AFI’s Top 100 Greatest Movies of All Time

 Citizen Kane

The American Film Institute has released it’s annual list of the top 100 greatest movies of all time. This list, like most other lists, will probably lead to more than a few disagreements. There are placement problems (Titanic places higher than Blade Runner?), there are movies that deserve to be on the list but aren’t (Roger Ebert pointed out Fargo’s absence) and even movies that are on the list but shouldn’t be (Platoon?). And Citizen Kane is #1 yet again. I understand why this movie should have a place on this list. I understand the film’s importance. But don’t you think it’s time to give another film the spotlight? There is not a film in the top 49 spots that was made in the last 14 years. And by my count, there is only one movie listed from this  millennium (Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring). Check out the list after the jump.


AMERICAN FILM INSTITUTE’S GREATEST MOVIES

1. “Citizen Kane” (1941)
2. “The Godfather” (1972)
3. “Casablanca” (1942)
4. “Raging Bull” (1980)
5. “Singin’ in the Rain” (1952)
6. “Gone With the Wind” (1939)
7. “Lawrence of Arabia” (1962)
8. “Schindler’s List” (1993)
9. “Vertigo” (1958)
10. “The Wizard of Oz” (1939)
11. “City Lights” (1931)
12. “The Searchers” (1956)
13. “Star Wars” (1977)
14. “Psycho” (1960)
15. “2001: A Space Odyssey” (1968)
16. “Sunset Boulevard” (1950)
17. “The Graduate” (1967)
18. “The General” (1927)
19. “On the Waterfront” (1954)
20. “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)
21. “Chinatown” (1974)
22. “Some Like It Hot” (1959)
23. “The Grapes of Wrath” (1940)
24. “E.T. — The Extra-Terrestrial” (1982)
25. “To Kill a Mockingbird” (1962)
26. “Mr. Smith Goes to Washington” (1939)
27. “High Noon” (1952)
28. “All About Eve” (1950)
29. “Double Indemnity” (1944)
30. “Apocalypse Now” (1979)
31. “The Maltese Falcon” (1941)
32. “The Godfather, Part II” (1974)
33. “One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest” (1975)
34. “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs” (1937)
35. “Annie Hall” (1977)
36. “The Bridge on the River Kwai” (1957)
37. “The Best Years of Our Lives” (1946)
38. “The Treasure of the Sierra Madre” (1948)
39. “Dr. Strangelove” (1964)
40. “The Sound of Music” (1965)
41. “King Kong” (1933)
42. “Bonnie and Clyde” (1967)
43. “Midnight Cowboy” (1969)
44. “The Philadelphia Story” (1940)
45. “Shane” (1953)
46. “It Happened One Night” (1934)
47. “A Streetcar Named Desire” (1951)
48. “Rear Window” (1954)
49. “Intolerance” (1916)
50. “Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring” (2001)
51. “West Side Story” (1961)
52. “Taxi Driver” (1976)
53. “The Deer Hunter” (1978)
54. “M*A*S*H” (1970)
55. “North by Northwest” (1959)
56. “Jaws” (1975)
57. “Rocky” (1976)
58. “The Gold Rush” (1925)
59. “Nashville” (1975)
60. “Duck Soup” (1933)
61. “Sullivan’s Travels” (1941)
62. “American Graffiti” (1973)
63. “Cabaret” (1972)
64. “Network” (1976)
65. “The African Queen” (1951)
66. “Raiders of the Lost Ark” (1981)
67. “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” (1966)
68. “Unforgiven” (1992)
69. “Tootsie” (1982)
70. “A Clockwork Orange” (1971)
71. “Saving Private Ryan” (1998)
72. “The Shawshank Redemption” (1994)
73. “Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid” (1969)
74. “The Silence of the Lambs” (1991)
75. “In the Heat of the Night” (1967)
76. “Forrest Gump” (1994)
77. “All the President’s Men” (1976)
78. “Modern Times” (1936)
79. “The Wild Bunch” (1969)
80. “The Apartment” (1960)
81. “Spartacus” (1960)
82. “Sunrise” (1927)
83. “Titanic” (1997)
84. “Easy Rider” (1969)
85. “A Night at the Opera” (1935)
86. “Platoon” (1986)
87. “12 Angry Men” (1957)
88. “Bringing Up Baby” (1938)
89. “The Sixth Sense” (1999)
90. “Swing Time” (1936)
91. “Sophie’s Choice” (1982)
92. “Goodfellas” (1990)
93. “The French Connection” (1971)
94. “Pulp Fiction” (1994)
95. “The Last Picture Show” (1971)
96. “Do the Right Thing” (1989)
97. “Blade Runner” (1982)
98. “Yankee Doodle Dandy” (1942)
99. “Toy Story” (1995)
100. “Ben-Hur” (1959)

