AFI's 10 Top 10
 

The American Film Instittute has released their list of the top 10 films in 10 different genre's (gangster is a Genre???).

http://news.awn.com/index.php?ltype=...sitem_no=23639

ANIMATION

1. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
2. PINOCCHIO (1940)
3. BAMBI (1942)
4. THE LION KING (1994)
5. FANTASIA (1940)
6. TOY STORY (1995)
7. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)
8. SHREK (2001)
9. CINDERELLA (1950)
10. FINDING NEMO (2003)

Raph's Girl note: Finding Nemo and Shrek??? Seriously?? WTF?

FANTASY

1. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
2. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)
3. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
4. KING KONG (1933)
5. MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (1947)
6. FIELD OF DREAMS (1989 )
7. HARVEY (1950)
8. GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
9. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924)
10. BIG (1988 )

Raph's Girl note: Groundhog Day?! WTF?!

GANGSTER

1. THE GODFATHER (1972)
2. GOODFELLAS (1990)
3. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
4. WHITE HEAT (1949 )
5. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
6. SCARFACE: THE SHAME OF A NATION (1932)
7. PULP FICTION (1994)
8. THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)
9. LITTLE CAESAR (1930)
10. SCARFACE (1983)

Raph's Girl note: Where's Godfather III?

SCIENCE FICTION

1. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968 )
2. STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE (1977)
3. E.T. - THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982)
4. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
5. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
6. BLADE RUNNER (1982)
7. ALIEN (1979)
8. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991)
9. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
10. BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)

Raph's Girl note: Ugh.. 2001 Space Odyssey... :/

WESTERN

1. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
2. HIGH NOON (1952)
3. SHANE (1953)
4. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
5. RED RIVER (1948 )
6. THE WILD BUNCH (1969 )
7. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969 )
8. McCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971)
9. STAGECOACH (1939 )
10. CAT BALLOU (1965)

Raph's Girl note: Hey!! Where's "The Good The Bad and the Ugly"?!

SPORTS

1. RAGING BULL (1980)
2. ROCKY (1976)
3. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942)
4. HOOSIERS (1986)
5. BULL DURHAM (1988 )
6. THE HUSTLER (1961)
7. CADDYSHACK (1980)
8. BREAKING AWAY (1979)
9. NATIONAL VELVET (1944)
10. JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)

Raph's Girl note: Field of Dreams should be in the sports category...

MYSTERY

1. VERTIGO (1958 )
2. CHINATOWN (1974)
3. REAR WINDOW (1954)
4. LAURA (1944)
5. THE THIRD MAN (1949 )
6. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
7. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959 )
8. BLUE VELVET (1986)
9. DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
10. THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)

Raph's Girl note: Half of those are Hitchcock films...SURPRISE!

ROMANTIC COMEDY

1. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
2. ANNIE HALL (1977)
3. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
4. ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
5. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
6. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY ... (1989 )
7. ADAM'S RIB (1949)
8. MOONSTRUCK (1987)
9. HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)
10. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

Raph's Girl note: The house from Sleepless in Seattle is currently for sale if anybody has A million dollars...

COURTROOM DRAMA

1. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
2. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
3. KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979 )
4. THE VERDICT (1982)
5. A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)
6. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957)
7. ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959 )
8. IN COLD BLOOD (1967)
9. A CRY IN THE DARK (1988 )
10. JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961)

Raph's Girl note: Judgement At Nuremberg was the first movie Shatner was in.

EPIC

1. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
2. BEN-HUR (1959)
3. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939 )
5. SPARTACUS (1960)
6. TITANIC (1997)
7. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
8. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998 )
9. REDS (1981)
10. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)

Raph's Girl note: Titanic is Epic??? Yeah an Epic borefest....

Shrek and Finding Nemo are beautifully animated.

My two cents:

- Unforgiven did not deserve to beat any of Leone's Dollars trilogy. I'm surprised Once Upon a Time in the West was not in there either.
- Godfather III was terrible
- Rear Window is better than Vertigo

A Clockwork Orange, Blade Runner, and Alien need to be much higher.

Also, the Godfather III was, indeed, terrible.

pfft.

Aleins, out did Alien any day of the week.


