#18 and #19 – Watch All Films On The AFI Top 100 and iMDb Top 250

Phew, this is going to be a big one.

It’s taken me a LONG time to complete both of these bucket list items – I finished the AFI top 100 in 2020, and for various reasons I wanted to do this post combined, which meant a delay in posting this… but I’ve done it. 18 years later (no joke).

Read on to see why I did it, how I did it, what I thought of both goals (isn’t hindsight great?), and what I learnt from doing this…

(Titles appearing in both lists are in bold)

AFI Top 100

1) Citizen Kane		26) Mr Smith Goes To Washington		51) West Side Story	76) Forrest Gump
2) The Godfather		27) High Noon		52) Taxi Driver	77) All the President’s Men
3) Casablanca		28) All About Eve		53) The Deer Hunter	78) Modern Times
4) Raging Bull		29) Double Indemnity		54) M*A*S*H	79) The Wild Bunch
5) Singin’ In The Rain		30) Apocalypse Now		55) North by Northwest	80) The Apartment
6) Gone With The Wind		31) The Maltese Falcon		56) Jaws	81) Spartacus
7) Lawrence of Arabia		32) The Godfather Part II		57) Rocky	82) Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans
8) Schindler’s List		33) One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest		58) The Gold Rush	83) Titanic
9) Vertigo		34) Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs		59) Nashville	84) Easy Rider
10) The Wizard of Oz		35) Annie Hall		60) Duck Soup	85) A Night at the Opera
11) City Lights		36) The Bridge on the River Kwai		61) Sullivan’s Travels	86) Platoon
12) The Searchers		37) The Best Years of Our Lives		62) American Graffiti	87) 12 Angry Men
13) Star Wars		38) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre		63) Cabaret	88) Bringing Up Baby
14) Psycho		39) Dr Strangelove		64) Network	89) The Sixth Sense
15) 2001: A Space Odyssey		40) The Sound of Music		65) The African Queen	90) Swing Time
16) Sunset Blvd.		41) King Kong		66) Raiders of the Lost Ark	91) Sophie’s Choice
17) The Graduate		42) Bonnie and Clyde		67) Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?	92) Goodfellas
18) The General		43) Midnight Cowboy		68) Unforgiven	93) The French Connection
19) On the Waterfront		44) The Philadelphia Story		69) Tootsie	94) Pulp Fiction
20) It’s A Wonderful Life		45) Shane		70) A Clockwork Orange	95) The Last Picture Show
21) Chinatown		46) It Happened One Night		71) Saving Private Ryan	96) Do the Right Thing
22) Some Like It Hot		47) A Streetcar Named Desire		72) The Shawshank Redemption	97) Blade Runner
23) The Grapes of Wrath		48) Rear Window		73) Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	98) Yankee Doodle Dandy
24) ET: The Extra-Terrestrial		49) Intolerance		74) The Silence of the Lambs	99) Toy Story
25) To Kill A Mockingbird		50) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring		75) In the Heat of the Night	100) Ben-Hur

iMDB top 250 (as of December 2022*)

