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"Citizen Kane" wouldn't top any 100 greatest list of mine. The "Wizard of Oz" in my mind always deserved the honor, and as a no-brainer.
Despite today's age of magnificent computer-generated special effects, even performances, I well remember the amazement when "Star Wars" first appeared in 1977, not too far removed from people's memory of the comical "Flash Gordon" serials.
One movie that is omitted from the list, that I saw in a theater as a child, is "Forbidden Planet." It foreshadowed the original "Star Trek" TV series, even to the scanty costume of the main female character (played by Anne Francis). Yet its plot, forewarning of mankind's self-destruction, has resonated with me through the decades, and perhaps that theme was never equaled/surpassed until the production of the Terminator series. Although "Robby the Robot" attracted children to the film, I found it terrifying in a profound way. So I would find a place for it on any personal 100 greatest films list. The film also featured the first electronic filmscore; I would like to see the movie again some day just to appreciate the filmscore.
I'm also surprised that "Glory" has never cracked the list of 100 best films. It's a more impactful version of "The Red Badge of Courage." I would find a place for it, as it is one of my favorites, but I'm a history buff. It wasn't a great box office success, which certainly limits its accolades.
I'm glad "The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)" made this AFI list, albeit at 100. Erroll Flynn has to be the best Robin Hood ever.
I've never thought much of the AFI lists, and I've always dislike Wizard of Oz, which I think is sappy, hammy and heavy-handed. You should give Citizen Kane another try.
I've never thought much of the AFI lists, and I've always dislike Wizard of Oz, which I think is sappy, hammy and heavy-handed. You should give Citizen Kane another try.
I remember Citizen Kane well. I'm just enamored of the Wizard of Oz, although I wouldn't consider it "heavy-handed."
If you did a poll of Americans, which would have greater familiarity, "ruby slippers" or "Rosebud?" To say nothing of tin man, cowardly lion, "Over the Rainbow," Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz, Munchins, yellow brick road, Toto, etc. Ditto, Judy Garland versus Orson Welles. Impact on American culture certainly is a worthy measure of a film's greatness.
The "Wizard of Oz" also was a technological triumph for its time.
"Citizen Kane" wouldn't top any 100 greatest list of mine. The "Wizard of Oz" in my mind always deserved the honor, and as a no-brainer.
Despite today's age of magnificent computer-generated special effects, even performances, I well remember the amazement when "Star Wars" first appeared in 1977, not too far removed from people's memory of the comical "Flash Gordon" serials.
These 'greatest' lists always cause much consternation, it seems. Art is subjective. Someone else's subjective list will differ from your subjective list. Also, what does greatest even mean? I didn't care for Citizen Kane, either, but a great many people do, and it has been tremendously influential. Surely greatest encompasses the concept of a film's legacy. Or take Star Wars. Hell of a tale... for a child. But it's mostly trite and cliche-ridden. The acting is a mixed bag, largely due to the script (dialogue, specifically) and direction. Can Hamill even act? Ford can and Fisher could, but Lucas is apparently not the director to coax worthy performances out of his stars. Fortunately, Guinness needed no such encouragement and shone, even with the material. But Star Wars had its merits. The mythology - specifically the Force, the light-sabres, and the embodiment of evil in Darth Vader - has spectacular moments. And its legacy is immeasurable. Still, it's mostly a silly story with goofy costumes and bad dialogue. This is not to say it doesn't arguably belong on such lists.
So it is. These lists have a great many parameters, none of which are YOUR/MY FAVORITE MOVIES (unless perhaps we're the ones making the lists).
Historical note regarding Citizen Kane:
The character of Kane was largely based on William Randolph Hearst. Kane is hardly a sympathetic character, and Hearst was a virulent anti-communist. This was held as evidence that Welles was himself a communist sympathizer. The FBI somehow convinced itself that Citizen Kane was thus communist propaganda. Welles' career suffered accordingly, even though the allegation was utter nonsense. In today's parlance, he was 'cancelled'.
Some of the greatest films rated on the international level are so obscure that most people have never heard of them. They have been widely acclaimed by critics and have stood the test of time for years despite the big block buster films produced in the US and Europe.
Two of these films are Tokyo Story and Late Spring. Made in the 1950’s in black and white in immediate post war Japan. Both starring Setsuko Hara an actress who in the West is virtually unknown. Simple moving stories of ordinary people and inter family relationships.
It is a list of 100 American films considered the greatest.
American movies are more in the “entertainment” category (except a few masterpieces like “Citizen Kane”, etc.)
The whole other cinematography civilization is out there...where the cinema is appreciated as an “art” of movie making, visual expressions, techniques, pondering the various aspects of humanity, philosophical concepts, historical, societal issues,etc...
