AFI's 10 Top 10 honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres.[1] Presented by the American Film Institute (AFI), the lists were unveiled on a television special broadcast by CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors and directors, among them Clint Eastwood, Quentin Tarantino, Kirk Douglas, Harrison Ford, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg, George Lucas, Roman Polanski, and Jane Fonda, discussed their admiration for and personal contributions to the films cited.
The entire list of 500 nominated films is available on the American Film Institute website.
To date, this is the final program in AFI's countdown specials.[2]
Animation
AFI defines "animation" as a genre where the film's images are primarily created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors. Nine of the films are Disney properties, including two collaborative works with Pixar; the non-Disney selection is DreamWorks Animation's Shrek.
Courtroom drama
AFI defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative.
Epic
AFI defines "epic" as a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic interpretation of the past.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
Lawrence of Arabia
|
1962
|
|
| 2
|
Ben-Hur
|
1959
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #72
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #49
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #21
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #56
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #100
|
| 3
|
Schindler's List
|
1993
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #9
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #3
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #8
|
| 4
|
Gone with the Wind
|
1939
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #4
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #2
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a damn." – #1
- "After all, tomorrow is another day!" – #31
- "As God is my witness, I'll never be hungry again." – #59
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #2
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #43
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #6
|
| 5
|
Spartacus
|
1960
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #62
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #44
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #81
|
| 6
|
Titanic
|
1997
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #25
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #37
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "I'm the king of the world!" – #100
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #83
|
| 7
|
All Quiet on the Western Front
|
1930
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #54
|
| 8
|
Saving Private Ryan
|
1998
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #45
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #10
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #71
|
| 9
|
Reds
|
1981
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #55
|
| 10
|
The Ten Commandments
|
1956
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #79
|
Fantasy
AFI defines "fantasy" as a genre in which live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
The Wizard of Oz
|
1939
|
|
| 2
|
The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring
|
2001
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #50
|
| 3
|
It's a Wonderful Life
|
1946
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #11
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #8
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- Mr. Potter – #6 Villain
- George Bailey – #9 Hero
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #1
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #20
|
| 4
|
King Kong
|
1933
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #43
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #12
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #24
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Oh, no, it wasn't the airplanes. It was beauty killed the beast." – #84
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #13
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #41
|
| 5
|
Miracle on 34th Street
|
1947
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #9
|
| 6
|
Field of Dreams
|
1989
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "If you build it, he will come." – #39
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #28
|
| 7
|
Harvey
|
1950
|
|
| 8
|
Groundhog Day
|
1993
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #34
|
| 9
|
The Thief of Bagdad
|
1924
|
|
| 10
|
Big
|
1988
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #42
|
Gangster
AFI defines the "gangster film" as a genre that centers on organized crime or maverick criminals in a modern setting.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
The Godfather
|
1972
|
|
| 2
|
Goodfellas
|
1990
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #94
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #92
|
| 3
|
The Godfather Part II
|
1974
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #32
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Keep your friends close, but your enemies closer." – #58
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #32
|
| 4
|
White Heat
|
1949
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- Cody Jarrett – #26 Villain
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Made it, Ma! Top of the world!" – #18
|
| 5
|
Bonnie and Clyde
|
1967
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #27
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #13
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #65
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #42
|
| 6
|
Scarface: The Shame of a Nation
|
1932
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- Tony Camonte – #47 Villain
|
| 7
|
Pulp Fiction
|
1994
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #95
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #53
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #94
|
| 8
|
The Public Enemy
|
1931
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
|
| 9
|
Little Caesar
|
1931
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- Caesar Enrico Bandello – #38 Villain
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Mother of mercy, is this the end of Rico?" – #73
|
| 10
|
Scarface
|
1983
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Say 'hello' to my little friend!" – #61
|
Mystery
AFI defines "mystery" as a genre that revolves around the solution of a crime. Four of the films were directed by Alfred Hitchcock.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
Vertigo
|
1958
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #61
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #18
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #18
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #12
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #9
|
| 2
|
Chinatown
|
1974
|
|
| 3
|
Rear Window
|
1954
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #42
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #14
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #48
|
| 4
|
Laura
|
1944
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #73
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #7
|
| 5
|
The Third Man
|
1949
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #57
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #75
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
|
| 6
|
The Maltese Falcon
|
1941
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #23
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #26
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "The stuff that dreams are made of." – #14
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #31
|
| 7
|
North by Northwest
|
1959
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #40
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #4
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #55
|
| 8
|
Blue Velvet
|
1986
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #96
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- Frank Booth – #36 Villain
|
| 9
|
Dial M for Murder
|
1954
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #48
|
| 10
|
The Usual Suspects
|
1995
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
|
Romantic comedy
AFI defines "romantic comedy" as a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
City Lights
|
1931
|
|
| 2
|
Annie Hall
|
1977
|
|
| 3
|
It Happened One Night
|
1934
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #35
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #8
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #38
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #46
|
| 4
|
Roman Holiday
|
1953
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #4
|
| 5
|
The Philadelphia Story
|
1940
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #51
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #15
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #44
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #44
|
| 6
|
When Harry Met Sally...
