100 Years, 100 Movies: No. 71

Back in 1998, the American Film Institute unveiled its list of the 100 greatest films as voted on by members of the cinematic community. The year, I'm looking at the films on that list, re-ranked according to my preference. Check back Fridays and Saturdays throughout the year as we walk through this list of classic films.

Gen. Yevgraf Zhivago: I told myself it was beneath my dignity to arrest a man for pilfering firewood. But nothing ordered by the party is beneath the dignity of any man, and the party was right: One man desperate for a bit of fuel is pathetic. Five million people desperate for fuel will destroy a city. That was the first time I ever saw my brother. But I knew him. And I knew that I would disobey the party. Perhaps it was the tie of blood between us, but I doubt it. We were only half tied anyway, and brothers will betray a brother. Indeed, as a policeman, I would say, get hold of a man's brother and you're halfway home. Nor was it admiration for a better man than me. I did admire him, but I didn't think he was a better man. Besides, I've executed better men than me with a small pistol.

Doctor Zhivago (1965)
Original List Position: 39
Starring: Omar Sharif, Julie Christie, and Alec Guinness
Director: David Lean
About: This is an epic film based on the novel from Boris Pasternak. It's set during World War I and the Russian Civil War. It's an epic and doomed love story, that won five Academy Awards, all for craft categories. It is also the highest ranked film on the original list (39) that did not make the list at all 10 years later. Some people love the film and the doomed romance. It features good performances from Sharif, Christie and Guinness, and it's an epic film directed by David Lean. But it is a commitment as yet another film on this list running more than three hours. Still, if you've never seen it the film is worth checking out.