My rating and comments on the AFI 100 greatest movies

This is the American Film Institute's list of the 100 Greatest Movies, selected by AFI's blue-ribbon panel of more than 1,500 leaders of the American movie community.

AFI rating/Name of Movie
Jay's Rating
Jay's Comment
1. CITIZEN KANE (1941)
6
Amazing for its time and who will ever forget rosebud, but never really moved me
2. CASABLANCA (1942)
9
Always a classic over and over again…Bogart at his best
3. GODFATHER, THE (1972)
10
On my top 5 list - nuff said
4. GONE WITH THE WIND (1939)
6
Never really understood the hype about this movie -
5. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
6
Too long and slow for me - ranks with Ghandi
6. WIZARD OF OZ, THE (1939)
5
Maybe if you were on drugs this would be meaningful
7. GRADUATE, THE (1967)
8
Plastics, think Plastics young man
8. ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
8
If this wasn’t a political movie by Elia Kazan to support his testifying in front of the house anti american committee, this might have been a 10 - The classic Brando - "I could have been somebody, I could have been a contender"
9. SCHINDLER'S LIST (1993)
8
I am waiting for Ted Turner to colorize this…Significant movie only because it was a popular movie that showed the randomness of the Nazi genocide - Check out Shoah for the reality of the holocaust
10. SINGIN' IN THE RAIN (1952)
7
A wonderful fun movie
11. IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
8
Again, just a wonderful feel good movie, that still puts a tear in my eye each time I watch it.
12. SUNSET BOULEVARD (1950)
?
You know, I never saw this one
13. BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, THE (1957)
??
Again, shockingly I was surprised to realize I had never seen this one either
14. SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
6
Fun, but not really more than that
15. STAR WARS (1977)
6
Own it, watch it, love it, but if only someone could act
16. ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
??
17. AFRICAN QUEEN, THE (1951)
7
Two of my favorites Hepburn and Bogart - Great acting - interesting story
18. PSYCHO (1960)
4
This did nothing for me
19. CHINATOWN (1974)
6
Jack Nicholson again with a great performance
20. ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST (1975)
9
A movie that can move you - once again Jack Nicholson
21. GRAPES OF WRATH, THE (1940)
8
A little slow, but Henry Fonda at his best, and a very poignant movie
22. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
6
Groundbreaking movie special effects and concepts,
23. MALTESE FALCON, THE (1941)
6
Great Bogart, great supporting cast - a standard private eye genre movie
24. RAGING BULL (1980)
8
Just great acting and a great story, and he lived in the Bronx where I grew up. A great portrait of fallen integrity, and its affects on a person
25. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
10
OK, who didn’t get choked up when you realized ET was still alive…Go on admit it.
26. DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
7
A bizarre commentary on the cold war
27. BONNIE & CLYDE (1967)
5
Looks kind of cheesy in retrospect to me, just a shoot em up gangster movie
28. APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
9
A moving bizarre movie about the Vietnam War
29. MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
8
Have to love the story of political idealism in todays jaded society
30. TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
7
Again, a great Bogart movie
31. ANNIE HALL (1977)
8
The quintessiential Woody Allen relationship movie
32. GODFATHER PART II, THE (1974)
10
Again, on my top 5 - It doesn’t get much better than this.
33. HIGH NOON (1952)
7
A classic
34. TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
9
A strong drama that is captivating
35. IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
???
36. MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
7
Great Great acting, - absorbing story about the underbelly of society. Dustin Hoffman at his best as Ratso
37. BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES, THE (1946)
8
I guess I loved this because it was not your typical war hero story. - Deer Hunter for WWII
38. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
??
39. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO (1965)
??
40. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
??
I havnt seen this in so long, I remember I liked it, but obviously, it didn’t have that much of an impression on me
41. WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
6
OK, so gangs who dance go a little too far, but a great update of Romeo and Juliet for the modern person without having to learn olde English. And great great music.
42. REAR WINDOW (1954)
??
I just never got into Hitchcock
43. KING KONG (1933)
4
Ok, I guess it was special for its time, but maybe I am just getting old.
