Hello! Around September of last year (2020), my only reader and I embarked on a journey we called Hitchcock Monday’s. Every Monday, I would pick an Alfred Hitchcock movie, and we would watch it over dinner. Toward the end of the year, there were a lot of consistent themes from movie to movie, and I wanted to spice things up. So, starting in 2021, I got permission to change Hitchcock Monday’s to AFI Mondays. To keep consistent, I stuck with the same genre, thrillers.
The American Film Institute (AFI), is perhaps best known for their top 100 movie list, however, they also made other lists that were specific to genre; including their list of the top 100 thrillers. The list came out in 2001, and has entries dating as far back as 1923. We are 6 months into viewing the movies on this list, and though I am very much enjoying it, there is a part of me that isn’t impressed. It’s a list of good movies that, for their time, I have no doubt, were highly thrilling. But given that the list is 20 years old, and contains many movies that are more than 40 years old, I can’t help but feel that it needs to be updated. So that is what we will do!
According to Masterclass, “Thrillers are dark, engrossing, and suspenseful plot-driven stories. They very seldom include comedic elements.” While this definition makes sense to me, I prefer the simpler description that’s used earlier on the website, “Thrillers take you on a ride from start to finish. They pull you in, build tension with intriguing suspense, and keep you guessing until the very end”. There it is.
We are looking for the top 100 movies that take you on a ride, building suspense and tension. I just want a movie that “has me on the edge of my seat” to see what happens next. I like the broadness of this definition because it can span a lot of other genres. These could be mysteries, action movies, dramas, sports movies and so on! The only important thing is that the movies sucks me in and makes me concerned about what happens next, usually with some element of danger.
Without further ado…SPOILERS AHEAD.
To the list!
100). The Thomas Crown Affair (1999, directed by John McTiernan) – AFI Ranking: N/A
I wanted to start with a movie I highly enjoy. Many of these early entries to the list are movies I’m less familiar with (I’m ashamed to say). However, this movie, rules! A remake of a 60’s classic, starring Pierce Brosnan as a wealthy man who steals art out of boredom, or for the rush, I don’t know, but he’s awesome at it. Dare I say, Brosnan is cooler in this movie than when he was James Bond. Rene Russo charms as an insurance consigliere who comes to New York City to flag down a missing painting.
This movie reminds me a bit of the Hitchcock classic, To Catch a Thief. It’s a kind of lower stakes drama between a cool thief and a confident, capable love interest. In this case, rather than a former thief trying to prove his innocence, it’s a respectable businessman who steals for fun and is always one step ahead of the law.
Directed by action movie juggernaut, John McTiernan, it’s a blast from start-to-finish, with two well-conceived heist scenes and a romance that is more cat and mouse than typical rom-com fare. The only real knock I have on this movie is that, as mentioned above, the stakes are pretty low. There isn’t any real danger, and that’s important in a top flight thriller. It’s worth noting that although there isn’t really danger, the lead character’s ability to play games with both the law and his love interest keeps the audience guessing.
99). Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977, George Lucas) – AFI Ranking: 27th
Ehhh, I just don’t really like Star Wars that much. It would’ve been entry number 100, but I didn’t want to start the list on a negative, probably unfulfilling note. I know it’s a controversial, maybe even an “incorrect” opinion. There are many brilliant minds who love it, I can think of three different doctor friends of mind off the top of my head! I’m sorry to say, I just find it to be cheesy. The whole thing feels like a childish fairytale, for me.
Things I like about it:
-The iconic opening in space.
-The iconic score from John Williams.
-Luke Skywalker has a really strong hero’s journey arc.
-Darth Vader is well-conceived (though the turn in Episode VI might be the corniest thing put to film).
The look of this alternate world is cooler to me than the actions and dialogue within it. The acting feels one-note, and I don’t find Luke, Han, or Princess Leia particularly compelling. However, this is one of, if not the most beloved and successful franchises ever and, arguably, the most culturally resonant piece of pop culture in our history. And that cannot be ignored.
98). Planet of the Apes (1968, Franklin J. Schaffner) – AFI Ranking: 59th
I haven’t seen this movie. Unfortunately I know the twist. However, I have a high amount of respect for this movie’s place in history.
The IMDb summary for this movie: An astronaut crew crash-lands on a planet in the distant future where intelligent talking apes are the dominant species, and humans are the oppressed and enslaved.
Sounds good to me! Given that it was already on the list, I can’t think of a worthwhile replacement.
