10 TOP 10

So did anyone catch the American Film Institute's 10 Top 10 on CBS tonight. I had no idea it was going to be on, and Ruth and I are flipping through channels and we see clips of John Wayne in some old movie on a primetime station, so we stop and have a gander.

Basically what AFI has done here, is taken ten genre's and made seperate top ten lists for each genre. I feel a recap coming on.

TOP 10 ANIMATION
10. Finding Nemo
09. Cinderella
08. Shrek
07. Beauty and the Beast
06. Toy Story
05. Fantasia
04. The Lion King
03. Bambi
02. Pinocchio
01. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

Pretty good list. I personally would've put Nemo higher, and maybe added Toy Story 2 into the mix somewhere. I've never been a fan of the really old Disney classics, such as Cinderella and Snow White.

TOP 10 FANTASY
10. Big
09. The Thief of Bagdad
08. Groundhog Day
07. Harvey
06. Field of Dreams
05. Miracle on 34th Street
04. King Kong (1933)
03. It's a Wonderful Life
02. Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
01. The Wizard of Oz

Surprised by the inclusion of Big and Groundhog Day, as they are two of my personal favorite flicks. I would've knocked off Miracle on 34th Street, possibly for LOTR: Return of the King. Have never seen the Thief of Bagdad. Also, No Pirates??

TOP 10 GANGSTER
10. Scarface
09. Little Caesar
08. The Public Enemy
07. Pulp Fiction
06. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation
05. Bonnie and Clyde
04. White Heat
03. The Godfather: Part 2
02. Goodfellas
01. The Godfather

Well, of course, Pulp Fiction would be #1 on all of these if I were making them, but alas, I haven't the power. Who couldn't totally call the Godfather on this one. Surprised with the omission of The Untouchables and would've been nice to see Mean Streets and Carlito's Way on there.

TOP 10 SCIENCE FICTION
10. Back to the Future
09. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
08. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
07. Alien
06. Blade Runner
05. The Day the Earth Stood Still
04. A Clockwork Orange
03. E.T. the Extra-terrestrial
02. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
01. 2001: A Space Odyssey

Not really my department to be making corrections. I will say, it'd have been nice to see the original Terminator on there. A Clockwork Orange and Back to the Future = two more of my favs. The Day the Earth Stood Still was terrible.

TOP 10 WESTERN
10. Cat Ballou
09. Stagecoach
08. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
07. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
06. The Wild Bunch
05. Red River
04. Unforgiven
03. Shane
02. High Noon
01. The Searchers

Where in the hell is The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance??? I love that movie, and they left it out? WTF! Anyway, anyone who knows film, could've called the Searchers, and it is a good movie. I like High Noon better though.

TOP 10 SPORTS
10. Jerry Maguire
09. National Velvet
08. Breaking Away
07. Caddyshack
06. The Hustler
05. Bull Durham
04. Hoosiers
03. The Pride of the Yankees
02. Rocky
01. Raging Bull

Caddyshack? Really? Couldn't they have put something a little more credible in there. I mean, hey, I love Bill Murray and Chevy Chase, but c'mon. Why not Friday Night Lights or A League of Their Own? Nevermind.

TOP 10 MYSTERY
10. The Usual Suspects
09. Dial M for Murder
08. Blue Velvet
07. North by Northwest
06. The Maltese Falcon
05. The Thrid Man
04. Laura
03. Rear Window
02. Chinatown
01. Vertigo

Well, I'm really glad that Blue Velvet and Dial M made it in. But a lot of my all time favorites would've fit perfectly beside them. Se7en, Memento, Mulholland Dr.??? There's three all time greats right there. North by Northwest is terrible, and I wasn't blown away by Chinatown either.

TOP 10 ROMANTIC COMEDY
10. Sleepless in Seattle
09. Harold & Maude
08. Moonstruck
07. Adam's Rib
06. When Harry Met Sally...
05. The Philadelphia Story
04. Roman Holiday
03. It Happened One Night
02. Annie Hall
01. City Lights

Well, Manhattan is one I would've included, along with Pretty Woman. The rest are fine.

TOP 10 COURTROOM DRAMA
10. Judgment at Nuremberg
09. A Cry in the Dark
08. In Cold Blood
07. Anatomy of a Murder
06. Witness for the Prosecution
05. A Few Good Men
04. The Verdict
03. Kramer vs. Kramer
02. 12 Angry Men
01. To Kill a Mockingbird

Well, there's very little courtroom stuff in Kramer vs. Kramer, and that goes for In Cold Blood as well. Instead of those (and no knocking them, because Kramer vs. Kramer is an all-time favorite of mine) they should've slipped in Philadelphia and Inherit the Wind.

TOP 10 EPIC
10. The Ten Commandments
09. Reds
08. Saving Private Ryan
07. All Quiet on the Western Front
06. Titanic
05. Spartacus
04. Gone with the Wind
03. Schindler's List
02. Ben-Hur
01. Lawrence of Arabia

No Braveheart? Oh well, this list looks about right, other than that.

Man, they should really do this again sometime, as it is a great idea for a show. Think of all the catergories that they could've gone into. TOP 10 Prison movies, biopics, cop/detective flicks, foreign films, war movies, horror movies, screwball comedies, teen comedies, true stories...my God the possibilties are endless, I say.

Andrew
6/18/2008