Making a list of the top 100 films of all time is pretty much impossible and looking at why they do it you can come up with a variety of reasons from hoping to invigorate DVD sales or just make some money one night, but it is interesting nonetheless. The last time the American Film Institute (AFI) released a list of their top 100 movies was in 1998 and this time around there aren’t a ton of changes at the top outside of Raging Bull creeping in from #24 to #4 and Vertigo making the #9 spot after being #61 in 1998.
To tell you the truth I don’t quite understand how a movie that was made in 1958 can all of a sudden be 52 spots better in 9 years. Considering none of the films in the top 49 were made after 1993 makes me think that none of them would actually change, but oh well.
I have gone ahead and noted the new additions to the list, and out of the 43 newly eligible films released from 1996 to 2006 only Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring, Saving Private Ryan, Titanic and The Sixth Sense made it on the list, and of that bunch only Fellowship of the Ring cracked the top 50. The biggest jump was made by John Ford’s The Searchers, which rose 84 spots to #12.
Steven Spielberg is the most prominant director with five films, while Alfred Hitchcock, Stanley Kubrick and Billy Wilder each have four films on the list. Frank Capra, Charles Chaplin, Francis Ford Coppola, John Huston and Martin Scorsese each have three.
Robert De Niro and James Stewart are the most represented actors with five films each. Faye Dunaway, Katharine Hepburn and Diane Keaton are the most represented actresses with three films each.
So with all that said, here is the list:
- CITIZEN KANE (1941) [previously #1]
- THE GODFATHER (1972) [previously #3]
- CASABLANCA (1942) [previously #2]
- RAGING BULL (1980) [previously #24]
- SINGIN’ IN THE RAIN (1952) [previously #10]
- GONE WITH THE WIND (1939) [previously #4]
- LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962) [previously #5]
- SCHINDLER’S LIST (1993) [previously #9]
- VERTIGO (1958) [previously #61]
- THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939) [previously #6]
- CITY LIGHTS (1931)
- THE SEARCHERS (1956)
- STAR WARS (1977)
- PSYCHO (1960)
- 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
- SUNSET BLVD. (1950)
- THE GRADUATE (1967)
- THE GENERAL (1927) NEW!
- ON THE WATERFRONT (1954)
- IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE (1946)
- CHINATOWN (1974)
- SOME LIKE IT HOT (1959)
- THE GRAPES OF WRATH (1940)
- E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
- TO KILL A MOCKINGBIRD (1962)
- MR. SMITH GOES TO WASHINGTON (1939)
- HIGH NOON (1952)
- ALL ABOUT EVE (1950)
- DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
- APOCALYPSE NOW (1979)
- THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
- THE GODFATHER PART II (1974)
- ONE FLEW OVER THE CUCKOO’S NEST (1975)
- SNOW WHITE AND THE SEVEN DWARFS (1937)
- ANNIE HALL (1977)
- THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
- THE BEST YEARS OF OUR LIVES (1946)
- THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
- DR. STRANGELOVE (1964)
- THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
- KING KONG (1933)
- BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
- MIDNIGHT COWBOY (1969)
- THE PHILADELPHIA STORY (1940)
- SHANE (1953)
- IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT (1934)
- A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE (1951)
- REAR WINDOW (1954)
- INTOLERANCE (1916) NEW!
- THE LORD OF THE RINGS: THE FELLOWSHIP OF THE RING (2001) NEW!
- WEST SIDE STORY (1961)
- TAXI DRIVER (1976)
- THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
- M*A*S*H (1970)
- NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
- JAWS (1975)
- ROCKY (1976)
- THE GOLD RUSH (1925)
- NASHVILLE (1975) NEW!
- DUCK SOUP (1933)
- SULLIVAN’S TRAVELS (1941) NEW!
- AMERICAN GRAFFITI (1973)
- CABARET (1972) NEW!
- NETWORK (1976)
- THE AFRICAN QUEEN (1951)
- RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
- WHO’S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF? (1966) NEW!
- UNFORGIVEN (1992)
- TOOTSIE (1982)
- A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
- SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998) NEW!
- THE SHAWSHANK REDEMPTION (1994) NEW!
- BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
- THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
- IN THE HEAT OF THE NIGHT (1967) NEW!
- FORREST GUMP (1994)
- ALL THE PRESIDENT’S MEN (1976) NEW!
- MODERN TIMES (1936)
- THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
- THE APARTMENT (1960)
- SPARTACUS (1960) NEW!
- SUNRISE (1927) NEW!
- TITANIC (1997) NEW!
- EASY RIDER (1969)
- A NIGHT AT THE OPERA (1935) NEW!
- PLATOON (1986)
- 12 ANGRY MEN (1957) NEW!
- BRINGING UP BABY (1938)
- THE SIXTH SENSE (1999) NEW!
- SWING TIME (1936) NEW!
- SOPHIE’S CHOICE (1982) NEW!
- GOODFELLAS (1990)
- THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
- PULP FICTION (1994)
- THE LAST PICTURE SHOW (1971) NEW!
- DO THE RIGHT THING (1989) NEW!
- BLADE RUNNER (1982) NEW!
- YANKEE DOODLE DANDY (1942)
- TOY STORY (1995) NEW!
- BEN-HUR (1959)
You wonder how they make such a list? Well, to compile the final list, AFI distributed a ballot with 400 nominated movies to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, and cinematographers), critics and historians.
AFI asks jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection process:
- Feature-Length Fiction Film: Narrative format, typically over 60 minutes in length.
- American Film: Motion picture with significant creative and/or production elements from the United States.
- Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print, television and digital media.
- Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.
- Popularity Over Time: Including success at the box office, television and cable airings, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.
- Historical Significance: A film’s mark on the history of the moving image through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation or other groundbreaking achievements.
- Cultural Impact: A film’s mark on American society in matters of style and substance.
- AFI also allowed five write-in votes per ballot.
Now, for a bit of fun how about the worst films… This little video has been making the rounds and you just might enjoy it.
