BBC Culture's The 100 Greatest American Films

[Dexter]

The poll, taken among 62 international film critics, was commissioned also “to get a global perspective on American film” from critics around the world.
20 July 2015
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/201507 ... ican-films

The 100 greatest American films

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, 1983)
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)

Some very surprising results. I haven't watched Heaven's Gate, The Shanghai Gesture and Love Streams so they're the biggest surprises to me. Of those I've watched, I'm completely baffled by the inclusion of 25th Hour and Marnie when there are more deserving Spike Lee (She's Gotta Have It, Malcolm X) and Alfred Hitchcock (Strangers on a Train, Rear Window) films. There are a lot of notable omissions but it'll take me typing all day.

[JimmyJazz]

I am actually currently following the poll administrator's Twitter page, as he is disclosing the individual ballots from the 62 critics over there. I am collecting them together to send on to Bill at TSPDT.

I have mixed feelings about this list. On the one hand, I generally feel it is superior to the AFI's truly horrid American films list, particularly in representation of certain filmmakers and genre cinema, which is really American cinema's greatest strength IMO.

On the other hand, it is very interesting to see the certain directors who were excluded. PTA, Coens, Linklater, Fincher, Eastwood, Preminger, Kazan, Huston, Borzage, Vidor, Walsh, Cukor, to list the most notable.

Very safe and surprising at the same time.

These directors make up almost half of the entire list:
Hitchcock: 5
Kubrick: 5
Wilder: 5
Spielberg: 5
Scorsese: 4
Coppola: 4
Hawks: 4
Ford: 3
Welles: 3
Chaplin: 3
Lynch: 2
Minnelli: 2
Cassavetes: 2
Lee: 2
Malick: 2
Ray: 2
Altman: 2
Allen: 2
Zemeckis: 2 (???)

Only two films by a woman (and co-directed at that) is dismaying, but expected.

My biggest disagreements are:
Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back (pick one Star Wars flick or the other, not both)
A Place in the Sun
The Graduate
Koyaanisquatsi
The Shanghai Gesture (over Shanghai Express, Morocco, and the Scarlet Empress, seriously?)
Forrest Gump (WTF?)
Thelma and Louise (over freakin Blade Runner?)
The Lion King (over both classic Disneys and Pixar?)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
West Side Story
25th Hour
The Dark Knight

[Bruno]

"Forrest Gump" is one of my favorites movies. Amazing!

[bootsy]

I am actually currently following the poll administrator's Twitter page, as he is disclosing the individual ballots from the 62 critics over there. I am collecting them together to send on to Bill at TSPDT.

I have mixed feelings about this list. On the one hand, I generally feel it is superior to the AFI's truly horrid American films list, particularly in representation of certain filmmakers and genre cinema, which is really American cinema's greatest strength IMO.

On the other hand, it is very interesting to see the certain directors who were excluded. PTA, Coens, Linklater, Fincher, Eastwood, Preminger, Kazan, Huston, Borzage, Vidor, Walsh, Cukor, to list the most notable.

Very safe and surprising at the same time.

These directors make up almost half of the entire list:
Hitchcock: 5
Kubrick: 5
Wilder: 5
Spielberg: 5
Scorsese: 4
Coppola: 4
Hawks: 4
Ford: 3
Welles: 3
Chaplin: 3
Lynch: 2
Minnelli: 2
Cassavetes: 2
Lee: 2
Malick: 2
Ray: 2
Altman: 2
Allen: 2
Zemeckis: 2 (???)

Only two films by a woman (and co-directed at that) is dismaying, but expected.

My biggest disagreements are:
Star Wars/The Empire Strikes Back (pick one Star Wars flick or the other, not both)
A Place in the Sun
The Graduate
Koyaanisquatsi
The Shanghai Gesture (over Shanghai Express, Morocco, and the Scarlet Empress, seriously?)
Forrest Gump (WTF?)
Thelma and Louise (over freakin Blade Runner?)
The Lion King (over both classic Disneys and Pixar?)
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind
West Side Story
25th Hour
The Dark Knight

A few things. Why is the AFI list horrid? I don't think it's perfect but saying it is horrid is exaggerating.

There is nothing wrong with having Star Wars and Empire Strikes Back. If both are great films which they both are why should they choose one only?

I do agree with you on Forrest Gump/Thelma & Louise. I don't there is anything wrong with The Lion King but I also think the should have included a couple of Pixar movies.

Very glad that 25th Hour made the list. That movie is one of the most underrated movies of all time. I'm glad it got the props it deserved being in this list.

[BleuPanda]

Yeah, I don't see the problem with including both Star Wars films. Both are classic films individually and in many ways for different reasons. The original is one of the better tales of classical good vs. evil while helping establish the modern blockbuster structure while The Empire Strikes Back offers a more nuanced look at its characters and takes a daring turn by refusing to end on a happy note. This isn't Lord of the Rings where the whole thing is basically one big film, it's easy to see a creative change between films.