100 Great American Movies.
The American Film Institute is a promise to preserve the history of the motion picture, to honor the artists and their work and to educate the next generation of storytellers. AFI provides leadership in film, television and digital media and is dedicated to initiatives that engage the past, the present and the future of the moving image arts. As a non-profit educational and cultural organization, AFI relies on the generous financial support from moving arts enthusiasts to provide funding for its programs and initiatives. AFI describes itself as an organization that preserves, honors and educates those interested in film, but I will argue that they dare to do far more.
AFI claims to be the "American" Film Institute, but I wonder if it does a equitable job of representing all of America's culture, the melting pot that it is.
1,500 film folks voted to narrow the 400 nominated films down to 100.
Films were judged according to the following criteria.
I won't profess to be a movie buff or expert, so I will be focusing on these movies through the perspective of black history as I study and learn about it interjecting my own personal experiences as a black woman.
100 of these films over the next four years and write about them here on this page? Yep! My hope is to make connections between what the film is saying about American history and black history. I'll be honest, I'm feeling a little cynical going into this, I mean have you looked at this list? Who is deciding what "great" is? And the Board of Trustees...I would be more optimistic with at least a 'Jamar' or 'Shaquwana' speaking up. I hope to be wrong as I venture into movie land and the movies that made the cut. We will not hopefully have to spend money on any of the movies outside of our monthly membership to Netflix and the taxes that allow me to use my library card, we'll see what happens if/when we find new favorites.
A MAJOR benefit? I'm going to watch a lot of these films with our child who is very interested in making films - yaaaa, quality time! He is the reason I put the four year time frame on this; he goes off to college, hopefully to the film school of his choice, in 2018.
Movies have a significant impact on how we view ourselves and one another and if these are being considered "the 100 greatest American films" - a list they edit and update only every ten years, then there will be some watching, questioning, critiquing and hopefully learning more about American culture and my blackness in it and of course, sharing my thoughts about it.
# - MOVIE - YEAR - DATE WATCHED -REVIEW
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
3/22/2103
Favorite Characters: Rhett Butler or Mammy
We really enjoyed this film. Mammy played that role making us laugh and reminding us of my mother, his grandmother.
Sad and dramatic and powerful and complicated, this story was one that we did not want to see end. In fact, when it did end we both shouted at the television, "Noooo..." we were hungry for our happy ending. The characters all played their parts well. Some of the sets could have been done better but did a good job of creating the scene. He learned a lot about lighting and how the sets were built to create the era of the Civil War. All of the extras needed to pull off those large scenes were impressive to us.
So much death in the film, we were glad to see Mammy live to the end and stay with the family throughout all of Scarlett's life. Tough and real but respected even though a servant, it was great to see how she worked with the family and played her role. The whiny black character was annoying. We were incredibly grateful that there was a balance of stable black characters to balance out Prissy, the flighty, whiny, exaggerated one. She was intended to bring about comic relief, we just found her ridiculous and would have been fine with her being removed from the film. Mammy was our comic relief and we needed it in all of the turmoil in this story.
7
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
1962
8
SCHINDLER'S LIST
1993
9
VERTIGO
1958
10
THE WIZARD OF OZ
1939
11
CITY LIGHTS
1931
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
3/11/2013
Best line: "Everybody has a heart - except some people." Margo Channing
First, let me say that I am so proud to have introduced the boy to black and white films (is that ironic?). We had three choices, tonight he chose this one and we enjoyed it so much. "What did you enjoy?" , I asked. He replied, "The writing, the acting and the music". Apparently there was a lot of "shaking camera" shots and that was cool and each time the green scene was used, he could point it out and explain how he knew. I didn't have the heart to tell him about the connection between this Eve and the first lady Eve. "That Addison, he made me say it."
I don't get the draw of Bette Davis (did I just draw all of the air out of the room?) but must see a few more of her other films before I'll decide. Marilyn Monroe makes a small appearance, she did a great job, but it was disturbing with what little I know of her life. We thought it clever and entertaining. In fact, we had to pause it so that he could go off to soccer practice. When he returned home, he only halted to say hello and then headed straight for the remote. We both clapped at the end.