97). 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968, Stanley Kubrick) – AFI Ranking: 40th
I’ve only seen the first hour of the movie. It is dense, it is difficult. It wasn’t yet thrilling at that point in the movie. I have it here, again, because it was on the AFI’s list, and I couldn’t think of a movie to knock it off. It’s one of Christopher Nolan’s favorite movies, so we know it helped mold at least one genius.
96). Casablanca (1943, Michael Curtiz) – AFI Ranking: 37th
I’ve actually seen Casablanca, however it was over 10 years ago. I don’t personally have strong feelings about this movie. The Writers’ Guild of America ranked it as the greatest screenplay of all-time. The GOAT. The screenplay matters.
95). Dial M for Murder (1954, Alfred Hitchcock) – AFI Ranking: 48th
Alfred Hitchcock’s “other” movie from 1954, and an underrated movie from his catalog. The lower ranking (vs AFI) may be because we were just in the middle of our Hitchcock odyssey, and I was too immersed in the particular set of rules of that world, which made me somewhat numb to the full impact of the movie. Make no mistake, this is a well-made, stud of a thriller. It belongs on this list, very possibly higher than I have it ranked.
94). Poltergeist (1982, Tobe Hooper) – AFI Ranking: 84th
Haven’t seen it. Looks scary! It’s here out of respect.
93). Rosemary’s Baby (1968, Roman Polanski) – AFI Ranking: 9
I haven’t yet seen this movie. Polanski deserves everyone’s respect because he’s dangerous. I don’t mean the horrible things in his personal life. I mean that he won’t necessarily succumb to the typical Hollywood happy-ending. If a character is in danger…they actually may die.
92.) Bladerunner (1982, Ridley Scott) – AFI Ranking: 74th
91.) The Manchurian Candidate (1962, John Frankenheimer) – AFI Ranking: 17th
90). The Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, Steven Spielberg) – AFI Ranking: 10th
Similar to Star Wars, I like this movie a lot less than the vast majority of people. However, in many ways, it is a ground-breaking template for action movies from 1982-onward.
The opening is full of intrigue, danger and generates a ton of excitement for the viewer. There are some great action sequences that were undoubtedly impactful on movies that I love. I mean, it’s Steven Spielberg. Few people put on a visual show like Spielberg.
One thing I didn’t love about this movie was that at times it felt like it just jumped from sequence to sequence without really making it clear what was going on. I’m totally fine with minimal dialogue, but this needed a little more.
Also, I don’t really buy the Indiana Jones character. I know I’m in a wolf-pack of one with this opinion, but we’re just supposed to believe that he’s this nerdy college professor that goes on occasional sabbaticals where he, not only encounters life-threatening obstacles, but KILLS MULTIPLE PEOPLE! Say what you will about cheesy 80’s action movies, like Commando, but at least they provide an often overdone backstory to let you know the hero is legit. I have no reason to believe Indiana Jones would be sent, largely by himself to beat out a team of Nazis to save the world from fascism.
Having said all that, the movie has thrills. The sequences are brilliantly-conceived, and taken on their own, they’re all great. It’s just that the story basically hurls obstacles at Harrison Ford non-stop, and we basically just have to believe the army would hire Harrison Ford with this highly important task that has macro-political fallout. And the schmaltzy love story. But hey, I may literally be the only one who feels this way…
89). Zombieland (2009, Ruben Fleischer) – AFI Ranking: N/A
Our first replacement movie! I have this movie replacing Night of the Living Dead, a zombie classic, which was ranked 93rd on the AFI list. Zombieland is an updated, multi-faceted flick.
I don’t much care about zombie movies, to be honest, and generally avoid the sub-genre. This movie is an exception. The main character (Jessie Eisenberg) outlines his rules for survival in a semi-fourth wall-breaking narration that is vaguely reminiscent of Scream. Zombieland combines legitimate comedy chops, an adventure/road trip storyline, and post-apocalyptic dystopia.
The scenes that include zombies are actually thrilling, most likely because the movie makes you care about the characters and therefore worry about their fate. Also, the dystopia looks pretty similar to life now, so it’s easy to recognize how we got there. A virus hit, and the country devolved.
Comedy is a unique element of this movie, and it is not widely present on this list, or on the original AFI list. This, as I’m sure you’re aware, is because comedy can often undermine tension. If things are too silly, or if humor is injected too often, it’s harder for the audience to take the threats seriously. Zombieland walks the line like Johnny Cash.
88). 12 Angry Men (1957, Sidney Lumet) – AFI Ranking: 88th(!)
12 Angry Men is one of the best movies ever, and my favorite “courtroom” drama. The reason ‘courtroom’ was in quotes, is because 95% of the movie’s runtime is spent in the jury room for their deliberation. There are no lawyers. The judge speaks for about 30 seconds. The defendant is only shown briefly, so as to deny the audience any real opportunity to judge him. It’s just 12 men having a discussion.
