What's your rankings in this "home stretch?"

[DannytheWall 196]

I meant to ask this as we have ten films remaining to be covered. I just *know* some of them may crack our personal top ten re-ranking, which is likely why Amy and Paul are pacing themselves. 

In the meantime, what does your personal re-ranking look like? I've been using Letterboxd.com to track things as I watch them and before I listen to the podcast. I have no other criteria other than "was that a satisfying cinematic experience for me?" 

My current top ten:

1. Raiders of the Lost Ark
2. Rear Window
3. Sunset Boulevard
4. Citizen Kane
5. Star Wars
6. The Wizard of Oz
7. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial 
8. King Kong
9. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves
10. All About Eve 

My BOTTOM ten currently rank as: 

81 The Shawshank Redemption
82 Easy Rider
83 All the President's Men
84 Goodfellas
85 Platoon
86 Gone with the Wind
87 Swing Time
89 The Deer Hunter
90  M.A.S.H.

I have to keep reminding myself that a Bottom Tenner doesn't mean it's a "bad movie" but it just doesn't rank high top of a "best films of all time" list. 

If you want to peek into my psyche more fully the full list is https://boxd.it/1XIKK

What makes your top-of-the-list, and by what criteria? 

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

I think we have 8 left, right? I've got 92 down

Yea, a bunch of us on here have Letterboxd lists:

Here's my list 

https://letterboxd.com/almostaghost/list/my-unspooled-afi-list-order/

I'll still fiddle with it over the remaining movies though, and there's a couple I'm already thinking I should rewatch!

[hahmstrung 12]

I'm pretty far behind as I've only seen 65 movies so far (not counting films I've seen before but haven't seen since I started listening to the podcast) so my list will probably be a little different when I finish. Out of the films I've seen thus far, my five highest rated are (in alphabetical order):

• 2001: A Space Odyssey
• Apocalypse Now
• Citizen Kane
• Do the Right Thing
• Schindler's List

Out of the next highest rating the next five (also alphabetical order):

• Chinatown
• A Clockwork Orange
• Pulp Fiction
• Raiders of the Lost Ark
• Taxi Driver

It was extremely hard to choose just 5 from that pool of films. This is just how I'm feeling at the moment. Definitely will have to reevaluate once I've seen all 100.

So far my bottom ten would be (you guessed it, alphabetical order):

• The African Queen
• The French Connection
• It's a Wonderful Life
• M*A*S*H
• Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
• The Searchers
• Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
• Some Like It Hot
• Swing Time
• Tootsie

I did not take into account what I thought were "historically important" films. The list would be pretty different if I did. Here's a link to My Letterboxd List in case anyone would like to see it but, keep in mind it took me a while to settle on how hard/forgiving I was with ratings so there may be some movies I'd give half a star more or less to if I were to rate them again.

EDIT: OK, I took the time to actually rank them in the list linked in the above paragraph. I'm at a paltry 66 films so far. I really hope I can catch up before the podcast reaches 100.

[Cameron H. 23786]

9 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

I think we have 8 left, right? I've got 92 down

Yea, a bunch of us on here have Letterboxd lists:

Here's my list 

https://letterboxd.com/almostaghost/list/my-unspooled-afi-list-order/

I'll still fiddle with it over the remaining movies though, and there's a couple I'm already thinking I should rewatch!

Here’s my list: https://boxd.it/1PHoC

 

Like @AlmostAGhost said, I’m constantly fiddling with it. Not in huge leaps or anything, but a few spots here and there. My list also includes Modern Times as I watched all the Chaplin films at one time. Also, again like AlmostAGhost, I feel like I need to rewatch some stuff. I’m also behind in the podcast, so it’s possible catching up might influence my opinions by a couple of degrees here and there.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

My full list here: https://letterboxd.com/sycasey/list/unspooled-afi-100-personal-rankings/

Top Ten:

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Citizen Kane
3. Taxi Driver
4. The Godfather
5. It's a Wonderful Life
6. Star Wars
7. Pulp Fiction
8. Rear Window
9. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
10. Dr. Strangelove

Bottom Ten:

83. The Sound of Music
84. Sophie's Choice
85. In the Heat of the Night
86. Forrest Gump
87. Ben-Hur
88. Tootsie
89. Swing Time
90. Yankee Doodle Dandy
91. MASH
92. Easy Rider

[DannytheWall 196]

seems like it's easier for people to agree what belongs on the bottom of the list than what belongs at the top LOL 

[ol' eddy wrecks 212]

Top 10

(my easy/easier picks)

2001: ASO

Citizen Kane

Apocalypse Now

Dr Strangelove

Taxi Driver

Raging Bull

Some subset of 4 from the following five would round it out

Sunset Blvd

All About Eve

Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolfe

Nashville

One of the Godfathers (I didn't get a chance to revisit, so I don't have a strong opinion on 1 vs 2).

