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The AFI’s “10 Top 10″

Started by Mike Olbinski · 1 year ago

On Wednesday the AFI (American Film Institute) announced their official Top 10 lists in 10 classic genres. I thought the lists were pretty interesting and wanted to pass a few of them onto you, but invite you to check out the rest of them when you get a chance.
The genres are: SciFi, Westerns, Animation, Romantic Comedies, Sports, Mystery, Fantasy, ... Continue reading »

26 comments

  • jina

    1 year ago

    City Lights as best Romantic Comedy... really?... her? (Arrested Development reference for all of you non-AD fans out there).
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  • Mike Olbinski

    1 year ago

    That quote never gets old ;)
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  • Cap'n Schwartz

    1 year ago

    I watched this whole 3 hour spectacle loaded with commercials. Once I have to disagree with are: Clockwork Orange at #4 as a sci-fi movie...please this was just a bad choice in the top 10 greatest sci-fi's ever, let alone to be #4. I could not believe Groundhog day made one of the top 10 fantasy films ever made... ever... really? It was that good??!!? Perhaps I should watch it over and over until I agree...

    Some movies that also made to lists I'd never even heard of Harvey, The third man... not saying they may not be any good, but best ever in their categories, and never heard of em?
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  • Mike Olbinski

    1 year ago

    I've actually seen Harvey...with Jimmy Stewart
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    Yep - good movie
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    Yeah, Harvey is really well known among film school types and Jimmy Stewart fans.
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    What do you think of Jimmy Stewart? Would you consider him an A-List actor for his day? I think I would. But it seems that not many people remember him and his work.
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    WOW! Are you kidding!?!? Jimmy Stewart was most definitely an A-List actor. In fact, for a long time he was the highest paid actor in all of Hollywood. Stewart was the actor who revolutionized the industry by structuring a back end, profit-sharing deal on his movies.

    I think he's still very highly regarded among most film fans over the age of about 30 to 35. Unfortunately, the spread of cable television and the internet has created so many choices in programming that many younger people have never seen any of his movies (other than maybe It's A Wonderful Life). Some of us remember the four channel TV and watching Jimmy Stewart movies on Saturday afternoon when there wasn't anything else on.

    As for my personal opinion, he was one of the greatest actors of any generation.
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    I wasn't aware of his business dealings so that is pretty cool.

    I love Jimmy Stewart's movies personally and think he was absolutely terrific. He reminds me in some ways of a modern day Sean Connery in that his voice is so recognizable in his roles yet you still forget it's that person and always see the character they are portraying. I don't know how they do it, but it's an amazing transformation. I think the best actors can pull that off - where I forget that it is them or forget that they are even in the movie because they are so convincing in their role.
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  • Mike Olbinski

    1 year ago

    I absolutely love Stewart and would definitely consider him an A-Lister.
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    As always, the AFI made another list that's just full of craziness. A Clockwork Orange is a horrible movie. It shouldn't be on any BEST OF list. There, I've said it. Someone had to.

    I think there's a whole lot of self-righteous, snobby, old movie critics voting on these lists which is why we end up getting the movies we get. A lot of times I think people vote for movies too because they've always HEARD they were good movies and not because they've seen all the films. I'm a film junkie who's seen probably thousands of movies and went to film school and everything and I STILL haven't seen all the movies on AFI's top 100 list from like 10 years ago.

    By the way, the Western list wasn't too bad although McCabe and Mrs. Miller and Cat Ballou should be replaced for sure.
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    Yeah - I don't get the Clockwork Orange position in the ranking. In the animated category I think the older ones get the nod because they are better quality than much of the newer stuff. Hand-drawn, when done well, is vastly superior to computer generated in my opinion. To me, it is the same difference as listening to a recording of music where a real piano is used rather than a synth or electronic piano. There is a warmth and softness that is totally lacking from the newer stuff.

    Who ever picked the top 10 for the Fantasy category must have been having a fantasy because some of the additions are way off the mark in my opinion.

    I haven't looked at the other top 10 lists in full, but I can see City Lights being up there and perhaps even #1. It's a great story, very moving and Charlie Chaplin is brilliant in it. The actors back then were superior in some ways than later actors because they had to convey all their emotions without speaking and so there is a bit more depth and richness to that type of movie that is missing from later Romantic Comedies. You can get away with a lot more by using words to replace body language and facial expressions. In silent movies I think the actors tend to be more raw and bare with their emotions and it shows through.
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    Well, I have seen City Lights and I love Chaplin movies...but I still don't see it being number 1.
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  • Cap'n Schwartz

    1 year ago

    ..."I STILL haven't seen all the movies on AFI's top 100 list from like 10 years ago." ... I almost have! I'm closin in on it finishing both of their lists...(they had 2 at 10 years apart)
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    Well, I've seen MOST of the first list. I think I lack a couple and there's a few that I know I've seen, but it's been so long ago that I can barely remember them. My goal was to rewatch ALL of the movies, but I never did make it. Some of them, like Clockwork Orange were such a chore.
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    I hear that. Clockwork was a terrible movie in my opinion.
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  • Mike Olbinski

    1 year ago

    I wish I'd have seen the whole movie by now but sadly I've only gotten
    bits and pieces. But I agree with you all from what I saw.

    What about The Matrix? Does it belong on the Sci Fi list?
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    That's a good question about the Matrix. It is closer to Sci Fi than It's a Wonderful Life is to Fantasy (which I don't get at all). But I could see arguments made for other genre's and it wouldn't bother me. Some of these movies on their list are tough to pigeon-hole into a specific genre, but I guess if you are making lists, then you have to draw lines somewhere in order to categorize them. I don't know what criteria they were looking for to say movie "A" is this more this type than another while movie "B" is less. I would have grouped things differently, but maybe that speaks more to my lack of knowledge about what type of movie it is.
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    I think our modern idea of a "fantasy" movie is a lot different than the actual definition of a fantasy story. Most modern filmgoers would think of a fantasy film as being something about magic and dragons and stuff like that.

    The actual definition of fantasy, however, is closer to a story of the impossible - something that couldn't really happen in the real world or a story that bends or transcends the rules of the known world, allowing such conventions as time travel, talking animals, and super-human creatures. In this definition, It's A Wonderful Life would fit as George Bailey gets to see what the world would be like if he didn't exist.
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    Gotcha - that makes perfect sense. I figured I was missing something in their criteria and that would have been their definition of fantasy.
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  • Cap'n Schwartz

    1 year ago

    Thats exactly what Mrs Capn and I are doing watching the AFI combined top 100 list, and rewatching even those we have seen (I havent seen many of them). but to your point, try watching the Wizard of Oz for the 500 billionth time....
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  • daddyjason

    1 year ago

    Well, if you knew my wife, you'd know that we've probably seen the Wizard of Oz about 500 billion times... :)
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  • The Trousered Ape

    1 year ago

    Wow - that's impressive Cap'n.
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  • Dadofiandi

    1 year ago

    A lot of these movies are picked because they were ground breaking, that covers your old school movies and A Clockwork Orange (which I didn't like but understands its inclusion) ditto for the animation.
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  • Dadofiandi

    1 year ago

    Ok I reviewed the lists and I think they were all high. I agree with about 40% of their list.
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  • The Kid and I

    1 year ago

    And loved every minute of it. :)
    reply

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