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Frayed Knot Jun 18 2008 07:58 AM

They're really making a franchise - and not a few TV specials - out of this stuff. This time they do a top 10 in 10 different categories. ANIMATION 1. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937. 2. "Pinocchio," 1940. 3. "Bambi," 1942. 4. "The Lion King," 1994. 5. "Fantasia," 1940. 6. "Toy Story," 1995. 7. "Beauty and the Beast," 1991. 8. "Shrek," 2001. 9. "Cinderella," 1950. 10. "Finding Nemo," 2003. FANTASY 1. "The Wizard of Oz," 1939. 2. "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring," 2001. 3. "It's a Wonderful Life," 1946. 4. "King Kong," 1933. 5. "Miracle on 34th Street, 1947. 6. "Field of Dreams," 1989. 7. "Harvey," 1950. 8. "Groundhog Day," 1993. 9. "The Thief of Bagdad," 1924. 10. "Big," 1988. GANGSTER 1. "The Godfather," 1972. 2. "Goodfellas," 1990. 3. "The Godfather Part II," 1974. 4. "White Heat," 1949. 5. "Bonnie and Clyde," 1967. 6. "Scarface: The Shame of a Nation," 1932. 7. "Pulp Fiction," 1994. 8. "The Public Enemy," 1931. 9. "Little Caesar," 1930. 10. "Scarface," 1983. SCIENCE FICTION 1. "2001: A Space Odyssey," 1968. 2. "Star Wars: Episode IV — A New Hope," 1977. 3. "E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial," 1982. 4. "A Clockwork Orange," 1971. 5. "The Day The Earth Stood Still," 1951. 6. "Blade Runner," 1982. 7. "Alien," 1979. 8. "Terminator 2: Judgment Day," 1991. 9. "Invasion of the Body Snatchers," 1956. 10. "Back to the Future," 1985. WESTERN 1. "The Searchers," 1956. 2. "High Noon," 1952. 3. "Shane," 1953. 4. "Unforgiven," 1992. 5. "Red River," 1948. 6. "The Wild Bunch," 1969. 7. "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," 1969. 8. "McCabe & Mrs. Miller," 1971. 9. "Stagecoach," 1939. 10. "Cat Ballou," 1965. SPORTS 1. "Raging Bull," 1980. 2. "Rocky," 1976. 3. "The Pride of the Yankees," 1942. 4. "Hoosiers," 1986. 5. "Bull Durham," 1988. 6. "The Hustler," 1961. 7. "Caddyshack," 1980. 8. "Breaking Away," 1979. 9. "National Velvet," 1944. 10. "Jerry Maguire," 1996. MYSTERY 1. "Vertigo," 1958. 2. "Chinatown," 1974. 3. "Rear Window," 1954. 4. "Laura," 1944. 5. "The Third Man," 1949. 6. "The Maltese Falcon," 1941. 7. "North By Northwest," 1959. 8. "Blue Velvet," 1986. 9. "Dial M for Murder," 1954. 10. "The Usual Suspects," 1995. ROMANTIC COMEDY 1. "City Lights," 1931. 2. "Annie Hall," 1977. 3. "It Happened One Night," 1934. 4. "Roman Holiday," 1953. 5. "The Philadelphia Story," 1940. 6. "When Harry Met Sally ...," 1989. 7. "Adam's Rib," 1949. 8. "Moonstruck," 1987. 9. "Harold and Maude," 1971. 10. "Sleepless in Seattle," 1993. COURTROOM DRAMA 1. "To Kill a Mockingbird," 1962. 2. "12 Angry Men," 1957. 3. "Kramer Vs. Kramer," 1979. 4. "The Verdict," 1982. 5. "A Few Good Men," 1992. 6. "Witness for the Prosecution," 1957. 7. "Anatomy of a Murder," 1959. 8. "In Cold Blood," 1967. 9. "A Cry in the Dark," 1988. 10. "Judgment at Nuremberg," 1961. EPIC 1. "Lawrence of Arabia," 1962. 2. "Ben-Hur," 1959. 3. "Schindler's List," 1993. 4. "Gone With the Wind," 1939. 4. "Spartacus," 1960. 6. "Titanic," 1997. 7. "All Quiet on the Western Front," 1930. 8. "Saving Private Ryan," 1998. 9. "Reds," 1981. 10. "The Ten Commandments," 1956.

