AFI's 100 Years... 100 Stars (1999) (TV)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Gary Smith

Writers:

Marty Farrell (writer)
Richard Schickel (writer)

Genre:

Documentary

Plot:

The spectacular CBS special! Shirley Temple Black hosts the festivities as 50 of today's top stars count down the 50 greatest screen legends of all time. Features Clint Eastwood, Jack Lemmon, Shirley MacLaine, Kevin Spacey and many others. |

Plot Keywords:

American Film Institute | Actor | Actress | Comedian | Dancer

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Primetime Emmys.

Cast

Shirley Temple	...	Herself
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Kevin Bacon	...	Himself
Alec Baldwin	...	Himself
Jacqueline Bisset	...	Herself
Ernest Borgnine	...	Himself
James Caan	...	Himself
Jim Carrey	...	Himself
Chevy Chase	...	Himself
Cher	...	Herself
Kevin Costner	...	Himself
Claire Danes	...	Herself
Geena Davis	...	Herself
Laura Dern	...	Herself
Matt Dillon	...	Himself
Richard Dreyfuss	...	Himself
Clint Eastwood	...	Himself
Mia Farrow	...	Herself
Bridget Fonda	...	Herself
Peter Fonda	...	Himself
Morgan Freeman	...	Himself
Teri Garr	...	Herself
Whoopi Goldberg	...	Herself
Jeff Goldblum	...	Himself
Woody Harrelson	...	Himself
Richard Harris	...	Himself
Gregory Hines	...	Himself
Dustin Hoffman	...	Himself
Angelina Jolie	...	Herself
Michael Keaton	...	Himself
Jessica Lange	...	Herself
Shirley MacLaine	...	Herself
Marsha Mason	...	Herself
Marlee Matlin	...	Herself
Liza Minnelli	...	Herself
Mike Myers	...	Himself
Edward Norton	...	Himself
Edward James Olmos	...	Himself
Lynn Redgrave	...	Herself
Julia Roberts	...	Herself
Gena Rowlands	...	Herself
Kevin Spacey	...	Himself
Rod Steiger	...	Himself
Sharon Stone	...	Herself
Billy Bob Thornton	...	Himself
Lily Tomlin	...	Herself
Emily Watson	...	Herself
James Woods	...	Himself

Runtime:

135 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Black and White | Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Stereo

Company:

American Film Institute (AFI)

Movie Connections:

Followed by AFI's 100 Years, 100 Laughs: America's Funniest Movies (2000) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Without You

Pretty good for classic film buffs

I simply had to buy this DVD. Unlike feature films, documentaries and specials such as this (when you've already seen them) are great to put on when you have things to do around the house. You can do what you must do and not have to commit your undivided attention to what's playing. This is a great example because I am a classic film buff and I adore nearly all the actors featured in this special.

As for the list itself, it is a vast improvement over the poorly-representative, commercially-driven "100 Years, 100 Movies" from the previous year. I had only a couple of problems, but they were doozies:

The men: Orson Welles at #15?? No way should he be in the top 25 list of legendary ACTORS (now directors, that's another story) much less that close to the top 10. And Edward G. Robinson at #24?? Someone who was essentially a supporting character actor does not need mention in a list like this. The list omitted the luminaries Montgomery Clift and Rudolph Valentino, and to a lesser degree Rock Hudson, Richard Burton, W.C. Fields, and Charlton Heston. No way should any of these actors be outranked by Welles and Robinson.

The women: I am a huge Mae West fan so my opinion is somewhat partial, and while I do think she deserves a place in the top 25, I think that #15 is a bit high for her. And Lauren Bacall (#20) and Mary Pickford (#24) are indeed legends (the latter more so as a curio), but I do not think they should have made the list when Olivia de Havilland and Lana Turner did not. That is a big oversight, especially the omission of de Havilland. Simply ridiculous. Or Doris Day for that matter.

I think had they made it 30 men and 30 ladies, all would be satisfied. But what do I know?