AFI’s 10 TOP 10

AFI's 10 TOP 10

the 10 greatest movies in 10 categories LEARN MORE

The American Film Institute proudly curates lists to celebrate excellence in the art form. We believe their greatest impact is to inspire personal, passionate discussions about what makes a great film and why and, also, to chart the evolution of the art form. Since its inception, American film has marginalized the diversity of voices that make our nation and its stories strong – and these lists reflect that intolerable truth. AFI acknowledges its responsibility in curating these lists that has reinforced this marginality and looks forward to releasing new lists that will embrace our modern day and drive culture forward.

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ANIMATION

AFI defines “animated” as a genre in which the film’s images are primarily created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors.

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

Cast: Adriana Caselotti, Harry Stockwell, Lucille LaVerne

Producer: Walt Disney

Writer: Ted Sears, Richard Creedon, Otto Englander, Dick Rickard, Earl Hurd, Merrill De Maris, Dorothy Ann Blank, Webb Smith

Genre: Musical

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions, Ltd.

Composer: Frank Churchill

As part of her daily beauty routine, the Wicked Queen asks her Magic Mirror, "Who is the fairest one of all?" and is told that Snow White, her blossoming stepdaughter, is now the "fairest one of all." In an envious rage, the queen orders a woodsman to kill Snow White, who has just met the handsome and endearing Prince, in the forest. Once there, however, the woodsman finds he cannot do the deed and admonishes the princess to hide, while he returns to the queen with a pig's heart, which he claims belonged to Snow White. Frightened by the dark, stormy forest, Snow White runs wildly through the trees until she collapses with exhaustion on the forest floor. After her nap, she wakes to find the woods full of friendly, furry animals, who guide her to an empty cottage. Shocked by the decrepit condition of the cottage, Snow White enlists the help of the animals to clean it up, and then falls asleep in an upstairs bedroom, which has been furnished with seven tiny beds. While Snow White sleeps, the owners of the beds, the Seven Dwarfs--Sleepy, Dopey, Doc, Sneezy, Grumpy, Bashful and Happy--return from working at the local diamond mine and discover the snoozing princess. After much confusion, Snow White strikes a deal with the Dwarfs, offering her domestic services in exchange for room and board. To Grumpy's dissatisfaction, Snow White turns the household upside down and instigates positive changes in the Dwarfs' life. The Dwarfs' newly found happiness ends abruptly when the evil queen, who has learned from the Magic Mirror that Snow White is alive, transforms herself into an old hag and, equipped with a poison apple, heads for the Dwarfs' cottage. Lured by the queen, the innocent Snow White bites into the apple and falls into a death-like sleep, which can be broken only when she is kissed by her first true love. Satisfied that Snow White is doomed, the queen rushes back toward her castle but is chased by the Dwarfs and falls to her death off a cliff. While lying in the woods in a glass-domed coffin built by the Dwarfs, Snow White is found by the Prince. Entranced by her tranquil beauty, the prince kisses her back to life and carries her off to eternal happiness.

2. Pinocchio (1940)

Pinocchio (1940)

Cast: Dickie Jones, Cliff Edwards, Christian Rub

Writer: Ted Sears, Webb Smith, Joseph Sabo, Otto Englander, William Cottrell, Erdman Penner, Aurie Battaglia

Genre: Fantasy

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions

Composer: Paul J. Smith

Geppetto, a kindly old woodcarver, creates a little puppet boy of pine and names him Pinocchio. Because the old man, who has been generous and good all of his life, loves children and has none of his own, the Blue Fairy brings the marionette to life to be a son to him. She tells Pinocchio, however, that he must earn his right to become a real boy by exhibiting the virtues of truth, courage and selflessness. To aid him in his task, she makes Jiminy, a vagabond cricket who has snuck into Geppetto's workshop to spend the night, Pinocchio's conscience, dubbing him the "Lord High Keeper of the Knowledge of Right and Wrong." Pinocchio's first test comes the next morning, when, on his way to school, he is accosted by J. Worthington Foulfellow, a wily fox also known as "Honest John." Along with his daffy companion Gideon, Foulfellow convinces Pinocchio that he should become an actor in the puppet show belonging to Stromboli, a tyrannical puppeteer. Jiminy's protests that Pinocchio must go to school fall on deaf ears, and the little puppet is soon a big hit with Stromboli's audience. Seeing that Pinocchio is doing well, Jiminy decides that a successful actor does not need a conscience and leaves. All is not well, however, for the cruel Stromboli locks Pinocchio in a bird cage when he tries to leave after the show. After deciding to say goodbye to "Pinoc," Jiminy returns to Stromboli's wagon, where he is horrified to discover the puppet's predicament. Jiminy's efforts to pick the lock do not succeed, and as the companions despair, they are astonished to see the Blue Fairy, who questions Pinocchio about why he did not go to school. The flustered Pinocchio tells lie after lie, and his nose grows with each falsehood. The Blue Fairy rebukes Pinocchio, explaining that "a lie grows and grows until it's as plain as the nose on your face." After Pinocchio promises to reform, the beautiful fairy sets him free, and Pinocchio hastens with Jiminy toward home. Pinocchio is stopped again by Foulfellow, who tempts him to go to Pleasure Island, a magical place where boys can do anything they want. Pinocchio joins the other boys on the coach driven by a mysterious coachman, and soon is indulging in the cigars, beer and billiards offered at Pleasure Island. As Pinocchio plays with his new friend Lampwick, Jiminy discovers that the boys on the island transform into donkeys, which are then sold by the coachman. He then returns to the terrified Pinocchio, who has just seen Lampwick turn into a donkey. Pinocchio sprouts ears and a tail, but escapes with Jiminy before his transformation is complete. Upon their return home, they discover that Geppetto, Figaro, the kitten, and Cleo, the goldfish, have been swallowed by Monstro, a gigantic whale. With no thought for his own safety, Pinocchio voyages to the bottom of the sea, where he finds Geppetto, Cleo and Figaro alive in the whale's belly. After a joyful reunion with his father, Pinocchio hits upon the idea of making Monstro sneeze. After setting Geppetto's boat on fire, the little group escape on a raft when the smoke causes Monstro to sneeze. The irritated whale chases his former captives, and Pinocchio bravely rescues Geppetto at the cost of his own life. Geppetto, Figaro, Cleo and Jiminy sorrowfully return home, and as they are mourning, the Blue Fairy appears and turns Pinocchio into a real boy as a reward for his actions. She also gives Jiminy a gold badge for his services as Pinocchio's conscience, and as Geppetto and his son celebrate, Jiminy sings that "when you wish upon a star, your dreams come true."

3. Bambi (1942)

Bambi (1942)

Cast: Peter Behn, Hardie Albright, Ann Gillis

Writer: Larry Morey, George Stallings, Melvin Shaw, Carl Fallberg, Chuck Couch, Ralph Wright

Genre: Children's works

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions

Composer: Frank Churchill

One April morning, the animal inhabitants of the forest welcome a new fawn, the son of the Great Prince of the Forest. Especially interested in Bambi, the new arrival, is young rabbit Thumper, who watches the fawn take his first awkward steps. Later, Thumper accompanies Bambi on a walk, teaching him how to say "bird" and introducing him to the beauties of the wilderness. While learning to say "flower," Bambi is confused when a young skunk emerges from a patch of blossoms and assumes he is being named, but the skunk is pleased by his new moniker. Bambi and his mother lead an idyllic life, cuddling to ward off April showers and enjoying the protection of the forest. One day, Bambi's mother takes him to the meadow to graze, but warns him that he must be careful as the meadow is without sufficient cover. Bambi and Thumper play and eat clover, although Bambi is overcome with shyness upon meeting a pretty little girl fawn named Faline. The Great Prince then walks through the meadow, and Bambi is awed by his father's majestic bearing. The Great Prince senses danger, however, and helps Bambi and his mother reach the forest as a gunshot echoes through the meadow. Bambi is mystified by the occurrence, and his mother explains that "Man was in the forest." Later, in the winter, Thumper and a clumsy Bambi ice skate on a pond covered with "stiff water." The season is harsh, however, and Bambi's mother diligently forages for food for her hungry son. Soon the grass begins to grow again, and Bambi and his mother return to the meadow to graze, but there, Bambi's mother becomes alarmed and orders him to run. Bambi races ahead as gunshots ring out, and upon reaching the thicket, is terrified to realize that he is alone. The Great Prince arrives and tells the grieving fawn that his mother cannot be with him anymore, then urges his son to follow him. Later, Spring comes again to the forest, and the adolescent Bambi, Thumper and Flower are scornful of the silly antics of the birds. Friend Owl warns them that all animals become "twitterpated" during the Spring, and soon his words are proven true as a pretty girl skunk and a lovely little bunny mesmerize Flower and Thumper. Left on his own, the disgruntled Bambi is drinking from the stream when he once again meets Faline. Faline flirtatiously licks Bambi, and the young couple chase each other and play. Bambi is challenged by another young buck but triumphs in battle, and soon is gamboling across the meadow with Faline. Later, Bambi is disturbed by the sound of hunting horns, and the Great Prince warns him that Man has returned in great numbers, and that they must retreat deep into the forest. Faline is separated from Bambi during the confusion, but when she is cornered by a pack of dogs, Bambi rushes to rescue her. Faline escapes from the dogs, but Bambi is shot as he jumps across a ravine. He falls unconscious as a fire, sparked by the hunters' campfire, begins to spread, but the Great Prince arrives and urges Bambi to flee. The animals dash through the forest as the fire races along behind them, but eventually the Great Prince and Bambi reach safety, and Bambi is reunited with Faline. More time passes as new growth appears in the burned-out areas, and one day, Flower and Thumper, who have families of their own, proudly watch as Faline introduce her twin fawns to the other forest animals. Bambi, who is standing with his father, oversees the gathering, then takes his father's place as the Prince of the Forest.

4. The Lion King (1994)

The Lion King (1994)

Cast: Jonathan Taylor Thomas, Matthew Broderick, James Earl Jones

Directors: Roger Allers, Rob Minkoff

Producer: Don Hahn

Writer: Irene Mecchi, Jonathan Roberts, Linda Woolverton

Editor: Ivan Bilancio

Genre: Adventure

Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures

Composer: Hans Zimmer

King Mufasa, a lion who rules over the Pride Lands of Africa, and his queen, Sarabi, present their newborn son, Simba, to a gathering of the animal kingdom. Poised to take his father’s place, Simba is taught the responsibilities of his role, and about the “circle of life” that joins all living things. As Simba grows, Mufasa’s jealous younger brother, Scar, plots to overtake his brother’s throne. He sends Simba and his girl friend, Nala, to wander around an elephants’ graveyard, where they are ambushed by three hyenas—Banzai, Shenzi, and Ed. Mufasa’s aide, a tropical bird named Zazu, alerts him of the attack, and Mufasa comes to Simba’s and Nala’s rescue. Afterward, Mufasa explains to his son that the stars in the night sky are past kings who watch over them. Scar hatches another scheme to defeat his brother. This time, he lures Simba into a stampede of hyenas and wildebeest. Scar tells Mufasa about the stampede, so that Mufasa will go to save Simba, thereby putting himself in peril. The plan works: Scar manages to kill Mufasa, then convinces Simba it was all his fault. Simba escapes another attempt on his life, and ends up in exile in the jungle, along with new friends, Timon the meerkat and Pumbaa the warthog. They teach the young lion their motto, hakuna matata, which means “no worries.” Time passes, and one day Simba rescues Timon and Pumbaa from a lioness attack. The hungry hunter turns out to be Nala. She and Simba reconnect, and she convinces him to return to the Pride Lands, which has languished under Scar’s tyrannical rule. In a standoff between uncle and nephew, Scar reveals to Simba that he purposely killed Mufasa. Simba overpowers Scar, who then tries to save himself by blaming his actions on the hyenas. Simba takes mercy on him, but bans him from the Pride Lands. However, when Scar attacks again, Simba throws him from the heights of Pride Rock. After surviving the fall, Scar is killed by the hyenas, who overheard his betrayal. Peace is restored, and the Pride Lands once again flourish under Simba’s rule. One day, from the top of Pride Rock, Simba and Nala proudly present their newborn cub, and the circle of life continues.

5. Fantasia (1940)

Fantasia (1940)

Cast: Leopold Stokowski, Deems Taylor

Directors: Sam Armstrong, James Algar, Bill Roberts, Paul Satterfield, Hamilton Luske, Jim Handley, Ford Beebe, T. Hee, Norman Ferguson, Wilfred Jackson

Producer: Walt Disney, Ben Sharpsteen

Writer: Lee Blair, Elmer Plummer, Phil Dike, Sylvia Moberly-Holland, Norman Wright, Albert Heath, Bianca Majolie, Graham Heid, Perce Pearce, Carl Fallberg, William Martin, Leo Thiele, Robert Sterner, John Fraser McLeish, Otto Englander, Webb Smith, Erdman Penner, Joseph Sabo, William Peed, George Stallings, Campbell Grant, Arthur Heinemann

Genre: Musical

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions

Composer: Edward Plumb

This film consists of animation set to eight musical pieces. Deems Taylor, the narrator, introduces himself and conductor Leopold Stokowski, then describes the three different kinds of music in the program. The first type tells a definite story, and the next, while having no specific plot, suggests a series of definite pictures. The last type is referred to as "absolute" music, that which suggests abstract images and exists solely for its own sake. The first number, "Toccata and Fugue in D Minor," represents the last type of music. In this segment, animated shadows of the orchestra gradually give way to more abstract images. The second number, "The Nutcracker Suite," is an example of the second type of music, and this segment features ballets performed by the fairies who bring the seasons, Hop Low and his fellow mushrooms, goldfish and flowers. The third selection tells a definite story, that of "The Sorcerer's Apprentice." The music is based on a poem by Goethe, which was in turn based upon a 2,000 year old legend. In this number, Mickey Mouse is the young, ambitious apprentice of a powerful sorcerer. When the sorcerer retires for a nap, Mickey takes up his magic hat and acquires his powers, using them to enchant a broom to carry in water. Mickey falls asleep, and while he dreams of enchanting the universe, the broom carries in more and more water until Mickey is awakened by a flood. Mickey's efforts to correct the situation result in catastrophe, but finally the sorcerer appears and restores order. The fourth number, "Rite of Spring," illustrates the story of evolution, showing how the Earth was formed and how life grew from one-celled sea creatures to mighty dinosaurs. The dinosaurs eventually die, and evolution continues. The next segment, "The Pastoral Symphony," presents a lovely day on Mt. Olympus, where cherubs, fauns, unicorns, pegasuses, centaurs and centaurettes frolic. Bacchus, the god of wine, arrives with his trusty steed Jacchus, and a bacchanal begins, only to be interrupted by Zeus and Vulcan, who shower lightning bolts on the merrymakers. Zeus eventually wearies of his game and peace is restored as Isis, the goddess of the rainbow, spreads a rainbow over the land. Apollo drives his sun chariot across the sky, and as he disappears, Morpheus, the god of sleep, draws his blanket of night over everyone. The mythic creatures fall asleep as Diana shoots an arrow of fire and covers the sky with stars. The sixth selection is "Dance of the Hours." This ballet, depicting the passage of time, is performed by a talented corps of ostriches, hippos, elephants and alligators, who represent morning, day, evening and night. The final two numbers, "Night on Bald Mountain" and "Ave Maria," are, according to Taylor, a picture of the struggle between the profane and the sacred. The segment begins on Walpurgis night, when Chernabog, the black god, who lives in Bald Mountain, casts a spell on the sleeping town and raises up ghosts from their graves and demons from the fiery depths. The evil creatures dance for Chernabog's pleasure until dawn comes and the church bells, calling the faithful to worship, begin to ring. The ghosts and demons return to their origins, while Chernabog folds himself back into the top of the mountain. The faithful begin their candlelit procession through the forest as they sing "Ave Maria," and the film ends as the sun rises.

6. Toy Story (1995)

Toy Story (1995)

Cast: Tom Hanks, Tim Allen, Don Rickles

Directors: John Lasseter

Producer: Ralph Guggenheim, Bonnie Arnold

Writer: Joss Whedon, Andrew Stanton, Joel Cohen, Alec Sokolow

Editor: Robert Gordon, Lee Unkrich

Genre: Comedy

Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Composer: Randy Newman

Unbeknown to young Andy Davis, his toys come to life when he is not around. Woody, a cowboy sheriff figure, is Andy’s longtime favorite toy and the unofficial leader of the group, which includes a Bo Peep doll, Mr. Potato Head, a Slinky Dog, a piggy bank named Hamm, and Rex, a neurotic dinosaur. With Andy’s birthday party about to take place a week early, in advance of the Davis’ move to a new home, Woody overseas a mission to spy on the party, concerned that Andy might receive superior new toys. Lo and behold, Andy is given an impressive action figure called Buzz Lightyear. Unlike the others, who understand that they are toys, Buzz Lightyear believes himself to be a real-life astronaut. The other playthings are wowed by his features, and Andy appears to favor Buzz over Woody. One day, as Andy’s family prepares for an outing to Pizza Planet, his mother tells him he can only take one toy to the restaurant. Woody tries to hide Buzz so that Andy cannot choose him, but in doing so, he accidentally pushes Buzz out the window. To many of the toys, Woody’s actions appear intentional. Accusing him of wanting to murder Buzz, they turn against him. However, Andy unwittingly defuses the situation by scooping up Woody and taking him to Pizza Planet. On the way, they stop at a gas station. Buzz appears, having snuck onto the van before they left. Woody and Buzz argue outside the car as the family drives away without them. They make their way to Pizza Planet by jumping onto a delivery truck. Upon arrival, they are deposited inside an arcade game in which a mechanical claw plucks toys from a pile. Andy’s mean-spirited neighbor, Sid, plays the game and retrieves both Woody and Buzz. In the meantime, Woody attempts to disabuse Buzz of the notion that he is a real astronaut. Trapped in Sid’s home, Buzz observes a television advertisement for dolls just like him and realizes Woody is right. Sid, who likes to terrorize toys, develops a scheme to attach Buzz to a firework and launch him into the sky. Woody helps Buzz accept himself as a toy by assuring him how much Andy relies on his playthings. Sid’s abused, mutant toys help Woody rescue Buzz. Before they leave Sid’s house, the two frighten Sid into submission, warning him never to mistreat his toys again. They make it back to the Davis home just in time to see the moving truck pulling away. Sid’s dog, Scud, prevents them from hitching a ride on the truck. Buzz rescues Woody from the dog, allowing Woody to board. Woody attempts to repay the favor by saving Buzz with a radio-controlled car. The other toys still do not trust Woody’s intentions and throw him back onto the street. Buzz and Woody reunite just as the other toys realize they misjudged Woody. Buzz, who still has Sid’s firework attached to his back, successfully executes a return mission by lighting the rocket, and launching them into the Davis’ van, in a box next to Andy. Sometime later, the Davises celebrate Christmas in their new home. Woody and Buzz oversee a spy mission to observe the unveiling of Andy’s new toys. To their surprise and concern, Andy receives a real-life puppy.

7. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Beauty and the Beast (1991)

Cast: Paige O'Hara, Robby Benson, Richard White

Directors: Gary Trousdale, Kirk Wise

Producer: Don Hahn, Howard Ashman

Editor: John Carnochan

Genre: Musical

Production Company: Walt Disney Pictures , Silver Screen Partners IV

Once upon a time, a spoiled young prince turned away an old beggar woman when she offered him a rose in exchange for shelter. The woman warned him not to be deceived by appearances, then transformed into a beautiful enchantress. The prince apologized, but it was too late. The enchantress turned him into a beast, and put a spell on his castle and its inhabitants. She gave him the rose and told him it would wilt by his twenty-first birthday. If he did not fall in love with someone, and win her love in return, by that time, the spell would never lift and he would remain a beast forever. Sometime later, in rural France, a bookworm named Belle dreams of finding adventure outside her small town. She is seen as a misfit, as is her inventor father, Maurice. However, because she is the prettiest girl in town, she is pursued by a handsome, brutish man named Gaston, who intends to marry her. One day, Gaston follows Belle home from the library, and suggests they go to the tavern to view his hunting trophies, but she rejects the offer. Belle finds her father, Maurice, working on his latest invention, an automated wood-cutter he plans to unveil at a fair the next day. Belle’s father leaves for the fair that evening, but gets lost in a forest. He and his horse, Philippe, are chased by wolves to the gates of a dark castle. He wanders inside and is startled by Lumiere, a talking candlestick who invites Maurice to warm himself by the fire. Maurice soon discovers a host of household objects that talk, including a clock named Cogsworth, a teapot named Mrs. Potts, and her son, Chip, a teacup. Although they are very welcoming, the servants cower at the sight of their master, the Beast, a hulking monster who reprimands Maurice for trespassing and takes him captive. The next day, Gaston surprises Belle with a marriage proposal, but she turns him down. Maurice’s horse returns home alone, and Belle panics. She instructs Philippe to take her to her father, and they ride back to the Beast’s castle. There, Belle is frightened by the Beast, but offers to take her father’s place as his prisoner. The Beast complies, and throws Maurice out. Belle weeps over her father’s abrupt departure. The Beast tries to control his temper as he shows Belle to her quarters. He invites her to explore the castle but forbids her from going to the west wing. That evening, Belle is supposed to join the Beast for dinner, but she refuses. In turn, he forbids Lumiere, Cogsworth, and Mrs. Potts from serving her dinner. Meanwhile, Maurice goes to the tavern and announces his daughter has been taken prisoner by a beast. Gaston and the other patrons ridicule him and ignore his pleas for help. In his quarters, the Beast regards the magical rose, which has begun to wilt. He looks into his magic mirror and asks it to show him Belle. In the mirror’s reflection, he sees Belle saying she wants nothing to do with him. Although Belle is his only hope for breaking the spell, he worries she could never fall in love with a Beast. Late at night, a hungry Belle wanders into the kitchen, and although the Beast instructed them not to, the servants treat her to an elaborate meal. Afterward, Belle sneaks into the west wing. In the Beast’s quarters, she sees a torn portrait of a handsome young man and discovers the magical rose. The Beast appears and flies into a rage. He immediately regrets losing his temper, but Belle has already fled the castle. She rides Philippe into the forest, but they are cornered by wolves. The Beast appears and fends them off, but is wounded in the fight and loses consciousness. Back at the castle, Belle tends to his wounds. They argue over his temper, but Belle eventually thanks the Beast for saving her life. Gaston bribes Monsieur D’Arque, owner of an insane asylum, to commit Maurice, and release him only if Belle agrees to marry Gaston. In the meantime, the Beast begins to fall in love with Belle. As a romantic gesture, Lumiere suggests he take her to the castle library. There, Belle admires the collection of books, and the Beast tells her the library is hers. When they dine together, Belle is appalled, then amused, by Beast’s lack of table manners. They play outside in the snow, and she realizes she is growing fond of him. He plans a romantic evening, and the two dress up and dance together in the ballroom while the servants look on, hopeful that Belle and the Beast will fall in love and break the spell. Later that night, the Beast asks Belle if she is happy. She tells him yes, except she wishes she could see her father again. He grants her wish by offering her the magic mirror. Belle sees Maurice in the mirror’s reflection, alone in the woods and looking unwell. She frets over his safety, and the Beast tells her she is free to go. He gives her the magic mirror so she will always have a way to remember him. After Belle leaves the castle, Cogsworth asks why the Beast let her go. He explains that he had no choice because he loves her. Belle finds Maurice and takes him home. There, she discovers Chip, the teacup, among her things. Outside, Gaston arrives with Monsieur D’Arque and an angry mob. When D’Arque throws Maurice into his carriage, Gaston offers to have him released in exchange for Belle’s hand in marriage. Belle defends her father’s sanity, but the townspeople insist he is crazy for claiming she was held captive by a Beast. Using the magic mirror, Belle proves the Beast exists. Gaston senses that she cares for him, and incites the angry mob to storm the castle. Belle and Maurice are locked in the basement of their home, but Chip frees them with the help of Maurice’s wood-cutter. Gaston and his cohorts attack the castle, and the household items fight back. Heartbroken and resigned to failure, the Beast does nothing when Gaston forces him onto a ledge. Just then, Belle arrives, giving Beast the inspiration to fight for his life. He overpowers Gaston, but takes pity on the brute when he begs for mercy and lets him go. Belle summons the Beast to a balcony, but just as she grabs his hand, Gaston stabs him in the back. Gaston falls to his death, and Belle embraces the Beast as he loses consciousness. Believing he is dead, she cries and says she loves him. At that moment, the magical rose loses its last petal, and the Beast is transformed back into a handsome prince. The castle is returned to its former glory, and the servants become human again. Maurice joins them in celebration as they watch Belle and the prince dance in the ballroom.

8. Shrek (2001)

Shrek (2001)

Cast: Mike Myers, Eddie Murphy, Cameron Diaz

Directors: Andrew Adamson, Vicky Jenson

Producer: Aron Warner, John H. Williams, Jeffrey Katzenberg, Penney Finkelman Cox, Sandra Rabins

Writer: Ted Elliott, Terry Rossio, Joe Stillman, Roger S. H. Schulman, Jenna Grigg Thomas, Kelly Asbury, Francisco Avalos, Rejean Bourdages, Ken Harsha, Ken Bruce, Cody Cameron, Becky Cassady, Eric Darnell, Rick Farmiloe, James Fujii, Edmund Fong, Robert Koo, Todd Kurosawa, Robert Lence, Chris Miller, Catherine Yuh Rader, Tom Sito, David Soren, Robert Souza, John Stevenson, Conrad Vernon

Editor: Sim Evan-Jones

Genre: Comedy

Production Company: PDI/DreamWorks Pictures

One night, Shrek, a large ogre who lives in a cozy cottage in a swamp, has his solitude interrupted by torch-carrying villagers from a nearby town. After Shrek politely frightens the villagers away, he picks up a dropped piece of paper that reads: “Wanted Fairy Tale Creatures Reward.” The next day, as dozens of terrified fairy tale creatures are being brought in for rewards, an Old Woman turns in a Donkey, saying that he talks. Donkey refuses to speak, but when a tiny fairy crashes into him, sprinkling him with magic dust, he starts to fly and gleefully boasts out loud. Crashing to earth, Donkey escapes and runs into Shrek. They are soon approached by guards, who order them to halt by order of Lord Farquaad, but Shrek scares them away. The jive-talking Donkey, who immediately warms to his new acquaintance, decides to tag along with Shrek, despite the ogre’s gruff insistence that he likes to be alone. Back at the swamp, Shrek refuses to allow Donkey to stay inside his cottage, but soon finds his dinner interrupted by the appearance of three Blind Mice, a nightgown-clad wolf and a myriad of other fairy tale creatures. Shrek loudly orders them to leave his swamp and return home, but they reply that they cannot because Farquaad has evicted them. The disgusted Shrek determines to remedy the situation by finding Farquaad and demanding that the creatures be sent back. Amid the gleeful cheers of the creatures, Shrek, accompanied by the unshakable Donkey, sets off to find Farquaad. Meanwhile, in a castle in Duloc, the diminutive Farquaad tortures a Gingerbread Man, then asks a Magic Mirror how he can become king. Magic Mirror advises him to marry a princess and shows him three choices, Snow White, Cinderella and, finally, Princess Fiona, who is locked in a castle guarded by a Dragon. Farquaad does not listen to Magic Mirror's warning that something happens to the beautiful Fiona at night and chooses her, then determines to find a champion to free her. When Shrek and Donkey arrive at the immaculately maintained Duloc, the town is deserted, but they find everyone in the stadium listening to a speech by Farquaad, who is holding a tournament to determine a champion. Seeing Shrek, Farquaad announces that the person who kills the ogre will be the champion. Shrek easily bests his attackers and so impresses Farquaad that he names Shrek his champion and agrees to give him the deed to the swamp and send the fairy tale creatures back home in exchange for freeing Princess Fiona. As Shrek and Donkey journey toward the princess’ castle, Shrek philosophizes that ogres are usually misunderstood but actually have many layers, like onions. Once at their destination, Shrek and the frightened Donkey successfully navigate a rope bridge suspended over a lava pit and enter the castle. Donkey comes face to face with the Dragon, who snaps to attention and goes after him, but Shrek dons armor and saves him. In the process, though, Shrek is flung into Fiona’s tower room. She is impressed by Shrek’s entrance and pretends to be asleep so that her “knight so bold as to rescue her” can kiss her awake. Instead, Shrek gives her a shake and is uninterested in her talk of romance. Dragging Fiona through the castle, Shrek finds Donkey, who has inadvertently awakened amorous feelings in the female Dragon. She tries to prevent them from leaving, but Shrek effects their escape and ensnares the Dragon in chains. Once safely on the road to Duloc, Fiona demands to see Shrek’s face and is disappointed by his appearance until he assures her that Farquaad has sent him. When she stubbornly insists that only her true love can rescue her, Shrek hoists her over his shoulder and continues on. During the journey, Donkey seeks Fiona’s advice on how to discourage the Dragon’s romantic interest, and Shrek and Donkey joke about Farquaad’s size. When Fiona realizes that it will soon be nightfall and Duloc is some distance away, she adamantly refuses to go farther and spends the night alone in a cave. Later, as Donkey sympathizes with Shrek’s regret that the world “has a problem” with a big ugly ogre, Fiona eavesdrops. Next morning, a very cheerful Fiona emerges from the cave and makes breakfast for Shrek. When the three resume their journey, Fiona and Shrek playfully tease each other and start to realize that they have a lot in common. When they see Duloc in the distance, both Fiona and Shrek come up with excuses to delay reaching Duloc. During dinner, Shrek and Fiona look dreamy-eyed at each other, but at sunset Fiona retreats, alone, into a deserted windmill. Donkey comments that Shrek and Fiona are “digging on each other,” but Shrek thinks that a princess would never be interested in an ogre. Donkey then sneaks into the windmill and is astonished to find that Fiona has turned into an ogre. She tells him that because of a curse she will spend her days beautiful, but at sunset turn into the ugly creature she is now, until the curse is removed by love’s first kiss. She then starts to cry, saying that she must marry Farquaad before sunset. Just as Fiona expresses doubt that anyone could love someone so ugly, Shrek, who has gathered flowers and practiced loving endearments to tell Fiona, approaches the door of the windmill and thinks that she is speaking of him. The next morning, Shrek angrily tells Fiona he heard what she said the previous night, and she assumes that he knows about the curse but does not care for her because she is ugly. Just then, Farquaad and his entourage arrive, and he proposes to Fiona, who immediately accepts and suggests that they marry that day. After Fiona rides off with Farquaad, Shrek angrily rejects Donkey’s advice and the two part. During the ensuing hours, Fiona pines for Shrek as she prepares for her wedding, while Shrek sadly returns to his lonely swamp and Donkey encounters the lovesick Dragon, who has followed him. Later, Shrek hears something outside and finds Donkey building a wall with some branches. Donkey chastises Shrek for building his own walls and for pushing away Fiona, who likes—and may even love him. Shrek then apologizes to Donkey, who forgives him because "that is what friends are for," and the two determine to stop Fiona’s marriage to Farquaad. With the aid of the happily smitten Dragon, Shrek and Donkey arrive at the Duloc cathedral just as Fiona and Farquaad are pronounced man and wife. Shrek rushes up the aisle and tells Fiona he wants to talk with her, incurring Farquaad’s contempt for being an ogre in love with a princess. Just then the sun begins to set and Fiona turns into her ogre self. When Shrek tells her he loves her, she admits that she loves him, too, and they kiss, apparently breaking the curse. Fiona does not understand why she has not transformed into her beautiful self, but Shrek assures her she is beautiful. Some time later, in the swamp, Fiona and Shrek marry, with all of their fairy tale creatures in attendance, then ride off on their honeymoon in an onion magically transformed into a coach.

9. Cinderella (1950)

Cinderella (1950)

Cast: Ilene Woods, Helene Stanley, Eleanor Audley

Directors: Wilfred Jackson, Hamilton Luske, Clyde Geronimi

Producer: Ben Sharpsteen

Writer: William Peed, Erdman Penner, Ted Sears, Winston Hibler, Homer Brightman, Harry Reeves, Kenneth Anderson, Joe Rinaldi

Editor: Donald Halliday

Genre: Children's works

Production Company: Walt Disney Productions

Composer: Oliver Wallace

In a mythical kingdom, Lord Tremaine remarries so that his beloved young daughter Cinderella can have a mother. Tremaine's new wife is a seemingly kind widow with two daughters, Anastasia and Drizella, but after his death, Lady Tremaine's true, greedy nature emerges. Banishing Cinderella to the attic and forcing her to become their servant, Lady Tremaine squanders the family fortune on Anastasia and Drizella. Growing up to be a lovely young woman, Cinderella patiently bears the cruelties of her family while continuing to believe in her dreams and comforting herself with the friendship of her dog Bruno, horse Major and the chateau's mice and birds. One morning, mouse Jaq informs Cinderella that a new mouse has been caught in a trap, and after rescuing the chubby newcomer, Cinderella names him Octavius, or Gus for short. Cinderella then begins her chores while Gus, who calls himself Gus-Gus, listens to Jaq's warnings about Lady Tremaine's evil cat Lucifer. Meanwhile, at the palace, the King is infuriated that his son, Prince Charming, has not yet married. Longing for grandchildren, the King orders the Grand Duke to arrange a ball to celebrate the return of Prince Charming, who is arriving that day after an extended absence. The King hopes that the prince will find a bride if all the maidens in the kingdom are present, and so the Grand Duke begins the preparations. Cinderella is thrilled when an invitation arrives at the chateau, but, knowing that her stepdaughter will outshine Anastasia and Drizella, Lady Tremaine cannily promises that she can attend only if she finishes her work and finds something suitable to wear. Cinderella begins re-fashioning a gown that belonged to her mother, but is interrupted by her stepsisters' excessive demands. Determined to help their friend, the mice and birds labor on the dress, while Jaq and Gus-Gus retrieve a sash and string of beads discarded by Anastasia and Drizella. Lady Tremaine and her daughters keep Cinderella so busy that she cannot work on her dress, and when the coach arrives to take them to the ball, she stoically tells them that she will not be attending. When she retreats to her attic, however, Cinderella is astonished to see that the old dress is ready. Cinderella changes and joins her family as they are leaving, but the jealous Drizella and Anastasia recognize their beads and sash and tear Cinderella's gown to shreds. After the women leave, the broken-hearted Cinderella cries in the garden, but her tears are quieted by the arrival of her Fairy Godmother. Telling the unhappy girl that she is going to the ball, the fairy uses her wand and the magic phrase "bibbidi-bobbidi-boo" to transform a pumpkin into a glorious coach. The mice are then transformed into horses, and Major and Bruno become the coachman and footman. The Fairy Godmother then transforms Cinderella's rags into an exquisite gown, complete with glass slippers. The fairy instructs Cinderella to leave the ball before midnight, at which time the spell will be broken. At the castle, meanwhile, the King watches in frustration as a bored Prince Charming greets his guests, including Drizella and Anastasia. The prince's attention is captured by Cinderella, however, and the King arranges for the couple to be alone. Prince Charming and Cinderella fall in love as they waltz, although they do not know each other's names. Just as the prince is about to kiss his new love, the clock begins to strike twelve and Cinderella flees. Prince Charming and the Grand Duke chase her as she races away but succeed only in finding one of her glass slippers, which fell off during her flight down the grand staircase. Cinderella is in rags again when the final chime is heard, but still has one glass slipper as a souvenir of her magical evening. The next morning, Cinderella overhears Lady Tremaine inform her daughters that no one knows the identity of the girl loved by the prince, and that the King has ordered him to marry whomever the slipper fits. Realizing her sweetheart's identity, and that he is searching for her, Cinderella goes to get her shoe. Seeing the dreamy look on Cinderella's face, Lady Tremaine deduces that she is the mystery woman and locks her in the attic. Just then, the Grand Duke arrives and offers the slipper to Drizella and Anastasia. While the two big-footed women attempt to don the dainty shoe, Jaq and Gus-Gus steal the key to Cinderella's door from Lady Tremaine's pocket. After dragging the heavy key up the stairs to the attic, Jaq and Gus-Gus succeed in freeing their friend despite interference from Lucifer. Before Cinderella can try on the slipper, however, the vindictive Lady Tremaine trips the lackey carrying the slipper and it shatters. The Grand Duke is devastated until Cinderella happily shows him the slipper's mate and dons it. Soon after, Cinderella and the prince are married.

