What is your favorite movie?

What a sad little list it is, without the great films from the rest of the world.

I dont know why but i seem to favor epic films over all the other genres. Ben Hur, Lawrence of Arabia, Ten Commandments, Doctor Zhivago, Giant, Schindlers List, BraveHeart, Titanic, Saving Private Ryan, The Patriot, and The Lord of the Rings in my opinion are the meaning of the word epic. The scope, the grandure, spectacle, supreme, they all have it. A lot of people dont like films that run over three hours but i prefer that films are lengthly. It has that feel that its a big film to fit a large story and usualy films are better when they are long. The list that i mention speaks for its self. Most of the movies mention have won best picture of its respected year so the academey seems to favor epic films as well. They rarely make films like these anymore. The movie magic is fading. All these films remind me why i go to the movies in the first place. Lord of the Rings is the last films that capture that rare movie magic with its unique charactors, incredible score, and incredible cinematography that take you to another world. Please someone come up with another worthy epic that fits into this rare category.

I have an old paper list of your top 100 with the year listed after the movie title. It is so important to see the year. Please bring back that feature.

Ain’t it grand that we can all sit around in our PJs and mull over this rich history of art? I can not answer to myself from one week to the next on my favorites. My snotty friends insist that I am weak minded, but I only giggle back at them in response.

I find that John Ford’s myths will attract me more than Tolkien’s on any given Monday, but I fall in love, once again, with Coppola’s myth and the GODFATHER on the following Tuesday. What a wonderful perplexity.

Any who, thanks for keeping the conversation alive. I am growing weary of the latest on Paris Hilton.

TO HAVE AND HAVE NOT
AUNTIE MAME
CASINO
ON GOLDEN POND
THE STING
WHEN HARRY MET SALLY
A FEW GOOD MEN
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
ONCE UPON A TIME IN THE WEST
FANTASIA

i have disagreed with many a movie list and music countdown, but this is the cake!!! ben-hur is #100, below toy story, below lord of the rings, rocky, jaws.., BELOW STAR WARS??? HAS THE AFI LOST THEIR BLASTED MINDS??? i can’t argue against, say, the godfather films or citizen kane, but when ben-hur is that far below star wars, there’s something wrong. am i a star wars fan, yes, but come on!!!

This is off the main topic, but does anyone know what title (Ticket to Dream?) and the artist of the song AFI used at the beginning of the broadcast of 100 Years, 100 movies? I would really like to know.
Thank you,
Freya

Dropping Fargo and adding Titanic??? Get serious. Of the rest, Blood Simple is horribly underrated. Did Sierra Madre make the list? If not, that’s unbelievable. Princess Bride and Say Anything are more recent classics, always watchable no matter the mood.

Several bloggers have mentioned some foreign films (which don’t qualify), but I’ll add my 2 cents: early Hitchcock (I’d vote for 39 Steps or The Lady Vanishes), Rules of the Game, Seven Samurai or Ran from Kurosawa, and for the lighter touch, a lesser known favorite of mine - Local Hero, with its picture-perfect yet slightly askew Scottish town.

…for not including BRAVEHEART and DANCES WITH WOLVES on this list. Omitting these two cinematic classics from the Top 100 is almost a crime.

I HAVE WAY TO MANY MOVIES TO LIST
BUT MY ALL TIME FAVORITE MOVIE IS THE LORD OF THE RINGS TRILOGY
OTHER FAVORITES SOME NOT INCLUDED ON THE LIST
SUPERMAN( THE CHRISTOPHER REEVES ONE)
THE STING
ANIMAL HOUSE
BLAZING SADDLES
YOUNG FRANKENSTEIN
THE ABYSS
BRAVEHEART
DANCES WITH WOLVES
AND MORE

The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie of all time. The story remains relevant to this day - there truly is “no place like home”. Judy Garland, Julie Andrews and Audrey Hepburn are 3 amazing actresses. Roman Holiday was the first black and white film I ever saw and showed me that I shouldn’t dismiss a movie just b/c it’s not in color. As a child, I did a pretty mean Wicked Witch of the West impression: “I’ll get you my pretty! And your little dog, too!” Sara - 31, Pittsburgh

All of them PIECES OF ART!! Emotion, Joy, full dedication and commitment towards the message that are offering. It get deep in our minds and hearts. VIVA EL CINE!! Caro

They all belong. Originality and creativity!

THEY’RE ALL SIMPLY GREAT!

Congrats on the “revised” top 100 list, AFI. Its wonderful that almost every violent — or pro-military — film from the past 40 years has made it to the top so that our young people will be even more inclined —with help from Hollywood’s video-game divisions — to continue to support absolute morons for president (and governor of CA) while fighting even more of Israel’s battles. No, can’t say that I am some old lady who wants young people to live “boring lives” — on the contrary, I’m a decent, educated working person who’s sick of seeing this country slowly dissolve into the frightened violent mess that the Neocons enjoy. I have no doubt that The Grapes of Wrath and Network will soon disappear from the list as well, so God Help us, and may Mr. Scorsese have a close-encounter with the kind of violence that he so relishes in modern cinema.

AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE MOVIE BUFF POLL 6/23/07 - TOP 100

1. Brokeback Mountain - 121
2. The Godfather - 76
3. Gone with the Wind - 44
4. Star Wars - 43.
5. Casablanca - 42
6. The Shawshank Redemption - 42
7. Lord of the Rings Trilogy - 34 [note: Return of the King - 11]
8. Titanic - 34
9. To Kill a Mockingbird - 21
10. Citizen Kane - 20
11. The Sound of Music - 20
12. The Empire Strikes Back - 20
13. It’s a Wonderful Life - 19
14. Lawrence of Arabia - 17
15. American Beauty - 17
16. 2001: A Space Odyssey - 16
17. Schindler’s List - 16
18. The Godfather II - 15
19. Raiders of the Lost Ark - 15
20. Pulp Fiction - 15
21. Doctor Zhivago - 15
22. Goodfellas - 13
23. Vertigo - 12
24. The Third Man - 11
25. The Best Years of Our Lives - 10
25. On the Waterfront - 10
25. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest - 10
25. Fight Club - 10
25. Jaws - 10
30. The Graduate - 9
30. Singin’ in the Rain - 9
30. The Quiet Man - 9
30. Memento - 9
30. The Color Purple - 9
35. Sunset Boulevard - 8
35. All About Eve - 8
35. Breakfast at Tiffany’s - 8
35. Rocky - 8
35. The Princess Bride - 8
35. Gladiator - 8
35. Braveheart - 8
35. Back to the Future - 8
43. Chinatown - 7
43. Raging Bull - 7
43. A Clockwork Orange - 7
43. Fargo - 7
43. Blade Runner - 7
43. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind - 7
43. Moulin Rouge - 7
43. Forrest Gump - 7

51 - 59 [6 votes each]
Almost Famous, Amadeus, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, The Deer Hunter, Patton, Psycho, Some Like It Hot, Taxi Driver, The Wild Bunch

60-66 [5 votes each]
Annie Hall, E.T., The Green Mile, Out of Africa, Rear Window, The Searchers, The Sting

67-90 [4 votes each]
The Adventures of Robin Hood, Aliens, Ben-Hur, Close Encounters of the Third Kind, Crash, Dances with Wolves, The Exorcist, A Few Good Men, Field of Dreams, Good Will Hunting, Heat, It’s a Mad Mad Mad Mad World, King Kong, LA Confidential, Magnolia, The Matrix, Requiem for a Dream, The Right Stuff, Roman Holiday, Saving Private Ryan, Scarface, A Streetcar Named Desire, The Ten Commandments, The Usual Suspects

91-122 [3 votes each]
First 10: “Official” Selections for Top 100:
American Graffiti, City Lights, The General, The Grapes of Wrath, Network,
North By Northwest, Notorious, Shane, Silence of the Lambs,
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

Next 22: The Adventures of Robin Hood, Airplane, Apollo 13, Becket, The Big Lebowski, The Breakfast Club, The English Patient, Full Metal Jacket,Funny Farm, Ghostbusters, Gunga Din, Inherit the Wind, Local Hero, Mary Poppins, Million Dollar Baby, Mulholland Drive, Philadelphia, The Royal Tenenbaums, The Shining, Splendor in the Grass, Superman

INELIGIBLE [2006]
The Departed - 18
V for Vendetta - 7

High Vote-getters among non American (or British) Films
Spirited Away - 7
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly - 5
4: Once Upon a Time in the West, Passion of the Christ, Pan’s Labyrinth
2 votes: City of God, Ikiru, Life is Beautiful, The Motorcycle Diaries,
The Passion of Joan of Arc, The Pianist

the new list is very disapointing, I lost my trust in the AFI after reading the new list, how can you remove the following movies:
- DOCTOR ZHIVAGO
- AMADEUS
- FANTASIA
- WUTHERING HEIGHTS
- DANCES WITH WOLVES
- MY FAIR LADY
- GUESS WHO’S COMING TO DINNER
I thought that the main criteria for selecting movies is how this movie effects the film history, don’t you think that the above mentioned movies effected the film history?!

