The 100 greatest American films

[mbcdefg]

www.bbc.com/culture/story/20150720-the-100-greatest-american-films 

How many have you seen?

I've only seen 17. 


100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)

98. Heaven’s Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)

97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)

94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)

92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)

90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)

88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)

87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)

85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)

84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)

83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)

82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)

80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)

79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)

76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)

75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)

72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)

71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)

70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)

69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)

68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)

67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)

66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)

65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1965)

64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)

63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)

62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)

60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)

58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)

57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)

56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)

54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)

53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)

52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)

49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)

47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)

46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)

45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)

44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)

43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)

42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)

41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)

39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)

38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)

36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)

34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)

33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)

31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)

30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)

29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)

26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)

25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)

23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)

21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)

20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)

17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)

16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)

15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)

14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)

13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)

11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)

10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)

8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)

6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)

5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)

1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

[sfy]

29

[gardengal]

I call shenanigans on this list!

Groundhog Day???!!?!!??

[niq]

18. But something about the list seems a little off to me.

One of these days people are going to stop putting Citizen Kane at the top just because it's always been at the top, right?

[niq]

Jul 21, 2015 11:31:47 GMT -5 gardengal said:

I call shenanigans on this list!

Groundhog Day???!!?!!??

Right, and the 25th hour?!? I mean, it was alright, but one of the 100 best of all time?!

[scout8]

35. And I thought the same thing about Groundhog Day!

[mbcdefg]

Jul 21, 2015 11:31:47 GMT -5 gardengal said:

I call shenanigans on this list!

Groundhog Day???!!?!!??

I like Groundhog Day, but I definitely would have put Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein on the list instead of Groundhog Day. I'm surprised those two movies (or YF at least) didn't make the list at all. 

[Pom]

25.

[mbcdefg]

Someone on my Twitter feed pointed out that only one female director is represented in this list.

[rageragerage]

Jul 21, 2015 11:31:47 GMT -5 gardengal said:

I call shenanigans on this list!

Groundhog Day???!!?!!??

Same!

I've seen 37.

[ddi741]

I've seen 18 and there are another 4 that I've partially seen.

[snshne322]

22

[msmerymac]

37. I agree about it being a weird list.

[pumpkin]

It's a weird list. I've seen 30

[jillboston]

26

Forrest Gump?? gah!!

I think I've seen Jaws, GoodFellas and It's a Wonderful Life 50 times each if that counts for anything

[lishie]

22 of them, mostly the ones filmed in the last 25 years. I'm terrible about seeing older films, even the classic ones.

[agnes]

Jul 21, 2015 11:20:25 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)

90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)

87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)

85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)

82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)

78. Schindler’s List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)

75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)

62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

59. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (Miloš Forman, 1975)

56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)

46. It’s a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)

38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)

30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)

28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

7. Singin’ in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)    

I have seen these.  Not too bad. 

[qwerty]

I've seen 50

[perkyderky]

40--VERY odd list.  I have 2 of these movies, unwatched, on my DVR at the present as well. 

Were they struggling to get 100?  I mean....there's a LOT of the same directors over and over again. 

I enjoy watching old movies...but I've never heard of quiet a number of these older ones, and they aren't frequently featured on TCM (maybe not the best "standard" but it's all I've got).  I'm starting to wonder if this list is just willy nilly. 

[imojoebunny]

Did they poll dead people?

[rootbeerfloat]

21, plus I've seen parts of a couple others, but didn't count them.

Thank you Cinema 190 for Citizen Kane and The Shop Around the Corner, lol.

[v]

15

I saw Groundhog Day for the first time over Memorial Day, and even by "movie I watched on a long flight" standards, it was garbage.

[yentl]

47 I took a film class in college, which is where I saw many of these.

WHY is Citizen Kane always at the top of these lists? WHYYYYYYYY?

[mcsangel2]

I've seen 58.

[sometimesrunner]

7 ha!

[perkyderky]

Jul 21, 2015 13:41:50 GMT -5 yentl said:

47 I took a film class in college, which is where I saw many of these.

WHY is Citizen Kane always at the top of these lists? WHYYYYYYYY?

Seriously.  I've tried to watch it numerous times...and every time, I fall asleep.   I feel like I'm destined to NOT see it. 

[magdala]

Jul 21, 2015 12:50:38 GMT -5 lishie said:

22 of them, mostly the ones filmed in the last 25 years. I'm terrible about seeing older films, even the classic ones.

I'm the reverse. I've seen most of the older ones, it is the newer ones that I haven't seen. 85 of the 100 but I would not call some of these America's best films either.

[Deleted]

Jul 21, 2015 11:35:47 GMT -5 mbcdefg said:

Jul 21, 2015 11:31:47 GMT -5 gardengal said:

I call shenanigans on this list!

Groundhog Day???!!?!!??

I like Groundhog Day, but I definitely would have put Blazing Saddles or Young Frankenstein on the list instead of Groundhog Day. I'm surprised those two movies (or YF at least) didn't make the list at all. 

THANK YOU. I was like, um, Blazig Saddles is an amazing social commentary cloaked in comedy.

What about Pixar's Cars? Or Up?

I understand why Top Gun did not make the list, but it's probably the move I've seen most!

[Deleted]

39

Agree this list is crap.

Tree of Life is the worst movie I've ever seen.

And Hitchcock's best movie (that I've seen at least), Rear Window, isn't even listed. Psycho is one of the most overrated movies I've ever seen. I was amazed how bad it is when I watched it a few months ago. The whole twist is explained by a psychiatrist at the end. That's terrible film making. Show not tell!

[wise_rita]

I was under the impression they were just called "films".

I wonder how it would change if non-American ones were included?