"It Happened One Night" (1934)

Rank on the AFI List: #46

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only 2 things:
1) It starred Clark Gable
2) It was a romantic comedy

LET ME EXPLAIN...
This is a cute movie. When it started I was a little worried that I wasn't really going to enjoy it because the humor was a bit corny. But as the plot progressed, and the chemistry between Clark Gable and Claudette Colbert began to shine, this became a fun movie.

Without giving any spoilers, I will just say that there were 2 scenes in particular that my wife and I were cracking up out loud at. The first one was when the detectives show up at the motel and Gable and Colbert pretend to be an old married couple. The second - and my personal favorite - was the hitchhiking scene (which involves one of the most overly-used cliches in film and TV, but it must have been strikingly original in this movie). Clark Gable's part in this scene is what really cracked me up, though.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
I can understand why this is considered one of the best movies ever made. From a romantic comedy perspective, I'm assuming this was the first film to use the plotline of "a seemingly incompatible bickering couple fight and argue as they have to stick together, only to fall in love at the end" (and I don't think that's a spoiler since it says they fall in love on the back of the DVD case). That plot idea has been used so many times since then that it stands to reason this movie was groundbreaking in how to create a successful romantic comedy scenario.

This was also the first movie to sweep all the major Academy Awards. It won Best Picture, Best Director, Best Actor, Best Actress, and Best Screenplay in 1934. And I can see why. The lead actors were terrific (although Clark Gable's character seemed VERY similar to his character in Gone With the Wind. Was he type-casted or something?), and the story and dialogue was often quick and witty.

Complaints:
Some of the humor was a little too corny for me, and Claudette Colbert looked MUCH more like a silent film actress, which was a little weird. And one scene on the bus where people are singing (what sounds like an Irish drinking song) went on a little long. But these were all very minor things that didn't bother me too much.

LET ME SUM UP...
"It Happened One Night" is a cute movie with good chemistry between the two main characters. Two scenes in particular are laugh-out-loud funny, and aside from a little bit of corny humor, this was a fun film to watch.

MY RATING: 7/10

TOTAL # OF FILMED WATCHED: 53

"Gone With the Wind" (1939)

Rank on the AFI List: #6

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
It starred Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, and it was a love story set in the South during the Civil War (Yeah, I really didn't know very much about it).

LET ME EXPLAIN...
Since I was never shown this movie in school growing up, I didn't think I'd ever see it. I mean....it's a "love story", right? And 4 hours long? No thanks. However, watching movies that are considered classics - no matter what genre they belong to - and broadening my horizons are what My Quest is all about. And thanks to said quest, I ended up seeing a really good movie after all.

However, this movie was different than what I was expecting. I don't get when people refer to this movie as "romantic" and a "love story", unless they're referring to a relationship that reflects too many relationships in real life: unhealthy, selfish, and ultimately destructive. My wife and I were both surprised and disappointed that both protagonists in this movie were not very likeable at all.

From an acting standpoint, Clark Gable and Vivien Leigh were both terrific. But from a character standpoint, my favorites by FAR were Mammy (the black servant, played by Hattie McDaniel) and Melanie (who is married to the man Scarlett is in love with). Those two characters were the only encouraging parts in much of the movie.

I also found it VERY interesting and encouraging that Hattie McDaniel - who played Mammy, my favorite character - was the first African American to be nominated for AND WIN an Oscar. I can only imagine what that must have been like to have a black actress honored above white actresses BEFORE the civil rights movement. The fact that that happened in 1939 is both amazing AND really cool.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
It's really easy to see why this movie is considered one of the top 10 movies of all time. The acting was terrific, the story was engaging and was based around one of the most significant times in American history, AND I think this was the first major "epic" movie ever made (there were more than 50 speaking roles and 2,400 extras used in this film).  Not surprisingly, it cleaned up at the Oscars that year, winning 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, Best Writing, and Best Art Direction.

My complaint...
(To start, this observation was actually brought to my attention by my wife, but after she pointed it out, it was pretty blatant throughout the movie.) Aside from Mammy, all the black servants in this movie are portrayed as extremely simple-minded. I wondered if they did this as a way to illustrate the lack of education among black slaves, or were they playing into some sort of stereotype in the 1930s about black people being dumb? Despite which assumption may be correct, this is definitely a complaint because they could have illustrated the lack of education among slaves in a better way.

