AFI's Top 100: Count Down the Films (3)

[C] Sullivan's Travels | Sturges explored comedy's redemptive power through a filmmaker's journey. Hollywood director discovers laughter matters more than preaching during Depression travels.

[D] American Graffiti | Lucas captured cruising culture before it vanished forever. That nostalgic soundtrack launched countless careers through authentic fifties rock energy.

[A] Cabaret | Fosse staged musical numbers exclusively inside the Kit Kat Club. Grey's Sally Bowles personified Weimar decadence as fascism approached ominously.

[C] Network | Chayefsky predicted reality television decades early through satirical prophecy. Finch's unhinged anchorman became tragically prescient about media madness.

[D] The African Queen | Bogart and Hepburn battled actual African conditions filming. Their mismatched romance sailed down dangerous rivers with genuine chemistry.

[C] Raiders of the Lost Ark | Spielberg and Lucas created modern adventure cinema's template. Ford's whip-wielding archaeologist fears snakes while punching Nazis gleefully.

[A] Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | Burton and Taylor's real marriage fueled onscreen venom convincingly. Nichols captured domestic warfare through claustrophobic apartment tension.

[B] Unforgiven | Eastwood deconstructed Western mythology through aging gunfighter's reluctant violence. That final confrontation questions heroism's actual bloody cost.

[C] Tootsie | Hoffman's female persona taught him about sexism firsthand surprisingly. Cross-dressing comedy revealed gender politics through genuine emotional depth.

[A] A Clockwork Orange | Kubrick withdrew the film from British distribution after copycat violence. Malcolm McDowell's sociopath dances through ultraviolence with disturbing charisma.

[A] Saving Private Ryan | That opening Omaha Beach sequence traumatized veterans watching. Spielberg's handheld cameras captured war's chaotic brutality without glamorizing combat.

[C] The Shawshank Redemption | Initially flopped theatrically but cable broadcasts built devoted following. Freeman's narration guides viewers through Robbins' patient decades-long escape.

[C] Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid | Newman and Redford's chemistry elevated Western buddy comedy. That bicycle montage and Bolivian finale became instantly iconic moments.

[A] The Silence of the Lambs | Hopkins filmed his Lecter scenes in mere days total. Foster's Clarice faces serial killers while navigating FBI sexism simultaneously.

[A] In the Heat of the Night | Poitier slapping a racist white man shocked Southern audiences. Steiger's prejudiced sheriff learns reluctant respect through murder investigation.

[D] Forrest Gump | CGI inserted Hanks into historical footage seamlessly throughout. Groom's simple hero witnesses American history while chasing childhood sweetheart.

[A] All the President's Men | Pakula recreated the Washington Post newsroom meticulously accurate. Woodward and Bernstein's journalism brought down Nixon through persistent investigation.

[B] Modern Times | Chaplin resisted dialogue, letting visual comedy speak eloquently. Factory assembly lines become dehumanizing machines crushing individual workers.

[D] The Wild Bunch | Peckinpah choreographed violence as bloody ballet through revolutionary editing. Aging outlaws face machine guns in Mexico's changing world.

[B] The Apartment | Wilder mixed corporate satire with romantic comedy perfectly. Lemmon loans his apartment for executive affairs, enabling tragic consequences.

[C] Spartacus | Kubrick replaced fired director mid-production, saving the epic. Douglas' slave rebellion challenged Hollywood blacklist through Trumbo's secret screenplay.

[A] Sunrise | Murnau's moving camera revolutionized silent filmmaking possibilities dramatically. German Expressionism transformed American cinema through stunning visual poetry.

[B] Titanic | Cameron built a nearly full-scale ship for authenticity. DiCaprio and Winslet's doomed romance sailed into box office history.

[C] Easy Rider | Hopper and Fonda motorcycled across America's countercultural landscape. That shocking ending jolted audiences expecting feel-good hippie adventures.

[C] A Night at the Opera | Groucho, Chico, and Harpo crammed impossibly into a stateroom. Opera contracts get shredded in classic vaudeville physical comedy.

[A] Platoon | Stone drew from his own Vietnam combat experiences directly. Sheen represents innocence lost between sadistic sergeants Dafoe and Berenger.

[B] 12 Angry Men | Lumet confined the entire drama to one jury room. Fonda's lone dissenter gradually sways prejudiced jurors through reasoned doubt.

[C] Bringing Up Baby | Hawks directed screwball chaos involving leopards and dinosaur bones. Grant's paleontologist gets hilariously destroyed by Hepburn's madcap heiress.

[A] The Sixth Sense | Shyamalan's twist ending demanded immediate rewatching for clues. Willis plays a child psychologist helping Osment see dead people.

[D] Swing Time | Astaire and Rogers danced with effortless elegance throughout. Their romantic choreography elevated tap dancing into pure cinematic art.

[B] Sophie's Choice | Streep mastered Polish accent for her impossible wartime decision. Styron's Holocaust novel required wrenching emotional performance from Streep.

[B] Goodfellas | Scorsese tracked mobster Henry Hill's rise and spectacular fall. That extended Copacabana steadicam shot became legendary for technical virtuosity.

[D] The French Connection | Friedkin's car chase under elevated trains remains thrilling. Hackman's detective pursues heroin smugglers through gritty New York streets.

[D] Pulp Fiction | Tarantino scrambled chronology, making narrative structure itself thrilling. Travolta's career resurrected through dancing hitman Vincent Vega's adventures.

[B] The Last Picture Show | Bogdanovich filmed Texas small-town decline in melancholy black-and-white. Bridges and Bottoms navigate fading American dreams through crumbling movie palace.

[D] Do the Right Thing | Lee explored racial tensions exploding on Brooklyn's hottest day. Radio Raheem's death sparked riots, forcing uncomfortable conversations nationwide.

[D] Blade Runner | Scott's neon-soaked future initially confused audiences expecting action. Ridley's replicants questioned humanity's definition through dystopian Los Angeles.

[B] Yankee Doodle Dandy | Cagney danced patriotically as composer George M. Cohan. Wartime audiences embraced flag-waving musical biography enthusiastically.

[D] Toy Story | Pixar's first feature revolutionized animation through computer technology. Hanks voiced cowboy Woody jealous of Buzz Lightyear's space ranger popularity.

[B] Ben-Hur | Wyler's chariot race took five weeks filming with real horses. Heston's Jewish prince seeks revenge against Roman friend turned enemy.