BBC ranks the Top 100 Greatest American Films of All Time (1 Viewer)

[larch]

http://wtop.com/entertainment/2015/07/bbc-ranks-100-greatest-american-films/

100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013)

98. Heavens Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)

97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933)

94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)

92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982)

90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979)

89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)

88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961)

87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994)

85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968)

84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972)

83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)

82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981)

81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991)

80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944)

79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

78. Schindlers List (Steven Spielberg, 1993)

77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939)

76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980)

75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977)

74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994)

73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976)

72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)

71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993)

70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)

69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982)

68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946)

67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936)

66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948)

65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1965)

64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)

63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)

62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980)

61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999)

60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986)

59. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (Milo Forman, 1975)

58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)

57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989)

56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985)

55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967)

54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950)

53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)

52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969)

51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)

49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951)

47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964)

46. Its a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946)

45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962)

44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924)

43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)

42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964)

41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)

39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915)

38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975)

37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)

36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977)

35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944)

34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939)

33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)

31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)

30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959)

29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980)

28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994)

27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975)

26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)

25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960)

23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)

21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)

20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990)

19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976)

18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931)

17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925)

16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971)

15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)

14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975)

13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974)

11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)

10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942)

8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

7. Singin in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952)

6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)

5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956)

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972)

1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941)

 

[Keith R]

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

What constitutes an American film? Kubrick was British and this was filmed in England.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

I've recently watched all those Charlie Chaplin movies and they are all terrific, especially City Lights. Some ones I haven't seen on there, need to do some DVRing.

 

[Freelove]

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

What constitutes an American film? Kubrick was British and this was filmed in England.

BBC:What defines an American film? For the purposes of this poll, it is any movie that received funding from a US source. The directors of these films did not have to be born in the United States – in fact, 32 films on the list were directed by film-makers born elsewhere – nor did the films even have to be shot in the US.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968)

What constitutes an American film? Kubrick was British and this was filmed in England.

The only space movie about England was a documentary about English dentistry.

 

[elguapo07]

Not sure how Rocky doesn't make the list.

 

[General Tso]

Rosebud

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Not sure how Rocky doesn't make the list.

And Eyes Wide Shut kind of stands out as one that absolutely doesn't belong.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Also hard to believe no Eastwood movies on there.

 

[Gr00vus]

So many movies I haven't seen and have no interest in seeing.

 

[dozer]

Hitchcock had a good run:

3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

 

[ghostguy123]

Looks like a horrific list

 

[Eephus]

John Huston seems like a notable omission.

 

[squistion]

A rather safe traditional list with Citizen Kane at the top. A few odd choices and some notable omissions (mentioned above) although one that stands out to me among the missing is All Above Eve.

 

[BigSteelThrill]

Lots of old movies.

Best movie since 1977 is Goodfellas?

I like. I like a lot. A ton. But best in the past 40 years? GTFOOH!

 

[Wheezer34]

FWIW

The American Film Institute (AFI) did a similar list in 2007 with a corresponding show on CBS: http://www.afi.com/100years/movies10.aspx

 

[Keith R]

I've seen 43 of the 100. Back to the Future, Network, and Thelma and Louise do not belong on a Top 100 list.

Have never seen Birth of a Nation, but it is really hard to fathom it warranting a spot either (and yes, I know other highly-reputable sources highly rate it as well).

 

[NewlyRetired]

Shawshank was not American funded? Never knew that.

 

[Officer Pete Malloy]

96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

 

[RedmondLonghorn]

Somebody is trying to tell me that Cool Hand Luke isn't among the top 100 American movies?

That somebody needs to get punched in the face.

 

[NewlyRetired]

I still don't get the funding part.

New Line Cinema is a US company and funded the Lord of the Rings movies. Were all three not considered good enough for the list or were these considered non American?

 

[Shrugs]

I still don't get the funding part.

New Line Cinema is a US company and funded the Lord of the Rings movies. Were all three not considered good enough for the list or were these considered non American?

If they were considered not good enough for the list, that would be correct.

 

[rockaction]

Somebody is trying to tell me that Cool Hand Luke isn't among the top 100 American movies?

That somebody needs to get punched in the face.

Luke ate eggs!

Hey, Luke, you eat eggs?!

Luke ate eggs!

/jesuschristposeendmovie

 

[SaintsInDome2006]

23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977)

Why does this keep happening?

