West Side Story (1961) Starring Natalie Wood, Richard Beymer, Russ Tamblyn and Rita Moreno Written by Ernest Lehman (screenplay), Arthur Laurents (book), Leonard Bernstein (music) and Stephen Sondheim (lyrics) Directed by Jerome Robbins and Robert Wise This movie comes with the weight of all its baggage. Granted, a lot of classic movies do, but this … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: West Side Story (#41)
Category: AFI Top 100
The AFI Top 100 Films: Rear Window (#42)
Rear Window (1954) Starring James Stewart and Grace Kelly Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Written by John Michael Hayes (screenplay) and Cornell Woolrich (short story) There is so much that impressed me about this movie that it's difficult to know where to begin. This was the second of four collaborations between director Alfred Hitchcock and star … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Rear Window (#42)
The AFI Top 100 Films: King Kong (#43)
King Kong (1933) Starring Fay Wray, Bruce Cabot and Robert Armstrong Written by James Ashmore Creelman and Ruth Rose (screenplay), Merian C. Cooper and Edgar Wallace (story) Directed by Merian C. Cooper and Ernest B. Schoedsack I think most people from my generation know all about King Kong but haven't actually seen it. We know … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: King Kong (#43)
The AFI Top 100 Films: The Philadelphia Story (#51)
The Philadelphia Story (1940) Starring Katherine Hepburn, Cary Grant and James Stewart Directed by George Cukor Written by Donald Ogden Stewart (screenplay) and Phillip Barry (original play) In the very first scene of The Philadelphia Story, we see wealthy socialite CK Dexter Haven (Grant) packing his bags into his trunk angrily. His wife Tracy Lord … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: The Philadelphia Story (#51)
The AFI Top 100: A Streetcar Named Desire (#45)
A Streetcar Named Desire (1951) Starring Vivien Leigh, Marlon Brando, Kim Hunter and Karl Marlden Written by Tennessee Williams (play) and Oscar Saul (adaptation) Directed by Elia Kazan This one is definitely an actor's showcase. Director Elia Kazan gathered mostly Broadway stars to repopulate their roles in Tennessee Williams' intense play, including Marlon Brando and … Continue reading The AFI Top 100: A Streetcar Named Desire (#45)
The AFI Top 100 Films: A Clockwork Orange (#46)
A Clockwork Orange (1971) Starring Malcolm McDowell Written by Stanley Kubrick (screenplay) and Anthony Burgess (novel) Directed by Stanley Kubrick There's a lot to see in A Clockwork Orange that apparently isn't really there. Numerous interviews with the author reveal that there doesn't seem to be much thought behind a lot of the most iconic … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: A Clockwork Orange (#46)
The AFI Top 100 Movies: Taxi Driver (#47)
Taxi Driver (1976) Starring Robert De Niro, Jodie Foster, Cybill Shepherd Directed by Martin Scorcese Written by Paul Schrader Taxi Driver is a movie that's more fun to think about than to watch. It moves with a rather ponderous pace, with long shots of characters staring or significant gaps in conversation that seem to encourage … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Movies: Taxi Driver (#47)
The AFI Top 100 Films: Jaws (#48)
(Ed. Note -- You might have noticed that we've skipped a few movies on this list. We saw The Philadelphia Story (#51) fairly recently, so it wasn't included in our watch list. And we're saving Snow White and the Seven Dwarves for our run of Disney animated movies, coming up right after we finish the AFI … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: Jaws (#48)
The AFI Top 100 Movies: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (#50)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) Starring Paul Newman, Robert Redford and Katherine Ross Directed by George Roy Hill Written by William Goldman I'm not really sure what I was expecting when I sat down to watch this movie, but I have to say it was a delightful surprise. Most westerns from this era … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Movies: Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (#50)
The AFI Top 100 Films: From Here to Eternity (#52)
From Here to Eternity (1953) Starring Burt Lancaster, Montgomery Clift, Deborah Kerr and Donna Reed Directed by Fred Zimmerman Written by Daniel Taradash From Here to Eternity almost comes across as a melodrama, and without a doubt all of the ingredients are there. Shocking revelations from damaged people with haunted pasts, villains who are infuriatingly … Continue reading The AFI Top 100 Films: From Here to Eternity (#52)
From the Desk of Jakebe T. Rabbit 