Florida International University professor and all around curmudgeon Stanley Fish is up to his old -- and we do me old -- tricks in the New York Times again.
You might recall Fish's classic work of grumpy grandpa journalism in the Times last summer, when the 70-year-old eminent postmodern scholar "discovered" Starbucks, where apparently you have to suffer unbearable slights such as "waiting in line" for coffee and "finding your own cream and sugar." Fish was aghast. And Slate was inspired to name his piece the single "worst op-ed ever written."
His latest opinion offering for the Times -- penned last week and hovering on the most-read list since then -- offers his take on the top ten American movies ever produced. Riptide isn't sure it rises to a "worst ever" level of awfulness, but Good god, is it a curmudgeonly old-guy list.
Check out his full rankings after the jump, but know this: Only two films made after the Eisenhower administration make Fish's cut. And one of those two is Groundhog Day. (WTF!?)
Now, Riptide isn't implying there aren't some damn good films on this list. How do you argue with Vertigo or Raging Bull?
But Groundhog Day is the best American film made since Reagan was elected president? And not a single movie made in the 1970s golden age of American cinema deserves a nod? Really?
Without further ado, Fish's list (in no particular order):
- The Best Years of Our Lives
- Sunset Boulevard
- Double Indemnity
- Shane
- Red River
- Raging Bull
- Vertigo
- Groundhog Day
- Meet Me in St. Louis
- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn
