AFI’s Top 100 Films List Forum Challenge (Part 3) (1 Viewer)

[Rachael B]

Sorry, the KOCH link doesn't seem to work.....

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I watched two more AFI 100 films this weekend:
Mr. Smith Goes To Washington: I appreciate Jimmy Stewart more and more as I go through this list. This film, with a little tweaking, could still apply today. It was a rather harsh commentary on Washington, D.C., considering the era in which it was made.

out of four.
The Best Years Of Our Lives: The film was a little long, but after a slow start became very engrossing. I was especially impressed by the depth of some of the camera shots -- the scene where Homer shows off his new piano-playing skills to Al while Fred is in the deep background talking on the pay phone with Al's daughter was a great piece of camera work. It's amazing to me that so much storytelling could be accomplished using the Academy aspect ratio. I wonder how much Wyler was influenced by Wells' Citizen Kane for these shots?

I'm down to five films remaining -- All Quiet On The Western Front, Grapes Of Wrath, The French Connection, On The Waterfront, and Sunset Boulevard. I know I can find the first four (I actually have a copy of "Grapes Of Wrath" on VHS that I taped off cable many years ago, while the others are on DVD now or announced for this fall), but does anyone know if Sunset Boulevard is easily found in the rental stores? I have not rented a VHS tape in three years, but it's probably the only way I will see this film (it's not on either TCM or AMC's current long range schedules).
------------------
My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 5
[Edited last by Scott Merryfield on August 21, 2001 at 07:55 AM]

 

[Edwin Pereyra]

Also, Edwin, I still need to get my Indy driver's licence to check out films from the library. One step at a time (and yes, it's been a year without switching, please don't turn me in as I'm going this week, really).

Ah, I knew there was a reason why you keep avoiding your local library.

~Edwin

 

[Seth Paxton]

Sunset Blvd is pretty common at Blockbusters even. Shouldn't be too tough.
Even without the library, I got 2 more in.

The Best Years of Our Lives I was also finding the early part of this film rather average except for the story, and while the script never really picked up, the acting did and the cinematography ended up showing lots of style.
Many good 2 and 3 shots with reactions often in the background. I love the shot where Peggy is at the table and her mother is standing several feet behind her on the left. Lots of great framing like that. But should we be surprised by that considering some of the strengths of Ben-Hur and Wuthering Heights are the 2 shots with terrific reaction moments.
The script could have pepped up some great moments, but instead played a bit close to the vest. I see that having a lot to do with the times, but not totally since other films in that era had great dialog and moments.
But the story being told was a good one and subtle at times even. Obviously it's not totally subtle but there are those moments when you pick up on stuff without it being shoved on you.
It also had a touch of Capra, a bit different in that way than other big Wyler films.
3 of 4 (but that might be more for subject than as a whole)
Double Indemnity It had been awhile since I'd seen this proper, straight through. Many dynamic moments with terrific dialog exchanges, good film noir style. Interesting story, of course.
My only hold back on it was a slightly sloppy ending. Not what happens but rather how it is portrayed. The last 5 minutes of dialog are a drop-off (IMHO) from the strength of the rest of the film. Somehow just a bit too corny for me, along with the "escape". Again, I don't mind WHAT happens, just how it's done as a scene.
Not enough to hurt the film though. Very solid noir film and I always enjoy the reference sources for Dead Men Don't Wear Plaid. I kept thinking of McMurry "cruising grocery stores for blondes."
4 out of 4
Incidentally, it's come up before, but I'll say my peace on Chaplin once more. I see Gold Rush as a bit weaker, but I prefer not Modern Times, but rather City Lights. So maybe it's just different strokes there... (and not just the sweetness, I love the dance club bit he does in City Lights)
Okay, so that puts me at
Mutiny
Place in the Sun
Yankee Doodle Dandy
American in Paris
and a rewatch of the becoming infamous
Patton (among my several starts was one time when I was watching it at work...yet here it still sits)
5 total, not bad.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Hey Seth - Too bad you're still not in Houston. I could have hooked you up with all of those titles. Sheesh, I need to get going again on the AFI 100. I've been stuck at 15 unwatched for some time. I need to quit feeding my noir fixation on AMC and TCM and knock out the remaining titles.
- Walter.
[Edited last by Walter Kittel on August 23, 2001 at 01:15 AM]

 

[Sarah S]

Edwin, could you please put me at 27 to go? Thanks!
I recently saw Birth of a Nation: 1 1/2 stars out of 4. Excellent cinematography for the time, horrible use film. Oh well....
To Kill a Mockingbird: 4 out of 4, though not really something I feel the need to see again for a while....
Finally, Apocalypse Now, which has been sitting on my to-watch pile for weeks. Excellent, excellet movie. Francis Ford Coppela's best movie ever! (Though I haven't watched the Godfather yet...) I don't usually like war movies; they just don't draw me into the story. Watching Apocalypse Now however, made me somehow feel I was part of the story. I'm putting this on my must-buy list.
I'll be sending these movies back to Netflix so I can get the next titles on my list and these can go out to some other HTF'er if they need them.

