The AFI Top 100: Part II- The Anti-Climax

So the American Film Institute decided that it was going to make a new list of the top 100 American movies of all-time. They made their first list in 1998 and after making a bunch of other lists for comedies, stars, songs, and whatnot, they apparently felt there was nothing left to do but start from scratch. I was intrigued for two reasons: 1) I'm a movie crackhead (as you all know), and 2) I was curious to see which films would be new to the list.
As it turned out, only four films since 1997 ('97 was not made eligible on the '98 list) made the list. "Titanic," "Saving Private Ryan," "The Sixth Sense," and "The Fellowship of the Ring" (the only film of the oughts to make it). Are those seriously the four best American films of the last ten years? I certainly don't think so. The rest of the list consisted of some minor changes and a few major ones. "Raging Bull" went up to number 4 this time. I still say Scorsese's best is "The King of Comedy" but I might be the only one. The silent era seemed to get greater representation this time, which seemed to be the most interesting aspect of this new list. Ultimately though it all feels like a big cheat. Another three hour sit though clips and interviews and in the end "Citizen Kane" is still number 1. Personally I think "Casablanca" is the better film, but what can you do? I think the way to make this list REALLY interesting would be to include foreign films and see how the rankings come out. But the American Film Institute won't go for that so we end up with an incomplete list yet again. And can someone please explain to me why "E.T." is rated above "Dr. Strangelove," "Network," and "Unforgiven"! As Gob Bluth would say, "Come on!"

2007 AFI LIST OF TOP 100 MOVIE

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 Blvd.", 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. "The 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.
1998 LIST OF AFI'S TOP 100 MOVIES

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.

10. "Singin' in the Rain," 1952.

11. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946.

12. "Sunset Boulevard," 1950.

13. "The Bridge on the River Kwai," 1957.

14. "Some Like It Hot," 1959.

15. "Star Wars," 1977.

16. "All About Eve," 1950.

17. "The African Queen," 1951.

18. "Psycho," 1960.

19. "Chinatown," 1974.

20. "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," 1975.

21. "The Grapes of Wrath," 1940.

22. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968.

23. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941.

24. "Raging Bull," 1980.

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.

30. "The Treasure of the Sierra Madre," 1948.

31. "Annie Hall," 1977.

32. "The Godfather Part II," 1974.

33. "High Noon," 1952.

34. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962.

35. "It Happened One Night," 1934.

36. "Midnight Cowboy," 1969.

37. "The Best Years of Our Lives," 1946.

38. "Double Indemnity," 1944.

39. "Doctor Zhivago," 1965.

40. "North by Northwest," 1959.

41. "West Side Story," 1961.

42. "Rear Window," 1954.

43. "King Kong," 1933.

44. "The Birth of a Nation," 1915.

45. "A Streetcar Named Desire," 1951.

46. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971.

47. "Taxi Driver," 1976.

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. "M.A.S.H," 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.