On Sunday I finally was able to complete this long and tedious goal of watching the American Film Institute’s (AFI) Top 100 movies of all time. I tried to write reviews for every movie I watched but that became tedious because to watch 100 movies takes enough time out of my life. While I made it through all 100 movies, I could only review 52 of them before time became too much of a factor. I will eventually circle back around to finish my reviews but for right now I am satisfied enough that I was able to watch all 100. As much flack as Netflix has gotten recently, I could not have done it without them as they had all 100 movies some of which date back to 1916.
So what did I think of the list? As you can see on my review list, I did not think they were all winners. You can see why by clicking on the various links. But I know that there is so much more that goes into a movie besides the story, acting and characters. Some of the movies made this list because of their lasting impact on the movies we watch today and just don’t think about. For instance, “North By Northwest”, while a thrilling Hitchcock movie, was the first movie to use scrolling credits. “It’s a Wonderful Life” was the first movie to use a zoom shot. These are just a few examples. Sure some of the movies on the list were put there because of a lasting cultural impact or because the acting was so good combined with a great story that it was nominated for a dozen academy awards. “Titanic” most likely made the list because he blew box office ticket sales out of the water compare to anything that had come before.
I think most of these movies were well worth watching and I discovered some new gems like “Sunrise” and “The Sound of Music” that I never would have seen had it not been for this list.
I would highly recommend journeying through this list with an open mind but to watch them all. There will be some you hate and some new ones you will love but over all I feel like my view of history and cinema as been drastically shaped.
Filed under: AFI's Top 100, Completed
