AFI’s 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres

Posted on Wednesday, June 18th, 2008 by Peter Sciretta

The American Film Institute has released a new set of top 10 lists for us to complain about. This time around they have broken down America’s 10 Greatest Films in 10 Classic Genres.

Animation

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)
Pinocchio (1940)
Bambi (1942)
The Lion King (1994)
Fantasia (1940)
Toy Story (1995)
Beauty and the Beast (1991)
Shrek (2001)
Cinderella (1950)
Finding Nemo (2003)

Observations: Three computer animated films made the list, Two of which came from Pixar. Shrek is ranked higher than Cinderella and Finding Nemo?!

Fantasy

The Wizard of Oz (1939)
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)
It’s a Wonderful Life (1946)
King Kong (1933)
Miracle on 34th Street (1947)
Field of Dreams (1989)
Harvey (1950)
Groundhog Day (1993)
The Thief of Bagdad (1924)
Big (1988)

Gangster

The Godfather (1972)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Godfather Part II (1974)
White Heat (1949)
Bonnie and Clyde (1967)
Scarface (1932)
Pulp Fiction (1994)
The Public Enemy (1931)
Little Caesar (1930)
Scarface (1983)

Observations: Godfather II is considered by everyone to be a better film than the original film, so why does it always place second to the first film on all of AFI’s lists?

Science Fiction

2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)
E.T. (1982)
A Clockwork Orange (1971)
The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
Blade Runner (1982)
Alien (1979)
Terminator 2 (1991)
Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
Back to the Future (1985)

Observations: A New Hope but no Empire Strikes Back? Is A Clockwork Orange really Sci Fi? Where is Close Encounters? Back to the Future FTW!

Western

The Searchers (1956)
High Noon (1952)
Shane (1953)
Unforgiven (1992)
Red River (1948)
The Wild Bunch (1969)
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)
Stagecoach (1939)
Cat Ballou (1965)

Sports

Raging Bull (1980)
Rocky (1976)
The Pride of the Yankees (1942)
Hoosiers (1986)
Bull Durham (1988)
The Hustler (1961)
Caddyshack (1980)
Breaking Away (1979)
National Velvet (1944)
Jerry Maguire (1996)

Mystery

Vertigo (1958)
Chinatown (1974)
Rear Window (1954)
Laura (1944)
The Third Man (1949)
The Maltese Falcon (1941)
North By Northwest (1959)
Blue Velvet (1986)
Dial M for Murder (1954)
The Usual Suspects (1995)

Romantic Comedies

City Lights (1931)
Annie Hall (1977)
It Happened One Night (1934)
Roman Holiday (1953)
The Philadelphia Story (1940)
When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Adam’s Rib (1949)
Moonstruck (1987)
Harold and Maude (1971)
Sleapless in Seatle (1993)

Courtroom Drama

To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)
12 Angry Men (1957)
Kramer vs. Kramer (1979)
The Verdict (1982)
A Few Good Men (1992)
Witness For The Prosecution (1957)
Anatomy of a Murder (1959)
In Cold Blood (1967)
A Cry in the Dark (1988)
Judgement at Nuremberg (1961)

Observation: Paully Shore’s Jury Duty is mysteriously absent. :)

Epic

Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
Ben-Hur (1959)
Schindler’s List (1993)
Gone with the Wind (1939)
Spartacus (1960)
Titanic (1997)
All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
Saving Private Ryan (1998)
Reds (1981)
The Ten Commandments (1956)

Observation: Epic Movie is mysteriously missing. :)

Other Interesting Facts

Alfred Hitchcock has 4 films on the ten lists; Steven Spielberg and Stanley Kubrick follow with 3 entries each.

James Stewart is the most represented actor with 6 films; Tom Hanks is next with 4; Warren Beatty, Robert De Niro, Gene Hackman, James Earl Jones, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino and John Wayne have 3 films each.

Diane Keaton is the most represented actress with 4 films on the list; Grace Kelly and Talia Shire both have 3 entries.

Comments

MR

Animation is not a genre!

Also where is 12 Monkeys?

Joker

Sorry, but Michael Mann films deserve some credit here.

Gangster - HEAT. How is Heat not on the list? Robert DeNiro and Al Pacino. Am I missing something here?

