In my quest to compare the American Film Institute's and Internet Movie Database's Top 100 films, I got to #84 and #83 on the lists this week.
#84: EasyRider (AFI) vs. The Green Mile
(IMDb)
#83: Titanic (AFI) vs. Once Upon A Time in America (IMDb)
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| "But they see a free individual, it's gonna scare 'em." |
It’s difficult for me to express how much I disliked
the film Easy Rider. I can sit back
and objectively say I understand why it’s in the National Film Registry. It
captured an era in our history. A drug-using, hippie era, but an era
nonetheless. Unfortunately, I have
little patience for drug-using, hippie films that insinuate everyone else are unenlightened
bigots because they’re not riding across America on motorcycles with long hair. Not to mention the movie was formulaic and
preachy, and at a couple points just plain ridiculous.
Written by Peter Honda and Dennis Hopper. Directed
by Hopper. Produced by Honda. Starring Honda and Hopper. Hmmmm. Perhaps less nepotism
in this little family would’ve produced a film better than random glad-to-meet-ya
scenes punctuated by music videos.
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| Once Upon A Time... |
#83: Titanic vs. Once Upon A Time In America.
Fitting that these two were up against each other seeing as they are
both the longest movies EVER. I didn’t really enjoy Once Upon A Time In America, but I made it through. Barely. That phone ringing… I thought I might have to
shoot my television (if you’ve ever seen it, you know what I mean). I definitely enjoyed Titanic much more. Although,
[spoiler alert] the ship sinks.
So, at this point, AFI is still winning 2 to 1.
AFI’s
Top 100
|
IMDb’s
Top 100 (as of 1/1/12)
|
|
#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)
|
Next week: Murnau’s silent classic Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans (AFI) and Amadeus (IMDb). I haven’t seen the first
and don’t remember the second well, so I’m looking forward to both.