LET ME SUM UP:
While the love story wasn't exactly what I expected, this was an extremely well done film with wonderful acting and a great screenplay.  I enjoyed it quite a bit, even though it's 4 hours long.

MY RATING: 7/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 52

"Some Like it Hot" (1959)

Rank on the AFI List: #22

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Two musicians witness a mob hit and run away disguised as women in a female band.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
This was the first movie I saw with Marilyn Monroe in it. This was also the first movie I saw with a YOUNG Jack Lemmon. AND this movie is ranked as the #1 comedy in American film history (according to the AFI Comedy List from 2000).

Despite (or maybe because of) the fact that this movie is ranked as AFI's #1 greatest comedy, I had reservations. The reason being that the comedies I've already seen on the AFI Top Movies list ("Annie Hall" and "Dr. Strangelove") aren't in my personal Top 10 Comedies list. While still good movies with original comic elements, I just didn't laugh as much as I was hoping I was going to. Watching "Some Like it Hot" ended up being a similar experience for me.

I would describe this movie not so much as a "funny movie", but more like "it has funny parts". But let me just say, those "funny parts" were often flippin' hilarious! There are some lines in this movie that were so funny my wife and I wished we had a paper and pen and wrote them down as we watched. And other funny parts (I can think of Tony Curtis driving backwards in the boat as one I particularly thought was funny) made this movie enjoyable. But like I said, it wasn't funny enough to me that I would consider it one of my favorite comedies.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
Another question should also be addressed: why is this considered the #1 comedy of all time? And my guess would be because of some possible ground-breaking elements. For a movie from the 1950s, there was a LOT of sexual humor, which I would imagine was probably pretty risque back then. And I wonder if this was the first cross-dressing comedy ever made (or at least made well). And let's face it, guys dressed up as girls, trying to act "lady-like" but usually doing so very badly (or doing so a little too well), all while getting hit on by older men is just plain funny. I wouldn't be surprised if this movie was the #1 Comedy of all time because it was the first film to base its entire plot around that gem of a comic idea.

Not really a complaint, but...
I was under the impression that Marilyn Monroe was going to be a seductress-type character with a throaty, raspy voice (my pre-conceived notion about what Marilyn Monroe was like). What she turned out to be was ditzy eye candy who was the quintessential "dumb blonde". To get a better idea of just how she is in this movie, my wife came up with a good comparison: think of characters Jessica Simpson plays, but in the 1950s.

LET ME SUM UP...
This movie has some VERY funny moments, and if those moments would have been a little more consistent for my taste, I would give "Some Like it Hot" a higher rating. But don't get me wrong, I did enjoy this movie and wouldn't mind watching it again. It may even be one of those movies that need to be watched more than once to really appreciate how good it is.

MY RATING: 6/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 51

"All the President's Men" (1976)

Rank on the AFI List: #77

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Before I read the back of the DVD case? NOTHING. Then I learned it was about the journalistic investigation into the Watergate scandal.

LET ME EXPLAIN...
I thought this was a good movie. It had great acting and a documentary-like feel to it that made it different from the vast majority of movies. Having said that, this is a peculiar movie to have on the AFI Top 100 list.

Why do I say that? My wife made this very good observation: "All the President's Men", unlike the vast majority of films in the Top 100, doesn't really have that "timeless" quality. For example, there are those classic love stories, good vs evil tales, underdogs to cheer for, groundbreaking technical accomplishments, and adventure movies that will live on forever that future generations can watch and appreciate. "All the President's Men", on the other hand, is about a specific scandal from the 1970s. Yes, it was a major scandal and a devastation to the U.S. government, but it's not a timeless story of betrayal and drama. I can't see this movie remaining on AFI's Top 100 list for a very long time.

Now, I say again that I thought this was a good movie, and my thought on why it's considered one of the best movies ever made would be the "realistic" approach to telling the story. To explain this, I've included a spectrum that my film professor described to us in class.


On one end of the film spectrum is "Realism". These would be your typical documentary films. While watching a "realism" movie, viewers are meant to see the story as real life and not necessarily a movie. Fictional movies that lean this way include The Blair Witch Project and Cloverfield.

