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President Barack Obama makes a "grumpy cat" face as he compared Republicans to the sad Internet cat while speaking to the Democratic National Committee 22nd Annual Women's Leadership Forum National Issues Conference in Washington, Friday, Oct. 23, 2015. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)
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Washington Redskins running back Matt Jones (31) runs against Atlanta Falcons outside linebacker Kroy Biermann (71) during the first half of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 11, 2015, in Atlanta.(AP Photo/Brynn Anderson)
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Tim Constantine asks: Is Hillary honest and trustworthy? Is she transparent and forthcoming? You decide.
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In this image released by Sony Pictures Classics, Cate Blanchett portrays Mary Mapes in a scene from, "Truth." (Lisa Tomasetti /Sony Pictures Classics via AP)
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A corrections officer walks along a fence outside the Arizona Sate Prison in Florence, Ariz. (Associated Press)
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Washington Redskins tight end Jordan Reed (86) catches a touchdown pass over Miami Dolphins strong safety Reshad Jones (20) during the first half of an NFL football game Sunday, Sept. 13, 2015, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky)
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#1 The Godfather (1972) Director: Francis Ford Coppola Stars: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan The Godfather is a 1972 American crime film directed by Francis Ford Coppola and produced by Albert S. Ruddy from a screenplay by Mario Puzo and Coppola. Starring Marlon Brando and Al Pacino as the leaders of the fictional Corleone New York crime family, the story spans the years 1945-55, concentrating on the transformation of Michael Corleone from reluctant family outsider to ruthless Mafia boss while chronicling the family under the patriarch Vito. Based on Puzo's best-selling novel of the same name, The Godfather is widely regarded as one of the greatest films in world cinemaand as one of the most influential, especially in the gangster genre. Ranked second to Citizen Kane by the American Film Institute in 2007, it was selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry of the Library of Congress in 1990 as being "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant". The film was the box office leader for 1972 and was, for a time, the highest-grossing picture ever made. It won three Academy Awards for that year: Best Picture, Best Actor (Brando) and in the category Best Adapted Screenplay for Puzo and Coppola. Its nominations in seven other categories included Pacino, James Caan and Robert Duvall for Best Supporting Actor and Coppola for Best Director. The success spawned two sequels: The Godfather Part II in 1974, and The Godfather Part III in 1990.
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#10 The Shawshank Redemption (1994) Director: Frank Darabont Stars: Tim Robbins, Morgan Freeman, Bob Gunton. The Shawshank Redemption is a 1994 American drama film written and directed by Frank Darabont and starring Tim Robbins and Morgan Freeman. Adapted from the Stephen King novella Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption, the film tells the story of Andy Dufresne, a banker who is sentenced to life in Shawshank State Prison for the murder of his wife and her lover despite his claims of innocence. During his time at the prison, he befriends a fellow inmate, Ellis Boyd "Red" Redding, and finds himself protected by the guards after the warden begins using him in his money laundering operation. Despite being a box office disappointment, the film received multiple award nominations (including seven Oscar nominations) and outstanding reviews from critics for its acting, story, and realism. It was included in the American Film Institute's 100 Years...100 Movies 10th Anniversary Edition. It is now widely considered one of the best films of all time.
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#8 The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957) Director: David Lean Stars: William Holden, Alec Guinness, Jack Hawkins. The Bridge on the River Kwai is a British 1957 World War II epic film directed by David Lean and starring William Holden, Jack Hawkins, Alec Guinness and Sessue Hayakawa. Based on the novel Le Pont de la Rivière Kwai (1952) by Pierre Boulle, the film is a work of fiction but borrows the construction of the Burma Railway in 194243 for its historical setting. The movie was filmed in Ceylon (now known as Sri Lanka). The bridge in the film was located near Kitulgala. Carl Foreman was the initial screenwriter, but Lean replaced him with Michael Wilson. Both writers had to work in secret, as they were on the Hollywood blacklist. As a result, Boule (who did not even speak English) was credited and "won" the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay; many years later, Foreman and Wilson posthumously received the Academy Award. The film was widely praised, winning seven Academy Awards (including Best Picture) at the 30th Academy Awards; in 1997 this film was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry by the United States Library of Congress. It is widely considered to be one of the greatest films in history.
