Students say a list of the greatest movies of all time compiled by film professionals will not influence their choices at the video store counter.

Last month, the American Film Institute released a list of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, as chosen by a panel of 1,500 influential executives and artists in the film community.

“Citizen Kane” (1941) topped the list, followed by “Casablanca” (1942) at no. 2 and “The Godfather” (1972) at no. 3. (See sidebar for the top 5 films).

Only three of the 12 ISU students questioned had seen “Citizen Kane;” five had seen “Casablanca,” and six had seen “The Godfather.”

Laura Deneke, junior in economics, said she wanted to see some of the movies on the list, but the fact the AFI had recognized them did not influence her.

“I will not go out and rent them solely because they were placed on the list,” Deneke said. “I want to see ‘Citizen Kane’ because for years people have told me what a wonderful movie it is, not because the AFI said it was.”

John Peterson, senior in civil engineering, said AFI’s selections have had more of an impact on his wife’s video-renting habits than his own.

“She [rents] one from the list, I get what I want,” he said.

To determine the top 100 movies, AFI first selected 400 movies to place on a ballot from a list of over 40,000 American movies. Films on the ballot met the criteria of being an American, feature-length film; receiving critical recognition and major awards; popularity over time, based on box office figures, sales and rentals; historical significance through technical innovation and cultural impact.

Hollywood Video, 637 Lincoln Way, responded to the release of the AFI’s ratings by creating a special section on their new release wall for titles in the top 100. Andy Dosh, senior manager, said rentals of films on the list have increased 60 to 70 percent.

“We have ordered in some more … to compensate for what we’ve been renting,” Dosh said.

Although AFI cited these movies as the best, ISU students had mixed opinions.

Bryan Burkhardt, Government of the Student Body president, said he had seen “Citizen Kane” but didn’t care for the film.

“I’m not a big fan of old movies,” he said.

Several students agreed that “The Godfather” had earned its place near the top of the list.

“It had everything in it. It wasn’t just a mobster movie,” said Erica Tendall, junior in art. “And Al Pacino is classic.”

Several students were impressed that their favorite films were included in the top 100.

“I love everything about it. The story … is wonderful. It has so many different elements,” Rachel Egeland, junior in liberal arts, said of no. 4 “Gone With the Wind.”

Dave Stokes’ favorite movie, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest,” came in at no. 20.

“The portrayal of a leader inside an insane asylum, outside of normality was very fascinating. Stanley Kubrick forces people to take a look at things they are uncomfortable with,” he said.

“Pulp Fiction” was another favorite of students; it ranked 95th on AFI’s list.

“I’m surprised ‘Pulp Fiction’ made the list, but I’m glad it did. I think Quentin Tarantino is a genius,” Stokes said.

Other popular flicks with ISU students that didn’t make AFI’s cut, included “Reservoir Dogs,” “Pretty Woman,” “Four Rooms,” “Alice in Wonderland,” “Stand By Me” and “The Shawshank Redemption.”

“I’ve never met a person who didn’t like [The Shawshank Redemption]. It’s about hope,” said Cathy Lewis, senior in elementary education.

ISU President Martin Jischke’s favorite movie is no. 2 “Casablanca.” Jischke said he was a Humphrey Bogart fan and called the film one of the great films of all time.

“I enjoy movies that are dramatic, cause you to think and are well-staged,” Jischke said. “I think ‘Casablanca’ has all of that and more.”

Burkhardt, junior in computer engineering, said “Sneakers” was his favorite movie, “because it’s about computers.”

Although some students shared the taste of the AFI panelists, most said the list would not affect their movie-watching patterns.

“Movies are for entertainment value,” Burkhardt said. “If you’re entertained by it, it doesn’t matter what it rates. [AFI’s] movie professionals judge on different things than a college student.”

Leland Poague, professor of English who teaches film at ISU, said a factor of “contemplatability” makes a good movie.

Poague said a movie is great “if you can keep seeing a film and keep thinking about it, can keep coming back and finding new things.”

The validity of the list was questionable, he said.

“Any list that includes ‘Fargo’ on the top 100, as much as I like ‘Fargo,’ … and doesn’t have, let’s say, ‘Red River,’ is from my viewpoint laughable,” Poague said. He said he would have placed “The Searchers” (1956) at the top of the list. The AFI rated it at no. 96.

Students also had some opinions about movies that should have been added to the list.

Lewis said 1961’s “Breakfast at Tiffany’s” is a classic film.

“It’s one of those movies, that if you think of an old movie you’ve seen, most people have seen it,” she said.

Denelle Brainard, senior in fine arts, was surprised that “Philadelphia” (1993) was not mentioned.

“It was one of the first major motion pictures about AIDS. It was ground-breaking,” she said.

Other movies students felt were slighted included “Casino,” “A Perfect World” and “Stand By Me.”

“[Stand By Me] was a really classy movie,” said Lee Mason, junior in chemical engineering. “It was done with style, good acting, good plot, really fun to watch and was sad — all good aspects a movie should have.”

Poague said he thought the AFI list would become a “tool” by which the public measures movies.

“It’s going to have real effects,” he said. “I suppose most of those effects would be good, but they could have been better.”

Poague said he felt the list lacked representation of a diverse group of filmmakers, and there were few, if any, films done by African-American or female directors.

“‘Dances with Wolves’ and ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ are about as close as that list gets to anything you might call multiculturalism,” he said.

Poague cited “The Sound of Music” as another movie that made the list “laughable” from his viewpoint.

Several students said they were surprised to find “Forrest Gump” on the list.

“I hated that movie,” Egeland said.

Other movies students said should be cut from the list included “Easy Rider” (no. 88), “Dances With Wolves” (no. 75) and “To Kill a Mockingbird (no. 34).”

“The book [To Kill a Mockingbird] was slick; the movie dragged on and on,” Mason said.

Deneke pointed out that the list was not static.

“If you did this list 20 years from now you’d see a lot more movies from our generation,” she said.

Although the list only includes movies through 1996, Poague said it would be hard to determine at this point which new movies might be considered “great.”

“The thing you are least likely to be capable of doing is to look at a film you see tomorrow and say, ‘This is a film for the ages,'” he said.

“I don’t think ‘Titanic’ is ever going to get there.”