I was excited to hear that the AFI was going to be updating their list because I love these kind of subjective arguments over pop culture. I was looking forward to seeing how many of the greatest films of MY generation had moved up, or onto, the list from a decade ago. Now, granted, there is no right or wrong response to a question like “What are the greatest American films of all time?” But if you are going to make “a new list for a new generation”, shouldn’t you at least ask someone under the age of forty what films in fact made a difference to them.

The first ten picks showed signs of hope, and yet frustrating reminders, that Old Hollywood standards were still applied to this new list. I was glad to see that TOY STORY (1995, #99), BLADE RUNNER (1982, #97) and DO THE RIGHT THING (1989, #96) all finally made the list, but I was floored (Literally, I jumped off the couch and onto the floor) when both PULP FICTION (1994, #94) and GOODFELLAS (1990, #92) showed up again on the bottom ten of the list.

A new list for a new generation? You’ve got to be kidding me. The Westerns UNFORGIVEN (1992, #68) and THE SEARCHERS (1956, #12) moved out of the bottom ten from the previous list and moved up a combined 114 spots while PULP FICTION and GOODFELLAS only rose a combined 3 spots. So you’re telling me that in the past ten years the Western has become the premier genre for today’s movie audience? I know the fact that both THE SEARCHERS and UNFORGIVEN were highly underrated last time played a part, but if you are going to reflect over the past ten years time, PULP FICTION and GOODFELLAS should have also skyrocketed up the chart.

The two highest rated films on the new list that did not make the list last time were THE GENERAL (1927, #18) and INTOLERANCE (1916, #49), two films made over eight decades ago. Again, these are two films that should have been on the list before, but to say that these films have played a bigger role in the lives of the millions of filmgoers who grew up in the eighties and beyond, compared to say THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994, #72), is just plain ridiculous.

Now one of the things that SHAWSHANK has taught us in the years since it was released (pun intended) is that a movie today doesn’t have to make a hundred-million dollars at the box-office to make it into the hearts of millions of people. The age of the VCR paved the way, and now DVD’s and the Internet has made it so more and more people can discover films long after they have lit up the silver screens at our local megaplexes. Maybe older audiences will stubble onto some of these newer films and realize that they still do “make them like they used to”, sometimes even better.

The other thing that SHAWSHANK taught me was that hope was the best of all things. I hope that my generation finds this list and goes out and discovers the genius of CITIZEN KANE (1941, #1), the madness of SUNSET BLVD (1950, #16), the romance of CASABLANCA (1942, #3), the giddy joy of DUCK SOUP (1933, #60), and the epic visions in THE SEARCHERS (1956, #12) and INTOLERANCE (1916, #49).

But I also hope to see more movies that made a difference to me, and my generation, make a bigger splash in the list ten years from now, and not just get buried in the bottom half again.

Oh, and maybe then STAR WARS (1977, #13) will finally crack the top ten.

I can always hope.

I can see films that have been overlooked suddenly breaking into the list but several films not only made the list but moved some 60+ places. I would question the voting on that score. It would take a group of the 1500 getting together and deciding to push one particualar film as opposed to simply submitting their list. Who benefits? Check it out.
My top 10.
1. Citizen Kane
2. Casablanca
3. Gone With The Wind
4. Grapes of Wrath
5. Lawrence of Arabia
6. Singing in The Rain
7. The Graduate
8. Blade Runner
9. Wizard of Oz
10. On The Waterfront

INACCURATE LIST …DO IT BY GENERATIONS…I AM IN MY 8TH….
WHAT I THINK IS UNIMPORTANT… AS TO THE BEST …I DO NOT DISAGREE … WITH YOUR LIST ….. I HAVE SEEN ….. MOST OF THE MOVIES…. BUT I WILL COGITATE ….. AND SEND A LIST

Blade Runner, Do the Right Thing, Toy Story, and several others could’ve been cut and should’ve been out for these above. Especially Rosemary’s Baby. Brilliant in every way. Liaisons may not be considered American, but I think so because all actors are. The director isn’t, but then neither is Hitchcock. And On Golden Pond is definitely worthy. And Cabaret should’ve been much higher.