The saddest part was when Addison slaps Miss Eve and my son laughed. I know it was because of the delayed response and the poor match up of it the hit to the sound effect, but it's never, ever okay to hit women and shouldn't be funny. Thankful for Margo turning around and for Karen showing a lot of compassion, but overall, women were not portrayed well in this film. Not really a lot of trust and anything could be said and was sacrificed to rise to the top. I am all for marriage, but it also seemed that the woman must be tamed by it and that it was the only thing that could help her to overcome her insatiable desire to become a star. At a couple of points, we shouted for characters not to turn their backs on these vicious women because we thought they would snap and commit murder. No spoiler alert needed, by the way.
As for my people making it into the film, there were three, umm, well you would say, there were three, well ummm brief incidences where black people made it into the film. Two were on the stage bowing as a part of a play, both were portraying slaves or people not well dressed as compared to others on the stage. Later in the film, a woman was back stage when the narrator was speaking about writers from many columns being invited to come and review the show. Let me just say though that we were actively looking and their minute appearances did not alter the movie.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed this film and are on the hunt for the next black and white film that we may enjoy.
29
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
1944
30
APOCALYPSE NOW
1979
31
THE MALTESE FALCON
1941
32
THE GODFATHER PART II
1974
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
40
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
1965
41
KING KONG
1933
3.9.2013
Best character: The leader of the excursion, Fred Wilson (played by Charles Grodin) had laughable, memorable facial expressions. What a ham!
I must admit first that we watched the 1976 version of this film because Netflix did not have the original (1933). We laughed, we almost cried and we talked to the screen a lot. There was even a bit of yelling. There were twists and turns. Truly a love story. We hated the ending, happiness please. The little man's opinion as to why the movie made the list is that if a movie doesn't have a happy ending but people still like it, it must be a classic. We were very surprised that the token black on the excursion did not die first and survived all the way through. The historical appearance of the World Trade Center and a mini-conversation to see if he understood why the buildings were no longer there; that was cool. The graphics were entertaining, it's good that he knows so much about green screens. I got real verbal about the sacrifice of the black woman and then how Kong responded when Dwan (YES - Da-wann!!!) was on the alter. I thought aloud, "how come the black girl isn't good enough for him anymore" and without hesitation, my son says, "he likes her because she is different." Got it. Conversation over. I do also think he like Dwan because she fought back and because she challenged him. I can only assume the other sacrifices were quiet and demure because they had accepted the sacrifice as their responsibility. We enjoyed the film and hope that when we can see the original, we will enjoy it all the more.
42
BONNIE AND CLYDE
1967
43
MIDNIGHT COWBOY
1969
44
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
1940
45
SHANE
1953
46
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
1934
47
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
1951
48
REAR WINDOW
1954
49
INTOLERANCE
1916
50
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
2001
51
WEST SIDE STORY
1961
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
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
77
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
1976
78
MODERN TIMES
1936
79
THE WILD BUNCH
1969
80
THE APARTMENT
1960
81
SPARTACUS
1960
82
SUNRISE
1927
83
TITANIC
1997
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
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
2.23.2013
Best Line: "I don't think that man's ever been to medical school." Buzz Lightyear.
I think I understand why this movie would have made the list. My son and I were doing the math and realized that this movie was made 4 years before he was born and he fell in love with it about 6 years after that. After he looked at the special features, he saw that the characters and how they were made intrigued him. The way the computers were at that time made the end result more difficult to come by, this was impressive to this young filmmaker to be. He's still talking about 'shading' and 'texture'. I'm lost.
I thought the cultural implications of family were interesting. Andy, the main character, was being raised a single mom and Sid's father makes a brief appearance while napping in his chair and that Sid was one to really need more of a positive male influence. I didn't see some of the toys that I played with as a child. Most of the toys that were highlighted and focused on were things I only learned about after moving from the south to the midwest, where our neighborhoods went from predominantly black to predominantly white.
Enjoyable, even after the 72nd viewing.