On the other end is "Formalism". These would be avant-garde type movies that are so artistic and creatively delivered that you are constantly reminded that it's a movie and not real life. The best example I personally know for such a film is Run Lola Run out of Germany (an awesome movie, by the way).

In the middle of these two spectrums is "Classicism", which is where most movies reside. In these films, you know you're watching a movie, but it's told in a fairly realistic way.

So what does this have to do with "All the President's Men"? My opinion is this film, while still a classic-style movie, does a great job of feeling like a realism-style film.



"All The President's Men" seemed almost like the real thing (despite the fact that well-recognized Robert Redford and Dustin Hoffman were the main actors). In fact, there were several times during the movie when my wife and I referred to it as a "documentary". Maybe it's because it's about a true story, but the lack of music in most scenes, the realistic delivery of many of the lines, and the fact that no scene was "dramatized" up with music, slow motion, close-ups, etc. (in other words, it was told in a very straightforward, journalistic way) really helped this movie feel much more "real" than most movies.

What makes this a "Top 100" Movie?
I'm inclined to think it was this movie's "realism" that made it onto AFI's Top 100 list. (Were there any other movies before it that told a story in such a realistic and undramatized way? If so, did they do anywhere near as good of a job as this movie did? I don't know those answers, but I'm inclined to think they're both probably a "no".)  Or maybe because it was a well-done film about the biggest government scandal in American history has something to do with it.

Complaint:
This is not really the movie's fault, but it sure got a bit confusing with all the names and different characters being brought up and investigated. It made me wish I had more knowledge of the whole Watergate scandal before I watched this. The movie progresses with the assumption that the viewers already know who all the politicians and people are/were. I didn't.

LET ME SUM UP...
This felt like a very different "AFI Top 100" movie, but that made it enjoyable for me. I appreciated the realistic way this movie told the story of how two writers from the Washington Post managed to uncover the biggest U.S. government scandal in history. My wife didn't like it, particularly because it didn't strive to address any morality issues - not with any of the politicians, not with the reporters, not with the President. If you want that sort of approach to Watergate, this is not the movie to watch. But if you like seeing a movie that feels almost like watching real life, this is a great one to check out.

MY RATING: 7/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 50

"On the Waterfront" (1954)

Rank on the AFI List: #19

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only 2 things:
1) It starred Marlon Brando
2) The famous quote, "I coulda been a contender..."

LET ME EXPLAIN...
After watching A Streetcar Named Desire a couple weeks earlier, I was excited to see another Marlon Brando movie because he did such a great job in that one. But knowing virtually nothing about "On the Waterfront", I still had this thread of apprehension about watching an "old" movie, for fear that it would be too boring. Boy was I wrong with this one!

"On the Waterfront" starts quickly, with the very first scene being what drives the entire story. It's a very gritty film, as you see a corrupt mob-like union leader (played by Lee J. Cobb, who, in both this film as well as "12 Angry Men", has impressed me quite a bit) with a stranglehold on the longshoreman workers at the docks, and the attempts to fight the corruption from the ground up.

Once again, Marlon Brando showed me what a great actor he was (he won an Oscar for Best Actor in this movie), and I also LOVED finally hearing the famous quote "I coulda been a contender, I coulda been somebody" in context. Now, that line by itself might sound kind of cheesy, but now that I know what it means, it's a very powerful line, and a heart-wrenching moment in the movie. I would say that was probably my 2nd favorite scene.

So what was my favorite scene? Hands down it was the priest's speech on the boat. That has got to be one of the greatest scenes in movie history, and it literally gave me chills to watch it. I won't give any details about it here, but if you decide to watch this movie, you'll know the scene I'm talking about.

Any complaints?
There were no glaring problems I had with this movie. Perhaps if I watch it again I'll find some, but as a once-through, I was very entertained and impressed.

LET ME SUM UP...
"On the Waterfront" has been my favorite movie on the AFI list since I began My Quest. It's gritty, suspenseful, powerful, and full of great acting. I highly recommend seeing this film.

MY RATING: 9/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 49

"Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans" (1927)

Rank on the AFI List: #82

Watch Trailer

Thanks to my grandma for letting me borrow this movie -- back in 2001. It only took me 8 years to get around to watching it!


WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Just one thing: It's a "silent movie"

LET ME EXPLAIN...
I suppose it took me 8 years of having this movie available to watch before I finally watched it because I was nervous about watching a silent movie. I anticipated being bored and/or falling asleep trying to watch it. I'm glad I got over those fears and finally watched this film, because not only was it a great movie, I found it broadening my artistic horizons even more than a typical movie on the AFI list.

Why do I feel this way? I believe "Sunrise", as a silent movie, had to illustrate emotions, thoughts, and plot in a very different way than a "talkie" (a.k.a. "non-silent movie") because it had to rely on the acting and the way each scene was shot instead of on what words the actors said, and how they delivered their lines. And oh my goodness did this movie do an excellent job!

There are 2 scenes in particular that tugged at my heart-strings more than I think any other movie has done: the wedding scene and the shot when they are walking away from the church (you'll have to watch this movie to understand what I mean). Those scenes alone made this movie worth watching. Oh, and the lead actress (Janet Gaynor, who won the very 1st Oscar for Best Actress with her performance in this movie), is quite possibly the cutest and most adorable character I have ever seen on film.

Not really a complaint, but...
There are scenes in "Sunrise" that I believe are there more for impressing the audience with "look what we're able to do, visually and with sound effects!" rather than for moving the plot along (the amusement park scene is one of them). That's not really a complaint, just an observation. But hey, in the early days of film, I'm sure that was a big thing that movies needed to have to entertain the audience.

LET ME SUM UP...
You know the saying, "a picture is worth a thousand words". I wouldn't be surprised if that expression originated from this movie. I spent 90 minutes never hearing one word uttered, but I can't tell you how many thoughts, emotions, and expressions of love I easily picked up in every scene. This is described as a "poetic" film, and I can definitely see why. It's a beautiful story, and very well done.

MY RATING: 8/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 48

"A Streetcar Named Desire" (1951)

Rank on the AFI List: #47

(I just noticed the coincidence that the 47th movie I ended up watching from the list is ranked at #47 ON the list. I love random bits of interesting -- albeit useless -- information.)

I apologize in advance that this critique may not be the best, but that's because I actually watched this movie several weeks ago. I'm starting my one-by-one critiques with this film, however, because it marks the start of My Quest.

WHAT I ALREADY KNEW ABOUT THE MOVIE:
Only 2 things...
1) It starred Marlon Brando
2) The famous quote, "STELLA! STELLA!"

LET ME EXPLAIN...
This was my first experience watching a young Marlon Brando (I had previously only seen him in The Godfather and Apocalypse Now, both of which he was a lot older). I was quite impressed with his acting, and for most of the movie I considered him to be by far the best reason to watch this film.

However, as the film progressed, Vivien Leigh ended up stealing the show. And I'm glad she did, because her character (and her acting -- I thought) was bugging me! But fortunately, in one particular scene, her character is truly revealed, and the talent to pull off what Vivien Leigh pulled off was amazing. When the movie ended, her performance was the memorable one (although the acting overall was incredible in this movie: 3 Oscar winners for acting, and another nomination). If you want to see some great acting, watch "A Streetcar Named Desire."

Only complaint...
Now one thing my wife and I both thought the movie did a poor job with was the supposed "sexual tension" that apparently builds throughout the movie between 2 characters (I won't say who so I don't ruin it for you). Neither of us felt there was ANY sexual tension, and that made one very important scene at the end confusing (again, I won't say what the scene was....don't you love my vaguery?). I had to look at message boards on imdb.com to learn what REALLY happened.

LET ME SUM UP...
This was a very good movie with incredible acting, particularly Vivien Leigh (the lead actress). Her performance in this movie has made me much more excited to watch Gone With the Wind (#6 on AFI's list).

MY RATING: 7.5/10

TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 47

The Quest Begins

Let me just start my blog career with this: thanks in large part to the "American Film" class I took during my freshman year in college, I am really into classic, critically acclaimed movies. This blog is devoted to that topic.