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#9 Sunset Blvd. (1950) Director: Billy Wilder Stars: William Holden, Gloria Swanson, Erich von Stroheim. SUNSET BLVD is a 1950 American black comedy/drama film noir directed and co-written by Billy Wilder, and produced and co-written by Charles Brackett. It was named after the boulevard that runs through Los Angeles and Beverly Hills, California. The film stars William Holden as Joe Gillis, an unsuccessful screenwriter, and Gloria Swanson as Norma Desmond, a faded silent movie star who draws him into her fantasy world where she dreams of making a triumphant return to the screen, with Erich von Stroheim as Max Von Mayerling, her devoted servant. Nancy Olson, Fred Clark, Lloyd Gough and Jack Webb play supporting roles. Director Cecil B. DeMille and gossip columnist Hedda Hopper play themselves, and the film includes cameo appearances by leading silent film actors Buster Keaton, H. B. Warner and Anna Q. Nilsson. Praised by many critics when first released, Sunset Boulevard was nominated for eleven Academy Awards (including nominations in all four acting categories) and won three. It is widely accepted as a classic, often cited as one of the greatest films of American cinema. Deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant" by the U.S. Library of Congress in 1989, Sunset Boulevard was included in the first group of films selected for preservation in the National Film Registry. In 1998, it was ranked number twelve on the American Film Institute's list of the 100 best American films of the 20th century, and in 2007 it was 16th on their 10th Anniversary list.
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#19 Saving Private Ryan (1998) Director: Steven Spielberg Stars: Tom Hanks, Matt Damon, Tom Sizemore. Saving Private Ryan is a 1998 American epic war drama film set during the Invasion of Normandy in World War II. Directed by Steven Spielberg and written by Robert Rodat, the film is notable for its graphic and realistic portrayal of war, and for the intensity of its opening 27 minutes, which includes a depiction of the Omaha Beach assault of June 6, 1944. It follows United States Army Rangers Captain John H. Miller (Tom Hanks) and a squad (Tom Sizemore, Edward Burns, Barry Pepper, Vin Diesel, Giovanni Ribisi, Adam Goldberg, and Jeremy Davies) as they search for a paratrooper, Private first class James Francis Ryan (Matt Damon), who is the last-surviving brother of four servicemen. Saving Private Ryan received universal critical acclaim, winning several awards for film, cast, and crew, as well as earning significant returns at the box office. The film grossed US$481.8 million worldwide, making it the second highest-grossing film of the year. The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences nominated the film for 11 Academy Awards; Spielberg's direction won him a second Academy Award for Best Director, with four more awards going to the film. In 2014, Saving Private Ryan was selected for preservation in the National Film Registry as it was deemed "culturally, historically, or aesthetically significant."
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#11 On the Waterfront (1954) Director: Elia Kazan Stars: Marlon Brando, Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb. On the Waterfront is a 1954 American crime drama film with elements of film noir. The film was directed by Elia Kazan and written by Budd Schulberg. It stars Marlon Brando and features Karl Malden, Lee J. Cobb, Rod Steiger, and, in her film debut, Eva Marie Saint. The soundtrack score was composed by Leonard Bernstein. It is based on Crime on the Waterfront, a series of articles published in the New York Sun by Malcolm Johnson that won the 1949 Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. The film focuses on union violence and corruption amongst longshoremen while detailing widespread corruption, extortion, and racketeering on the waterfronts of Hoboken, New Jersey. On the Waterfront was a critical and commercial success and received 12 Academy Award nominations, winning eight, including Best Picture, Best Actor for Brando, Best Supporting Actress for Saint, and Best Director for Kazan. In 1997 it was ranked by the American Film Institute as the eighth-greatest American movie of all time and in AFI's 2007 list it was ranked 19th. It is Bernstein's only original film score not adapted from a stage production with songs. In 1989, On the Waterfront was deemed "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" by the Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the United States National Film Registry.
