Best in Film

This past Tuesday, ABC News and People Magazine teamed up to find what we, the American public, thought was the best movie. They first had various Hollywood insiders submit their lists and then the American public voted. Hosted by Tom Bergeron and Cynthia MacFaddyn, the two-hour special revealed the public’s top five choices in various categories. And here they are, along with some of my commentary.

Best 5 Comedies

5. Tootsie
4. Young Frankenstein
3. Some Like it Hot
2. Monty Python and the Holy Grail
1. Airplane

I’ve seen most of these comedies and I have to agree they are funny. I was surprised Young Frankenstein was the Mel Brooks movie that made the list. While I’ve seen Young Frankenstein and enjoyed it, everyone usually praises Blazing Saddles. My father even found it on TV, grabbed me, sat me down and told me to watch it. I am glad to see Monty Python on the list. Those guys are genius!

Science Fiction

5. Close Encounters of the Third Kind
4. The Matrix
3. Avatar
2. E.T.
1. Star Wars

I haven’t seen Close Encounters, though my father thought it should’ve been higher. And I frankly found Avatar highly overrated. While I admit the technology used to create the world of Pandora and the inhabitants that resided on it, the story was just…well, it was Pocahontas. I do agree that Star Wars deserves to be number one. I just don’t think Avatar deserves to be on the list.

That said, I loved the fact that when discussing “bullet time” from The Matrix, they showed a scene from an episode of CSI where a suspect starts shooting in the lab.

Musicals

5. West Side Story
4. Singing in the Rain
3. The Wizard of Oz
2. Grease
1. The Sound of Music

This is one of the two categories in which I’ve seen all the winners. And I agree with every one. These movie musicals have lasted over time and are watched over and over again. In fact, when one hears the words “movie musicals” one or all of these musicals pop into your mind, right?

Best Kisses

5. Casablanca
4. An Officer and a Gentleman
3. Lady and the Tramp
2. From Here to Eternity
1. Gone With the Wind

What’s a movie without a kiss? I’m sure there are movies without kisses, but the chemistry between two actors can really resonate with an audience. And these kisses…well, I’m not entirely sure about “An Officer and a Gentleman,” but the others are certainly emblazoned on our cultural tapestry. They showed a clip from Family Guy in which Brian stumbles across a Lady and the Tramp scenario, lambasting them for doing what humans expected them to do.

Some kisses do last longer than others.

Best Line

5. "Here's looking at you, kid."
4. "I'll have what she's having."
3. "I'm gonna make him an offer he can't refuse."
2. "Go ahead, make my day."
1. "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn."

Admit it, you’ve quoted at least one of those lines at some point in your life. They are so entrenched in our collective mindset that you may have not even realized you were quoting a movie at first. You may have accidentally accredited the quote to the wrong source, not realizing they were quoting the line.

When I was watching this special, I jotted some notes down on my computer. One comment I wrote down was: "Unprecedented" countdown? Because the American Film Institute has NEVER done this before, right?

Right.

Best Action Films

5. Gladiator
4. Die Hard
3. Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
2. The Dark Knight
1. Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark

Let’s face it—we all just want to sit back every now and again and watch things blow up. Or really fast paced scenes as nothing to my knowledge blows up in Gladiator. It was a surprise to see “Lord of the Rings” under this category as it is usually categorized as “fantasy.” But a majority of the third movie is battle sequences, so I guess it does count.

Best Thriller/Suspense

5. Pulp Fiction
4. The Shining
3. Psycho
2. Jaws
1. Silence of the Lambs

I really don’t watch these types of movies. So, I can’t tell how accurate America was.

Best Animated Films

5. Fantasia
4. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs
3. Beauty and the Beast
2. Toy Story
1. The Lion King

Complete Disney domination! This is the other category where I’ve seen every movie. Surprised? Of course not. And like the musicals category, I have to agree with every choice. Especially since Beauty and the Beast is my favorite movie ever.

Best Character

5. Indiana Jones (Harrison Ford)
4. Hannibal Lecter (Sir Anthony Hopkins)
3. Scarlett O'Hara (Vivien Leigh)
2. James Bond (Pick your favorite)
1. Forrest Gump (Tom Hanks)

Do we know these characters? Oh yeah. Have we used these characters to describe someone? Oh yeah. And will they remain with us? Oh yeah.

Say it with me now: “My mama always said, life was like a box of chocolates—you’ll never know what you’re going to get.”

Best Movie of all time

5. E.T.
4. Casablanca
3. The Godfather
2. The Wizard of Oz
1. Gone With the wind

And here we have it, folks! The five best movies of all time as voted by the American public. Both times the AFI counted down, they concluded that “Citizen Kane” was the best movie of all time. My father was quite surprised it never even made the list. As I’ve only seen two of these movies, I can’t really comment.

My father made a very good observation. Earlier, he and I had watched a countdown show on ESPN where they had people comment on their choices. The men commenting noted that none of ESPN’s selections happened before 1960. And with this list, with a few exceptions, most choices came after 1960.

So, what do you think of the list?