 

Bottom 10:

I missed a bunch of the movies from the recent episodes, which happened to be a lot of blind spots.

And then there were the ones I consciously chose to skip because I had strong reasons to believe I wouldn't like them (and I heard nothing said that made me think I would like them - e.g. Saving Private Ryan, Titanic... I don't have an explanation as to why I watched Sophie's Choice other than trying to have an open-ish mind.

But I usually devote thought to ranking movies I dislike. I'm content with just saying, "I dislike that movie." Or "disappointed by," which is even worse.

 

[ol' eddy wrecks 212]

Is everyone putting Swing Time in their bottom 10s because of the extended black face scene or did they just dislike the movie that much?

[AlmostAGhost 2718]

1 hour ago, ol' eddy wrecks said:

Is everyone putting Swing Time in their bottom 10s because of the extended black face scene or did they just dislike the movie that much?

Hmm well if I remember our discussion rightly, or at least this is what stuck in my head since then: we mostly all thought the plot was thin. Like, a top-100 all-time movie needs to have more to it than just 'amazing dancing'. If that were the case, we could throw Fast and the Furious on there, just because it has amazing stunts.

I actually did like it ok, just not nearly enough to raise it over just about anything on this list so far (I have it at #82 of 92). The blackface, of course, doesn't help at all, and that probably is reason enough to tank it though.

Also I think the consensus was there are better films by Fred & Ginger too that aren't hard to credit; they could easily go on this list with something else. (I can't really speak to that, this is still the only Fred & Ginger film I've seen.)

[Cameron H. 23786]

7 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

Hmm well if I remember our discussion rightly, or at least this is what stuck in my head since then: we mostly all thought the plot was thin. Like, a top-100 all-time movie needs to have more to it than just 'amazing dancing'. If that were the case, we could throw Fast and the Furious on there, just because it has amazing stunts.

I actually did like it ok, just not nearly enough to raise it over just about anything on this list so far (I have it at #82 of 92). The blackface, of course, doesn't help at all, and that probably is reason enough to tank it though.

Also I think the consensus was there are better films by Fred & Ginger too that aren't hard to credit; they could easily go on this list with something else. (I can't really speak to that, this is still the only Fred & Ginger film I've seen.)

This was my take as well. I didn’t hate it, but there are movies, both Musical or not, that I feel are far more deserving. Even if I limit just to Astaire and Rogers, as I said at the time, I would have preferred Top Hat. 

Overall, I felt like the movie was pretty mediocre, and like @AlmostAGhost said, the minstrel number doesn’t exactly do it any favors.

[sycasey 2.0 2301]

13 hours ago, AlmostAGhost said:

Hmm well if I remember our discussion rightly, or at least this is what stuck in my head since then: we mostly all thought the plot was thin. Like, a top-100 all-time movie needs to have more to it than just 'amazing dancing'. If that were the case, we could throw Fast and the Furious on there, just because it has amazing stunts.

I actually did like it ok, just not nearly enough to raise it over just about anything on this list so far (I have it at #82 of 92). The blackface, of course, doesn't help at all, and that probably is reason enough to tank it though.

Also I think the consensus was there are better films by Fred & Ginger too that aren't hard to credit; they could easily go on this list with something else. (I can't really speak to that, this is still the only Fred & Ginger film I've seen.)

That's about right. I should also say that the only movies on my "Bottom 10" that I have actual NEGATIVE ratings on are the bottom two, and even those are barely negative (2.5 out of 5). This is an entirely relative judgment. It should be expected that a list like the AFI 100 has a large preponderance of movies that don't suck.

[hahmstrung 12]

On 5/24/2020 at 10:45 PM, ol' eddy wrecks said:

Is everyone putting Swing Time in their bottom 10s because of the extended black face scene or did they just dislike the movie that much?