10. Finding Nemo (2003)

Finding Nemo (2003)

Cast: Albert Brooks, Ellen DeGeneres, Alexander Gould

Directors: Andrew Stanton

Producer: Graham Walters, John Lasseter

Writer: Andrew Stanton, Bob Peterson, David Reynolds, Ronnie del Carmen, Dan Jeup, Jason Katz

Editor: David Ian Salter

Cinematographer: Sharon Calahan, Jeremy Lasky

Genre: Comedy-drama

Production Company: Pixar Animation Studios, Walt Disney Pictures

Composer: Thomas Newman

In Australia’s Great Barrier Reef, a clownfish named Marlin and his wife Coral take up residence in an anemone at the edge of the coral reef. Although Marlin frets that his four hundred as-yet-unhatched children will not like him, Coral assures him that he will be a wonderful father. Just then, however, a barracuda attacks the anemone, knocking Marlin unconscious, and he awakens to discover that Coral and all the eggs, except one, have been eaten. Cradling his remaining son, Nemo, Marlin vows to protect him forever. Soon, Nemo is a happy, curious boy, who lets neither a malformed fin nor his father’s overprotectiveness dampen his energy. On Nemo’s first day of school, Marlin embarrasses him at the schoolyard by anxiously fussing over him and insisting on cautiousness. To prove that he does not need coddling, Nemo accepts the other kids’ dare to swim out to a ship just past the reef drop off. Although he bravely swims into the open sea, which his father has taught him is perilous, touches the boat and turns back in triumph, a scuba diver nets him before Nemo can reach safety. Horrified, Marlin rushes to his son’s aid, but the boat speeds away too quickly for Marlin to keep up with it, and when he begs for help, only a cheerful blue tang named Dory responds. She offers to help him follow the ship, which she saw pass by, but after several minutes, Marlin realizes they are swimming aimlessly. As Dory explains that she suffers from short-term memory loss, a menacing shark named Bruce forcibly escorts the pair to a twelve-step meeting designed to cure fish-eating addictions. Chanting “Fish are friends, not food,” the three group members welcome Marlin and Dory, and while Bruce recounts the tale of his father’s abandonment of the family, Marlin spots a diver’s mask and, sure it belongs to the human who captured Nemo, inadvertently cuts Dory in his excitement. The scent of her blood mesmerizes Bruce, who chases the fish into a wrecked ship, and although Marlin and Dory escape, the chase sets off a mine explosion. Meanwhile, Nemo is transported to a fish tank in the Sydney office of dentist P. Sherman. The other aquarium inmates, including Jacques the shrimp, Deb, a starfish named Peach and Bloat the blowfish, welcome the boy, but when he becomes stuck in a filter, their gruff leader, Gill, insists that Nemo escape without help, demonstrating his own damaged fin as proof that a handicap need not impede him. The tank members soon “initiate” Nemo into their society and form an escape plan to save Nemo from being given to the dentist’s niece, Darla, a notorious fish abuser. Gill’s plan calls for Nemo to swim into the filter and jam it with a pebble, after which the dentist will clean the tank, transferring them to plastic bags in which they plan to hurl themselves out the window and into the harbor below. Back in the sea, Marlin swims, with Dory’s encouragement, to the ocean depths to find the fallen mask. In the dark, both are spellbound by the light of a predatory angler fish, but manage to spot the mask. While Marlin distracts the angler, Dory slowly reads the dentist’s address on the mask, and is thrilled to discover that she can remember it. Soon annoyed by her blithe chatter, enthusiasm and memory lapses, Marlin informs Dory that he would like to travel alone, and her subsequent sobs attract the chivalry of a school of fish, who scorn Marlin but provide Dory with direction to the Sydney harbor. Now aware that he needs Dory’s help, Marlin apologizes and swims off before he can hear the school’s advice to avoid the upcoming trench. Although Dory tries to warn Marlin, she forgets the details and follows him above the trench, which serves as a jellyfish bed. Marlin is resistant to the stings, but Dory is not, so to save his oblivious friend, Marlin pretends to play a “game” with Dory in which she bounces harmlessly over the jellyfish tops, thus avoiding the dangerous tentacles. Before they reach the end, however, Dory is stung and lies unconscious. As they both recover in open waters, Nemo continues his getaway attempts, sure that his timid father would never risk the open water to rescue him. He fails to achieve the dangerous task, however, and the tank fish sink into dejection. Meanwhile, Marlin awakens on the back of a sea turtle named Crush, who explains that his school is riding the East Australian Current into Sydney. Dory is nearby, playing games with the turtle children, including Squirt, whose independence while swimming the rapid current impresses Marlin. The youngsters idolize Marlin, as does Dory, as she listens enraptured to his tales of their own travels through the ocean. Marlin’s astounding stories soon spread throughout the ocean until they reach the pelicans in Sydney Harbor, one of whom, Nigel, regularly visits the dentist’s office and recognizes Nemo’s name. When he informs Nemo of his father’s courageous search, Nemo is overjoyed and, inspired, flings himself into the tank filter and jams it. At the same time, Marlin and Dory leave the turtles to brave the current alone, and Marlin finds himself invigorated by the adventure. They swim toward shore but are soon lost in the vast ocean, and after Dory tries to ask a whale direction in its own language, the whale swallows them both. Inside its mouth, Marlin rages at his friend. After he states that he must keep his promise to Nemo never to let anything happen to him, Dory points out that this promise cannot be any fun for the child. Dory then assures Marlin that the whale has told her “it’s time to let go,” and although Marlin is frightened, he does so, allowing the whale to expel them via his blowhole into the harbor. The next morning, the tank fish awaken to discover that a new filtration system has cleaned the aquarium. The dentist then nets Nemo, and although the others try to wrench him free, the dentist succeeds in capturing Nemo just as Darla arrives. Outside, a pelican tries to eat Marlin and Dory, whose struggles attract the attention of Nigel. Upon hearing Marlin say Nemo’s name, Nigel offers to carry them in his mouth to the dentist’s office. Marlin is suspicious, but when hungry seagulls approach, he readily agrees. They reach the office in time to see Nemo feigning death, hoping to be flushed down the toilet, as Gill has assured him that all drains lead to the sea. When Darla grabs Nemo, Gill jumps onto her head, and pandemonium erupts in the office. Soon, the dentist is unconscious and Gill has sacrificed his own chance for escape by tossing Nemo down the spit bowl. As Nemo is flushed into the Sydney water treatment pipes, he calls for his father, who is despondent at this missed opportunity to save his son. Believing Nemo to be dead, he mournfully bids goodbye to Dory, and when she begs him to stay with her so she can continue to regain her memories, Marlin states that he wants only to forget his. Soon, Nemo struggles out of the pipes, and although he meets Dory, she fails to remember that she is on a quest to find him. Suddenly, however, her memory returns, and she brings Nemo to his father, who embraces him joyously. Within moments, the trio is caught up in a fisherman’s net along with a huge school of fish. Marlin tries to hold Nemo back but finally relents when the boy asserts that he can remedy the situation, coaching the fish to swim downward as one. The combined force of their movement breaks the net from its rope, and all are freed. When Marlin searches for Nemo, however, he finds him dazed beneath the fallen net. Marlin cradles his son, who soon regains consciousness. Later, back on the reef, Marlin urges Nemo to get to school on time, and once there, jokes easily with the other fathers, proud to see his son leave to explore his ocean home. At the same time, the tank fish achieve their goal and throw themselves into the ocean, where they float in perfect happiness, though still unsure how to escape their plastic bags.

You’ve seen 0 of the 10 greatest ANIMATION films of all time.

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ROMANTIC COMEDY

AFI defines “romantic comedy” as a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations.

1. City Lights (1931)

City Lights (1931)

Cast: Charlie Chaplin, Virginia Cherrill, Florence Lee

Directors: Charles Chaplin

Writer: Charles Chaplin

Editor: Charles Chaplin

Cinematographer: Rollie Totheroh, Gordon Pollock, Mark Marklatt

Genre: Comedy-drama

Production Company: Charles Chaplin Productions

Composer: Charles Chaplin

At an outdoor dedication ceremony, a tramp is discovered sleeping in the arms of a statue as it is being unveiled before a crowd. He is chased into the city, where he meets a beautiful, blind flower girl, and buys a flower with his last coin. That night, he stops a drunken man from drowning himself. Gratefully, the man invites him to his mansion, which is presided over by a snobby butler named James and they begin to drink. The millionaire and the tramp continue their revels at a nightclub. Early the next morning, when they return home, the millionaire drunkenly offers the tramp money and the use of his Rolls Royce. The tramp uses his windfalls to help the flower girl. Because she cannot see his shabby clothes, the girl thinks her benefactor is a wealthy young man. Determined to help her, the tramp returns to the mansion, but the millionaire has sobered up and does not recognize him, so the tramp takes a job cleaning streets and gives the girl and her grandmother what money he can. By accident the tramp finds out they are behind in their rent and that there is a doctor in Vienna who can cure blindness by an expensive operation. Needing money in a hurry to help his friends, the tramp agrees to participate in a crooked boxing match for a cut of the winning purse, but his crooked partner is replaced by a legitmate fighter, who knocks him cold. Out on the streets, the tramp runs into the millionaire, who is back from Europe. Drunk again, he gladly gives the tramp $1,000 for the operation, but two crooks see the transaction and rob them. The tramp calls the police, but by the time they arrive, the crooks have vanished and the police arrest the tramp. He runs away and manages to give the money to the girl before he is taken off to jail. The girl gets her operation and opens up a successful flower shop, imagining her benefactor in every rich young man who comes into the shop. When the tramp gets out of jail, he wanders into the shop by accident. Naturally, she does not recognize him, and laughingly offers him a flower and a coin. He refuses the money, but when she presses it into his hand, she recognizes him by the feel of his skin and is moved.

2. Annie Hall (1977)

Annie Hall (1977)

Cast: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts

Directors: Woody Allen

Producer: Charles H. Joffe, Robert Greenhut

Writer: Woody Allen, Marshall Brickman

Editor: Ralph Rosenblum , A.C.E., Wendy Greene Bricmont

Cinematographer: Gordon Willis , A.S.C.

Genre: Romantic comedy

Production Company: United Artists Corp.

Raised in Brooklyn, New York, Alvy Singer grows up to become a well-known comedian. As an adult, he encounters relationship problems with his girl friend, Annie Hall, when she starts to withdraw her affection. Annie claims she is only going through a phase and reminds him of how he used to be “hot” for Allison, but then his ardor cooled off. Alvy recalls meeting Allison, an ex-girl friend, at a 1956 benefit performance for Adlai Stevenson’s presidential campaign. By 1964, Alvy has lost interest in the relationship. While making love to Allison, he obsesses over conflicting evidence related to the John F. Kennedy assassination, and Allison accuses him of using his fixation to avoid intimacy with her. Alvy reflects that there is some truth in what Allison says—that, like the old Groucho Marx joke, he really does not want to be in any club that would have him as a member. In a happier moment in their relationship, Alvy and Annie Hall vacation at the seashore, and delight in each other’s company as they attempt to cook live lobsters for dinner. Alvy asks Annie if he is her first love. She says no, and reminisces about old boyfriends. When Alvy suggests that Annie is lucky he came along, she responds, “Well, la-dee-dah." Alvy is unimpressed with her choice of words, and Annie suggests that he prefers intellectual women because he married two of them. However, Alvy’s memories of his earlier marriages are not particularly happy. He recalls meeting Annie in 1975, on a tennis date with his friend, Rob, and Rob’s girl friend, Janet. Annie, a sometime actress from Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin, offers Alvy a ride home and invites him up to her apartment for a drink. She makes him uncomfortable when she observes that he is what her “Grammy” Hall would call a “real Jew,” and goes on to explain that her grandmother hates Jews. As they engage in a pretentious conversation about Annie’s photography, they are both distracted by their own insecure inner monologues. Annie reveals that she is auditioning to sing at a local nightclub on Saturday night. Alvy tells Annie he would love to hear her sing and she overcomes her shyness by allowing him to attend. At the nightclub, the audience is restless. Afterward, Annie is embarrassed, believing that the crowd hated her. Alvy assures her that she has a good voice and the audience loved her. He proposes that they kiss before dinner, to get over the awkwardness of a first kiss. The cultural divide between them is revealed at a delicatessen when he orders corned beef on rye, and she orders pastrami on white bread. They make love that night, and afterward Annie smokes marijuana. Soon she moves in with Alvy, although he believes she should maintain a separate apartment. Later, at the beach house, Annie wants to smoke a joint before making love, and suggests that Alvy might not need a psychiatrist if he resorted to marijuana. Upset that Annie needs to get high in order to make love, he takes the joint away. As he starts to kiss her, Annie’s bored spirit separates from her body and searches for her sketchpad so she can draw while her dispirited body has sex with Alvy. When she argues that she needs marijuana to feel comfortable, he again tells her that it upsets him. As a comedian, he is not interested in getting laughs from people who are high, because they are always laughing anyway. Early in his own career, Alvy was reluctant to perform and wrote material for other comics, but now he has overcome his fears and is successful. One night, he performs at the University of Wisconsin and Annie is impressed with his reception by the students. She tells him she is beginning to understand some of the cultural references in his act. Alvy and Annie go to Chippewa Falls to spend Easter with her family. The anti-Semitic Grammy Hall cannot help but see Alvy as an orthodox Hasidic Jew—with spring curls, a beard, and a black suit and hat. Alvy makes a mental comparison between the Hall family’s dinner table etiquette and that of his own raucous New York Jewish family. Later, Annie’s brother, Duane Hall, invites Alvy into his room and confesses that when he is driving at night he sometimes has the urge to drive head-on into oncoming cars. Later, Duane drives Alvy and Annie to the airport, and Alvy is petrified with anxiety. Back in New York, Annie accuses Alvy of following her. He denies the charge and says that he was spying on her and saw her kissing David, her Russian literature professor. Later, Annie enters into psychoanalysis, and notes that Alvy’s last name is “Singer” and that she wants to be a singer. She accuses Alvy of not wanting to be in a committed relationship because he does not think she is smart enough. He counters that encouraging her to take adult education courses is a way to broaden her horizons. He then contradicts himself by saying that such classes are empty and shallow. After Alvy and Annie have broken up, he muses that he has always been attracted to the wrong kind of women. His friend, Rob, introduces him to Pam, a reporter for Rolling Stone magazine. Although they have little in common, they end up having sex and Pam describes the experience as Kafkaesque. During their post-coital conversation, Annie calls Alvy for help, and he rushes over to her apartment. Arring there at 3:00 a.m., he discovers the crisis is merely that there are two spiders in her bathroom. After Alvy kills the spiders, Annie tells him she misses him and asks him to stay. She inquires if someone was in his room when she called, but he denies it. Later, in bed, Annie suggests that she and Alvy never break up again, and they are reunited. After singing again at the nightclub, Annie is approached by record producer Tony Lacey, who invites her and Alvy to his room at the Hotel Pierre. At Alvy’s insistence, Annie turns down the invitation. Instead, he takes her to watch the somber documentary The Sorrow and the Pity, about French anti-Semitism during World War II. With their respective analysts, Annie and Alvy come to similar but different conclusions. She views a day they spent in Brooklyn as the last time they had fun together. He feels that they never have any laughs anymore. Asked how often they have sex, Alvy says, “Hardly ever—three times a week,” while Annie responds, “Constantly! Three times a week.” At a get-together with friends, Annie and Alvy are offered cocaine. Annie urges Alvy to try it, and mentions that they will soon be going to California. Alvy dips the tip of his finger in the white powder, puts it to his nose, then sneezes into the container, sending the drug up in a puff around the room. In California to present an award, Alvy becomes offended when Rob instructs an editor to add fake laughs to the latest episode of his hit comedy series. Alvy is suddenly taken ill and is unable to appear on the awards show. Rob takes him and Annie to Tony Lacey’s Christmas party, and Tony suggests to Annie that they record an album in about six weeks. Flying back to New York, Annie realizes that she liked California, and Alvy that he enjoyed flirting with other women. Each fears breaking up for fear of hurting the other, but ultimately they decide to separate. Later, leaving a movie theater alone, Alvy mentions to himself that he misses Annie, and a passing couple stops to tell him that she is living in California with Tony Lacey. Another stranger asks why he doesn’t go out with other women. Attempting to prepare lobsters at the beach house with another woman, things are not the same as with Annie, and the magic is gone. Alvy calls Annie on the phone, saying that he wants her to come back. In desperation, he travels to Los Angeles and calls her from the airport. They agree to meet at a Sunset Strip health food café, where Alvy asks Annie to marry him and she refuses. Being a New Yorker, Alvy is unused to driving. Leaving the restaurant in his rented car, he smashes into several other cars and ends up in jail. Back in New York, Alvy watches a rehearsal of his new play. Two actors recite dialogue from his last meeting with Annie, but art does not imitate life: the girl in the play agrees to return to New York with the protagonist. In the rehearsal hall, Alvy turns to the audience and says he wanted to have his first play turn out perfectly, the way life seldom does. He mentions running into Annie again, after she returned to New York and moved in with another man. He saw her coming out of a screening of The Sorrow and the Pity and considered it a personal triumph. Sometime later, they had lunch and talked about old times and then parted. He is reminded of an old joke about a guy who goes to a psychiatrist complaining that his brother thinks he is a chicken. The doctor asks, “Why don’t you turn him in?” and the man replies, “Because we need the eggs.” Alvy recognizes that relationships are difficult, but we keep putting ourselves into them “because we need the eggs.”

