AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies Rankdown (FINAL RESULTS, #10-#1)

[jeroeno]

Here's the new list.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Human
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[toromash]

Cut: Singing in the rain. If i have to cut a movie in this round, it has to be a musical (my least preferred genre).

[mightysparks]

Noooo

[cinewest]

One interesting unintended bit of symmetry with that cut:

20's: 1
30's: 1
40's: 3
50's: 3
60's: 3
70's: 3
80's: 1
90's: 1

[jeroeno]

Yeah I don't think that was going to be amongst the last six but maybe a veto can put it in the final anyway.

[sol]

Oh, boy. I am also really unhappy about Singin' in the Rain being cut. Let's see what else gets cut this round. I have one veto left, but it might be better used elsewhere.

I'm not going make any friends with my next cut either though. Sorry, guys - I'm going after Apocalypse Now. There are only 8+/10 films left for me in the list and while it is a great film in my books, I don't really like how this one always top lists of best war movies ever made. While I know that they are all very different films, this is easily my least favourite of the three big films made about the Vietnam War.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Human
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[brokenface]

Why are people picking the wrong things

[PGonzalez]

Guess it's time to start using my vetoes. There was only 1 film in the list that I gave 4*, which is Do the Right Thing.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Cut: Singing in the rain. If i have to cut a movie in this round, it has to be a musical (my least preferred genre).

Noooooooooooo!


Being a neutral is stressful. And how the hell is The Bridge on the River Kwai still up?

[cinewest]

Why are people picking the wrong things

I was saying that ages ago.
Do people not appreciate large scale, ambitious filmmaking anymore?
Only one of those left, now.

[cinewest]

Guess it's time to start using my vetoes. There was only 1 film in the list that I gave 4*, which is Do the Right Thing.

Yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeees!

Cut: Singing in the rain. If i have to cut a movie in this round, it has to be a musical (my least preferred genre).

Noooooooooooo!


Being a neutral is stressful. And how the hell is The Bridge on the River Kwai still up?

Kind of entertaining as a spectator, given all the surprises, and strange symmetry at the end. No one kind of film seems to be more popular. Only Casablanca left among the AFI top 10, but quite a few surprises, considering. Do The Right Thing, for one, Network for another, but what about Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Is that this group's 12 Angry Men? As far as dialogue driven movies go, WAoVW does appeal to me more, but very surprised it's gotten this far, and with nary a challenge except from the peanut gallery.

[Onderhond]

I'm cutting 2001 once again. At least I'll know I've given it my all.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Human
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[jeff_v]

You guys just cutting masterpieces left and right, while Network is still up there? Nah, gonna cut Network.

[PGonzalez]

Kind of entertaining as a spectator, given all the surprises, and strange symmetry at the end. No one kind of film seems to be more popular. Only Casablanca left among the AFI top 10, but quite a few surprises, considering. Do The Right Thing, for one, Network for another, but what about Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Is that this group's 12 Angry Men? As far as dialogue driven movies go, WAoVW does appeal to me more, but very surprised it's gotten this far, and with nary a challenge except from the peanut gallery.

I've never seen Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf, but it is very surprising that it managed (and continues to do so) to slip through the cracks. I guess one doesn't get enough provocateur points from cutting that one.

You guys just cutting masterpieces left and right, while Network is still up there? Nah, gonna cut Network.

Preach!

[sol]

And then there are those of us who actually have Virginia Woolf in our all-time top 20.

I can think of at least two other films that I think are more surprising to have slipped through the cracks so far. They haven't been mentioned yet and I don't know if I should be mentioning them by name since I am a participant and not a spectator this round. Can't influence things too much.

[PGonzalez]

And then there are those of us who actually have Virginia Woolf in our all-time top 20.

I can think of at least two other films that I think are more surprising to have slipped through the cracks so far. They haven't been mentioned yet and I don't know if I should be mentioning them by name since I am a participant and not a spectator this round. Can't influence things too much.

The Grapes of Wrath and Sullivan's Travels? These are far from the ones I'd have predicted at the start, that's for sure!