I thought it was a genuinely terrible film save for a couple of the dances. The minstrel scene was just the awful icing on the cake.

[DannytheWall 196]

On 5/25/2020 at 10:45 AM, ol' eddy wrecks said:

Is everyone putting Swing Time in their bottom 10s because of the extended black face scene or did they just dislike the movie that much?

Yeah that's a big part of it. But also for it's basic blandness. I'm not one to be enraptured by dancing usually, so if that's it's strongest parts, it's doubly weakened. A teacher once told me that audiences can tolerate a lot of things, but "boring" is simply not one of them. Actually, I made that up, but it sounds like something a teacher would have once told me.  

To bring it back to the other films, my personal rankings will always place a premium on something that I can't find a better term for so I just call it "delight." That factor always gives an edge, so my top ten is filled with things like Raiders and Star Wars and King Kong. Does that mean that something like Treasure of Sierra Madre or All About Eve has "delight?" Uhm, kind of? That feeling probably Venn diagrams with things like intrigue, thrill, fascination, or any provoked resonant response. Things that are far away from that are going to be those intensely personal dramas or things more distant from me or documentary-like. I can enjoy them and their artistry, and even appreciate what they're trying to say, but I'm making a personal list so I'm gonna boot a bunch of "deserving" ones to the bottom and they're just going to have to like it.

[ol' eddy wrecks 212]

4 hours ago, DannytheWall said:

Yeah that's a big part of it. But also for it's basic blandness. I'm not one to be enraptured by dancing usually, so if that's it's strongest parts, it's doubly weakened. A teacher once told me that audiences can tolerate a lot of things, but "boring" is simply not one of them. Actually, I made that up, but it sounds like something a teacher would have once told me.  

To bring it back to the other films, my personal rankings will always place a premium on something that I can't find a better term for so I just call it "delight." That factor always gives an edge, so my top ten is filled with things like Raiders and Star Wars and King Kong. Does that mean that something like Treasure of Sierra Madre or All About Eve has "delight?" Uhm, kind of? That feeling probably Venn diagrams with things like intrigue, thrill, fascination, or any provoked resonant response. Things that are far away from that are going to be those intensely personal dramas or things more distant from me or documentary-like. I can enjoy them and their artistry, and even appreciate what they're trying to say, but I'm making a personal list so I'm gonna boot a bunch of "deserving" ones to the bottom and they're just going to have to like it.

I'm not a big fan of Swing Time but the general blandness argument felt like it could probably be applied to a fair number of other films on the list.

Admittedly since I skipped The Sound of Music and haven't seen Yankee Doodle Dandy in about 25 years I can't say for sure I would apply to them, but I suspect I would. I also was not charmed by The Philadelphia Story (which is what came to mind when thinking of movies in the same general segment I'd probably lump Swing Time with*) - though I remember quite enjoying Bringing up Baby.

Outside of @sycasey 2.0's bottom 10, I was wondering if the consistent presence of Swing Time and the absence of what I suspect I'd consider probably equal or lower tiered movies was purely due to a grotesque scene. (However it is one that isn't tied into the DNA of the film the way it is (supposed to be) with Gone with the Wind (which I admittedly didn't have time for, so I can't confirm).)

*: I also just caught up with His Girl Friday recently, and didn't click with it. So maybe 50s screwball romantic comedies are a real crapshoot for me. Though, I don't know if I know of any that have had big payoffs.  And my memory is lumping Swing Time in with those romantic qualities in terms of content. 

[DannytheWall 196]

LOL Your comments made me wonder and I double-checked myself. And I found that Gone With The Wind and Swing Time are side-by-side in my bottom ten. Oh jeez. 

Philadelphia Story ends up at 73 for me, and Bringing Up Baby at 60.  In retrospect those might be a bit high, especially the latter, but that's the kind of surprises I've found for myself in the way I've made my list. The "delight" factor may be contributing more greatly, as I add the film to my list right after I rewatch or watch for the first time and before I listen to the podcast. Bringing Up Baby was a first for me, and I was delighted enough to place it above, say, Rocky and On the Waterfront, but below African Queen and, weirdly, Ben Hur for some reason.

I don't know. At some point it's just trying to fill square holes and all you got is varyingly roundish pegs.