So, how is it thrilling? Even though I’ve seen it quite a few times, this movie is still thrilling because it’s always interesting to see how the discussion unfolds. To spoil it, the jurors do, in fact, reach a verdict, and the verdict is not representative of the opinion that most of them have at the start of the movie.
Why only #88? Well, the stakes aren’t as immediately dangerous as many of the other movies on this list. Sure, a human life is at stake (if convicted, the defendant will receive the death penalty). But, as noted, we don’t spend enough time with the defendant to form a bond. The real stakes of the movie are the fabric of our society and legal system. While these are highly important, failure to perfectly carryout the correct ruling wouldn’t destroy society on the spot.
It’s a great movie about the legal system, America, unconscious bias, social psychology, debate and standing up for what you believe is right. This framework is so simple, but it’s satisfying every time.
87.) The French Connection (1971, William Friedkin) – AFI Ranking: 8th
The movie is probably best known for the above car chase sequence. This cop drama is still very enjoyable today. Hackman and Scheider are both great, as always. The story is interesting in that it doesn’t wrap everything up in a bow like most law enforcement movies and television shows. It has thrilling moments like the car chase and rousting the bar, but this movie is interesting when these cops partake in some of the mundane or quiet tasks like waiting on a stakeout, or choreographing how they will trail a person of interest. The crime isn’t even fully explained to the audience, which is realistic to how the cops would have to piece it together.
Historically, this was a groundbreaking and electric movie. It took the baton from Bullitt (1968, #36 on the AFI list) and added even more grit and excitement to the cop drama. It would’ve been awesome to see this in the movie theater. The only reason I rank it lower than the AFI is really because movies have progressed since then. I believe that the AFI is including the context of the movie in their ranking, which I’m not really doing. Still, an enjoyable watch.
86). The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999, Anthony Minghella) – AFI Ranking: N/A
“I’d rather be a fake somebody, than a real nobody” – Tom Ripley.
Let’s get weird! A young man named Tom Ripley (Matt Damon) is hired by a shipping magnate to bring his son (Jude Law) back from Italy. This would be a great neo-noir premise on its own. However, the situation gets weirder. Jude Law hasn’t been captured, nor is he playing Russian Roulette as a result of his PTSD. He just likes living a relaxed life of luxury in Italy, far away from his controlling father. Damon finds Law and his girlfriend (Gwyneth Paltrow), and reveals to them fairly early on about why he’s there. Jude Law convinces him, instead, to stay with them in Italy, and they can use the money his father sends to fund their travels.
So…the conflict and thrills come from the father, and maybe who he sends after them? Nope! It just gets weirder. Halfway through the movie, Law gets sick of Damon and decides that he’ll go back home, only for Damon to flip out and “accidentally” kill him in a blind rage! What?!?!?!
Damon decides to stay in Europe, assuming the identity of Jude Law. Now come the thrills. He moves from place to place to in order to avoid detection, occasionally bumping into people who knew him as Tom Ripley. He ends up leading a double life and we spend most of the second half of the movie on edge about whether or not he’ll be caught.
The craziest thing about this movie is that we’re sort of worried for Ripley. He technically doesn’t do anything redeemable the whole time. He’s really just a conman, who is becoming increasingly homicidal to cover his tracks. It’s uncomfortable, but we’re worried that he’ll get caught. Or perhaps more worried for the other characters he comes into contact with. Either way, the danger is real.
85). Halloween II (1981, Rick Rosenthal) / Halloween 2018 (2018, David Gordon Green) – AFI Ranking: N/A
I cheated a bit and included two movies; both of the sequels to my beloved Halloween, which, spoiler alert, will be on this list a little later.
The two movies go in almost opposite directions in terms of what happens next. The original sequel, Halloween II, picks up exactly where the original left off – an awesome plot device that not enough movies utilize. It’s still Halloween night, and Laurie Strode (Jamie Lee Curtis) is taken to the hospital while the police clean up the mess and search for Michael Myers, who is…at large! Michael kills a few people in the suburbs but ultimately finds his way to the hospital to hunt Laurie.
A dark, mostly empty hospital during a graveyard shift is a brilliant location for a horror movie. I don’t know if this was the first movie to utilize that, but it’s an eerie, creepy touch that is ideal for a master of stealth. We watch Michael pick people off, one by one, until he gets to Laurie. I took a few points off for Laurie’s Spellbound-esque dream sequences revealing that Michael Myers was, in fact…her brother. It was an unnecessary plot point. However, the rest of the movie is wonderfully creepy.
