The 100 Greatest American Films of All Time: Introduction

Rating: Not reviewed


Ten years ago today, the American Film Institute unveiled its much heralded "100 years...100 Movies" list, a list of the 100 greatest American films of all time that celebrated 100 years of American filmmaking as voted upon by filmmakers, critics and industry insiders. The list was immediately greeted with disdain for its debatable inclusions (the historically important but otherwise negligible "The Jazz Singer," the badly aged "My Fair Lady" and "Dances with Wolves," for example) and jaw-dropping exclusions ("Sunrise," "The General" and "Nashville," among others). As frustrating as it was for some critics, the list served its purpose by becoming a jumping-off point for a discussion about the American cinematic canon.

That was certainly the case for me. I remember watching the show on CBS the summer before my senior year of high school and being exposed to dozens of great, classic films I never would've heard of or seen otherwise. The special was also criticized as a thinly veiled way to boost Blockbuster rentals – the now-antiquated video chain even offered AFI-related coupons and dutifully marked which films in the "Classic" section were AFI-approved. Again, without that "Rent One Get One Free" promotion, I wouldn't have been able to afford to see all of the AFI 100.

The AFI oddly updated its list last year instead of waiting for the tenth anniversary. The new list makes some corrections ("The Jazz Singer," "My Fair Lady" and "Dances with Wolves" are out; "Sunrise," "The General" and "Nashville" are in) and new mistakes (the dubious inclusion of "Titanic," "The Shawshank Redemption," "The Sixth Sense" and "Sophie's Choice").

Nevertheless, I'll always be in debt to that 1998 special. The AFI 100 was a significant stepping stone in my development as a fledgling film critic – and, more importantly, as a film lover.

In honor of the tenth anniversary of the first AFI 100, I humbly offer my own list of the 100 greatest American films of all time. The list is slightly off-kilter, especially when compared to the AFI offering – many sacred (and, I would say, moldy) cinematic cows were sacrificed to make way for works I would argue are more visionary. Like the AFI 100, it's sure to infuriate some (after all, there's no such thing as an objective list of the greatest American films), but hopefully it will make some of you think about you believe are the best American movies.

To be considered an American film for my purposes, the film must be at least 40 minutes long and fulfill at least two of the following criteria: it must have an American director, Americans significantly involved in the filmmaking process (screenwriter, cinematographer, editor), American stars and/or significant American financing. Because of these criteria, AFI qualifiers like "Lawrence of Arabia" are ruled out and some are controversially allowed in, like "Chimes at Midnight" (which stars, was directed by and had its screenplay adapted by American Orson Welles but was filmed entirely in Spain; was financed by France, Spain and Switzerland; and is based on William Shakespeare plays). I freely admit these criteria also make some of my choices eligible for UK lists, which is perfectly fine.

Without further ado, here is the list at a glance. Click here to see the list with full commentary. Pleased to enjoy...

