AFI Lists - the new challenges - Page 7

Eric Emma · 07-30-2003, 11:37 PM

Rating out of 5 and if there nothing next to it I haven't seen it
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)*-

2. CASABLANCA (1942) *-

3. THE GODFATHER (1972) *-

(Quite awhile ago)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) *
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) *

6. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) *

I'm not a big fan of this but I saw it awhile ago so this really isn't a fair judgement just what I remember
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)Saw this awhile go and it wwas awesome I don't want give it a grade
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)

So far every movie I've seen has been great but none deserving a full 5...

Lew Crippen · 07-31-2003, 10:12 AM

It is hard today to believe that Picnic was considered controversial and a bit racy when it was released in 1955. William Holden at his Hollywood hunkiest and Kim Novak at her loveliest generate the heat, Rosalind Russell supplies the despair and Cliff Robertson the pathos as the rich guy who will never get the pretty girl, as the plot winds it way to its predictable, though unlikely end.

And in a way, this is what we wanted to believe in the 50s (and perhaps still do)—that true love will overcome all odds and triumph in the end. But I think that there is more here than the end—that Novak’s worldly-wise mother will be proven right in the end and the circle will be unbroken.

Lew Crippen · 07-31-2003, 10:25 AM

Killing you is killing myself. But, you know, I'm pretty tired of both of us.

or

Personally I don’t like a girlfriend to have a husband. If she’ll fool her husband, I figure she’ll fool me…

There are ominous and cynical lines aplenty in The Lady From Shanghai a 40s film noir by Orson Welles. The film is essentially about the corruption of an innocent—perhaps the only one in this world. Brilliantly conceived and executed—and it is very funny in the bargin.

Lew Crippen · 07-31-2003, 10:29 AM

Quote:

Rating out of 5

This is not at all a criticism of your opinions, but with the likes of Citizen Kane, Casablanca, The Godfather, Lawrence of Arabia, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and Goodfellas being rated at four, I’m really interested in which films will get five.

Adam_S · 07-31-2003, 12:15 PM

That was my thought Lew. I'll get the lists updated after this weekend.

Doctor Zhivago -

Movies list
Passions list
OAR DVD - home theater

Alongside John Ford and Steven Spielberg, David Lean is my favorite director. I've yet to see a movie of his I didn't care for, and only one (Passage to India) I would rate as below four stars (ít's a 3.5). His movies just appeal to me on a basic level that I can't explain. But watching a Lean movie is utterly rejuvenating. It gets my creative juices flowing and inspires and reminds me of the art I hope to someday create. I may end up staying up several more hours because I suddenly know how to fix a story that's not been working and for once the work doesn't seem insurmountable. It's amazing I've not seen this film, I've been meaning to since it came to DVD, even had it preordered but had to cancel it. I wasn't sure what to expect going in. I knew it was supposedly an epic romance that a lot of people didn't care for and others loved it above his other films, that it was supposedly his last 'good' epic, and was set in snow instead of desert or tropics.

This is one of the most different Lean films I've seen. From Guiness's superb narration to the whip pan transition at the restaurant, I was caught a bit unawares. Yet there are the trains, the long meditative shots that when combined with music, the acting, composition and subject lets us into the minds of the characters with an ease that is astonishing. The script by Robert Bolt (who wrote perhaps my favorite film on faith: A Man for All Seasons), is wonderful, Freddie Young's cinematography is breathtaking, Miklos Rosa's score a thing of utter beauty, and of course there is the fantastic acting and direction as well, and the story is certainly grand. I can't quite decide at this point if I like this better than Bridge on the River Kwai or not. I think I like both equally, about the way I like Brief Encounter, Oliver Twist and Great Expectations. Although I think Lawrence of Arabia one of the finest films ever and a personal favorite, I think any of Lean's other films are more re-watchable, a more pleasing experience. I've seen Bridge and Lawrence on the Big Screen. I would not mind seeing Bridge on the small screen again, but feel I cannot again watch LoA non-projected, so much of that film is larger than life, that the way you see it must be larger than life. Zhivago, and in it's own way, Bridge, are intimate stories set on against magnificent backdrops, You don't have to be engulfed by a desert to understand the characters.

There's so much I could speak on about this film, but I'm not sure where to begin or what to say. Other than that I want to see it again, preferably on film, but I will be seeing this again, as with all of Lean's films.

Lew Crippen · 08-01-2003, 10:42 AM

Jimmy was the kind of guy that rooted for bad guys in the movies.

And Jimmy is a very bad guy in Goodfellas, a film filled with bad guys. In fact it seems that there are no good guys at all in Scorsese’s tale of low-level gangster Henry Hill (Ray Liotta). And what a tale it is, being based on the real life Henry Hill, you feel just drawn into this world and stay there for the entire trip.

A film that is perfect in execution—about the only criticism one can make is in the story told and the depth to which the issues raised are examined.

Lew Crippen · 08-01-2003, 10:55 AM

But your Majesty, you cannot die an old maid.

I have no intention to, Chancellor. I shall die a bachelor!

Greta Garbo makes this rejoinder in the title role of Queen Christina, a fine film loosely based on the 17th Centaury, unmarried (though most certainly not maiden) Queen of Sweden. The film seems not particularly shocking now, but one can only imagine the reaction to the unmistakable bi-sexuality of the Queen and the fact the she pays no price for her indiscretions, something that was becoming requisite in films of the era and later.

Another film that demonstrates the censors did not always have the last say—and a film that probably helped mold the Garbo mystique.

Kevin Eckhardt · 08-04-2003, 10:27 AM

Close Encounters of the Third Kind

I had seen this several times before. I could remember certain scenes or themes from the movie, but couldn't really remember what it was about. Now I know why. I thought the effects were well done and I really enjoyed a lot of the scenes, however as a whole I was left a bit wanting.

Rebel Without a Cause

This was my first James Dean movie. I liked it a lot.

Mr. Smith Goes to Washington

Fish out of water stands up for what he knows is right and comes out on top. Jimmy Stewart did a great job. I also really liked the transformation of Saunders.

Lew Crippen · 08-04-2003, 11:19 AM

I don’t know—it’s like kissing my brother

And this conundrum is at the heart of Back to the Future—that is, if it has a core and is anything other than a fast-paced fun romp with a lot of great gags. Personally, I think that there is nothing here other than what is on the surface and that ought to be fun enough for anyone.

This film is not on the AFI lists, but is one included in the HFT revote.

Lew Crippen · 08-04-2003, 11:26 AM

Pilgrim

The nickname given to the archetypical tenderfoot from the East by the hardest man in Shinbone and perhaps a classical reference in John Ford’s masterpiece, The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance, a film where Lee Marvin, John Wayne and Jimmy Stewart all play to type—and well.

At the end of the film we are left to consider the choice made by Wayne, Stewart and the girl the both love—were they right or wrong—or were there no right choices?