 

[Seth Paxton]

I'd like to encourage any of you guys who are still a bit out from the end to put your shoulders into it and finish it by the end of year, I know you guys can do it.
My selfish reason is that we really want to revote for our own 100 American films and need as many voters as possible to make it truly interesting. At this point I think we are in favor of not letting people vote if they haven't seen every title.
Again, we will probably go through a "removal" process first to possibly pick out the bottom 25, mix them in with some replacement nominees and then redraft that 25.
After that we can revote the 100.
While we are discussing it, I would like to recommend Marathon Man as a replacement to French Connection. Seriously. I find MM to be more tense, with at least equal character study, both have dramatic chases, both have Roy in them, Dustin vs. Hackman, MM has Olivier in an awesome role. Plus, MM has "Is it safe", some great plot twists, and is more artful IMHO.
Doesn't mean FC should come off, but as I watched MM I wondered how it wasn't on the list but FC was.

 

[Robert Crawford]

quote: Doesn't mean FC should come off, but as I watched MM I wondered how it wasn't on the list but FC was.[/quote]


Seth,
Stop wondering because "The French Connection" won the following AA's which still carries a bunch of weight with the AFI voters and the infamous car chase in the film is recognized as an all-time cinema highlight.
[*]Best Picture[*]Best Director[*]Best Actor[*]Best Screenplay[*]Best Editing

"Marathon Man" is a very good film but unfortunately, it came out the same year as the following films and it only had one AA nomination which was Olivier as Best Supporting Actor.
[*]All The President's Men[*]Network[*]Taxi Driver[*]Rocky

Crawdaddy

------------------


[Edited last by Robert Crawford on August 26, 2001 at 06:13 AM]

 

[Scott Dill]

Mr. Smith Goes To Washington

outta

I thoroughly enjoyed this Capra fantasy. I'm sure that I have seen this before, but needed a refresher. I doubt that it would be possible in today's cynical world to create a film that is so idealistic without coming off as complete cheese. Jimmy Stewart is the ultimate "Everyman" and his on screen charisma is as strong as ever in this film. I also give high marks to the ever impressive Claude Rains. I always like his performances, however. IMHO, this film deserves its place in the top 100 American films.
This leaves 8 to see so I am going to make sure that I meet our challenge.
Edwin, I see that I'm still in the 11 - 20 group please move me up. I still have the following films to see:
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
Scott

 

[Scott Dill]

Wow, two post in a row. I guess I've had a busy day

for Kazan's "On the Water Front".
This was a great mob film with terrific performances all around. Malden is definitely one of my favorite supporting actors. He offers wonderful, down to earth contrast to the fiery Brando in this film as well as "Streetcar" and to Scott in "Patton".
No one can mumble through a script like Brando

but he did give a powerful performance. His much quoted speech to Charlie in the Taxi was moving despite its familiarity.
Definitely deserves a place in the top 100.
Seven to go:
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)

 

[ryan_m]

Recently saw 3 films: Fantasia, Bringing Up Baby and Singin In the Rain.
I really don't see why Fantasia is on the list. I found it to be pretty boring to sit through the whole thing in one sitting. I'm not a big Disney animation fan, maybe that's it.
I liked Bringing Up Baby, actually had some funny stuff in it (I don't usually find older movies that are supposed to be funny very funny). One of the 100 greatest films of all time? Don't know about that, but it was fun.
Singin In the Rain is probably my second fav musical after My Fair Lady, now that isn't saying much cause I pretty much can't stand musicals. That whole entended dance scene towards the end seemed really unnecessary, like it wasn't part of the story like the other ones were. I did like the story though. I enjoyed it MUCH more than American In Paris or West Side Story.
Only 8 more to go!

