Cinema has been around now for well over a century and audiences all over the globe have been gifted with thousands (at this point, close to half a million) full length films - and out of those 500,000 works of art the American Film Institute has deemed one-hundred of them better than all the others.
While narrowing down a list of half a million to a measly one-hundred is undoubtedly a harrowing task, the AFI Top 100 hasn’t been updated since 2007 and we could think of a few films that ought to make a revised edition of the list. Here’s our list of the top movies that the AFI has yet to properly recognize.
Gladiator (2000) - 8.5
Do you want to hear one of the greatest travesties of the cinematic world? Ridley Scott, one of histories most renowned directors has only one film in the entire AFI Top 100 and it barely snuck in at number 97 (the film is Blade Runner). While he may be known for his imaginative science-fiction movies, it’s arguable that Gladiator, his historical-fiction action-adventure drama, is his best work to date. It’s also Russel Crowe’s best acting performance of his career and it put Joaquin Phoenix (the man slated to win this year’s Best Oscar) on the map. Seriously, this man deserves a little more credit from the AFI, and so does this movie.
Wall-E (2008) - 8.4
Believe it or not, there are only two animated films in the entire AFI Top 100, and while cartoons certainly shouldn’t dominate the entirety of the list, it’s a little preposterous that they literally only make up 2% of the top films ever made.
However, if the AFI were to have a change of heart, a potential animated movie that would certainly be in the running is Wall-E, the heartfelt story of a trash-robot who helps save a plant and humanity in the process. This movie was a revelation and got the Academy of Arts and Sciences to start considering animated films for the best picture category. The academy recognized this movie’s capabilities, now the AFI should.
Once Upon A Time… in Hollywood (2019) - 7.9
You don’t think so? Go watch it again. The ninth Quentin Tarantino film that has only just barely finished its theatrical run is arguably Tarantino’s greatest film to date (Pulp Fiction is the obvious contender). In fact, Pulp Fiction might be Tarantino’s lone installment recognized by the AFI Top 100, but it’s another film that just squeaks onto the list at number 94.
But what is it that’s so special about Tarantino’s latest project in regards to the American Film Institute? The entire film is centered around the golden era of Hollywood and what it was like during that time, making it a perfect candidate for the most historic list in cinema.
Training Day (2001) - 7.7
Probably the biggest wild card on this list, but no less deserving than any of the rest of them, Training Day is a film that should be honored by the AFI Top 100 for two main reasons.
The first reason - the simple premise of the movie. It states it in the title, but many people can forget while watching this film that the entirety of it takes place over just one day. Do you remember how much happens in this movie? For a cop’s first day on the job, this was brutal. The second reason - Denzel Washington, one of histories most prolific actors, doesn’t have a single film on the AFI Top 100 list. Blasphemous.
The Lion King (1994) - 8.5
While Wall-E’s absence from the AFI Top 100 is excusable simply because the film didn’t exist during the American Film Institute’s most recent revision of the list, but the fact that this film didn’t make it onto the 1999 version of the list or the 2007 anniversary addition is absolutely reprehensible.
The Lion King (and yes, we’re talking about the 1994 version, not the CGI rendition of this past year) is one of, if not, the greatest animated musical in history and it deserves a spot among every great list of films, the AFI Top 100 being no exception.
There Will Be Blood (2007) - 8.1
2001: A Space Odyssey currently sits at number 15 on the AFI Top 100, a highly respectable number and one of Stanley Kubrick’s four films on the list - so why isn’t There Will Be Blood anywhere on the list? The main reason is, the same as Wall-E, the film didn’t exist when the most recent version of the list came out, but once a revised edition does see the light of the day, Paul Thomas Anderson’s masterpiece should assuredly have a spot waiting for him.
This film was just like 2001: A Space Odyssey in terms of it’s long, drawn-out shots and the downtrodden score, but combine it with Daniel Day-Lewis’s performance and this film became hauntingly good.
The Sting (1973) - 8.3
Exactly what more does a film need to do to make the AFI Top 100? The Sting is arguably the greatest snub on the American Film Institute’s top list seeing as how it won seven Academy Awards, including the triple-crown of Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
Along with that, the movie is directed by George Roy Hill and stars Paul Newman and Robert Redford, a trio of prolific Hollywood names that have another film already on the AFI Top 100 in Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. That film comes in at number 74 on the list, so why is The Sting left in the dust?
Birdman (2014) - 7.7
From here until the end of the list, every film remaining came out after the most recent version of AFI’s Top 100 so we can’t really fault the Institute for not including them. However, we can blame them for taking over twelve years to revise the list because there are certainly some films that need proper recognition, and Birdman is one of them.
Director Alejandro G Inarritu’s masterpiece is a two-hour-long film that is shot (and edited) to seem as though it’s one continuous frame, yet still holding the premise of a normal film and allowing the actors to walk freely in and out of the view of the camera. Props to cinematographer Emmanuel Lubezki for his incredible work on this film.
The Dark Knight (2008) - 9.0
Why so serious? Probably the only comic-book film that will ever be worthy of reaching such a high achievement (although Joker did come pretty darn close) The Dark Knight is unanimously loved by all who watch it and the film solidified Christopher Nolan as one of the greatest directors of our generation. Heath Ledger gives one of the best acting performances of the century and somehow this movie made audiences everywhere forget about the fifty years of Batman that they had gotten before it.
Mention the name Batman now, and people think of The Dark Knight. For such an iconic character this movie deserves the credit it’s due, along with its director.
No Country for Old Men (2007) - 8.1
The American Film Institute should have revised its list several years ago, if not just to include The Coen Brothers’ best film yet. While Fargo may have gotten the boot from the list in the 2007 version, the pair of directors blessed the world with one of the greatest pieces of cinema with their adaptation of No Country for Old Men.
Javier Bardem gives a performance that has left audiences scarred even a decade later, and the artistic style that the brothers take toward creating the film by not using any music or score at all is haunting, mesmerizing, and captivating all at the same time. You can’t stop what’s coming, and this film’s coming for the AFI Top 100.
