AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies

The first of the AFI 100 Years... series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years... 100 American Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies. The 100-best list American films was unveiled in 1998. AFI released an updated list in 2007.

AFI 100 Years... series
1998100 Movies
1999100 Stars
2000100 Laughs
2001100 Thrills
2002100 Passions
2003100 Heroes & Villains
2004100 Songs
2005100 Movie Quotes
200525 Scores
2006100 Cheers
200625 Musicals
2007100 Movies (Updated)
2008AFI's 10 Top 10

Criteria

Films were judged according to the following criteria:

  1. Feature length: Narrative format, at least 60 minutes long.
  2. American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. (Certain films, notably The Bridge on the River Kwai, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia, were British-made but funded and distributed by American studios. The Lord of the Rings was New Zealand-made with American funding.)
  3. Critical recognition: Formal commendation in print.
  4. Major award winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from organizations in the film community and major film festivals.
  5. Popularity over time: Including figures for box office adjusted for inflation, television broadcasts and syndication, and home video sales and rentals.
  6. Historical significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other groundbreaking achievements.
  7. Cultural impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

[1]

List
FilmRelease yearDirectorProduction companies1998 Rank2007 Rank
Citizen Kane1941Orson WellesRKO Radio Pictures11
Casablanca1942Michael CurtizWarner Bros. Pictures23
The Godfather1972Francis Ford CoppolaParamount Pictures, Alfran Productions32
Gone with the Wind1939Victor FlemingSelznick International Pictures46
Lawrence of Arabia1962David LeanHorizon Pictures57
The Wizard of Oz1939Victor FlemingMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer610
The Graduate1967Mike NicholsLawrence Turman717
On the Waterfront1954Elia KazanHorizon-American Pictures819
Schindler's List1993Steven SpielbergAmblin Entertainment98
Singin' in the Rain1952Gene Kelly, Stanley DonenMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer105
It's a Wonderful Life1946Frank CapraLiberty Pictures1120
Sunset Boulevard1950Billy WilderParamount Pictures1216
The Bridge on the River Kwai1957David LeanHorizon-American Pictures1336
Some Like It Hot1959Billy WilderAshton Productions, The Mirisch Company1422
Star Wars1977George LucasLucasfilm1513
All About Eve1950Joseph L. Mankiewicz20th Century-Fox1628
The African Queen1951John HustonHorizon Enterprises, Romulus Films1765
Psycho1960Alfred HitchcockShamley Productions1814
Chinatown1974Roman PolanskiLong Road Productions1921
One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest1975Miloš FormanFantasy Films2033
The Grapes of Wrath1940John Ford20th Century-Fox2123
2001: A Space Odyssey1968Stanley KubrickMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer2215
The Maltese Falcon1941John HustonWarner Bros. Pictures2331
Raging Bull1980Martin ScorseseChartoff-Winkler Productions244
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial1982Steven SpielbergUniversal Pictures, Amblin Entertainment2524
Dr. Strangelove1964Stanley KubrickHawk Films, Polaris Productions2639
Bonnie and Clyde1967Arthur PennTatira-Hiller Productions2742
Apocalypse Now1979Francis Ford CoppolaOmni Zoetrope2830
Mr. Smith Goes to Washington1939Frank CapraColumbia Pictures2926
The Treasure of the Sierra Madre1948John HustonWarner Bros. Pictures3038
Annie Hall1977Woody AllenUnited Artists3135
The Godfather Part II1974Francis Ford CoppolaThe Coppola Company3232
High Noon1952Fred ZinnemannStanley Kramer Productions3327
To Kill a Mockingbird1962Robert MulliganPakula-Mulligan Productions, Brentwood Productions3425
It Happened One Night1934Frank CapraColumbia Pictures3546
Midnight Cowboy1969John SchlesingerJerome Hellman Productions3643
The Best Years of Our Lives1946William WylerSamuel Goldwyn Productions3737
Double Indemnity1944Billy WilderParamount Pictures3829
Doctor Zhivago1965David LeanCarlo Ponti Productions39-
North by Northwest1959Alfred HitchcockMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer4055
West Side Story1961Robert Wise, Jerome RobbinsBeta Productions, The Mirisch Company, Seven Arts Productions, B & P Enterprises4151
Rear Window1954Alfred HitchcockParamount Pictures, Patron4248
King Kong1933Merian C. CooperRKO Radio Pictures4341
The Birth of a Nation1915D. W. GriffithDavid W. Griffith Corp.44-
A Streetcar Named Desire1951Elia KazanWarner Bros. Pictures, Charles K. Feldman Productions4547
A Clockwork Orange1971Stanley KubrickPolaris Productions, Hawk Films4670
Taxi Driver1976Martin ScorseseB & P Enterprises, Italo-Judeo4752
Jaws1975Steven SpielbergUniversal Pictures, Zanuck/Brown Company4856
Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs1937David Hand, et al.Walt Disney Productions4934
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid1969George Roy HillCampanile Productions5073
The Philadelphia Story1940George CukorMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer5144
From Here to Eternity1953Fred ZinnemannColumbia Pictures52-
Amadeus1984Miloš FormanThe Saul Zaentz Company53-
All Quiet on the Western Front1930Lewis MilestoneUniversal Pictures54-
The Sound of Music1965Robert WiseArgyle Enterprises, 20th Century-Fox5540
M*A*S*H1970Robert AltmanAspen Productions5654
The Third Man1949Carol ReedLondon Film Productions57-
Fantasia1940Walt DisneyWalt Disney Productions58-
Rebel Without a Cause1955Nicholas RayWarner Bros. Pictures59-
Raiders of the Lost Ark1981Steven SpielbergLucasfilm6066
Vertigo1958Alfred HitchcockAlfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Paramount Pictures619
Tootsie1982Sydney PollackMirage Enterprises, Punch Productions, Columbia Pictures, Delphi Productions6269
Stagecoach1939John FordWalter Wanger Productions63-
Close Encounters of the Third Kind1977Steven SpielbergColumbia Pictures, EMI64-
The Silence of the Lambs1991Jonathan DemmeStrong Heart Productions6574
Network1976Sidney LumetMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer, United Artists6664
The Manchurian Candidate1962John FrankenheimerM. C. Productions67-
An American in Paris1951Vincente MinnelliMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer68-
Shane1953George StevensParamount Pictures6945
The French Connection1971William FriedkinD'Antoni Productions7093
Forrest Gump1994Robert ZemeckisThe Tisch Company7176
Ben-Hur1959William WylerMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer72100
Wuthering Heights1939William WylerSamuel Goldwyn Productions73-
The Gold Rush1925Charlie ChaplinCharles Chaplin Productions7458
Dances with Wolves1990Kevin CostnerTIG Productions, Majestic Films International75-
City Lights1931Charlie ChaplinCharles Chaplin Productions7611
American Graffiti1973George LucasCoppola Co., Lucasfilm7762
Rocky1976John G. AvildsenChartoff-Winkler Productions7857
The Deer Hunter1978Michael CiminoEMI7953
The Wild Bunch1969Sam PeckinpahPhil Feldman Productions, Warner Bros.-Seven Arts8079
Modern Times1936Charlie ChaplinCharles Chaplin Film Corp.8178
Giant1956George StevensWarner Bros. Pictures82-
Platoon1986Oliver StoneHemdale Film Corporation8386
Fargo1996Joel CoenWorking Title Films84-
Duck Soup1933Leo McCareyParamount Productions8560
Mutiny on the Bounty1935Frank LloydMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer86-
Frankenstein1931James WhaleUniversal Pictures87-
Easy Rider1969Dennis HopperThe Pando Company, Raybert Productions8884
Patton1970Franklin J. Schaffner20th Century-Fox89-
The Jazz Singer1927Alan CroslandWarner Bros. Pictures, The Vitaphone Corp.90-
My Fair Lady1964George CukorWarner Bros. Pictures91-
A Place in the Sun1951George StevensParamount Pictures92-
The Apartment1960Billy WilderThe Mirisch Company9380
Goodfellas1990Martin ScorseseWarner Bros. Pictures, Irwin Winkler Productions9492
Pulp Fiction1994Quentin TarantinoA Band Apart, Jersey Films9594
The Searchers1956John FordC. V. Whitney Pictures9612
Bringing Up Baby1938Howard HawksRKO Radio Pictures9788
Unforgiven1992Clint EastwoodThe Malpaso Company9868
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner1967Stanley KramerColumbia Pictures99-
Yankee Doodle Dandy1942Michael CurtizWarner Bros. Pictures10098
The General1926Buster KeatonBuster Keaton Productions, Joseph M. Schenck Productions-18
Intolerance1916D. W. GriffithReliance-Majestic Studios-49
The Fellowship of the Ring2001Peter JacksonNew Line Cinema, WingNut Films-50
Nashville1975Robert AltmanABC Motion Pictures-59
Sullivan's Travels1941Preston SturgesParamount Pictures-61
Cabaret1972Bob FosseABC Pictures, Allied Artists-63
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?1966Mike NicholsWarner Bros.-67
Saving Private Ryan1998Steven SpielbergAmblin Entertainment, DreamWorks Pictures-71
The Shawshank Redemption1994Frank DarabontCastle Rock Entertainment-72
In the Heat of the Night1967Norman JewisonThe Mirisch Corporation-75
All the President's Men1976Alan J. PakulaWildwood Enterprises-77
Spartacus1960Stanley KubrickBryna Productions-81
Sunrise1927F.W. MurnauFox Film Corporation-82
Titanic1997James CameronLightstorm Entertainment, Paramount Pictures-83
A Night at the Opera1935Sam WoodMetro-Goldwyn-Mayer-85
12 Angry Men1957Sidney LumetOrion-Nova Productions-87
The Sixth Sense1999M. Night ShyamalanHollywood Pictures-89
Swing Time1936George StevensRKO Radio Pictures-90
Sophie's Choice1982Alan J. PakulaITC Entertainment-91
The Last Picture Show1971Peter BogdanovichBBS Productions-95
Do the Right Thing1989Spike Lee40 Acres and a Mule Filmworks-96
Blade Runner1982Ridley ScottThe Ladd Company, Shaw Brothers-97
Toy Story1995John LasseterWalt Disney Pictures, Pixar Animation Studios-99

