AFI: Most inspiring films of all time

I love the AFI countdowns. I have no argument with anything in the top 10, and I'm especially gratified to find that the movie which I would have chosen No. 1 did indeed claim the top spot.

1. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
3. Schindler's List, 1993
4. Rocky, 1976
5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
7. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
8. Breaking Away, 1979
9. Miracle on 34th Street, 1947
10. Saving Private Ryan, 1998

http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...946&call_pageid=968867495754&col=969483191630

 

I never really thought of Saving Private Ryan as inspiring, though the first 20 minutes are mindblowing.

Nice to see Hoosiers at No. 13.

Norma Rae seems like it should be higher than 16.

 

Braveheart, at No.62? List is useless in my opinion.

 

And Karate Kid barely makes it, c'mon Daniel-son.

 

I had a similar reaction. I like the movie, but I wouldn't have thought about it in my top 10 for most inspiring.

I guess they were going with the whole, "earn this" thing.

 

Uhh.. Swingers

How many of your Average Joes would have a shot at Heather Graham?

 

you're like a big bear, man

 

I found Dead Poets Society inspiring. But that's me ...

 

I'm also glad to see Hoosiers get some love. But I got more confused the further I went down the list. Yes, a lot of these films were good, thought-provoking . . . but inspiring? I'm curious as to what the criteria was.

Very pleasant surprise. One of my favorite films ever.

Probably the highest I've ever felt leaving a theater.

Should have been higher:

Should have been much higher:

 

Now, we get the treacle list . . .

. . . with five very good movies . . .

. . . two movies that shouldn't even be on the list . . .

. . . and one of the most obnoxious pieces of shit ever made.

I'm neutral on Jimmy and Donna, BTW

 

Stand and Deliver probably should have been higher, but I'm not surprised that it wasn't. Watching kids learn calculus is not exciting, so instead we get a movie where the kids are idiots or not being reached for the first 15 minutes, then all of a sudden they are math machines waiting to be unleashed.

Personally, I'm disappointed that Platoon was not in the top 10.

My top 10:

1. Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines

2. Phantasm IV: OblIVion

3. Terminator 2

4. Platoon

5. Terminator

6. The Godfather, Part II

7. The Godfather

8. Gremlins

9. The Empire Strikes Back

10. Freddy vs. Jason

 

I only caught this in fits and starts when I was packing, but this was the weakest of the AFI series. They're so good, you keep watching, but ...

WAY too low:
67. The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951

Too low:
29. Gandhi, 1982
23. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994
19. The Right Stuff, 1983

Too high:
12. Apollo 13, 1995
6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
2. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962

Sick of it, too corny for my tastes, but I can't argue:
1. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946

Happy to see:
8. Breaking Away, 1979
13. Hoosiers, 1986

Don't get me wrong, I love Hoosiers, it's probably my favorite movie about a ball sport, but Breaking Away is better and done with a much lighter touch. Not only that, it's FAR and AWAY the best movie ever made about the state of Indiana and the people who live there. (Great as it is, Hoosiers does traffic in some stereotypes) In my time in Indiana, I've met someone like every character in that movie, and since I lived in Indiana for an equal amount of time as I have my beloved Wisconsin, I likely have plenty of my own traits that are evident in that film.

Paul Dooley's character in the movie is a dead wringer for all of my best friends' dad's.

Dumbass reason for its listing, (probably according to TV producers):
14. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957 -- They droned on and on about how inspiring it was that Nicholson stood up to Saito about officers not being able to work. It WAS inspriing, but the point of the movie is that he was so fatally committed to duty that he abandones common sense to build a bridge for the enemy, and thus becomes a bad guy. That which made him inspiring in the beginning was his fatal flaw.

Every character in that movie is flawed in their heroism (William Holden, Jack Hawkins, the young Canadian commando), which is why I'm not sure the story is supposed to inspire so much as to make one realize how sad people can be when they're wrapped up in themselves or in some misplaced sense of duty. There's a reason the last line of the movie is, "Madness ... madness!"

Awesome movie, though, and at the very least, it's definitely inspired movie making, as most of David Lean's films are.