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#7 Gone with the Wind (1939) Directors: Victor Fleming Stars: Clark Gable, Vivien Leigh, Thomas Mitchell. Gone with the Wind is a 1939 American epic-historical-romance film adapted from Margaret Mitchell's Pulitzer-winning 1936 novel. It was produced by David O. Selznick of Selznick International Pictures and directed by Victor Fleming. Set in the 19th-century American South, the film tells the story of Scarlett O'Hara, the strong-willed daughter of a Georgia plantation owner, from her romantic pursuit of Ashley Wilkes, who is married to his cousin, Melanie Hamilton, to her marriage to Rhett Butler. Set against the backdrop of the American Civil War and Reconstruction era, the story is told from the perspective of rich white Southerners. The leading roles are portrayed by Vivien Leigh (Scarlett), Clark Gable (Rhett), Leslie Howard (Ashley), and Olivia de Havilland (Melanie). The film received positive reviews upon its release in December 1939, although some reviewers found it dramatically lacking and bloated. The casting was widely praised and many reviewers found Vivien Leigh especially suited to her role as Scarlett. At the 12th Academy Awards held in 1940, it received ten Academy Awards (eight competitive, two honorary) from thirteen nominations, including wins for Best Picture, Best Director (Victor Fleming), Best Adapted Screenplay (posthumously awarded to Sidney Howard), Best Actress (Vivien Leigh) and Best Supporting Actress (Hattie McDaniel, becoming the first African-American to win an Academy Award). It set records for the total number of wins and nominations at the time. The film was immensely popular, becoming the highest-earning film made up to that point, and retained the record for over a quarter of a century. When adjusted for monetary inflation, it is still the most successful film in box-office history. The film has been criticized as historical revisionism glorifying slavery, but nevertheless it has been credited for triggering changes to the way Af
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Number 11: Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb | The 1964 film directed by Stanley Kubrik and starring Peter Sellers satirizes the Cold War fears of a nuclear conflict between the USSR and the US.
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#2 Citizen Kane (1941) Director: Orson Welles Stars: Orson Welles, Joseph Cotten, Dorothy Comingore Citizen Kane is a 1941 American drama film by Orson Welles, its producer, co-author, director and star. The picture was Welles's first feature film. Nominated for Academy Awards in nine categories, it won an Academy Award for Best Writing (Original Screenplay) by Herman J. Mankiewicz and Welles. Considered by many critics, filmmakers, and fans to be the greatest film ever made, Citizen Kane was voted the greatest film of all time in five consecutive Sight & Sound polls of critics, until it was displaced by Vertigo in the 2012 poll. It topped the American Film Institute's 100 Years ... 100 Movies list in 1998, as well as AFI's 2007 update. Citizen Kane is particularly praised for its cinematography, music, and narrative structure, which were innovative for its time. The story is a film à clef that examines the life and legacy of Charles Foster Kane, played by Welles, a character based in part upon the American newspaper magnate William Randolph Hearst, Chicago tycoons Samuel Insull and Harold McCormick, and aspects of Welles's own life. Upon its release, Hearst prohibited mention of the film in any of his newspapers. Kane's career in the publishing world is born of idealistic social service, but gradually evolves into a ruthless pursuit of power. Narrated principally through flashbacks, the story is told through the research of a newsreel reporter seeking to solve the mystery of the newspaper magnate's dying word: "Rosebud". After the Broadway successes of Welles's Mercury Theatre and the controversial 1938 radio broadcast "The War of the Worlds" on The Mercury Theatre on the Air, Welles was courted by Hollywood. He signed a contract with RKO Pictures in 1939. Unusual for an untried director, he was given the freedom to develop his own story, to use his own cast and crew, and to have final cut privilege. Following two abortive attempts to get a project off the grou
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#16 Chinatown (1974) Director: Roman Polanski Stars: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston. Chinatown is a 1974 American neo-noir mystery film, directed by Roman Polanski from a screenplay by Robert Towne, starring Jack Nicholson and Faye Dunaway. The film was inspired by the California Water Wars, a series of disputes over southern California water at the beginning of the 20th century, by which Los Angeles interests secured water rights in the Owens Valley. The Robert Evans production, a Paramount Pictures release, was the director's last film in the United States and features many elements of film noir, particularly a multi-layered story that is part mystery and part psychological drama. In 1991, the film was selected by the Library of Congress for preservation in the United States National Film Registry for films that are "culturally, historically or aesthetically significant" and it is frequently listed as among the best in world cinema. The 1975 Academy Awards saw it nominated eleven times, with an Oscar going to Robert Towne for Best Original Screenplay. The Golden Globe Awards honored it for Best Drama, Best Director, Best Actor and Best Screenplay. The American Film Institute placed it second among mystery films in 2008.