2007 changes

Twenty-three films were replaced in the 2007 tenth anniversary list. Doctor Zhivago, previously ranked #39, was the highest-ranked film to be dropped from the updated list, while The General at #18 was the highest-ranked new entry.

Broadcast history

Presentation broadcast on CBS

A 145-minute presentation of the 100 films aired on CBS on June 16, 1998.

Presentation broadcast on TNT

A 460-minute version aired as a 10-part series on TNT, narrated by James Woods and hosted by American talents as follows:

Presentation broadcast on TNT UK

Another version of the same 460-minute program was produced by Monique De Villiers and John Heyman from A World Production company to British television and market featuring different interviews and each segment being hosted by British talents in the following order:

Criticisms

As with awards, the list of those who vote and the final vote tally are not released to the public, nor the criteria for how the 400 nominated films have been selected.

On June 26, 1998, the Chicago Reader published an article by film critic Jonathan Rosenbaum which offers a detailed response to the movies in the AFI list, as well as criticism of the AFI's appropriation of British films, such as Lawrence of Arabia (albeit with aforementioned American funding) and The Third Man. Rosenbaum also produced an alternative list of 100 American movies that he felt had been overlooked by the AFI.[2] Rosenbaum chose to present this alternative list alphabetically since to rank them according to merit would be "tantamount to ranking oranges over apples or declaring cherries superior to grapes."

The AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) list includes five titles from Rosenbaum's list (including Do the Right Thing),[3] and the accompanying promotional poster lists the titles in alphabetical order.

See also

References
  1. "100 Greatest American Movies by AFI - Film Series". www.filmsite.org.
  2. Rosenbaum, Jonathan (June 26, 1998). "List-o-Mania: Or, How I Stopped Worrying and Learned to Love American Movies". Chicago Reader. Retrieved 2008-06-03.
  3. "What Are the AFI Top 100 Movies of All Time?". No Film School. July 13, 2020.
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