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Recently, Yahoo released their list of "100 Movies to see before you die." Now, aside from the fact that the last three words are unnecessary, as it's rather difficult to see these movies after you die (well, except maybe for "Annie Hall," which I am certain will be a regular feature in Hell's Cinema), lists such as this tend to raise questions. As one internet friend asked (in a slightly less edited manner), "Who comes up with these stupid lists, anyway?"
Good question. I suspect at least a few elitist critics are behind the list, though considering some of the very entertaining but rather "fluffy" movies that made the list, it wasn't all critics on the committee. It's almost as surprising what didn't make the list, as what did.
"Fast Times at Ridgemont High" made the list. "Gone With the Wind" didn't. "The Matrix" is there, but "The Day the Earth Stood Still" isn't. Granted, the remake of that movie will probably be on the double-feature with "Annie Hall" at the Stygian Multiplex, but the classic original is worth more than any movie that Keanu Reeves has done so far. Don't get me wrong; I enjoy a lot of Keanu Reeves movies, but the original "Day the Earth Stood Still" was far more deserving of the "You gotta see this movie" list.
It's also odd that movies that defined a particular role are also absent from the list. Jimmy Stewart's "Harvey" is not included, even though the actor created the quintessential Elwood P. Dowd that any other actor seeking to play the role must try and measure up to. The omission of "The Pink Panther" likewise overlooks Peter Sellers' hilarious portrayal of Inspector Clouseau. No matter how well Steve Martin gets into the character, he will always fall short of Sellers in the role, because for most audiences, Sellers was, and always will be, Clouseau.
The list didn't snub these two terrific actors, though, so it's not like it was personal. Hitchcock's "Rear Window", which featured Stewart, and the dark comedy, "Dr. Strangelove", which presented Sellers in multiple roles, both made the list.
Of equal interest are the reactions some people have to the list in general, and certain movies in particular. So far, of the comments posted on the forum where the list was discussed, I haven't read anyone that thought Woody Allen's "Annie Hall" was even marginally entertaining, let alone worthy of being included. I remember seeing "Annie Hall" in the theater back when it was first run, and wondering throughout whether I was watching the same film the critics raved as being so hilarious. There was one scene in the whole movie I thought was funny; the rest was just dull, and judging from the comments, I'm not alone in that assessment. Maybe it was funnier to people from New York City, or maybe it was just an "Emperor's New Clothes" syndrome of critics not wanting to appear undiscerning, so they jumped on the "funny" bandwagon just so people wouldn't think they didn't get it. Personally, Danny Kaye's "The Court Jester" was better film making and earned more laughs in the first hour than most of Woody Allen's movies manage to scrape up, combined. Take my advice; skip "Annie Hall" and watch "The Court Jester" instead.
I've copied the list below for your perusal. If I count correctly, I've seen forty of the one hundred. Some of the remaining sixty I would like to see, but others don't have much appeal to me. Folks think I must be crazy for not having seen "The Godfather", but it just doesn't look like my kind of movie. I'm sure it's incredible, if you're into that genre, but I'm not really interested. I'll trade it on the list for Spencer Tracy in "Captains Courageous" any day, and "The Exorcist" for "The Fisher King" in a heartbeat.
Maybe I don't know much about the art of film, but I know what I like.
Yahoo's list of 100 Movies to see before you die:
12 Angry Men (1957)
2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
The 400 Blows (1959)
8 ½ (1963)
The African Queen (1952)
Alien (1979)
All About Eve (1950)
Annie Hall (1977)
Apocalypse Now (1979)
The Battle of Algiers (1967)
The Bicycle Thief (1948)
Blade Runner (1982)
Blazing Saddles (1974)
Blow Up (1966)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Breathless (1960)
The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)
Bringing Up Baby (1938)
Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid (1969)
Casablanca (1942)
Chinatown (1974)
Citizen Kane (1941)
Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon (2000)
Die Hard (1988)
Do The Right Thing (1989)
Double Indemnity (1944)
Dr Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)
Duck Soup (1933)
E.T. The Extra Terrestrial (1982)
Enter the Dragon (1973)
The Exorcist (1973)
Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982)
The French Connection (1971)
The Godfather (1972)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
Goldfinger (1964)
The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly (1968)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Graduate (1967)
Grand Illusion (1938)
Groundhog Day (1993)
A Hard Day's Night (1964)
In the Mood for Love (2001)
It Happened One Night (1934)
It's a Wonderful Life (1946)
Jaws (1975)
King Kong (1933)
The Lady Eve (1941)
Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Lord of the Rings (2001, 2002, 2003)
M (1931)
M*A*S*H (1970)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
The Matrix (1999)
Modern Times (1936)
Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)
National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
Network (1976)
Nosferatu (1922)
On the Waterfront (1954)
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
Paths of Glory (1958)
Princess Mononoke (1999)
Psycho (1960)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
Raging Bull (1980)
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Raise the Red Lantern (1982)
Rashomon (1951)
Rear Window (1954)
Rebel Without a Cause (1954)
Rocky (1976)
Roman Holiday (1953)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Schindler's List (1993)
The Searchers (1956)
Seven Samurai (1954)
The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Snow White (1937)
Some Like it Hot (1959)
The Sound of Music (1965)
Star Wars (1977)
Sunset Blvd. (1950)
Terminator 2: Judgement Day (1991)
The Third Man (1949)
This is Spinal Tap (1984)
Titanic (1997)
To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
Toy Story (1995)
The Usual Suspects (1995)
Vertigo (1958)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Wild Strawberries (1957)
Wings of Desire (1988)
Wizard of Oz (1939)
Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown (1988)
The World of Apu (1959)
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