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Lifestyle => Sports & Entertainment => Topic started by: Jakubs on January 12, 2007, 05:57:30 PM

Title: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on January 12, 2007, 05:57:30 PM
These are the Top 100 American Movies as posted by townhall.com. The idea originated when a talk radio host couldn't decide what to rent so he had someone put together this list. A lot of these movies are older, in fact most of them are, but I figured the list was worth checking out. I will be updating the list as they update theirs.

Edit (1/30): 1-25 now listed
Edit (1/21): 26-50 now listed
Edit (1/15): 51-75 now listed

100.   Sergeant York (1941)
99.     Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
98.     Rocky (1976)
97.     Sons of the Desert (1933)
96.     Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
95.     The Defiant Ones (1958)*
94.     The Bank Dick (1940)
93.     Destry Rides Again (1939)
92.     The Quiet Man (1952)
91.     American Graffiti (1973)
90.     Apocalypse Now(1979)
89.     Chariots of Fire (1981)
88.     Meet Me in St. Louis (1944)
87.     In the Heat of the Night (1967)
86.     Night of the Living Dead (1968)
85.     Unforgiven (1992)
84.     The War of the Worlds (1953)
83.     Breaking Away (1979)
82.     The Producers (1967)
81.     From Here to Eternity (1953)
80.     Cool Hand Luke (1967)
79.     Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
78.     National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
77.     Top Hat (1935)
76.     The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)
75.     The Last Picture Show  (1971)
74.     Five Easy Pieces (1970)
73.     Bullitt (1968)
72.     Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
71.     Vertigo (1958)
70.     Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
69.     Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
68.     Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
67.     North by Northwest (1959)
66.     An American in Paris (1951)
65.     My Fair Lady (1964)
64.     Modern Times (1936)
63.     One Flew over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
62.     A Night at the Opera (1935)
61.     Rear Window (1954)
60.     Singin' in the Rain (1952)
59.     The Deer Hunter (1978)
58.     Duck Soup (1933)
57.     Sullivan's Travels (1941)
56.     The Sound of Music (1965)
55.     The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
54.     The Graduate (1967)
53.     To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
52.     The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
51.     Goodfellas (1990)
50.     Spartacus (1960)
49.     Frankenstein (1931)
48.     LA Confidential (1997)
47.     On the Waterfront (1954)
46.     Taxi Driver (1976)
45.     Ben-hur (1959)
44.     Alien (1979)/ Aliens
43.     The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
42      A Clockwork Orange (1971)
41.     Jaws (1975)
40.     It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
39.     The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
38.     2001: a Space Odyssey (1968)
37.     Patton (1970)
36.     The Exorcist (1973)
35.     The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
34.     Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
33.     Bringing up Baby (1938)
32.     My Darling Clementine (1946)
31.     Double Indemnity (1944)
30.     Field of Dreams (1989)
29.     Some like it Hot (1959)
28.     In Cold Blood (1967)
27.     The Maltese Falcon (1941)
26.     Sunset Boulevard (1950)
25.    12 Angry Men (1957)
24.     Blade Runner (1982)
23.     The Wild Bunch (1969)
22.     Schindler's List (1993)
21.     Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
20.     Young Frankenstein (1974)
19.     The Wizard of Oz (1939)
18.     The Searchers (1956)
17.     King Kong (1933)
16.     Gone with the Wind (1939)
15.     The Philadelphia Story (1940)
14.     The African Queen (1951)
13.     Psycho (1960)
12.     Paths of Glory (1957)
11.     Chinatown (1974)
10.     Stagecoach (1939)
9.       The Star Wars Trilogy [Star Wars (1977)/Return of the Jedi (1983)/The Empire Strikes Back (1980)]
8.       Dr. Strangelove (1964)
7.       High Noon (1952)
6.       Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
5.       It Happened One Night (1934)
4.       Raging Bull (1980)
3.       Citizen Kane (1941)
2.       Casablanca (1942)
1.        The Godfather (1972) / The Godfather Part II (1974)

*The movie originally listed here was The Wild One (1954), apparently the author of the list was confused and meant to list The Defiant Ones (1958).
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: swangin and bangin on January 12, 2007, 06:00:08 PM
i only know like 3 of all those movies.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: white Boy on January 12, 2007, 06:15:54 PM
theres only 24...
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: swangin and bangin on January 12, 2007, 06:18:39 PM
theres only 24...
no shit, hes gona put the rest of em on when they relese them.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: white Boy on January 12, 2007, 06:19:28 PM
well its hard to judge number 100 if you dont know number 1.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: swangin and bangin on January 12, 2007, 06:21:10 PM
well its hard to judge number 100 if you dont know number 1.
go tell townhall.com that
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Shallow on January 12, 2007, 06:38:16 PM
well its hard to judge number 100 if you dont know number 1.


It'll probably be Citizen Kane.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on January 12, 2007, 08:23:25 PM
theres only 24...

There's actually 25, and I will update the list when it's available.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Just Another Sunny day in California on January 12, 2007, 08:23:48 PM
i know Godfather should crack at least top 20
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Javier on January 12, 2007, 09:16:08 PM
i know Godfather should crack at least top 20

Probably somewhere between 2-5
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Just Another Sunny day in California on January 12, 2007, 09:39:16 PM
i know Godfather should crack at least top 20

Probably somewhere between 2-5

that's what i was going to say, top 5.  top 20 just sounded like a for sure to me.

what about scarface?  i say top 30 maybe even lower.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Don Jacob on January 12, 2007, 11:34:17 PM
probably the old scarface but i doubt they'll have al pacino's scarface on there, critics don't really like that movie
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Teddy Roosevelt on January 12, 2007, 11:45:01 PM
probably the old scarface but i doubt they'll have al pacino's scarface on there, critics don't really like that movie
To hell with critics. :P
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: swangin and bangin on January 13, 2007, 12:13:51 AM
probably the old scarface but i doubt they'll have al pacino's scarface on there, critics don't really like that movie
To hell with critics. :P
i know, fuck the critics, if i like a movie i like it, fuck them and there oppinions
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Shallow on January 13, 2007, 06:56:58 AM
probably the old scarface but i doubt they'll have al pacino's scarface on there, critics don't really like that movie


Wasn't that big a fan of either. Pacino's Scarface is a cult classic but doesn't have the depth to compare it to something like the Godfather. Our generation will always look more fondly upon it because it was one of the firstfilms we saw as kids that we weren't supposed to see. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't Raging Bull or something of that calibre.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: white Boy on January 13, 2007, 10:00:06 AM
well its hard to judge number 100 if you dont know number 1.


It'll probably be Citizen Kane.
good movie, but i dont think its a number 1
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Javier on January 13, 2007, 11:51:04 AM
probably the old scarface but i doubt they'll have al pacino's scarface on there, critics don't really like that movie


Wasn't that big a fan of either. Pacino's Scarface is a cult classic but doesn't have the depth to compare it to something like the Godfather. Our generation will always look more fondly upon it because it was one of the firstfilms we saw as kids that we weren't supposed to see. It wasn't bad, it just wasn't Raging Bull or something of that calibre.

I completely agree
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Shallow on January 14, 2007, 08:14:36 PM
well its hard to judge number 100 if you dont know number 1.


It'll probably be Citizen Kane.
good movie, but i dont think its a number 1

I'm not sure if I'd put it there either but it usually gets the spot on lists like these.

