Orson Welles and Joseph Cotten in “Citizen Kane” (1941) — the No. 1 film on AFI’s “Top 100” list.
This article marks the 10th — and last — installment of a film series I created on the history of films, its various genres and tabulations of aspects of films we’ve come to love over the years. A good deal of the guts behind those articles incorporated lists of generally accepted “best” in categories such as Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Epics, Westerns, Musicals, etc., not to mention memorable quotes and films that have inspired us. I’ve filled in a lot of the empty spaces with thoughts of my own — and in the process it has reminded me of my love and appreciation for a great many of films, many long forgotten, but none diminished through the passage of time.
As I wrap up this film series, it is only appropriate to sum things up with a listing of the greatest “American” films of all time…an incredibly daunting task when you think about it. You can’t apply any true objectivity to such a monumental effort as the criteria weighs heavily from voter to voter. The bottom line is the lasting impact a film has had — the definition of a classic. Each of us can collectively conjure up a healthy list — and then change it when you forgot just how great “Platoon” or “Pulp Fiction” was. There is no better group to undertake this assignment than the American Film Institute (AFI). This group was founded in 1965 with a charter mission to establish a national arts organization to preserve and honor the legacy of American film heritage.
From 1998 to 2008, this esteemed body of film artists, scholars, critics and historians comprising of over 1,500 members created juries to select the best movies in several categories, some of which have been covered in earlier articles. It all ended in 2008 with an update of the Top 100 films of all time, which will form the basis of this concluding summation of films we’ve come to adore, embrace, become enamored with, inspired and become engaged in. It takes years for movies to ferment into greatness — and over time the highly respected Sight & Sound magazine has provided a poll of film scholars from around the world to vote on the best films and directors of all time every 10 years. Starting in 1952, we look forward to their next tally in 2022.
But the following list accounts for only American-made (English-speaking) films. Great films by legendary filmmakers such as Fellini, Bergman, Antonioni, Truffaut and Kurosawa, to mention a few, are not included, but certainly are in the worldwide polls. Since the list of Top 100 films compiled by the AFI is 12 years old, it is almost certain that some films released since then would be considered. But, like a good wine, good films take time to age before their true greatness is revealed. After this list, I will provide a few films I think should have been included — or at least considered — and a few selections of films released over the past 10 years that stand a good chance of cracking this coveted list.
So, without further ado, here are AFI’s Top 100 films of all time, in descending order from 100 down to 1, leaving little doubt as to what film is ranked No. 1, which I have no quarrel with.
100. Ben-Hur (1959)
99. Toy Story (1995)
98. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
97. Blade Runner (1982)
96. Do the Right Thing (1989)
95. The Last Picture Show (1971)
94. Pulp Fiction (1994)
93. The French Connection (1971)
92. Goodfellas (1990)
91. Sophie’s Choice (1982)
90. Swing Time (1936)
89. The Sixth Sense (1999)
88. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
87. 12 Angry Men (1957)
86. Platoon (1986)
85. A Night at the Opera (1935)
84. Easy Rider (1969)
83. Titanic (1997)
82. Sunrise (1927)
81. Spartacus (1960)
80. The Apartment (1960)
79. The Wild Bunch (1969)
78. Modern Times (1936)
77. All the President’s Men (1976)
76. Forrest Gump (1994)
75. In the Heat of the Night (1967)
74. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
72. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
71. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
70. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
69. Tootsie (1982)
68. Unforgiven (1992)
67. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
65. The African Queen (1952)
64. Network (1976)
63. Cabaret (1972)
62. American Graffiti (1974)
61. Sullivan’s Travels (1941)
60. Duck Soup (1933)
59. Nashville (1975)
58. The Gold Rush (1925; 1942)
57. Rocky (1976)
56. Jaws (1975)
55. North by Northwest (1959)
54. M*A*S*H (1970)
53. The Deer Hunter (1978)
52. Taxi Driver (1975)
51. West Side Story (1961)
50. LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
49. Intolerance (1916)
48. Rear Window (1954)
47. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
