Patterns in The American Film Institute's Top 100 (original)

[longtimebuff]

In the AFI top 100. certain directors
show up over and over again.

AFI
Top 100
ranking


ANYTHING with the name Orson Welles attached
is a good candidate for rental.

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
57. The Third Man (1949, though actually directed by Carol Reed)

other notables include

The Lady from Shanghai (1947) - This is the film with the FAMOUS
and oft-imitated funhouse-hall-of-mirrors finale. The leading lady,
Rita Hayworth was Orson's wife at the time.

The Magnificent Ambersons (1942) - Welles directed Joseph Cotton,
one of his players in the Mercury Theatre of the Air, which did the
well-known War of the Worlds CBS radio broadcast which caused a
national panic.

(note that another of Orson's collaborators in the Mercury Theater
was John Houseman who was his CO-AUTHOR ON CITIZEN KANE,
though this is not generally known or credited (just as it is not generally
known that Richard Pryor co-authored Blazing Saddles with
Mel Brooks). Writing credits on Citizen Kane: Herman J. Mankiewicz
(screenplay) and Orson Welles (screenplay), on Blazing Saddles:
Writing credits Andrew Bergman (story) Mel Brooks (screenplay) ...
but if you dig deeper ... Richard Pryor (screenplay).

David Lean

5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
13. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)

other notables include

Oliver Twist (1948)
Great Expectations (1946)
Blithe Spirit (1945)

Steven Spielberg

9. Schindler's List (1993)
25. E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
48. Jaws (1975)
60. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
64. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

other notables include

Saving Private Ryan (1999)
Night Gallery (1969) (TV) - The episode, Eyes, starred Joan Crawford
and was Steven's first major directorial assignment.

Frank Capra

11. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
29. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
35. It Happened One Night (1934)

other notables include

Lost Horizon (1937)
Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936) - Recently remade as Mr. Deeds with
Adam Sandler, and Meet John Doe (1941); both starring Gary Cooper.

George Lucas

15. Star Wars (1977)
60. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
77. American Graffiti (1973)

other notables include

Captain EO (1986) (story) - This short film starring Michael Jackson,
directed by Francis Ford Coppola who wrote the screenplay was shown
in a special 3-D theater at Disneyland.

Stanley Kubrick

22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
26. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying
and Love the Bomb (1964)
46. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

other notables include

Full Metal Jacket (1987)
Shining, The (1980)
Barry Lyndon (1975)
(1962)
Spartacus (1960)

Martin Scorcese

24. Raging Bull (1980)
47. Taxi Driver (1976)

other notables include

The Aviator (2004) - Biography of Howard Hughes
Gangs of New York (2002)
The Age of Innocence (1993)
Goodfellas (1990)
The Last Temptation of Christ (1988)
Alice Doesn't Live Here Anymore (1974)
Mean Streets (1973)

Alfred Hitchcock

40. North By Northwest (1959)
42. Rear Window (1954)
61. Vertigo (1958)

other notables include


Marnie (1964) and The Birds (1963),
both of which starred Tippi Hedren, who is mother to Melanie Griffith,
one of whose first good parts was Body Double for Brian De Palma
which features elements of both Rear Window and Vertigo.
Psycho (1960)
To Catch a Thief (1955), which along with Rear Window,
starred Grace Kelly, later to become Princess Grace of Monaco.
Spellbound (1945)
Lifeboat (1944)
Rebecca (1940)


Charlie Chaplin

74. The Gold Rush (1925)
76. City Lights (1931)
81. Modern Times (1936)

other notables include


Limelight (1952)
Monsieur Verdoux (1947)
Great Dictator, The (1940) - This is the film that features Charlie's
ballet as Adenoid Hinkle with a balloon of the world (and his dua
role as a Jew in Germany).
The Circus (1928)

(note that City Lights (1931) WAS A SILENT MOVIE, and Jolson's
The Jazz Singer became the first talking movie IN 1927,
FOUR YEARS EARLIER; possibly ONLY Chaplin could have made
a SILENT film as a classic of GENERAL cinema four years into sound ...)