AFI’s Top 100 Films List Forum Challenge (Part 3) (2 Viewers)

[Walter Kittel]

Well, two more off of the list and 15 to go.
#93 The Apartment 1960 -

This one is mostly a revisit as I remembered most of the film from one or more television broadcasts many years ago. ( Although this was the first time in letterbox. )
The one thing that stands out for me in this film was how Wilder was able to mix elements of satire, comedy, and a bittersweet romance into one very satisfying whole. That, and a tremendously endearing performance by Jack Lemmon.
#35 It Happened One Night 1934 -

I can't believe that I waited this long to finally getting around to watching this film. Just a fun, fun film that featured a great script and two wonderful lead performances.
- Walter.

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

It happened one night
I agree with Walter on this one, I must admit I was not terribly looking forward to this one when I sat down last night, but the movie turned out to be a most pleasant surprise from the very start. The dialogue in particular was extremely funny and intelligent, and the characters were great. Frank Capra is quickly turning into a favorite director of mine, I must try to dig up more DVD's of his movies.

Clark Gable would never make it in Hollywood today without getting his ears bobbed. Sometimes, in the frontal view, his ears appeared to more than double the width of his head. A good actor, with strong comic timing, but he'd need some nipping and tucking in 2001 Hollywood.

Although I see your point and would tend to agree with you, just look at Will Smith...
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[Scott Kennedy]

I haven't seen a great deal of the older (pre-1980) movies.
I'm only at a total of 17 on the list, but I knocked off 2 more already this week:
Apocalypse Now

out of 5
unbelievably intense journey. Nothing at all like what I expected. Truly felt the moral conflict, the conditioning, and the environment. Top notch performances by a star studded cast (may not have all been stars in 1979). Really enjoyed the movie.
Fargo

out of 5
good movie, I really enjoy dark movies. I thought some of the performances were outstanding. Honestly though, I didn't see a best picture type of movie here, but what do I know?
well, only 83 to go I bet I can get it close to 0 before December!

 

[Walter Kittel]

well, only 83 to go

You gotta count backwards or something. Think positive dude.
- Walter.

 

[Jason L.]

Edwin,
It's nice to see that you finally gave a lukewarm review of an AFI 100 film. Could you please put me in the 11-20 category.
As far as Some Like It Hot, I would have to give it a rating of: No Rating.
Comedies and Musicals should be in a different class, altogether. They do not age well. I tried to set my expectations and imagine it was 1959. I was ready to laugh since this is "the #1 comedy of all time".
Well, it didn't work. I think I had a brief chuckle once at something that wasn't meant to be funny. I actually stopped in the middle because I was bored.
Some points:
1. Was it necessary for Jack Lemmon to do that annoying laugh at the end of his jokes, as if to signal to the audience "I just made a funny!"?
2. It's not the film's fault because it was the first [did Milton Burle start doing this earlier, perhaps?], but crossdressing humor is sooo stale, and isn't funny once you are older than 14. Tootsie and Bosom Buddies ruined this movie for me as you could see the wacky plot twists coming a mile away.
3. I was surprised at how much sexiness there was in this film considering it was 1959.
4. Marilyn Monroe looked a lot different than she did in All About Eve.
5. I think that this might be a film like Duck Soup, where it gets better on a second viewing - you aren't concentrating on the plot so much, more on the witty dialogue and characters playing off on one another that you missed the first time around.

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

The apartment
This was a great movie. There was 5 or so comments that I did not really understand, I wish MGM would start using english subtitles, but nothing I felt ruined the experience or made me misunderstand any of the content of the movie. As for the movie itself, I felt it was predictable. Yet it was funny to me, but I felt the comedy toned down during the middle. Also, I was surprised at how cynical and unsentimental it was, but that only made the film better IMO.
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[george kaplan]

Most people think pretty highly of the Apartment as far as I can tell, but I doubt if there's many who think as highly of it as I do. It's ranked 93 on the AFI list, but as much as I love Citizen Kane, Casablanca and the Godfather, if I were reordering the list, I'd put it at number 1. I wonder if anyone would put a lower ranked movie (or one not even on the list) all the way at number 1?
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Bjorn Olav Nyberg]

I generally have a hard time compiling any type of list without losing sleep, and picking just one would be impossible for me. So I'll rather list some favorites of mine that I would put higher on the list, or put another way, movies I find better than Citizen Kane.
If there is anybody on the forum that even pay attention to what I write or even remember my name, it will probably not come as a susprise that I'm as simple as they come, and my choices probably reflect that, but anyway, in no particular order
Raiders of the lost ark
Patton
The bridge on the river Kwai
Lawrence of Arabia
Star wars
Silence of the lambs
Actually there are several other movies I like better than Citizen Kane, but going on listing them would probably be fruitless anyway. But then again, the AFI list is not exactly a list of anybody's preferences, yet rather signifies it's influence and impact. In that respect, I can see why The apartment is a bit further down the list, as I have trouble seeing what made The apartment influental. Then again I have the same trouble judging any movie on the list on this basis...

