FOTR - AFI #50 best of all time

[Oddwen]

Instead of "Rosebud..." 'twould be "Precious...".

[Morthoron]

*The Dark Elf shrugs*

Certainly the films on the list warrant such praise (except perhaps Star Wars, Annie Hall, Titanic and Tootsie *rolls eyes*). I noticed several older films have fallen off the list (such as Ran, Battleship Potemkin and All's Quiet on the Western Front) in favor of more recent films (Blade Runner is a good addition, as is Unforgiven, but The Last Picture Show and Sophie's Choice?); this does not mean the older films are not great, it's just that fewer folks are drawn to anything lacking technicolor (short attention spans, lack of flashing lights, etc.).

Personally, I'd like to see A Man for all Seasons or The Lion in the Winter added. Superb dialogue, intellectually stimulating and droll as all get out. Add The Elephant Man to that list as well. And the most appalling non-appearance? Monty Python's Holy Grail is not included in the 100 Funniest Movies of all Tiime, but Private Benjamin and Bull Durham are? Ummm...as the drunken mallard would say, 'that's fupped duck.'

[Mister Underhill]

Those AFI lists are American films only, which accounts for some of the missing masterpieces you mention, like Ran (or rather, Seven Samurai).

Now everyone can debate whether or not FotR is really an American film...

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Mister Underhill

Those AFI lists are American films only, which accounts for some of the missing masterpieces you mention, like Ran (or rather, Seven Samurai).

Now everyone can debate whether or not FotR is really an American film...

Of course, silly of me. I was looking at an earlier 100 best list (1998) that mentioned AFI in the Google blurb, but which wasn't the actual AFI list. Bah! Never mind.

P.S. Except for the funding, FotR had really nothing whatsoever to do with the U.S. except for some pre-film casting calls in New York and L.A. (neither did Lawrence of Arabia or The Third Man, for that matter). There is a reason that FotR's premiere was in New Zealand and not in L.A.

[Elmo]

I like to think that Lord of the Rings was an international film.

[Sauron the White]

from Morthoron

Personally, I'd like to see A Man for all Seasons or The Lion in the Winter added. Superb dialogue, intellectually stimulating and droll as all get out. Add The Elephant Man to that list as well.

A big AMEN from my corner on that. I love Kate Hepburns speech on the nature of war and how it comes from our own faults rather than political and economic causes. Saw LION again recently and was struck at the very high level of the script allowing actors to say more than a couple of lines at a time. That is almost unheard of today with short lines by almost everyone.

ELEPHANT MAN should be on the list - its an outstanding film in every possible way. Great how Lynch captured the feel of an early 30's film while at the same time pushing some boundaries to give it a new feel.

I realize that many here prefer FOTR because it has less PJ changes than the other two movies --- BUT --- I am 100% sure that the AFI gives that no consideration at all. The AFI is notorious for downgrading any type of sequel as evidenced by both STAR WARS and the GODFATHER. EMPIRE is almost universally considered by film critics to be a far superior film to the original but is not even on the list while SW gets a ridicoulously high rating. Sure its a pop culture phenom - but great film? Please. GODFATHER II is also generally considered to have eclipsed its original but is further down on the list. AFI simply does not want to consider that sequels may be better.

[MatthewM]

I'm not surprised it was The Fellowship either, it is the best of the trilogy! Congrats to FotR!

[Morthoron]

Originally Posted by Sauron the White

A big AMEN from my corner on that. I love Kate Hepburns speech on the nature of war and how it comes from our own faults rather than political and economic causes. Saw LION again recently and was struck at the very high level of the script allowing actors to say more than a couple of lines at a time. That is almost unheard of today with short lines by almost everyone.

StW, it may please you to know that the movie Becket (1964, starring Peter O'Toole, Richard Burton and John Gielgud) has finally been released on DVD. It's a superb bookend to The Lion in Winter, with O'Toole playing a much younger (and feistier) Henry II and Burton as Archbishop Becket. They just don't make movies like that anymore (FotR included).