Rocks that Move

I'm blogging! I'm blogging!

Watched the American Film Institute's new top 100 movies show on CBS tonight. They update their list every ten years, so it was pretty exciting. I wasn't going to watch it, because the way they do it is annoying and I and I had some work to do that I didn't get done, but I couldn't help it. Three hours of watching my favorite scenes from some of the best movies ever was hard to resist. It was amazing how many times I almost came to tears, and even shared a teardrop with Jack Lemmon when he was talking about the film "City Lights." It really moved him. I wish there were more interviews and commentaries, but I guess it had to end sometime. Maybe they could have made it a mini-series.

Of course, the best part of it is saying, "What you talkin' 'bout, Willis?" when they put something weird on there. The top ten was kind of disappointing. The top few were no surprise. "Raging Bull" placed very high in the top ten, which I found to be a pleasant surprise, almost making up for it being one of Oscar's biggest screwups. But also appearing in the top ten were "Singin' in the Rain" and "Vertigo." Both, indeed, are great movies in their own way, though neither really does anything for me personally. Perhaps that is why I feel this way, but really... "Vertigo!?" Honestly, I thought it was nuts. I am flabbergasted. Movies from the old list seemed like they were just randomly moved around for no reason. "Singin' in the Rain" was ranked 10th on the original list and "Vertigo" was 61st!! Now all of a sudden "Singin'" is 5 and "Vertigo" is a top ten film? Huh.

Oh well. It is something that people vote on, so I guess I shouldn't mind. That's what they picked. It's their list. Well, that is fine. So here is my list. Here is my top 5 most overrated movies on the new AFI list:

#1. "The Graduate"

Ranked #17 on their list, I have always considered this one of the most overrated films in movie history. Not that it was bad or anything. It is actually quite good, as are most of the films on this list. I just don't understand the big deal about it. It is supposed to be a comedy, for one thing, but it isn't that funny. I guess I just don't "get it."

#2. "Vertigo"

Good movie, but #9 all time!? No. No freakin' way. It beat out "On the Waterfront," "Wizard of Oz," "Star Wars," "2001," "Chinatown..." I just don't believe it.

#3. "Singin' in the Rain"

Part of my bias on this film is that I am not into cheesy musicals. But when I think of musicals in themselves, this one is rather impressive. And I do admit I have a soft spot for Gene Kelly doing the title song in the puddles. Brilliant. But #5 all time? Give me a break.

#4. "The Searchers"

Again, a great movie. Deserves to be on the list. But it came in #12. That is about 30 or 40 spots too high.

#5. E.T.

This movie came in at #24. It beat out "To Kill a Mockingbird," "Apocalypse Now," "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest," "The Maltese Falcon," and even "The Godfather, Part II." Amazing. Well, what can I say? The AFI absolutely LOVES Spielberg. LOVES him. Can't blame them, but this movie is still overrated.

In all fairness, there were some movies that were not as good as this film on the list, but I didn't do them if they were ranked low. I also did not count any films that I haven't seen yet. Actually, I did pretty good. There are only nine movies on the list that I have never seen, and most of them I was getting to.

The General
Intolerance
Sunrise
Nashville
Sullivan's Travels
The Wild Bunch
Swing Time
Sophie's Choice
Cabaret

I have to admit that I never even thought of "Sullivan's Travels" or "Swing Time" before as being that renowned. Hmm. I also was very shocked to see "Nashville" so high on the list. Can't say I know anything about them, really, though. Guess I'll have to make a point of watching them now. Three of the others are silent films, which I don't watch a lot of. The rest I intended on seeing anyway eventually.

I won't make a list of what movies I think should be on the list. You can pretty much check out my top 50 movies and see that for yourself. I will do this, though. Here are my top 5 biggest pleasant surprises:

#1. "Raging Bull"

Great film, and one of the biggest Oscar snubs of all time. I think AFI ranked it too high at #4, but I was very glad to see it up there.

#2. "Bladerunner"

Ranked pretty low, #97." Truth is that I was surprised it made the list at all. So I am not complaining.

#3. "Shawshank Redemption"

If you care what IMDB thinks, then this movie was grossly underrated at #72, but I was just glad to see it make the list. With "It's a Wonderful Life," it is one of the all-time great comeback movies that was mediocre at the box office, but went on to become huge later.

#4. "City Lights"

Ranked only #76 on the original AFI list. Moved up all the way to #11. It is weird how a movie so old can change its rank in such a positive direction in 10 years, but it really was underranked before.

#5. "Do the Right Thing"

I feel the same way about this film making it that I feel about "Raging Bull," except I am disappointed that this Oscar-snubbed movie is still ranked so lowly. It barely made the list at #96.

Anyhoo, by the time you read this, AFI should have the list posted at the website below. If not, you can find it at Wikipedia. In any case, I had better get my sorry butt to bed before I cause myself to have a really bad day at work tomorrow!

http://www.afi.com/