The Top 100 Project

Sam Peckinpah’s only AFI film is another 1960’s game-changer, this time on the violence scale. William Holden seems to serve as Bloody Sam’s alter ego and this character is no hero. When he and his American bunch take on the pre-World War I Mexican army, things get rough. Subtext everywhere! We like or no like? Let’s go!

A small-time cartoonish cowboy hits the big time and struggles to find his dimwitted footing. This portrait of NYC in the late ‘60s is rough & grimy. At least stars Jon Voight & Dustin Hoffman get to share a bromance before that word even existed. The flick is riddled with fantasies & flashbacks. Does it hold up? G’head and find out!

Zarathustra! Whatever that means! Yup, the 74th T100P podcast sees us trying our simple-minded best to unlock the puzzling mysteries of Stanley Kubrick’s sci-fi art film. Apes, A.I. and awe-inspiring F/X. This one still amazes. Check out our rave review!

The 8th edition of the Not 100 Project is Stanley Kubrick’s horror classic! This is our longest podcast yet and we didn’t even cover all the bloody bases. Tune in to hear us discuss Jack & Wendy, Dick & Danny, the scares, and the crazy documentaries made about the picture. Also, we probably said “in the book” more times than ever in recorded history!

Mike Nichols’ much-ballyhooed counter-culture com-dram makes for T100P podcast #73. Baby boomers and the AFI absolutely worship this flick. Does the sex comedy hold up after 47 years? I just want to say one word to you, just one word: download!

Wouldn’t you want perfect Poitier as your son-in-law? Maybe not if you’re “liberal” old coots Hepburn and, in his only AFI film, Tracy. Yup, race is the topic in another T100P podcast. This one isn’t subtle, but the actors are legends, so they’re worth watching. Is our podcast worth hearing? Of course! Fire that thing up.

Beautiful people are bank-robbing rage-against-the-machiners in the 71st T100P podcast. Enjoy Warren Beatty now because this fine performance represents his only AFI movie. Faye Dunaway is his equal while Gene Hackman and the supporting cast also get ‘er done. This flick ushered in a new era in Hollywood. Hear what we thought of it!

Cop Sidney Poitier travels through the south and gets caught up in a murder investigation while battling vicious racism. Local sheriff Rod Steiger has to deal with his own racism while working with (sometimes against) Poitier. Norman Jewison’s Best Picture-winner packs a wallop. What did we think of MISTER TIBBS? Check it out.

Have no fear (of Miss Woolf or any other long-dead author) because Burton & Taylor are here to wow you with their awesomeness. Segal & Dennis are wonderful too. Our 69th T100P podcast digs deeper than normal because this is one of Bev’s faves. Ryan loves WAOVW too. Find out why!

Da, comrades, it’s David Lean’s Russian picture postcard period piece. One of the biggest box-office hits ever is a dream for your eyeballs (especially when Julie Christie is onscreen), but this butt-numbing flick aspires to more than just a doomed romance between her & Omar Sharif. Does it succeed? Hitting play will answer that question.

Al Pacino robs a bank. The end. Wait, there’s more. The 7th edition of the Not 100 Project somehow missed AFI’s cut, even though it’s got Pacino & director Sidney Lumet in great form. With all the summertime heat, the pre-op sex-change patients and the frenzied crowd, this hostage drama is one of the best in its genre. Hear us!

The most-successful musical of all time is the 67th T100P podcast. Despite the megawatt sunniness of Julie Andrews, the movie ventures into some rough subject matter (ie. stupid Nazis). Good thing the singing nun has her do-re-mi, her favorite things and her sounds of music. Blockbusters don’t get huger than this. Our thoughts await you!

The "other" Hepburn and the inspiration for Stewie from Family Guy star in this ritzy musical *cough cough* romance, the 66th edition of the T110P. We did not love My Fair Lady. In fact, “tearing new ones” rises to a new level. Find out why!

Mein fuhrer, nuclear war is funny! T100P ‘cast #65 is an Ellis favourite. Peter Sellers, George C. Scott and company are even funnier than you remember in Stanley Kubrick’s daring blackblackblack comedy. Bring on the quotes!

Gregory Peck stars in this much-loved coming-of-age tale, our 64th podcast in the T100P. His kid costars (Mary Badham and Philip Alford) are the focus of the story, but good performances abound. The AFI reveres this picture. How about the Ellises?

A white madman embeds himself amongst warring Arab tribes during WW1. What can go wrong? So, so much. But the movie makes for a beloved AFI favourite. Peter O’Toole is outstanding in director David Lean’s hands. We, however, had trouble sorting out our feelings about this sandy epic. Find out why!

The T100P passes the halfway point with podcast #62, a paranoid, sweaty thriller. It’s also a satire, one that can see the humour in brainwashing, political power-grabs and multiple murders. Fantastic film. Check out our chat!

If you like to snap and leap and prance whilst threatening brutal violence against your enemy, then the 61st edition of the T100P is right up your New York alley. Bev cannot contain her delight with this musical. Ryan’s delight is contained. Check it out!

I’m Spartacus! Okay, Kirk Douglas, start crying. Yup, Top 100 ‘cast #60 is Spartacus. Director-for-hire Stanley Kubrick has an excellent cast at his disposal (Olivier, Laughton, Curtis, Ustinov). Is this truly one of the great epics though? Find out!

Monkey Planet! Those damn simians are the focus of the 6th edition of The Not 100 Project. We talk about skimpy loincloths and twist endings. We make lots of Simpsons references and marvel at Chuck Heston’s broad performance. And we sing! Everything from chimpan-A to chimpan-Zee...