Seen Any Good Movies (Lists) Lately?
I've said it before, and I'll say it again... everybody loves a good list. I'm such a believer in that fact that I've finished every year of this blog with a list of things that happened that year. Good lists make for good discussion, bad lists make for even better discussion.
So it's no surprise that a lot of people have been talking about the latest movie lists from AFI (that would be the American Film Institute, not the band). They had a TV special last week where they listed the top 10 movies in 10 different categories. I'll run through these lists one by one, then I'll tell you my problem with the whole concept.
First, the part I agree with... they pretty much hit the nail on the head with the Animation category. Let's face it, the Disney folks have pretty much owned this category forever, so it should come as no surprise that 9 of the top 10 films were Disney or Disney/Pixar, and the 10th being "Shrek", that's fine too. Now a lot of people will look at all of these lists and complain that there aren't a lot of recent movies on these lists. Well, the classics are called classics for a reason, because they were really good and they were done a really long time ago. They set the standard for everything that has come since, so they should get their just due. I also find it interesting that despite all the bluster from film critics and people who give out awards, the only 3 movies from this decade that made any of these lists ("Shrek", "Lord of the Rings", and "Finding Nemo") were movies that people ACTUALLY WENT TO SEE. You can pass out all the Oscars you want for your "critical darlings", but are you ever gonna see "The English Patient" on any of these lists? Hell, no.
Let me run you through the #1 movies on these other lists... #1 Fantasy movie: "Wizard of Oz". Good call, deservedly the greatest fantasy movie ever, it's still a huge part of our pop culture almost 70 years after it was made. #1 Gangster movie: "The Godfather". Another natural. #1 Sci-fi movie: "2001: A Space Odyssey". Can't argue with that one, though I'm sure "Star Wars" geeks everywhere are crying in their parents' basements over it. #1 Western: "The Searchers". Have to admit I am not a big expert in the Western category, having only seen one of the 10 movies on this list ("Red River", the #5 movie), so I'll take their word for it. #1 Sports movie: "Raging Bull". Seen it, thought it was great, and yeah I'll take that over "Rocky", if only because of the black-and-white format and the fact that Scorsese tops Stallone as a director any day. #1 Mystery: "Vertigo". Seen it, thought it was great, and Hitchcock was the master, so it makes sense that 4 of his movies made that list. #1 Epic: "Lawrence of Arabia". Again, not a category that is my forte, so I'm cool with that choice.
Now, #1 Romantic Comedy: "City Lights". A silent Chaplin film from 1931. I like Chaplin, don't get me wrong, I loved "Modern Times", but "Annie Hall" should be #1. #1 Courtroom Drama: "To Kill a Mockingbird". Sorry, "12 Angry Men" was better, and more of a "courtroom drama" than "Mockingbird". Oh, by the way, where is "Inherit the Wind" on this list? One of Spencer Tracy's finest performances, but didn't make it.
This leads me to the movies that I feel are missing or misranked. Like I said, I'm not an expert on "epic" movies, but I know that the only thing thing that would qualify "Titanic" as an epic is the fact that it was eighty hours long. Yes, I know it's the top-grossing movie of all time, but I chalk that up to the fact that teenage girls kept going to see it over and over and over so they could fawn all over Leonardo DiCaprio. If you're gonna put it on the top 10 list, it CANNOT be higher than "The Ten Commandments". "Schindler's List" CANNOT be higher than "The Ten Commandments". And where, pray tell, is "Birth of a Nation" on this list? That was the ORIGINAL EPIC MOVIE! Yes I realize the movie was inherently racist but political correctness should not disqualify a movie.
I have a problem with nearly the whole "Fantasy" category. #1, "Wizard of Oz", fine. #2, "Lord of the Rings", maybe a tad high but okay. #3... "It's a Wonderful Life"? Great movie, I never miss it at Christmas time... but when I think "fantasy", I don't think of old George Bailey. "King Kong" is a fantasy, that should have been ranked higher. I'll give you "Harvey" and even "Big". But "Field of Dreams"? We already have a Sports category, and this is a SPORTS MOVIE. Move that over to the Sports top 10, drop "Breaking Away". And even then we're missing "Chariots of Fire" and "Million Dollar Baby", both of which I've seen and liked.
The bigger problem is that "Top 10 in 10 categories" is cute, but there aren't enough categories. For one thing, we have a category for Romantic Comedies but we don't have a category for COMEDY comedies. Now some are theme movies, and therefore I get putting "Caddyshack" on the Sports list and "Big" on the Fantasy list... but "Groundhog Day" is a COMEDY, not a "fantasy". Actually, it's a romantic comedy when you get right down to it, cuz Bill Murray spends the whole movie trying to make things right with Andie MacDowell. We need a comedy category! And we need a musical category. Then you can put a Bing Crosby/Bob Hope "road" movie in either category. And we need a War category. Some of the greatest movies ever made are war movies, but without a category of its own, you get "Saving Private Ryan" put in with the epics. Give me a War category with "Ryan", "Sergeant York", "The Longest Day", and "The Dirty Dozen" to top the list. And that still leaves movies that defy categorization. Yeah, we have Science Fiction, but where do you put Science FACT? "The Right Stuff"? And what about "Forrest Gump"?
So you see, these lists are quite handy because they give bloggers like me something to write about, and sometimes it's not easy looking for topics. Plus in this case, it reminds me of just how few of these 100 movies that DID make the lists I've seen. By my count, I've only seen 23. Something to put on the old "to do" list... there ya go, I'm making more lists of my own now...