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  • morgan
    i think titanic should be number one
  • JONNY
    The list compiled by the American Film Institute is an astoundingly biased appraisal of the work undertaken by the Hollywood Movie Indusrty in the last 80 years. With only twelve representatives from the last 17 years, the list has all but abandoned the most innovative period in film -making history.For example: Just as 'Terminator 2' transformed the action/sci fi for the 1990's, 'The Matrix' revolutionalised the genre for the 21st century. While i agree with many of the placements in the list,there has been a remarkable oversight of the iconic productions that have shaped the industry in modern times.
  • Bob Taylor
    Singing In The Rain 5th? Not possible. I would put North By Northwest or perhaps even Sullivan's Travels ahead of that.
  • Rich
    Some people are missing a lot! If Gone with the Wind, Might Joe Young, It,s a wonderful Lfe, The Hand(Peter Lori)12 Angry Men, War of the worlds (1950,s version) Young Rascals, Laural and Hardy, horrror as ...The Crawling Eye, John Wayne movies where acting and good timing with effects. Not stupid crash scenes and murder with reason or ryhme. If a movie doesnmt make yu think or laugh without stimulating your mind or senses then its just a waste. For thier time they were masterpieces or timepieces. You can never go back but you can always visist the imagination and rich history of creative writing. The texture of those times can never be recreated.
  • danielle
    its not just about how the films make you feel but about the amazing camera work and imagination these directors had in a time where film was just a new thing. if youve never seen these classics dont bash them. the movies might not be as amazing as the last blockbuster hit.. but these new technologies make it so easy to send a car flying thousands of feet. back then it took actual skill to make things look amazing, not a computer.
  • Fargo, Untouchables, Alien, Jurassic Park, Reservoir Dogs, Casino, Close Encounters, Batman, Nightmare Before Christmas, Halloween, Spider-man 2, Donnie Darko, the Gladiator? Most I could see going in 100-110, maybe take off Donnie Darko. But c'mon Fargo the Untouchables and Jurassic Park being absent? Somethings jewy. A Nightmare Before Christmas was a masterpiece.
  • Jon Mezzera
    In response to Jason, I have seen 58 of these movies, I am 27 years old and am on the internet all the time and even write a weekly artcle on slashfilm.com. My suggestion is to que up a lot of these movies on netflix if you have it. I don't agree with all of the choices obviously. Nobody is going to agree 100%. I agree with some of the other comments about Emprire Strikes Back being better than Star Wars and Return of the King being better than Fellowship of the Ring. So I would love to see some newer films included and some that was on don't belong and some should be higher or lower. But don't dismiss older movies just because they are older. Casablanca is great! If you haven't seen Duck Soup then you are missing one of the funniest movies of all time (right up there with Blazing Saddles which should have been on the list). So check out some of these movies and give them a chance.
  • I just found Star Wars how dare them say the first one was the best the second and third was better than it and the same goes for Lord of the Rings
  • If nothing else, the list is a great reference for those new to the classic movie watching business that are hoping to watch some popular classic films.
  • Dave
    Not to nitpick Peter, but the list isn't annual, the last one was 10 years ago. And ya, i agree with everyone above, it's totally up its own arse.
  • Really I don't see why movies from the 30's to 60's are considered the best.
  • Jason
    I bet there aren't many people who have seen more than 30 of these movies. If they have, then they're probably old and have never been on the Internet. IMDB's list of greatest films has a more accurate rating/ranking system than the AFI.
  • 2001 Space Odessey number 15 on the list?I tried to watch it one time and turned the channel.
  • Bob Dyaln
    Yea 2001 does not deserve number 15 it needs be at least in the top 5, and where is Seven Samurai?
  • They need to leave it to me to pick the best movies.
  • Mike
    One question, where is Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory? Wilder gives one of the most mezmorizing performances ever on celluloid. I am not saying it should be number 1, however, it belongs on the list somewhere. After all, after over 30 years, it's still one of the most endearing movies ever made.
  • Freddie
    I still don't understand how The Shawshank Redemption isn't rated higher. I know I'm incredibly biased as The Shawshank Redemption is in my top 5 for various reasons but I'm surprised that a movie that is regularly rated as peoples favorite film is only #72.
  • Where's Star Wars,Harry Potter and Spiderman on that list?Nowhere instead they pick movies that will bore you in the first 30 minutes.Well not all of them but some of them.
  • robert
    I understand and love the classics but we can not forget film is making great strides in excellence as we advance with technology. Other than silly trite things such as
    Bill's and someone's excellent Adventure, we have some great films during the
    last ten years. I thought for sure that the two films who battled it out for best pic in
    in 2005 would make it. I can't believe Crash and Brokeback Mountain did not
    make it. And speaking of Ang Lee, what about Crouching Tiger Hidden Dragon,
    or is that considered an American Film? And Streetcar which has the greatest
    acting ensemble ever deserves to be so much higher. IMO.
  • SAVING PRIVATE RYAN was deservedly remembered; SCHINDLER'S LIST went up one spot. Nothing more fair.
  • I totally disagree with this list.Do they think the Lord of the Rings Fellowship of the Ring is the best LOTR film?Return of the King is.And anybody who thinks that movies from 30's to the 60's are the best then they do not know what good movies are.
  • This list is horrible, I thought this is supposed to be from an institution that knows and studies movies??? I agree with the comment above and why are such movies as Saving Private Ryan, Titanic and Platoon on the list???? And I know that movies from the 30's, 40's and 50's are very important and influential but they take up almost 40 of the spots! Have we seriously not come up with any good movies since then? Ridiculous! But I guess these people from the institute must know everything about movies and I have no clue.
  • Nick O.
    Maybe i'm alone on this one but I was reading through the list and then saw The Sixth Sense and was just confused by it. It was a cool movie I guess but in the list of 100 greatest films? I highly disagree.
  • Ethan C
    i totally agree. i mean, it was good and all but to put it in the same list as one few over the cuckoo's nest, silence of the lambs, and so many others. come one.
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