{ps. This my "official" 800th post. YAY!}

It is a fantasy film, though most would view it as a comedy. People enjoy movies that teach life lessons and it is different.

Thankfully off the list so other more worthy movies could be on there. 3 was pretty bland compared to the first 2 films.

Well even if you dislike the film, I personally found it boring as well, it's still an amazing movie. Also for the time it was made it featuring some amazing special effects.

No it shouldn't. These are all realistic sports films as where "Field Of Dreams" is pure fantasy.

Only if your a product of the ADD generation of todays youth. Titanic was quite epic. I pushed seeing it off for so long because I thought I was going to be bored to tears. I can't say I'd ever watch it again but I did need to see it. Yeah it's long, has a cheesy love story, and bad acting, but where it lacks in that area it makes up for in pretty much everything else. You can almost see this film as 2 films in one. I also love how you can pinpoint an element from everyone of Cameron's previous films in it.

I always see a lot of groans from the lists AFI put out. I honestly don't see where all the complaining comes from. For one I doubt most of you have seen every movie on that list and if you had you probably would agree more with it. Then again it also takes someone with an appreciation for film to think the way these people do. Their like film critics. They see a lot of movies, and if you notice most of these films are older ones. This is mainly because they recognize many of todays modern films pull from these older movies. I mean it's common practice but I think a lot of people seem to forget that.

A lot of people also forget achievements. When I'm watching a film from the 1950's and I see some really good special effect I have to think, "Wow they managed to pull that off". You really have to put yourself into the time period the film was made in. Watching older movies really does ruin todays modern films. You can see where some directors obviously ripped off one films style. Such as Tim Burton who uses the German revolution in film as a template for every movie he makes now, "The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari" anyone?

I wasn't trying to pick on you Raph's Girl I just find it odd that this weird trend has started to bash movies like "Titanic" for being successful. It's int he top 10 highest grossing pictures of all time with adjusted values. When the values aren't adjusted then it is the top pictures. That says a lot. That many people saw that movie. I also laugh when people give "Gone With The Wind" ****. That movie is the #1 highest grossing picture of all time. Keep in mind how many less people were in the country when that movie came out. Everyone must have gone to see that thing.

The point I'm trying to make is just because a film is boring or uninteresting to you doesn't mean it's not very well made and a great movie. Simply you just don't like it. That is totally fine but giving AFI grief for putting a list together of well made movies is senseless on your part if you dismiss films for being "boring". It is their job to study films as I said before, and truth be told modern movies are pretty poor in quality compared to their older counterparts.

Alien was a tension building, atmospheric sci-fi horror film that influenced an entire generation of horror movies to follow.

Aliens was an sci-fi action film that used the template of Alien, made it massive and influenced an entire generation of video game nerds who rip it off around every corner. Any game with space marines is a complete rip off of Aliens but that's another subject.

I love both films but it is impossible to pit them against one another because their two completely different movies. Sure they sport the Alien and Ripley is in them but the way their made is radically different.

That's true. But it was more of like a sci-fi/horror/action cross-mutation. And I actually watched Aliens last night. It had been a while since I'd watched it.

Bullcrap.

Maybe not the Top 10 movie ever and not as good as I and II, but it was still pretty decent in my opinion.

Much as I loved Nemo, I feel that Incredibles kicked its butt. Really should have been on the list instead. And we, of course got nothing but American films... but it IS the American Film institute. I wish they had Speilberg talk about the car chase sequence in Lupin III Castle of Caligroso (sp?)




I felt the Fantasy category was screwed up. When I think of a fantasy film, I think Lord of the Rings, Harry Potter, Dark Crystal... And I though King Kong was a horror film... of course, I always thought of it as a tragedy.... sniff...



I don't understand how an iconic film that absolutely every form of media and every single show referenced at least once didn't get on the list and Cat Ballou got on there. Maybe they just wanted to get Barbarella to interview.


Agreed. Jerry Maguire, I always hated. Mainly for my disdane of Tom Cruise and Cuba Gooding Jr. Tried watching it on TV once... turned it off less than halfway through.


Hey, the only Leonardo I want to see in a movie... well, that's obvious. But a movie with that much hype still surrounding it was bound to be on the list, huh?

Anyone else think that the Mystery category shoulda been renamed the "Suspense" category.

