AFI Update

[Steph2]

Even though NONE OF THEM should be on the list.

Word. Choosing Annie Hall over Star Wars was one of the few times the Oscars showed good taste.

[FilmFan720]

And I prefer Star Wars to Empire any day

[Akash]

I tend to side with Oscarguy - Star Wars is another example. I don't know anyone who doesn't prefer The Empire Strikes Back, but there was never any doubt that the first would place rather than the second.

Even though NONE OF THEM should be on the list.

[cam]

I've tried to stay faithful to the original spirit of the film. Let me know what you think. Any suggestions for a soundtrack?[/i]

Something Viennese and monotonous with a zither?
No . Some Max Steiner, heavy on weeping strings, segue seamlessly into Korngold( for the Grant bits) then John Williams.
A hit version of the main theme--most unusually: the Boston Symphony Orchestra-- gets to #2 on the Top Fifty, and there is a disco version of the Williams theme, of course. A ballet, staged completely in the dark, will be mounted this Fall.



Edited By cam on 1198975173

[rain Bard]

There was a version that was edited down and presented in the United States by Selznick. For a long time that was the most familiar version on this side of the pond, but that's no longer really the case, with Reed's original cut being the one featured on DVDs and Turner Classic Movies airings.

According to this, Selznick was brought in as an executive co-producer late in the film's pre-production, but his creative input into the film was minimal at best. Still, I guess it's enough to give the AFI a miniscule claim on the picture as a partially-American film.

[Bog]

Wasn't the version we see produced by Americans? (Selznick)

[rain Bard]

Maybe people voting on the AFI list thought it was 'ridiculous' that a British-funded film with a British director and a British crew, that just happened to have a couple American stars in it, would be found on a list of great American films?

It's still on the BFI list, comfortably lodged at #1.

Anyway, thanks for giving me nightmares with that remake scenario.

[Bog]

I caught The Third Man on TCM the other day and I just love that film, and I had not remembered that it was dropped from 57 to off the list with this update...ridiculous...any way I was randomly surfing with it in mind and came across this on another message board...I thought it was a joke but I started to worry at the end, and as we've said before if it isn't from our board here, it's hard to trust or believe anything...if this doesn't make you laugh then cringe because of the thought it made you laugh...

haha...spoilers??


Hey, wouldn't it be cool to remake the third man in the modern day. Here's what I think:

It would be set in New York with Holly Martins played by Val Kilmer and Angelina Jolie as Anna Schmidt. We would first meet Harry (Laurence Fishbourne) rappelling down a stairwell in the FBI HQ where he would steal a computer virus. He would then sell illegal copies of Windows XP with the virus in. The virus will set off nuclear weapons around the world if Holly doesn't find him first.

Holly's first port of call in his search is a strip bar where he meets the love interest (Anna). After a drink, the two retire to a motel room for a steamy romp during which Anna reveals that she isn't an american, she's an undercover agent from israel working to stop Harry. Meanwhile, Harry is planning world domination from his secret volcano base. He orders his best henchman, played by Ice-T, to assasinate Holly who he thinks may scupper his plans. Holly is lured into an abandoned church tower where he is trapped by Ice-T; he has to climb to the very top to escape by hang glider, pursued by F-16 fighters which he destroys with the RPG mounted on the glider. He then goes to visit the chief of police (Major Calloway - Hugh Grant) who has also been pursuing Harry and the two agree to team up to find him.

The film climaxes with a chase through the New York subway with SWAT teams and night-vision goggles and loads of smoke and flashbangs. Eventually, only Holly and Harry are left and the pair erupt into a martial arts showdown on the roof of a subway train where Holly kicks Harry's butt. Holly finally gets the better of Harry by uploading the virus into his mind where it detonates all his brain and we see his head explode in bullet-time à la Matrix. Then Holly meets up with Anna for some loving. We then see a montage of the goof moments of the film to leave the audience with a smile on their faces.

THE END

I've tried to stay faithful to the original spirit of the film. Let me know what you think. Any suggestions for a soundtrack?