3. It Happened One Night (1934)

It Happened One Night (1934)

Cast: Clark Gable, Claudette Colbert, Walter Connolly

Directors: Frank Capra

Producer: Harry Cohn

Writer: Robert Riskin

Editor: Gene Havlick

Cinematographer: Joseph Walker

Genre: Screwball comedy

Production Company: Columbia Pictures Corp.

Composer: Louis Silvers

Spoiled heiress Ellie Andrews escapes from her millionaire father Alexander's yacht when he kidnaps her after she elopes with and marries King Westley, a playboy aviator whom Andrews thinks is a fortune hunter. She boards a bus headed for New York and meets Peter Warne, a reporter who has just been fired. Despite their dislike for each other, Peter attempts to catch the thief who steals Ellie's suitcase, but he fails. At their next stop, Ellie misses the bus after going to a nearby hotel to freshen up, and when she returns, discovers that Peter has waited for her, both to return the ticket she left behind and to show her a newspaper article revealing her identity, which she was trying to conceal. After another quarrel, they meet on the next bus, which is forced to stop due to a washed-out bridge. Peter and Ellie spend the night in an auto lodge where they pretend they are married and rent one cabin to save money. Peter informs her that he will help her reach Westley only if she will give him her exclusive story, which he needs to redeem himself, and that if she does not cooperate, he will call her father. She reluctantly accepts his terms while he strings a rope between their beds and hangs up a blanket, which he dubs "The Walls of Jericho." The next morning, they are preparing to leave when they hear her father's detectives approaching. They put on an excellent act of being married, and their fighting convinces the detectives to leave, after which Peter and Ellie board the bus. Meanwhile, Andrews has offered a $10,000 reward for information concerning his daughter. Oscar Shapeley, an obnoxious fellow passenger on the bus, reads about the reward and offers to split it with Peter, but then threatens to go to Ellie's father himself. Peter then convinces Shapeley that he is a gangster who has kidnapped Ellie, and the terrified man flees. Still worried that Shapeley will go to the authorities, Peter and Ellie leave the bus. They try to hitchhike the next morning, and after Peter's technique meets with no success, Ellie quickly stops a car by showing off her legs. Peter sulks as they drive, but his petulance turns to anger when the driver steals his suitcase, rousing Peter to chase the car, tie the driver to a tree and then return for Ellie. Back in New York, Andrews resigns himself to accept Westley to get Ellie back, and they issue a press release. Ellie sees the newspaper article with Westley's pleas for her return, but she hides it from Peter. She insists that they check into another auto lodge for the night, even though they are only three hours away from New York. That night, Ellie confesses her love for Peter, begging him to take her with him, but he rejects her. Later, seeing that Ellie is asleep, Peter rushes to New York, writes his story and sells it to his editor, Joe Gordon, so that he will have enough money to begin a life with Ellie. In his absence, however, the owners of the auto lodge throw Ellie out when she can explain neither Peter's absence nor give them money for the room. Ellie then telephones her father and gives herself up because she thinks Peter has deserted her. As her car goes toward New York, Peter passes it, going in the opposite direction, but Ellie does not see him. On the day of Ellie and Westley's formal wedding, Andrews confronts Ellie, and she confesses that although she loves Peter, she will go through with the wedding because Peter despises her. Her father inadvertently shows her a letter he received from Peter about a financial matter, which both of the Andrews mistakenly assume refers to the reward. Andrews summons Peter to the house, and when he arrives, he presents Andrews with an itemized bill for $39.60, the amount he spent during the trip. He refuses any reward, which impresses Andrews, and Andrews makes Peter admit that he loves Ellie as well. Moments later, as Andrews walks Ellie down the aisle, he tells her of his meeting with Peter and that her car is waiting by the gate if she changes her mind. She does, and runs off again, but this time much to the pleasure of her father. Andrews pays Westley $100,000 for not contesting the annulment of his and Ellie's marriage, then notifies Peter and Ellie that they may marry. The newlyweds go to another auto lodge, where they ask the owners for a rope, a blanket and a trumpet. That night, the trumpet sounds as The Walls of Jerico tumble down.

4. Roman Holiday (1953)

Roman Holiday (1953)

Cast: Gregory Peck, Audrey Hepburn, Eddie Albert

Directors: William Wyler

Producer: William Wyler

Writer: Ian McLellan Hunter, John Dighton, Dalton Trumbo, Ian McLellan Hunter, Dalton Trumbo

Editor: Robert Swink

Cinematographer: Frank F. Planer, Henri Alekan

Genre: Romantic comedy

Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp.

Composer: Georges Auric

While in Rome, Italy, during a multi-city goodwill tour, Princess Anne, the youthful heir to a European crown, impresses the guests of an embassy ball with her charm and poise. Later, as she is preparing for bed, Anne, feeling overwhelmed by her tedious, endless schedule, starts to scream uncontrollably at her efficient secretary, Countess Vereberg. To calm her, Anne's doctor injects her with a sedative, but before the drug takes effect, Anne sneaks out of the palatial embassy and hides in the back of a truck. Anne jumps out when the truck reaches a lively part of town, but is already starting to yawn from the sedative. Soon after, American reporter Joe Bradley spots her prostrate on some stairs and hears her mumbling in English. Joe is unaware of her identity and assumes she is drunk, but reluctantly drags her into a cab. When Joe asks the increasingly groggy Anne for an address, she insists that she lives in the Colosseum. Not knowing what else to do, Joe takes Anne to his tiny apartment. There, while trying to undress herself so that she can don Joe's pajamas, Anne admits that she has never been alone with a man and begins to recite poetry. Frustrated, Joe goes out for coffee after instructing her to sleep on his couch. When he returns, however, he finds her curled up in his bed and rolls her onto the couch. The next day, Joe, who was scheduled to interview the princess that morning, wakes up late and rushes out, leaving behind the still sleeping Anne. At his newspaper office, Joe, unaware that the princess' activities for the day have been cancelled, lies to Hennessy, his editor, that he conducted the interview. When Hennessy shows him a newspaper report about the princess' sudden "illness," Joe stares at the accompanying photograph and realizes that the princess is the woman on his couch. Seeing his opportunity, the perpetually broke Joe gets Hennessy to agree to pay him $5,000 if he produces an exclusive, revealing interview with the princess, complete with photographs. Back at Joe's apartment, Anne finally wakes up and introduces herself as Anya. After drawing Anne a bath, Joe slips out and telephones his photographer friend, Irving Radovich, telling him only that he needs him for an important story. Now bathed and dressed, a grateful Anne borrows 1,000 lire, or $1.50, from Joe and leaves on foot. Joe follows her, watching with amusement as she buys a pair of shoes from a street vendor. Anne then enters a barbershop and insists that the barber, Mario Delani, cut her long hair into a stylish bob. Mario is taken with the transformed Anne and invites her to a barge dance that night. With her last bit of money, Anne buys a gelato and at the Trevi fountain, is joined by Joe, who pretends he has run into her. Anne, in turn, claims she is a runaway schoolgirl and admits that her only desire is to spend the day having fun. Anxious to please, Joe takes her to a nearby cafe, where she meets Irving, who, unaware of Joe's scheme, almost reveals Joe's identity. After Joe fills him in, Irving, using a miniature camera hidden inside a cigarette lighter, snaps pictures of Anne smoking her first cigarette. The three then go sightseeing, and Anne, whom Irving nicknames "Smitty" after she states that her last name is Smith, jumps on a motorscooter Joe has rented and takes a wild ride around the plaza. The ride gets them arrested, but when Joe claims that he and Anne were on their way to get married, the police let them go. Anne and Joe test their truthfulness at the ancient sculpture Bocca della Verità, or Mouth of Truth, and then visit a wall on which passersby post their hopes and wishes. Having made her wish, Anne asks to be taken to the barge dance near the Castel Saint Angelo and there enjoys a romantic dance with Joe. When Mario shows up and cuts in, Joe and Irving become excited imagining the publicity potential of the headline "The Princess and the Barber." Just then, secret service agents from Anne's homeland grab her and start to drag her away. Anne screams for Joe, who races to the rescue and instigates a brawl. Anne gleefully joins in the fracas and jumps in the Tiber River with Joe to escape capture. After swimming to safety, Joe and Anne embrace and kiss, then return to Joe's apartment. There, Anne hears a radio report about the distress her "illness" is causing her people and sadly tells Joe she must leave. Stopping near the embassy, Joe and Anne share a final, passionate kiss before Anne runs off into the night. In the embassy, Anne's advisors scold her for neglecting her duty, but Anne silences them by stating that duty was the only reason she came back. The next day, Hennessy drops by Joe's apartment, anxious to collect his story, and is dismayed when Joe insists he does not have one. Irving then shows up with the photographs he took of Anne, but Joe refuses to use them. Later, Anne appears at the previously scheduled press conference and is pleasantly surprised to see Joe and Irving there. After Joe lets her know through his public comments that her secrets are safe with him, Anne deviates from protocol and shakes hands with the reporters. Irving then gives her the photos he took, and with tears in her eyes, she tells Joe how much she has enjoyed meeting him. Heartbroken, Joe watches Anne retreat with her advisors and walks out of the embassy alone.

5. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

The Philadelphia Story (1940)

Cast: Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn, James Stewart

Directors: George Cukor

Producer: Joseph L. Mankiewicz

Writer: Donald Ogden Stewart

Editor: Frank Sullivan

Cinematographer: Joseph Ruttenberg

Genre: Romantic comedy, Screwball comedy

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Franz Waxman

The wealth and position of the socially prominent Lord family of Philadelphia has made Tracy, the eldest daughter, into an imperious and haughty shrew. Tracy's attitude causes a marital rift with her childhood sweetheart, sportsman and recovering alcoholic C. K. Dexter Haven, leading to a divorce. Two years later, Tracy is poised to wed the pompous and politically ambitious self-made man George Kittredge when Dexter returns from an extended absence accompanied by scandal sheet reporters Macaulay "Mike" Connor and Elizabeth Imbrie. Because Sidney Kidd, the powerful publisher of the scandal magazine Spy , has embarassing information on Tracy's father Seth's affair with a dancer, Dexter agrees to allow Mike and Liz access to Tracy's wedding in exchange for not printing the story on Seth. Although Dexter introduces Mike and Liz as old friends of Tracy's brother Junius, who is living in South America, Tracy realizes that Mike and Liz are reporters. She allows them to stay, however, and puts on an exaggerated performance of a society girl for them when Dexter tells her about Kidd. Tracy is angry at Dexter for coming back after two years, but her mother Margaret and sister Dinah are delighted at his presence, complicating Tracy's attempts to have a dignified wedding. Because Tracy is angry at her father for his affair and doesn't expect him at the wedding, she pretends that her uncle Willie is her father, hoping to make Mike and Liz think that everyone is happy. Though she at first has nothing but contempt for Mike, she gradually comes to admire him when she finds a book of poetry he has written at the local public library. Mike, too, comes to admire Tracy, whom he realizes is more than just a superficial society girl. Liz, who thinks that Tracy and Dexter are still in love, begins to get jealous when she realizes that Mike is starting to fall for Tracy. When Seth unexpectedly returns home and Margaret is happy to see him, Tracy chastises them. Seth then lectures her about her heartlessness, as does Dexter, who gives her a model of the yacht they used for their honeymoon, The True Love , as a wedding present. Confused and hurt over things that Seth and Dexter have said to her, Tracy becomes very drunk at her engagement party and starts kissing Mike after a middle-of-the-night swim at home. The next morning, a very hung over Tracy doesn't seem to remember what happened the night before, but as Dinah and the others start to remind her, she becomes even more confused. When Dexter and Kittredge arrive and Kittridge's pompous reaction to Tracy's seeming indiscretion the night before is revealed, Tracy realizes that she doesn't love him, and Kittridge leaves. The guests have gathered for the wedding, however, and the entire family is waiting for Tracy to do something. As the orchestra plays the strings of the wedding march, Dexter advises Tracy on what to say to the guests and, as he feeds her the lines, she tells them that they were cheated out of seeing her marry Dexter the first time, but they will be able to see her marry him this time. Now realizing that Dexter is proposing, Tracy happily accompanies him down the aisle. Harmony seems to be restored in the Lord household until a flashbulb pops and the bride and groom are surprised by a photographer and Kidd places their picture in the next issue of Spy .

6. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

Cast: Billy Crystal, Meg Ryan, Carrie Fisher

Directors: Rob Reiner

Producer: Rob Reiner, Andrew Scheinman

Writer: Nora Ephron

Editor: Robert Leighton

Cinematographer: Barry Sonnenfeld

Genre: Romantic comedy

Production Company: Castle Rock Entertainment, Nelson Entertainment

In 1977, University of Chicago students Sally Albright and Harry Burns arrange to share a ride to New York City, where Sally plans to study journalism and Harry will attend law school. While Sally waits impatiently in her car, Harry and his girl friend, Amanda Reese, engage in a prolonged goodbye kiss. Harry finally gets into Sally’s car and begins to snack on grapes. He mistakenly assumes the window is rolled down, spits out a grape seed, and it hits the glass. Disgusted, Sally refuses his offer of a grape, explaining that she does not eat between meals. As they get to know each other, Harry reveals his dark outlook on life, and they disagree over the ending of the film Casablanca. Sally insists that Ingrid Bergman’s character made the right choice by leaving Casablanca at the end of the movie, asserting that all women prefer stability over romance. The two stop for dinner, and Harry is amused by Sally’s picky way of ordering food. He compliments her on her good looks, but she takes offense, reminding him that he is dating her friend, Amanda. Returning to the car, Sally suggests that she and Harry become friends. However, Harry does not believe men and women can be friends, as “the sex part always gets in the way.” Sally laments that Harry was the only person she would have known in New York, and shakes his hand when they part ways in the city. Five years later, Sally kisses her boyfriend, Joe, at the airport. Harry interrupts, recognizing Joe from law school, but he cannot place Sally. She and Harry board the same flight, and he finagles the seat beside her after finally remembering her from the University of Chicago. Harry guesses that Sally and her boyfriend, Joe, are at an early stage in their relationship, and claims he would never take a girl friend to the airport to avoid setting a precedent. Sally is surprised to hear that Harry is engaged to a lawyer named Helen Hillson, with whom he claims to be madly in love. When they land, Harry invites Sally to dinner, but she reminds him of his theory that men and women cannot be friends. Harry argues that a friendship would work since they are both involved with other people, but contradicts himself by predicting their significant others would become jealous. The two part ways. Five years later, Sally meets her friends Marie and Alice for lunch and announces that she and Joe have broken up. The women are impressed by how well Sally is handling the heartbreak, but when Marie suggests setting her up on a date, Sally refuses. Elsewhere, at a football stadium, Harry tells his friend, Jess, that his wife, Helen, just left him for another man. Harry runs into Sally at a bookstore, and the two commiserate over their breakups. Sally asks him to dinner, and he asks, “Are we becoming friends now?” Soon, Harry and Sally’s friendship blossoms, and they begin to rely on each other for emotional support. When discussing their dating lives, Harry reveals that he sleeps with women even if he dislikes them, and Sally is appalled. At a batting cage, Harry’s friend, Jess, asks if he is attracted to Sally and likes to spend time with her, and Harry says yes. Jess does not understand why Harry refuses to become romantically involved with Sally, but Harry claims the friendship is helping his personal growth. At a delicatessen, Sally criticizes Harry’s casual approach to sex. He responds that the women he sleeps with have a good time, implying that they achieve orgasms when they are with him. Sally counters that women fake orgasms all the time, and when he does not believe her, she pretends to have one at the table. Moaning, shouting, and pounding on the tabletop, Sally draws everyone’s attention and prompts an older female patron to order whatever Sally is having. On New Year’s Eve, Harry and Sally go to a party, and Harry vows that if they are still single next year, he will be her date again. At midnight, they watch other couples kiss and give each other an awkward peck on the lips. Later, Harry and Sally set each other up with Marie and Jess on a double blind date. However, Marie prefers Jess over Harry, and vice versa, and the two hop into a cab together after dinner, leaving Harry and Sally alone. Four months later, while shopping for a housewarming gift for Marie and Jess, Harry and Sally run into Harry’s ex-wife, Helen. Upset by the encounter, Harry takes out his anger on Marie and Jess as they bicker over a coffee table in their new apartment. Sally leads Harry outside and discourages him from expressing every emotion he feels whenever he feels it. Harry accuses Sally of burying her emotions and reminds her that she has not slept with anyone since her ex-boyfriend, Joe. Hurt by the accusations, Sally tells Harry he sleeps with too many women, and he quickly apologizes, offering her a hug. Sometime later, Sally calls Harry in tears, relaying the news that Joe is getting married. Harry rushes over to Sally’s apartment. She cries on his shoulder, and he gives her a friendly kiss. She kisses him back, and the two make love. Afterward, Sally nuzzles Harry, while he lies nervously in her bed. In the morning, she wakes up to find him getting dressed. Before hurrying out, Harry asks Sally to dinner that night. The two spend the day fretting over what happened, and Sally announces at dinner that they made a mistake sleeping together. Harry is relieved. Later, Harry tells Jess that he and Sally must have passed a point in their relationship when it became too late to have sex. Weeks pass, and Harry and Sally are reunited at Marie and Jess’s wedding. Harry attempts to apologize, telling Sally he did not plan to make love to her when he went to her apartment, but he did not know how else to comfort her. She shouts at him for suggesting that he took pity on her and slaps him. Over Christmas, Sally ignores Harry’s phone calls. One day, he sings a song on her answering machine and she picks up. Harry apologizes, but Sally refuses to be his “consolation prize” when he asks her to be his date for New Year’s Eve. Sally goes to the New Year’s Eve party with Marie and Jess, but she cannot face the idea of being alone at midnight and decides to leave the party early. Meanwhile, Harry walks around the city, ruminating over his relationship with Sally. He runs to the party and finds Sally on her way out. Harry tells Sally he loves her, but she assumes he is only saying it because he is lonely. Harry lists off the personality traits that have endeared him to Sally and tells her that he wants to spend the rest of his life with her. Sally shouts that she hates Harry, then kisses him. Sometime later, Harry and Sally discuss their wedding, which took place three months later, and recall the coconut wedding cake served with chocolate sauce on the side, per Sally’s instructions.