And through a few happenstance moments in my life recently, I realized that while there's the ever-popular "Books to Read Before You Die" lists people have, I have my own bucket list of "Movies to Watch Before I Die." Again, I blame my "American Film" class for this item being on my bucket list (actually, I could blame the professor, Leonard Oakland, as a guy who, just by giving a brief lecture on film, can stir up a great interest in movies).

And thanks to the support of my wife, the American Film Institute and their most recent "Top 100 Movies of All Time" list from 2007, and a public library system that has plenty of classic movies to borrow for free, I've begun aggressively watching as many movies as I can. And as I watch more of the movies, I will post my thoughts and an overall rating of how I liked each one.

But before I get to new movies I watch, I feel the need to list the movies I've already seen before this little quest began. So, in AFI's order, the movies I've already seen:

1. Citizen Kane (8/10 - I need to watch this one again, but I remember the techincal aspects of this movie were groundbreaking in just about every way possible)

2. The Godfather (9/10 -This movie gets better and better every time I watch it)

3. Casablanca (7/10)

5. Singin' in the Rain (8/10)

8. Schindler's List (8/10. Seeing "The Pianist" before seeing this movie took a lot of the shock factor out of it)

9. Vertigo (8/10 - I remember the bulk of this movie seemed slow, but the last 30 minutes was well worth it!)

10. Wizard of Oz (I haven't really watched this as an adult, so I can't think of what I should rate it)

13. Star Wars (10/10 - I grew up loving the original trilogy!)

15. 2001: A Space Odyssey (6/10 - I watched this in 8th grade, and the ending weirded me out)

16. Sunset Boulevard (8/10)

20. It's a Wonderful Life (10/10 - Such a great movie! The ending always chokes me up)

21. Chinatown (7/10)

24. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (5/10 - Didn't really like this one)

25. To Kill a Mockingbird (8/10 - Atticus Finch is the man!)

26. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (8/10)

30. Apocalypse Now (6/10 - After this movie ended, I was trembling for the rest of the night. I'm not kidding)

31. The Maltese Falcon (4/10 - WAY too complex, and I don't think I'm a big film noir fan)

32. The Godfather, Part II (8/10 - I like the original better, but this is still a great movie)

33. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (6/10 - I think I need to watch this one again)

34. Snow White and the Seven Dwarves (4/10 - I know why this is on AFI's list; it was the first animated feature film. But I grew up with Aladdin and Lion King and like those better)

35. Annie Hall (6/10 - My only Woody Allen experience, but a unique romantic comedy)

39. Dr. Strangelove (6/10 - A very different spoof)

40. The Sound of Music (7/10)

41. King Kong (8/10 - There's just something about the animation of King Kong that holds a very special place in film history to me)

44. The Philadelphia Story (7/10 - Cary Grant and Jimmy Stewart in the same movie!)

48. Rear Window (9/10 - Awesome Hitchcock film)

50. Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring (9/10)

51. West Side Story (4/10 - Why do I seem to be the only non-fan of this musical?)

55. North by Northwest (10/10 - My favorite Hitchcock movie + my favorite Cary Grant movie = one of my favorite all-time movies)

56. JAWS (9/10)

57. Rocky (8.5/10 - I completely understand why this movie won "Best Picture" the year it came out)

59. Nashville (2/10 - Country music + 24 main characters + a political scene that took place before I was born = me no likey)

65. The African Queen (7/10 - A well done romantic adventure movie)

66. Raiders of the Lost Ark (8/10)

71. Saving Private Ryan (9/10 - I try to watch this one each Memorial Day)

72. The Shawshank Redemption (10/10 - MY FAVORITE MOVIE OF ALL TIME)

73. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (5/10 - I really don't understand what is so amazing about this movie)

74. The Silence of the Lambs (7/10)

76. Forrest Gump (8/10)

81. Spartacus (I've seen this, but I don't remember enough about it to give it a rating)

83. Titanic (5/10 - The only thing worth watching in the movie is the boat sinking)

87. 12 Angry Men (10/10 - Amazing acting. I love this movie)

89. The Sixth Sense (7.5/10 - I didn't see it coming. Did you?)

92. Goodfellas (6/10 - I felt like I needed to shower and de-tox after seeing this movie)

94. Pulp Fiction (8/10)

99. Toy Story (9/10)


TOTAL # OF FILMS WATCHED: 46/100