The entertainment value could usually take a back seat in those movies...
Like a “pulp” fiction vs classic literature!
I saw about 6 or 7 of these so-called great film on cable in the past year, and really, they were just movies, with nothing in them at all that would make them stand out. I wouuln't put even a dozen of these on my personal list ot top 100. Midnight Cowboy was excruciating.
I'll throw in a movie that's missing from this list:
Groundhog Day.
I wish I could remember the details, but there was a philosophical exhibition/conference, and the various invited philosophy professors lobbied hard to be the one who got to write the foreword for the film presentation. Watch looking for its explication of the seven virtues and seven vices.
I'll vehemently disagree about any disparagement of Casablanca. I've watched it multiple times, have found interesting tidbits in each viewing, and it is just about the best written and most quoted movies of all time. It's definitely a strong/stronger? candidate for #1.
I would put Seven Samurai at the very top, but it's not in English...
Kudos to the person who mentioned Setsuko Hara, who starred in many great films by Yasujiro Ozu: Late Spring (1949), Early Summer (1951), Tokyo Story (1953), Tokyo Twilight (1957), Late Autumn (1960), The End of Summer (1961).
I'll throw in a movie that's missing from this list:
Groundhog Day.
I wish I could remember the details, but there was a philosophical exhibition/conference, and the various invited philosophy professors lobbied hard to be the one who got to write the foreword for the film presentation. Watch looking for its explication of the seven virtues and seven vices.
I'll vehemently disagree about any disparagement of Casablanca. I've watched it multiple times, have found interesting tidbits in each viewing, and it is just about the best written and most quoted movies of all time. It's definitely a strong/stronger? candidate for #1.
Comedy is tough. I would agree that "Groundhog Day" is a great movie; it's the only Bill Murray movie that I thought was exceptional.
"Animal House" is the only movie that I have ever seen in a theater, especially a packed theater, in which the audience was laughing hysterically throughout the movie. Several years ago, I rented it for some young teenager relatives and they also found it hysterical, so it apparently plays well over time.
What always impressed me about both "Groundhog Day" and "Animal House" is that the movies have good endings.
Perhaps I'm a John Belushi fan, but I'm surprised the "Blues Brothers," which I enjoyed much more than many of the movies on this list, was omitted.
"Dr. Strangelove" is a favorite of mine (Slim Pickens has one of the best roles in comedic history), as is "Cat Ballou" (my favorite Lee Marvin movie, which is saying a lot). "Blazing Saddles" has many great scenes, but I've always been disgusted by its cop-out ending; Mel Brooks missed the opportunity to have a hero riding off into the sunset in a way to satirize "Shane." It's definitely not even a top 50 comedy IMO as a result, although Alex Karras as "Mongo" was a classic comedic character.
I'm somewhat surprised that "Fargo" and "Broadcast News" are considered comedies.
Also missing from the list IMO is the original "The Bishop's Wife."
And I would rank "Beetle Juice" much, much higher on the list. Is it the best "dark comedy" ever made? Michael Keaton and the young Winona Ryder IMO delivered two of the greatest comedic performances ever, and they brilliantly reinforced each other's characters.
Overall, the AFI 100 best comedies list is loaded with great movies (e.g., don't miss Frank Capra's (and Cary Grant's) "Arsenic and Old Lace." It's sad that only a couple handfuls of the comedies made the overall 100 best movie list. I'm very surprised that "Catch-22" is omitted from both lists, especially as the best comedies list includes satires.
"I Married a Witch" also would have been worthy of inclusion on the AFI comedy list, especially as a forerunner of an entire genre of entertainment.
Seeing "The Navigator" (which I've never seen) on the AFI's 100 best comedy list, it triggered great memories of "The Flight of the Navigator."
I showed it to some grade school children once while baby-sitting and they were wonderfully confused, asking constantly "what's going on?" To which I replied, "grow up and see if you can figure it out," which they did eventually (perhaps with some eventual explanation on my part). It's a wonderful movie to teach children to appreciate their youth and their families, and definitely expands their world views, as its plot is very unsettling for young minds.
If AFI had a 100 best science fiction list, I would hope it would make the cut. It was a wonderfully prescient movie, given the rapid advance of AI and the approach of the "Singularity."
Do yourself a favor, and don't read the plot here:
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To say nothing of tin man, cowardly lion, "Over the Rainbow," Wicked Witch of the West, Wizard of Oz, Munchins, yellow brick road, Toto, etc. Ditto, Judy Garland versus Orson Welles. Impact on American culture certainly is a worthy measure of a film's greatness.
AFI 100 best comedies