|
1989
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #23
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #25
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "I'll have what she's having." – #33
|
| 7
|
Adam's Rib
|
1949
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #22
|
| 8
|
Moonstruck
|
1987
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #41
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #17
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
|
| 9
|
Harold and Maude
|
1971
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #45
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #69
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #89
|
| 10
|
Sleepless in Seattle
|
1993
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #45
|
Science fiction
AFI defines "science fiction" as a genre that marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
2001: A Space Odyssey
|
1968
|
|
| 2
|
Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
|
1977
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #15
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #27
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "May the Force be with you." – #8
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #1
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #39
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #13
|
| 3
|
E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial
|
1982
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #25
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #44
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores – #14
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #6
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #24
|
| 4
|
A Clockwork Orange
|
1971
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #46
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #21
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #70
|
| 5
|
The Day the Earth Stood Still
|
1951
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #82
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #67
|
| 6
|
Blade Runner
|
1982
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #74
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #97
|
| 7
|
Alien
|
1979
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #6
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
|
| 8
|
Terminator 2: Judgment Day
|
1991
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #77
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Hasta la vista, baby." – #76
|
| 9
|
Invasion of the Body Snatchers
|
1956
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #47
|
| 10
|
Back to the Future
|
1985
|
|
Sports
AFI defines "sports" as a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
Raging Bull
|
1980
|
|
| 2
|
Rocky
|
1976
|
|
| 3
|
The Pride of the Yankees
|
1942
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Today, I consider myself the luckiest man on the face of the earth." – #38
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #22
|
| 4
|
Hoosiers
|
1986
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #13
|
| 5
|
Bull Durham
|
1988
|
|
| 6
|
The Hustler
|
1961
|
|
| 7
|
Caddyshack
|
1980
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs – #71
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Cinderella story. Out of nowhere. A former greenskeeper, now about to become the Masters champion. It looks like a mirac - It's in the hole! It's in the hole!" – #92
|
| 8
|
Breaking Away
|
1979
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #8
|
| 9
|
National Velvet
|
1944
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #24
|
| 10
|
Jerry Maguire
|
1996
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions – #100
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Show me the money!" – #25
- "You had me at 'hello'." – #52
|
Western
AFI defines "western" as a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier. Actor John Wayne has lead roles in three of the ten films.
| #
|
Film
|
Year
|
Other Listings in AFI 100 Years... series
|
| 1
|
The Searchers
|
1956
|
|
| 2
|
High Noon
|
1952
|
|
| 3
|
Shane
|
1953
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #69
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes
- "Shane. Shane. Come back!" – #47
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers – #53
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #45
|
| 4
|
Unforgiven
|
1992
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #98
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #68
|
| 5
|
Red River
|
1948
|
|
| 6
|
The Wild Bunch
|
1969
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #80
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #69
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #79
|
| 7
|
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid
|
1969
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #50
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills – #54
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) – #73
|
| 8
|
McCabe & Mrs. Miller
|
1971
|
|
| 9
|
Stagecoach
|
1939
|
- AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies – #63
|
| 10
|
Cat Ballou
|
1965
|
|
[3]
References
External links