1) The Shawshank Redemption	51) Alien	101) Amelie		151) Kill Bill Vol. 1	201) Mary and Max
2) The Godfather	52) City Lights	102) A Clockwork Orange		152) No Country for Old Men	202) How to Train Your Dragon
3) The Dark Knight	53) Apocalypse Now	103) The Apartment		153) Finding Nemo	203) Monsters, Inc.
4) The Godfather Part II	54) Memento	104) Ikiru		154) The Thing	204) The Big Lebowski
5) 12 Angry Men	55) Raiders of the Lost Ark	105) Double Indemnity		155) The Elephant Man	205) Jaws
6) Schindler’s List	56) Django Unchained	106) Full Metal Jacket		156) Chinatown	206) Dead Poets Society
7) The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King	57) WALL-E	107) Hamilton		157) Raging Bull	207) The Passion of Joan of Arc
8) Pulp Fiction	58) The Lives of Others	108) Scarface		158) V for Vendetta	208) Tokyo Story
9) The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring	59) Sunset Blvd.	109) To Kill A Mockingbird		159) Gone with the Wind	209) Hotel Rwanda
10) The Good, the Bad and the Ugly	60) Paths of Glory	110) The Sting		160) Inside Out	210) Le Mans ’66
11) Forrest Gump	61) The Shining	111) Incendies		161) Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels	211) Rocky
12) Fight Club	62) The Great Dictator	112) Up		162) Dial M for Murder	212) Platoon
13) The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers	63) Avengers: Infinity War	113) Heat		163) The Secret in their Eyes	213) Spotlight
14) Inception	64) Witness for the Prosecution	114) Taxi Driver		164) Howl’s Moving Castle	214) The Terminator
15) Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back	65) Aliens	115) A Seperation		165) The Bridge on the River Kwai	215) Stand by Me
16) The Matrix	66) Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse	116) Metropolis		166) Three Billboards	216) Ratatouille
17) Goodfellas	67) American Beauty	117) L.A. Confidential		167) Trainspotting	217) Logan
18) One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest	68) Dr Strangelove	118) Die Hard		168) Warrior	218) Rush
19) Seven	69) The Dark Knight Rises	119) Snatch		169) Fargo	219) Pather Panchali
20) Seven Samurai	70) Oldboy	120) Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade		170) Prisoners	220) Network
21) It’s a Wonderful Life	71) Amadeus	121) Bicycle Thieves		171) Gran Torino	221) Into the Wild
22) The Silence of the Lambs	72) Inglourious Basterds	122) Like Stars on Earth		172) My Neighbour Totoro	222) The Wizard of Oz
23) City of God	73) Joker	123) 1917		173) Catch Me If You Can	223) Before Sunset
24) Saving Private Ryan	74) Coco	124) Downfall		174) Million Dollar Baby	224) Groundhog Day
25) Life is Beautiful	75) Toy Story	125) For A Few Dollars More		175) Children of Heaven	225) The Best Years of Our Lives
26) Interstellar	76) Braveheart	126) Dangal		176) Blade Runner	226) The Exorcist
27) The Green Mile	77) Das Boot	127) Batman Begins		177) The Gold Rush	227) To Be or Not to Be
28) Star Wars	78) Avengers: Endgame	128) The Kid		178) On the Waterfront	228) The Incredibles
29) Terminator 2: Judgment Day	79) Princess Mononoke	129) Some Like It Hot		179) Before Sunrise	229) The Battle of Algiers
30) Back to the Future	80) Once Upon A Time In America	130) The Father		180) 12 Years A Slave	230) Jai Bhim
31) Spirited Away	81) Good Will Hunting	131) All About Eve		181) Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2	231) Hachi: A Dog’s Tale
32) Psycho	82) Your Name	132) Green Book		182) Ben-Hur	232) La Haine
33) The Pianist	83) Top Gun: Maverick	133) The Wolf of Wall Street		183) Wild Strawberries	233) My Father and My Son
34) Parasite	84) Requiem for a Dream	134) Judgment at Nuremberg		184) Gone Girl	234) Pirates of the Caribbean: The Curse of the Black Pearl
35) Leon	85) 3 Idiots	135) Ran		185) The Third Man	235) The Grapes of Wrath
36) The Lion King	86) Singin’ in the Rain	136) Casino		186) The General	236) Rebecca
37) Gladiator	87) Toy Story 3	137) Pan’s Labyrinth		187) The Grand Budapest Hotel	237) Amores perros
38) American History X	88) High and Low	138) Unforgiven		188) Klaus	238) Cool Hand Luke
39) The Departed	89) Star Wars: Return of the Jedi	139) There Will Be Blood		189) The Deer Hunter	239) The 400 Blows
40) The Usual Suspects	90) Capernaum	140) The Truman Show		190) In the Name of the Father	240) The Handmaiden
41) The Prestige	91) Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind	141) The Sixth Sense		191) The Wages of Fear	241) The Sound of Music
42) Whiplash	92) 2001: A Space Odyssey	142) A Beautiful Mind		192) Barry Lyndon	242) It Happened One Night
43) Casablanca	93) Reservoir Dogs	143) Shutter Island		193) Hacksaw Ridge	243) Persona
44) Harakiri	94) The Hunt	144) Yojimbo		194) Sherlock Jr.	244) Life of Brian
45) Grave of the Fireflies	95) Come and See	145) Monty Python and the Holy Grail		195) Mr Smith Goes to Washington	245) Derzu Uzala
46) Untouchable	96) Citizen Kane	146) The Treasure of the Sierra Madre		196) Memories of Murder	246) The Iron Giant
47) Modern Times	97) M	147) Spider-Man: No Way Home		197) Wild Tales	247) Aladdin
48) Once Upon A Time In The West	98) Lawrence of Arabia	148) Jurassic Park		198) The Seventh Seal	248) The Help
49) Rear Window	99) North by Northwest	149) The Great Escape		199) Mad Max: Fury Road	249) Everything Everywhere All At Once
50) Cinema Paradiso	100) Vertigo	150) Rashomon		200: Room	250) Gandhi

Why I Did It

I’ve always loved a film. Who hasn’t? Settling down to watch the stars of the screen act out a story, taking you away from your reality – sometimes helping you think through your reality in part. I think that, in the English-language West, we have a tendency to stick to what we know when it comes to film – and more often than not, we’re swayed by new Hollywood releases. This is all well and good, until you realise that “moving images” have been around since 1888, and that there are genuinely thousands of lost films that had the ability to teach us about society, movies, and how we got to this point. On top of that, we’ve definitely gotten better at recognising and appreciating foreign cinema**, but there are still so many films that I genuinely wouldn’t have even considered watching before I started this project. So that’s why I did it. Expand my knowledge of film, but also to open my eyes to other forms, eras and genres of film that I haven’t necessarily gravitated towards in the past. Plus, it’s always fun to be able to pick up on references in other media (looking at you, Matt Groening)!

