AFI #50 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring 2001 Directed by Peter Jackson Netflix says... From the idyllic shire of the Hobbits to the smoking chasms of Mordor, director Peter Jackson has created a world that surpasses the expectations of J.R.R. Tolkien purists as Frodo Baggins (Elijah Wood) embarks on his epic quest … Continue reading AFI #50 – The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring

AFI #51 – West Side Story

West Side Story 1961 Directed by Jerome Robbins, Robert Wise Netflix says... Winner of 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, this classic musical set among the tenements of New York City finds star-crossed lovers Maria (Natalie Wood) and Tony (Richard Beymer) caught in the midst of a turf war between rival street gangs. The modern … Continue reading AFI #51 – West Side Story

AFI #52 – Taxi Driver

Taxi Driver 1976 Directed by Martin Scorsese Netflix says... Martin Scorsese crafts a violently prophetic, gripping vision of urban decay and insanity in which mentally unstable Vietnam vet Travis Bickle (Robert De Niro) drives a cab through the sleaziest streets of pregentrified New York City and befriends a child hooker (Jodie Foster). The groundbreaking film … Continue reading AFI #52 – Taxi Driver

AFI #53 – The Deer Hunter

The Dear Hunter 1978 Directed by Michael Cimino Netflix says... In this Oscar-winning epic from director Michael Cimino, a group of working-class friends decides to enlist in the Army during the Vietnam War and finds it to be hellish chaos--not the noble venture they imagined. Before they left, Steven (John Savage) married his pregnant girlfriend--and … Continue reading AFI #53 – The Deer Hunter

AFI #54 – MASH

MASH 1970 Directed by Robert Altman Netflix says... Director Robert Altman's thinly veiled Vietnam War satire is indicative of when the spirit of the 1970s went mainstream, with Elliot Gould, Donald Sutherland and Tom Skerritt as Army doctors fighting military insanity and healing wounded soldiers during the Korean War. Featuring an Oscar-winning score and standout … Continue reading AFI #54 – MASH

AFI #55 – North by Northwest

North by Northwest 1959 Directed by Alfred Hitchcock Netflix says... What if everyone around you was suddenly convinced that you were a spy? This classic from master director Alfred Hitchcock stars Cary Grant as an advertising executive who looks a little too much like someone else and is forced to go on the lam (helped … Continue reading AFI #55 – North by Northwest

AFI #56 – Jaws

Jaws 1975 Directed by Steven Spielberg Netflix says... Director Steven Spielberg virtually invented the summer blockbuster with this white-knuckle adaptation of Peter Benchley's novel about an insatiable great white shark that terrorizes the townspeople of fictional Amity Island. John Williams's legendary score punctuates the tension as the police chief (Roy Scheider), an oceanographer (Richard Dreyfuss) … Continue reading AFI #56 – Jaws

AFI #57 – Rocky

Rocky 1976 Directed by John G. Avildsen Netflix says... When world heavyweight boxing champ Apollo Creed (Carl Weathers) wants to give an unknown fighter a shot at the title as a publicity stunt, his handlers pick palooka Rocky Balboa (Sylvester Stallone), an uneducated collector for a Philadelphia loan shark. Gritty, grim and epic, this crowd-pleasing … Continue reading AFI #57 – Rocky

AFI #58 – The Gold Rush

The Gold Rush 1925 Directed by Charlie Chaplin Netflix says... Charlie Chaplin's comic masterpiece centers on the hardships of life on the Alaskan frontier. The Little Tramp plays a pathetic, lonely prospector who journeys to the Klondike hoping to discover gold and make his fortune. Instead, he gets mixed up with some burly characters and … Continue reading AFI #58 – The Gold Rush

AFI #59 – Nashville

Nashville 1975 Directed by Robert Altman Netflix says... Countless characters including Shelley Duvall, Keith Carradine, Ned Beatty, and Karen Black, get caught up in a political rally that takes over Nashville in director Robert Altman's sprawling satirical masterpiece about politics and country music. The many find performances in this mosaic include Lily Tomlin's bored housewife … Continue reading AFI #59 – Nashville