Plus, I still hate the fact people think of anime as a genre, NOT a medium. Live action is not a genre.

HMMM..... They got "GANGSTER" flicks, but not military? Considering I think some of the best films have been of war and military surroundings, and so many great songs of yesterday seemed to have an iconic connection with some sort of film. Like when ever I hear Painted Black, I think of Full Metal Jacket, and vice versa.

But let's see what the "professionals" claim what is the best! But of course, I tend to buck trends and have opinions outside of the box.

ANIMATION

1. SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
2. PINOCCHIO (1940)
3. BAMBI (1942)
4. THE LION KING (1994)
5. FANTASIA (1940)
6. TOY STORY (1995)
7. BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)
8. SHREK (2001)
9. CINDERELLA (1950)
10. FINDING NEMO (2003)

My favorite animated film is The Last Unicorn. Snow White is probably number one because I believe it was the first real quality cartoon presented at the time. But I prefer Bambi being number one. I just thought the animation, the story and the characters "who didn't love Thumper?" were top notch.

FANTASY

1. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
2. THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)
3. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
4. KING KONG (1933)
5. MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (1947)
6. FIELD OF DREAMS (1989 )
7. HARVEY (1950)
8. GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
9. THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924)
10. BIG (1988 )

I love my fantasies. LOTR trilogy is my number one now, with Return of the King being the ultimate (have to watch the extended director's cut to get the full impact of the series. Wizard of Oz I can definitely see being number one. Other personal favorites of mine which I would trade such unknowns like Thief of Bagdad and Harvery and I agree with Raph's Girl, Groundhog Day was a bit bland for my tastes, would be Willow, The Never Ending Story and the first Harry Potter, though I think the 3rd one was the best made

GANGSTER

1. THE GODFATHER (1972)
2. GOODFELLAS (1990)
3. THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
4. WHITE HEAT (1949 )
5. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
6. SCARFACE: THE SHAME OF A NATION (1932)
7. PULP FICTION (1994)
8. THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)
9. LITTLE CAESAR (1930)
10. SCARFACE (1983)

Nothing to say here, mobster movies never appealed to me. The only one mobster related movie i can recall watching all the way through would be Oscar. Yes, the funny one with Sylvester Stallone. But every year I here about the best movies ever made, and I'm baffled that The God Father keeps getting the number one spot. Sorry, but I find those movies so boring. When will the ever have a positive, charming movie be number one instead of these dreary borefests!

SCIENCE FICTION

1. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968 )
2. STAR WARS: EPISODE IV - A NEW HOPE (1977)
3. E.T. - THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982)
4. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
5. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
6. BLADE RUNNER (1982)
7. ALIEN (1979)
8. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991)
9. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
10. BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)

List is what I expected, though my favorite sch-fi flick is Independence Day. I also to this day swear up and down that Demolition Man will become reality, you know, illegal to smoke, drink, eat unhealthy foods, swear, have sex, even to kiss!

WESTERN

1. THE SEARCHERS (1956)
2. HIGH NOON (1952)
3. SHANE (1953)
4. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
5. RED RIVER (1948 )
6. THE WILD BUNCH (1969 )
7. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969 )
8. McCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971)
9. STAGECOACH (1939 )
10. CAT BALLOU (1965)

Surprised to see Shane not number one. But my favorite western, and this should have been on the list, The Man From Snowy River. Masterpiece that one.

SPORTS

1. RAGING BULL (1980)
2. ROCKY (1976)
3. THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942)
4. HOOSIERS (1986)
5. BULL DURHAM (1988 )
6. THE HUSTLER (1961)
7. CADDYSHACK (1980)
8. BREAKING AWAY (1979)
9. NATIONAL VELVET (1944)
10. JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)

Should trade National Velvet with Seabiscuit. I also thought A League of their Own was worthy instead of Pride of the Yankees

MYSTERY

1. VERTIGO (1958 )
2. CHINATOWN (1974)
3. REAR WINDOW (1954)
4. LAURA (1944)
5. THE THIRD MAN (1949 )
6. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
7. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959 )
8. BLUE VELVET (1986)
9. DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
10. THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)

I think I would have chosen The Usual Suspects as number one. Surprised to not see Seven on there to.

