Rumblings from AFI's 10 top 10

Spoiler alert...if you haven't yet watched the AFI special from last week I wouldn't read this post yet.

Last Tuesday, CBS aired the latest AFI special, 10 top 10. It was a list of the top ten movies from 10 genres of the film (animation, fantasy, gangster, sports, romantic comedies, courtroom dramas, sci-fi, mystery, western and epics). I love watching shows like this and always look forward to AFI's summer specials. Although I did miss the first 45 minutes of the show and was not very happy about it.

To see the list click here.

To see the full list of the 500 films that were nominated click here. (When I reference other movies that should have made the list--in my humble opinion--they all appear on the list of 500 nominees)

Overall AFI did a more than suitable job with the selections and rankings. The sport, animation and courtroom drama lists were about spot on with how I think they should be--from an objective and personal standpoint. It's hard to argue with the fantasy list as well although from a personal standpoint I would have included Batman and Superman. But that shouldn't be too surprising. When looking at the romantic comedies I would have had The Philadelphia Story #1 and It Happened One Night #2 and the rest could have just fallen into place. Although I would have liked to see His Girl Friday make the cut. The movie still holds up quite well.

I would have slightly tweaked the western and gangster list as well. I would have chosen The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance over Stagecoach (in looking at John Ford westerns). I understand Stagecoach's historical significance but to me it's really dated. I haven't seen McCabe & Mrs. Miller or Cat Ballou so I guess I can't really comment on them although I would have loved to see The Magnificent Seven crack the list. I know I'm biased for Steve McQueen but that movie is every bit as entertaining as it was back when it was released. It doesn't feel dated. Speaking of that...I'm not sure what to make of Red River. It's a movie that I've only seen once but it seems to be popping up no matter where I look. I'm currently reading Roger Ebert's "Great Movies" book and I just recently read the entry on Red River and it makes me think I need to revisit the movie.

With the gangster list, I would have liked to see The Untouchables make the cut. Granted I haven't seen three of the films on the list (Little Ceaser, The Public Enemy and Scarface: The Shame of a Nation) so I can't definitely say that it should be on the list but it's a damn good movie.

The sci-fi category was the only category where I had seen every film that made the top ten (I'm thinking that's kind of lame for somebody who claims to be all about movies). Anyway...I loved the fact that Back to the Future made the list. That movie is just perfect for what it sets out to do. Runner-up to this category would be in order, Planet of the Apes, The Matrix, The Time Machine & Children of Men.

The category that frustrated me the most was mystery (Although I was really glad to see The Usual Suspects crack the list). It's not so much the movies that made the cut but the fact that they don't separate out the film noir movies. I love film noirs...it's probably my favorite genre of film...I guess not counting super hero movies as a genre...but anyway to me it would have made more sense to have film noir as a separate category. I know that many film noirs could be considered mysteries (The Third Man, Maltese Falcon and even Chinatown) but there's definitely a different vibe with film noirs than other mystery flicks. If you separate the categories out than you can add such nominated films as Charade, The Fugitive, Seven, LA Confidential or even The Big Legowski. Then a film noir list could be highlighted with The Third Man, The Maltese Falcon and Chinatown (all movies that made the mystery top 10). Extending that list would include other film noirs such as The Big Sleep, Touch of Evil, Double Indemnity, The Big Heat and The Postman Always Rings Twice.

Pretty damn good list.

And then there's the number one movie on the mystery list...Vertigo. Sometimes I'm not sure what to make of Vertigo. It is generally regarded as one of the best films of all times. But when I watch it...I have to labor through it. But I guess sometimes that happens with great movies. 2001: A Space Odyssey and to a lesser extinct, Papillon are two other movies that are great (and good) but are not movies that one would watch over and over. I've studied Vertigo in film class...I have watched it numerous times...and when I read about great films...it always comes up but it still does resonate as powerful as some of Hitchcock's other films...like North by Northwest or Notorious. Maybe I'm just not getting it or maybe I'm trying to hard to get it. I don't really now at this point.

Let's see...I believe I've talked about every category except epics. The one two punch of Lawrence of Arabia and Ben-Hur is exactly how I would have it. I've had the pleasure of seeing both of these movies on the big screen and it was truly a cinematic delight in both cases.

But it is interesting that when AFI did an update of the top 100 films of all time (just last year) Ben-Hur came in at number 100 while Schindler's List came in at #9. That doesn't seem consistent at first but then again Ben-Hur embodies more of the characteristics of a cinematic epic than Schindler's List. Really I would classify Schindler's List as more of a drama than an epic.

Well that's all my ranting for now.

"To Good Movies..."