AFI's 2008 Special

We have had thunderstorms and high winds in north Texas. My telephone went out AGAIN so this post is late.

I love the American Film Institute's television specials. I look forward to each one eagerly. The one tonight looked at the top ten films in ten different genres.

Here are the top ten animated films:

1 SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
2 PINOCCHIO (1940)
3 BAMBI (1942)
4 THE LION KING(1994)
5 FANTASIA (1942)
6 TOY STORY (1995)
7 BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (1991)
8 SHREK (2001)
9 CINDERELLA (1950)
10 FINDING NEMO (2003)

I wasn't crazy about the choice of Pinocchio or Beauty and the Beast. I would have replaced them with Dumbo and Lady and the Tramp.

Here are the top ten fantasies:

1 THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
2 LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001)
3 IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1947)
4 KING KONG (1933)
5 MIRACLE ON 34th STREET (1947)
6 FIELD OF DREAMS (1989)
7 HARVEY (1950)
8 GROUNDHOG DAY (1993)
9 THE THIEF OF BAGDAD (1924)
10 BIG (1988)

While I loved Groundhog Day and The Thief of Bagdad, I would probably have replaced them with Babe, Ghost or Superman.

Here are the top ten gangster movies:

1 THE GODFATHER (1972)
2 GOODFELLAS (1990)
3 THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
4 WHITE HEAT (1949)
5 BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
6 SCARFACE: THE SHAME OF A NATION (1932)
7 PULP FICTION (1994)
8 THE PUBLIC ENEMY (1931)
9 LITTLE CAESAR (1931)
10 SCARFACE (1983)

I would have replaced Scarface: The Shame of a Nation with any one of the following: Angels With Dirty Faces, Key Largo, On the Waterfront or Reservoir Dogs.

Here are the top ten science fiction:

1 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
2 STAR WARS: EPISODE IV- A NEW HOPE (1977)
3 E.T. - THE EXTRA TERRESTRIAL (1982)
4 A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
5 THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
6 BLADE RUNNER (1982)
7 ALIEN (1979)
8 TERMINATOR 2: JUDGEMENT DAY (1991)
9 INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
10 BACK TO THE FUTURE (1985)

I wish they had included Aliens or The Matrix in the place of Alien and Back to the Future.

Westerns was probably the category over which I felt the most outrage. Here they are:

1 THE SEARCHERS (1956)
2 HIGH NOON (1952)
3 SHANE (1953)
4 UNFORGIVEN (1992)
5 RED RIVER (1948)
6 THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
7 BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
8 MCCABE & MRS. MILLER (1971)
9 STAGECOACH (1939)
10 CAT BALLOU (1965)

I couldn't believe AFI left off The Magnificent Seven and True Grit. How they could list Cat Ballou and McCabe & Mrs. Miller instead? I'll never know.

Here are the sports films. I would have picked the same films.:

1 RAGING BULL (1980)
2 ROCKY (1977)
3 THE PRIDE OF THE YANKEES (1943)
4 HOOSIERS (1986)
5 BULL DURHAM (1988)
6 THE HUSTLER (1961)
7 CADDYSHACK (1980)
8 BREAKING AWAY (1979)
9 NATIONAL VELVET (1945)
10 JERRY MAGUIRE (1996)

Here are the top ten mysteries:

1 VERTIGO (1958)
2 CHINATOWN (1974)
3 REAR WINDOW (1954)
4 LAURA (1944)
5 THE THIRD MAN (1950)
6 THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
7 NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
8 BLUE VELVET (1986)
9 DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
10 THE USUAL SUSPECTS (1995)

While I loved Rear Window, North By Northwest and Dial M for Murder, I was never a particular fan of Vertigo. I found it overwrought and contrived. To list it as the best mystery ever is an unbelievable stretch for me. I probably would have gone with Chinatown for #1. I was thrilled with Laura on the list. I have loved that movie ever since my mother introduced me to it when I was about fourteen--admittedly a very romantic age. And I would have replaced Vertigo with In the Heat of the Night, which was a far more significant film in my mind.

Here are the romantic comedies:

1 CITY LIGHTS (1931)
2 ANNIE HALL (1977)
3 IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
4 ROMAN HOLIDAY (1953)
5 THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1941)
6 WHEN HARRY MET SALLY… (1989)
7 ADAM'S RIB (1949)
8 MOONSTRUCK (1987)
9 HAROLD AND MAUDE (1971)
10 SLEEPLESS IN SEATTLE (1993)

I was disappointed not to see Born Yesterday or Sabrina on the list. And while I love Adam's Rib, I would have replaced it with Guess Who's Coming to Dinner as my favorite Katharine Hepburn/Spencer Tracy romantic comedy.

Here are the courtroom dramas:

1 TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1963)
2 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
3 KRAMER VS. KRAMER (1979)
4 VERDICT, THE (1982)
5 A FEW GOOD MEN (1992)
6 WITNESS FOR THE PROSECUTION (1958)
7 ANATOMY OF A MURDER (1959)
8 IN COLD BLOOD (1967)
9 CRY IN THE DARK, A (1988)
10 JUDGMENT AT NUREMBERG (1961)

I was thrilled to see To Kill a Mockingbird as #1. I would not have rated Kramer vs. Kramer as highly as AFI did. It probably wouldn't have even made my list. The Verdict is another questionable choice for me. I'd have substituted Inherit the Wind and Philadelphia. I love 12 Angry Men, A Few Good Men and Witness for the Prosecution.

Finally, we have the epics:

1 LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
2 BEN-HUR (1959)
3 SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
4 GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
5 SPARTACUS (1960)
6 TITANIC (1997)
7 ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
8 SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
9 REDS (1981)
10 THE TEN COMMANDMENTS (1956)

I was surprised to see Reds on the list. I expected to see Forrest Gump although I wouldn't have voted for either it or Reds. I'll admit it. I'm an incurable romantic. In place of Reds, I would have voted for either The Last of the Mohicans (I adore Daniel Day Lewis in that movie) or Doctor Zhivago.

Another year, another AFI special. Until next year.