So, I was thinking about what to write about for this blog and was also thinking about the course topic for this class, when I realized that on the first day of class we had discussed the top love songs. That got me thinking about what the top Romance (Love) movies were, as well as the top Romance books. I knew that AFI (American Film Institute) usually does lists based on the top 100 movies in different genres, so I figured there must have been a top 100 for Romance or Love stories. I was able to locate the list, which was titled "AFI's 100 YEARS...100 PASSIONS". I then looked at the criteria for what AFI considered to be a love story and found that the movies had to fit into these four categories:
- 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.
- Love Story: Regardless of genre, a romantic bond between two or more characters, whose actions and/or intentions provide the heart of the film’s narrative.
- Legacy: Films whose "passion" have enriched America’s film and cultural heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.
Obviously what AFI considered to be a love story was somewhat different then we discussed in class, so some of the movies that are listed don't seem like they would really fit into what people consider to be a romance or love story. If someone were to take a look at the list, the first thing I would point out is that this list was created in 2002 so there are no movies that were out after that year. It was interesting to see that of the 100 movies they listed, the oldest movie was from 1920 (#71 - Way Down East) and the most recent movie was from 1998 (#50 - Shakespeare in Love). A special note about #15 is that the movie is the 1939 version of Wuthering Heights. I don't think everyone would agree with the list because some of the movies listed, one may not consider it to actually be a love story based on what had be discussed in class. A perfect example of movies that I wouldn't really consider to be a love story would be 1933's King Kong or 1958's Vertigo.
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