Can't-Miss Classics From The AFI 100 List Streaming Now

Plus, we review major Oscar contenders Nomadland and Minari

Feb 26, 2021

An unfortunate characteristic of the major streaming services is that it can be hard to find the classics. Well, this week we are making that a little easier by bringing you some of our favorites from the AFI’s list of the 100 best American movies ever made.

(Shoutout to DYLA reader Taylor Blake for this idea! Check out her Gilmore Girls podcast So It’s a Show. If you want to suggest a newsletter idea, just reply to this email or hit us up on Twitter or Instagram!)

In 1998, the American Film Institute polled over 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry to come up with AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies list, a ranking of the 100 best American movies. In 2007 they released an updated list, so we are recommending a few classics from this ranking that you can find streaming now.

To see the full AFI list, click here. Let us know how many you have seen! There’s also a great podcast called Unspooled that has done an episode on every movie in the AFI 100. OK, let’s get to this week’s recommendations.

Billy recommends…

AFI #39: Dr. Strangelove Or: How I Learned To Stop Worrying And Love The Bomb (streaming on Amazon Prime)

Ah yes… one of the best directors of all time, Stanley Kubrick, running his opening credits over images of an atomic bomb being attached to a plane. All of which is shown with sensual music in the background. Then you realize the plane attaching itself to the bomb has a very phallic-like structure that is “penetrating” the bomb. I’m sure this is just the description you needed to hear to convince you that this is the 39th best American movie of all time.

Kubrick fought hard with the powers financing his projects during the process of making his two previous movies Spartacus and Lolita. He eventually disowned Spartacus. And Lolita, because of the subject matter, had to tone down the explicit nature greatly, hindering him from making the movie that he envisioned. Despite the interference from the studio he was able to make great movies that crushed at the box office. With that success comes freedom and Dr. Strangelove feels like the first movie that he had complete creative control. What we get is a dark comedy that is non stop laughs, but once you begin to think about what it is joking about laughing feels like the most inappropriate response.

Dr. Strangelove is about an out-of-his-mind rogue American general who sends America into a potential nuclear holocaust by authorizing “Plan R.” What ensues is a group of politicians and military members huddled in the “War Room” trying to stop inevitable doom. Each character is as dumb, arrogant, and evil as the next one. If these characters are at all based on reality then we should be terrified to our core, but for this hour and a half we can sit back and laugh at the hilarity that ensues. Peter Sellers and George C. Scott bring the most yucks. Sellers plays 3 different characters. A well-meaning fish-out-of-water British officer who is not quite confident enough to tell his new American friend, General Jack D. Ripper (clever, right?), just how insane he is being, the President of the United States who is trying way too hard to be professional during this horrific event, and lastly, an ex-Nazi trying to fight his Nazi impulses while being the scientific adviser to the President. Scott plays General Buck Turgidson, a military authority who at one point tries to put a positive spin on this tragic event by saying he can possibly limit casualties to 10-20 million people.

Kubrick has never attempted to make a movie as funny as this one, but almost every movie after this (the exception being 2001: A Space Odyssey) has a hint of comedy that was not as present in his early career. Dr. Strangelove is a master class in satire that is loud at times like a great Mel Brooks while also being subtle like a Coen brothers movie. If you have not seen many or any of Kubrick’s movies, Dr. Strangelove is the perfect place to start. It will give you a taste of his sensibilities while not being emotionally draining.

AFI #56: Jaws (streaming on HBO Max)

I haven’t felt more pressure writing a quick blurb about a movie before. The reason being? Jaws is my favorite movie of all time. This is Steven Spielberg’s second theatrical release and the movie that created the summer blockbuster. Spielberg tells the story about a small beach community that is trying to get rid of a massive shark that is threatening the profitability of their summer season. Creating a movie that is horrific, has memorable characters, and fits perfectly into the Covid time we are living in.

