TV Review: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition
Published June 21, 2007
Ten years ago, the American Film Institute released their list of the 100 greatest American films. Now, a decade later they’ve slightly revised the list. The changes are not without merit. Along with additions, some films were bumped up a few notches, some dropped a few. Even the top ten underwent changes.
The reasons for adjusting the list are understandable. The past decade has seen changes in the technology behind movies and has resulted in some spectacular films. Additionally, the world has changed and so a film’s impact on today’s society has been altered. It was with these considerations in mind that AFI broke out their collective red pens and began slashing at the 100. Consider some of the additions.
Toy Story entered the canon at #99. It was included since it was the first computer-animated film. A brief discussion ensued about the heart of the story; while it was a great little movie, its merit here is purely technical. Also included because of groundbreaking filmmaking techniques was The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring. It entered at number fifty. It was the only one of the trilogy to make it. These both illustrate very well, however, why a revision of the list was needed due to technical aspects of filmmaking.
Some other noteworthy additions: Spartacus and All the President's Men. The former is a sometimes brutal war movie about the price of freedom; the latter an expose of the Watergate conspiracy. These are interesting choices given the current political climate of the United States. There was also a movie called Nashville included. It involved country music but there's no apparent reason for it to be #60 of the top 100 films. Hicks aren’t that big of a constituency in this country, are they? Or was this just a joke?
A very worthy addition: Blade Runner. There is no science fiction movie that makes a person think more about the meaning of humanity than this movie. Another note here, Harrison Ford seems to be in many of these one hundred movies. Interesting.
- TV Review: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies - 10th Anniversary Edition
- Published: June 21, 2007
- Type: Review
- Section: Video
- Filed Under: Culture: Arts, Culture: Media, Video: Awards Shows, Video: Television
- Writer: Gray Hunter
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Comments on this articleComments
Why are they still calling it a 100 years? Shouldn't it be a 110 years now?
Sister Ray,
Thanks for your enlightenment. I have this aversion to "country" things, so while I appreciate Altman's work, I just couldn't stop myself from making a crack about the film's namesake, the heartland of ... that kind of music. I mean, they had some nasty banjo thing twanging away in the middle of the presentation. I nearly had to shut the TV off.
Anyway ... that's all I meant. Some reviews and summaries of the film that I read mentioned that it was about country music and politics.
Yeah, I think I'll be avoiding this little film.
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Holy Grail can't be part of AFI's list because it only includes American films.
"All Quiet On The Western Front" was dropped, but it is certainly a better film than "The Graduate". Many movies of the 70s are persistently overrated because they were prominent in the formative years of the judges.
Holy Grail can't be part of AFI's list because it only includes American films.
Then explain Lawrence of Arabia or Bridge on the River Kwai, both on the AFI list and both British films. For that matter, look at Stanley Kubrick's contributions to the list, they're technically made in Britain as well. The '97 list included a couple more British films as well. It's not just being non-American keeping Holy Grail off AFI's list.
Oh, and you have to register to see the list on AFI's website. (Funny, that didn't seem to be an obstacle one or two years ago.) Try Wikipedia instead.
Morgan Wick,
THANK YOU!!! You rock!! You are sooooo correct. Both British. Yes. So, then, we apparently need another article discussing why this is the case.
I need to get hold of some people at AFI.
I believe the British/American debate has to do with financing. Last year, "The Queen" was financed through all European companies, meaning it couldn't be on the AFI list. Columbia Pictures, at least according to IMDB.com, is listed as a production company for "Lawrence of Arabia" and "Bridge over the River Kwai." Python's "Grail" is all British.
Remember, it's Hollywood. Always follow the money.
"The Third Man" was financed by a British studio, yet it's still on both lists. Then again, schlock like "Saving Private Ryan", "Titanic" and Shayamalamadingdong has been added to the list, so go figure.
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Nashville is a Robert Altman movie from the 1970s. It's an ensemble movie set in Nashville, but it's not about country music in the way Coal Miner's Daughter is. More a movie for film snobs than for "hicks."