Sports - Ali. A great bio-pic of Ali. Will Smith was perfect in it. And it's not on the list... wow.

Captain Awesome

This list sucks. I also agree with Joker about Heat :)

Nick O.

I asked myself the same question when I read A Clockwork Orange in the list under Sci-Fi. I've never thought of it as a sci-fi movie...

Phoenix

Interesting list, some good choices, but Groundhog Day? Seriously? And E.T. before Blade Runner? Ehm... Shrek? Please don't! At least, they didn't put Madagascar here.

Shoot me if you must, but I have seen preciously few movies from before 1950 that have aged well. All quiet on the Western Front is one exception here, Chaplin's films are still great also, but the rest...

On the flip side, I totally agree with To KIll a Mockingbird and one of the Godfathers on the first spot. Vertigo, Lawrence of Arabia and 2001 are definitely worthy choices, too!

To me the first two Godfather movies always count as one and they are one (!) of the best films ever made.
I agree with the others on Heat! But my family doesn't. They didn't like Heat or Unforgiven one bit. Go figure!

Jmoney

I actually prefer Godfather to Godfather Part 2.

Dan Taylor

I usually try and ignore these lists as they just get me agitated, but how do you not rank SLAP SHOT one of the ten greatest sports movies?

reggie dunlop

I agree. Slap Shot is the most obvious omission in the list. Not only should it be on the list, but it should be close to number 1, if not at the very top. An argument could be made that Slap Shot captures the feel of amateur hockey even more than Raging Bull captures the feel of boxing, but I ain't gonna make it. Plus, I'd like to see a comedy win one once in a while.

Kevin Srawn

The most obvious omission I can see is The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly from the westerns. Is Cat Ballou really better than it?

Stryker412

Sleapless?

frank1569

AFI missed an entire genre - call it COPS, or Cops and Robbers maybe, or CRIME? Like, where's "The French Connection," and "Serpico," and "Prince of the City" and "Dirty Harry" and even "Silence of the Lambs?" And, even though they offer "Romantic Comedies," how about just "Romance/Love?" sans the comedy? And, if ya wanna get picky, there should have been a Musical category as well.

Matt

Yeah where is The Good The Bad and the Ugly? And yes Clockwork Orange is Science Fiction... just because there aren't any robots and aliens blowing stuff up doesn't mean it isn't Sci-fi...On that note where is Children of Men then?
As for Sports Movies... What about Rudy? I love that one and when ever college sports is on they ALWAYS play the music from that in their little montage.
Godfather 1&2 = 1 movie for me check out the Godfather Saga cut of both together its amazing!
And I do think it needs to be said again... How is Groundhog Day fantasy? I don't think I saw Frodo or The Tin Man in that one.
As for Animation... It is a genre all its on "Mr" and where the heck is Nightmare before Christmas? I got to remember sometimes AFI members vote these movies in and not a lonely movie nerd in a basement with his own website... but still.

Joe

I wanted to stop reading the list when I got to Shrek in the top 10 animation. But then I continued just to see what other ridiculous thing they came up with.

Shrek? Seriously? I'd put the Incredibles up on that list instead of Shrek.

Groundhog Day is a fantasy movie? It's one of the best comedies ever made in my opinion, but you can not put in a list that also includes Lord of the Rings!

And Caddyshack within the sports movies?!

Where is the comedy list so they can properly list Groundhog Day along with Caddyshack and even throw in classics like Airplane!?

AFI sucks.

Gajonka

Kubrick is the Man , no need to add to that. he is the best director-EVER. And North by Northwest is much, much better than Vertigo. Shane is not better than Unforgiven. I don;t see a military/ was genre. Thats BS.

Bob

I really like both Godfather movies, but I definitely rank the first one to be better than the second. Most people I've talked to feel the same way.

Also, what's wrong with Shrek? The sequels sucked, but the original one was good.

IrishRed

I don't think AFI put a whole lot time into this one:

Back to the Future over The Matrix?

They totally missed on the Crime Dramas (along with the previously mentioned Heat etc) Where is Se7en -- Brad Pitt, Morgan Freeman, and the uber-creepy Kevin Spacey.

How is Tombstone not listed under Westerns?

The Natural under Sports?