7. Adam's Rib (1949)

Adam's Rib (1949)

Cast: Spencer Tracy, Katharine Hepburn, Judy Holliday

Directors: George Cukor

Producer: Lawrence Weingarten

Writer: Ruth Gordon, Garson Kanin

Editor: George Boemler

Cinematographer: George Folsey

Genre: Comedy

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

Composer: Miklos Rozsa

Doris Attinger, a mother of three who is fed up with her husband Warren's philandering, arms herself with a gun, follows her husband to his mistress Beryl Caighn's Manhattan apartment and clumsily fires shots at the couple. Beryl manages to escape without injury in the shooting, but Warren is wounded. The following morning, attorney Amanda Bonner reads a sensational newspaper story about the details of the shooting to her husband Adam, an Assistant District Attorney, and an argument over who is at fault ensues. Adam, who is lovingly called Pinky by Amanda--he, in turn, calls her Pinkie--disagrees with the assertion that the woman was acting out of a desire to keep her family intact, and that society uses a double standard between the sexes in infidelity cases. Amanda and Adam are soon afforded the opportunity to argue their differing opinions in a courtroom when Adam is assigned to defend Warren, and Amanda decides to represent Beryl. Following the first day of a contentious jury selection process, Adam and Amanda return home and settle into their daily routine until Adam tries to persuade Amanda to bow out of the case. Amanda reacts angrily, but their quarrel is interrupted by the arrival of singer Kip Lurie. Kip, a friend of the Bonners, quickly sides with Amanda and leaves after singing a new song he wrote for her entitled "Farewell, Amanda." The trial gets off to an explosive start when Amanda tests her husband's patience, first by calling attention to every prejudicial remark he makes, and then by coaxing his client to admit that he struck his wife and stopped loving her because she got fat. Later, when Adam tells Amanda that he is ashamed of her, Amanda decides to fight her husband with even greater intensity. Amanda's presentation of the case for the defense includes testimony from a number of female witnesses who are called to the stand to prove Amanda's point that there are many accomplished women in society. When Amanda signals one of the women, a circus performer, to demonstrate her skills on Adam, she does a spectacular series of backflips across the courtroom and then lifts Adam off the floor and over her head. The trial comes to a close with a verdict in Doris's favor, and Adam appears crushed about the outcome. Adam's reaction troubles Amanda and prompts her to visit Kip seeking comfort and advice. Kip, however, takes advantage of Amanda's vulnerability and makes a pass at her. Adam, waiting on the street below, sees the silhouette of Kip and Amanda's loving embrace and bursts into Kip's apartment with a gun pointed at both of them. After forcing Amanda to admit that he, like Doris, is wrong to use a gun to try to prove his point, he points the barrel of the gun, which is made of candy, to his mouth and takes a bite out of it. Adam and Amanda soon reconcile, but when Adam tells Amanda that he will be running for the post of County Court Judge on the Republican ticket, Amanda asks if the Democrat opponent has been chosen yet.

8. Moonstruck (1987)

Moonstruck (1987)

Cast: Cher, Nicolas Cage, Vincent Gardenia

Directors: Norman Jewison

Producer: Patrick Palmer, Norman Jewison

Writer: John Patrick Shanley

Editor: Lou Lombardo

Cinematographer: David Watkin

Genre: Romantic comedy

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc., Star Partners, Ltd.

Italian-American widow Loretta Castorini walks to her bookkeeping jobs in New York City. That evening, at Grand Ticino restaurant, businessman Johnny Cammareri nervously proposes to the thirty-seven-year-old Loretta, who insists he bend on one knee and present her with his pinky ring. However, she warns that her previous marriage was cursed with bad luck because there was no proper ceremony. Loretta then drives Johnny to the airport, where he is leaving to visit his dying mother in Sicily, Italy. While Loretta insists on setting a wedding date, Johnny is unsure when he will return, but they agree to wed in exactly one month. Before getting on his plane, Johnny gives Loretta the business card of his estranged brother, Ronny Cammareri, whom he wants to invite to the wedding. Returning to her family home in Brooklyn with a bottle of champagne, Loretta tells her father, Cosmo, about the engagement, but he warns that Loretta is unlucky in love. Although she insists her luck will change if she has a proper ceremony, Cosmo is suspicious of Johnny and refuses to support the marriage. When Cosmo awakens his wife, Rose, to tell her the news, she is relieved to learn that Loretta does not truly love her future husband. The following day, Cosmo’s aged father walks his five dogs to a local cemetery and regales his comrades with family woes, since Cosmo still refuses to pay for the wedding. One friend chimes in that there will be a full moon that evening, and the elder Castorini declares that the lunar event will provoke romance. In the morning, Johnny telephones Loretta from his mother’s deathbed in Sicily and reminds her to find Ronny. However, Loretta is more concerned about Johnny’s failure to announce the marriage to his mother. Still, she telephones Ronny at the family business, the Cammareri Bros. Bakery, but is unable elicit his sympathy. She walks to the bakery and finds Ronny in the cellar, stoking the oven fires. Seething with rage, Ronny reports that his brother, Johnny, robbed him of his life and reveals his prosthetic left hand. Five years ago, Ronny was also engaged, but Johnny distracted him with a bread order, and Ronny accidentally ran his hand through a slicer. In turn, his fiancée left him for another man. Although Loretta points out that Johnny was not at fault, Ronny fumes that his brother should not be entitled to the same joy of marriage that he was denied. However, he agrees to talk to Loretta in his apartment above the bakery. There, Loretta cooks him a steak and reveals that her deceased husband was hit by a bus. Loretta argues that Ronny is not a victim, but rather a wolf that felt trapped by his pending marriage five years ago; he mangled his hand intentionally, just as a wolf would chew off its own foot, to break free from a snare. Ronny counters that Loretta is losing her head by marrying Johnny out of convenience instead of love. He knocks over the kitchen table, kisses Loretta passionately, and carries her to his bed to make love. Meanwhile, Loretta’s philandering father, Cosmo, presents his mistress, Mona, with a gold bracelet. Sometime later, at the Castorini home, Loretta’s uncle, Raymond Cappomaggi, reminisces about a moonlight courtship he witnessed years ago, between Cosmo and his sister, Rose. However, Cosmo dismisses the conversation, and Rose senses her husband’s infidelity. In the morning, Loretta awakens in Ronny’s bed but insists on going through with her marriage to Johnny. When Ronny declares his love, she slaps his face, ordering him to “snap out of it.” Ronny promises to stay away from Loretta on condition she join him at the Metropolitan opera that evening. After confessing her sins in church, Loretta sees her mother praying. Rose reveals her belief that Cosmo is having an affair. On her way home, Loretta stops at a salon to have her grey hair dyed and her face made up. She then purchases an evening gown and red stiletto-heeled shoes. That night, at Lincoln Center, Loretta and Ronny watch La Bohème while Rose dines alone at Grand Ticino restaurant. There, a regular customer named Perry is humiliated when his date throws her drink in his face. Rose sparks a conversation with Perry, invites him to join her table, and declares that men chase women because they fear death. As Perry walks Rose home arm in arm, they run into Cosmo’s father, who does not acknowledge his daughter-in-law but assumes she is having an affair. Although Perry propositions Rose, she remains loyal to Cosmo. Back at the Met, Loretta catches her father with his mistress, Mona. Cosmo is equally distressed to see his daughter with a man other than her fiancé. After the opera, Ronny walks Loretta home and reflects that she is unwittingly attracted to his wolf-like qualities; a safe marriage to Johnny will kill her bold spirit. Realizing that Ronny has led her back to his apartment, Loretta insists on staying true to Johnny because the wedding will reverse her bad luck. In response, Ronny declares that love is not an ideal of perfection, but rather a purveyor of pain, heartbreak, and ruin. Unable to restrain her passion, Loretta reaches out for Ronny’s prosthetic hand. Meanwhile, Johnny returns to New York City and takes a taxicab to Loretta’s home. Discovering Loretta missing, Johnny tells Rose that his mother miraculously recovered. Rose is still pondering her husband’s affair and asks Johnny why men chase women? In response, he refers to the Bible; ever since God took a rib from Adam to create Eve, men have felt a void near their hearts, and long to recover the loss. When Rose demands to know why men need more than one woman, Johnny confirms her belief that men fear death. The next morning, Loretta saunters home to receive the alarming news of Johnny’s return. Ronny arrives at the Castorini brownstone unexpectedly, and insists on meeting Loretta’s family as they convene at the breakfast table for oatmeal. When Rose asks Cosmo to stop seeing his mistress, he hits the table in anger, but agrees. Soon after, Johnny comes to the house and is shocked to see his brother; he assumes Ronny is there to “make peace.” Johnny announces that his mother revived as soon as she learned about the pending marriage, but now he cannot go through with the wedding because he is suspicious that the ceremony will provoke his mother’s death. Loretta is furious about the broken promise and grudgingly returns Johnny’s pinky ring. Just then, Ronny proposes to Loretta. She demands the ring back from Johnny, and declares her love for Ronny. Champagne glasses are filled for a toast to “the family.”

9. Harold and Maude (1971)

Harold and Maude (1971)

Cast: Ruth Gordon, Bud Cort, Vivian Pickles

Directors: Hal Ashby

Producer: Mildred Lewis, Colin Higgins, Charles B. Mulvehill

Writer: Colin Higgins

Editor: William A. Sawyer, Edward Warschilka

Cinematographer: John Alonzo

Genre: Romantic comedy, Satire

Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Mildred Lewis & Colin Higgins Productions, Inc.

After another in a series of mock suicides staged by 20-year-old Harold Chasen fails to gain the attention he craves from his wealthy, socialite mother, the sullen young man stages a bloody scene in her bathroom, finally driving her to send him to a psychiatrist. During a therapy session, Harold explains that he finds "fun" in attending funerals. Soon after, Harold buys a hearse and goes to a funeral for a stranger, where he spots another casual observer, the 79-year-old Maude. At home that night, Mrs. Chasen, outraged by Harold's "amateur theatrics," sends him to his uncle, Gen. Victor Ball, a one-armed veteran who urges him to join the military and then salutes a portrait of his hero, Nathan Hale, using his mechanically rigged sleeve. Days later, after Harold fails to shake his imperturbable mother by floating face down in her lap pool, Mrs. Chasen announces that Harold must assume "adult responsibilities" by marrying and arranges for a series of dates. During a funeral for another stranger, Maude offers Harold licorice and then suggests that the deceased, who was 80, died at the perfect age. As the mourners exit the church, the affable Maude introduces herself, tells Harold they will be "great friends" and then steals the minister's car. Later, while Mrs. Chasen recites the dating service survey question "Do you have ups and downs without obvious reason?" Harold fakes shooting himself in the head. At the end of the next funeral Harold attends, Maude steals his hearse for a joy ride, then turns the wheel over to him after he informs her that it is his vehicle. Harold then drives Maude to her home, a converted railroad car full of art and memorabilia. Later, at the psychiatrist's office, Harold admits that he might have one friend, Maude. During his first date with Candy Gulf at the Chasen home, Harold pretends to set himself on fire within sight of young woman, who flees the house in terror. On his next visit to Maude, he finds his friend modeling in the nude for ice sculptor Glaucus. After he agrees with her that the nudity is permissible, Maude shows Harold her paintings, sculpture and “olfactory machine,” demonstrating it with a scent called "Snow on 42nd Street." Entranced by Maude's creativity and her insistence on experiencing something new each day, Harold shares with her his favorite activities: watching building demolitions and picnicking at a metal junkyard. Later, at a nursery, Maude explains that she likes to watch things grow and picks a tall solitary sunflower as her favorite flower. After Harold, in turn, chooses a ground cover daisy, saying that all daisies are alike, Maude notes observable differences between them. She advises him that all humans are special; the problem lies in the fact that they allow themselves to be treated all the same. On another outing, Maude, in her zeal, drives over a curb to show Harold a tree being suffocated by the city's smog. When the car is ticketed by police officers, Harold and Maude steal a different vehicle and race through a stop sign, defying the awe-struck police. Later at her home, Maude reminisces metaphorically about her past as a political protestor and explains that now she attempts more idiosyncratic strategies toward change. After playing a song on her player piano for him, Maude gives Harold a banjo. Harold returns home to find his mother has replaced his hearse with a new Jaguar sports car, which he quickly transforms into a mini-hearse with the help of a blowtorch. Days later, when Harold and Maude rush through a tollbooth while delivering the smog-ridden tree to its new home, a motorcycle officer pulls them over. Maude speeds off during the officer's interrogation and drives around in circles until the motorcycle breaks down. Later, when the same officer pulls them over again and reads a list of offenses, Maude and Harold steal his motorcycle. The officer aims his gun at them, but finds his efforts foiled by his unloaded gun. After sharing a hashish pipe at Maude's home, Harold admits that he has not lived, but does enjoy dying and recounts his first "death:" After a school physics lab experiment blows a hole in floor, police mistakenly report to Mrs. Chasen that her son has died in the explosion. Seeing his mother faint and relishing her attention, Harold decides to continue dying. Maude enthusiastically coaches Harold to live in the present and begins to waltz with him. Days later, during a date with Edith Phern, Harold, who has placed a fake plastic arm in the sleeve of his jacket, takes out a meat cleaver and chops off his hand arm, sending Edith fleeing from the room. Learning that his determined mother plans to induct him into the military, Harold and Maude scheme to foil her. Asking Victor to take a walk, Harold endures a minutely detailed account of his uncle's war adventures during another military pep talk. Harold then excitedly enumerates ways to kill and finally reveals a shrunken head, asking if Victor keeps souvenirs. When Maude suddenly appears carrying a peace sign and grabs the head, Harold pretends to start a brawl with her and pushes the elderly woman down a hole in the stone landing. A shocked Victor is convinced Harold killed the protestor and stops talking about the young man's induction. At the close of the day, Harold tells Maude she is beautiful and holds her hand, revealing a number tattoo indicating that she is a Holocaust survivor. During a date with actress Sunshine Doré, Harold performs a mock hara-kiri, but instead of being shocked, the actress recites the suicide scene from "Romeo and Juliet," pretends to stab herself and falls to Harold's side. That night, as Harold gives Maude a gift with the inscription "Harold loves Maude," she throws it in the sea, explaining with a smile that she will always know where it is. After spending the night with Maude, an ebullient Harold announces to his mother that he is marrying her and shows Mrs. Chasen Maude's picture. Horrified by their age difference, Mrs. Chasen sends Harold to see Victor and the psychiatrist, who caution him against the marriage. Finally, Harold is sent to a priest, who suggests that the idea of Harold "commingling" his "firm" body with the elderly woman is perverse. On Maude's 80th birthday, Harold fills her room with paper sunflowers and plans to propose to her, but Maude announces that she has taken enough sleeping tablets to kill her by midnight and wishes him farewell. Harold screams in outrage and calls for an ambulance. On the way to the hospital, as he professes his love to her, Maude looks on approvingly and suggests that Harold "go love some more." A grief-stricken Harold races from the hospital after Maude dies. When his car careens over an ocean cliff, Harold, standing high above on the cliff's edge, plucks at his banjo and skips to the music, celebrating life as Maude would have wanted.

10. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

Cast: Tom Hanks, Meg Ryan, Bill Pullman

Directors: Nora Ephron

Producer: Gary Foster, Lynda Obst, Patrick Crowley

Writer: Nora Ephron, David S. Ward, Jeff Arch, Jeff Arch

Editor: Robert Reitano

Cinematographer: Sven Nykvist

Genre: Romantic comedy

Production Company: TriStar Pictures

Recent widower Sam Baldwin decides he and his eight-year-old son, Jonah, need a change. They uproot from Chicago, Illinois, to a floating home on Lake Union in Seattle, Washington. On Christmas Eve, Jonah calls into the “You and Your Emotions” radio show hosted by Dr. Marcia Fieldstone, and tells her his Christmas wish: a new wife for his grieving father. Fieldstone urges the boy to put Sam on the phone. Meanwhile, in Baltimore, Maryland, Annie Reed listens to the show on her way to visit her fiancé Walter’s family, and is brought to tears when Sam reveals the deep love he had for his wife, and the magic he felt when first holding her hand. Learning that Sam suffers from insomnia, Fieldstone refers to him as “Sleepless in Seattle.” After the holiday, Annie returns to work at the Baltimore Sun. At a staff meeting, her co-worker, Becky, mentions that 2,000 women called in to Dr. Fieldstone’s radio show to get “Sleepless in Seattle’s” number. Annie admits she was also swept up by Sam’s story, and Becky suggests she write about it. On New Year’s Eve, Annie celebrates with Walter, who suggests a Valentine’s Day trip to New York City. Meanwhile, in Seattle, Sam puts Jonah to bed, then daydreams a conversation with his late wife, Maggie. He returns to work on a house he is designing, and is embarrassed to learn that his client, Claire, heard him on the “You and Your Emotions” show. Soon, Sam receives letters from many interested women, sent to him via Dr. Marcia Fieldstone. Jonah excitedly reads the letters, but Sam prefers to meet a woman on his own terms. In Baltimore, Annie barges in on her brother, Dennis, at his office, and admits to having fantasies about a stranger in Seattle. She is relieved when Dennis debunks the idea of fate, and confesses that he too had “cold feet” before his wedding. Later, Annie and Becky watch the 1957 film, An Affair to Remember, in which two lovers agree to meet at the top of the Empire State Building. Becky looks on as Annie writes a letter to Sam, then crumples it up and tosses it. Unable to shake her obsession, she hires a private detective to perform a background check and snap Sam’s photograph. Jonah receives Annie’s letter in the mail. Convinced she is the right woman for his father, he reads the letter aloud, noting that Annie’s favorite baseball player, Brooks Robinson, is also Sam’s favorite. Sam argues that Baltimore is too far away, and leaves for a dinner date with an interior designer named Victoria. Jonah interrupts the date by calling Sam to tell him that Annie wants to meet at the top of the Empire State Building on Valentine’s Day. Sam reprimands his son for interrupting him, and hangs up. Later, Sam introduces Victoria to Jonah, who vehemently dislikes her. The boy spies them kissing and calls into the “You and Your Emotions” show in a panic. Becky calls to alert Annie that Jonah is back on the show, rousing both Annie and Walter from a deep sleep. Annie sneaks downstairs and turns on the radio. Later, Jonah shares Annie’s letter with his girl friend, Jessica, who agrees that Annie is the perfect match for Sam. She encourages Jonah to write back, and they draft a letter together. Meanwhile, Annie tells Becky she wants to write a story about Sam, and Becky authorizes her to travel to Seattle for “research.” When Annie gets off the airplane, she happens to pass Sam and Jonah, who are at the airport to drop off Victoria. Sam notices Annie and stares at her as she passes. She arrives at Sam’s house just as he and Jonah paddle off in a boat. Annie follows them to a beach, but cannot muster the courage to approach them. The next day, she finds them at a marina, but stops short when she sees Sam and Jonah embracing Sam’s visiting sister, Suzy. Mistaking Suzy for Victoria, Annie is crestfallen. Sam notices her in the middle of the road and says “Hello.” Annie responds, but is nearly hit by a car. Back in Baltimore, she tells Becky about the encounter, telling her, “All I could say was ‘hello.’” Becky recalls the heroine in An Affair to Remember saying the same line, and tells Annie it must be a sign. Annie receives Jonah’s letter, in which the boy, posing as his father, agrees to meet her in New York. Becky confesses to sending Annie’s crumpled-up letter. However, having seen Sam embracing another woman, Annie no longer wants to pursue him. When Sam continues to refuse to go to New York, Jonah decides to go on his own. He enlists the help of Jessica, whose parents own a travel agency. She books him on a flight and they pool their money for taxi fare. Having recommitted herself to the idea of marrying Walter, Annie goes to meet him in New York. While registering for wedding gifts, Walter gives Annie his mother’s engagement ring. It is just what she would have picked, and she praises Walter’s predictability. On Valentine’s Day morning, Sam packs for a weekend getaway with Victoria. The babysitter arrives, but Jonah is nowhere to be found. Sam goes to Jessica’s house, and Jessica informs him that Jonah is on a flight to New York. The panicked Sam rushes to the airport and gets on the next flight to New York. That evening, Annie goes for drinks with Walter. Noticing the Empire State Building in clear view, she returns his mother’s ring, and tells him about Sam. Walter remains even-keeled and tells Annie that he never wants to be “settled for.” The Empire State Building windows light up red, forming a heart, and Annie decides it is a sign. She hails a taxi to the Empire State Building, where Jonah has spent the day looking for her, but gets caught in traffic. Sam finally catches up to Jonah on the observation deck, and is relieved to find him unharmed. Minutes later, Annie coaxes a security guard to let her up to the observation deck after closing, but finds it empty. She notices Jonah’s abandoned backpack, and rifles through it just as Sam and Jonah come back for it. Annie and Sam lock eyes. She introduces herself, and he takes her hand. Admiring each other in silence, Annie and Sam board the elevator with the contented Jonah. Finally, Annie tells Sam it is nice to meet him.

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WESTERN

AFI defines “western” as a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier.

1. The Searchers (1956)

The Searchers (1956)

Cast: John Wayne, Jeffrey Hunter, Vera Miles

Directors: John Ford

Producer: Merian C. Cooper

Writer: Frank S. Nugent

Editor: Jack Murray

Cinematographer: Winton Hoch

Genre: Western

Production Company: C. V. Whitney Pictures, Inc.

Composer: Max Steiner

Martha Edwards opens the door of her cabin to the arid Texas landscape outside just as her brother-in-law, Ethan Edwards, approaches on horseback. Although it is 1868, Martha, her husband Aaron, their children Debbie, Lucy and Ben, and their adopted son, Martin Pawley, have not seen Ethan since he left them to fight for the Confederacy during the Civil War. Because Martin, an earnest but friendly young man, is part Cherokee, Ethan treats him coldly, even though it was he who rescued the lad when his parents were massacred in an Indian raid years earlier. Soon after Ethan's arrival, Rev. Samuel Johnson Clayton, a captain in the Texas Rangers as well as an old family friend, announces that the cattle of local rancher Lars Jorgensen have been stolen. Although Ethan is somewhat contemptuous of Sam, he joins Martin and a posse in pursuit of the thieves. When they find that the bulls have been killed with Comanche lances, Ethan declares that what the Indians really wanted was to lure the men away from home, thereby leaving their ranches open to attack. The men head back, but it is too late, for upon their arrival at the Edwards home, they discover that everyone has been brutally murdered except for Lucy and Debbie, who have been taken by the Comanche. The posse then sets out to find the girls. On finding a fresh Comanche grave, the men unearth the body but are shocked when Ethan shoots out its eyes. According to Comanche belief, Ethan explains, this will prevent the dead man's spirit from entering the spirit lands and force him to wander forever. The next day, the Comanche raiding party, led by Chief Scar, surrounds and attacks the posse, but the rangers drive them off. When Sam refuses to pursue the Comanche, explaining that they should be allowed to bury their dead in peace, Ethan explodes, and storms away from the men, intending to continue the search on his own. Both Martin, who endures Ethan's insults for the sake of his missing sisters, and young Brad Jorgensen, who loves Lucy, insist on joining him. One day, Brad returns from a scouting mission and joyfully announces that he has seen Lucy's blue dress at a nearby Indian encampment. Ethan reveals that he found Lucy's body and covered it, then angrily warns Brad never to ask him to reveal more. Wild with grief, Brad rides into the Indian camp and is shot to death while Ethan and Martin look on in horror. One year later, Ethan and Martin visit the Jorgensen ranch, and Ethan admits to Lars that they have lost the war party's trail. Lars replies that a Texas merchant named Futterman claims to have knowledge of Debbie's whereabouts. Meanwhile, Martin confides in Lars's daughter Laurie, who is in love with the young man, his fears that Ethan may kill Debbie because of her long association with the Comanche. To Laurie's dismay, Martin then leaves to follow Ethan, who has departed without a word. The two give Futterman money in exchange for the news that Debbie is held captive by Scar. That night, Futterman tries to shoot Martin and Ethan, but Ethan kills him and his henchmen, then retrieves his money. Time passes, and Laurie, who is now being courted by the bumbling Charlie McCorry, receives her only letter from Martin. In it, he confesses that he inadvertently "bought" a squaw he named Look, who trembled when he asked her about Scar, but left him an arrow fashioned of rocks before leaving him during the night. Later, Martin and Ethan discover that Look joined the Comanche but was killed when the band was raided by the U.S. Cavalry. Ethan and Martin examine the prisoners taken during the raid, but do not find Debbie among the several white women found living with the Indians. His voice tinged with loathing, Ethan watches the women and remarks, "They ain't white anymore. They're Comanche." In a New Mexico cantina, the two searchers meet Mose Harper, a dull-witted but loyal old friend who, in exchange for the promise of a comfortable rocking chair, introduces them to Mexican Emilio Figueroa, who claims to know Scar. Emilio takes them to Scar's village, where they finally meet their elusive enemy, who explains that because his two sons were killed by white men, he has taken many white scalps in revenge. One of his wives, a young white woman, then displays some of the scalps on a pole. Later that day, Ethan and Martin are visited by the woman, who, although admitting she is Debbie, begs them to leave and states that the Comanche are now her people. Disgusted that Debbie has been "living with a buck," Ethan aims his gun at her, but Martin steps between them. At that moment, Scar attacks, and while Debbie runs back to the Indians, Ethan and Martin escape. Ethan eventually recovers from a gunshot wound received during the encounter, and the two return to the Jorgensen ranch, just as Laurie and Charlie are about to exchange marriage vows. Laurie is thrilled at the return of the man she really loves, but Charlie is angry and challenges Martin to a fight. The altercation ends amicably, and Charlie calls off the wedding. Clayton, who was planning to marry the couple, assumes his role as the local lawman and arrests Martin and Ethan for the apparent murder of Futterman. Just then, cavalry lieutenant Greenhill arrives with orders from Col. Greenhill, the flustered young officer's father. The rangers are to join the colonel in the field for a "joint punitive action" against the Comanche. Greenhill brings in Mose, who has been held captive by Scar. Injured and shaken, Mose reveals Scar's location, whereupon the men immediately prepare for a surprise attack. Worried that Debbie will be killed in the coming battle, Martin sneaks into Scar's camp to rescue her, even after Ethan reveals that one of the scalps on Scar's pole belonged to Martin's mother. When Martin enters Debbie's tent, she screams but admits that she wants to leave. When Scar appears, Martin shoots him, and Sam and the rangers attack the camp. Ethan finds Scar's lifeless body and scalps it, after which he begins to chase the frantic Debbie. As the battle rages around them, Martin tries to stop Ethan, but Ethan catches Debbie and, instead of killing her, suddenly lifts her into the air, tenderly cradles her in his arms and says, "Let's go home, Debbie." Sam and his rangers win the battle, after which everyone returns home. Ethan delivers Debbie to Mrs. Jorgensen's tearful embrace, and Laurie joyfully greets Martin, while Mose, looking on from his rocking chair, smiles. Ethan surveys the scene from the door of the house, turns around and slowly walks away.

2. High Noon (1952)

High Noon (1952)

Cast: Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges

Directors: Fred Zinnemann

Writer: Carl Foreman

Editor: Harry Gerstad, Elmo Williams

Cinematographer: Floyd Crosby

Genre: Western

Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, Inc.

Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin

At 10:30 on a quiet morning in 1870, three outlaws ride into the western town of Hadleyville just as its marshal, Will Kane, is being married to a pretty Quaker named Amy Fowler. To please Amy, Will resigns his post immediately after the ceremony, but he is troubled because the new marshal has not arrived to take his place. Suddenly the station master rushes in with the terrible news that Frank Miller, a wild outlaw whom Will had arrested for murder five years earlier, recently received a pardon and is due to arrive in Hadleyville on the noon train. The three outlaws, Jack Colby, Ben Miller and James Pierce, have ridden to the station and are awaiting Miller's arrival. Alarmed, the wedding guests urge Will and Amy to leave town immediately, but after only a few moments on the road, Will turns the wagon around and heads back. "I expect he'll come looking for me," Will replies when Amy asks for an explanation. Will's young wife begs him to leave with her, and when he protests that he has never run from anyone, she threatens to leave on the train whether or not he accompanies her. Will hurriedly begins to make plans for the town's defense, and is surprised when Judge Percy Mettrick, who had sentenced Miller to be hanged, packs his belongings and flees. Will is relieved to see Harvey Pell, his deputy, still in town, but Harvey, angry that an outsider was hired to replace the retiring marshal, agrees to stay only if Will promises to support his bid for the post. Will refuses, whereupon Harvey removes his guns and walks out. Will visits his old flame, businesswoman Helen Ramirez, who had formerly been Miller's mistress. Will warns Helen about Frank, and she admits that she has sold her store and plans to depart on the noon train. In the saloon, men who enjoyed the rowdy times when Frank and his henchmen controlled the town celebrate his imminent return and refuse Will's request for help. Will then visits the home of his friend, Sam Fuller, but as Sam listens from the next room, his wife tells Will that he is not at home. Next, Will interrupts the church service to ask for deputies. Although several of the townspeople proclaim that it is Will who has made their town safe and decent, many of them also argue that Miller's impending arrival is not their problem. Finally, Mayor Jonas Henderson declares that a gunfight would hurt the town's image and that Will should have left when he had the chance. Stunned, Will leaves the church and asks his mentor, Martin Howe, for help. Howe, once the marshal himself, has become cynical, however, and after Will exits his home, he mumbles, "It's all for nothing, Will." Harvey, now drunk, tries to force Will to leave town, but Will refuses, and the two men fight until the marshal knocks his former deputy unconscious. As noon approaches, Amy visits Helen, who assures her that there is no longer anything between herself and Will. She also reproaches the young wife for not defending her husband, but softens after Amy reveals that both her father and brother were killed in a gunfight. In Will's office, the only citizen who had willingly pinned on a deputy's badge now backs out and goes home, leaving the marshal utterly alone. Will writes his last will and testament, then enters the deserted street as Amy and Helen drive a wagon toward the train station. The train arrives, and as Miller disembarks, the two women get on board. Miller straps on his gun, and the four outlaws walk toward the center of town, where Will awaits them. When one of the outlaws breaks a window, Will is able to duck inside a building and shoot him. Hearing the shot, Amy gets off the train and runs back to town. Will kills another of his attackers and takes cover in the livery stable, which the two remaining outlaws set on fire. As the frightened horses charge out, Will leaps on one and makes his escape, but falls after being shot in the arm. Amy shoots one of the gunmen in the back before he can shoot Will, but is captured by Miller, who uses her as a hostage. In response to Miller's threats, Will faces him in the street, but Amy pushes the outlaw, giving Will the chance to shoot him dead. Amy and Will embrace, and the townspeople rush into the street. Disgusted by the cowardice of his former friends, Will tosses his tin star in the dirt at their feet, then leaves with Amy.

3. Shane (1953)

Shane (1953)

Cast: Alan Ladd, Jean Arthur, Van Heflin

Directors: George Stevens

Producer: George Stevens

Writer: A. B. Guthrie Jr.

Editor: William Hornbeck, Tom McAdoo

Cinematographer: Loyal Griggs

Genre: Western

Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp.

