Product Description

To commemorate the first century of American moviemaking, the American Film Institute has embarked on a celebration of America's greatest movies--"AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies." This ten part retrospective explores many aspects of the human condition from the depths of depravity, horror and the dregs of underworld crime to the heights of heroism and passionate romance, covering the many genres, styles and types of films that make up the first 100 years of the glorious American film, as chosen by Hollywood's top directors, writers, stars and executives. Hosted by Jodie Foster, Richard Gere and Sally Field, narrated by James Woods.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #106970 in DVD
• Released on: 2000-08-22
• Rating: NR (Not Rated)
• Aspect ratio: 1.33:1
• Formats: Box set, Black & White, Color, DVD, Full Screen, Widescreen, NTSC
• Original language: English
• Number of discs: 2
• Running time: 138 minutes

Amazon.com
In 1998, the American Film Institute undertook to determine, by vote of 1,500 of America's movie professionals, filmmakers, historians, critics, agents, actors, executives, and the like, bona fide film people all, the 100 Greatest American Films of All Time. That is, by commemorating the last century, which encapsulates the entire history of American narrative film (not really a century, beginning in the teens, and extending through the end of 1997 for voting purposes---you do the math), the AFI attempted to establish a definitive list of the top 100 by a popular vote of the industry. The result was aired on CBS in June 1998, in this 145-minute TV special. Top-loaded as it is with sentimental favorites, the list serves best as a celebration of American film, with short clips of favorite moments from the films, annotated by filmmakers as august as Martin Scorsese and Sidney Lumet, among many, many others. Learn what makes Dustin Hoffman or Burt Reynolds weep, if you must. But as a list of the "greatest" American films of all time, the list is greatly lacking---no Buster Keaton, no Lubitsch, scant silents... these are a few of the objections a knowledgeable filmgoer might make. Better to use this program to whet one's appetite for more films, to re-view past favorites, and explore those of others, to argue with it for its omissions and slights. That's if one can get past the constant reminders of our hosts, Jodi Foster, Richard Gere, and Sally Field, that what we are seeing are THE GREATEST AMERICAN FILMS OF ALL TIME. --Jim Gay

Customer Reviews

AFI's 100 Years-Top100 American Movies, 2 Versions on DVD!!!
The American Film Institute (AFI) (Motto - Advancing & preserving the art of the moving image) & over 1500 Film Industry Professionals in 1998 determined the Top 100 American Movies in the Last 100 Years. From a Compiled list of 400 Movies the Panel chose the FINAL 100....

Many are critical of this Top 100 List, while others praise it. I found after I understood the judging criteria the Final 100 American Movies were more justified. This was a subjective decision based on the following criteria: The Feature-Film must be over 60 minutes, Critical recognition (must be in print),Popularity over time, Historical Significance, Cultural Impact & Major Award Winner or Nominations.

AFI's 100 Years 100 Movies is now available on DVD in 2 Full Screen Versions.

The COMPLETE EDITION a 10 hour 10 Part Series presented on TNT in 10 - 1 hour segments Narrated by James Woods & divided by critical categories. 1.) Against the Grain - Hosted by Richard Gere - Basic American Heroism. 2.) Against the Law - Hosted by Gere - The subject is Crime. 3.) Family Portraits -Hosted by Sally Field - The Treasured Institution of Family. 4.) In Search of... - Hosted by Jodie Foster - Treasure of all sorts!! 5.) Love Crazy - Hosted by Field - Sweetly Sentimental. 6.) War & Peace - Hosted by Gere. 7.) The Wilder Shores of Love - Hosted by Field - Exotic times & places. 8.) The Antiheroes - Hosted by Foster - The Outcasts. 9.)Out of Control - Hosted by Gere - Monsters of all Kinds. 10.) Fantastic Flights - Hosted by Foster - Real & Surreal People & Places.

This 2 (double side / Dual layer) DVD set is over 460 minutes in length and allows over 4 1/2 minutes per movie review. Many Stars, Director and Movie Professional Comments. This is the Master COMPLETE EDITION version with great detail & explanation for the viewer. For the serious videophile Collector !!!

The 3 hour CBS TELEVISION SPECIAL was presented as a 100 movie count down show starting with movie #100 - Yankee Doodle Dandy and finalizing with the #1 movie, Citizen Kane. A very good show but very brief on each Movies review (less than 1 1/2 minutes). This DVD is also Full Screen and excellent quality. A must for the Home DVD Library !!!

The AFI DVD series introduces us to the complex world of the American Film over the first 100 years. With this list whether we agree or not allows us to experience the expansive world of Cinema. Enjoy.

Excellent compilation of the greatest films of the century
I've watched this DVD many times and really enjoy it because I always see something new that I've missed or never noticed before. It's a compilation of the top 100 films from the last 100 years and it makes one appreciate the impact film has had on our society. Very entertaining!

A 10-hour advertisement
First of all, enough with the attacks on the list. I doubt you could make a list of "100 Movies That Most People Find Basically Tolerable" without stirring up controversy. If you're reading these reviews, you're probably less interested in AFI's decision than the quality of this DVD set.

For the record, I looked at this collection for use in teaching a film class. Unfortunately, I found the series does not stand up well to that purpose. Essentially, each film gets about 6 minutes of screen time in which James Woods provides a voice-over synopsis of the plot.

Yes, they give away the endings to many much-loved films. Even worse, though, plot summary is *all* this series offers. On average, each segment contains perhaps a quote or two from the director, a glimpse of a film critic with some out-of-context remark, and on to the next movie. Obviously AFI did not set out to create a comprehensive analyses of 100 films, but I cannot understand why anyone would want to buy what amounts to a 4-DVD set of Cliffs Notes.

To my mind the whole thing seems pretty cynical. Not only is this clearly just an ad for AFI's film catalog, they are *charging* you [a fee]to view it.