Also it's hard to see the genius of this film if you're looking from 2007. It's one of the handful of films that changed film-making forever, and it was way ahead of it's time. Look at the other films from '41 and see how far ahead Kane was. It didn't win Best Picture but films ahead of their time rarely do. You don't see that genius until you look back after a few years.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Luke on January 15, 2007, 12:10:41 AM
i saw the godfather and scarface right around the same time...i wasn't able to watch those things when i was younger so when i turned 17 i watched them...so i don't really fall under the "scarface is the first movie we saw we weren't supposed to"....so being as i watched them at the same time...i still have to say...i enjoy scarface a lot more than the godfather. the godfather movies are amazing...i own all 3 of them and they are classics in my book...but scarface tops them for me
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: HD on January 15, 2007, 06:29:34 AM
why is this list so special? aint 95% of the movies that come out american?
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Shallow on January 15, 2007, 07:13:09 AM
i saw the godfather and scarface right around the same time...i wasn't able to watch those things when i was younger so when i turned 17 i watched them...so i don't really fall under the "scarface is the first movie we saw we weren't supposed to"....so being as i watched them at the same time...i still have to say...i enjoy scarface a lot more than the godfather. the godfather movies are amazing...i own all 3 of them and they are classics in my book...but scarface tops them for me


Scarface may be more enjoyable. I find the average Chuck Norris film more entertaining than 12 Angry Men but I'd never say Missing in Anction is a better film than the Syd Lumet classic. I always enjoyed Hit Em Up over Dear Mama, but I always felt Dear Mama was a of higher quality. Is this the same way you like Scarface or do you think it's superior film-making in the artistic sense?
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Don Jacob on January 15, 2007, 01:43:04 PM
i saw the godfather and scarface right around the same time...i wasn't able to watch those things when i was younger so when i turned 17 i watched them...so i don't really fall under the "scarface is the first movie we saw we weren't supposed to"....so being as i watched them at the same time...i still have to say...i enjoy scarface a lot more than the godfather. the godfather movies are amazing...i own all 3 of them and they are classics in my book...but scarface tops them for me


Scarface may be more enjoyable. I find the average Chuck Norris film more entertaining than 12 Angry Men but I'd never say Missing in Anction is a better film than the Syd Lumet classic. I always enjoyed Hit Em Up over Dear Mama, but I always felt Dear Mama was a of higher quality. Is this the same way you like Scarface or do you think it's superior film-making in the artistic sense?

i think it was gene siskel talking about the gangster genre of movie.he said, the godfather is like an opera...every shot is suppose to be striking important moment...you can freezeframe any scene and it's beautiful and when he was talking about  scarface (al pacino's) there's only a few scenes made to benefit the art of the movie. The begining and the end of the film i believe. the rest was shock value or overdramatacized comentary on the drug underworld.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Shallow on January 15, 2007, 02:29:44 PM
i saw the godfather and scarface right around the same time...i wasn't able to watch those things when i was younger so when i turned 17 i watched them...so i don't really fall under the "scarface is the first movie we saw we weren't supposed to"....so being as i watched them at the same time...i still have to say...i enjoy scarface a lot more than the godfather. the godfather movies are amazing...i own all 3 of them and they are classics in my book...but scarface tops them for me


Scarface may be more enjoyable. I find the average Chuck Norris film more entertaining than 12 Angry Men but I'd never say Missing in Anction is a better film than the Syd Lumet classic. I always enjoyed Hit Em Up over Dear Mama, but I always felt Dear Mama was a of higher quality. Is this the same way you like Scarface or do you think it's superior film-making in the artistic sense?

i think it was gene siskel talking about the gangster genre of movie.he said, the godfather is like an opera...every shot is suppose to be striking important moment...you can freezeframe any scene and it's beautiful and when he was talking about  scarface (al pacino's) there's only a few scenes made to benefit the art of the movie. The begining and the end of the film i believe. the rest was shock value or overdramatacized comentary on the drug underworld.

It was a Reagan-era film showing all of the Americans how bad drugs (and cubans) are. Yet they somehow made it cool to be the drug lord, so they had to go back to the drawing board and realease film after film making the druglord more of a villain. They had to make the guys fighting the drug lords cool, like they did with Miami Vice.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on January 15, 2007, 11:04:25 PM
List has been updated to include selections 51-75.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: swangin and bangin on January 15, 2007, 11:58:10 PM
#53 was a really good movie. we were suppose to read that book in english class so i went out and rented the movie, but on the final i got screwed, it asked whats the differnece between the movie and the book.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: On The Edge of Insanity on January 16, 2007, 11:50:19 AM
why is this list so special? aint 95% of the movies that come out american?