Spielberg opens up with college aged kids having a drunken evening on the beach and a young attractive couple decides to take a dip in the cold moonlit waters. This is where we hear the iconic John Williams score and the moment Spielberg scared a whole generation from going into the ocean. The event creates a conflict between the first year sheriff from New York who wants to shut the beach down and the mayor trying to keep it open because if it is shut down the town will lose out on its most profitable holiday, the 4th of July. Kind of sounds like a similar conflict we have been having in the United States for a year.

The main crew we hangout with is the aforementioned sheriff named Brody played by Roy Scheider, a young oceanographer named Hooper played by Richard Dreyfuss, and a mysterious shark hunter named Quint played by Robert Shaw. It is a classic movie trio. They have good chemistry and bicker with the best of them. The best moment being when they are singing, getting wasted, and comparing their best scars. That scene alone gets anyone on board for the ride we are going to take with them.

The story structure we see in Jaws is so known to audiences now and definitely feels played out at times. The reason it became so consistent, though, is because of the masterclass Spielberg showed and the risks he took to create this masterpiece. At almost every moment during production he was about to be shut down because he was going over budget and everything seemed to be going wrong. The water and weather wouldn’t cooperate. The shark wouldn’t work. Shaw wouldn’t come to set sober. Despite all of that he was able to make the studios bookoo bucks. Funnily enough, the success of this movie shifted Hollywood into a mindset where little risk is taken. Somehow they were able to pervert a style of filmmaking that was once innovative. Let’s try not to focus on that now because Jaws is endlessly enjoyable during any time of year. Please enjoy the lowly ranked, #56 greatest American film of all time, Jaws.

Drew recommends…

AFI #31: The Maltese Falcon (streaming on HBO Max)

If someone asked me for only one film noir to watch to get an understanding of the genre, (as hard as it is to only pick one) I might go with The Maltese Falcon. This 1941 crime classic has just about everything you’d want in a film noir detective story: a jaded private investigator (Humphrey Bogart), a deceitful femme fatale (Mary Astor), a classic MacGuffin, and a lively twist-filled plot.

Adapted from crime fiction legend Dashiell Hammett’s (terrific) novel, The Maltese Falcon opens with San Francisco private detective Sam Spade (Bogart) discovering that his partner has been killed. From there we are dropped into a compelling underworld of shady figures trying to locate a missing jewel-encrusted falcon statuette from the 16th century. No one is who they at first appear to be, and no one can be trusted.

READ: Classic Noir and Neo-Noir Films Streaming Now

This is one of Bogart’s most famous roles, and there is no better actor to play the cynical Sam Spade. “He makes crime a career… and ladies a hobby!” says the original trailer for The Maltese Falcon. “Humphrey Bogart as the most ruthless lover you’ve ever met!” (Side note: Movie trailers from the 40s are the best.) While that may be an over-the-top way of describing his character, Bogart is able to play this archetype to perfection. He is as convincing in a physical confrontation as he is delivering the rapid-fire dialogue in the script.

Behind Bogie is a colorful cast of characters that only make this movie more iconic. Mary Astor goes scene-for-scene with Bogart in a relationship that seems to toggle between love affair and chess match. Peter Lorre and Sydney Greenstreet (who would both join Bogart in Casablanca one year later) play fascinating characters seeking the falcon, each hoping to outwit Spade and gain the upper hand.

While this film takes so many turns that I don’t think I could accurately relay the plot to someone, that’s not really the point of The Maltese Falcon or other film noirs of this era. It’s more about reveling in this manufactured crime world, filled with tough guys, sharp dames, and ambiguous side characters. Who gets the falcon in the end ultimately doesn’t matter. The Maltese Falcon is about making the hard choices and never looking back. At least, that’s what Sam Spade would tell you.

AFI #5: Singin’ in the Rain (streaming on HBO Max)

Take it from someone that’s not typically a musical fan, Singin’ in the Rain is one of the classic musicals that anyone can enjoy. This vibrant and upbeat 1952 musical takes us back to the 1920s when Hollywood was amidst a revolutionary transition from silent films to “talkies.” Gene Kelly plays Don Lockwood, a silent film star who, along with his delusional co-star Lina Lamont (Jean Hagen), must learn how to adapt to making movies with sound. Don’s friend Cosmo (Donald O’Connor) and new love interest Kathy (Debbie Reynolds) help him figure out how to adapt to the changing times.

