AFI 100 Years... 100 Movies
20 - It's a Wonderful Life
It's a wonderful film. Frank Capra's inverted take on A Christmas Carol stars Jimmy Stewart as George Bailey, a good man who's spent a lifetime giving up on his dreams in order to keep life in his small town humming. When a guardian angel named Clarence finds a despondent George poised to jump off a bridge, he shows George what life would've been like had he never been born.
Family · Not Rated · 132 minutes · 1946
19 - On the Waterfront
Terry Malloy (Oscar-winner Marlon Brando) is a washed-up boxer turned longshoreman who finds he has one fight left in him when he dares to take on corrupt union boss Johnny Friendly (Lee J. Cobb). A landmark "issue" picture, On the Waterfront is distinguished by great performances and excellent use of New York locations. It's also the winner of eight Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director (Elia Kazan).
Drama · Not Rated · 107 minutes · 1954
18 - The General
Rejected by the Confederate Army as unfit and taken for a coward by his beloved Annabelle (Marian Mack), Johnnie Gray (Buster Keaton) sets out to single-handedly win the war with his cherished locomotive. When Northern spies steal his train, the intrepid Confederate takes on the entire Union army to get it back.
Comedy · Not Rated · 98 minutes · 1927
17 - The Graduate
Dustin Hoffman (in his first major film role) turns in a landmark performance as a naive young man recently graduated from college who is seduced by a middle-aged neighbor (Anne Bancroft). He, in turn, falls in love with her daughter (Katharine Ross). Mike Nichols won a Best Director Oscar, and Simon and Garfunkel achieved immortality with a score that includes "Mrs. Robinson."
Comedy · R · 105 minutes · 1967
16 - Sunset Boulevard
Billy Wilder's noir classic about Hollywood decadence remains as razor-sharp as ever. Norma (Gloria Swanson), a faded silent film star plotting her return, employs Joe (William Holden), a struggling screenwriter, to help edit a script that she has penned. As the work progresses, Norma draws closer to Joe, engulfing him in her fiery throes, but Joe wants out.
Suspense · Not Rated · 110 minutes · 1950
15 - 2001: A Space Odyssey
Based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel," Stanley Kubrick's quiet masterpiece probes the mysteries of space and human destiny. In the years between primitive man's discovery of lethal weapons and the birth of the star child, astronauts David Bowman (Keir Dullea) and Frank Poole (Gary Lockwood) confront HAL-9000, the computer operating their ship. Nominated for four Academy Awards, Kubrick's epic won for its stunning special effects.
Sci-Fi · G · 148 minutes · 1968
14 - Psycho
Director Alfred Hitchcock's Oscar-nominated shocker has been terrifying viewers for decades. When exhausted, larcenous real estate clerk Marion Crane (Janet Leigh) goes on the lam with a wad of cash and hopes of starting a new life, she ends up at the notorious Bates Motel, where twitchy manager Norman Bates (Anthony Perkins) cares for his housebound mother. The place seems quirky but fine -- until Marion decides to take a shower.
Horror · Unrated · 108 minutes · 1960
13 - Star Wars
In a galaxy far, far away, George Lucas put himself on the pop culture map and cemented his status as a legend with this classic battle between good and evil. Intrepid Luke Skywalker (Mark Hamill), his trusty droids, and smuggler Han Solo (Harrison Ford) face off against Darth Vader (James Earl Jones), trying to save Princess Leia (Carrie Fisher) and destroy the Death Star. And a little help from Obi-Wan Kenobi (Alec Guiness) never hurts.
Sci-Fi · PG · 125 minutes · 1977
12 - The Searchers
John Wayne and Jeffrey Hunter spend years searching for Wayne's niece (Natalie Wood), who was abducted as a child by Comanches. Far from a picaresque adventure yarn, The Searchers is director John Ford's forceful meditation on racism, revenge and obsession -- one of the most powerful ever filmed. And Wayne's portrayal of a brutishly obsessed "savior" is downright frightening.
Western · Not Rated · 119 minutes · 1956
11 - City Lights
City Lights was Charlie Chaplin's last silent film and is widely considered one of his best. Chaplin, once again playing the character known as the Little Tramp, makes the acquaintance of a blind flower girl (Virginia Cherrill), who, because she can't see him, believes the shabby tramp is a millionaire. The tramp attempts to raise enough money for the blind girl to have an eye operation, knowing she may eventually discover his true identity.