So it's no surprise that a lot of people have been talking about the latest movie lists from AFI (that would be the American Film Institute, not the band). They had a TV special last week where they listed the top 10 movies in 10 different categories. I'll run through these lists one by one, then I'll tell you my problem with the whole concept.
First, the part I agree with... they pretty much hit the nail on the head with the Animation category. Let's face it, the Disney folks have pretty much owned this category forever, so it should come as no surprise that 9 of the top 10 films were Disney or Disney/Pixar, and the 10th being "Shrek", that's fine too. Now a lot of people will look at all of these lists and complain that there aren't a lot of recent movies on these lists. Well, the classics are called classics for a reason, because they were really good and they were done a really long time ago. They set the standard for everything that has come since, so they should get their just due. I also find it interesting that despite all the bluster from film critics and people who give out awards, the only 3 movies from this decade that made any of these lists ("Shrek", "Lord of the Rings", and "Finding Nemo") were movies that people ACTUALLY WENT TO SEE. You can pass out all the Oscars you want for your "critical darlings", but are you ever gonna see "The English Patient" on any of these lists? Hell, no.
Let me run you through the #1 movies on these other lists... #1 Fantasy movie: "Wizard of Oz". Good call, deservedly the greatest fantasy movie ever, it's still a huge part of our pop culture almost 70 years after it was made. #1 Gangster movie: "The Godfather". Another natural. #1 Sci-fi movie: "2001: A Space Odyssey". Can't argue with that one, though I'm sure "Star Wars" geeks everywhere are crying in their parents' basements over it. #1 Western: "The Searchers". Have to admit I am not a big expert in the Western category, having only seen one of the 10 movies on this list ("Red River", the #5 movie), so I'll take their word for it. #1 Sports movie: "Raging Bull". Seen it, thought it was great, and yeah I'll take that over "Rocky", if only because of the black-and-white format and the fact that Scorsese tops Stallone as a director any day. #1 Mystery: "Vertigo". Seen it, thought it was great, and Hitchcock was the master, so it makes sense that 4 of his movies made that list. #1 Epic: "Lawrence of Arabia". Again, not a category that is my forte, so I'm cool with that choice.
Now, #1 Romantic Comedy: "City Lights". A silent Chaplin film from 1931. I like Chaplin, don't get me wrong, I loved "Modern Times", but "Annie Hall" should be #1. #1 Courtroom Drama: "To Kill a Mockingbird". Sorry, "12 Angry Men" was better, and more of a "courtroom drama" than "Mockingbird". Oh, by the way, where is "Inherit the Wind" on this list? One of Spencer Tracy's finest performances, but didn't make it.
This leads me to the movies that I feel are missing or misranked. Like I said, I'm not an expert on "epic" movies, but I know that the only thing thing that would qualify "Titanic" as an epic is the fact that it was eighty hours long. Yes, I know it's the top-grossing movie of all time, but I chalk that up to the fact that teenage girls kept going to see it over and over and over so they could fawn all over Leonardo DiCaprio. If you're gonna put it on the top 10 list, it CANNOT be higher than "The Ten Commandments". "Schindler's List" CANNOT be higher than "The Ten Commandments". And where, pray tell, is "Birth of a Nation" on this list? That was the ORIGINAL EPIC MOVIE! Yes I realize the movie was inherently racist but political correctness should not disqualify a movie.
I have a problem with nearly the whole "Fantasy" category. #1, "Wizard of Oz", fine. #2, "Lord of the Rings", maybe a tad high but okay. #3... "It's a Wonderful Life"? Great movie, I never miss it at Christmas time... but when I think "fantasy", I don't think of old George Bailey. "King Kong" is a fantasy, that should have been ranked higher. I'll give you "Harvey" and even "Big". But "Field of Dreams"? We already have a Sports category, and this is a SPORTS MOVIE. Move that over to the Sports top 10, drop "Breaking Away". And even then we're missing "Chariots of Fire" and "Million Dollar Baby", both of which I've seen and liked.
The bigger problem is that "Top 10 in 10 categories" is cute, but there aren't enough categories. For one thing, we have a category for Romantic Comedies but we don't have a category for COMEDY comedies. Now some are theme movies, and therefore I get putting "Caddyshack" on the Sports list and "Big" on the Fantasy list... but "Groundhog Day" is a COMEDY, not a "fantasy". Actually, it's a romantic comedy when you get right down to it, cuz Bill Murray spends the whole movie trying to make things right with Andie MacDowell. We need a comedy category! And we need a musical category. Then you can put a Bing Crosby/Bob Hope "road" movie in either category. And we need a War category. Some of the greatest movies ever made are war movies, but without a category of its own, you get "Saving Private Ryan" put in with the epics. Give me a War category with "Ryan", "Sergeant York", "The Longest Day", and "The Dirty Dozen" to top the list. And that still leaves movies that defy categorization. Yeah, we have Science Fiction, but where do you put Science FACT? "The Right Stuff"? And what about "Forrest Gump"?
So you see, these lists are quite handy because they give bloggers like me something to write about, and sometimes it's not easy looking for topics. Plus in this case, it reminds me of just how few of these 100 movies that DID make the lists I've seen. By my count, I've only seen 23. Something to put on the old "to do" list... there ya go, I'm making more lists of my own now...
Labels: movies
posted by Dave | 12:55 PM
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