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#17 Annie Hall (1977) Director: Woody Allen Stars: Woody Allen, Diane Keaton, Tony Roberts. Annie Hall is a 1977 American romantic comedy film directed by Woody Allen from a screenplay he co-wrote with Marshall Brickman. Produced by Allen's manager, Charles H. Joffe, the film stars the director as Alvy "Max" Singer, who tries to figure out the reasons for the failure of his relationship with the film's eponymous female lead, played by Diane Keaton in a role written specifically for her. Principal photography for the film began on May 19, 1976 on the South Fork of Long Island, and filming continued periodically for the next ten months. Allen has described the result, which marked his first collaboration with cinematographer Gordon Willis, as "a major turning point", in that unlike the farces and comedies that were his work to that point, it introduced a new level of seriousness. Academics have noted the contrast in the settings of New York City and Los Angeles, the stereotype of gender differences in sexuality, the presentation of Jewish identity, and the elements of psychoanalysis and modernism. Annie Hall was screened at the Los Angeles Film Festival in March 1977, before its official release on April 20, 1977. The film received widespread critical acclaim, and along with winning the Academy Award for Best Picture, it received Oscars in three other categories: two for Allen (Best Director and, with Brickman, Best Original Screenplay), and Keaton for Best Actress. The film additionally won four BAFTA awards and a Golden Globe, the latter being awarded to Keaton. Its North American box office receipts of $38,251,425 are fourth-best in the director's oeuvre when not adjusted for inflation. Often listed among the greatest film comedies, it ranks 31st on AFI's list of the top feature films in American cinema, fourth on their list of top comedy films and number 28 on Bravo's "100 Funniest Movies." Film critic Roger Ebert called it "just about everyone's favorite Woody Alle
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#6 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) Director: Stanley Kubrick Stars: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester. 2001: A Space Odyssey is a science-fiction narrative, produced in 1968 as both a novel, written by Arthur C. Clarke, and a film, directed by Stanley Kubrick. It is a part of Clarke's Space Odyssey series. Both the novel and the film are partially based on Clarke's short story "The Sentinel", written in 1948 as an entry in a BBC short story competition, and "Encounter in the Dawn", published in 1953 in the magazine Amazing Stories. The film was written by Clarke and Kubrick and featured specialist artwork by Roy Carnon. The film is notable for its scientific realism, pioneering special effects, and provocatively ambiguous imagery and sound in place of traditional narrative techniques. Despite receiving mixed reviews upon release, 2001: A Space Odyssey is today thought by some critics to be one of the greatest films ever made and is widely regarded as the best science fiction film of all time. It was nominated for four Academy Awards, and received one for visual effects. It also won the Kansas City Film Critics Circle Best Director and Best Film awards of 1968. In 1991, 2001: A Space Odyssey was deemed culturally significant by the United States Library of Congress and selected for preservation in the National Film Registry.
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Israeli border police check Palestinian's identification cards at a checkpoint as they exit the Arab neighborhood of Issawiyeh in Jerusalem, Thursday, Oct. 22, 2015. (AP Photo/Oded Balilty)