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[Walter Kittel]

I don't know if I could go as far as #93, but there are a few on the list that I *might* place at #1, including
#22 2001: A Space Odyssey
#24 Raging Bull
#26 Dr. Strangelove
I agree with Bjorn that one of the big factors in the list is the 'cinematic heritage' of the films and their influence on filmmaking. Which tends to place more contemporary films, or those that aren't viewed as ground-breaking at a disadvantage in terms of ranking. On the other hand, I believe that the AFI seemed to lose sight of that guideline when ranking Pulp Fiction at #95. Regardless of your opinion of the film, it is probably the single most influential film of the '90s.
- Walter.

 

[Sarah S]

Hi all! Thought I'd report back and let you know that I'm due for a list jump. Yes, after today, I only have 35 to go! Yay!
I started out the day with Jaws, since it is now summer, and it is a summer movie. Quite timely, I must admit, since it supposedly took place the last week in June, and the first week in July. Coincidence? Maybe. Richard Dryfuss was kind of cute in the movie, which is why I was visibly flinching through the interview portion of the disk where it looks like he aged 50 years. Very startling. 4 out of 4 for me.
Next I tossed in Goodfellas, the long movie of the day. It had great acting, and a really tight plot which didn't feel like nearly the entire day which it almost took to watch this movie. I know people will tell me that Hollywood has a long tradition of gloyfing criminals, but for this one I would have to say that this movie did, glorify the mob. My husband had a Scilian grandmother (who has since passed on) who disliked the Godfather for this very reason. I try to keep an open mind when I watch this type of film, but I think she has a point, given that she immigrated from Sicily & had delt with the Cosa Nostra there. Out of her memory, 3 1/2 out of 4.
After Goodfellas I looked around, saw I had Raging Bull, and decided I would continue in the Robert Deniro/Martin Sorcese/Joe Pesci mood. This is not a movie to be watched if you expected a tight picture like Goodfellas; I thought the acting was great, but the plot could have used a sense of direction. 2 1/2 out of 4.
Continuing with a black and white theme, I stuck in Wuthiering Heights, hoping for capivation that never quite came. I had read the book about 2 years before, so knew the story and was able to spend more time looking at the movie more critically. The book is better. The movie used only 1/2 of the story, but I felt that main characters were really acted well. Merel Oberon seemed a little stiff to me, but Lawrence Olivier was really good, as was Geraldine Fitzgerald and most especially Flora Robson. Unfortunately, given the movies I had already seen today, I didn't really have to patience with the sappy dialoge I probably would love otherwise. Anyway, 4 out of 4.
Last but not least was Bonnie and Clyde, a movie that definitely glorified criminals. Watching it, I got the feeling of a western, though I recognized many elements of Natural Born Killers in that movie: the lovers who are also bank robbers and killers (though mainly police in this one) taking celebratory photos with victims, etc. 3 out of 4 for this one, I didn't really feel transported by this film. One point in its favor, I did not expecet the rather odd combination of Gene Hackman and Gene Wilder in this film. The things you find out!

 

[ryan_m]

Comedies and Musicals should be in a different class, altogether. They do not age well.

I know what you mean. I started watching West Side Story and like 15 mins in I was "hmm do I really care if I watch EVERY movie on this list?" I mean first you sit through like 5 mins of music with a basically blank screen (of just color) and then it's these supposid tough guys dancing around like ballerinas for 20 mins. Then I'm supposed to believe that Natalie Wood is hispanic. The only value I'm getting from it is now I know a West Side Story reference (like in TV commercials etc) when I see it. The best thing I can say about the movie is it has nice vibrant colors (woohoo).
I like to think of myself as a more "forward-thinking" movie watcher (I mean hey I watch lots of foreign and classic films ), but these musicals are just hard for me to watch. The only one I've liked is My Fair Lady and I'm 100% sure that's cause I'm a big Audrey Hepburn fan. I think the last two movies I'll watch on the list (out of the remaining 14 I have left) will definitely be Singin in the Rain and Yankee Doodle Dandy.