Well that was a dumbass comment, you American by any chance?
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: everlast1986 on January 16, 2007, 11:51:41 AM
Apocalypse Now #90? BS

Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Low Key on January 16, 2007, 12:01:33 PM
I have a feeling Full Metal Jacket will be top 25. I'm surprised the Wizard of Oz isn't on the list already though. That must mean it's gonna be pretty high as well.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on January 21, 2007, 12:52:50 AM
List has been updated to include selections 26-50.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on January 30, 2007, 07:24:09 PM
List has been updated to include the top 25.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Don Jacob on January 30, 2007, 09:34:29 PM
8) godfather number 1 raging bull number 4

deniro rules
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Javier on January 31, 2007, 12:21:17 AM
Cool list.  I wonder how much Raging Bull will jump in the updated AFI list, if it even does jump.  I do think there are a handful of movies that came out after 1997 that are Top 100 material.  Memento, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Saving Private Ryan, and The Matrix come to mind. 
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Javier on January 31, 2007, 11:35:13 AM
Oh yeah, and my favorite film isn't on the list which is Pulp Fiction  :'(
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Don Jacob on January 31, 2007, 12:32:03 PM
Oh yeah, and my favorite film isn't on the list which is Pulp Fiction  :'(

holy shit i noticed that right now ...that is daaaaaaaaaaamn shame easily one of the best films of the 90's
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Don Jacob on January 31, 2007, 12:34:05 PM
wow looking at the list there's quite a few films that should be on there that are not
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: On The Edge of Insanity on January 31, 2007, 03:26:46 PM
Easy Rider
Blue Velvet
Do The Right Thing

Where are these?
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on January 31, 2007, 06:44:34 PM
Easy Rider
Blue Velvet
Do The Right Thing

Where are these?

I can tell you that Easy Rider was left off because the author of the list was quoted as saying that while the movie was a hit when it was released, it is near unwatchable nowadays because it doesn't cross generational lines, or something like that.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: white Boy on January 31, 2007, 06:48:05 PM
^ thats retarded
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: On The Edge of Insanity on February 01, 2007, 10:02:12 AM
^ thats retarded

Indeed it is, the first time I watched it was with my dad and we could both relate to it just as well as one another, to me its the sort of film thats timeless as it's based more on a belief of freedom that the setting or time in which it takes place.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Javier on February 01, 2007, 11:54:10 AM
^ thats retarded

Indeed it is, the first time I watched it was with my dad and we could both relate to it just as well as one another, to me its the sort of film thats timeless as it's based more on a belief of freedom that the setting or time in which it takes place.

Another good thing about Easy Rider is the look at new technology vs old, with the horse and the bike.  You can still relate to that idea with plenty of things in the world today. 
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Don Jacob on February 01, 2007, 03:32:57 PM
no forrest gump either wtf is up with that
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Jakubs on February 02, 2007, 01:25:29 AM
I agree that the reasoning for leaving Easy Rider off is ridiculous. The movie is great and the soundtrack is classic. I didn't even realize Forrest Gump missed the list. Oh well, this is just one person's opinion. To each their own.
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Chief on February 03, 2007, 02:27:55 PM
#53 was a really good movie. we were suppose to read that book in english class so i went out and rented the movie, but on the final i got screwed, it asked whats the differnece between the movie and the book.

haha

why is this list so special? aint 95% of the movies that come out american?

Well that was a dumbass comment, you American by any chance?

LOL

Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: Now_Im_Not_Banned on February 05, 2007, 01:46:51 PM
"Se7en"??...This amature list is just as good:

http://www.imdb.com/chart/top
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: "THE" MoSav on February 08, 2007, 11:12:00 PM
wheres scarface?
Title: Re: Top 100 American Movies
Post by: WC Iz Active on February 08, 2007, 11:14:04 PM
True Romance never gets any love