In addition to playing the lead role, Gene Kelly co-directed Singin’ in the Rain. It’s easy to see why Kelly is one of the most famous musical stars in Hollywood history. His physicality in the dance sequences is insane. Along with O’Connor and Reynolds, it’s like watching athletes perform at a crazy high level. Keep in mind this is well before the modern musical, with its heavily edited dance sequences that don’t allow you to marvel at a performer nailing the choreography in one shot. Kelly films most of Singin’ in the Rain’s musical numbers so that you can see the performers from head to toe, where we can fully appreciate the talent and skill at hand.

READ: The Best Musicals Streaming Now

As good as Kelly is, it’s Debbie Reynolds that often steals the show. At age 19 and in her first leading role, Reynolds is an outstanding presence. She’s able to both charm the socks of Kelly’s character and wow the audience with an entertaining musical number. (Reynolds’ daughter was Carrie Fisher and in 2016 the two passed away within one day of each other.)

If you need one movie to immediately put you in good spirits, Singin’ in the Rain isn’t a bad choice. The conflict in the film is pretty nonexistent and there is one high-energy song after another to keep things moving. You’ve probably seen Kelly’s famous performance of the title song, but “Make ‘Em Laugh” and “Good Morning” will delight and impress you in equal measure. Even the hardest of hearts can’t help but enjoy what Singin’ in the Rain has to offer.

Other AFI 100 movies we have recommended:

Sunset Blvd
The Graduate
The Sound of Music
Bonnie and Clyde
Taxi Driver
Rocky
Network
Raiders of the Lost Ark
All the President’s Men
Pulp Fiction

Recent Release Mini-Reviews

Nomadland (in theaters and streaming on Hulu)

Drew: There’s a certain thrill when a special new voice breaks through in Hollywood. Along with her last film The Rider, the sensitive and striking Nomadland announces the arrival of a major filmmaker in Chloe Zhao. Her movies, a blend of fiction and nonfiction with many untrained actors playing versions of themselves, are curious, poignant, and beautiful.

Nomadland follows a woman (Frances McDormand) that leaves home to become a nomad (“houseless” not “homeless,” as she calls it) traveling through the West in her van. This is the type of story that we don’t see on screen often: a forgotten group of people trampled by economic hardship and a changing world. But one of the many admirable aspects of Nomadland is that Zhao doesn’t exploit this story for sentimental or political purposes. She simply and honestly presents the nomads’ lifestyle without much in the way of showy directorial tricks.

Anchored by McDormand’s empathetic work, Nomadland is attuned to the restless spirit of these characters. They experience loss and sorrow, but beauty and hope are never too far out of reach. As one nomad says, “There’s no final goodbye.” Zhao’s new film makes you believe it. - 4.5 / 5 Apples

Minari (in theaters and on VOD)

Billy: What a beautiful story about an immigrant family leaving a big city attempting to provide a more fulfilling life in rural Arkansas. All the big changes are played small early and snowballs into the big dramatic consequences in the end. So much restraint and empathy thrown towards this immigrant family and to an area of the country that gets crapped on a lot these days. - 4.5 / 5 Apples

Drew: In Minari, it’s the small details that make this film so sensitive, funny, and moving. It’s a grandmother watching professional wrestling or a father teaching his son about farming. This is a quiet and patient film about a Korean family that moves to rural Arkansas in the 80s (loosely based on writer-director Lee Isaac Chung’s childhood), and, while big dramatic moments come few and far between, there’s much to admire about Minari.

The cast is all-around terrific. Steven Yeun, playing the strident and independent father, continues his ascent as one of the best actors working, but the other actors form memorable characters, especially Yuh-jung Youn as the grandma and Alan Kim as the hilarious 7-year-old David. It’s hard not to fall in love with this striving immigrant family encountering the challenges of achieving the American Dream. - 4 / 5 Apples

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