100 Years...100 Movies
In 1998, the American Film Institute aired a three-hour special about the greatest movies of all time, which was called AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, celebrating the centennial anniversary of filmed entertainment. These are the films that were chosen through opinions of hundreds of film professionals:
(Note: When you click on a film's title, it will take you the Internet Movie Database's page for that film.)
100. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
99. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner (1968)
98. Unforgiven (1992)
97. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
96. The Searchers (1956)
95. Pulp Fiction (1994)
94. Goodfellas (1990)
93. The Apartment (1960)
92. A Place in the Sun (1951)
91. My Fair Lady (1964)
90. The Jazz Singer (1927)
89. Patton (1970)
88. Easy Rider (1969)
87. Frankenstein (1931)
86. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
85. Duck Soup (1933)
84. Fargo (1996)
83. Platoon (1986)
82. Giant (1956)
81. Modern Times (1936)
80. The Wild Bunch (1969)
79. The Deer Hunter (1978)
78. Rocky (1976)
This is one great movie. It's amazing that Sylvester Stallone wrote it, as well as doing a fantastic starring job. Rocky is just a fantastic celebration of the American dream. However, though I know I'm in the minority, I think that Rocky II is even better.
77. American Graffiti (1973)
76. City Lights (1931)
75. Dances with Wolves (1990)
74. The Gold Rush (1925)
73. Wuthering Heights (1939)
72. Ben-Hur (1959)
71. Forrest Gump (1994)
Forrest Gump is, simply put, a wonderful movie. It's a heartwarming, satirical drama masterfully directed by Robert Zemeckis at his best. Seeing the world through Forrest's eyes is a great experience. This is, without a doubt, Tom Hanks' best movie. I would've placed this one higher up on the list.
70. The French Connection (1971)
69. Shane (1953)
68. An American in Paris (1951)
67. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
66. Network (1976)
65. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Anthony Hopkins gives what is arguably the best performance of his career as the psychotic Dr. Hannibal Lecter in The Silence of the Lambs. The movie is chilling and startling, and one of the most well-crafted thrillers out there.
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
63. Stagecoach (1939)
62. Tootsie (1982)
This may have been the cross-dressing comedy that inspired Mrs. Doubtfire (whether or not the novel that Doubtfire is based on came out before Tootsie, I don't know), but that hilarious Robin Williams comedy did it better, and isn't even on the list. Sure, this is a good pick, but I think that they could have sacrificed it to put better titles on the list.
61. Vertigo (1958)
60. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Though George Lucas created Indiana Jones, he didn't write the screenplay for Raiders of the Lost Ark. The fact that it's better than any of the Star Wars films may or may not be coincidence. Raiders of the Lost Ark is the ultimate Saturday morning adventure. It has the perfect feel of those classic stories, complete with the 1940s setting, patriotic main character, and epic action sequences. A true classic!
59. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
58. Fantasia (1940)
Fantasia is an epic Disney film, though one that isn't perfect because of only one thing: It gets a tad stale through parts of it. Since it's only some animated shorts set to classical music, there's not a whole lot of plot twists to expect.
57. The Third Man (1949)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
55. The Sound of Music (1965)
54. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
53. Amadeus (1984)
52. From Here to Eternity (1953)
51. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
50. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
49. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
This is a great Disney movie, though far from the best (though, of course, it was the first feature-length animated film). It is one of the most groundbreaking, however, right up there with Toy Story.
48. Jaws (1975)
Jaws is a great monster movie that is actually much more than a monster movie. Director Steven Spielberg became recognized after this film (though he had been making movies since 1959), and rightly so. He keeps the suspense taut and the stakes high while moving the story along at a comfortable pace. The shark attacks are quite frightening, and some of the best scenes in the whole film occur on the boat that the three shark hunters board near the end, when there is some great character development.
47. Taxi Driver (1976)
46. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
45. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
44. The Birth of a Nation (1915)
43. King Kong (1933)
42. Rear Window (1954)
41. West Side Story (1961)
40. North by Northwest (1959)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
38. Double Indemnity (1944)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
35. It Happened One Night (1934)
34. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
33. High Noon (1952)
32. The Godfather: Part II (1974)
31. Annie Hall (1977)
30. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
27. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
26. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
25. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1983)
This is one of director Steven Spielberg's most charming classics. The little alien, E.T., however ugly, becomes cute throughout the course of the movie. A great, old-fashioned fantasy that launched Drew Barrymore's career.
24. Raging Bull (1980)
23. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
21. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
I love Jack Nicholson, and I love One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest...which just so happens to have one great performance from Nicholson. This film is extremely powerful in both its story and characters, and is simply a joy to watch. I knew this one going to be on the list, but regardless, I'm still very glad that it's here.
19. Chinatown (1974)
18. Psycho (1960)
Alfred Hitchcock's shining masterpiece. Psycho is very, very creepy and shocking, especially the infamous shower sequence. And that ending...quite stunning!
17. The African Queen (1951)
16. All About Eve (1950)
15. Star Wars (1977)
The first of the Star Wars films, and still the best. This is George Lucas' incredible space opera, filled to the brim with plenty of unique and interesting characters, innovative special effects, crazy creatures, and amazing space battles. The only way to make it better is to watch the 20th anniversary re-release.
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
13. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
12. Sunset Blvd. (1950)
11. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
10. Singin' in the Rain (1952)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
8. On the Waterfront (1954)
7. The Graduate (1967)
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
Go, ahead, shoot me, but I do not like The Wizard of Oz. It's all way too sugary for me, and I'd rather go slam my head against a wall (which is actually quite fun, if you do it right) than watch those little Munchkins dance around. The book is even worse.
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
3. The Godfather (1972)
Compared to the others on this list, this one should have ranked #1. While it's not my favorite film, it is my second favorite, and since my favorite's not up here (Ghostbusters, which I knew wouldn't be on the list), I was rooting for this one to get the title. Oh, well. It's still a wonderful filmmaking triumph, with the always amazing Marlon Brando stealing every scene that he's in.
2. Casablanca (1942)
1. Citizen Kane (1941)
Well, this is it, folks. Citizen Kane has officially been announced as the greatest motion picture of all time by the American Film Institute. While I myself love the movie as well, I don't get why it ranked in the #1 spot. Sure, it was incredibly groundbreaking, but innovations alone don't make a film. Don't get me wrong, though: The characters are thoroughly developed, there's a sense of warm humor, and the story is epic (from a person viewpoint). Orson Welles is wonderful, and this would definitely rate in my top 100, but not #1.
Comments on the List:
I think that the American Film Institute (AFI) has done a very good job of picking the greatest films of all time, even if I do quite disagree with some of the choices. After all, it's a tough job to compile a list such as this, and there have to be some casualties of war.
At times, though, I think that the AFI went for innovativeness instead of pure quality, which is evidenced by how well some of these films are received by the critics and by the general moviegoing public. However, I am extremely glad that they decided to make this list...they started an annual treat of top 100s that I can't get enough of.
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