They missed innumerable comedies as well!

This list is complete crap!

Hynes

This is pretty terrible. These are just dull, safe lists.

AJ

It's interesting to see they left off some obvious genres, but that is simply because those genres already have lists. Most notably straight up Romance films and straight up Comedy films, both have had lists already. It was shocking when i read the list of the 400 nominees that perennial favorites were completely left out because they don't fit into a genre. An AFI show without Citizen Kane or Casablanca is not an AFI show.

AJ

Citizen Kane didn't even make mystery!

tobor68

agreed, this list is crap. too safe.

really? shrek before finding nemo?? is the AFI on crack?

MR is right, animation is not a genre. it's merely another way to tell a story.

creativeamp68

Does no one think Horror is a legitimate genre???

crushin russian

The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly isn't on there because it's technically not an American film. It's an Italian spaghetti western made by an Italian production company. Many of the actors also speak in Italian, which was later dubbed. Otherwise, it would be a terrible omission if it qualified.

My question is why the hell isn't Apocalypse Now on the greatest epics. It's surely better than the two other war movies, Saving Private Ryan and All Quiet on the Western Front.

Tim

How is Tombstone not in the Western category?!?!

S

I watched the last part of the broadcast, and -- brilliantly -- when they got to Saving Private Ryan and showed an interview clip with the director, they captioned it: "STEVEN SPEILBERG".

I rewound the Tivo just to check my eyes and blink several times. Yes, you read that right.

George

Personally, I think these lists are OK. All of the movies deserve to be on them, if not in the same order. Shrek is better than Finding Nemo because it is far more inginuitive and does something very different to all other animated features. I just wish there were more lists: a strictly war genre, musical, etc.

dharma bum

Gangster - Personally, The Godfather is superior to Part II. I agree with Heat being on the list.
Romantic Comedies - Some Like It Hot, anybody?!

erin

An awful lot of that is pretty mainstream, not a lot of lesser-seen / indie classics. Figures?

Matt

As much as I love Hitchcock and his work, Chinatown is a far superior movie to Vertigo.

Craig

In the fantasy category, where is The Princess Bride, possibly the greatest fairy tale ever??? And how about Raiders of the Lost Ark - it seems that could be considered fantasy based on this list.

And if Groundhog Day is considered fantasy, then how about Blazing Saddles in the Westerns category (RIP Harvey Korman).

I haven't seen all of the ones in the Courtroom list, but Al Pacino has one of the greatest courtroom scenes ever in ...And Justice For All. "You're out of order! The whole trial is out of order!" You can watch this great scene, by the way at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iIAODV43YGU.

Martin Bennett

5 Problems with the list:
1) Shrek is not as nearly as good as Finding Nemo or Cinderella, by any stretch of the imagination
2) Animation is more of a medium than a genre; why not include horror?
3) Harvey is not a good choice for Fantasy.
4) Not enough film noirs on the mystery list. Why no Big Sleep as opposed to Dial M for Murder, which isn't Hitchcock's best.
5) Cat Ballou?

Other than that, I think this is a rather good list. AFI is getting better. They're finally giving some films, like The Searchers, 2001, Blade Runner, and so forth the recognition each movie deserves.

snotspill

I think the problem with this list is that when you think about movies in genres you greatly limit yourself and either some of the best films are omitted or films that may be very strong may not represent the "genre" as well and therefore are lower on the list. I think the only way you miss Citizen Kane and a lot of other great movies is that it was so great as so many genre levels that it just doesn't come to mind under one.

ANGRY BROOMSTICK!!!

notice it's all WHITE people? Nice!!!

*sarcastic*

Yourname Goes Here

God forbid they list the top 10 horror films that would acknowledge it as a artistic medium and as a legitimate film genre...

Joe

Why is the horror genre left out yet again? There may be a lot of really bad horror movies, in fact the percentage is really high; but come on. How can you have Gangster and not Horror? It was one of the most important genre's of early Hollywood and actually it one of the most profitable.

YoungZe

Hell yeah, Joker is right. Ali is on of the best "Sports" Film ever created and Heat definitely deserves to be on that list.