97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

Frankly, it should be higher. If Bringing Up Baby and Living Dead are in the mid 80s as seminal, then GWTW should at least be that high and probably higher because it was a huge undertaking.

25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989)

25? See Annie Hall.

 

[Jayrod]

Maybe next we can have a bunch of suburban housewives put together a list of the top 100 action flicks?

Stupid Brits. What do they know?

 

[Brunell4MVP]

I'm a pretty old guy, and the movies on this are mainly older than me. Only 1 top 50 movie made since 2000? Come on. It looks like someone took a list from 1990 and slapped in a couple more movies.

 

[Frostillicus]

Groundhog Day should be Top 5.

 

[Shrugs]

I've seen 80 of the 100. I looked up the ones I haven't seen. A couple of obscure docs and a short in there, but a few I will make the effort to find.

 

[HellToupee]

Hitchcock had a good run:

3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958)

13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959)

8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)

Plus the vastly underrated Notorious @ 68 .

Rear Window surely belongs on the list

 

[HellToupee]

Not a big fan of The Searchers

Chinatown seems like it should be in the top 5-7

 

[eoMMan]

Again? Another list with old ### movies?

 

[Ramsay Hunt Experience]

Biggest Hitchcock surprise is the inclusion of Marnie and the exclusion of Strangers on A Train.

Seems a largely reasonable list to me.

 

[bostonfred]

97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939)

96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008)

I've never even seen give with the wind and I like the dark night and still lol

 

[squistion]

Biggest Hitchcock surprise is the inclusion of Marnie and the exclusion of Strangers on A Train.

Seems a largely reasonable list to me.

I never understood the love for Marnie (outside of seeing Tippi Hendren again). I think Strangers On A Train suffers from the fact that its two stars Farley Granger and Robert Walker are pretty much forgotten today. Walker died tragically at the age of 33 from a drug overdose given by his doctor. Granger was either gay or bisexual and rather open about it at a time that was a career killer and he did nothing much in Hollywood outside of his two Hitchcock flicks.

 

[Doctor Detroit]

Again? Another list with old ### movies?

You had Die Hard with a Vengeance #54 amiright?

 

[sports_fan]

Shawshank was not American funded? Never knew that.

I was wondering why that didn't make the list.

 

[Popinski]

Only one movie from the last 35 years is in the top 20.

 

[ghostguy123]

Shawshank was not American funded? Never knew that.

I was wondering why that didn't make the list.

Cause it's a horrible list.

I would hate to meet the person who agrees with this list. What a miserable lame SOB that must be

 

[General Tso]

No Dances With Wolves?

 

[sports_fan]

Shawshank was not American funded? Never knew that.

I was wondering why that didn't make the list.

Cause it's a horrible list.

I would hate to meet the person who agrees with this list. What a miserable lame SOB that must be

It's not so bad. It would be pretty good if they included different movies and in a different order.

 

[Thunderlips]

Jaws is too low.....both in regards to the actual movie and the impact it had on the movie industry.

 

[timschochet]

http://wtop.com/entertainment/2015/07/bbc-ranks-100-greatest-american-films/

100. Ace in the Hole (Billy Wilder, 1951)

99. 12 Years a Slave (Steve McQueen, 2013) excellent

98. Heavens Gate (Michael Cimino, 1980)

97. Gone With the Wind (Victor Fleming, 1939) excellent

96. The Dark Knight (Christopher Nolan, 2008) excellent

95. Duck Soup (Leo McCarey, 1933) very good

94. 25th Hour (Spike Lee, 2002)

93. Mean Streets (Martin Scorsese, 1973)

92. The Night of the Hunter (Charles Laughton, 1955)

91. ET: The Extra-Terrestrial (Steven Spielberg, 1982) excellent

90. Apocalypse Now (Francis Ford Coppola, 1979) great cinematography, but a bit overrated

89. In a Lonely Place (Nicholas Ray, 1950)

88. West Side Story (Robert Wise and Jerome Robbins, 1961) excellent

87. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (Michel Gondry, 2004)

