AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies: American Film Institute (1998)

Amazon reviews can be confusing.

In 1998 two programs were produced at the time of the AFI's 100 "best" movies list. A three-hour program that aired on CBS is more anecdotal and star-studded. The item for sale here is the ten-part series that aired originally on TNT. That series broke the list down into themes, such as "The Anti-heroes," "Love Crazy," and "In Search Of..." The series was a more serious, scholarly look at the movies and is a good collection for film buffs who want an informative treatise on each film--with plenty of clips,--or the beginning film student who's pressed for time to learn the key facts and see the key scenes of a lot of movies. It's a very thoughtful overview and inspires one to see the actual films, but it can be compared to "reading" the great works of literature by picking up the Cliffs Notes. That said, I am biased towards the series, since I was one of the producers. September 29, 2005

I love Great Movies

I was able to watch a portion of the longer version in TV when it was broadcast here, and I can say that the content here is shortened immensely. Each movie has only about 1 minute each on the average. It lacked the personal nature and passion of the AFI 100 stars. But still it's a nice DVD just for the reason that it contains clips of some of the best movies ever made.

I think the rankings here are more controversial compared to AFI's 100 stars because a large majority of those included in the list are pretty much obvious (2 Hepburns, Davis, Fonda, Stewart, Grant etc.), but here there are tons of deserving movies that could've been in the list like The Lady Eve, Thelma and Louise, 12 Angry Men, Nashville, Woman of the Year, Mildred Pierce, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Breakfast at Tiffanys, Ninotchka, Quiet Man etc. Instead there are some really questionable entries like Guess who's coming to dinner (definitely not the movie to epitomize the Tracy-Hepburn tandem), MASH (Nashville or even The Player is a greater representation of Robert Altman), Dances with wolves, Doctor Zhivago, Forrest Gump, Rocky, Giant (East of Eden would've been more acceptable), and other movies. But there's also some wonderful surprises like The Apartment, The Deer Hunter (I love this movie), and Pulp Fiction.

As for the official rankings, here are some of my personal comments. I think Bringing Up Baby at #97 was too low, same for Vertigo at #61. Butch Cassidy was too high at # 50, same for The African Queen at #17. Grapes of Wrath and Chinatown should've been in the Top 10, Midnight Cowboy and Doctor Zhivago at #36 and #39 was too high,

So buy it if you're a fan of the AFI series, if you have money to spend buy the complete version. If you're unfamiliar with the AFI specials, buy instead the AFI 100 stars, that's a better DVD.

Grade: B October 26, 2004

songs I missed

Love is a Many Splendored thing
Dream Lover
Smoke Gets in Your Eyes
All That Jazz
songs from The Music Man, Chorus Line, Oklahoma, Carousel,
The show was wonderful, but I would like to see the list of the 400 nominated songs. How would I fin dthis? June 27, 2004

A Great Show With Great Movies

This show is the result of nominations and votes, what AFI chose as the Top 100 American movies. It's a good list. It goes without saying that Tom, Dick, or Harry's theoretical lists may vary, but what AFI has done is compile a very solid list of 100 movies that have touched the lives of many.

The show itself is a very nice presentation. The list starts at 100 and goes to 1, giving each movies its own little section, explaining what the movie is about, who the major players are, and why the movie is so beloved. A movie isn't on the list if it isn't a must-see. "AFI's 100 Years, 100 Movies" is a fun, for some informative, romp through cinema's past, and one would have to be a film snob trying not to enjoy it to not enjoy it. March 3, 2004

Burt and Dustin, Seek Therapy, Please

Worth the asking price to see Burt Reynolds and Dustin Hoffman blubber on screen. Burt laughingly breaks down in tears over To Kill a Mockingbird, emphasizing that his father was a Southern sheriff and that he (Burt) doesn't understand racism and doesn't have a racist bone in his body. His comment reeks of insincerity and probably had Malcolm X doing somersaults in his grave.

Dustin, dahling. What gives? Feeling a little remorse over all the babes you've poked and discarded like so many pieces of tissue? Get over yourself, Dustie, nobody's buying the sensitive, in touch w/ your feminine side routine. You're like the rest of us w/ XY chromosomes, you can't control the hormones and you know it.

Only film critics seem to like Citizen Kane. Who gives a rat's hiney that deep focus photography was used and that Orson Welles dug out floors to get those shots where we could see his crotch?
Casablanca also hasn't aged well. The shot of the plane flying over head and the background when Rick and Ilsa are driving are embarrassing. The Godfather is the greatest movie ever made... July 23, 2003

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