AFI 100 Movies: The Best of

Last year I finished watching the AFI 100 Movies list.  Yes.  Everything from the original 1997 and reedited 2007 lists.  That’s 123 movies.

To be fair, I’d seen quite a few of these before.  And if I still felt very familiar with the movie (Snow White & The Seven Dwarves, for example), then I skipped watching it again.

The AFI has its detractors, and I agree with most of their criticisms.  But the list seemed like a good place to jump into Movie Nerdery, and I stand by that decision.  I will say that I’ve now started in on Ebert’s Great Movies list, and have liked them much much more.

Some background:  according to Wikipedia, the films were judged according to the criteria listed below.

1. Feature-length: Narrative format, at least 40 minutes long.
2. American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.
3. Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print.
4. Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from organizations in the film community and major film festivals.
5. Popularity Over Time: Including figures for box office adjusted for inflation, television broadcasts and syndication, and home video sales and rentals.
6. Historical Significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other groundbreaking achievements.
7. Cultural Impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

Of the movies on the list that I’d never seen before, here is my assessment of the Best.  A list of the Worst will follow shortly.  The movies you should absolutely see and the ones you can skip.

Best:

Sunset Blvd:  1950 Billy Wilder noir with William Holden, Gloria Swanson, and Erich von Stroheim.  I named my blog after it.  Watch it, and then read this (especially the "Touches of Authenticity" section).  META.  Swanson’s hands could be a character unto themselves.  Woman could act.

One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest:  1975 Milos Forman drama based on the Ken Kesey novel.  I know that Jack Nicholson gets a lot of crap for playing the character of JACK in like every movie, but there are occasions when that’s totally okay.  Like this one.  And Five Easy Pieces.  And The Shining.  Also, because of the constant caricaturizing references to Nurse Ratched in pop culture I was expecting something way more ridiculous; but Louise Fletcher’s performance is subtly creepy.  Good job.

Dr. Strangelove: 1964 Kubrick comedy with Peter Sellers, George C. Scott, Slim Pickens, and James Earl Jones.  Embrace the hilarity of Cold War paranoia.  Peter Sellers plays three characters, all of them brilliantly.  It’s funny, it’s scary, it’s bizarre.

The Best Years of Our Lives:  1946 William Wyler war drama with Fredric March, Myrna Loy, Dana Andrews, and Harold Russell.  OK, so this won’t appeal to everyone.  It’s a little dated, it’s a little schmaltzy, and there are many more powerful WWII movies.  Do yourself a favor:  don’t read anything about this movie, not a single thing, not even the Netflix summary, and then watch it.  If your mind isn’t blown by the revelation in the first 10 minutes, then don’t bother watching the rest.

MASH:  1970 Robert Altman war satire with Donald Sutherland, Elliot Gould, Tom Skerritt, Sally Kellerman, and Robert Duvall.  I hated the TV show, loved the movie.  It’s hilarious. 

Network:  1976 Sidney Lumet satire with Faye Dunaway, William Holden, Peter Finch, and Robert Duvall.  Just when I think television can’t get any worse, it does.  SISTER WIVES.  But at least this phenomenon is nothing new.  Bloodsucking TV executives have been around for a while.  This movie is darkly funny, interesting, and feels surprisingly modern.

The Manchurian Candidate:  1962 Cold War thriller with Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh, and Angela Lansbury.  This movie is the jam.  I’ll be giving it a more thorough write-up in the near future.

Rocky:  1976, yes THAT Rocky.  I avoided this movie like the plague.  Sylvester Stallone, FIVE sequels, about boxing; I thought it would be terrible.  Talia Shire and Burgess Meredith are adorable.  It’s sweet, it’s endearing, the ending is totally appropriate (if you can get past the whole “Adrian!” thing).  Ladies, I promise:  it’s totally worth seeing.

A Place in the Sun:  1951 George Stevens drama with Montgomery Clift, Elizabeth Taylor, and Shelley Winters.  Clift and Taylor are okay, but Winters is on FI-yah!  She does neediness and desperation so well that at moments you almost forgive Clift’s character for feeling so trapped by her.  And there’s a reason Raymond Burr could never quite get from under the Awesome Lawyer typecasting:  he’s freaking brilliant at it.

Dr. Zhivago:  1965 David Lean EPIC with Omar Sharif and Julie Christie.  It’s really long, takes place over roughly a 10-year period that included World War I, the Russian Revolution, and the Russian Civil War.  That’s a lot of stuff to cover.  But it’s okay, because just look at Omar Sharif’s eyes.  So pretty.

Rebel Without A Cause:  1955 Nicholas Ray drama with James Dean, Natalie Wood, and Sal Mineo.  I’m one of those people who thought James Dean was overrated without ever having seen one of his movies.  Yes, he was quite attractive.  So are a lot of crappy actors who die young.  But then I watched this and had to admit that yes, dude was very talented.  I was slightly annoyed by that whole instantly-fall-in-love thing that used to be so common in movies.  “My boyfriend just bit it in a Dead Man’s Curve situation but you’re cute so let’s make out.”  Not likely.  But it was still pretty good.

Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?:  1966 Mike Nichols drama based on the Edward Albee play, with Elizabeth Taylor, Richard Burton, George Segal, and Sandy Dennis.  Freaking dynamite.  The back and forth between Taylor and Burton is a joy to watch, even as they’re tearing each other to pieces.  Definitely not a happy movie.  Good to watch if you’re feeling mean.

The Searchers:  1956 John Ford western with John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles, and Natalie Wood.  I don’t care for westerns, as a rule.  John Wayne’s niece is kidnapped by Injuns (and yes, I feel the use of that word is appropriate because this is one of those movies where Native Americans aren’t portrayed by Native Americans); wild, years-long chase ensues.  Basically it’s about Wayne’s character’s total obsession with revenge and racism.  Best western I’ve ever seen.