AFI top 100

So about a month ago, AFI came out with a new list of the 100 best American movies of all-time. Their old list came out in 1997 and I ended up seeing 96 out of the 100 (Birth of a Nation, Duck Soup, The Jazz Singer, and City Lights are the ones I never got around to watching). So anyways, I was very excited to see the new list, I actually watched the 3 hour show on CBS as they counted down (and it was highly enjoyable btw). Here's a link with both the old and new lists: AFI The new top 10: 1. Citizen Kane - the rightful number 1, maybe not as enjoyable to watch as some of the other greats but technically it's perfect, and I actually found the story engrossing as well. 2. The Godfather - in my personal top 5 favorite movies, incredible in just about every way. 3. Casablanca - another essentially perfect film. The lead performances by Bogart and Bergman are charismatic, the story is compelling, there are several good supporting performances, the dialogue is amazing, etc, etc. Even if they messed up in other places (and I personally think the list overall is pretty good), nobody can argue that AFI didn't at least nail the top 3. 4. Raging Bull - I was sort of shocked to see this so high, it was #24 in 1997. I think it's a testament to the rising regard for Scorsese as one of the greatest directors of all-time. I think Raging Bull is a fantastic movie and it contains probably DeNiro's best performances ever, which says a lot, but I still think it's a little over-ranked in this list. It belongs in the 10-20 range in my opinion. 5. Singin' in the Rain - I don't like this movie at all but I'm pretty biased against musicals - one of my least favorite genres. 6. Gone With the Wind - definitely a classic, belongs in the top 10. 7. Lawrence of Arabia - not my favorite David Lean epic (I prefer Doctor Zhivago, which inexplicably went from #39 to dropped from the list completely) but this is another movie that is definitely justifiable in the top 10. 8. Schindler's List - I would have this in the top 5. One of the most moving films ever made and made by one of the best directors ever. The best movie made in the last 25 years in my opinion. 9. Vertigo - it's interesting that this jumped from the lowest ranked of the 4 Hitchcock movies in the previous list to the highest in the new one. I prefer North by Northwest but Vertigo is no doubt a masterpiece. I was just glad to see Hitchcock represented in the top 10. 10. The Wizard of Oz - another worthy top 10 film. Some other thoughts on the list: -Goodfellas (#92) and Pulp Fiction (#94) should both be ranked much much higher. Pulp Fiction especially has had such an effect on modern filmmakers that it's a crime not to have it in the top 25. -I was very excited that Shawshank (#72) made it this time around. Would of only been happier if Braveheart or Heat made the cut. -The Sixth Sense (#89) was a pretty good choice IMO but above Goodfellas and Pulp Fiction is a little ridiculous. -All the President's Men (#77), 12 Angry Men (#87), Do the Right Thing (#96), Blade Runner (#97), Saving Private Ryan (#71), LOTR: The Fellowship of the Ring (#50) were all no-brainers and I was glad to see them included. I would've moved LOTR up some, like top 20-30 but I love those movies so I am biased. All the President's Men, 12 Angry Men, Blade Runner, and Do the Right Thing were glaring omissions last time around so it's good that AFI corrected those mistakes. -I wasn't so happy to see Nashville (#59), Cabaret (#63), and The Last Picture Show (#95) added. All three are decent but unexceptional, in my opinion. -I was a little disappointed that The Godfather, Part II didn't move up from #32. I personally prefer it to Part I though I wouldn't expect it to be ranked higher. I guess it says a lot since it is even included at all as the only sequel in the whole list. For the other classic trilogies (Star Wars, LOTR, Indiana Jones), only the original is included even though in the case of Star Wars and LOTR, it is extremely arguable if the first is the best movie. Speaking of trilogies, I'm actually pretty surprised they didn't drop The Matrix in the 90-100 range somewhere. If the sequels weren't such trash, I bet they would have. That's all I got for now I think. I was relatively pleased with the list, in all I think the movies that got added are a stronger group than the ones that were removed. I've seen 90 of the 100 and will probably try to watch the last 10 over the next few months. Not sure if I'll ever get around to it though. If anyone's interested, the ones I haven't seen are City Lights, The General, Intolerance, Duck Soup, Sullivan's Travels, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Sunrise, A Night at the Opera, Swing Time, and Sophie's Choice. Several of these are from pre-1930 and I don't think I've really liked (appreciated maybe, liked no) any of the handful of films I've seen from that time period. But whatever, I'll get it done.