic” with Barbara Stanwyk, Clifton Webb and a young Robert Wagner instead.
Fargo lost – boo! Do the Right Thing added – yay! Titanic – boo! I do think that Eternal Sunshine has had a cultural impact, it would have been a welcome addition. Citizen Kane has become a cliche, but still a good movie. Also, good call on Boogie Nights, probably the best of the past 15 years. Not a bad list, though.
I’m so proud “Vertigo” made its way onto the top ten. That movie is amazing, stunning, just simply great.
I wanted to see “The Apartment” a little higher, but I can deal with that.
Say what you want, but I think the whole “Lord of the Rings” trilogy is high overrated, as is “Titanic.”
Where’s “Little Miss Sunshine” by the way?
And REBECCA B., I’m sorry that you feel that this was an [overblown?] tribute to Italian-Americans. Because I mean seriously, “The Godfather”s are horrible right? How’d they find their way onto a list of best movies ever made. And you know “Raging Bull” is pretty bad right?
I guess us Italian-Americans will just go back to you know “eating pasta” and being mobsters.
Did you ever think [and this is wild, isn't it?] that Italian Americans are good filmmakers? Guess not.
My big beef with the new list (other than overly trendy new editions like “Blade Runner” and “Sixth Sense”) is that “The Manchurian Candidate” fell off. That remains one of the all-time greats, IMHO.
Oh my. As soon as I saw that All About Eve had plummeted 12 spots, the list was all over for me.
And really, shouldn’t there be a time delay as to when they put a movie on the list? Their recent selections simply don’t seem to be movies that will stand the test of time. I mean…The Sixth Sense?
But hurrah to Vertigo for getting a much deserved boost to the top 10.
Guess Who’s Coming to Dinner was booted!? Noooooo! It’s a great film, with great actors. Watching that movie made me see what real acting is. And the story line was interesting, as well! It’s a movie that still holds up today. I don’t remember what the movie Do the Right Thing was about, but the title sounds familiar……
No Amadeus? I’m outraged!
Titanic seems to be a pretty controversial pick, but Titanic is also pretty culturally significant because of how popular it is. After all, after 10 years, it’s still the box-office champ.
Although Citizen Kane is a proper pick because of its influence on films and its artistic merits and structure of storytelling, I found it empty. Yes, I thought it was engaging and Orson Welles delivered an amazing performance, but I just didn’t emotionally connect to the film when it was over.
I agree with the sentiment that “Rebel without a Cause” should not have been dropped from the list, especially for garbage like “Titanic.” I’m sorry, that is the most overrated film of ANY decade.
I was a little disappointed that “Pulp Fiction” wasn’t one of the films that vaulted up the list a giant number of places. When the first list was made in ‘97, it’s understandable that “Pulp” wasn’t ranked that high. But 10 years later, that film has had an immeasurable impact on countless filmmakers in terms of dialog, narrative flow and even the way music is used in film. Additionally, it’s one of the only super-hyped films in history that, every time you go back and rewatch it, reassures you it’s not overrated in any way, shape or form.
On another note, I’m so glad to see I wasn’t the only one hoping that “Eternal Sunshine” would land a spot on the list! I consider it the best American film since… well… Pulp Fiction!