 

[Mariano]

Ryan :
i have to agree on everything you said about West Side Story, i even had a fight with my mom, who loved this movie !
Anyway, it was nice movie at the ending.
I saw Wuthering Heights...that's a romantic movie !!!
I didn't expect to like it that much. You could never imagine that it has more than 60 years !!
34 to go, i'm really excited about this !!! I want to complete the challenge by the end of this year !
Next : Lawrence of Arabia and Stagecoach

 

[george kaplan]

I too cringe at the dancing at the beginning of West Side Story, BUT, the music is great especially Gee, Officer Krupke, which in contrast with the balletic gang bangers, is very hip for it's time, even with the censored version that appears in the film. "With all their marijuana, they won't give me a puff."
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Seth Paxton]

That's funny because my favorite part of WSS is the opening dance number. Dated yes, but it plays well for the era it's portraying AND I like the method of using the sequence to establish lots of background info on the ongoing gangfighting that is occurring in the 'hood. The "this is how it is, back and forth, every day, with tension building on both sides" story.
A good musical will use it's numbers to advance the story/concepts of the film along, although I think that sometimes people don't view musicals this way, but rather see them as some time-out to dance thing. Of course that is not the intention, at least with good efforts. It's just that it doesn't represent characters LITERALLY singing to each other, but rather a manner of expressing their emotions/feelings/moods to the audiance.
I also don't have a big problem with actors playing different races/nationalities as long as the jist is there. Depends a bit on how they are trying to handle the part as well.
But clearly this is just IMHO. I just think that maybe WSS takes too hard a knock in the "hip" world of things just waiting for their turn at "completely lame" 10 years from now.

With the ability of styles to change quickly I can enjoy WSS within the artistic era in which it was created, not unlike viewing a painting from the Cubist era differently than one from the Romance era.

 

[george kaplan]

Seth, I guess it's all a matter of taste, and perhaps which era you grew up in. For the most part, I like 'musicals' a lot more than I like 'dance' films. That's not to say that I don't appreciate a certain type of dance, but it's more of the athletic than the balletic. For instance, I like most of the dancing in Hello, Dolly, most of Fred Astaire's stuff, and the dancing in Singin' in the Rain.
On the other hand, I just don't like the dancing in West Side Story, and especially I don't like the Ballet in An American in Paris.
Of course, for me the music and the acting/story are more important than the dancing, hence overall I like West Side Story and do not like Saturday Night Fever (disco sucks

).
But to each his own.
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13-time NBA world champion Lakers: 1949, 1950, 1952, 1953, 1954, 1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987, 1988, 2000, 2001

 

[Scott Merryfield]

I've been away from the challenge for a few weeks, but am picking it back up. Last night we watched Double Indemnity. I kept on thinking that the dialog for Fred MacMurray was written with Humphrey Bogart in mind, and Bogey would have been great in this film. Also, did anyone notice that MacMurray was wearing a wedding band on his left ring finger throughout the film, even though he played a single man?
I'm a big fan of Body Heat, so I did enjoy seeing where the story originated. I'd give this movie

(out of 5).
Next up: Wuthering Heights
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My DVD Collection
AFI 100 Films to watch: 40 -> 9

 

[Rain]

Oh, I didn't realize I was even in on this. Oops, guess I forgot I posted a while back. Anyway, I'm down to 40 left to go.
What can I say, I'm slow...there are just too many great films not on this list that I've been busy watching.
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"People always clap for the wrong things." - J.D. Salinger, The Catcher in the Rye

 

[Chris Lock]

GoodFellas *** out of ****
Lawrence of Arabia ***1/2
The Apartment ***
19 to go.

 

[Mariano]

I just saw Lawrence of Arabia, the last one for me in the Top10 of the AFI list.
I have to say i'm a little dissapointed. I felt it could have been 45 minutes shorter, it was a slow movie for me even i found the story interesting. An excelent epic, but too slow for moments.
I'll give it *** out of *****
I also saw Wuthering Heights. I felt the same that i felt when i saw Gone with the wind : i can't believe this movie is more than 60 years old !!! The acting is very good, the story is great.
Excelent: **** out of *****
33 to go, i'm gonna make it....

 

[ryan_m]

A good musical will use it's numbers to advance the story/concepts of the film along, although I think that sometimes people don't view musicals this way, but rather see them as some time-out to dance thing. Of course that is not the intention, at least with good efforts. It's just that it doesn't represent characters LITERALLY singing to each other, but rather a manner of expressing their emotions/feelings/moods to the audiance.

I totally see what you're saying, I think I just really don't like musicals. Characters expressing themselves through song/dance numbers just isn't entertaining to me. I don't like listening to what I think is bad music and that is essentially what musicals make you do. When I first saw the trailer for Moulin Rouge it made me cringe (how people could have found that entertaining I will never know). Lucky for me I have WSS to finish and Yankee Doodle Dandy waiting for me on my Tivo. Bring on the bad music!