[The Original BJ]

I'm way late to this thread, having just caught up with the special yesterday, and most of my thoughts have already been noted by others, but a couple things I'll echo:

I agree that most of the new titles on this list are here to correct the mistakes of the last list. The original 100 Movies list was roundly criticized for omitting entirely the works of Buster Keaton and Preston Sturges; hence the welcome showings of The General and Sullivan's Travels. The only-for-historical-purposes selection of The Jazz Singer is no more, replaced by a far more adored film from the same year. And a bunch of titles no one seems to really love (Giant, Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) were knocked for a group of hip '70s films (Nashville, The Last Picture Show, All the President's Men, Cabaret) that caused much uproar when they failed to make the list a decade ago.

Like most of you, I'm generally pleased with the new additions, and think this list is significantly superior to the last one. However, I do lament a number of titles that have fallen by the wayside: All Quiet on the Western Front, Stagecoach, Wuthering Heights, Fantasia, The Third Man, A Place in the Sun, From Here to Eternity, and The Manchurian Candidate certainly didn't deserve to be shoved so we could make room for The Sixth Sense and Titanic (though I like both those films.)

I had the exact same thought Mister Tee did regarding the Rings choice. It would have been easy (and hardly reproachable) to go with the Oscar juggernaut Return of the King, but I, too, think Fellowship is the best of the trilogy. I like all three films a lot, but naturally found the first film to be a far bigger revelation; the sequels, however impressive, couldn't match that initial high for me, and apparently, for these voters as well.

Re: Raging Bull. As soon as I knew Raging Bull would place in the top five, I too had the thought that Scorsese's recent awards blitz helped his best film shoot to the top. But I don't share the same reservations toward the film as some of you. I first saw the picture several years ago, after it had already been annointed a masterpiece, and I wasn't disappointed at all. Perhaps for many critics, the film improved in memory as the '80s went on, but for some of us, our immediate reaction the first time around was nothing short of awe.

[Big Magilla]

1982 has four films on the list, none of which won the Oscar for best pciture: E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial, Tootsie, Sophie's Choice and Blade Runner.

Didn't notice that. Okay, so 1969 and 1982 are now tied for the most films on the AFI 100.

Should make the "ageing geeks" feel validated.

Along with 1976 (All the President's Men, Network, Rocky and Taxi Driver).

[Greg]

Is James Dean over?

He's dead.

No he's not. He's reincarnated as Lindsay Lohan.

[Sonic Youth]

Another statistic. Last time out, there were 33 Best Picture films on the AFI list. This time, there were only 27.

And it's not just a matter of six fewer Oscar winners. There have been nine additional Best Picture winners since the previous special. (78 vs. 69.) Percentage-wise, that works out to 48% of Best Picture winners on the list last time. This time, it's only 35%.

Technically, you can count Fellowship of the Ring as the position for RotK. Because we all know it's likely the voters just picked one flm of the trilogy to represent the entirety of the trilogy.

(not touching this, not touching this, not touching this...)

(well, a little)

Strictly for the purposes of counting BPs, they still didn't pick the one that won. 27 it remains.

[Okri]

I tend to side with Oscarguy - Star Wars is another example. I don't know anyone who doesn't prefer The Empire Strikes Back, but there was never any doubt that the first would place rather than the second.

[OscarGuy]

Actually, I'd meant to comment that I was pleasantly surprised Fellowship was the film voters went for. I think it's easily the best of the three films, but that wasn't what we heard in '03: all kinds of people were pushing the notion Return of the King was not just the culmination, but the best of the trilogy. Was that just cover for the big King vote?

I don't think so. I still believe RotK was better. However, when people recognize trilogies, they often pick the first film to represent the entire body of work. It's logical. Many people grab onto the first title in a list because psychologically, they see it as the first one, select it and immediately remove the others from consideration.

There's also the possibility that AFI pulled a fast one and prevented the other two films from being considered, despite putting them both on the list, so they only had one of the three films on the list. It would have been more logical just to put the film as The Lord of the Rings since the entirety was filmed simultaneously.

Then, there's the psychological factor that most people associate with trilogies. The first one is always better because subsequent films are just "retreads" of the original. Immediately, people place more impact on the first film because there's no "been there seen that" feeling from the subsequent films.

[Mister Tee]

Actually, I'd meant to comment that I was pleasantly surprised Fellowship was the film voters went for. I think it's easily the best of the three films, but that wasn't what we heard in '03: all kinds of people were pushing the notion Return of the King was not just the culmination, but the best of the trilogy. Was that just cover for the big King vote?