I really like lists. Specifically, I like making lists and then checking things off lists (though, I admit, I do have the tiny problem of follow through – i.e., I generally make lots of lists but rarely ever cross every item off). Bad habits notwithstanding, I’ve been trying to watch old, “classic” movies that I’ve never seen and, list-lover that I am, I figured there was no better way to keep track of what I need to watch than to use a list. And, when it comes to classic films, it seems the most definitive source would be AFI’s Top 100.
I have seen shockingly few of these, so I’ve got a lot of movie watching to do. I would imagine that it will take me a few years to get through all of them, so if I do actually manage to check every item off this particular list, it would be a nice accomplishment. Additionally, I figured I would re-watch the handful that I’ve already seen so I can make a comprehensive listing here.
So, 100 movies. Let’s do this.
- Citizen Kane
- The Godfather
- Casablanca
- Raging Bull
- Singin’ in the Rain
- Gone with the Wind
- Lawrence of Arabia
- Schindler’s List
- Vertigo
- The Wizard of Oz
- City Lights
- The Searchers
- Star Wars
- Psycho
- 2001: A Space Odyssey
- Sunset Boulevard
- The Graduate
- The General
- On the Waterfront
- It’s a Wonderful Life
- Chinatown
- Some Like It Hot
- The Grapes of Wrath
- E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
- To Kill a Mockingbird
- Mr. Smith Goes to Washington
- High Noon
- All About Eve
- Double Indemnity
- Apocalypse Now
- The Maltese Falcon
- The Godfather Part II
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest
- Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
- Annie Hall
- The Bridge on the River Kwai
- The Best Years of Our Lives
- The Treasure of the Sierra Madre
- Dr. Strangelove
- The Sound of Music
- King Kong
- Bonnie and Clyde
- Midnight Cowboy
- The Philadelphia Story
- Shane
- It Happened One Night
- A Streetcar Named Desire
- Rear Window
- Intolerance
- The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
- West Side Story
- Taxi Driver
- The Deer Hunter
- M*A*S*H
- North by Northwest
- Jaws
- Rocky
- The Gold Rush
- Nashville
- Duck Soup
- Sullivan’s Travels
- American Graffiti
- Cabaret
- Network
- The African Queen
- Raiders of the Lost Ark
- Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
- Unforgiven
- Tootsie
- A Clockwork Orange
- Saving Private Ryan
- The Shawshank Redemption
- Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
- The Silence of the Lambs
- In the Heat of the Night
- Forrest Gump
- All the President’s Men
- Modern Times
- The Wild Bunch
- The Apartment
- Spartacus
- Sunrise
- Titanic
- Easy Rider
- A Night at the Opera
- Platoon
- 12 Angry Men
- Bringing up Baby
- The Sixth Sense
- Swing Time
- Sophie’s Choice
- Goodfellas
- The French Connection
- Pulp Fiction
- The Last Picture Show
- Do the Right Thing
- Blade Runner
- Yankee Doodle Dandy
- Toy Story
- Ben-Hur
I follow AFI Lists very avidly. Some of these movies like The Deer Hunter, It’s a Wonderful Life, the ones of Chaplin, Ben-Hur and so many others are masterpieces. I’ve seen over 70 of these movies. I hope to complete this and the other lists before I die!
Wow, you’re way ahead of me! Thanks for reading!
I’ve actually seen 37 of the films listed and they were all good or great so you’ve got some good time ahead! Congrats on being Freshly Pressed and good luck on your finals!
I’m excited to watch more of them too – just have to get through finals first! Thanks for reading!