Only one 21st-century film is in the AFI’s top 100 American movies of all time
When we consider the impossible question of the best movies of all time, we often look to the past and praise the films of such directors as Steven Spielberg, Francis Ford Coppola and Martin Scorsese. Whilst movies from such filmmakers are rightfully considered classics, many contemporary releases deserve to be mentioned in the conversation of the best American films of all time.
For our money, some of the best films of all time have come out in just the last decade, with Paul Thomas Anderson throwing his hat into the ring with his 2012 drama The Master, alongside Bong Joon Ho with his international sensation Parasite in 2019. With the freedom of modern technology, contemporary cinema has allowed other filmmakers like Barry Jenkins, Jonathan Glazer, Lars von Trier and Greta Gerwig to flourish.
But, for the American Film Institute, none of the aforementioned films was quite good enough to make the cut into the exclusive list of the 100 best American movies of all time. Featuring a host of 20th-century classics, with Orson Welles’ influential 1941 film Citizen Kane taking the number one spot, the only real shock from the AFI’s succinct list is the lack of 21st-century movies, with just one making the cut from the new millennium.
The lucky modern movie is Peter Jackson’s epic fantasy adventure Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, a movie that would kick off the trilogy that would forever change modern Hollywood cinema. Whilst the first film in the series only walked away with four technical awards at the 2002 Academy Awards, including Best Cinematography and Best Original Score, the movies would soon be showered with glory.
Telling the first chapter of Jackson’s epic tale, based on the novels by J.R.R. Tolkien, The Fellowship of the Ring sees a meek hobbit from the Shire set out on an epic adventure to destroy the powerful One Ring and defeat the Dark Lord Sauron. The film would spark an iconic trilogy and trigger the release of The Hobbit movies from 2012-2014, as well as the recent Amazon TV series Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Beginning initial production design in August 1997, four years before the movie’s theatrical release, Jackson demanded total realism for his grubby take on Middle Earth, commanding every facet of production to complete his artistic vision. Hiring the special effects and prop company Weta Workshop, Jackson worked with the specialists to craft specialist pieces of armour, weapons, prosthetics and creatures that would each be used in the final film to give a sense of authenticity to the fantasy epic.
Giving himself the time to plan and execute his grand vision with the appropriate verve to match his lofty ambitions, Jackson already had spectacular props, costumes and miniature sets prepared well before the trilogy shooting, helping them create the best piece of fantasy cinema ever brought to the big screen.
