Relive movie memories as 'The Ultimate Memorabilia Collection' rides into Las Vegas this week

No sooner did the American Film Institute release its picks of the "100 Greatest Movies Of All Time" earlier this summer than the nitpicking began.

What? No Garbo? No Buster Keaton? How could they leave out Spike Lee? Astaire and Rogers? And James Bond? How could they include "The Birth of a Nation" and "Easy Rider?" How could they leave out "The Sting" and "Gunga Din?"

The debate raged for days. There was too much old stuff. There was not enough really old stuff. Too few women were represented. There were not enough blacks.

Finally, here comes the payoff:

A 47-foot long Blockbuster truck will roll through town, parking at the Monte Carlo hotel-casino Friday and Saturday as part of a 90-day, cross-country tourdisplaying "The Ultimate Memorabilia Collection."

The free display, presented jointly by Blockbuster and AFI, takes about 15 minutes to stroll through and has attracted 5,000-7,000 viewers a day in other stops so far.

For those who have already seen all the movie memorabilia Las Vegas has to offer -- the phasers at the Hilton's Star Trek exhibit, Marilyn Monroe's white gravity-defying dress at Debbie Reynolds' in-limbo collection, the pieces from the set of "Titantic" at Antiquties in the Forum Shops, and even the stars' hand prints at Planet Hollywood -- the AFI tour offers one more venue for celebrity worship.

Of special interest to locals will be props from the 1995 film "Casino," featuring chips from the imaginary "Tangiers" casino. There's also a mock copy of an old Las Vegas Sun with the headline "Rothstein Sues Gaming Commission," featuring a photo of Robert DeNiro as the character Sam "Ace" Rothstein and a "Where I Stand" column by the late Sun founder Hank Greenspun.

Inexplicably, much of this movie memorabilia comes from films such as "Casino" that didn't even make the "100 Greatest" list, and others that surely didn't even come close: There's a Faber cheerleder costume from "Animal House"; Tom Cruise's racing suit from "Days of Thunder"; the suits worn by Will Smith and Tommy Lee Jones in "Men in Black"; and Whoopi Goldberg's psychic outfit from "Ghost."

Blockbuster spokeswoman Karen Raskopf explains that the memorabilia is meant to celebrate 100 years of movie-making and didn't limit the memorabilia solely to the Top 100. "We knew that we wanted to have movie memorabilia that would appeal across the generations," she says.

Other items do come from the tippy-top of the list, including Conrad Veidt's Nazi uniform from "Casablanca" (No. 2), the best picture Oscar for "The Godfather" (No. 3) and Vivien Leigh's waistcoat from "Gone with the Wind" (No. 4).

"It's such a kick to see Vivien Leigh's waistcoat and compare it to (the accompanying) photo from the movie," she adds. "You feel again the emotions you saw when you saw that movie, and think, 'Wow, that star really wore that.' "

So, movie lovers, pay your proper respect to this exhibit, before it's gone with the wind -- and you're left sighing: Play it again, Sam.

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