In 1998, in the run-up to the end of the millennium, the American Film Institute (AFI) published a list of their top 100 films of all time. It counted down the best of English-language American cinema (including those heavily-funded by American production companies), with Citizen Kane topping the list.
In 2007, an updated poll was published, with the Orson Welles masterpiece again topping the bill.
In 2018, a new podcast called ‘Unspooled’ was started by Paul Scheer and Amy Nicholson on the Earwolf network. The brilliant podcast involves Paul and Amy doing a deep dive on each of the films, often bringing along special guests and always offering a personal take on what they’ve seen. It’s a perfect way to educate yourself on critically-acclaimed films. I myself have recently discovered The Marx Brothers thanks to the podcast covering Duck Soup, and looked at The Wizard of Oz with completely fresh eyes.
It’s available to download from all good podcast distributors by searching for “Unspooled”
Where can I watch the Top 100 films?
If, like me, you’re in the UK, it’s useful to know what films are available on each of the three most popular streaming platforms: Netflix, Amazon Prime and Sky Cinema/NOW.
So, here’s a table of what is in the list and where you can watch the films as of 26th December 2018. Note: some films may be purchased from Amazon to stream or from Sky Box Office; the table only notes those included for free in your package.
Rank | 10th anniversary list (2007) | Netflix | Amazon Prime | Sky Cinema |
1 | Citizen Kane | No | No | No |
2 | The Godfather | No | No | Yes |
3 | Casablanca | No | No | Yes |
4 | Raging Bull | No | No | Yes |
5 | Singin’ in the Rain | No | No | Yes |
6 | Gone with the Wind | No | Yes | Yes |
7 | Lawrence of Arabia | No | No | Yes |
8 | Schindler’s List | Yes | No | Yes |
9 | Vertigo | No | No | Yes |
10 | The Wizard of Oz | No | Yes | No |
11 | City Lights | No | No | No |
12 | The Searchers | No | No | No |
13 | Star Wars | No | No | No |
14 | Psycho | No | No | Yes |
15 | 2001: A Space Odyssey | No | No | Yes |
16 | Sunset Boulevard | No | No | Yes |
17 | The Graduate | No | No | Yes |
18 | The General | No | Yes | Yes |
19 | On the Waterfront | No | No | No |
20 | It’s a Wonderful Life | No | No | Yes |
21 | Chinatown | No | No | Yes |
22 | Some Like It Hot | Yes | No | Yes |
23 | The Grapes of Wrath | No | No | No |
24 | E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial | No | Yes | Yes |
25 | To Kill a Mockingbird | No | No | Yes |
26 | Mr. Smith Goes to Washington | No | No | No |
27 | High Noon | No | No | Yes |
28 | All About Eve | No | No | Yes |
29 | Double Indemnity | No | No | Yes |
30 | Apocalypse Now | No | No | Yes |
31 | The Maltese Falcon | No | No | Yes |
32 | The Godfather Part II | No | No | Yes |
33 | One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest | No | No | Yes |
34 | Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs | No | No | Yes |
35 | Annie Hall | Yes | No | Yes |
36 | The Bridge on the River Kwai | No | No | Yes |
37 | The Best Years of Our Lives | No | No | No |
38 | The Treasure of the Sierra Madre | No | No | No |
39 | Dr. Strangelove | Yes | No | No |
40 | The Sound of Music | No | No | Yes |
41 | King Kong | No | No | No |
42 | Bonnie and Clyde | No | No | No |
43 | Midnight Cowboy | No | No | Yes |
44 | The Philadelphia Story | No | No | Yes |
45 | Shane | No | No | Yes |
46 | It Happened One Night | No | No | No |
47 | A Streetcar Named Desire | No | Yes | Yes |
48 | Rear Window | No | No | Yes |
49 | Intolerance | No | No | No |
50 | The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring | Yes | Yes | No |
51 | West Side Story | No | No | Yes |
52 | Taxi Driver | Yes | No | Yes |
53 | The Deer Hunter | No | Yes | Yes |
54 | MASH | No | No | No |
55 | North by Northwest | No | No | Yes |
56 | Jaws | No | No | Yes |
57 | Rocky | No | No | Yes |
58 | The Gold Rush | No | No | No |
59 | Nashville | Yes | No | Yes |
60 | Duck Soup | No | No | No |
61 | Sullivan’s Travels | No | No | No |
62 | American Graffiti | No | No | Yes |
63 | Cabaret | No | No | Yes |
64 | Network | Yes | No | Yes |
65 | The African Queen | No | No | No |
66 | Raiders of the Lost Ark | No | No | Yes |
67 | Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? | No | No | Yes |
68 | Unforgiven | No | Yes | Yes |
69 | Tootsie | No | No | Yes |
70 | A Clockwork Orange | No | No | Yes |
71 | Saving Private Ryan | No | No | Yes |
72 | The Shawshank Redemption | No | Yes | No |
73 | Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid | No | No | Yes |
74 | The Silence of the Lambs | No | No | Yes |
75 | In the Heat of the Night | No | No | Yes |
76 | Forrest Gump | No | No | Yes |
77 | All the President’s Men | Yes | Yes | Yes |
78 | Modern Times | No | No | No |
79 | The Wild Bunch | No | No | Yes |
80 | The Apartment | No | No | Yes |
81 | Spartacus | No | No | Yes |
82 | Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans | No | No | No |
83 | Titanic | No | No | Yes |
84 | Easy Rider | No | No | Yes |
85 | A Night at the Opera | No | No | No |
86 | Platoon | Yes | No | Yes |
87 | 12 Angry Men | No | No | No |
88 | Bringing Up Baby | No | No | No |
89 | The Sixth Sense | No | No | Yes |
90 | Swing Time | No | No | No |
91 | Sophie’s Choice | No | No | No |
92 | Goodfellas | No | Yes | Yes |
93 | The French Connection | No | No | Yes |
94 | Pulp Fiction | No | Yes | Yes |
95 | The Last Picture Show | No | Yes | Yes |
96 | Do the Right Thing | No | No | Yes |
97 | Blade Runner | No | No | Yes |
98 | Yankee Doodle Dandy | No | No | No |
99 | Toy Story | No | No | Yes |
100 | Ben-Hur | No | No | Yes |
The conclusion? If you want to watch all the films on a subscription-package, your best option for maximum coverage is Sky Cinema. This is a pain because it’s the only one I don’t actually have! With 70 of the top 100, buying a couple of months of Now TV Cinema to clear the ones you’re keen to see would really make an impact. Netflix has just 10 of the films and Amazon has 13. 26 films are not available on any streaming platform, so you’ll need to fork out extra to enjoy those on DVD or Blu-ray.
Note – the list above is subject to change without notice, so please be aware that this is only up-to-date as of 26th December 2018.