Comedy · G · 87 minutes · 1931
10 - The Wizard of Oz
Dreams really do come true. Dorothy, the Tin Man, the Munchkins and all of Oz's other fantastic characters spring to life in this restored version of the 1939 classic starring Judy Garland. Featuring commentary from film historian John Fricke and several cast members, this renewed version will send fans soaring over the rainbow.
Family · G · 103 minutes · 1939
9 - Vertigo
Don't look down! One of Alfred Hitchcock's darkest and most compelling films tells the story of police detective Scottie Ferguson (James Stewart), who has a crippling fear of heights. When an old friend asks him to tail his wife (Kim Novak), Scottie is drawn into a vortex of deceit, murder and obsession... and that's just the beginning! Two highlights: a mesmerizing Bernard Herrmann score and a haunting final shot.
Suspense · Unrated · 129 minutes · 1958
8 - Schindler's List
Steven Spielberg's Holocaust epic won seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) and is an unforgettable testament to the possibility of human goodness. Greedy factory owner Oskar Schindler (Liam Neeson) was exploiting cheap Jewish labor, but in the midst of WWII became an unlikely humanitarian, losing his fortune by helping to save 1,100 Jews from Auschwitz.
Drama · R · 195 minutes · 1993
7 - Lawrence of Arabia
Director David Lean's Oscar-winning epic tells the true-life story of warrior-poet T.E. Lawrence (Peter O'Toole), who helped unite warring Arab tribes so they could strike back against the Turks in World War I. Lushly filmed and expertly acted, this timeless classic underscores the clash between cultures -- and within one man -- that changed the tide of war. Alec Guiness and Anthony Quinn co-star.
Action · PG · 227 minutes · 1962
6 - Gone with the Wind
Margaret Mitchell's sweeping Civil War saga remains one of the greatest examples of cinematic storytelling. Vivien Leigh's tempestuous Scarlett O'Hara and Clark Gable's handsome rogue Rhett Butler bicker and battle from antebellum plantations to the streets of postwar Atlanta. This special collector's edition features a beautifully restored print and many extras.
Drama · G · 233 minutes · 1939
5 - Singin' in the Rain
Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds and Donald O'Connor combine their talents in one of the best musicals ever made. When Hollywood attempts the transition from silent movies to talkies, matinee idol Kelly hopes to make the cut. Jean Hagen stands out as a silent-movie queen with a fingernails-on-a-blackboard voice. Musical fare includes "Good Morning," "Make 'Em Laugh" and the title tune.
Musical · G · 103 minutes · 1952
4 - Raging Bull
Robert De Niro won the Oscar for his portrayal of self-destructive boxer Jake LaMotta in Martin Scorsese's widely acclaimed biopic. De Niro's powerful performance, combined with Scorsese's black-and-white realism, paints a raw portrait of a tormented soul unable to control his violent outbursts. Cathy Moriarty and Joe Pesci also star. This edition includes commentary from Scorsese, producer Irwin Winkler and LaMotta himself, among others.
Drama · R · 129 minutes · 1980
3 - Casablanca
Of all the "gin joints" in Morocco, Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman), with husband Victor (Paul Henreid) in tow, had to walk into the one owned by Rick (Humphrey Bogart), a former beau she abandoned in Paris. War looms over them all, and in a much-discussed ending, Rick and Ilsa make heroic but heartbreaking choices. As time goes by, director Michael Curtiz's 1942 classic war noir only gets better. Peter Lorre and Claude Rains also star.
Drama · PG · 102 minutes · 1942
2 - The Godfather
Director Francis Ford Coppola brings Mario Puzo's multigenerational crime saga to life in this Oscar-winning epic. When an organized crime family patriarch (Marlon Brando) barely survives an attempt on his life, his son Michael (Al Pacino) convinces his brother Sonny (James Caan) to let him take care of the would-be killers. Amid betrayals and corruption, Michael launches a campaign of bloody revenge that continues through the film's two sequels.
Drama · R · 175 minutes · 1972
1 - Citizen Kane
Orson Welles reinvented movies at the age of 26 with this audacious biography of newspaper baron Charles Foster Kane (in essence, a thinly veiled portrait of publishing magnate William Randolph Hearst), who rises from poverty to become one of America's most influential men. A complex and technically stunning film, Citizen Kane is considered one of the best movies ever made.
Drama · PG · 119 minutes · 1941