Composer: Victor Young

While playing on his Wyoming homestead, young Joey Starrett spies a lone rider approaching his house, then listens with great curiosity as Shane, the buckskin clad stranger, reveals to his father Joe that he is heading north, toward home. When Joey cocks the rifle he has been toting, Shane, startled by the noise, draws his gun with the speed of a gunslinger. Joe is disturbed by Shane’s behavior and, as a group of men ride up, sends him on his way. The men’s leader, grizzled cattle baron Rufe Ryker, accuses Joe of squatting on his grazing land and demands that he give up his homestead. When Joe refuses, Ryker’s men start to intimidate him until Shane suddenly reappears at Joe’s side. The men depart, and Joe’s wife Marian, who has observed everything from inside the house, urges Joe to invite Shane to dinner. Joey is thrilled to have Shane spend the evening with them, and at the end of the meal, Shane, reticent to talk about his past, goes outside to chop wood for the family. Joe joins in and the next day, the two men team up to pull a stubborn tree stump out of the ground. Later, Joey tells Shane that his parents want him to stay and innocently lets on that his father is concerned about Ryker’s threats. Shane, who has put away his gun, agrees to remain and heads to town to buy work clothes. Soon after, homesteader Ernie Wright arrives at the Starretts’ to announce that Ryker’s men have destroyed his wheat field and, consequently, he and his family are moving away. Joe begs Ernie to stay and calls for a meeting of the homestead men that night. Meanwhile, in town, Shane purchases clothes at Sam Grafton’s general store, then orders a soda pop in the adjoining saloon. There, Chris Calloway, one of Grafton’s men, calls Shane a “sodbuster” and tosses a glass of whiskey on his new shirt. Shane does not react to Calloway’s provocations, however, and walks out. That night, during the meeting, Joey overhears homesteader Fred Lewis, who witnessed the saloon exchange, declare that Shane did not stand up to Calloway. Marian reassures Joey that Shane is not a coward, but counsels him not to become too attached to him. Later, having decided to stick together as a group, the homesteaders and their families go to town to shop for the next day’s Fourth of July celebration. At Grafton’s, Calloway again confronts Shane in the saloon, but this time, Shane throws two drinks on Calloway and slugs him. After a grueling fistfight, Shane finally knocks out Calloway and is offered a job by Ryker. When Shane declines, Ryker accuses him of lusting after Marian, and despite pleas from Joey, Shane single-handedly takes on all of Ryker’s men. Joe aids Shane in the fracas, until Grafton, fed up with the destruction, demands a halt. As the homesteaders depart, Ryker vows to fight on and sends for notorious Cheyenne gunslinger Jack Wilson. Back at home, Joey gushes to Marian about his love for Shane, while Marian wrestles with her growing romantic feelings for the loner. The next day, after Joey admits to Shane that he sneaked a peek at his gun, Shane gives the boy some pointers on how to shoot and demonstrates his skill as a marksman. Though impressed, Marian expresses her disapproval of guns and asks Shane not to encourage Joey’s interest. Ernie, meanwhile, complains to neighbor Stonewall Torrey that because Ryker’s men killed his sow and ruined his fields, he is giving up. Angry, Stonewall, whose courage has been questioned by some of the homesteaders, goes to town and, in the saloon, criticizes Ryker for running Ernie off his land. Later, at the Fourth of July party, Joe and Marian also celebrate their tenth wedding anniversary, and Marian shares a dance with Shane. When Stonewall arrives and announces that Ryker has hired a gunfighter, Shane guesses he is Wilson. Back at their house, the Starretts and Shane are met by Wilson, Ryker’s brother Morgan and Ryker, who in an attempt to appear reasonable, offers to sell Joe his land. Joe angrily rejects the idea, pointing out that the government already recognizes the homesteaders’ claims. In turn, Ryker complains that because he fought the Indians and slaved to make the land livable, he is entitled to own it, without fences. Ryker and Wilson depart peacefully, but in town, Ryker instructs Wilson to do whatever is necessary to defeat Joe. To that end, Wilson provokes a confrontation with Stonewall, then shoots him down when he makes a half-hearted move for his gun. With the nearest lawman a three-day ride away, Wilson’s claim of self-defense goes unchallenged. At Stonewall’s funeral, the Lewis family announce that they, too, are leaving their homestead, but Joe and Shane beseech their other neighbors to keep fighting. Just then, a fire is spotted at the Lewis place, and Ryker’s blatant sabotage strengthens Joe’s resolve to stop Ryker at any cost. That night, Ryker sends for Joe, while Joe prepares to challenge Ryker at gunpoint, ignoring Marian’s tearful pleas not to risk his life. Shane, who has been warned about Ryker’s plans by a reformed Calloway, dons his buckskins and straps on his gun, then fights Joe to keep him from leaving. When Shane hits Joe in the head with his gun butt, a terrified Joey screams hatefully at him, but Marian is relieved. Joe is knocked out, and aware that she will not see Shane again, Marian says a grateful goodbye. Joey trails Shane to the saloon and sees him goad Wilson into drawing his gun. Shane shoots Wilson dead, then shoots Ryker when he draws, and with Joey’s help, outdraws Morgan. Later, Joey apologizes for his angry words and begs Shane to return to the homestead. Gently declining, Shane tries to explain to the boy that he cannot change the man he is at heart and does not belong there. As Shane mounts his horse and rides off, Joey, devastated and confused, cries after him to "come back."

4. Unforgiven (1992)

Unforgiven (1992)

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Gene Hackman, Morgan Freeman

Directors: Clint Eastwood

Producer: Clint Eastwood, David Valdes

Writer: David Webb Peoples

Editor: Joel Cox

Cinematographer: Jack N. Green

Genre: Western

Production Company: The Malpaso Company

Composer: Lennie Niehaus

In 1880, at Greely’s whorehouse in Big Whiskey, Wyoming, a drunken cowboy named “Quick Mike” orders his friend, Davey Bunting, to hold down prostitute Delilah Fitzgerald while he slashes her face in retaliation for laughing at his small penis. Greely’s proprietor “Skinny” Dubois stops Mike at gunpoint. Complaining that Delilah is now “damaged property,” Skinny tells the sheriff, “Little Bill” Daggett, that he wants compensation for lost revenue. Seasoned prostitute “Strawberry Alice” argues that Mike and Davey should be hanged, but Little Bill forgoes hanging or whipping. Instead, he orders them to repay Skinny seven ponies. Scheming revenge, Strawberry Alice rallies the prostitutes to pool their savings. Sometime later, on his small farm in Kansas, widower William Munny enlists the help of his children, Will and Penny, in corraling sick pigs. A cocksure young man calling himself the “Schofield Kid,” after his Schofield revolver, arrives in search of the “cold-blooded assassin,” William Munny, he heard about from his Uncle Pete. The Kid wants to team with Munny to collect a $1,000 reward on the heads of Quick Mike and Davey. Munny claims he is no longer a killer since his late wife, Claudia Feathers, cured him of his drinking problem and showed him the error of his ways. The Kid is riding due west to the Western Trail in case Munny changes his mind. Returning to work on his ailing farm, Munny has a change of heart. He tells his son, Will, to take care of the younger Penny, and promises to be back in two weeks. He has a hard time mounting his horse, not having ridden in some time, and explains to the children that the recalcitrant horse and sick pigs are his comeuppance for past sins. On his way to meet the Kid, Munny stops by the home of his old partner, Ned Logan, and offers to split the reward three ways if Ned wants to join in. Although Ned has also changed his ways, and his Native American wife Sally Two Trees does not approve, he is lured by the money. Meanwhile, hoping to collect the $1,000 reward, British assassin “English Bob” arrives in Big Whiskey, accompanied by his biographer, W. W. Beauchamp. Getting word that his old rival English Bob is in town, Little Bill seeks him out and demands he relinquish his weapons. English Bob tries to conceal his .32 pistol, but Little Bill finds it and brutally beats him, shouting that there is no “whore’s gold” to be won. Little Bill takes English Bob to jail, where the sheriff regales W. W. Beauchamp, the biographer, with his own gun-fighting stories. When Munny and Ned Logan catch up with the Kid, they quickly realize the boy is shortsighted, and can only see within fifty yards. That night, Munny and Ned complain of their discomfort when they make camp. The Kid boasts that he has killed five people, and asks Munny about a notorious shootout in Jackson County, in which he was rumored to have killed two deputies who had him cornered at close range. Munny, however, claims to not recollect the incident. A rainstorm hits, and the three mount their horses and ride on. Munny refuses Ned’s offer of liquor to stay warm. The next day, as they enter Big Whiskey, they see a bruised English Bob being driven out of town in a carriage. At the jail, Little Bill gets word that three men have come into town, and at least two of them are armed. He goes to Greely’s whorehouse and finds Munny, soaked through and feverish, in the saloon. While the Kid and Ned are upstairs receiving an “advance” on their reward, Little Bill demands Munny’s firearm and beats him when he lies about having one. Munny is kicked out in the rain, just as the prostitutes push the Kid and Ned out an upstairs window. The three take cover in a shack, where Ned stitches a gash in Munny’s face. The next day, the prostitutes bring supplies. Still suffering a high fever, Munny believes he is dying and begs Ned not to tell his children about his checkered past. When his fever finally breaks, he wakes up to find Delilah Fitzgerald tending to him. He sees the scars on her face and remarks that he must look like her now, but assures her he does not think she is ugly. Delilah offers him sex, informing him that Ned and the Kid have been sleeping with the women in advance of their reward, but Munny cannot be unfaithful to his wife. Unaware that he is a widower, Delilah commends his loyalty. Munny joins Ned Logan and the Kid as they set out to find Quick Mike and Davey Bunting. They locate Davey with a group of cowboys branding a calf. Ned shoots Davey’s horse, and the horse pins him. Ned aims at Davey but cannot bring himself to shoot. Munny takes over and, with only one bullet left, shoots Davey in the gut. Afterward, Ned announces he is going home. Munny discourages him from quitting, but promises to share the reward with him regardless. A group of local cowboys catch Ned on his way back to Kansas and bring him to Little Bill, who brutally whips him and demands the names of his accomplices. Munny and the Kid stake out the Bar T ranch where Quick Mike is in hiding. Finally, Quick Mike has to use the outhouse, giving the Kid an opportunity to ambush him. He shoots Mike in the chest three times, and a group of Bar T ranchers shoot at Munny and the Kid as they flee. At a designated meeting spot, the assassins wait for their reward. Shaken, the Kid swigs alcohol and admits he never killed before. When he starts to cry, Munny empathizes, saying, “It’s a hell of a thing killing a man.” Teenage prostitute “Young Sue” delivers the reward money and reports that Ned died while Little Bill was torturing and interrogating him. Learning that Ned’s body is on display outside Greely’s, Munny becomes enraged. He demands the Kid’s Schofield revolver, and the Kid willingly hands it over, vowing never to kill again. Munny entrusts the Kid to deliver his portion of the reward money to his children, and to deliver Ned’s portion to his wife, Sally Two Trees, if Munny does not return within a week. At Greely’s, Munny interrupts Little Bill as he organizes a search party. Wielding a rifle, Munny demands to speak to the owner. Skinny Dubois identifies himself, and Munny shoots him point blank. Next, he aims at Little Bill, who chuckles when the rifle misfires. As the sheriff draws his gun, Munny tosses the rifle and draws the Schofield. He shoots Little Bill and three more men, then warns the rest to flee unless they want to die. Munny pours himself a drink. Riveted by what he just witnessed, W. W. Beauchamp asks Munny about his strategy. Munny claims he has always been “lucky in killing folks,” then threatens Beauchamp to leave him alone. Little Bill stirs, and tries to draw his gun, but Munny shoots him point blank. As he walks out of Greely’s, Munny threatens anyone who tries to shoot. One man points his gun but is too cowardly to pull the trigger. Munny mounts his horse and shouts that the people of Big Whiskey better give Ned Logan a proper burial and stop mistreating prostitutes, or he will come back to kill everyone. Some years later, Claudia Feathers’s mother, who never approved of her son-in-law, visits her daughter’s grave in Kansas, but Munny is long gone. It is rumored he went to San Francisco, California, where he prospered in dry goods.

5. Red River (1948)

Red River (1948)

Cast: John Wayne, Montgomery Clift, Joanne Dru

Directors: Howard Hawks

Producer: Charles K. Feldman, Howard Hawks

Writer: Borden Chase, Charles Schnee

Editor: Christian Nyby

Cinematographer: Russell Harlan

Genre: Western

Production Company: Monterey Productions, Inc.

Composer: Dimitri Tiomkin

In 1851, Thomas Dunson and his friend, Groot Nadine, leave St. Louis and join a wagon train headed for California. When they reach the northern border of Texas, they decide to remain there and establish a cattle ranch. Fen, Tom's sweetheart, wants to stay with him, but he tells her that he will send for her later and gives her his mother's bracelet. Soon after Tom and Groot take their wagon and bull and head south to the Red River, they look back and see that the wagon train has been attacked and burned by Comanche Indians. That night, several Indians attack Tom and Groot's camp, and Tom is horrified to discover the bracelet he gave to Fen on the wrist of an Indian he killed in the struggle. The next day as Tom and Groot break camp, a young boy, Matthew Garth, who has escaped the wagon train massacre, wanders toward them with his cow. Tom and Groot take the dazed boy with them, cross the Red River and head farther south until, near the Rio Grande, Tom finds an area he likes. The land legally belongs, by land grant, to a Mexican, but after Tom kills one of the owner's gunmen and drives off another, he claims it for himself. Tom's bull and Matt's cow then become the beginning of a great herd sporting the Red River-D brand. Fifteen years later, the ranch boasts thousands of cattle, but Tom faces ruin unless he can move them from the impoverished, post-Civil War market. He decides to take ten thousand head a thousand miles to Missouri, where the railroads serve the North and East, and Matt, now grown to manhood and like a son to Tom, helps to plan the drive. Tom also agrees to take several head belonging to a neighboring rancher, and one of the neighbor's ranch hands, Cherry Valance, joins the drive. Both Cherry and Matt are expert gunmen and enjoy a friendly, if intense, rivalry. After a few days on the trail, the men reach the Brazos. Hills and rocks impede their progress and the cowboys become tired and unhappy. One night, when the cattle are restless, cowboy Bunk Kenneally, takes some sugar from Groot's chuckwagon and accidentally knocks over pots and pans, spooking the cattle and causing a stampede. Cowboy Dan Latimer is killed in the stampede, and although Bunk admits his mistake, he refuses to allow Tom to whip him and draws his gun. However, Matt shoots Bunk before he can shoot Tom. Forty days into the drive, the men are forced to endure heavy rains and short rations, as a grub wagon was lost in the stampede. Tom becomes very demanding and faces dissension among the cowboys. Some days later, a wounded wrangler from another drive rides into camp and explains that his group was attacked by a large gang of outlaws after they crossed the Red River. He also tells them about a trail blazed by an Indian trader, Jesse Chisholm, to a railroad terminus in Abilene, Kansas. When three of Tom's men state that they should be heading to Abilene instead of Missouri and threaten to quit, Tom kills them. More men desert with supplies and Tom sends Cherry after them. When the herd reaches the Red River, Tom decides to cross immediately despite the men's exhaustion. That night, Groot suggests to Tom, who has not been sleeping and has started drinking, that he tell the men that they did well, but he refuses. The next day, when Cherry returns with two of the deserters, Tom says he is going to hang them but Matt intervenes. As Tom goes to draw his gun on Matt, Cherry shoots him in the hand. Matt then assumes command of the drive, and they head to Abilene, leaving Tom behind. Tom swears that one day he will catch up with Matt and kill him. On the drive, Matt and the others encounter a wagon train being attacked by Apache Indians whom they help to drive off. Matt meets Tess Millay, one of the wagon train's settlers, and before he resumes the drive, they have fallen in love. Tom and some new men he has hired to pursue the train catch up with it, and when Tess tells Tom that she had wanted to go with Matt, Tom remembers leaving Fen. Tess then tries to persuade Tom not to kill his "son," and Tom offers her half of everything he owns if she will bear him a son. Tess agrees on condition he abandons his mission to kill Matt, but Tom declines. On 14 Aug 1865, Matt's team reaches Abilene and becomes the first cattle drive to cross over the Chisholm Trail. They receive a great welcome from the townspeople, and Melville, a representative of an Illinois trading company, makes Matt a very good offer for the herd and gives him a check payable to Tom. That night, Matt finds Tess waiting for him at his hotel. She warns him that Tom will be coming into town just after dawn to kill him. The next day, as Matt prepares to face Tom, Cherry challenges Tom, who shoots him but is injured by his return fire. Matt refuses to draw his gun against Tom, but when Tom attacks him with his fists, Matt fights back. Their brawl is interrupted by Tess, who fires a gun and angrily reminds them that they both love each other. After Tom tells Matt that he should marry Tess, he and Matt are finally reconciled. Tom then tells Matt that, as he had promised years before, he will create a new branding iron to include Matt's name, as he has earned it.

6. The Wild Bunch (1969)

The Wild Bunch (1969)

Cast: William Holden, Ernest Borgnine, Robert Ryan [1909-1973]

Directors: Sam Peckinpah

Producer: Phil Feldman

Writer: Walon Green, Sam Peckinpah, Walon Green, Roy N. Sickner

Editor: Lou Lombardo

Cinematographer: Lucien Ballard

Genre: Western

Production Company: Phil Feldman Productions, Inc., Warner Bros.--Seven Arts, Inc.

Composer: Jerry Fielding

By 1913, the outlaw gangs of the Old West are rapidly disappearing. Under the leadership of aging Pike Bishop, one such gang rides into San Rafael, Texas, to rob the local railway office. Though dressed in U.S. Cavalry uniforms, Bishop and his men--Dutch Engstrom, brothers Lyle and Tector Gorch, and a young Mexican, Angel--are ambushed by bounty hunters led by ex-convict Deke Thornton, a former member of Bishop's gang who must pursue his old friend or return to prison. When a group of temperance marchers are caught in the crossfire, the ambush turns into a massacre that ends when Bishop's men escape into Mexico and the bounty hunters stop to loot the corpses. At a rendezvous in Mexico with Sykes, an old, broken-down gunslinger, the gang discovers that the stolen railway bags contain iron washers instead of money. Accepting their bad luck, they ride to Angel's home village, where they learn that the bandit general Mapache, a sadistic opponent of Pancho Villa, has killed Angel's father and ridden off with the youth's sweetheart, Teresa. Though Angel kills Teresa in public when he finds her with the general, Bishop intervenes on behalf of the boy and makes a deal with Mapache whereby Bishop's gang will rob an army munitions train and sell its load of rifles to the bandits for $10,000. In spite of the presence of Thornton's bounty hunters on the train, Bishop's gang hijacks the vehicle and escapes with the army rifles. Angel, who has given a carton of munitions to the people of his village, is seized and held prisoner by the bandits. Because loyalty to one another is all that remains, the "wild bunch" demands Angel's release; but when the demand is made during a drunken celebration, Mapache slashes the boy's throat. Bishop kills the bandit chief in retaliation, thereby setting off a slaughter in which the entire gang, as well as hundreds of Mexicans, are killed. Thornton and his bounty hunters arrive to collect the bodies of the ransomed outlaws; but when all except Thornton ride out of town, they are shot down by Sykes and the peasants from Angel's village. As the Mexicans tie the sacks of gold to their horses, Sykes and the weary Thornton decide to become a team.

7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross

Directors: George Roy Hill

Producer: John Foreman, Paul Newman, Paul Monash

Writer: William Goldman

Editor: John C. Howard, Richard C. Meyer

Cinematographer: Conrad Hall

Genre: Comedy-drama, Western

Production Company: Campanile Productions, Inc.