46. It Happened One Night (1934)
45. Shane (1953)
44. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
43. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
42. Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
41. King Kong (1933)
40. The Sound of Music (1965)
39. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
38. The Treasure of Sierra Madre (1948)
37. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
35. Annie Hall (1977)
34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
32. The Godfather, Part II (1974)
31. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
30. Apocalypse Now (1979)
29. Double Indemnity (1944)
28. All About Eve (1950)
27. High Noon (1952)
26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
25. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
24. E. T. The Extraterrestrial (1982)
23. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
22. Some Like it Hot (1959)
21. Chinatown (1974)
20. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
19. On the Waterfront (1954)
18. The General (1926)
17. The Graduate (1967)
16. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
14. Psycho (1960)
13. Star Wars (A New Hope) (1977)
12. The Searchers (1956)
11. City Lights (1931)
10. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
9. Vertigo (1958)
8. Schindler’s List (1993)
7. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. Gone with the Wind (1939)
5. Singin’ in the Rain (1952)
4. Raging Bull (1980)
3. Casablanca (1943)
2. The Godfather (1972)
1. Citizen Kane (1941)
That’s a great list — and I agree with most of them, maybe not in the same order, like “Ben-Hur” being ranked so low and “Raging Bull” ranked so high. But it’s hard to disagree with most of their choices. These film historians and scholars know more about the impact these films have had than any of us do — we’re just movie lovers who have our own opinions. I know the 2008 list was an update to their 1998 list — and by doing so could have added films into the 2000s. But the only one from that decade was “LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring.” As for films I would have considered from those early years in the 2000s, as few as they are, along with more recent films (since 2008) will conclude this article.
As for AFI’s Top 100, films by Steven Spielberg got the most mention. Other notable directors included Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick, Billy Wilder, Frank Capra, Charlie Chaplin, Francis Ford Coppola, John Huston and Martin Scorsese. Four-time Oscar winner John Ford, three-time Oscar winner William Wyler and two-time Oscar winner David Lean placed behind those other elite directors.
Some of the more notable films that dropped off the AFI list from 1998 to 2008 that in my opinion should have remained (but in lieu of what other films?) were: “Doctor Zhivago” (1965); “From Here to Eternity” (1953); “Amadeus” (1984); “Fantasia” (1940); “Close Encounters of the Third Kind” (1977); “An American in Paris” (1951); “Dances With Wolves” (1990); and especially “Patton” (1970). If there was one film from this bunch that shouldn’t have been eliminated, it’s “Patton.”
Other than “LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring,” the only other films that could have qualified for my inclusion from 1998 to 2008 would have been “Gladiator” (2000), “A Beautiful Mind” (2001), “Chicago” (2002), “Million Dollar Baby” (2004) and the other two LOTR films — “The Two Towers” and “Return of the King.”
As for possible entries into the next go-round of updating the Top 100 Films of All Time (since 2008), the list, in my opinion, is very limited. Considering that the most important criteria is the endearing, long-lasting impact of a film, there just doesn’t seem to have been much over the last 12 years — and it’s looking like we’re going to be cheated out of 2020. However, my choices for consideration would include “Avatar” (2009); “Gravity” (2013); “The Revenant” (2015); “Mad Max: Fury Road” (2015); possibly “Green Book” (2018); but definitely “1917” (2019). A number of other good films over the last 12 years I considered — some of them superhero movies — just didn’t make the cut. However, if there was a “group” award handed out, I’d recommend the four “Toy Story” movies.
Well, that concludes my 10-part film history series — filling in the gap caused by this unexpected pandemic. It’s been loads of fun researching and collecting information about film icons and legends and presenting them for your reading pleasure. The hope now is that the next article you see from me (with more to follow) is an actual “review” of a theatrically-released film. Now that would be sweet!
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