AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: In Search of (1998) (TV)

User Rating:

5.1/10   

Director:

Gregory Orr

Writer:

Gregory Orr (writer)

Release Date:

July 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

Episode 4 of 10-part controversial series profiling the "hundred greatest movies" chosen by the American Film Institute in 1998...

Plot Keywords:

American Film Institute | Obsession | Film Making | TV Special | Film Criticism

Cast

Woody Allen	...	Himself
Charlton Heston	...	Himself
Martin Scorsese	...	Himself
Steven Spielberg	...	Himself
Sylvester Stallone	...	Himself
Dennis Hopper	...	Himself (archive footage) (uncredited)

Directed by
Gregory Orr

Writing credits (in alphabetical order)
Gregory Orr		writer

Produced by
James Napoli	....	associate producer
Gregory Orr	....	producer
Richard Schickel	....	co-executive producer
Mel Stuart	....	co-executive producer

Film Editing by
Don Priess

Sound Department
Peter Arata	....	sound re-recording mixer

Production Companies

• American Film Institute (AFI)
• Gregory Orr Productions

Distributors

• American Film Institute (AFI)

Runtime:

60 min | Philippines:50 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Movie Connections:

Followed by AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies: The Antiheroes (1998)

A very good documentary in a very good (but overlooked) series.

Back in 1998, the AFI's list of the 100 best American movies created a ton of controversy. This was at a time when the Internet was young, there wasn't as much listmaking in the media, all the end of the millenium/century/decade lists hadn't come out yet, and AFI hadn't yet started doing annual countdown shows.

People actually paid attention to this list, and most people didn't like it--with good reason. There wasn't a single Lubitsch or Preston Sturges movie on it, a lot of the movies had only a tangential link to America, and the other omissions were too numerous to mention. The 3-hour CBS show didn't help matters much by being really star-studded to the point that ditzy actors and actresses were screwing up details about great movies.

The TNT series, of which this movie was a part, was left in the shadows due to the attention that the CBS show and the list itself received. But the TNT series was very good. Each part focussed on ten movies linked by theme, and instead of being quip-heavy, the shows let the movies themselves show their greatness.

"In Search Of..." was especially entertaining, and featured some great, great movies. The script was intelligent, the cutting was well-done, and in short it made you appreciate these classic films.