The years have been kind to “Citizen Kane,” including the last decade.
The 1941 Orson Welles classic was again rated the best movie ever Wednesday by the American Film Institute.
In the CBS special “AFI’s 100 Years … 100 Movies — 10th Anniversary Edition,” “Citizen Kane” held the same No. 1 billing it earned in the institute’s first Top 100 ranking in 1998.
There were notable changes elsewhere, though, with Martin Scorsese’s 1980 masterpiece “Raging Bull” bounding upward from No. 24 in 1998 to No. 4 on the new list and Alfred Hitchcock’s 1958 thriller “Vertigo” hurtling from No. 61 to No. 9 this time.
Charles Chaplin’s 1931 silent gem “City Lights” jumped from No. 76 to No. 11, while the 1956 John Ford-John Wayne Western “The Searchers” took the biggest leap, from No. 96 all the way to No. 12.
“The Graduate” (1967) and “On the Waterfront” (1954) fell out of the Top 10.
The Top 100 were chosen from ballots sent to 1,500 filmmakers, actors, writers, critics and others in Hollywood from a list of 400 nominated movies, 43 of which came during the decade since the first list was compiled.
Of those newer films, only four made the new Top 100: 2001’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (No. 50), 1998’s “Saving Private Ryan” (No. 71), 1997’s “Titanic” (No. 83) and 1999’s “The Sixth Sense” (No. 89).
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The 10 best
1. “Citizen Kane,” 1941
2. “The Godfather,” 1972
3. “Casablanca,” 1942
4. “Raging Bull,” 1980
5. “Singin’ in the Rain,” 1952
6. “Gone With the Wind,” 1939
7. “Lawrence of Arabia,” 1962
8. “Schindler’s List,” 1993
9. “Vertigo,” 1958
10. “The Wizard of Oz,” 1939
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Personals was compiled by Emily Rosenbaum from Tribune news services and staff reports.
