I wasn’t going to say anything about the American Film Institute’s Top 100 U.S. Films, since it was pretty much the usual suspects. Then this morning edrants pointed to this post by critic Terry Teachout of ArtsJournal.com:
I haven’t seen 26 of the films:
4. “Raging Bull,” 1980
7. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962
8. “Schindler’s List,” 1993
11. “City Lights,” 1931
30. “Apocalypse Now,” 1979
33. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” 1975
41. “King Kong,” 1933
43. “Midnight Cowboy,” 1969
49. “Intolerance,” 1916
50. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2001
53. “The Deer Hunter,” 1978
57. “Rocky,” 1976
59. “Nashville,” 1975 (I couldn’t get past the songs)
62. “American Graffiti,” 1973
66. “Raiders of the Lost Ark,” 1981
67. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?”, 1966 (no, but I saw the play!)
70. “A Clockwork Orange,” 1971
78. “Modern Times,” 1936
81. “Spartacus,” 1960
82. “Sunrise,” 1927
86. “Platoon,” 1986
91. “Sophie’s Choice,” 1982
95. “The Last Picture Show,” 1971 (I started it but lost interest)
96. “Do the Right Thing,” 1989
97. “Blade Runner,” 1982
99. “Toy Story,” 1995
Schindler’s List? Lawrence of Arabia? Rocky??? What has the man been doing for the past 25 years? Not going to movies, I guess.
Here’s the entire list. I’ve starred the ones I haven’t seen:
AFI TOP 100 U.S. FILMS
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. (Although I may have seen it in film class years ago)
***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. (Started to watch it, didn’t finish it)
***32. “The Godfather Part II,” 1974. (Hate it)
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. (P.O.E.!)
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. (Yes, I’m embarrassed)
47. “A Streetcar Named Desire,” 1951.
48. “Rear Window,” 1954.
***49. “Intolerance,” 1916. (I tried, but I was bored to tears)
50. “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring,” 2001.
***51. “West Side Story,” 1961. (Ugh.)
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. (I keep meaning to, honestly)
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. (I can’t believe this is considered one of the 100 best movies)
***77. “All the President’s Men,” 1976. (But I read the Mad Magazine version, that should count)
78. “Modern Times,” 1936.
***79. “The Wild Bunch,” 1969.
80. “The Apartment, 1960.
***81. “Spartacus,” 1960.
***82. “Sunrise,” 1927.
***83. “Titanic,” 1997. (Never seen it, never will)
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. (Not sure)
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.
So that’s 17 out of a hundred that I haven’t seen? And I probably have seen some of them, I just forgot. And with a couple of notable exceptions, I’m deeply ashamed. I’ll be seeing you at the movies, Terry Teachout!
I’m amazed that you haven’t seen African Queen or Spartacus.
I, too, wonder about Forrest Gump.
As for Titanic, the last hour is what is worth watching. None of the class warfare of the first part is worth it.
I know. Where my film experience is spotty, it’s REALLY spotty. But my excuse is that movies like African Queen and Spartacus are the ones you’ve seen spoofed so many times you don’t have to actually see them. I AM SPARTACUS!
And there’s always Mad Magazine to fill in the gaps.
Oh, god, don’t show me a list like this! I just don’t have time…
I’ve never seen Pulp Fiction, and that is one I won’t see. And, my husband gapes at me that I haven’t taken the time to watch The Shawshank Redemption.
Titanic? Toy Story? Tootsie?
I confess I think “Bringing up Baby” is hilarious, but I wouldn’t rank it as one of the best movies of all time.
And why Annie Hall and not Manhattan? That’s nuts.
Way too many Spielburg movies on that list. He should only get two.
I wonder what the criteria for being a “US” movie are — for instance, I thought A Clockwork Orange was a British film.