[sol]

And then there are those of us who actually have Virginia Woolf in our all-time top 20.

I can think of at least two other films that I think are more surprising to have slipped through the cracks so far. They haven't been mentioned yet and I don't know if I should be mentioning them by name since I am a participant and not a spectator this round. Can't influence things too much.

The Grapes of Wrath and Sullivan's Travels? These are far from the ones I'd have predicted at the start, that's for sure!

The Grapes of Wrath is one of them but I actually really like Sullivan's Travels myself, even if I wouldn't have expected it to be the one remaining film from 1941 in our list.

[cinewest]

And then there are those of us who actually have Virginia Woolf in our all-time top 20.

I can think of at least two other films that I think are more surprising to have slipped through the cracks so far. They haven't been mentioned yet and I don't know if I should be mentioning them by name since I am a participant and not a spectator this round. Can't influence things too much.

Hopefully your not one of those who also has 12 Angry Men in their top 5.

I actually like Virginia Woolf (it's a solid 8 for me), but it wouldn't be in my top 20 on this list (maybe soon thereafter), except that with so many of those getting savaged by the players here, I just might wind up rooting for it in the end.

[jeroeno]

Let's cut that Polish rapist's movie as well then. Bye bye Chinatown

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[jvv]

I'm cutting The Bridge on the River Kwai, since that's the one I like least of the remaining films.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[Onderhond]

Surprised that nobody has even tried to cut Pulp Fiction. And would anyone actually veto it?

[OldAle1]

Surprised that nobody has even tried to cut Pulp Fiction. And would anyone actually veto it?

Now that Kwai's been cut, if I were playing it'd be my next cut. I re-watched it last year and liked it more than I'd remembered, actually, which surprised me - but it's still definitely the weakest film left IMO and like all of QT's films it has moments that irritate me (usually scenes that just go on too long; count me as one of those who isn't as impressed with his dialogue and screenplays as the Oscar voters are).

[brokenface]

I'm going with The Grapes of Wrath, great book, good adaptation but one I can live without. It's pretty similar to how i feel about one of my previous cuts, To Kill a Mockingbird.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[/quote]

[beasterne]

My cut is Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Film adaptations of plays are hit and miss for me. This one is mostly a hit, but I still feel that this is a movie that is more like an adaptation than a film in its own right. All of the other choices left feel like FILMS, so that’s why this gets the chop here.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[blocho]

Gosh, it's really only good/great movies left. I'm cutting Sullivan's Travels. I have nothing against it. I just like all the others more.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[medium cool]

[/quote]You should see this thread where we have several users who can remember that they liked Seconds, and even Rock Hudson's performance, but cannot recall what a single image from the film looked like.
[/quote]

If you're baiting me to make fun of people with disabilities, that will never happen. But what are you doing hanging around an Alzheimer's board?

[cinewest]

Surprised that nobody has even tried to cut Pulp Fiction. And would anyone actually veto it?

Maybe my favorite film critic during my 20's was Pauline Kael. Here is a choice quote of hers about movies that fits Tarantino to a T:

“Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.”

[mightysparks]

Three 5s and one 3 left, so easy choice for me. City Lights. As mentioned in another thread, I used to get death threats on IMDb for not finding Charlie Chaplin funny but, well, he's not. At least not this annoying early stuff.

AFI List (what's left)

3. Casablanca
5. Singin' in the Rain
11. City Lights
15. 2001: A Space Odyssey
16. Sunset Blvd.
21. Chinatown
23. The Grapes of Wrath
28. All About Eve
30. Apocalypse Now
36. The Bridge on the River Kwai
39. Dr. Strangelove: or How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb
61. Sullivan's Travels
64. Network
67. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
82. Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
94. Pulp Fiction
96. Do the Right Thing

Whose turn is it?