44. BIRTH OF A NATION, THE (1915)
?
45. STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, A (1951)
6
Brando was great
46. CLOCKWORK ORANGE, A (1971)
8
Brutal, moving, bizarre, weird, enough to make you think about what the point of it all was.
47. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
7
Deniro was great, Jodie Foster before she was great, and a solid movie.
48. JAWS (1975)
7
Who can forget "I think we need a bigger boat" - Shaw, Dreyfuss and Schneider superb, suspenseful, if only it didn’t spawn all those awful sequels
49. SNOW WHITE & THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
5
They have to be kidding - fun for Sat with the kids, but top 100 ever - where is lion king
50. BUTCH CASSIDY & THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
7
That Redford/Newman pairing was special….
51. PHILADELPHIA STORY, THE (1940)
??
52. FROM HERE TO ETERNITY (1953)
7
Its been a while since Ive seen this one also, but somewhere in the recesses of my brain, I remember I liked it a lot, and Lancasters performance is as always great
53. AMADEUS (1984)
7
Really interesting enjoyable, movie
54. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT (1930)
??
55. SOUND OF MUSIC, THE (1965)
7
One of the truly great musicals of all time (with South Pacific and West Side Story)
56. M*A*S*H (1970)
7
My first R rated movie I legally saw - so I am partial to this…really funny stuff
57. THIRD MAN, THE (1949)
??
Missed this one
58. FANTASIA (1940)
6
Groudbreaking, very serene, love the music.
59. REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE (1955)
6
Everybody loves James Dean - I don’t get it here
60. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
7
Excitement at every turn
61. VERTIGO (1958)
?
Never really got into the Hitchcock thing
62. TOOTSIE (1982)
8
A classic funny poignant movie
63. STAGECOACH (1939)
5
There are a lot better westerns than this
64. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
7
A tough one. I really enjoyed this movie, Dreyfuss was great, it was a thinking persons ET, but it just didn’t move me. Cant forget that music sequence though.
65. SILENCE OF THE LAMBS, THE (1991)
6
Great acting, suspenseful, but really not much of a story
66. NETWORK (1976)
7
A funny poignant story on the state of television
67. MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE, THE (1962)
6
A good spy thriller
68. AMERICAN IN PARIS, AN (1951)
??
69. SHANE (1953)
7
A classic western
70. FRENCH CONNECTION, THE (1971)
7
Wow what a chase scene, I still remember it!! As always a great Hackman
71. FORREST GUMP (1994)
4
What a meaningless stupid movie - how did this become popular - basically honoring stupidity - Although the acting by Gary Sinese was superb
72. BEN-HUR (1959)
5
Stick to Moses on the mountain
73. WUTHERING HEIGHTS (1939)
6
And it rightfully beat Gone with the Wind for the Oscar - but I still didn’t think it was that great
74. GOLD RUSH, THE (1925)
?
75. DANCES WITH WOLVES (1990)
9
A moving story about Native Americans and our treatment of them, that we constantly try to ignore
76. CITY LIGHTS (1931)
?
77. AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
6
Fun, and it defined a generation, although what does that say about that generation
78. ROCKY (1976)
7
Gives hope to every underdog in the world - although it really got old after the third one
79. DEER HUNTER, THE (1978)
9
Very moving depiction of dealing with the horror of war -
80. WILD BUNCH, THE (1969)
5
A western action film - plenty of violence
81. MODERN TIMES (1936)
???
82. GIANT (1956)
8
Now this was James Dean at his best
83. PLATOON (1986)
7
One of many good movies depicting the vietnam war
84. FARGO (1996)
7
Clever, Quirky, good acting, but really - top 100 - we are sinking pretty low here.
85. DUCK SOUP (1933)
9
How can you not roll over laughing while watching this.
86. MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY (1935)
??
Read the book in high school and dreaded it, so I have a predisposition to avoid the various versions of this movie
87. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
4
Again, like King Kong, probably, unique for its time, but doesn’t do anything for me
88. EASY RIDER (1969)
7
Oh, that sixties rebelliousness - classic diner scene makes this one to always remember
89. PATTON (1970)
8
This was the double feature with Mash as my first legal R rated movie. Great acting. - George should have accepted the Oscar
90. JAZZ SINGER, THE (1927)
??