100
BEN-HUR
1959
AFI claims to be the "American" Film Institute, but I wonder if it does a equitable job of representing all of America's culture, the melting pot that it is.
1,500 film folks voted to narrow the 400 nominated films down to 100.
Films were judged according to the following criteria.
- Feature-length: Narrative format, at least 40 minutes long.
- American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. (Certain films, notably The Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia, were British-made but funded and distributed by American studios.)
- Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print.
- Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from organizations in the film community and major film festivals.
- Popularity Over Time: Including figures for box office adjusted for inflation, television broadcasts and syndication, and home video sales and rentals.
- Historical Significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other groundbreaking achievements.
- Cultural Impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.
I won't profess to be a movie buff or expert, so I will be focusing on these movies through the perspective of black history as I study and learn about it interjecting my own personal experiences as a black woman.
100 of these films over the next four years and write about them here on this page? Yep! My hope is to make connections between what the film is saying about American history and black history. I'll be honest, I'm feeling a little cynical going into this, I mean have you looked at this list? Who is deciding what "great" is? And the Board of Trustees...I would be more optimistic with at least a 'Jamar' or 'Shaquwana' speaking up. I hope to be wrong as I venture into movie land and the movies that made the cut. We will not hopefully have to spend money on any of the movies outside of our monthly membership to Netflix and the taxes that allow me to use my library card, we'll see what happens if/when we find new favorites.
A MAJOR benefit? I'm going to watch a lot of these films with our child who is very interested in making films - yaaaa, quality time! He is the reason I put the four year time frame on this; he goes off to college, hopefully to the film school of his choice, in 2018.
Movies have a significant impact on how we view ourselves and one another and if these are being considered "the 100 greatest American films" - a list they edit and update only every ten years, then there will be some watching, questioning, critiquing and hopefully learning more about American culture and my blackness in it and of course, sharing my thoughts about it.
# - MOVIE - YEAR - DATE WATCHED -REVIEW
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
3/22/2103
Favorite Characters: Rhett Butler or Mammy
We really enjoyed this film. Mammy played that role making us laugh and reminding us of my mother, his grandmother.
Sad and dramatic and powerful and complicated, this story was one that we did not want to see end. In fact, when it did end we both shouted at the television, "Noooo..." we were hungry for our happy ending. The characters all played their parts well. Some of the sets could have been done better but did a good job of creating the scene. He learned a lot about lighting and how the sets were built to create the era of the Civil War. All of the extras needed to pull off those large scenes were impressive to us.
So much death in the film, we were glad to see Mammy live to the end and stay with the family throughout all of Scarlett's life. Tough and real but respected even though a servant, it was great to see how she worked with the family and played her role. The whiny black character was annoying. We were incredibly grateful that there was a balance of stable black characters to balance out Prissy, the flighty, whiny, exaggerated one. She was intended to bring about comic relief, we just found her ridiculous and would have been fine with her being removed from the film. Mammy was our comic relief and we needed it in all of the turmoil in this story.
7
LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
1962
8
SCHINDLER'S LIST
1993
9
VERTIGO
1958
10
THE WIZARD OF OZ
1939
11
CITY LIGHTS
1931
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
3/11/2013
Best line: "Everybody has a heart - except some people." Margo Channing
First, let me say that I am so proud to have introduced the boy to black and white films (is that ironic?). We had three choices, tonight he chose this one and we enjoyed it so much. "What did you enjoy?" , I asked. He replied, "The writing, the acting and the music". Apparently there was a lot of "shaking camera" shots and that was cool and each time the green scene was used, he could point it out and explain how he knew. I didn't have the heart to tell him about the connection between this Eve and the first lady Eve. "That Addison, he made me say it."
I don't get the draw of Bette Davis (did I just draw all of the air out of the room?) but must see a few more of her other films before I'll decide. Marilyn Monroe makes a small appearance, she did a great job, but it was disturbing with what little I know of her life. We thought it clever and entertaining. In fact, we had to pause it so that he could go off to soccer practice. When he returned home, he only halted to say hello and then headed straight for the remote. We both clapped at the end.