1. toromash
2. sol (1 veto left)
3. Onderhond (1 veto left)
4. jeff_v
5. jeroeno (1 veto left)
6. jvv (1 veto left)
7. brokenface (1 veto left)
8. beasterne
9. blocho (1 veto left)
10. mightysparks
11. mathiasa

[jeff_v]

I don't like any of you right now.

[sol]

And then there are those of us who actually have Virginia Woolf in our all-time top 20.

Hopefully your not one of those who also has 12 Angry Men in their top 5.

I actually like Virginia Woolf (it's a solid 8 for me), but it wouldn't be in my top 20 on this list

I don't even have 12 Angry Men in my top 250... though it sits just outside the mark in my current ranked list.

I have actually always found Virginia Woolf to be remarkably cinematic given the source material, with Haskell Wexler's camera getting appropriate intimate and close to certain characters, while frequently tracking and moving about. It's not as if Mike Nichols shot the film entirely in a static medium shot without a single cutaway. Also, it's been a few years but I recall liking how the film was expanded and opened up beyond the Edward Albee play.

Anyway, now the film has been cut - which means that I now have to work out whether to use my last remaining veto on Virginia Woolf or one of the other remaining classics that has been axed this round. Spoiled for choice with what to use it on. Sigh. Let's see what mathiasa cuts next and then I'll nut out the To Veto or Not To Veto dilemma.

[cinewest]

And then there are those of us who actually have Virginia Woolf in our all-time top 20.

Hopefully your not one of those who also has 12 Angry Men in their top 5.

I actually like Virginia Woolf (it's a solid 8 for me), but it wouldn't be in my top 20 on this list

I don't even have 12 Angry Men in my top 250... though it sits just outside the mark in my current ranked list.

I have actually always found Virginia Woolf to be remarkably cinematic given the source material, with Haskell Wexler's camera getting appropriate intimate and close to certain characters, while frequently tracking and moving about. It's not as if Mike Nichols shot the film entirely in a static medium shot without a single cutaway. Also, it's been a few years but I recall liking how the film was expanded and opened up beyond the Edward Albee play.

Anyway, now the film has been cut - which means that I now have to work out whether to use my last remaining veto on Virginia Woolf or one of the other remaining classics that has been axed this round. Spoiled for choice with what to use it on. Sigh. Let's see what mathiasa cuts next and then I'll nut out the To Veto or Not To Veto dilemma.

Yes, I remember liking the camerawork on VW, as well, and it was probably the best Burton / Taylor film, even a film I liked (though it's not in my top 10 for 1966, which was an incredible year for cinema).

I'm also curious how the vetoes will shake out, and in seeing what will be restored. I think it might be cool to allow late round vetoes to be used to bring back any film on the list. Whoever curates the next game should reference the way some of these reality TV shows liven things up at various points in the game.

[Onderhond]

“Movies are so rarely great art that if we cannot appreciate great trash we have very little reason to be interested in them.”

Myeah, I don't see that with Tarantino, whenever he pays homage to things, it ends up even worse than the original. As a fan of Asian cinema, I found Kill Bill to be truly appalling.

Also wonder if the final veto situation will end up like an eBay auction. Everyone waiting until the last minute and hoping someone else vetoes one of their favorites first.

[jvv]

I think it might be cool to allow late round vetoes to be used to bring back any film on the list. Whoever curates the next game should reference the way some of these reality TV shows liven things up at various points in the game.

I think that's a bad idea, since it negates all the previous rounds.

[jvv]

Also wonder if the final veto situation will end up like an eBay auction. Everyone waiting until the last minute and hoping someone else vetoes one of their favorites first.

Guess I wasn't the only one thinking that.

[brokenface]

Also wonder if the final veto situation will end up like an eBay auction. Everyone waiting until the last minute and hoping someone else vetoes one of their favorites first.

Guess I wasn't the only one thinking that.

Also to consider, as i calculate it, someone needs to not use their veto for there to be a ballot round at all. If all 6 used the final round will be a cutting round from 12 to 1 with no vetoes. Which may or may not be preferable, probably gives more chance of a surprise winner.

