Sunday Showdown: AFI vs. IMDb (#79 & #77)

What can I say? Summer is here, school is done, and my poor blog has suffered great neglect over the past couple of weeks.  But I’m back with a double Sunday Showdown.  Last time I did #78 since I was waiting for The Wild Bunch to arrive from Netflix. So this week it’s #79 and #77.

#79:  The Wild Bunch vs. The Bridge on the River Kwai

Which Bridge movie is this, anyway?

I absolutely loved The Bridge on the River Kwai.  I thought I had seen it before, but it ends up the movie I actually saw was A Bridge Too Far. I watched that back in the early 90s, when my boyfriend at the time was recovering from having a metal plate put in his hand – a plate he had to get because he broke his hand during a softball game. That I forced him to play.  Ooops.

Plus I called him a wimp at lunch after the softball game because I thought he was faking. Unbelievable that we didn’t make it as a couple, isn’t it?

Anyway, he got to choose the movie that recovery day and chose A Bridge Too Far. I hated it and barely stayed awake. The thought of watching it again last week was not appealing, so I was ecstatic and captivated to find the much different Bridge on the River Kwai. I loved it.  It was no question for me that this won over the The Wild Bunch (which seemed to be just a bunch of violence and naked boobies, which may appeal to some, but not so much to me).

#77: All the President’s Men vs. Singing in the Rain

The question here is not “Is All the President’s Men a great movie?”  Instead the question is, “Is All the President’s Men better than Singing in the Rain?” 

I hadn’t seen All the President’s Men, nor was I very familiar with the Watergate scandal. I truly enjoyed this film. Robert Redford was gorgeous as usual. Even Dustin Hoffman was tolerable.  The whole thing was intriguing and had that wonderful 70s feel to it. 

Good mornin', good morning'!

But is it better than Singing in the Rain? No. 

I love Singing in the Rain. I love how I am able to watch it with my grandparents, parents and children and it entertains all generations equally.  I love that it influenced my shy, youngest  daughter enough that she chose to audition for a play last year and sang “Good Morning” from Rain as her audition piece. (Got the part.) And I am convinced that Donald O’Conner doing his “Make ‘Em Laugh” routine began my oldest son’s love affair with flips on the trampoline. 

So it’s five in a row for IMDb.  Next week, another double: #76: Forrest Gump vs. Cinema Paradiso and #75: In the Heat of the Night vs. Raging Bull

	AFI’s Top 100	IMDb’s Top 100 (as of 1/1/12)
#58	The Gold Rush (1925)	Memento (2000)
#77	All the President’s Men  (1976)	Singing In the Rain (1952)
#78	Modern Times (1936)	Some Like it Hot (1959)
#79	The Wild Bunch (1969)	The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
#80	The Apartment (1960)	Rashomon (1950)
#81	Spartacus (1960)	All About Eve (1950)
#82	Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (1927)	Amadeus (1984)
#83	Titanic (1997)	Once Upon A Time in America (1984)
#84	Easy Rider (1969)	The Green Mile (1999)
#85	A Night at the Opera (1935)	Full Metal Jacket (1987)
#86	Platoon (1986)	2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
#87	12 Angry Men (1957)	Inglorious Basterds (2009)
#88	Bringing Up Baby (1938)	The Great Dictator (1940)
#89	Sixth Sense (1999)	Braveheart (1995)
#90	Swing Time (1936)	The Bicycle Thief (1948)
#91	Sophie’s Choice (1982)	The Apartment (1960)
#92	Up (2009)	Goodfellas (1990)
#93	The French Connection (1971)	Downfall (2004)
#94	Pulp Fiction (1994)	Gran Torino (2008)
#95	The Last Picture Show (1971)	Metropolis (1927)
#96	Do The Right Thing (1989)	The Sting (1973)
#97	Blade Runner (1982)	Gladiator (2000)
#98	Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)	The Maltese Falcon (1941)
#99	Toy Story (1995)	Unforgiven (1992)
#100	Ben Hur (1959)	The Elephant Man (1980)