Composer: Burt Bacharach

Dismayed by the extreme measures to prevent robberies taken by a small-town western bank, notorious bank robber Butch Cassidy wanders over to a saloon to meet his partner, The Sundance Kid, who is in the middle of a card game. One of the players, Macon, unaware of Sundance’s identity, accuses the outlaw of cheating and, refusing to surrender his money, prepares to fight it out. When Butch attempts to intervene, Macon orders him away until he learns Sundance’s identity after which he meekly withdraws his accusation. On the long ride back to their hideout, the Hole in the Wall in Wyoming, Butch tries to convince Sundance that they should go to Bolivia, which abounds in gold. Arriving at the hideout, Butch is surprised to find gang members Harvey Logan, News Carver and Flat Nose Curry preparing to rob the Union Pacific Overland Flyer train. Butch vetoes their plan, declaring that banks are much more reliable. Harvey then informs Butch that because Butch has spent so much time away, Harvey has taken over leadership of the gang and made the decision to rob the Flyer. Butch insists he remains the gang’s leader, leading Harvey to challenge him to a fight, which Butch quickly wins by distracting his opponent. Afterward, Butch decides that the plan to rob the train on both of its scheduled trips through the area is sound. The gang stops the Flyer, whose engineers are excited at being robbed by Butch, but the theft is almost thwarted by the dedicated efforts of a young clerk, Woodcock, who refuses to open the train car containing the bank safe. News then dynamites the door and, while the others retrieve the money, Butch revives the stunned Woodcock. A few nights later in a nearby town, Butch and Sundance sit on a bordello balcony and watch with amusement as down on the street the town marshal struggles to incite the townspeople into forming a posse to go after the Hole in the Wall gang. Butch then envisions he and Sundance joining the army and becoming officers, and confides that his real name is Robert LeRoy Parker. Sundance reveals his real name is Harry Longabaugh and as the men toast each other, the townspeople lose interest in the marshal's exhortations when a salesman demonstrates a new invention, the bicycle. When Butch turns his attentions to one of the bordello girls, Sundance rides off. One evening some days later, schoolteacher Etta Place arrives at her small house and is startled to find Sundance waiting for her in the dark. While Sundance points his gun at her, Etta disrobes and lets her hair down, then as he embraces her, she chastises him for being late. A few days later, Etta awakens to the strange sight of Butch riding around the house on a bicycle. Delighted, Etta takes a ride with Butch who performs tricks on the bicycle before being run off by a bull. On the way back to the house, Etta asks Butch if he has come to enlist Sundance in another robbery. Butch admits that he cannot understand why, despite working hard all his life, he has always been broke. Later, Butch, Sundance and the gang make another strike on the Flyer and Butch is delighted to discover the committed Woodcock back on the job. After tricking the young clerk into opening the car door, Butch discovers that Woodcock has firmly secured the safe. Using several sticks of dynamite, Butch blows up the entire train car and as the men laughingly retrieve the flyaway money, a train engine pulling a single car comes up behind the Flyer. Alarmed, Butch and the others watch as several horses and riders leap from the train car and start after them. Butch and Sundance immediately flee, but two of the gang members scrambling to get away are shot down. When Butch and Sundance split off from the surviving two gang members, they are frustrated that all the pursuers come after them. Butch and Sundance ride hard through the day into the evening, returning to the friendly bordello, but their efforts to throw off the pursuers fail, forcing them to escape into the night. To their dismay, their hunters follow using torches. Impressed and incredulous at the group’s tenacity in tracking over various terrains throughout the next day, Butch repeatedly wonders about the men’s identities. In a far-flung town, Butch and Sundance stop at the office of old friend Sheriff Ray Bledsoe, who angrily informs them that their presence might compromise his position. When Butch asks Bledsoe to vouch for them so they can enlist in the army, the old sheriff roughly tells them that they are doomed to meet a bloody end. Butch and Sundance resume their flight and during brief rest stops observe their single-minded pursuers. Sundance believes one of them may be a famous full-blooded Indian tracker from Oklahoma named Lord Baltimore. Although Butch is skeptical, after studying the men, he wonders if their leader is the famous lawman LaForce, known for his trademark white skimmer hat. Increasingly apprehensive, Butch and Sundance continue their evasions, riding high into a steep mountain range, where they let their remaining horse go and proceed on foot only to find themselves on a cliff overlooking a river. Realizing that half of the trackers are behind them, and the others have taken up positions on the cliff across the river, Butch determines they can fight or surrender. Sundance refuses to capitulate, but when Butch abruptly suggests they jump into the river, he staunchly refuses, finally admitting that he cannot swim. Butch assures Sundance the fall will likely kill them and, as their pursuers watch helplessly, the duo plunges into the river, which sweeps them away to safety. Some days later, an exhausted Butch and Sundance arrive at Etta’s home, where she relates that the newspapers had reported their capture. She explains that the head of the Union Pacific lines, E. H. Harriman, outraged by the constant robberies of his trains by the Hole in the Wall gang, has put together an exclusive posse comprised of the nation’s best lawmen to assure the demise of Butch and Sundance. Butch angrily accuses Harriman of bad business practices, declaring that if the tycoon would simply pay them the money he has paid the posse, Butch would stop robbing him. Sundance fears they will be on the run forever and later that night he and Butch invite Etta to flee with them to Bolivia. She agrees, stipulating that if the law should reach them there, she will not stay to watch them die. The next day, the trio sets off for New York, where they catch a steamer to South America. Upon arriving in a small, dusty village in Bolivia, Sundance expresses disgust with the primitive surroundings. While attempting to rob a village bank, the duo is horrified that no one speaks English, prompting Etta to teach them holdup commands in Spanish. Etta joins in the next several heists and, soon, Butch and Sundance develop a reputation as Los Bandidos Yanquis, or the Yankee Bandits. Their spree comes to an abrupt end, however, when Butch spots LaForce in a village. Etta insists that the lawman is outside his jurisdiction, but Sundance reminds her that the posse’s mission is to kill them. Butch declares that if they commit no further robberies, they cannot be traced, and so announces they are going “straight.” The men then take a job with Percy Garris, escorting a mining payroll, but on their very first job, Garris is killed by local bandits. When the bandits fire on Butch and Sundance, they readily surrender the money, but when it becomes obvious the thieves do not intend to let them go, the duo is forced to kill them. Dejected, Butch and Sundance return to Etta who urges them to take up farming or ranching. When they refuse, Etta decides to return to America. Butch and Sundance resume robbing banks and one day arrive in the small town of San Vicente, where they are recognized and reported to the local police. The police chief summons the army, then surrounds Butch and Sundance with his own forces. In the ensuing gunfight, the outlaws run low on ammunition, forcing Butch to make a daring race across the courtyard to grab their gun belts, while Sundance provides furious cover. Badly wounded, the men collapse in a local building and as they painfully rearm, Butch confides to the skeptical Sundance that he has discovered another place rich with potential, Australia. Unaware that a large contingent of soldiers has joined the police outside, Butch and Sundance confidently rush out of the building to make their escape, only to be caught in a hail of bullets.

8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

Cast: Warren Beatty, Julie Christie, Rene Auberjonois

Directors: Robert Altman

Producer: David Foster, Mitchell Brower

Writer: Robert Altman, Brian Daly

Editor: Lou Lombardo

Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond

Genre: Western

Production Company: Lion's Head, David Foster Productions

In the autumn of 1902, brash, small-time gambler John McCabe arrives in the rough-hewn northwest mining town of Presbyterian Church and at Patrick Sheehan’s saloon asks about buying property. Sheehan, Reverend Elliott, Mr. Smalley and several of the townsmen speculate that the overconfident McCabe might be a gunfighter, but McCabe insists he is a businessman and announces his intention to open the town’s first bordello. After purchasing a partially finished building with his gambling winnings, McCabe visits the neighboring town of Bearpaw where he negotiates for three whores. In a pouring rainstorm, McCabe returns with the women to Presbyterian Church where over the next couple of days, he struggles to maintain harmony between the loutish miners and the distrustful whores. Some days later, McCabe is startled by the arrival of British cockney Constance Miller who proposes that he back her in establishing a professional brothel. When McCabe points out that he already has a whorehouse, Constance responds that as a whore, she is in a unique position to understand the business of managing women and their customers, along with questions of hygiene and health issues that lie behind a truly successful business. Taken aback by Constance’s assertive attitude, McCabe nevertheless agrees to the deal and is surprised when Constance insists upon improving the crude accommodations for the women, including erecting a separate bathhouse and providing the women with new linens and toiletries. Although the miners initially resent and resist the requirements to bathe before visiting Constance and McCabe’s facility, they are soon tempted by the variety of women Constance has engaged from Seattle and settle into regular visits. Although outwardly querulous over Constance’s brisk and efficient business manner, McCabe nevertheless is attracted to her and annoyed when she occasionally services customers for the extravagant sum of five dollars per visit. One night several weeks after the opening of the brothel, Constance joins McCabe in the bar with proceeds from their venture. McCabe is delighted by their success but Constance chastises him for his sloppy, inaccurate accounting and accuses him of losing money. Although several of the Seattle women know that Constance uses her proceeds to pay for her opium addiction, McCabe remains unaware of her habit, which she guards scrupulously. Just before Christmas, miner Bart Coyle is killed while defending his new, mail-order wife Ida from slander that she is a whore. The day after Bart’s death, Eugene Sears and Ernest Hollander, representatives for the Harrison and Shaunessy Mining Company, approach McCabe and explain the company would like to purchase McCabe’s holdings in Presbyterian Church. McCabe airily rejects the men’s offer of $5,500, then goes to the bathhouse before paying a call on Constance. When McCabe boasts about his rejection of the mining company representatives, Constance calls him a fool, but he insists they will make him a higher offer. That same evening, Sears and Hollander locate McCabe at the brothel and increase the offer to $6,250, but are amazed when he again turns them down and suggests he will only entertain an offer of $14,000 or more. Pleased with his financial acuity, McCabe returns to bed with a now stoned Constance. Later that same night, Sears and Hollander dine at Sheehan’s and Sears suggests they make McCabe a final offer of $7,000. Indignant over McCabe’s high-handed conduct and the shabbiness of the situation, Hollander refuses, declaring that the company’s hired gun, Butler, will handle McCabe. The next morning, McCabe is mystified to learn of Sears’s and Hollander’s departure. As the townspeople gather for Bart’s funeral, Constance and several miners note the arrival of a lone rider, who proves to be a cowboy in search of women. As the funeral breaks up, Constance offers Ida a place in the brothel. Word soon spreads through town of the arrival of three strangers and Constance immediately deduces that they have been sent by the company. She pleads with McCabe to leave town, if only to protect their joint investment, but McCabe remains confident that the company representatives will return. Smalley reports to McCabe and Constance that the men, Butler, Breed and Kid, refuse to speak with McCabe, who nevertheless sets off to Sheehan’s to meet them. Although daunted by Butler’s enormous bulk, McCabe attempts to bargain with him, admitting his exorbitant demand was a joke. Declaring he will settle for $6,550, McCabe is bewildered when Butler states that he does not make deals. Having learned from Sheehan that the miners originally considered McCabe a gunslinger, Butler tries to provoke McCabe by accusing him of shooting an acquaintance. McCabe does not refute the claim, but nervously departs, prompting Butler to observe that McCabe has never killed anyone. That evening, an increasingly anxious McCabe frets about Constance’s inability to appreciate his romantic nature, then early the next morning departs for Bearpaw, where he asks for Sears and Hollander at the mining company’s main office. Learning they have departed, McCabe visits a lawyer to inquire about obtaining legal protection from the company. Although the lawyer agrees to help McCabe fight against the might of big business, McCabe returns to Presbyterian Church convinced that he must face Butler and the others on his own. That afternoon Kid confronts the affable cowboy and shoots him down in cold blood as Sheehan and the others watch helplessly. That night, McCabe struggles to apologize to Constance and she sadly reassures him that all is well. Early the following morning as snow blankets the mountains, Constance takes a long walk. Armed with a rifle, McCabe goes to the partially constructed church where, from the tower, he spots the killers splitting up to search for him. Elliott discovers McCabe and, after confiscating the rifle, throws him out of the church. McCabe hides nearby and witnesses Butler kill Elliott, mistaking the gun-carrying minister for McCabe. McCabe then sneaks to his bar where he retrieves a pistol. Upon creeping away to a neighboring building, he is confronted by Kid who wounds him in the stomach before McCabe kills him. Meanwhile, the newly wakened townspeople are alarmed to discover the church has caught fire and rush to fight the flames, allowing Butler and Breed to search for McCabe more openly. Although bleeding heavily, McCabe kills Breed then heads to the forest at the edge of town. Butler follows and shoots at McCabe through a cascade of snow and when McCabe feigns death, Butler approaches to investigate, after which McCabe shoots him between the eyes. As the townspeople rejoice over saving the church, a snowstorm builds and everyone returns inside. McCabe struggles to reach the brothel, but collapses in the snow and dies slowly as Constance settles into an opium daze.

9. Stagecoach (1939)

Stagecoach (1939)

Cast: Claire Trevor, John Wayne, Andy Devine

Directors: John Ford

Writer: Dudley Nichols

Editor: Otho Lovering, Dorothy Spencer, Walter Reynolds

Cinematographer: Bert Glennon

Genre: Western

Production Company: Walter Wanger Productions, Inc.

Composer: Boris Morros

The Overland stagecoach from Tonto, Arizona, to Lordsburg, New Mexico, leaves town with eight people on board. In the front, sit Buck the driver and Marshal Curley Wilcox, who is riding shotgun to protect the stage from hostile Indians and from the Plummer brothers, a vicious band of outlaws. The passengers consist of Doc Josiah Boone, the town drunk; Dallas, a woman of ill repute, who, like Doc, has been banished from town; the pregnant Lucy Mallory, who is taking the stage to meet her husband, a cavalry officer, and is treated gallantly by her fellow passenger, Hatfield, a gambler; Gatewood, the town's sanctimonious banker who mouths respectability while clutching a carpet bag filled with stolen money; and Peacock, a timid whiskey drummer. Because of an Apache uprising by Geronimo, the cavalry escorts the coach to the first station at Dry Fork. Along the way, Buck stops to pick up the Ringo Kid, who has escaped from prison to seek revenge on the Plummers, who killed his family and sent him to jail on false testimony. After Curley arrests Ringo, the stage continues on to Dry Fork, where they discover that there are no troops to escort them farther. Voting to continue on alone, they reach the next stop, where their journey is delayed when Mrs. Mallory, learning that her husband has been wounded, goes into premature labor. Doc sobers up to deliver the baby, and as they await Mrs. Mallory's recovery, Dallas and Ringo fall in love and Dallas urges Ringo to escape. Ringo is on the verge of leaving when he sees Apache war signals, and the passengers hastily board the stage to make a desperate dash to Lordsburg. Just as they think the danger has passed, the Apaches attack at a dry lake bed, wounding Peacock and Buck and killing Hatfield. At the last minute, the cavalry rides to the rescue and escorts the stage to Lordsburg, where Gatewood is arrested for embezzlement. There, Curley grants Ringo his freedom so that he can avenge the murder of his family, and after gunning down the Plummers, Ringo and Dallas ride off into the night to begin life anew at his ranch across the border.

10. Cat Ballou (1965)

Cat Ballou (1965)

Cast: Jane Fonda, Lee Marvin, Michael Callan

Directors: Elliot Silverstein

Producer: Harold Hecht

Writer: Walter Newman, Frank Pierson

Editor: Charles Nelson

Cinematographer: Jack Marta

Genre: Comedy, Satire, Western

Production Company: Harold Hecht Corp.

Composer: De Vol

You’ve seen 0 of the 10 greatest WESTERN films of all time.

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SPORTS

AFI defines “sports” as a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition

AFI is a 501c3 non-profit advancing the art of the moving image by empowering storytellers and inspiring audiences

AFI's 10 TOP 10

How many have you seen?

ANIMATION

1. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)

2. Pinocchio (1940)

3. Bambi (1942)

4. The Lion King (1994)

5. Fantasia (1940)

6. Toy Story (1995)

7. Beauty and the Beast (1991)

8. Shrek (2001)

9. Cinderella (1950)

10. Finding Nemo (2003)

ROMANTIC COMEDY

1. City Lights (1931)

2. Annie Hall (1977)

3. It Happened One Night (1934)

4. Roman Holiday (1953)

5. The Philadelphia Story (1940)

6. When Harry Met Sally... (1989)

7. Adam's Rib (1949)

8. Moonstruck (1987)

9. Harold and Maude (1971)

10. Sleepless in Seattle (1993)

WESTERN

1. The Searchers (1956)

2. High Noon (1952)

3. Shane (1953)

4. Unforgiven (1992)

5. Red River (1948)

6. The Wild Bunch (1969)

7. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

8. McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971)

9. Stagecoach (1939)

10. Cat Ballou (1965)

SPORTS

1. Raging Bull (1980)

2. Rocky (1976)

3. The Pride of the Yankees (1943)

4. Hoosiers (1986)

5. Bull Durham (1988)

6. The Hustler (1961)

7. Caddyshack (1980)

8. Breaking Away (1979)

9. National Velvet (1945)

10. Jerry Maguire (1996)

MYSTERY

1. Vertigo (1958)

2. Chinatown (1974)

3. Rear Window (1954)

4. Laura (1944)

5. The Third Man (1950)

6. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

7. North by Northwest (1959)

8. Blue Velvet (1986)

9. Dial M for Murder (1954)

10. The Usual Suspects (1995)

FANTASY

1. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

2. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)

3. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)

4. King Kong (1933)

5. Miracle on 34th Street (1947)

6. Field of Dreams (1989)

7. Harvey (1950)

8. Groundhog Day (1993)

9. The Thief of Bagdad (1924)

10. Big (1988)

SCI-FI

1. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

2. Star Wars (1977)

3. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

4. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

5. The Day the Earth Stood Still (1951)

6. Blade Runner (1982)

7. Alien (1979)

8. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)

9. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

10. Back to the Future (1985)

GANGSTER