Pete

Heat is a great film. It, however, is not a gangster film. It is a crime film, not a gangster film. It's basically a cops a robbers film. I have no problem with leaving it off the gangster films list. My biggest gripe was the epic category. Why not separate that into 2 categories and have War films as a separate category? Also, the AFI top 100 has Ben-Hur ranked #100, but somehow it's #2 in the Epic category. 6 of the films Ben-Hur is ranked ahead of on the Epic list are all ahead of it on the top 100, how does this make any sense at all?????

berzo12

no comic book movie list? are there even 10 worthy of a list like that?

Bigmix

What about The Shawshank Redemption, one of the best movies of all time. I agree with Irishred about crime dramas. You got The Shawshank Redemption, Se7en and The Usual Suspects just to name three. You go to any movie ratings and those three are very high on those lists.

website design

Pffft... Lists written by 60 year olds and a Disney fan.

Joe

Yeah I'm glad most have noticed the absence of 'The Good the Bad and the Ugly', but 'Once upon a time in the West' deserves a place as one of the greatest Westerns too! Does the list maker have a grudge against Sergio Leone?
And a Clockword Organe aint sci-fi.
Plus, where is 'Muder on the Orient Express' in Mystery? It runs rings around 'dial M for Murder'.
It may sound like I hate this list, but apart from those noted I don't have many problems with it

Ankur Kamdar

What about Gladiator? I've actually never met anyone with one negative thing to say about it.

Commentposter

The Good, the Bad and the Ugly is an Italian film; this is an American film list (AFI), so I'm OK with the omission.
The order of ranking sometimes confonds me, but I thin the only real error is not ranking Star Wars ahead of 2001. Star Wars set the mark for special effects, had a great story, great characters, great cast, etc.. While 2001 was a great story, it was almost incomprehensible on the first sitting.
Also, I would like to have seen Gladiator on the Epics list.

Meli

What about The Untouchables? That is one of my favorite movies.
I also agree about Tombstone. The lists a little whacky, but it
doesn't particularly surprise me. I don't think I would placed Shrek
in the top 10 of animated flicks...I definitely wouldn't have put
Bambi in there...maybe I'm just bitter because that movie horrified
me as a kid. LoL

Pedro

Where is the best video game adaptation list? Uwe boll could have made it on that one easily. ;)

evan

Observations:

Inherit the Wind was left off the Courtroom Drama list.
Why is Terminator 2 always considered better than Terminator? I don't agree with that assessment.
Are Back to the Future and Invasion of the Body Snatchers really considered science-fiction? (Not by me.)
Shouldn't The Matrix have made that list?
Other more Epic films that were not on the list: Dr. Zhivago, Exodus, Dances w/ Wolves
Other genres that should be ranked: "Buddy Movies", "Crime Thrillers", "War Movies", "Musicals"

Mr. Ed

The Westerns in particular smack of a 1960s-70s bias, which is not surprising, since those 50- and 60-year-old aging hippies are the ones doing the voting.

"McCabe and Mrs. Miller" and "Cat Ballou" are a joke on this list.

How about "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" or "Dances With Wolves"? "Ride the High Country" or "The Cowboys"? Or a dozen other better movies.

What a shame...the ME generation strikes again.

Marlo

Jerry Maguire? Please, what about the Bad News Bears?! Batman: Mask of the Phantasm would have been a much stronger choice for non-Disney/Pixar animation.

Captain_Howdy

Wait, no horror???

Also, "Godfather II is considered by everyone to be a better film than the original film..." be careful with statements like that. Seriously.

Jimmy

What I didn't like about this list is that Horror, Drama, and Comedy are no longer considered genres for some reason. By excluding these three genres, you no longer have movies like The Exorcist, The Shawshank Redemption, Casablanca, or Monty Python and the Holy Grail.

Stupid.

Fish

I would be ok with the list if not for the fact that some genres were ignored. Instead of Romantic Comedy, Courtroon Drama, and Sports, they should have had Comedy, Drama, and Horror/Thriller. What happened to Casablanca, Apocolypse Now, and Citizen Cane? And my favorite movie, Brazil, should have been recognized in Fantasy or Sci-Fi.
I'm happy that 2001 and Lawrence of Arabia were number 1 in their genres, and I'm glad A Clockwork Orange (which I do consider sci-fi) wasn't forgotten.
But overall, the results for this were pretty predictable.

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