AG/DC Jun 18 2008 08:03 AM

1. "Raging Bull," 1980. 2. "Rocky," 1976. 3. "The Pride of the Yankees," 1942. 4. "Hoosiers," 1986. 5. "Bull Durham," 1988. 6. "The Hustler," 1961. 7. "Caddyshack," 1980. 8. "Breaking Away," 1979. 9. "National Velvet," 1944. 10. "Jerry Maguire," 1996. No Bad News Bears, no respect.

RealityChuck Jun 18 2008 09:11 AM

Plenty of obvious omissions and films listed that don't deserve it. That's par for the course. Just choosing one: ANIMATION 1. "Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs," 1937. 2. "Pinocchio," 1940. 3. "Bambi," 1942. 4. "The Lion King," 1994. 5. "Fantasia," 1940. 6. "Toy Story," 1995. 7. "Beauty and the Beast," 1991. 8. "Shrek," 2001. 9. "Cinderella," 1950. 10. "Finding Nemo," 2003. Drop Pinocchio, Bambi, The Lion King, Finding Nemo and Beauty and the Beast. Add The Iron Giant, Princess Monomoke, The Little Mermaid, Wallace and Gromit and the Curse of the Were-Rabbit (or the trilogy of W&G short subjects) and The Triplets of Belleville. If it's got to be only American films, then I'd add Dumbo, Hoodwinked, and The Last Unicorn instead of Monomoke, W&G & The Triplets.

Nymr83 Jun 18 2008 10:39 AM

the animation list is the only one that really smacks of recentism which is nice. Titanic sucked, but more to the point what the heck is an "Epic" and what makes it one? i wouldnt consider it the same "type" of movie as any of the others on that list i'd call ben-hur, lawrence of arabia, the ten commandments, and spartacus the same "type" of movie and if you want to call that genre "epics" then fine but why is titanic included?

Vince Coleman Firecracker Jun 18 2008 01:47 PM

I know the lists are supposed to be American-centric, but damn that western list looks a lot worse than it would with Leone.

Vince Coleman Firecracker Jun 18 2008 01:49 PM

Also, no Ratatouille? Shenanigans.

Vic Sage Jun 26 2008 10:12 AM

Nymr83 wrote: the animation list is the only one that really smacks of recentism which is nice. Titanic sucked, but more to the point what the heck is an "Epic" and what makes it one? i wouldnt consider it the same "type" of movie as any of the others on that list i'd call ben-hur, lawrence of arabia, the ten commandments, and spartacus the same "type" of movie and if you want to call that genre "epics" then fine but why is titanic included? While "epic" is now used more generally for any large scale movie, the "epic" is a genre that has certain characteristics: * length - generally well over 2 hours, usually in the 3+ hour range * aspect ratio - usually in cinemascope or other similar widescreen format * scale - a "cast of thousands", or effects to make it appear so * scope - saga set against huge historical conflicts (wars, disasters), or with difficult "epic" quests, generally taking place over an extended period of time There are religious epics (TEN COMMANDMENTS, BEN-HUR), war epics (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, SCHINDLER'S LIST, SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, TROY), romantic epics (DR. ZHIVAGO, GONE WITH THE WIND, TITANIC, CLEOPATRA), as well as SF/Fantasy epics (LORD OF THE RINGS), crime epics (ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA), and general historical epics (BIRTH OF A NATION, FALL OF THE ROMAN EMPIRE, GANDHI). There are even family epics (FANNY & ALEXANDER).

AG/DC Jun 26 2008 11:02 AM

You can split that last one into two traits --- high-stakes context and temporal span. If it takes three of five to qualify, then Titanic passes. A problem is that, in our CGI era, these traits of epic-ness are cheaper and therefore more common, over-lapping broadly into all those other genres.