I’m fully convinced that the hardest part of making a New Year’s resolution is choosing one, not keeping it. Classic resolutions just don’t inspire me, so as each year draws to a close, I’m faced with the delightful challenge of coming up with a unique, creative resolution that I can get excited about. Thanks to some Wikipedia-surfing after watching “42nd Street” earlier this week, I have made just such a resolution.
My resolution for 2009 is to watch all 25 movies on the American Film Institute’s list of the top musicals of all time.
1. Singin’ in the Rain * (01.10.09)
2. West Side Story
3. The Wizard of Oz
4. The Sound of Music *
5. Cabaret
6. Mary Poppins * (03.14.09)
7. A Star Is Born
8. My Fair Lady * (05.20.09)
9. An American in Paris (02.27.09)
10. Meet Me in St. Louis (05.21.09)
11. The King and I
12. Chicago (04.18.09)
13. 42nd Street * (04.26.09)
14. All That Jazz
15. Top Hat (05.16.09)
16. Funny Girl (02.25.09)
17. The Band Wagon
18. Yankee Doodle Dandy
19. On the Town (05.17.09)
20. Grease
21. Seven Brides for Seven Brothers *
22. Beauty and the Beast
23. Guys and Dolls * (01.30.09)
24. Show Boat * (05.24.09)
25. Moulin Rouge!
Surprisingly, I have seen only eight of the musicals on the list (indicated by an asterisk)… but I’ll be happy to watch those again during 2009! Like my list of “101 Things in 1001 Days,” I’ll come back and add the date when I watch each of the 25 movies.
Meanwhile, I guess I’ll be hosting a lot of movie nights. Popcorn, anyone?
Hi! I'm Rachel, and I'm so glad you're here. I make creative projects and intentional choices to create a life I love -- and I hope to inspire you to do the same! 
I love movies! Give me a call if you want a buddy. Oh and I have My Fair Lady on VHS if you want to borrow it (and you have a video player, which I don’t anymore).
i’ve seen 16! when i was growing up, the extent of our public library’s video collection was pretty much shirley temple and rodgers and hammerstein musicals, and we watched them over and over. i’m surprised some of them aren’t on this list–but i suppose that just because i saw them 20 times doesn’t mean everyone else did. 🙂
really fun resolution–way to be creative!
I think I’ll watch some of those, and some of these:
http://www.infoplease.com/ipea/A0760906.html
What?! The Blues Brothers isn’t on the list?!
Great idea! I’ve seen only 6 — sadly we don’t live close enough to have a musical marathon and I’m pretty sure Jason has no interest in joining me for one. He’s not a fan….sigh….I can’t understand why not! I love them!
Laura: Fortunately, all but three of them are available at the public library — and fortunately I still have a VHS player!
Katie: You are sixteen, going on seventeen… 😉
Phoebe: Great idea! I started on that list a couple years ago, but only ended up watching four that I hadn’t seen before.
John David: I’ll add The Blues Brothers to my list of musicals that I haven’t seen and that aren’t on the AFI list.
Sarah: If I happen to make it to Jersey in 2009, I’ll definitely watch a musical with you. 🙂
what about Fiddler on the Roof? That’s my favorite!
i’ve seen 19! i love the goal! you’ll get some great enjoyment out of them. not that i agree with that list cause i strongly dislike some of them. have fun! 🙂
Bruce: I love Fiddler too, so I listened to the sound track tonight while I was baking cookies. Thanks for the inspiration.
iamamoser: 19? Impressive!
Wow – I’ve only seen eight of these… I need to get out more. My husband is trying to watch movies off of the 1000 best classics (I think it’s from the NY Times). Not in one year, thankfully, we’ve been working on it for a while now. It’s going to take at least five years and by then, there will be a whole new list. Good thing I love movies!
Tabitha: 1000? Doesn’t that kind of dilute the significance of making it onto the list??