The Top 100 Project

Saddle up dem horses and hit the trails as the Top 100 Project brings you podcast #19, Stagecoach! What did Bev think of her first John Wayne movie? Whom did one executive want to play the Ringo Kid instead of the Duke? And did we dare to compare Stagecoach to Gilligan’s Island? All that and, oh, 3 or more points of interest are contained within.

The 18th Top 100 Project podcast is the zany rom-com Bringing Up Baby! It’s Cary Grant, Kate Hepburn and director Howard Hawks (he was gooooood…and this is his only AFIer), so you have 3 terrific reasons to tune in. Enter the Top 100 world for facts about the near-demise of Hepburn’s career, Grant’s reluctance to even be in the flick, and to hear Bev’s 2 main reasons for liking this film!

Podcast #17 finds us chatting about one of the all-time box office champs, Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs! If you want theories about evil fruit, how the Queen is the original Bond villain, and to hear us sing an impromptu ditty, then this is the ‘cast for you. Also, Fox likes to contribute to our work and he did it yet again. Settle deep into your couch or office chair or bed of nails and let us regale you about Snow, her 7 platonic friends, and the most homicidal stepmother in the land!

16 podcasts in and here is our first full-fledged musical, the Astaire & Rogers dance-fest known as Swing Time! Plop down in a comfy chair whilst Bev & Ryan tear the plot and the characters to shreds. Stay comfy as Bev goes on a lengthy rant about the film’s absurdities. And slouch in your chair even more as they debate not only the validity of this film’s inclusion on the AFI Top 100, but the validity of the musical genre itself. You might not have heard of this flick before now, but you won’t soon forget it once we’re done!

Podcast #15 is...wait a minute! What? They give away the ending on the cover of the DVD?! Those fools. Well, since The Top 100 Project is all about ruining every inch of a movie for you, we’ll let it slide. Chaplin’s AFI swan song is Modern Times. Did we like it more or less than his previous masterpieces, The Gold Rush and City Lights? How does the story stack up to the reality of today? And just how much face-dirt is required to make the lovely Paulette Goddard the rabble-rousing gamin she’s supposed to be? Those issues and a lot more can be found by clicking on the link and opening your eardrums...

For the 14th time, the Ellises podcast their thoughts about an ancient AFI flick. It’s A Night At The Opera, starring the Marx Brothers and a bunch of other chumps. Bev didn’t dig much on the previous Marx film, Duck Soup. How about this one? Did she LOL a lot more? What did we think of the story this time (for one thing, did it have one)? And did the retirement of Zeppo destroy all that is holy? All that and so very much more!

It’s a baker’s dozen! Podcast #13 is Mutiny On The Bounty, the Oscar-winner from 78 years ago. Come settle in for a tangent-fest about other movies as we analyze the merits of this one. How did manly Clark Gable and man-loving Charles Laughton co-exist? Is Captain Bligh truly a villain? And just who is The Top 100 Project’s new sponsor?! All that and so much more in this lengthy yet remarkably entertaining podcast!

We’ve reached a dozen podcasts with this analysis of the Oscar-sweeper and rom-com classic, It Happened One Night! What were our favourite lines? Which pop culture icon did Clark Gable inspire? How much pre-code semi-nudity did we get to enjoy this time? All those answers and so much more are waiting for your eardrums. Listen!

Pun alert! It’s the Marx Brothers in a giant vat of Duck Soup, the 11th podcast on The Top 100 Project. Tune in for a surprisingly serious analysis of a goofy comedy. Or is it as goofy as people think? Start your bets for when Bev LOL’ed the first time. Which Marx bro was her favourite? Which one could she do without (hint: it isn’t Zeppo)…

We’re now 10 movies in! The Top 100 Project is proud to present a lengthy breakdown of monster classic King Kong. Put your monkey feet up and take in our musings about the oft-craptacular acting, the highly entertaining story, and the 3 key talents of Fay Wray (2 of which are body parts). Get this: Bev didn’t even get bored with this one! The podcast is yours.

The 9th podcast in the Top 100 Project is James Whale’s Frankenstein. Does the horror hold up? Is Boris Karloff the original zombie? Did the 70-minute film find a way to bore Bev? And what classic horror film do we agree is more deserving to be an AFIer than Frankenstein? All that and oodles more in a fun l’il 28-minute package!

The Top 100 Project’s 8th podcast takes us back into Charlie Chaplin’s quaint little world with City Lights. Put your Tramp shoes on and open your ears to us as we muse if this movie is quite as wonderful as the AFI claims it is. We’ll also talk yet again about how many hats Chaplin wore on a movie set, his legacy as a filmmaker, and we’ll take a big breath before highlighting the enormous amount of kudos.

The Top 100 Project’s Numero 7 film takes us into the depths of World War 1 with 1930′s All Quiet On The Western Front. Listeners will get to hear us pontificate about the movie’s technical excellence yet problematic dialogue, its massive influence on the war flicks that followed, and how we are asked to sympathize with our wartime enemy. Bev even finds time to rip on Steven Spielberg a few more times! The ‘cast is yours…

The 6th motion picture in The Top 100 Project takes us right back to the silent era with Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans! Spend 27 highly entertaining minutes with Bev & Ryan as they admire the tech achievements, make fun of the overwroughtiest of overwrought acting, and even speculate on the senselessness of wanting to murder everyone you meet.

The 5th flick in The Top 100 Project sees the cinema start to talk…and The Jazz Singer shows ‘em how! Lend us your ears as we break down the technical achievement of bringing a voice to the voiceless, as we mock the maudlin, and as we remind everyone that a Simpsons episode hit on the same story points just as effectively & way more funnily. There might even be a little vaudevillian-inspired singing!

Part 4 in The Top 100 Project takes us into Buster Keaton’s orbit with his silent comedy classic, The General. Come hear us as we mull over the ramifications of rooting for a Southerner in the Civil War, how uncool it is to throttle your lady, and how this is really just a Die Hard flick. Oh, and it’s purty funny too. We enjoyed the movie, now you should make some time to enjoy (or villify, it’s a free country) our podcast!

Part 3 in the Top 100 Project finds Bev and Ryan tackling Charlie Chaplin’s legendary tomfoolery in The Gold Rush. Come hear us try our hardest to attach social significance to what is really just a deliberately goofy and oft-hilarious movie. In honour of the late Roger Ebert, our thumbs are up! Bev had never seen a Chaplin flick before, but now she’s revved up to see some more. And you will be too after you listen to our podcast.

What’s the logical follow-up to a controversial three-hour silent epic? Another controversial three-hour silent epic! Listen to the second podcast in our weekly series. It’s D.W. Griffith’s Intolerance, in which we compare & contrast it to The Birth Of A Nation, question the validity of the movie’s title and try to avoid saying the word “intolerance” as often as the movie does. Action!

An introduction to The Top 100 Project podcast, where we explain our noble mission to watch each of the movies named in the AFI’s 1998 & 2007 lists of the best American movies of all time. What were their criteria? What are the lists' strengths? Shortcomings? Scandalous omissions? Check it out!

We're Ryan and Bev Ellis, married film nerds who've set a multi-year goal of talking about the American Film Institute’s 1998 and 2007 lists of the Top 100 American Films Ever Made. We’re podcasting about them chronologically, so we’ll start with 1915′s The Birth Of A Nation and eventually end with 2001′s The Lord Of The Rings: The Fellowship Of The Ring. We'll post 1 podcast every Monday. The first flick is a doozie: it's D.W. Griffith's The Birth Of A Nation! Controversial and epic, this one sticks with you.