** nb: the AFI list only considers American films, and the iMDb list contains some non-English films but in my opinion not enough.

5 Films I loved

• All The President’s Men – “An epic biographical political mystery drama-thriller film about the Watergate scandal that brought down the presidency of Richard Nixon”
• Cinema Paradiso – “A film centering on the friendship between a young boy and an aging projectionist who works at the titular movie theatre”
• Fargo – “A black comedy crime film centred on kidnapping, ransoms and homicides in a small Minnesota town”
• Tokyo Story – “A Japanese drama about an aging couple who travel to Tokyo to visit their grown children”.
• The African Queen – “A film about British missionaries in East Africa and their wartime adventures with a Canadian mechanic on a small steamboat”

5 Films I struggled to watch

• Anything directed by Ingmar Bergman (I’m so sorry, Sweden)
• Duck Soup – “A pre-Code musical black comedy film from the Marx Brothers, centred on the mythical country of Freedonia”
• Spirited Away – “A Japanese animated fantasy film about a girl who enters the world of Kami (spirits of Japanese Shinto folklore)”
• Everything Everywhere All At Once – “An absurdist comedy-drama film, centred on a Chinese-American immigrant who must connect with parallel universe versions of herself to prevent a powerful being from destroying the multiverse”
• The Maltese Falcon – “A film noir following a private detective and his dealings with three adventurers competing to obtain a jewel-encrusted falcon statuette”

5 Films that I wasn’t expecting to love but did

• Modern Times – “A part-talkie satirical romantic black comedy film by Charlie Chaplin, in which the Little Tramp struggles to survive in the modern, industrialised world”
• The French Connection – “A crime action thriller film about two NYPD detectives in pursuit of a wealthy French heroin smuggler”
• Unforgiven – “A revisionist Western film, telling the story of an aging outlaw and killer who takes on one more job”
• Metropolis – “A 1927 German expressionist science-fiction drama film, set in a futuristic urban dystopia with a wide social class disparity”
• The Sting – “A caper film focusing on two professional grifters who set out to con a mob boss in 1930s Chicago”

3 Things I learnt:

• Foreign films are vastly underrated/underrepresented in Western media channels. Netflix has done a fantastic job at evening the playing field and making foreign titles more accessible, but there are so many gems out there that most Western audiences wouldn’t be exposed to without actively searching for them. Don’t get me wrong, there are films that just do not cross cultural divides, but those still teach us a lot about the culture and how we understand them (or don’t, as the case may be). I feel awful for saying it, but part of the reason I struggled with ‘Spirited Away’ is because the cultural nuances just did not resonate with me. It would be like if I showed a Japanese audience some of the British cultural references I grew up with – it just would not be understood in the way it’s meant to be, but these films still teach us a lot about the culture, and, in my opinion, still need to be shown/publicised more.

• Humour has vastly changed in the past 100 years. This is a pretty obvious one – society has vastly changed in the past 10 years, let alone 100 – but the benchmarks of entertainment are almost completely different to where they were in 1922. What 1920s audiences considered ‘hilarious’ at the time may barely raise a smile for modern audiences now. This was seen most drastically in the Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin films I watched – there was so much slapstick and physical comedy that seems to have died down in 21st century comedy films. In a similar way, I really struggled to watch the Marx Brothers films because I just simply did not find them funny. Similarly, humour got a lot more gritty throughout the years – which, again, goes along with the social changes that have happened in this time.

• There are way more movie references that are copied/borrowed/stolen than we think. Even in some of the newer films (Marvel does an excellent job of borrowing movie references), you can see nods to other films on the list, which creates a bit of a movie Inception (check the ref!). It’s truly wild, and makes me appreciate seeing the source material so much more – I found myself getting visibly excited whenever I saw an original reference!

How I did it:

• Amazon Prime (both free and paid-for films)
• Disney Plus
• Netflix
• Youtube (especially for older films where copyrights were expired – particularly useful for 1920s/1930s films)
• Some DVDs – although these were restricted for environmental impact.

Would I do it again?

iMDb: Yes – I found it a really good comprehensive list of “famous films” that touched on a range of genres, cultures and languages – and if you’re brand new to movies, it would give you a really great baseline knowledge.

AFI Top 100: No. Honestly, I know it’s the American Film Institute, but I found it too American-focused (duh). Great if you want to understand the history of Hollywood, but if you want a more general knowledge of film, I’d do the iMDb top 250. Or commit 18 years of your life to doing both, like me!

Any questions on these ridiculous goals, just shout – but for now, I’m off to watch some mindless drivel and not think about the intellectual complexities of cinema for a bit 🙂

R xx

* please note: as the iMDB top 250 is generated by the public based on votes, this list is as it looks in December 2022. It will change and adapt over time.