AFI Top 100 51-60

This should be rated higher as a film and a musical. They have been showing this on HDNet recently and it looks great. It looks sort of like a stage production, and I like that. The songs are great, the themes are pretty timeless, and it even makes Natalie Wood believeable as a Puerto Rican. This is much better than "Singin in the Rain". I am still angry about it's position.

First saw this in college. I thought it was as good as hyped. I find it hard to believe this lost best director to "Rocky". Everyone knows about "You talkin to me?" but to see it in the correct context is something different. The absolute loneliness and isolation that Travis Bickle feels is something that still holds up and may even be more intriguing to this generation. I saw an interview with Deniro where he thought this movie would make a great sequel, by looking in on Bickle 30 years later. I think we have already seen that film and it is "Dateline: To Catch a Predator".

This may be another one that get's me some grief. This movie is very long or at least seems that way. There are scenes that I really like but it is long. It has a great cast and is well acted but the payoff at the end with the Russian Roulette is a little anti-climactic for me. This may just be a generational thing. I find it interesting that this film and "Apocalypse Now" are how Hollywood dealt with Vietnam right after it ended but I always found "Platoon", "Full Metal Jacket", hell even "Casualties of War" to be truer pictures. This film and "Apocalypse Now" are less realistic and for some reason that doesn't work with me. By the way, this film is long.

I think that the TV show is better. The film is good and has some funny scenes but the football game really slows the film down. I am sure at the time this movie was culturally very important, but to an audience today that has seen the TV show in reruns for the last 30 years it sort of loses it's stature. I think that Robert Altman films should be celebrated but I also believe directors today like PT Andersen do a better job at Altman films than he did. I would also like to show a little love for "McCabe and Mrs. Miller", it came out around the same time as "MASH" and I actually like it better. There really is no film that looks like it and I think is a better representation of Altman.

I like this Hitchcock better than some that are ahead of it ie. "Vertigo". The story of the classic man caught in a misunderstanding is told very well. While not a big fan of Cary Grant, he is good in this film and the techniques to show a man being hounded by a crop duster still hold up. If you go to Universal Studios Orlando or MGM, I don't remember which but there is a show based on techniques that Hitchcock used in his films. It is very entertaining and interesting. I think he is very underrated as a technician. Just one man's opinion.

This is my friend Brian Connors favorite film. He would quote it all the time. He pictured himself like Quint, but he wasn't quite that tough. This is still a great movie the first time you see it. The bonding scenes on the boat and the opening are fantastic. I also like "Jaws 2", of course then it went to hell. Highly recommended for any junior high students who might want something different.

The first film is very good but it has been lessened by the numerous sequels. This is a great story that was very well acted and like that other great sports pick of 1976, "The Bad News Bears", the heroes lose. Why did we want our heroes to lose in the 70's? One thing to mention is the running montage at the middle of the film where he ascends the steps to the art museum, when I was in college in Philly we figured that he must have run about 25 miles to film all of this and it made it much less realistic. When I was in Philly there was also a statue of Rocky next to the Spectrum. I think it has been moved to the art museum but I always thought that was great. In a city famous for real boxers, Joe Frazier, Philly honored a fictional white guy. If you have never seen a Rocky film this is a good start but I find 3 and 4 to be more entertaining and much less dramatic. Of course when Apollo dies that can be tough to watch.

Chaplin eats a shoe. Much like an episode of "Fear Factor". Never seen it, don't really plan to. Another example of people overreaching to seem intelligent.

This is probably the most perfect example of an Altman film. There are about 20 lead characters and their lives weave in and out with a big payoff at the end. The first time I saw this film was probably about 10 years ago. I remember thinking that if it hadn't ended like it did I would have thought it sucked. I know more about Nashville in the early 70's than I did at the time and my enjoyment I think is enhanced by that knowledge. Of course they have since demolished Opryland. Earlier I mentioned PT Andersen and believe that "Boogie Nights" and even "Magnolia" are much better Altman-type films. Neverless, he did invent a certain type of film with this one and it should be on this list.

I think it is nice that the Marx Brothers are on this list. This is probably their best film and Groucho is eternally funny. His speech patterns and entendres are great. All comedic films from Mel Brooks, Carl Reiner, Woody Allen, Farrelly Brothers owe something to them. The fact that they are destroying Hitler in 1933 in this film. Their anarchy was generations ahead of its time and I would recommend this film to anyone who likes extremely silly out of control humor. Please remember it is over 70 years old when watching because some parts will be dated.