AFI 10 Top 10 – part 1

My family and I have a competition every year regarding the AFI lists.  We pick what we think will be on the list and there’s a point system and everything.  Anyway, here’s MY list of what I thought would be the 10 top 10.

 

Animation:  10. Shrek  9. The Little Mermaid  8. Sleeping Beauty  7. The Lion King  6. Cinderella  5. Beauty and the Beast  4. Pinocchio  3. Toy Story  2. Fantasia  1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs

 

Fantasy:  10. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban  9. Spider-Man 2  8. Miracle on 34th Street  7. Mary Poppins  6. Superman  5. The Princess Bride  4. King Kong  3. It’s a Wonderful Life  2. The Lord of the Rings  1. The Wizard of Oz

 

Science Fiction:  10. The Day the Earth Stood Still  9. Jurassic Park  8. The Matrix  7. Alien  6. Blade Runner  5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind  4. A Clockwork Orange  3. E.T.  2. Star Wars  1. 2001: A Space Odyssey

 

Sports:  10. Jerry Maguire  9. Field of Dreams  8. Breaking Away  7. National Velvet  6. The Pride of the Yankees  5. Bull Durham  4. Rudy  3. Hoosiers  2. Raging Bull  1. Rocky

 

Westerns:  10. The Magnificent Seven  9. Unforgiven  8. Giant  7. The Wild Bunch  6. Dances with Wolves  5. Stagecoach  4. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid  3. Shane  2. The Searchers  1. High Noon

 

Gangster:  10. Touch of Evil  9. White Heat  8. The Departed  7. Scarface  6. Goodfellas  5. Pulp Fiction  4. The Godfather Part II  3. On the Waterfront  2. Bonnie and Clyde  1. The Godfather

 

Mystery:  10. The Usual Suspects  9. Rebecca  8. Gaslight  7. In the Heat of the Night  6. Laura  5. Rear Window  4. Chinatown  3. North by Northwest  2. The Maltese Falcon  1. Vertigo

 

Romantic Comedy:  10. Roman Holiday  9. The Apartment  8. Bringing Up Baby  7. The Philadelphia Story  6. When Harry Met Sally…  5. Moonstruck  4. Pretty Woman  3. It Happened One Night  2. Annie Hall  1. City Lights

 

Courtroom Drama:  10. The Accused  9. Witness for the Prosecution  8. Erin Brockovich  7. Inherit the Wind  6. The Verdict  5. A Few Good Men  4. Kramer vs. Kramer  3. Judgment at Nuremberg  2. 12 Angry Men  1. To Kill a Mockingbird

 

Epic:  10. The Ten Commandments  9. Braveheart  8. Schindler’s List  7. Spartacus  6. Titanic  5. Doctor Zhivago  4. The Bridge on the River Kwai  3. Ben-Hur  2. Lawrence of Arabia  1. Gone with the Wind

 

And there you have it.  Not all of these are chosen because they’re MY favorites - this is just how I thought AFI would choose.  Anyway, I’ll post the final results and a play-by-play of our night soon!

 

Thoughts???

Top 10 Gangster Movies

Another list on AFI’s 10 Top 10 is the top 10 gangster movies.  Now, the obvious ones are The Godfather and The Godfather Part II.  Then there’s Goodfellas.  However, there are all those old Jimmy Cagney gangster movies.  I think the biggest one is White Heat, but I don’t know.  There was only one movie on the list of nominees that made me say, “What?!”  That’s Some Like It Hot.  I don’t think of that as a gangster movie.  I don’t even think of The Usual Suspects as a gangster movie and it’s nominated.  I don’t know…  Thoughts?

Top 10 Fantasy Movies

So, the fantasy movies nominated for AFI are a little strange.  It’s everything from Babe to Wizard of Oz.  There’s even Pleasantville, Princess Bride, Groundhog Day, and Brigadoon.  I realize those are fantasies, but I just never think of them that way.  Here are the ones that I KNOW will be on the top 10 list:

 

King Kong

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Wizard of Oz

 

Those are literally the only ones.  Now, I assume something like Superman or Spider-Man 2 will be on there, but who knows?!  Thoughts?

Top 10 Animated Movies

I’m still working on my top 10 lists for this AFI competition I’m in w/ my family.  Out of the 50 nominated movies, there are just a few that I KNOW will be on the list.  Those are: Beauty and the Beast, Fantasia, The Lion King, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, and Toy Story.  Yes, I realize they’re all Disney, but you know they’ll be there!  Right?  Oh dear, I’m starting to second guess…  Here’s my justification: Beauty and the Beast was huge and nominated for an Oscar in the Best Picture category (not best animated), Fantasia has always been considered a classic even though most children could care less about it, The Lion King is the biggest movie to ever come out of the Disney animated features and is a huge success on Broadway, Snow White was the first feature length Disney animated film, and Toy Story was the first collaboration w/ Pixar and it sparked an entire new generation of fans.  Thoughts?

AFI’s 10 Top 10

Every year, my family (me, Mom, Aunt Nancy and my cousin Courtney) look at the nomination list from AFI and make our picks.  Each year they have a different category: the top 100 greatest movies, greatest comedies, greatest thrillers, quotes, song, etc.  This year, it’s the 10 top 10.  We have to pick, out of 50 nominees each, the top 10 animation, fantasy, romantic comedy, sci-fi, western, gangster, sports, courtroom drama, mystery and epic.  The criteria is important:

 

• Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.
• English-language film w/ significant creative and/or production elements from the U.S.  Only films released before 1/1/08 will be considered.
• Formal commendation in print, television and digital media.
• Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.
• Including success at the box office, television and cable airing, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.
• A film’s mark on the history of the moving images through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation, or other ground breaking achievements.
• A film’s mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

So, I’ve only won this competition one year – that was for the greatest “cheers” – inspirational movies.  It was quite exciting in the Stallings home that night.  Go to the AFI website and check it out.  www.afi.com.  I think you have to register – WORTH IT!!!  Comment w/  your top 10’s.  LATER!