ROMANTIC COMEDY

1. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
2. ANNIE HALL (1977)
3. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
4. ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
5. THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
6. WHEN HARRY MET SALLY ... (1989 )
7. ADAM'S RIB (1949)
8. MOONSTRUCK (1987)
9. HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)
10. SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

Eh, don't really watch this sh!t, but my fave is While You Were Sleeping.

COURTROOM DRAMA

1. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
2. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
3. KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979 )
4. THE VERDICT (1982)
5. A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)
6. WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957)
7. ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959 )
8. IN COLD BLOOD (1967)
9. A CRY IN THE DARK (1988 )
10. JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961)

Best courtoom dramas do not unfold on the big screen, but the little one in the name of Law & Order. But with that aside, surprised not to see The Client or A Time To Kill on this list.

EPIC

1. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
2. BEN-HUR (1959)
3. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939 )
5. SPARTACUS (1960)
6. TITANIC (1997)
7. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
8. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998 )
9. REDS (1981)
10. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)

Find no problems with this list, even though I always thought one of the best epics was in a tv mini series called Lonesome Dove. Could Gladiator be considered epic, or is it too short?


Ok, so now we need just plain comedies, and a genre where M Knight Shymalan (sp?) could be recognized. I've honestly haven't watched a movie I did not like from him. Can't wait the see The Happening when I have the chance!

People, people, people...are you really this stupid? AFI = American Film Institute. The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly (and for that matter, all of Leone's films) are Italian and thus ineligible to be on the list.

Ugh.

The only reason people read these lists is so that they can bitch about what was/wasn't on it.

Now that we've got that out of the way, why the hell is Shrek on that list? Shrek is nothing but a mockery of everything Walt Disney ever did. Oh wait, it has Hollywood voice actors and comes from ex-Disney animators who are in the pocket of the academy awards. Never mind.

so epic is the new word for war?

I thought the Untouchables was a good gangster movie.

[sarcasm] what about Back to the Future 3 for Western? Jeez. [/sarcasm]

I'm not even going to go into how many problems I have with these lists. But then again, I like to think of myself has having more cultured tastes than the average slob (I AM a TMNT fan after all) and I'm sure that the is just the kind of person they have in mind when compiling these lists.

I am however, glad (but not surprised) that Goodfellas made it, and thrilled to see Caddyshack on there.

How they can make a category as specific as "Courtroom Drama" and still not have a straight up "Horror" or even a general "Comedy" category boggles the mind.

Speaking of horror, that genre should be renamed to Shocker.

Horror-movies doesn't even try to scare the **** out of anyone anymore..

The most horrified you get from a modern horrorflick is the jump-reaction... And that only lasts like a second...

Good horror should make you feel like turning the movie off/walk outta the theater whatever

Umm.. Enough rambling about horror..

I don't like these lists simply because I mostly don't agree with them :)

That is the funniest thing I have ever read.

If you're one of these self-proclaimed "cultured" people, you probably shouldn't have any problems with AFI's list. The people who compose them are also "cultured" people, and a good percentage of the film's on their top 100 the average person has probably never even seen, much less heard of.

The Third Man is a British film. I guess they just have certain criteria since all that has is an American co-producer and some American actors.

The criteria for their top 100 list, which is the basis for all of their other lists.

Popularity over time??? The following films are films on the list that I've never even heard of:

HARVEY (1950)
WHITE HEAT (1949 )
SCARFACE: THE SHAME OF A NATION (1932)
THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)
LITTLE CAESAR (1930)
SCARFACE (1983)
THE SEARCHERS (1956)
RED RIVER (1948 )
McCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971)
CAT BALLOU (1965)
BULL DURHAM (1988 )
THE HUSTLER (1961)
BREAKING AWAY (1979)
CITY LIGHTS (1931)
ANNIE HALL (1977)
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
ADAM'S RIB (1949)
MOONSTRUCK (1987)
HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)
THE VERDICT (1982)
WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1957)
THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1942)
ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959 )
IN COLD BLOOD (1967)
A CRY IN THE DARK (1988 )
REDS (1981)

So those movies are soo popular and have been on tv soo many times that I guess I just missed em? Guess I should pay attention to TMC more often eh?

Scarface, Bull Durham, Annie Hall, and Pride of the Yankees are all movies people should have at least heard of.

