100 Films, 100 Days

100 Movies in 100 Days

Well my friends it is that time of year that the quality of movies in the theatre is not all that great. So in light of not so worthwhile films in theatres, I have decided to share with you what most don’t know. In 1998, the American Film Institute released a list and on that list is what they felt were the 100 greatest films to ever be produced. Of course this all came with criticism and so nine years later, AFI did the list again. The 2007 version of the list adds some more recent films (four to be exact) and some not so recent, but films that may have been overlooked. For the next two months I would like to share with you my thoughts on each of these films and maybe why I suggest viewing them. Now I will admit that I have seen most of these films, so when it comes to those films I will give a mini review and a review of a film that was removed from the 1998 list. The reason for the addition of the removed films is because some of those films I have a hard time believing that they were removed (i.e. Amadeus, My Fair Lady, Rebel Without a Cause, etc.). To contradict myself now, I will not do this with the top 10 because all of the films on the top 10 are on both lists.

Now to start, I will begin with number two on the list (I have to watch #1 Citizen Kane for class, so I will back track to that one after my homeworkJ)…

#2—The Godfather

The Godfather is considered Francis Ford Coppola’s masterpiece. The film is also considered the epitome of Mafia films. This is one of the first films to show the Mafia as a family unit and not as a group of guys. Set in the late 1940s, The Godfather follows the rise of the reluctant Michael Corleone to the head of the Corleone family. Al Pacino portrays Michael in one of his first roles and his most famous. Starring with Pacino is Marlon Brando as Vito Corleone (arguably his most famous role as well) and Diane Keaton has Pacino’s wife Kay. To really appreciate recent Mafia films such as Goodfellas and even The Sopranos, one must view this film because if you don’t, you will never truly know what it means to be ‘family’.

#3—Casablanca

The ultimate in love stories, Casablanca has everything for everyone; murder, mystery, love, and Nazis. This is the story of an American club owner in Morocco, Rick (Humphrey Bogart), who comes face to face with a long lost love. Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) has come to him because Rick has come into possession of exit visas and Ilsa would like to have them for her and her (gasp!) husband.  Rick must now choose to let his love and her husband leave or punish her and keep her in Morocco. 

As one of the most quoted films in history, Casablanca uses the power of words and its magnificent cast to show the angst and, yes, the healing effect love has on even the hardest of people. This film is also a glimpse into what the Golden Age of Hollywood really was like.