AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies

I’ve had a secret quest going for the past few months that I haven’t really told too many people about. I’m trying to get more and more in touch with movies that are beyond my years and especially those that are considered classics. This led me to the American Film Institute’s list of the 100 greatest movies of all time. Despite the name, it actually covers the best films of all time not of the last 100 years. The first list came out in 1997 but has been revised a few times since and most recently in 2007. Picked by an “expert jury,” it contains many of the films you would expect to see on a list of this nature but others make you scratch your head a bit.

>> Download the AFI’s Top 100 Movies List

First and foremost one must understand this is not the definitive list for the greatest films of all time. I recommend finding a reviewer you like and taking a look at their own list instead. Plus, this only allows American films to be nominated and many other so-called classics are left out of the list altogether. It does provide a good stepping stone when looking for something good to watch, though. I myself have seen 43 out of the 100 films compiled and plan to see a few more soon (I actually managed to knock off one or two from the list in a good week).

It’s sort of expected when you find something like this that the criteria used to judge each film are going to favor the movies made years upon years ago. It’s a good idea and probably the only way one of these lists could actually work in the first place. It’s even more obvious in the AFI countdown than any other. Partly because the only full breed computer animated feature on the list so far is Toy Story and that’s placed at 99. It’s also only one of two animated movies (the other being Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs).

Every film is critiqued on the following measures:

• Feature-length: Narrative format, at least 40 minutes in length.

• American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.

• Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print.

• Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from organizations in the film community and major film festivals.

• Popularity Over Time: Including figures for box office adjusted for inflation, television broadcasts and syndication, and home video sales and rentals.

• Historical Significance: A film’s mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other groundbreaking achievements.

• Cultural Impact: A film’s mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

Perhaps the most important of them all is the historical significance and cultural impact (which are basically one in the same). Their crack team of judges don’t reveal how heavily this plays into each position but judging purely off what I see, I can tell that’s at the forefront of their minds. It’s probably political why they don’t actually reveal more about the process and how many votes have been casted for each movie. Not that it’s uncommon to see that in the movie industry already (just take a look at the Oscars or Golden Globes).

No matter how much I want to believe this list is speaking the truth I can’t help but feel like there is a massive underground culture I’m missing when reading it. Movies I would expect to be shoe-ins like Blue Velvet or Amadeus (note: it was included on the original list at #53) are nowhere to be found. Scary. Don’t take my word for it, though. I’m sure there are plenty of people who are happy to see one or both of those movies missing from the list. But if you’re going to argue culture impact and put The Sixth Sense on the list. Well, that’s just sort stupid now, isn’t it? Or maybe people should be angry about the utter lack of documentaries (by my calculations there isn’t a single one listed). I guess they don’t hold the same ability to be entertaining or impact culture like other film genres.

You could also argue the list holds a favoring bias toward major motion pictures, especially the newer movies arriving in theaters these days. The majority of the year’s best films come with very little or no box office attention, that means independent releases are essentially left in the dust when it comes to the “Popularity over Time” condition which looks primarily at sales and syndication. A great movie with very little revenue could potentially be left out of the list completely or it could hold a weaker position because audiences didn’t see it. Or maybe it’s just a little to odd to put on cable television.

So, what does all this mean? It means that movies appearing in this list are not only judged by cultural significance (whether or not they’re actually good movies) but also on acceptance from the public. While most of the time this could skew the results and leave out plenty of worthy titles, it could also prove to be useful. For example, Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining was met with some harsh criticism when it was initially released but overtime it has become one of the most well respected horror films ever made. (Note: I know the Shining is not included in the AFI top 100 list). That is in part due to the fact that audiences over time have clamored on about it, and eventually, people started to “get it.”

One last fault to mention and yes, again with the criteria. Let it be known that just because a film wins an award doesn’t mean it has the merit to make it a success or even great. The prime example: this year’s Oscar nominees for best Visual Effects. Obviously a win in this category doesn’t make it a good film in general. Especially when you consider who was nominated (Transformers, Pirates of the Caribbean, and The Golden Compass). The Oscars would also love to take back a few picks for Best Picture around their early days. Opinions change over time but award winners don’t. I’m not saying one of those movies would have the potential to make the list. But films that are qualified and have awards behind them are automatically considered better in the eyes of the judges because of it.

I could go on and cite an obscene amount of arguments because it has many faults. I could attempt to argue positions but that would be futile considering my list couldn’t include over half of these movies yet anyway. You probably have already found a few problems with the placement or lack thereof already. But generally speaking you probably won’t find a film placed in the top 100 that should instead be considered a part of the bottom 100. It helps if you don’t look at their choices as the best American movies ever made, but rather as a small collection of must see movies.