AFI's 100 Best Movie Songs, Updated June 25

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What are your favorites and did you watch the special?

1
Over the Rainbow
WIZARD OF OZ, THE
1939

2
As Time Goes By
CASABLANCA
1942

3
Singin' in the Rain
SINGIN' IN THE RAIN
1952

4
Moon River
BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S
1961

5
White Christmas
HOLIDAY INN
1942

6
Mrs. Robinson
GRADUATE, THE
1967

7
When You Wish Upon A Star
PINOCCHIO
1940

8
Way We Were, The
THE WAY WE WERE
1973

9
Stayin' Alive
SATURDAY NIGHT FEVER
1977

10
Sound of Music, The
SOUND OF MUSIC, THE
1965

AFI'S COMPLETE LIST OF 100 SONGS AND ARTICLE LINK

The Criteria

The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria while making their selections:

Feature-Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format, typically more than 60 minutes in length.

American Film: The film must be in the English language with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.

Song: Music and lyrics featured in an American film that set a tone or mood, define character, advance plot and/or express the film's themes in a manner that elevates the moving image art form. Songs may have been written and/or recorded specifically for the film or previously written and/or recorded and selected by the filmmaker to achieve the above goals.

Cultural Impact: Songs that have captured the nation's heart, echoed beyond the walls of a movie theater, and ultimately stand in our collective memory of the film itself.

Legacy: Songs that resonate across the century, enriching America's film heritage and captivating artists and audiences today.

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Type: Discussion • Score: 1 • Views: 7,451 • Replies: 55

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Some observations:

1. It seems that there are more movies from the pre-1970 era than appear in the other AFI lists. Is that a reflection of the increasing sophistication of the voters or the lack of good music in more recent movies?

2. Three (yes three) Bob Hope songs. Frankly, I think Hope was always underrated as a singer, but I'm rather surprised that Hope outscored Bing Crosby (two entries).

3. How could "Make 'em Laugh" make the list and not "Be a Clown," the song that "Make 'em Laugh" ruthlessly ripped off?

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Four are songs written for Barbara Streisand.

The "Make 'em Laugh" was credited to the composer who let them change the title and wrote some addional lyrics for the film (the film had no original score).

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Hey, Mr. Wizard. I didn't watch the special, but I find that some have been left off the list that I would have added. I know quite a few of those songs. UhOh! Smile

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I love all but three or four of the 100. Hard for me to argue.

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One of the commentators came on about half-way through the show and encouraged people to E mail or write in their choices of what's not on the list or perhaps should have been in a different place. The top ten are hard to argue with.

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I'm shocked - SHOCKED! - that "Let's Do the Time Warp Again" did not make the top ten.
What were these people thinking?

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I am amazed.

Kelly Clarkson and Justin Guarani are not in the list! OMG!
"The Luv, The Bounce", from the great film "From Justin to Kelly" is a classic and should be among the top ten.

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You're being facetious of course.

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joefromchicago wrote:

Some observations:

1. It seems that there are more movies from the pre-1970 era than appear in the other AFI lists. Is that a reflection of the increasing sophistication of the voters or the lack of good music in more recent movies?

I wondered if the results were a reflection of the age of the voters.

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I think it's because the aging of a song is what makes it become a classic. The songs that have been winning the Oscar in the past two decades haven't been up to snuff either compared to the entire list. Joe may be right in that movies have in general become more crassly commercial and the songs as well. The most recent selections include the two best musical films in nearly thirty years, "Moulin Rouge!" and "Chicago."

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I loved the show. I guessed correctly for the first 5 although not in the right order. I thought White Christmas would be no. 1.

I noticed that at least 15 of the winning songs were from movies adapted from Broadway shows with many of the performers' voices being dubbed, such as Audrey Hepburn in My Fair Lady, Rossano Brazzi in South Pacific, Natalie Wood and Richard Beymer in West Side Story, etc. That didn't seem quite fair to me. However, it was AFI's 100 Greatest Movie Songs and not necessarily the performers.

It also looked to me like many of the songs might have been chosen because they were "Oscar" winners. "I'm Easy" is a lovely song, "Hakuna Matata" a fun song, but best out of 100 when there were, how many did they say, thousands (15,000?) to choose from?

But they included Paul Robeson, Lena Horne, Fred and Ginger, although not the songs I would have chosen, such as "Begin The Beguine", and a few other oldies, so I was satisfied. (lol)

I don't remember if an Al Jolson song was chosen. Do you? He more or less got it all started.

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I went back through the list with this in mind - If I were going to make what used to be called 'a mixed tape', what would I put on it, and who would I give it to?

Any thoughts?

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"Has Anybody Seen My Gal" didn't make it, ehBeth.Soooooo. pick out your own and send them to someone in OHIO!

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No Purple Rain? An Oscar-winning score and not mentioned on the list? hmmm....

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These were the songs, not the performers. Of course, a performer can sell the song. Case in point: Streisand with "Don't Rain on My Parade," Judy Garland with "Over the Rainbow" and Julie Andrews with "The Sound of Music." Songs are are like many other things -- a time and a place.

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Audrey Hepburn with "I Could Have Danced All Night"
...oh, wait a minute...

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Okay. "Purple Rain". An Oscar-winning score and not mentioned on the list? hmmm...

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I think George makes a good point (even if he might have been facetious): "Let's Do the Time Warp Again" is a great song, much better than some of the others on the list. Furthermore, it is a "true" movie song, i.e. not one written initially for another purpose. That should count for something.

Raggedyaggie: I count 19 songs that originally appeared in Broadway musicals:
Sound of Music, The
People
I Could Have Danced All Night
Cabaret
Somewhere
Ol' Man River
Some Enchanted Evening
I Got Rhythm
America
New York, New York
Luck Be A Lady
Summertime
Shall We Dance
Thank Heaven for Little Girls
Tonight
My Favorite Things
Yankee Doodle Boy, The
Do Re Mi
All That Jazz

Those are the ones that I'm sure of: some (like "Get Happy" from "Summerstock") might be from Broadway, but I'm not positive. Also, some of the tunes may have appeared in Broadway shows that were unrelated to the movies (e.g. "I Got Rhythm" is from "Girl Crazy," but it was included in the list for "American in Paris").

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joefromchicago wrote:

I think George makes a good point (even if he might have been facetious...

Actually, I'm Irish - or is that the same thing?

I was speaking only half in jest. It is a great -albeit silly - song and, of course a cult favorite. I'm with joefromchicago: I don't get counting movies that are adaptations of Broadway musicals. My point about Audrey Hepburn is that she did not sing any of the songs. I believe Marnie Nixon did.

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AFI's 100 Best Movie Songs, Updated June 25

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