86. The Lion King (Roger Allers and Rob Minkoff, 1994) good

85. Night of the Living Dead (George A Romero, 1968) really? Don't see it.

84. Deliverance (John Boorman, 1972) very good

83. Bringing Up Baby (Howard Hawks, 1938)

82. Raiders of the Lost Ark (Steven Spielberg, 1981) excellent

81. Thelma & Louise (Ridley Scott, 1991) good

80. Meet Me in St Louis (Vincente Minnelli, 1944) very good

79. The Tree of Life (Terrence Malick, 2011)

78. Schindlers List (Steven Spielberg, 1993) in my top 10

77. Stagecoach (John Ford, 1939) good

76. The Empire Strikes Back (Irvin Kershner, 1980) very good

75. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (Steven Spielberg, 1977) excellent

74. Forrest Gump (Robert Zemeckis, 1994) overrated

73. Network (Sidney Lumet, 1976) excellent

72. The Shanghai Gesture (Josef von Sternberg, 1941)

71. Groundhog Day (Harold Ramis, 1993) annoying

70. The Band Wagon (Vincente Minnelli, 1953)

69. Koyaanisqatsi (Godfrey Reggio, 1982) visually stunning

68. Notorious (Alfred Hitchcock, 1946) very good

67. Modern Times (Charlie Chaplin, 1936) excellent

66. Red River (Howard Hawks, 1948) very good

65. The Right Stuff (Philip Kaufman, 1965) good

64. Johnny Guitar (Nicholas Ray, 1954)

63. Love Streams (John Cassavetes, 1984)

62. The Shining (Stanley Kubrick, 1980) good

61. Eyes Wide Shut (Stanley Kubrick, 1999) terrible

60. Blue Velvet (David Lynch, 1986) strange but good

59. One Flew Over the Cuckoos Nest (Milo Forman, 1975) in my top 10

58. The Shop Around the Corner (Ernst Lubitsch, 1940)

57. Crimes and Misdemeanors (Woody Allen, 1989) excellent

56. Back to the Future (Robert Zemeckis, 1985) very good

55. The Graduate (Mike Nichols, 1967) very good

54. Sunset Boulevard (Billy Wilder, 1950) excellent

53. Grey Gardens (Albert and David Maysles, Ellen Hovde and Muffie Meyer, 1975)

52. The Wild Bunch (Sam Peckinpah, 1969) excellent

51. Touch of Evil (Orson Welles, 1958)

50. His Girl Friday (Howard Hawks, 1940)

49. Days of Heaven (Terrence Malick, 1978)

48. A Place in the Sun (George Stevens, 1951) in my top 10

47. Marnie (Alfred Hitchcock, 1964) good

46. Its a Wonderful Life (Frank Capra, 1946) overrated

45. The Man Who Shot Liberty Valance (John Ford, 1962) good

44. Sherlock Jr (Buster Keaton, 1924) very good

43. Letter from an Unknown Woman (Max Ophüls, 1948)

42. Dr Strangelove (Stanley Kubrick, 1964) overrated

41. Rio Bravo (Howard Hawks, 1959)

40. Meshes of the Afternoon (Maya Deren and Alexander Hammid, 1943)

39. The Birth of a Nation (DW Griffith, 1915) dated so hard to appreciate

38. Jaws (Steven Spielberg, 1975) in my top 10

37. Imitation of Life (Douglas Sirk, 1959)

36. Star Wars (George Lucas, 1977) excellent

35. Double Indemnity (Billy Wilder, 1944) very good

34. The Wizard of Oz (Victor Fleming, 1939) in my top 10

33. The Conversation (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974)

32. The Lady Eve (Preston Sturges, 1941)

31. A Woman Under the Influence (John Cassavetes, 1974)

30. Some Like It Hot (Billy Wilder, 1959) good

29. Raging Bull (Martin Scorsese, 1980) excellent

28. Pulp Fiction (Quentin Tarantino, 1994) in my top 10

27. Barry Lyndon (Stanley Kubrick, 1975) good

26. Killer of Sheep (Charles Burnett, 1978)

25. Do the Right Thing (Spike Lee, 1989) excellent

24. The Apartment (Billy Wilder, 1960) very good

23. Annie Hall (Woody Allen, 1977) in my top 10

22. Greed (Erich von Stroheim, 1924)

21. Mulholland Drive (David Lynch, 2001)

20. Goodfellas (Martin Scorsese, 1990) in my top 10

19. Taxi Driver (Martin Scorsese, 1976) very good

18. City Lights (Charlie Chaplin, 1931) excellent

17. The Gold Rush (Charlie Chaplin, 1925) excellent

16. McCabe & Mrs Miller (Robert Altman, 1971) good

15. The Best Years of Our Lives (William Wyler, 1946)

14. Nashville (Robert Altman, 1975) very good

13. North by Northwest (Alfred Hitchcock, 1959) excellent

12. Chinatown (Roman Polanski, 1974) excellent

11. The Magnificent Ambersons (Orson Welles, 1942)

10. The Godfather Part II (Francis Ford Coppola, 1974) in my top 10

9. Casablanca (Michael Curtiz, 1942) excellent

8. Psycho (Alfred Hitchcock, 1960)excellent

7. Singin in the Rain (Stanley Donen and Gene Kelly, 1952) excellent

