THE AFI TOP 100 MOVIES

The American Film Institute released their top 100 movies of all-time in celebration of their 100-year anniversary. The list was counted down on TV, and it made me realize how many great movies I had not seen. Truth be told, I have not seen 58 out of the 100. Some of those I’ve never even heard of and I would consider myself somewhat of a movie buff. For some of those 58, it amazes me that I’ve never seen the movie from start to finish. Gone With The Wind. Never seen the whole thing. Can you believe that? How about E.T., or It’s A Wonderful Life, or Raiders of the Lost Ark. Nope. I must be the only person in America who hasn’t seen The Godfather or Goodfellas.

Other observations. I would consider myself a classic movie watcher. I saw Citizen Kane, but I wouldn’t call it the best movie of all-time. I think Casablanca is worthy of #1. I’m surprised Raging Bull ranks so high. My personal #1 movie of all-time, The Graduate, came in at #17. My #2 movie, Shawshank, came in way down at #72. Others in my all-time top 10 that made the list include #33 One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, #48 Rear Window, #65 The African Queen, and #75 In The Heat of the Night. Did any of your favorites not make the list? Not surprisingly, my other top 10 movies that didn’t make the list include Garden State, Field of Dreams, Stand By Me, and Die Hard. I’m surprised Rebel Without A Cause didn’t make it. Biggest surprise that DID make it? How about Toy Story making the list at #99. Wow! I loved it, but is it really one of the top 100 movies of all-time?

Lists like this make for great discussion and debate. What are some of your thoughts?


1 CITIZEN KANE
2 GODFATHER, THE
3 CASABLANCA
4 RAGING BULL
5 SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
6 GONE WITH THE WIND
7 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA
8 SCHINDLER'S LIST
9 VERTIGO
10 WIZARD OF OZ, THE
11 CITY LIGHTS
12 SEARCHERS, THE
13 STAR WARS
14 PSYCHO
15 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY
16 SUNSET BLVD.
17 GRADUATE, THE
18 GENERAL, THE
19 ON THE WATERFRONT
20 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE
21 CHINATOWN
22 SOME LIKE IT HOT
23 GRAPES OF WRATH, THE
24 E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL
25 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD
26 MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON
27 HIGH NOON
28 ALL ABOUT EVE
29 DOUBLE INDEMNITY
30 APOCALYPSE NOW
31 MALTESE FALCON, THE
32 GODFATHER PART II, THE
33 ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST
34 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS
35 ANNIE HALL
36 BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE
37 BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE
38 TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE, THE
39 DR. STRANGELOVE
40 SOUND OF MUSIC, THE
41 KING KONG
42 BONNIE AND CLYDE
43 MIDNIGHT COWBOY
44 PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE
45 SHANE
46 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT
47 STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A
48 REAR WINDOW
49 INTOLERANCE
50 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING, THE
51 WEST SIDE STORY
52 TAXI DRIVER
53 DEER HUNTER, THE
54 M*A*S*H
55 NORTH BY NORTHWEST
56 JAWS
57 ROCKY
58 GOLD RUSH, THE
59 NASHVILLE
60 DUCK SOUP
61 SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS
62 AMERICAN GRAFFITI
63 CABARET
64 NETWORK
65 AFRICAN QUEEN, THE
66 RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK
67 WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?
68 UNFORGIVEN
69 TOOTSIE
70 CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A
71 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN
72 SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION, THE
73 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID
74 SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE
75 IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT
76 FORREST GUMP
77 ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN
78 MODERN TIMES
79 WILD BUNCH, THE
80 APARTMENT, THE
81 SPARTACUS
82 SUNRISE
83 TITANIC
84 EASY RIDER
85 NIGHT AT THE OPERA, A
86 PLATOON
87 12 ANGRY MEN
88 BRINGING UP BABY
89 SIXTH SENSE, THE
90 SWING TIME
91 SOPHIE'S CHOICE
92 GOODFELLAS
93 FRENCH CONNECTION, THE
94 PULP FICTION
95 LAST PICTURE SHOW, THE
96 DO THE RIGHT THING
97 BLADE RUNNER
98 YANKEE DOODLE DANDY
99 TOY STORY
100 BEN-HUR