MOVIES YOU CAN WATCH OVER AND OVER, GREAT STORY, CHARACTERS, NEED I SAY MORE!!!!!!!!!!

1) A Celebration of Violence
Morgan Freeman said that “films reflect and define who we are”. Many of the films on the list are indeed excellent but it’s interesting to notice that a very impressive and high number of these Top-100 movies deal with violence, war, mafia, murder, gangsters, etc… Furthermore, many of the film excerpts during the CBS broadcast showed countless gunshots, stabbings, explosions and murders; it was pretty gruesome at times, …yet, all of this has become so “normal”. The fact that so many of these movies are considered as “America’s Best” is what’s really revealing and startling. Sadly, these films perhaps reflect the American reality and the top-100 list does assert an obsession & fascination for violence in American culture. Movies and television are America’s mirror to themselves and its window to the world. Should we thus be surprised that the rest of the world perceives the USA as violent?

2) As for Ebert’s opinion, well, why should we care?
Regarding Fargo, well it might be a good movie for some (let’s acknowledge that it was written and shot with originality), but for others it’s just another very gory, gruesome and violent movie.

3) Brokeback Mountain’s Absence: Surprising!
It’s really surprising that Ang Lee’s unforgettable masterpiece Brokeback Mountain which has had such an impact around the world and has been the “most talked about” as well as the “most acclaimed & decorated” movie of the last decade didn’t make the cut. The reason is that it’s probably still too recent; the movie came out just a little more than one year prior to the vote. BBM instantly became a “cultural phenomenon” worldwide and already stands as a milestone in the history of cinema. A book entitled “Brokeback Mountain – The Impact of a Film” has recently been published, the quote “I wish I knew how to quit you” is the most frequently used since Titanic’s “I’m the King of the world”, the term “Brokeback” is now common terminology and, “Ennis & Jack” are now part of the American literary and cinematic culture. There are still references to this remarkable film in newspapers, on television, on the Internet and in various columns around the world on a daily basis. Brokeback Mountain has attained instant “cult status” and its impact has crossed borders – in short, it was a true “landmark film”. BBM will surely stand the test of time and should definitely be included in the Top-100 list next time.

I was surprised that only four newly qualified films made the cut. Unfortunately Wes Anderson’s Rushmore was not amongst the new additions. Although, i personally enjoy “Royal Tenenbaums and Life Aquatic” more than Rushmore i would have liked to see one of his films included on the list.

I agree with the posts who wondered how AFI could omit “The Sting” and “Close Enounters” from the list of 100

I’d like a complete list the the 100 for 2007 so that the movies I haven’t seen I could rent or boy and then make an informed opinion about all the films. There are several that I’m not sure would be on video or DVD but I sure would like to try to watch them all. Please tell me how to get the list of the 100 films that I watched Morgan Freeman and all the other stars comment on last night. Thank you and keep on filming.

Great entertainment!

bnegrete@cox.net

YOU MISSED SOME REALLY GOOD MOVIES ON THIS YEARS LIST.

How amazingly aggravating to have written a brillant review of my favorite movie only to have it deleted and relaced with the insanely annoying and tragically late message to “Log in before positng your comments” You could have put that message up front and spared me the waste of time - and then benfitted from my copntribution. It will be along time before I recover from this huge setback and even begin to think of trying to contribute anything again. Oh well.

all these movies are tied because they all have ccertain strengths and weaknesses. the wall delt with a symbolic “wall” that was used to show how famous people shut themselves out of the world. a clockwork orange delt with how conformity can ruin peoples lives and can lead them to attempt suicide and fail. the godfather delt with life in the mob through one families eyes and did a phenominal job with it.

Wuthering Heights
It is hard to say what the greatest movie of all time is because there are
so many. I am a classic movie lover so my vote is the above, every moment of this film is breathe taking from the time Heathcliff is a boy to the time that he becomes a man engulfed in his own hatered because of poverty and love.
Leave Her To Heaven is a evil masterpiece, Mrs Tierney is a wicked deceiver to the bone, willing to kill anything in her way, including herself.
All About Eve, Ms Baxter had me fooled and Bette too. Great performance’s by all.
The Godfather is another movie GREATEST. There can really never be just one.