The American Film Institute recently released their yearly list. They released the Top Ten movies in ten different genres.

Animation

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
2. Pinocchio
3. Bambi
4. The Lion King
5. Fantasia
6. Toy Story
7. Beauty and the Beast
8. Shrek
9. Cinderella
10. Finding Nemo

My observation: Beauty and the Beast needs to be higher. After how dreadful Shrek 2 and Shrek 3 were, it is hard for me to remember how brilliant the original Shrek was.

Romantic Comedy

1. City Lights
2. Annie Hall
3. It Happened One Night
4. Roman Holiday
5. The Philadelphia Story
6. When Harry Met Sally…
7. Adam’s Rib
8. Moonstruck
9. Harold and Maude
10. Sleepless in Seattle

My Observations: The Philadelphia Story should be number one. Annie Hall and Moonstruck do not belong on the list.

Western

1. The Searchers
2. High Noon
3. Shane
4. Unforgiven
5. Red River
6. The Wild Bunch
7. Buch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller
9. Stagecoach
10. Cat Ballou

My Observations: The Searchers (despite having Natalie Wood) and The Wild Bunch are quite overrated. Where is The Ox-Bow Incident and The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance? I would also had Once Upon a Time in the West, but it is not an American Movie.

Sports

1. Raging Bull
2. Rocky
3. The Pride of the Yankees
4. Hoosiers
5. Bull Durham
6. The Hustler
7. Caddyshack
8. Breaking Away
9. National Velvet
10. Jerry Maguire

My Observations: The Hustler should be higher. Bull Durham is too high. I don’t see how Jerry Maguire qualifies as a sports movie.

Mystery

1. Vertigo
2. Chinatown
3. Rear Window
4. Laura
5. The Third Man
6. The Maltese Falcon
7. North by Northwest
8. Blue Velvet
9. Dial M for Murder
10. The Usual Suspects.

My Observations: The best list. The Usual Suspects could stand to be higher.

Sci-Fi

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey
2. Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope
3. E.T. – The Extra Terrestrial
4. A Clockwork Orange
5. The Day the Earth Stood Still
6. Blade Runner
7. Alien
8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day
9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers
10. Back to the Future

My Observations: A Clockwork Orange needs to be number 1. Star Wars doesn’t need to be on this list. Either does Terminator 2. Where is Forbidden Planet? Where is The Planet of the Apes?

Gangster

1. The Godfather
2. Goodfellas
3. The Godfather Part II
4. White Heat
5. Bonnie and Clyde
6. Scarface: The Shame of a Nation
7. Pulp Fiction
8. The Public Enemy
9. Little Caesar
10. Scarface

My Observations: This seems like an unnecessary genre. What about musicals? Of course Scarface is horribly overrated. They could have made room for Reservoir Dogs or Angels with Dirty Faces.

Courtroom Drama

1. To Kill A Mockingbird
2. 12 Angry Men
3. Kramer vs. Kramer
4. The Verdict
5. A Few Good Men
6. Witness for the Prosecution
7. Anatomy of a Murder
8. In Cold Blood
9. A Cry in the Dark
10. Judgment at Nuremberg

My Observations: No real complaint. 12 Angry Men should be number 1 and To Kill A Mockingbird should be number 2. I’d like to see Inherit the Wind on the list.

Epic

1. Lawrence of Arabia
2. Ben-Hur
3. Schindler’s List
4. Gone with the Wind
5. Spartacus
6. Titanic
7. All Quiet on the Western Front
8. Saving Private Ryan
9. Reds
10. The Ten Commandments

My Observations: Schindler’s List should be number 1. Gone with the Wind number 2. But no other real complaints.