 

[Hugh Jackes]

I revisited Platoon for the first time since I saw it in 1986.
My usual proviso: I don't like war movies. That being said, I liked this movie.
I maintain that Platoon is the most important and influential of the Vietnam war movies. The other two main contenders, Apocalypse Now (1979) and Full Metal Jacket (1987) don't quite measure up. Apocalypse is an incoherent mess and Jacket only really delivers for the first half of the movie. The proof that Platoon worked is that it caused the same cathartic release in Vietnam vets that Saving Private Ryan provoked in WWII vets. Countless vets reported feeling the same panic and terror watching the film that they had felt in Vietnam firefights.
Platoon is the story of Chris Taylor (Charlie Sheen, before he pissed is talent and career away on controlled substances), his tour of duty in Vietnam, and the conflict between his two sergeants, Barnes (Tom Bringer) and Elias (Willem Dafoe).
The two sarges are really cartoon characters from Oliver Stone's twisted view of America. Barnes, who eschews the rampant drug use in Vietnam but drinks to excess, is an evil, uncaring, murderous bastard. Elias, the pothead, is virtuous, caring, and enlightened about America and her participation in the war. He came to Vietnam a true believer, but came to believe in the wrongness of the cause over time (and presumably prolonged use of pot).
Anyway, the two sergeants are like good and evil caricatures that appear on Taylor's shoulder urging him to follow their nature. Taylor's duality and his struggles with right and wrong are shown by his responses and actions to their actions.
Seen82
Not seen:18
Should see again:14

 

[Bill Buklis]

You can finally move me up to the next category. Now I only have 45 to go!
Recent movies seen (rating is out of 4 stars):
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner -

Very good performances by the whole cast. Perhaps a little too preachy, but then I guess that was the whole point of the film. Quite funny.
The Searchers -

Good performance by John Wayne. Overall, a pretty good movie, but there are other John Wayne movies I like better - True Grit, for example.
The Apartment -

Very funny movie. Jack Lemmon with another brilliant performance. Although I think I like Irma La Douce (also starring Jack Lemmon/Shirley MacLaine and directed by Billy Wilder) better, The Apartment rates very close.
Easy Rider -

Very odd film. Overall, this was very good, but it didn't seem as if the movie went anywhere. The featurette on the DVD is excellent. It gave me a much better appreciation for the film. It also helped explain why the New Orleans scene felt like nothing but an acid trip with no real point to the movie.
The Deer Hunter -

This is an excellent film, but the pacing is a little strange. At times the movie seems to drag on (the opening through the wedding seemed to take forever) and at other times it just wizzed by. In any case, this is by far the best performance I've ever seen from Christopher Walken. I've always like him, but here you didn't really have that feel of the trademark Walken. You only saw the character. His supporting actor academy award was well deserved.
Treasure of the Sierra Madre -

Definitely a different Bogart in this film. This psychological thriller had all the makings of one of those great Twilight Zone episodes where the character slowly goes insane. Excellent.
------------------

 

[Scott Dill]

I'm on a roll now. Saw three more yesterday and today.
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)

I know that this is a classic Noir film, but it left me a little cool. I have never been a huge fan of Noir (CHINATOWN and THE KILLING being notable exceptions)for reasons that I cannot fully put a finger on...perhaps its the blatant exposition that they all seem to share. Anyhow, The script and direction were both good, but I just couldn't believe the Fred McMurray character. His speech pattern was just too forced. I know that its in the spirit of the genre, but it just didn't seem to fit him. I liked him in Wilder's THE APARTMENT were he played a complete prick, so its not just that I see him as Ernie, Chip and Robbie's Dad I wouldn't put this in the top 100.
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)

This was great. I can't enough of watching the great choreography that Chaplin puts into his films. In this case it was the boxing match and his many drunken escapades that were the most fun. I liked this film as much as I did MODERN TIMES and more than GOLD RUSH. While all three films are great classics, I would only have one on the top 100 list in order to make room for other deserving films (like a Buster Keaton). If it was solely up to me I would keep MODERN TIMES, but I wouldn't argue too hard with others who have stronger opinions.
37. THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)

:

I really got into this film. The emotional impact of seeing 3 guys from different backgrounds trying to readjust to civilian life after the experience of war was very moving. Sure, it was a bit cheesy in that all three were such sincere and truly good guys, but this film came out while these events were still current, so I'm sure that it had quite an impact in its time. This film is definitely one of the top 100 in my opinion.
Four to go!
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)

 

[Hugh Jackes]

The Apartment
Just saw this one for the first time. I like this movie very much. Jack Lemmon (RIP), as Calvin Clifford (Bud) Baxter, never turned in anything but a solid performance, whether it was comedy, drama, or both (like The Apartment). Shirley MacLaine, as Fran Kubelik, who usually annoys me, sparkled in this movie.
Lemmon, as a way to move up on the job, allows the married men in his office to use his apartment for illicit trysts. Pretty racy stuff for 1960. Even with the cultural changes that have occurred since 1960, I was still shocked by the callousness with which men cheating on their wives was handled. Fred MacMurray, as Jeff Sheldrake, is the villain of the piece, but his villainy is in stringing MacLaine along, not in cheating in the first place. MacLaine's hands were not clean either, she knew that her man was married, but she kept going back to him.
The DVD was billed as a comedy, but only about the beginning of it was true comedy. The movie takes a very dark turn about a third of the way in and never really returns to the light-hearted frivolity of the earlier third of the movie.
Ray Walston, as one of Lemmon's supervisors, was very odd. His characterization included a voice that cracked like an adolescent boy; very strange. Jack Kruschen was very strong as Doctor Dreyfuss, the doctor who lived next door who advised Lemmon to become a mensch, Yiddish for human.
All-in-all, a solid A-
Seen83
Not seen:17
Should see again:14

