We watched the Academy Awards from the comfort of what I once believed to be my earthquake-proof den, but more about that later. My daughter Alexis was in town and was excited about Hollywood’s biggest night of the year. I knew how she felt; I used to be the same way. But, as I told her, that was when movies were much better. I guess everyone is partial to his or her own generation of entertainment.
“They just don’t make movies like they used to,” I said with a mischievous heart.
“That’s not true,” Alexis said, taking the bait.
Just to be a little more obnoxious I decided to offer her proof in the form of a little test.
“OK, let’s look at the American Film Institute’s list of 100 greatest movies,” I said. “I will pick the one’s on the list in my lifetime and then I’ll pick the ones in your lifetime and we’ll see who has the most.”
“Not fair,” Alexis said.
“Why?” I asked, a little proud she wasn’t falling for it.
“Because you’re old. You have 31 more years to get movies from than me.”
“That hurts but OK, fair enough. I’ll start in 1957, the year I was born and stop in 1979, when I was 22, the same age you are now.”
She agreed.
If I’ve learned anything from being around so many lawyers it is, don’t be surprised. And even though I’d never checked it before I was pretty certain I’d destroy her.
“OK, here’s the list. I get every movie on my side from 1957 to 1979. And you get everything from 1988 until today.”
“No Dad, since this list we are looking at only goes through 2007. You have to stop your list in 1976.”
She was shrewd but I had to agree with her again. She usually gets her way.
We began with my list, starting with the AFI ranking and followed by the year it was made.
3. The Godfather (1972)
5. Lawrence Of Arabia (1962)
7. The Graduate (1967)
13. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
14. Some Like It Hot (1959)
18. Psycho (1960)
19. Chinatown (1974)
20. One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest (1975)
22. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
26. Dr. Strangelove (1964)
27. Bonnie & Clyde (1967)
28. Apocalypse Now (1979)
31. Annie Hall (1977)
32. The Godfather Part II (1974)
34. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
36. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
39. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
40. North By Northwest (1959)
41. West Side Story (1961)
46. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
47. Taxi Driver (1976)
48. Jaws (1975)
50. Butch Cassidy & The Sundance Kid (1969)
55. The Sound Of Music (1965)
56. M*a*s*h (1970)
61. Vertigo (1958)
66. Network (1976)
67. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
70. The French Connection (1971)
72. Ben-hur (1959)
77. American Graffiti (1973)
78. Rocky (1976)
80. The Wild Bunch (1969)
88. Easy Rider (1969)
89. Patton (1970)
91. My Fair Lady (1964)
93. The Apartment (1960)
99. Guess Who’s Coming To Dinner (1967)
That gave me 38 of the top 100 that came out from the time I was born, until I was 19. Even more than I expected.
Now for Alexis, who was conspicuously quiet all of a sudden. From 1988 through 2007 we have –
65. The Silence Of The Lambs (1991)
71. Forrest Gump (1994)
75. Dances With Wolves (1990)
84. Fargo (1996)
94. Goodfellas (1990)
95. Pulp Fiction (1994)
98. Unforgiven (1992)
Which gave her seven total, and not one in the top 64! I rested my case, and tried not to rub it in that I had over five times as many.
“I don’t accept that,” she said without flinching.
“What do you mean?”
“Any list that doesn’t have ‘Titanic,’ on it has no credibility, whatsoever.” And she walked away, acting victorious in defeat.
I wish I could say I taught her everything she knows but she is her mother’s daughter.
I had moved to my TV upstairs where I could mute the acceptance speeches, which Alexis refuses to do. The awards ended with some talented kids singing, plus, Anne Hathaway looking beautiful and confidant and James Franco still looking lost and uncomfortable.
I muted the set again when the program ended so I didn’t have to hear the Crain sales guy screaming at me. I was Googling Christian Bale because I always thought he was from the U.S. Turns out he was born in Wales.
About that time I felt a shimmy, or a bump, something that lasted a split second but was totally unfamiliar. Earthquake? I wondered. None of the family had felt a thing, but on the late news they reported a 4.7 earthquake near Greenbrier – so I got that going for me, which is nice.