The 100 Greatest American Films of All Time

1. Citizen Kane
2. Vertigo
3. The Godfather Trilogy
4. Days of Heaven
5. Chimes at Midnight
6. The Searchers
7. Raging Bull
8. 2001: A Space Odyssey
9. Nashville
10. Singin' in the Rain
11. Sunrise
12. Casablanca
13. City Lights
14. Apocalypse Now
15. The General
16. Greed
17. The Wizard of Oz
18. Intolerance
19. The Night of the Hunter
20. The Third Man
21. North by Northwest
22. The Lord of the Rings
23. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial
24. The Shop Around the Corner
25. Letter From an Unknown Woman
26. The Crowd
27. Chinatown
28. Touch of Evil
29. Duck Soup
30. Psycho
31. The Magnificent Ambersons
32. Taxi Driver
33. Rio Bravo
34. Sherlock, Jr.
35. Some Like It Hot
36. Schindler's List
37. The New World
38. Blade Runner
39. All That Heaven Allows
40. Barry Lyndon
41. Heaven's Gate
42. Shadow of a Doubt
43. The Lady Eve
44. Out of the Past
45. There Will Be Blood
46. His Girl Friday
47. Rear Window
48. Dr. Strangelove: Or, How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
49. Blue Velvet
50. My Darling Clementine
51. The Wild Bunch
52. Munich
53. Short Cuts
54. Bringing Up Baby
55. Before Sunrise and Before Sunset
56. The Naked Spur
57. McCabe and Mrs. Miller
58. Once Upon a Time in the West and Once Upon a Time in America
59. Pinocchio
60. The Philadelphia Story
61. The Living Dead Tetralogy
62. Only Angels Have Wings
63. In a Lonely Place
64. Make Way For Tomorrow
65. The Maltese Falcon
66. The Star Wars Saga
67. Rushmore
68. Children of Men
69. To Be or Not to Be
70. Notorious
71. Manhattan
72. The Reckless Moment
73. The Big Sleep
74. Sunset Blvd.
75. The Shining
76. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
77. Portrait of Jennie
78. Steamboat Bill, Jr.
79. Goodfellas
80. The Thin Red Line
81. Brazil
82. Modern Times
83. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
84. The Texas Chain Saw Massacre
85. Red River
86. Annie Hall
87. The Conversation
88. A Clockwork Orange
89. The Best Years of Our Lives
90. Kill Bill
91. Assault on Precinct 13
92. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance
93. Badlands
94. The Dead
95. Sweet Smell of Success
96. King Kong
97. Sullivan's Travels
98. Johnny Guitar
99. The Miracle of Morgan's Creek
100. The Leopard Man

Again, for the list with commentary, click here.

A break down of the list…


The most represented director:

(Two-way Tie) Howard Hawks (6 with "Rio Bravo," "His Girl Friday," "Bringing Up Baby," "Only Angels Have Wings," "The Big Sleep," "Red River") and Alfred Hitchcock (6 with "Vertigo," "North by Northwest," "Psycho," "Shadow of a Doubt," "Rear Window" and "Notorious")


The most represented leading actor:

Cary Grant (6 with "North by Northwest," "My Girl Friday," "Bringing Up Baby," "The Philadelphia Story," "Only Angels Have Wings" and "Notorious")


The most represented leading actress:

(Two-way Tie) Diane Keaton (3 with "The Godfather" Trilogy, "Manhattan" and "Annie Hall") and Janet Leigh ("Touch of Evil," "Psycho" and "The Naked Spur")


The most represented year:

(Six-way* Tie) 1940 (4 with "The Shop Around the Corner," "His Girl Friday," "Pinocchio" and "The Philadelphia Story"), 1941 (4 with "Citizen Kane," "The Lady Eve," "The Maltese Falcon" and "Sullivan's Travels"), 1946 (4 with "My Darling Clementine," "Notorious," "The Big Sleep" and "The Best Years of Our Lives"), 1974 (4 with "The Godfather Part II," "Chinatown," "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" and "The Conversation"), 1980 (4 with "Raging Bull," "Heaven's Gate," "The Empire Strikes Back" and "The Shining") and 2005* (4 with "The New World," "Munich," "Land of the Dead," "Revenge of the Sith")

*2005's number is inflated because of the inclusion of sequels that wouldn't have been included in their own right


The most represented decade:

The 1940s (24 with "The Shop Around the Corner," "His Girl Friday," "Pinocchio," "The Philadelphia Story," "Citizen Kane," "The Lady Eve," "The Maltese Falcon," "Sullivan's Travels," "Casablanca," "The Magnificent Ambersons," "To Be or Not to Be," "Shadow of a Doubt," "The Leopard Man," "The Miracle of Morgan's Creek," "My Darling Clementine," "Notorious," "The Big Sleep," "The Best Years of Our Lives," "Out of the Past," "Letter from an Unknown Woman," "Portrait of Jennie," "Red River," "The Third Man" and "The Reckless Moment")


Full list of appearances by year and by decade:

1916 – 1 (Intolerance)

1910s – 1

1924 – 2 (Greed, Sherlock Jr.)
1926 – 1 (The General)
1927 – 1 (Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans)
1928 – 2 (The Crowd, Steamboat Bill, Jr.)