Here's a real piss off for Henson fans....

In the nominations for Fantasy, Dark Crystal and Labarynth were both considered. And they lost to clearly NON-Fantasy films.

I LOVE Groundhog Day, but I would hardly call it a fantasy. Bug squeaks by, and Feild of Dreams really did belong in the sports category.

WTF?! Dark Crystal and Labrynth are clealy way more worth it than Groundhog Day....What about The Last Unicorn?!

Oh, yeah. Cuz the all knowing Raph's Girl, copy-paster of stupid news and keeper of useless knowledge and trivia that no one gives a f*ck about, hasn't heard of these movies, they MUST be irrelevant and unpopular.

The fact that you haven't heard of, much less scene, those films makes me incredibly depressed. You need to culture yourself some more. Seriously.

hahaha wow.

anyway if you havent seen or heard of half of those, maybe you should get off the turtle forum once and awhile and discover movies that were made before 1985. pride of the yankees is a bonafide classic, lee marvin won an oscar for cat ballou, moonstruck starred cher, the searchers is the ultimate john wayne western, and for the love of everything scarface is pop culture defined!! and you whine because s*** like labyrinth didn't make the list??

/not a personal attack.

Gonna have to agree. I've heard of most of these films... even Cat Balloo (An' all this time, I thought Balloo was a bear... NARF). A couple are pretty obscure though. But I can't believe you never heard of Harvey. I saw that one when I was pretty young, and I forgot most of it, but I remembered it.

Oh ok.. I might have seen Searchers but most of those John Wayne films (with the exception of Conquerer where he plays Ghengis Khan :lol: ) is basically the same hashed western plot. Moonstruck...well to be honest the only Cher movie I've ever seen is "Mermaids" (which should have been on that list too).

Im probably just gonna have to find all these films and watch em. "Moonstruck" (which came out in 1987 BTW) I'll definatly have to watch if only to see John Mahoney in something other than "Frasier"

Yeah, definitely watch Bull Duhram, that was really funny, and a bit ironic at times. It's got Kevin Costner, Susan Sarrandon and Tim Robbins in it, and they are fantastic!

Now something has struck me. I'm pretty amazed that generally acclaimed "Citizen Kane", for ever loved by the film historians, didn't make it to the list at all. Along with another huge pop-cultural icon, "Casablanca" namely. They should be in that "Epic" category, instead of pretty weak but irritating "Reds" and "The Ten Commandments", which is just another one of those pompous Bible flicks from the 50s.

Other notable lefts outs would be "Shawshank Redemption" and "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest". I also lack my beloved "Silence of the Lambs", but I'm not that sure if it's really that great.

But well - you never can agree on ranks like that.

I really have to say that the entire list is a bit screwy. Probably because it's only focused on American films, which stinks.

Dude, you haven't heard of Scarface? Scarface? My god, sit yourself down and watch at least one of the versions before I have a fit.

Isn't it, like, impossible to never have heard of Scarface? I mean, every store I go into there's Scarface swag, turn on MTV Cribs and every rapper will talk about how it's their favorite film. I mean, the movie has probably been homaged a dozen times and parodied even more. How can you miss something like that?


Mind you, I'm no fan of the film, just sayin'.

Yeah, no movies with Jason Donovan :(

Again, the list was composed by the American Film Institute, of course they're all going to be American films, that's one of the criteria.

Exactly. Every unfunny hack writer in the biz has stole the "Say Hello to my little friend" line and used it out of context for years.

Anyway:

Would Casablanca and Citizen Kane be considered Epics? I think half the problem with this list is semantics. What I call a Fantasy differes from what they call fantasy (since most of them were rooted in reality with one or two little things).

Though, when it comes right down to it, as glad as I am that Back to the Future made the list, I feel the second was a much better, much more science fictiony plot, and it was just a better ride than the first. I'd say BBTF 2 should have ranked in instead.

My guess is when it comes to trilogies like that, they just list the first film. Lord of the Rings, just Fellowship made the list, and the only Star Wars movie listed was A New Hope, even though Empire is almost universally considered the best.

But I do agree, Back to the Future Part 2 is better than the first and far more science fiction-y.

Though, I think it odd that they had T2 instead of the first one, if that's the case.

That's true.