[Onderhond]

Also to consider, as i calculate it, someone needs to not use their veto for there to be a ballot round at all. If all 6 used the final round will be a cutting round from 12 to 1 with no vetoes. Which may or may not be preferable, probably gives more chance of a surprise winner.

Well, since the rules state that the final round is a ballot round, this scenario isn't possible. With 12 films remaining, there would not be a ballot round if we made it a cutting round. So next round is ballot round, no matter what happens

[brokenface]

If there's 13 films left we'll play another round and the final ballot will only have 3 films

11 votes, so 2 films. but what about if we landed with 12 films left, we wouldn't get the ballot round?

Yes, with the current rules that's right. Maybe it's not fair, but I think it's probably too late to change things now.

For our next game we can definitely amend the rules to address these possibilities.

Onderhond, see above

[Onderhond]

11 votes, so 2 films. but what about if we landed with 12 films left, we wouldn't get the ballot round?

Yes, with the current rules that's right. Maybe it's not fair, but I think it's probably too late to change things now.

For our next game we can definitely amend the rules to address these possibilities.

Onderhond, see above

Well, since beasterne started the game he'll probably knows best, but I don't see how that's even conform with the rules. The opening posts says this:

The game proceeds in order, with each participant choosing a new film to cut, until we reach the final round. In the last round participants will submit a ranked ballot to determine the ultimate champion. That way the champion isn't decided purely by one participant.

[cinewest]

If the game is determined by straight 1 by 1 elimination, the strategy would be to eliminate "your film's strongest challenger," and hope it is able to outlast a "weakening" competition.

Do The Right Thing might be the weakest film left on the list, and it can't be cut by Mathiasa because that's who cut it last round, so you have done a very good job getting it into the final elimination, whichever way it turns out to be. Others who might be playing the same strategy might inadvertently help your film by eliminating "stronger competition" for their own, thus moving it along....

But everyone seems to be playing a different game, here, which makes it all the more unpredictable. I still think that Kubrick has a very good chance of winning, as someone may yet save 2001 (though you have done your best there, as well), and he has another that has skated through untouched, so far.

Other than that one, only 4 others in the competition have escaped attack up until now: Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, Sunrise, and Pulp Fiction.

[sol]

only 4 others in the competition have escaped attack up until now: Sunset Boulevard, All About Eve, Sunrise, and Pulp Fiction

Five? Nobody has tried to get rid of Dr Strangelove. Yet.

[beasterne]

Yes, with the current rules that's right. Maybe it's not fair, but I think it's probably too late to change things now.

For our next game we can definitely amend the rules to address these possibilities.

Onderhond, see above

Well, since beasterne started the game he'll probably knows best, but I don't see how that's even conform with the rules. The opening posts says this:

The game proceeds in order, with each participant choosing a new film to cut, until we reach the final round. In the last round participants will submit a ranked ballot to determine the ultimate champion. That way the champion isn't decided purely by one participant.

Hmpf. The honest answer is I wasn’t thinking about this possibility when I wrote up the rules. As I wrote the rules for this game:

1) there will be 11 cuts per round
2) if 11 cuts can’t be made in a round, that round becomes a ballot round rather than a cutting round
3) the ultimate champion shouldn’t be decided purely by one participant (meaning, if someone makes a cut, the last film left shouldn’t win by default)

I just didn’t think about the scenario where we have 12 films left and no vetoes at the start of a round, which would give us only one film left going into a ballot phase. This scenario effectively breaks 3) above, because that final cut would decide the champion, but if we go to a ballot phase at 12 then it breaks 1) and 2) above.

So how to resolve this? I’m leaning towards having another cutting round in round 12. Even though that last cut will decide the champion, it will still be “fair” in that every player will get a cut in round 12. That means everyone does have a say in which film won’t come out on top in the end, which is the whole point of this game. And although the last player does get the final choice, they really only get to choose between two, so their choice will be severely limited.

What does everyone else think? Ultimately this is just a silly forum game, and I am fine to switch things up and start the ballot phase at 12 if the majority want to go that way.