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AFI Special:
100 Years, 100 Thrills
Whether it is their intention or not, The
American Film Institute is getting a reputation of being a source of
"lists just for the fun of it." Their recent list of 100
best comedies of all time was amusing, though quite off the mark when
considering all the better comedies that didn't even make the list at all
(Techtite even made a feature
story of these omissions, which includes no less than 25 omissions Techtite feels should've made the list). Admittedly,
Techtite sees no need to make a similar list, to compensate for their
recent special, of "Best 100 Thrillers of all Time." However,
that isn't to say it wasn't even more off the mark.
Hosted by Harrison Ford, the concept here
was to salute the best thrills in Hollywood history. Every moment that put
you on the edge-of-your-seat would be saluted. If this special was done
the same as the former 100 Comedies list, they sent ballots to Hollywood
Supporters of the AFI, asking them to choose from a list of 500
"finalists," who they felt deserved to be in the top 100. The
votes were tallied, and in June, 2001, the TV special unveiled the
winners.
The problem with this special begins with
the term "thrills." Just about any film qualifies as a
thrill-seeking spectacle, so this seems too broad of an alleged film
"category." Sure, the initial
concept was to salute the top 100 action films, though as always,
"action" gets diluted among all the lesser genres it spawned;
horror, sci-fi, fantasy, and yes, even the "thriller." It's hard
to make a top 100 "action" list, without getting a hodge-podge
of requests to include films among the best sci-fi (Star Wars), the best fantasy
(Superman: The Movie), the best horror (quite a long list!),
and on and on. The result is convoluted.
That isn't to say that any list that
pleases "everyone" in the thrills department, is not an amusing
TV special. Regardless, it does open up an amusing question; what exactly
constitutes a top 100 "thrill"? Sure, their #1 choice --the
shower scene of Psycho-- was unforgettable, though was it a
"thrill" to see, per se? It's all in the perspective of the
viewer. Likewise for anyone who'd put this shock value scene above such
unmitigated classics as Casablanca, or popular favorites like Star Wars or
Wizard of Oz. Sure, the shower scene was creepy, though come on now.
Extend the debate to the truth --that this was originally intended as a
salute to action films, exclusively-- and Psycho as the #1 choice is even
more uninspired.
Stars are on hand to offer their insights
on the top 100 "thrills." However, did these talented performers
know the final vote tallies? I wonder how much any of them would have
mused so philosophically on the top 10, if they knew that Psycho had
one-upped (actually, 40-upped) Casablanca, which made only an insulting 41
on the list. I sense they were merely asked to play to the camera,
gushing about how cool one or another movie was. However, did anyone truly
vote Psycho as #1, among all these favorites? I sincerely hope not.
In the end, again, this special is not
worthy of an "addendum," as Techtite.com posted for the list of
"Top 100 Comedies." However, that's just because a top 100
thrills list was a mistake from the start. Horror, Sci-fi, Fantasy, and
action films should all be given their own lists, no matter how difficult
is is to make them. Sure, a thrills list is even easier, if you include
classic musicals like the Wizard of Oz, though that seems a bit like
cheating. At the very least, it seems to dilute the whole original purpose
for the list.
| All text, Title
graphics, and pix not of reviewed product, are created by Techtite,
copyright 2001; all rights reserved. Screen captures of program
reviewed are discrete thumbnails, used only for the purpose of
review, and by no means represent any affiliation with Techtite and the distributors of
this program. For more "legalese"
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