1920s – 6

1931 – 1 (City Lights)
1933 – 2 (Duck Soup, King Kong)
1936 – 1 (Modern Times)
1937 – 2 (Make Way for Tomorrow, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs)
1938 – 1 (Bringing Up Baby)
1939 – 2 (The Wizard of Oz, Only Angels Have Wings)

1930s – 9

1940 – 4 (The Shop Around the Corner, His Girl Friday, Pinocchio, The Philadelphia Story)
1941 – 4 (Citizen Kane, The Lady Eve, The Maltese Falcon, Sullivan's Travels)
1942 – 3 (Casablanca, The Magnificent Ambersons, To Be or Not to Be)
1943 – 2 (Shadow of a Doubt, The Leopard Man)
1944 – 1 (The Miracle of Morgan's Creek)
1946 – 4 (My Darling Clementine, Notorious, The Big Sleep, The Best Years of Our Lives)
1947 – 1 (Out of the Past)
1948 – 3 (Letter from an Unknown Woman, Portrait of Jennie, Red River)
1949 – 2 (The Third Man, The Reckless Moment)

1940s – 24

1950 – 1 (In a Lonely Place)
1952 – 1 (Singin' in the Rain)
1953 – 1 (The Naked Spur)
1954 – 2 (Rear Window, Johnny Guitar)
1955 – 2 (The Night of the Hunter, All That Heaven Allows)
1956 – 1 (The Searchers)
1957 – 1 (Sweet Smell of Success)
1958 – 2 (Vertigo, Touch of Evil)
1959 – 2 (North by Northwest, Rio Bravo, Some Like It Hot)

1950s – 13

1960 – 1 (Psycho)
1962 – 1 (The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance)
1964 – 1 (Dr. Strangelove)
1965 – 1 (Chimes at Midnight)
1968 – 2 (2001: A Space Odyssey, Night of the Living Dead)
1969 – 1 (The Wild Bunch)

1960s – 7

1971 – 2 (McCabe & Mrs. Miller, A Clockwork Orange)
1972 – 1 (The Godfather)
1973 – 1 (Badlands)
1974 – 4 (The Godfather Part II, Chinatown, The Texas Chain Saw Massacre, The Conversation)
1975 – 2 (Nashville, Barry Lyndon)
1976 – 2 (Taxi Driver, Assault on Precinct 13)
1977 – 2 (Star Wars, Annie Hall)
1978 – 2 (Days of Heaven, Dawn of the Dead)
1979 – 2 (Apocalypse Now, Manhattan)

1970s – 18

1980 – 4 (Raging Bull, Heaven's Gate, The Empire Strikes Back, The Shining)
1982 – 2 (E.T., Blade Runner)
1983 – 1 (Return of the Jedi)
1984 – 1 (Once Upon a Time in America)
1985 – 2 (Day of the Dead, Brazil)
1986 – 1 (Blue Velvet)
1987 – 1 (The Dead)

1980s – 12

1990 – 2 (The Godfather Part III, Goodfellas)
1993 – 2 (Schindler's List, Short Cuts)
1995 – 1 (Before Sunrise)
1998 – 2 (Rushmore, The Thin Red Line)
1999 – 1 (The Phantom Menace)

1990s – 8

2001 – 1 (The Fellowship of the Ring)
2002 – 2 (The Two Towers, Attack of the Clones)
2003 – 2 (Return of the King, Kill Bill – Vol. 1)
2004 – 3 (Before Sunset, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Kill Bill – Vol. 2)
2005 – 4 (The New World, Munich, Land of the Dead, Revenge of the Sith)
2006 – 1 (Children of Men)
2007 – 1 (There Will Be Blood)

2000s: 14 (inflated because of the separate counting of films considered as one work in the actual list; really there are only 7 or 8 films from the 2000s depending on how Before Sunset is counted)

Posted Monday, June 16, 2008

Link to this review:
http://filmzeus.pressbin.com/film/greatest.american.films.intro