This summer’s blockbuster “The Dark Knight” has been
selected as one of the best 10 movies of the year by the American Film
Institute.
Animated film “Wall-E,” Clint Eastwood’s “Gran Torino” and
superhero hit “Iron Man” also made AFI’s list, which was released on Sunday.
Among AFI’s Top 10 movies were also indie dramas “Frozen River”
and “Wendy and Lucy,” Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon,” political biopic “Milk,” Darren
Aronofsky’s “The Wrestler,” as well as the Brad Pitt epic “The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button.”
Unlike other movie honors, the American Film Institute does
not rank pictures or choose one as the year’s best. The filmmakers who
contributed to the production of the top 10 selections will be awarded at a
luncheon scheduled to take place on January 9.
The Christopher Nolan-helmed “The Dark Knight,” starring
Christian Bale and the late Heath Ledger, has also been named one of the 15
semi-finalists for the best visual effects Academy Award. Other contenders
include the second “Chronicles of Narnia” movie, “Prince Caspian” and the most
recent James Bond flick, “Quantum of Solace.”
In addition, “Cloverfield,” “The Curious Case of Benjamin
Button” and the fourth “Indiana Jones” film are present on the longlist, which
is due to be reduced to seven productions next month.
Three films will subsequently be nominated for the Visual
Effects honor, which will be handed out at the Oscar ceremony on February 22.
Heath Ledger, who marvelously impersonated the Joker in the
sequel to “Batman Begins,” earned a posthumous nomination for a Golden Globe.
Several movies featured on AFI’s top 10 list picked up
Golden Globe nominations last week. David Fincher’s “The Curious Case of
Benjamin Button,” starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett is a contender for the
best drama prize, along with Ron Howard’s “Frost/Nixon,” which is based on the
Peter Morgan play about the well-known television interview of former President
Richard Nixon by David Frost.
The American Film Institute also released a list containing
this year’s top 10 television shows. The winners were “Breaking Bad,” “In
Treatment,” “John Adams,” “Life,” “Lost,” “Mad Men,” “The Office,” “Recount,”
“The Shield” and “The Wire.”
Two 13-person juries, which consisted of movie critics and
other distinguished figures in the film industry, took the decision over the
weekend after analyzing 2008’s finest productions. The panels included writer
Mark Harris, filmmaker Robert Towne, as well as critics Leonard Maltin, Elvis
Mitchell and Richard Schickel.
The Los Angeles Film Critics Association offered last week
its best picture award to “Wall-E” and chose “The Dark Knight” as runner-up,
while “Milk” was named best film of the year by the New York Film Critics
Circle.