The saddest part was when Addison slaps Miss Eve and my son laughed. I know it was because of the delayed response and the poor match up of it the hit to the sound effect, but it's never, ever okay to hit women and shouldn't be funny. Thankful for Margo turning around and for Karen showing a lot of compassion, but overall, women were not portrayed well in this film. Not really a lot of trust and anything could be said and was sacrificed to rise to the top. I am all for marriage, but it also seemed that the woman must be tamed by it and that it was the only thing that could help her to overcome her insatiable desire to become a star. At a couple of points, we shouted for characters not to turn their backs on these vicious women because we thought they would snap and commit murder. No spoiler alert needed, by the way.
As for my people making it into the film, there were three, umm, well you would say, there were three, well ummm brief incidences where black people made it into the film. Two were on the stage bowing as a part of a play, both were portraying slaves or people not well dressed as compared to others on the stage. Later in the film, a woman was back stage when the narrator was speaking about writers from many columns being invited to come and review the show. Let me just say though that we were actively looking and their minute appearances did not alter the movie.
Nonetheless, we enjoyed this film and are on the hunt for the next black and white film that we may enjoy.
29
DOUBLE INDEMNITY
1944
30
APOCALYPSE NOW
1979
31
THE MALTESE FALCON
1941
32
THE GODFATHER PART II
1974
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
40
THE SOUND OF MUSIC
1965
41
KING KONG
1933
3.9.2013
Best character: The leader of the excursion, Fred Wilson (played by Charles Grodin) had laughable, memorable facial expressions. What a ham!
I must admit first that we watched the 1976 version of this film because Netflix did not have the original (1933). We laughed, we almost cried and we talked to the screen a lot. There was even a bit of yelling. There were twists and turns. Truly a love story. We hated the ending, happiness please. The little man's opinion as to why the movie made the list is that if a movie doesn't have a happy ending but people still like it, it must be a classic. We were very surprised that the token black on the excursion did not die first and survived all the way through. The historical appearance of the World Trade Center and a mini-conversation to see if he understood why the buildings were no longer there; that was cool. The graphics were entertaining, it's good that he knows so much about green screens. I got real verbal about the sacrifice of the black woman and then how Kong responded when Dwan (YES - Da-wann!!!) was on the alter. I thought aloud, "how come the black girl isn't good enough for him anymore" and without hesitation, my son says, "he likes her because she is different." Got it. Conversation over. I do also think he like Dwan because she fought back and because she challenged him. I can only assume the other sacrifices were quiet and demure because they had accepted the sacrifice as their responsibility. We enjoyed the film and hope that when we can see the original, we will enjoy it all the more.
42
BONNIE AND CLYDE
1967
43
MIDNIGHT COWBOY
1969
44
THE PHILADELPHIA STORY
1940
45
SHANE
1953
46
IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
1934
47
A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE
1951
48
REAR WINDOW
1954
49
INTOLERANCE
1916
50
THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING
2001
51
WEST SIDE STORY
1961
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
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
77
ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
1976
78
MODERN TIMES
1936
79
THE WILD BUNCH
1969
80
THE APARTMENT
1960
81
SPARTACUS
1960
82
SUNRISE
1927
83
TITANIC
1997
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
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
2.23.2013
Best Line: "I don't think that man's ever been to medical school." Buzz Lightyear.
I think I understand why this movie would have made the list. My son and I were doing the math and realized that this movie was made 4 years before he was born and he fell in love with it about 6 years after that. After he looked at the special features, he saw that the characters and how they were made intrigued him. The way the computers were at that time made the end result more difficult to come by, this was impressive to this young filmmaker to be. He's still talking about 'shading' and 'texture'. I'm lost.
I thought the cultural implications of family were interesting. Andy, the main character, was being raised a single mom and Sid's father makes a brief appearance while napping in his chair and that Sid was one to really need more of a positive male influence. I didn't see some of the toys that I played with as a child. Most of the toys that were highlighted and focused on were things I only learned about after moving from the south to the midwest, where our neighborhoods went from predominantly black to predominantly white.
Enjoyable, even after the 72nd viewing.
100
BEN-HUR
1959