6. Sunrise (FW Murnau, 1927)

5. The Searchers (John Ford, 1956) excellent

4. 2001: A Space Odyssey (Stanley Kubrick, 1968) overrated

3. Vertigo (Alfred Hitchcock, 1958) excellent

2. The Godfather (Francis Ford Coppola, 1972) in my top 10

1. Citizen Kane (Orson Welles, 1941) excellent

Cross off ones I never saw.

Notable omissions:

Boogie Nights

Quiz Show

Airplane!

Rocky

On the Waterfront

Cabaret

Judgment at Nuremberg

Inherit the Wind

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner

The Shawshank Redemption

The Sting

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid

Letters from Iwo Jima

Saving Private Ryan

To Kill A Mockingbird

The Silence of the Lambs

Manhattan

12 Angry Men

Beauty and the Beast

Pinnochio

 

[timschochet]

The inclusion of The Lion King is somewhat mystifying to me, since The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, and Aladdin were all better films, as were Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Pinocchio, and Fantasia.

 

[Jayrod]

Yeah, 12 Angry Men is a glaring omission....unless it's not "American".

 

[FUBAR]

Only slightly embarrassed that I haven't even seen the movies listed made since 2000 - except the dark knight of course.

 

[NCCommish]

Sorry but a bunch of those films, while good, should not be on this list or at least not in their current position. Citizen Kane at number one is a travesty. While it was a technical marvel the movie itself was a rather boring 2 hour attack on Hurst. I have trouble staying awake through it. I simply can not see it at the best American movie of all time. Can't.

 

[FUBAR]

Sorry but a bunch of those films, while good, should not be on this list or at least not in their current position. Citizen Kane at number one is a travesty. While it was a technical marvel the movie itself was a rather boring 2 hour attack on Hurst. I have trouble staying awake through it. I simply can not see it at the best American movie of all time. Can't.

It's been deemed the best movie of all time for so long it's almost an automatic selection. Our film appreciation professor talked incessantly about it back in 98.that said, I agree that it shouldn't be there. Probably godfather imo.

 

[Fennis]

Pretty suspicious that The Patriot isn't on the list.

 

[NCCommish]

Sorry but a bunch of those films, while good, should not be on this list or at least not in their current position. Citizen Kane at number one is a travesty. While it was a technical marvel the movie itself was a rather boring 2 hour attack on Hurst. I have trouble staying awake through it. I simply can not see it at the best American movie of all time. Can't.

It's been deemed the best movie of all time for so long it's almost an automatic selection. Our film appreciation professor talked incessantly about it back in 98.that said, I agree that it shouldn't be there. Probably godfather imo.

Yeah it's a very cliched choice. As I said it was pioneering in the shots and angles. The cinematography was leading edge. But the story hasn't aged well at all as it is so period specific. Godfather would definitely sit with me better.

 

[rockaction]

Sorry but a bunch of those films, while good, should not be on this list or at least not in their current position. Citizen Kane at number one is a travesty. While it was a technical marvel the movie itself was a rather boring 2 hour attack on Hurst. I have trouble staying awake through it. I simply can not see it at the best American movie of all time. Can't.

It's been deemed the best movie of all time for so long it's almost an automatic selection. Our film appreciation professor talked incessantly about it back in 98.that said, I agree that it shouldn't be there. Probably godfather imo.

Yeah it's a very cliched choice. As I said it was pioneering in the shots and angles. The cinematography was leading edge. But the story hasn't aged well at all as it is so period specific. Godfather would definitely sit with me better.

It's both politically and intellectually time-bound. I'm in total agreement with this statement. It's like reading Tender Is The Night. It's so ####### great, and such a revelation, but it relies so much on the psychological science of the time that it dampers it just a bit.