Annoying Lists

Gosh, I hate lists. They seem to be the refuge of the unimaginative. Despite making a "Top Fifty Midnight Movies of the Last Decade" list for Cashiers du Cinemart #14 and even hosting a "Top Ten Time Travel Movies of All Time" list in the upcoming issue, I find lists to be an annoyance.

That said, I just can't understand the AFI (American Film Institute) and their new list of the "100 greatest American movies of all time." They seem to put out this list every decade, which calls into question their "of all time" label. Why is this "of all time" different than the last "of all time"? It's not, as I initially suspected, that a deluge of great films have been released in the last ten years. Films that will undoubtedly stand the test of time. Instead, it seems that the AFI is just looking for headlines--or at least some Reuters/Nielsen feeds.

Basically, the AFI is picking from the same bucket of 150 movies and just rearranging them. Why a movie moved rank is not explained. Is SINGIN' IN THE RAIN suddenly better than it was in years past? Did MY FAIR LADY not sleep with the judges? I imagine that the sudden appearance of NASHVILLE is a bone to the late Robert Altman and, perhaps, the drop-off of DANCES WITH WOLVES is a slam on Kevin Costner. And that TITANIC is on the list? What a fucking joke.

Below that is a list of the titles that fell off the latest list and their previous ranking. An asterisk denotes a film added to the roster since the last AFI list 10 years ago. The film's last ranking is in parentheses. The numbers highlighted in yellow are the films that I, sometimes shamefully, admit that I have yet to watch. Notice the preponderance of Charlie Chaplin titles in that category. I've never been a Chaplin fan.

1.	(1) CITIZEN KANE 1941
2.	(3) THE GODFATHER 1972
3.	(2) CASABLANCA 1942
4.	(24) RAGING BULL 1980
5.	(10) SINGIN' IN THE RAIN 1952
6.	(4) GONE WITH THE WIND 1939
7.	(5) LAWRENCE OF ARABIA 1962
8.	(9) SCHINDLER'S LIST 1993
9.	(61) VERTIGO 1958
10.	(6) THE WIZARD OF OZ 1939
11.	(76) CITY LIGHTS 1931
12.	(96) THE SEARCHERS 1956
13.	(15) STAR WARS 1977
14.	(18) PSYCHO 1960
15.	(22) 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY 1968
16.	(12) SUNSET BLVD. 1950
17.	(7) THE GRADUATE 1967
18.	(*) THE GENERAL 1927
19.	(8) ON THE WATERFRONT 1954
20.	(11) IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE 1946
21.	(19) CHINATOWN 1974
22.	(14) SOME LIKE IT HOT 1959
23.	(21) THE GRAPES OF WRATH 1940
24.	(25) E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL 1982
25.	(34) TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD 1962
26.	(29) MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON 1939
27.	(33) HIGH NOON 1952
28.	(16) ALL ABOUT EVE 1950
29.	(38) DOUBLE INDEMNITY 1944
30.	(28) APOCALYPSE NOW 1979
31.	(23) THE MALTESE FALCON 1941
32.	(32) THE GODFATHER PART II 1974
33.	(20) ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO'S NEST 1975
34.	(49) SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS 1937
35.	(31) ANNIE HALL 1977
36.	(13) THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI 1957
37.	(37) THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES 1946
38.	(30) THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE 1948
39.	(26) DR. STRANGELOVE 1964
40.	(55) THE SOUND OF MUSIC 1965
41.	(43) KING KONG 1933
42.	(27) BONNIE AND CLYDE 1967
43.	(36) MIDNIGHT COWBOY 1969
44.	(51) THE PHILADELPHIA STORY 1940
45.	(69) SHANE 1953
46.	(35) IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT 1934
47.	(45) A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE 1951
48.	(42) REAR WINDOW 1954
49.	(*) INTOLERANCE 1916
50.	(*) THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING 2001
51.	(41) WEST SIDE STORY 1961
52.	(47) TAXI DRIVER 1976
53.	(79) THE DEER HUNTER 1978
54.	(56) MASH 1970
55.	(40) NORTH BY NORTHWEST 1959
56.	(48) JAWS 1975
57.	(78) ROCKY 1976
58.	(74) THE GOLD RUSH 1925
59.	(*) NASHVILLE 1975
60.	(85) DUCK SOUP 1933
61.	(*) SULLIVAN'S TRAVELS 1941
62.	(77) AMERICAN GRAFFITI 1973
63.	(*) CABARET 1972
64.	(66) NETWORK 1976
65.	(17) THE AFRICAN QUEEN 1951
66.	(60) RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK 1981
67.	(*) WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? 1966
68.	(98) UNFORGIVEN 1992
69.	(62) TOOTSIE 1982
70.	(46) A CLOCKWORK ORANGE 1971
71.	(*) SAVING PRIVATE RYAN 1998
72.	(*) THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION 1994
73.	(50) BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID 1969
74.	(65) THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS 1991
75.	(*) IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT 1967
76.	(71) FORREST GUMP 1994
77.	(*) ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN 1976
78.	(81) MODERN TIMES 1936
79.	(80) THE WILD BUNCH 1969
80.	(93) THE APARTMENT 1960
81.	(*) SPARTACUS 1960
82.	(*) SUNRISE 1927
83.	(*) TITANIC 1997
84.	(88) EASY RIDER 1969
85.	(*) A NIGHT AT THE OPERA 1935
86.	(83) PLATOON 1986
87.	(*) 12 ANGRY MEN 1957
88.	(97) BRINGING UP BABY 1938
89.	(*) THE SIXTH SENSE 1999
90.	(*) SWING TIME 1936
91.	(*) SOPHIE'S CHOICE 1982
92.	(94) GOODFELLAS 1990
93.	(70) THE FRENCH CONNECTION 1971
94.	(95) PULP FICTION 1994
95.	(*) THE LAST PICTURE SHOW 1971
96.	(*) DO THE RIGHT THING 1989
97.	(*) BLADE RUNNER 1982
98.	(100) YANKEE DOODLE DANDY 1942
99.	(*) TOY STORY 1995
100.	(72) BEN-HUR 1959

PICTURES THAT FELL OFF LIST:

39.	DR. ZHIVAGO 1965
44.	THE BIRTH OF A NATION 1915
52.	FROM HERE TO ETERNITY 1953
53.	AMADEUS 1984
54.	ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT 1930
57.	THE THIRD MAN 1949
58.	FANTASIA 1940
59.	REBEL WITHOUT A CAUSE 1955
63.	STAGECOACH 1939
64.	CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND 1977
67.	THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE 1962
68.	AN AMERICAN IN PARIS 1951
73.	WUTHERING HEIGHTS 1939
75.	DANCES WITH WOLVES 1990
82.	GIANT 1960
84.	FARGO 1996
86.	MUTINY ON THE BOUNTY 1935
87.	FRANKENSTEIN 1931
89.	PATTON 1970
90.	THE JAZZ SINGER 1927
91.	MY FAIR LADY 1964
92.	A PLACE IN THE SUN 1951
99.	GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER 1967

Highest-ranking newcomer: The General (1927), at Number 18
Biggest decline: Dr. Zhivago (1965), from Number 39 to off the list
Biggest rise among returnees: City Lights (1931), from Number 76 to Number 11.