Every June since 1997, the American Film Institute releases a new list of films in its 100 Years… series - celebrating 100 years of American films. I set a goal a few years ago to watch all of the movies in the series, but I didn’t complete that mission. When the “updated” list came out in 2007, I rededicated myself to watching them all, and I’m proud to say that I accomplished that goal within the last six months.

I have found so many great movies through AFI and their efforts to preserve and promote American films, though in all honesty, I have found a handful of stinkers as well. The good has FAR exceeded the bad, however and I am so grateful that I undertook the challenge - there’s a reason that these movies are so well respected!

Today, AFI announced a new list - the 12th in the series, AFI’s 10 Top 10. I have actually said before that I think they should do this - breaking down a “top 100″ into smaller genres and ranking them against similar films.

So, here is the list - AFI’s 10 Top 10 (with a few comments):

Animation

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs - First Feature-length animated film - still great!
2. Pinocchio
3. Bambi
4. The Lion King
5. Fantasia
6. Toy Story - Groundbreaking - I remember the first time I heard “computer animated”
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Shrek
9. Cinderella
10. Finding Nemo

Romantic Comedies

1. City Lights - One of my new favorite films - I LOVED it!!!
2. Annie Hall - I used to think Woody Allen was overrated - then I watched Annie Hall.
3. It Happened One Night
4. Roman Holiday
5. Philadelphia Story
6. When Harry Met Sally
7. Adam’s Rib
8. Moonstruck
9. Harold and Maude - This is one of those movies I’ve always said I wanted to see… Haven’t yet.
10. Sleepless in Seattle

Western

1. The Searchers - Awesomeness
2. High Noon - One of THE best movies ever made! Most requested film by US Presidents.
3. Shane
4. Unforgiven
5. Red River
6. The Wild Bunch
7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
9. Stagecoach
10. Cat Ballou

Sports

1. Raging Bull - Scorsese’s best film.
2. Rocky - Classic.
3. Pride of the Yankees
4. Hoosiers
5. Bull Durham - Starring Danny Gans!
6. The Hustler
7. Caddyshack
8. Breaking Away
9. National Velvet
10. Jerry Maguire

Mystery

1. Vertigo - One of four Great Hitchcock films on this list - but where’s Psycho?
2. Chinatown
3. Rear Window
4. Laura
5. The Third Man
6. Maltese Falcon - FANTASTIC! Fell in love with this film noir while watching the top 100.
7. North by Northwest
8. Blue Velvet
9. Dial “M” for Murder
10. The Usual Suspects

Fantasy

1. Wizard of Oz
2. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring - This film represents the entire trilogy…
3. It’s a Wonderful Life - They begin to stretch the “Fantasy” moniker at this point, but I get it…
4. King Kong
5. Miracle on 34th Street
6. Field of Dreams
7. Harvey
8. Groundhog Day
9. The Thief of Bagdad
10. Big

Science Fiction

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars: A New Hope
3. ET: The Extra Terrestrial
4. Clockwork Orange
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. Blade Runner - I think this film is good, but very overrated.
7. Alien
8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
10. Back to the Future - Awesome!!! So glad this is on the list!

Gangster

1. The Godfather - Love it! Definitely don’t think it insists upon itself.
2. Goodfellas
3. The Godfather Part II
4. White Heat
5. Bonnie and Clyde
6. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation (Not the one with Al Pacino)
7. Pulp Fiction - Great Flick!
8. Public Enemy
9. Little Caesar
10. Scarface (The one with Al Pacino)

Courtroom Drama

1. To Kill a Mockingbird - Extremely powerful and emotional
2. 12 Angry Men - Learned who Henry Fonda was the first time I saw this. Excellent.
3. Kramer Vs. Kramer
4. The Verdict
5. A Few Good Men
6. Witness for the Prosecution
7. Anatomy of a Murder
8. In Cold Blood
9. Cry in the Dark
10. Judgment at Nuremburg

Epics

1. Lawrence of Arabia - Beautiful landscapes and cinematography
2. Ben-Hur
3. Schindler’s List
4. Gone With the Wind - As good as they come.
5. Spartacus
6. Titanic
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Reds
10. The Ten Commandments

My initial thoughts are that this a good list only a couple of obvious omissions (Psycho and Double Indemnity from the Mystery category, namely). I’m sure I’ll find some more down the road…

But overall, not bad?

This entry was posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 at 10:58 pm and is filed under Tribute, Yada Yada, Movies. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.