AFI Top 100 almost there!

Stephen — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:58:22 GMT

I was updating my AFI Top 100 movie checklist which Erica and I have been slowly working through, and I only have 3 more movies left in the list! I only have "The African Queen", "The Apartment", and "Swing Time" left to watch. I have seen bits and pieces of African Queen, but not the whole thing all the way through. Unfortunately, African Queen is not out on DVD - at least Netflix doesn't have it. So finishing off the complete list may take a while.

Working through the Top 100 list has been interesting and has broadened my horizons a bit. I have learned that I just don't get the Marx Brothers. I tried, with no less then 3 of their movies, and I just don't find them funny. Sure they have a few funny zingers - but not worth sitting through an entire movie. Usually I can at least find bad comedy's somewhat funny, but through the majorit of their movies I did not even crack a smile.

The list has put me in front of a lot of movies I would not have considered, mainly a lot of the older movies from the 20's, 30's, 40's and 50's. We like to think of the 1950's and before as simpler times, or as times of innocence and not having to deal with quite frankly adult topics. Such as in "On the Waterfront", "The Best Years of our Lives" or "Sunrise". "Sunrise" is dealing with a husband unfaithful to his wife and planning the murder of his wife to go away back to the city with his mistress. There were a lot of movies through all of the decades up to the present that I found I really enjoyed.

Even though movie technology is not what it is today, a number of the very early movies like "Modern Times" and "Sunrise" hold up from a cinematic perspective today. They beat out most of the "B" movies made today. I did not consider all of the movies on the list 5 out of 5 stars. There were a number that were, and most were either 3 1/2, or 4 stars. But a few such as "Nashville" and the Marx Brothers movies which I don't think should be on the list. I could understand one of the Marx Brothers movies being on the list, as these movies are not all on the list because of story and acting, but also because of cinemetography, technology or just as a representative piece of the period or commentary on the time period.

I would say that if you regularly avoid differnt movies because of what you think they are, stop and give them a second look. The AFI Top 100 list is a really good list to start with. You will be suprised at what you find may be your new favorite movie!

- Stephen

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AFI Top 100 almost there!