Saw the remake with Neil Diamond - what can I say
91. MY FAIR LADY (1964)
8
Audrey Hepburn and Harrison were great - great music great story also about society and how we classify people based on how they talk and act
92. PLACE IN THE SUN, A (1951)
9
Just a great drama about life and the tradegy of poor choices.
93. APARTMENT, THE (1960)
6
Funny
94. GOODFELLAS (1990)
6
Good acting, - standard mafia movie
95. PULP FICTION (1994)
7
Unique, interesting style - interesting story
96. SEARCHERS, THE (1956)
6
I know everyone loves this, and John Wayne, but seems so plastic to me.
97. BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
??
98. UNFORGIVEN (1992)
9
A great movie with great acting with the ultimate quesiton, of what is good and what is evil.
99. GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER (1967)
9
What great acting - Tracy, Hepburn, Poitier, and what a great story about race in America
100. YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
??
Only seen bits of this…no comment
Other Jay Wolin picks that I think should have been on this list:
Rainmaker
9
Kirk Douglass, Kat Hepburn in an unbelievably moving story of dreams and reality and what is true in life
Diner
8
She had to take a test on football to marry into the family - now that is reality
The Razors Edge
10
A Bill Murray, serious movie, so therefore it received poor reviews, but I think one of the greatest movies of all time, that asks the quesiton why are we here.
The Magnificient Seven
10
OK, it is just a remake of RAN, but I saw it first and it was a western, and I loved it and can watch it again and again
Shoah
10
Not for everyone, a 9 hour documentry of the Holocaust - you will never be the same after seeing it though.
Inherit the Wind
10
Whatever you believe about the issue of evolution vs creationism, this asks all the quesitons. Spencer Tracy at his best
Barfly
9
OK, it’s a movie about a drunken poet, and drunks, but I found it moving, in its pain and realization that even in pain there is beauty
Seven
9
I don’t like scary suspenseful movies in general (life is scary enough), but this movie was so disturbing it should be on the list just for that reason. I do not think I could stomach it again, but to me emoting such a strong response is the sign of a good movie
A Lion in Winter
10
Some of the greatest acting in moviedom - Kate Hepburn (yet again) a young Anthony Hopkins, Peter Otoole, (and much more) with a great story.
Boys n the Hood
9
A moving story of life in the inner city and the struggle to overcome one's environment. This stuff is made for me.
Arthur
8
Again another story about a drunk - is there a pattern to movies I like?
Shogun
no rating
OK, so this was a TV miniseries, but I have the video - could not have been told in a two hour movie - a great story if you have the time to watch it
Tender Mercies
8
A nice simple movie about life and faith - Robert Duvall at his best
High Plains Drifter
8
One of my favorite Clint Eastwood Western - again that what is good and evil thing
The Man from Snowy River
9
A man and his horse, love, poor vs rich, heroism, has all the elements, just a movie I keep going back to and watching again and again, so that is why I have it on the list
An Officer and a Gentleman
9
Again this is one I have watched multiple times - a perfect role for Richard Gere - an unlikable hard edged misunderstood pained character who comes to understand himself and accept love
Robin Hood
8
Classic Good vs Evil, helping the oppressed overcome tyranny.
The Hustler
9
Truly Newman at his best, with and great job by Jackie Gleason, a superb character study of drive and passion and self destruction.
Crimes and Misdeanors
9
A serious Woody Allen movie that asks many of the deep questions about life
Field of Dreams
10
How does one resist the question of whether one should follow their dreams and instincts vs what society tells them is correct. Even if you don’t like baseball, this is one of the greatest movies of all time
A Raisin in the Sun
9
A great drama about the struggles of life
25th Hour
10
Edward Norton's last day before going to prison. Refleciton on life and how he got to where he was. Picture of how as a society, we have turned to greed and lust. There is a five minute rant about the things he hates about NYC…this rant in and of itself makes this a great great movie.