 

[Scott Dill]

54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT(1930)

outta 5
This was a very moving film. It is an early "talkie" and there is a bit of the the exaggerated acting from the silent era, but I was amazed to see the effective dramatization of ultimate pointlessness of war. I imagine that this feeling was particularly strong in the post WWI years since it was such a huge global and bloody combat that really accomplished nothing.
Since the characters were in the German army, I was surprised to find myself actually feeling sympathy for them...but I did. I was really impressed with the "hand me down boot segment" ... what an effective way to illustrate the continuous cycle from elation to destruction.
This is a very early film that effectively illustrates the horror of war. It definitely belongs the list of 100 most important American films.
Three to go!
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
[Edited last by Scott Dill on September 04, 2001 at 10:34 PM]

 

[Scott Dill]

73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)

outta 5
Ahh, the melodrama.
While I do agree that this is a well made film, it just felt too much like a soap opera to me. I don't go for so much melodrama.
I do admire Heathcliff's line at Cathy's deathbed...something like "Who are they to speak of Heaven and Hell who know nothing of life?" which I assume comes directly from Bronte's work. But overall, I'm not sure if this is one of the greatest 100 American films.
Two to go!
70. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I can't remember what I've seen, so here's my updated list.
1. Citizen Kane A
2. Casablanca A
3. The Godfather A+
4. Gone With The Wind A
5. Lawrence of Arabia A+
6. The Wizard of Oz A-
7. The Graduate B+
8. On The Waterfront A-
9. Schindler's List A-
10. Singin' in the Rain B
11. It's A Wonderful Life A-
13. The Bridge on the River Kwai A
15. Star Wars A+
16. All About Eve B+
17. The African Queen B-
18. Psycho A
19. Chinatown A-
20. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest A
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey D+
24. Raging Bull A-
25. E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial A+
26. Dr. Strangelove A-
28. Apocalypse Now A-
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington A+
30. Treasure of the Sierra Madre A
31. Annie Hall A-
32. The Godfather Part II A+
33. High Noon A
37. The Best Years of Our Lives A
39. Doctor Zhivago A
40. North by Northwest B+
41. West Side Story B
42. Rear Window A+
44. Birth of a Nation B+
46. A Clockwork Orange A
47. Taxi Driver B+
48. Jaws A
49. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs B+
50. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid A-
51. The Philadelphia Story B+
53. Amadeus A-
55. Sound of Music A-
57. The Third Man A+
58. Fantasia A-
59. Rebel Without a Cause A-
60. Raiders of the Lost Ark A+
61. Vertigo A
62. Tootsie A-
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind A-
65. Silence of the Lambs A+
67. The Manchurian Candidate A-
70. The French Connection A-
71. Forrest Gump A+
72. Ben-Hur A-
75. Dances With Wolves B-
77. American Graffiti A-
78. Rocky A+
79. The Deer Hunter A
80. The Wild Bunch A
83. Platoon A
84. Fargo A
89. Patton A+
94. Goodfellas A
95. Pulp Fiction A
98. Unforgiven A
If I can still count, that's 65 movies I've seen so far, so whenever you update the list Mr. Pereya, count me in the group.
------------------
"I don't know, Marge. Trying is the first step towards failure." - Homer J. Simpson
My DVD Collection

 

[Mariano]

...and i'm another category up !
I saw :
A clockwork orange *** out of ****
I never thought i would like this movie so much !
Definetly my favourite Kubrick movie.
Giant **½ out of ****
Just a very simple story, i expected a little bit more.
I have 18 to go !
I won't make it, but i'm having a lot of fun.

 

[Dome Vongvises]

I'm not sure if anybody else has made this observation, but after having seen All About Eve, did anybody notice that Showgirls is a big rip off of this movie? Uh, of course it goes without saying that in order for me to have made an observation about these two movies, I would've have to have seen both of them. Jesse Spano nude, Gina Gershon nude, wicked sex scenes, how could Showgirls go wrong? It just did man. I'm still traumatized.
------------------
"I don't know, Marge. Trying is the first step towards failure." - Homer J. Simpson
My DVD Collection