For Halloween 2018, they assume that Michael was caught by police on the original Halloween night, and sent back to the asylum. It’s 40 years later, and of course, he breaks out during a transfer of the inmates, and goes back to Haddonfield to do some work. Laurie Strode suffers from some type of PTSD from the original attack and has been preparing for their reunion. She’s driven her family away and is considered a basket case. This is actually a great touch both for the character, and also to remind everyone that Michael is a monster.
There are some suspenseful scenes along the way as Michael works his way through the neighborhood and eventually ends up at Laurie’s compound for a tense and satisfying climax. Points off for the lack of suspense surrounding whether or not Michael would break free – though the sequence itself was high tension. Also, the trailer “ruined” some key scares of the movie that were still enjoyable, but would’ve been awesome had we not known about them.
All in all, two different approaches to the sequel. Both tense, both scary. This won’t be the last mention of Halloween on this list…
84). Marathon Man (1976, John Schlesinger) – AFI Ranking: 50th
Marathon Man is an interesting spy thriller where the main character, and to a lesser extent, the viewer, doesn’t realize he’s in a spy thriller. Sort of a Hitchcockian “wrong man” idea taken a step further. Whereas the protagonist of a Hitchcock thriller often figures out early on that people are after him and he has to solve the puzzle in order to clear his name, the protagonist of Marathon Man (Dustin Hoffman) is clueless and not prepared for the undertaking. The viewer, similarly, has to put the pieces together at the same time. It isn’t really spelled out.
Piggy-backing off The French Connection, there are some cool sequences of people following and being followed in New York City. There’s a car chase sequence between two old men early on, a most unusual thing to see in a movie.
Of course, the movie is most famous for the dentist scene. At the time, Marathon Man did for dentists what Jaws did for swimming. Its cringe-worthiness makes it a wonderfully singular plot beat that should keep this movie relevant for a long time.
This movie has a strong cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, and Roy Scheider. It’s written by Oscar winner William Goldman and directed by Oscar winner John Schlesinger. Just a solid thriller all around.
83). Blow Out (1981, Brian De Palma) – AFI Ranking: N/A
A reimagining of Antonioni’s Blow Up, Brian De Palma’s Blow Out has an awesome premise: A movie sound recordist accidentally records the evidence that proves that a car accident was actually murder and consequently finds himself in danger (IMDb).
Any time someone accidentally witnesses something they weren’t supposed to see or hear, it always hits home how quickly your world can be up-ended. Sometimes the threat could be from a one-off criminal. Or, you could’ve accidentally unraveled a political conspiracy. Either way, it’s not paranoia if they’re actually following you.
82). Titanic (1997, James Cameron) – AFI Ranking: 25th
Titanic isn’t my thing. It’s an epic romance set inside a disaster movie. Or more likely, it’s a disaster movie set inside an epic romance. Either way, all the romance stuff pushes the runtime over 3 hours. I saw it in theaters for a birthday party when I was in fifth grade, and have not watched it since. However, once they hit the iceberg, the last hour or so of the movie, is an action-thriller.
James Cameron makes epic movies with a great sense of scope and is a master of story-telling. As a kid, I remember the heart-pounding last hour of the movie. For all the romantic plodding it did for the first two hours, the movie ended at a full sprint. Winning all those Oscars was a mixed back for me because as much as there were a host of other movies from ’97 that I prefer (L.A. Confidential, Good Will Hunting, Boogie Nights, etc.), it’s important that a blockbuster like that was recognized.
It’s a master filmmaker, perhaps at the top of his game, creating an hour long heart attack. If they cut down the romance stuff, it probably would’ve been in my top 25.
81). Lone Survivor (1981, Peter Berg) – AFI Ranking: N/A
War. Is. Stressful. It is full of life-threatening choices, ambushes, and chaos. I knew the general story of Lone Survivor before seeing the movie. Technically, the title gives away how the movie will end. Given that one of the four Navy SEALs is Mark Wahlberg, and the other three are lesser-knowns (Emile Hirsch, Ben Foster and Taylor Kitsch), it is pretty clear who will be alive at the end. It’s still a stressful journey.
This entry replaced Full Metal Jacket on the AFI list (AFI #95), which had a dynamite first half at bootcamp, but a much less memorable time in combat. Lone Survivor is nearly all combat, alternating between tension and visceral action.
I don’t always love “true stories”. Sometimes it feels manipulative, or they take some liberties to make it more cinematic, but also still ride the “true story” bandwagon. This is a remarkable true story. It is, to date, the only movie to ever make me cry. Possibly a cathartic release after 90 minutes of elevated cortisol.
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