AFI's 100 YEARS...100 THRILLS

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AFI'S 100 MOST THRILLING AMERICAN FILMS

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills is a list of the 100 most thrilling American films of all time.

Regardless of genre, the total adrenaline-inducing impact of the artistry and craft of these films create an experience that engages our bodies as well as our minds. The "thrills" of these films have enlivened and enriched America's film heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.

The AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills CBS television special, hosted by Harrison Ford, originally aired on June 12, 2001.

#	MOVIE	YEAR
1	PSYCHO	1960
2	JAWS	1975
3	THE EXORCIST	1973
4	NORTH BY NORTHWEST	1959
5	THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS	1991
6	ALIEN	1979
7	THE BIRDS	1963
8	THE FRENCH CONNECTION	1971
9	ROSEMARY'S BABY	1968
10	RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK	1981
11	THE GODFATHER	1972
12	KING KONG	1933
13	BONNIE AND CLYDE	1967
14	REAR WINDOW	1954
15	DELIVERANCE	1972
16	CHINATOWN	1974
17	THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE	1962
18	VERTIGO	1958
19	THE GREAT ESCAPE	1963
20	HIGH NOON	1952
21	A CLOCKWORK ORANGE	1971
22	TAXI DRIVER	1976
23	LAWRENCE OF ARABIA	1962
24	DOUBLE INDEMNITY	1944
25	TITANIC	1997
26	THE MALTESE FALCON	1941
27	STAR WARS	1977
28	FATAL ATTRACTION	1987
29	THE SHINING	1980
30	THE DEER HUNTER	1978
31	CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND	1977
32	STRANGERS ON A TRAIN	1951
33	THE FUGITIVE	1993
34	THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER	1955
35	JURASSIC PARK	1993
36	BULLITT	1968
37	CASABLANCA	1942
38	NOTORIOUS	1946
39	DIE HARD	1988
40	2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY	1968
41	DIRTY HARRY	1971
42	THE TERMINATOR	1984
43	THE WIZARD OF OZ	1939
44	E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL	1982
45	SAVING PRIVATE RYAN	1998
46	CARRIE	1976
47	INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS	1956
48	DIAL M FOR MURDER	1954
49	BEN-HUR	1959
50	MARATHON MAN	1976
51	RAGING BULL	1980
52	ROCKY	1976
53	PULP FICTION	1994
54	BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID	1969
55	WAIT UNTIL DARK	1967
56	FRANKENSTEIN	1931
57	ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN	1976
58	THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI	1957
59	PLANET OF THE APES	1968
60	THE SIXTH SENSE	1999
61	CAPE FEAR	1962
62	SPARTACUS	1960
63	WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE?	1962
64	TOUCH OF EVIL	1958
65	THE DIRTY DOZEN	1967
66	THE MATRIX	1999
67	THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE	1948
68	HALLOWEEN	1978
69	THE WILD BUNCH	1969
70	DOG DAY AFTERNOON	1975
71	GOLDFINGER	1964
72	PLATOON	1986
73	LAURA	1944
74	BLADE RUNNER	1982
75	THE THIRD MAN	1949
76	THELMA & LOUISE	1991
77	TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY	1991
78	GASLIGHT	1944
79	THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN	1960
80	REBECCA	1940
81	THE OMEN	1976
82	THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL	1951
83	THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA	1925
84	POLTERGEIST	1982
85	DRACULA	1931
86	THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY	1945
87	THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD	1951
88	12 ANGRY MEN	1957
89	THE GUNS OF NAVARONE	1961
90	THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE	1972
91	BRAVEHEART	1995
92	BODY HEAT	1981
93	NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD	1968
94	THE CHINA SYNDROME	1979
95	FULL METAL JACKET	1987
96	BLUE VELVET	1986
97	SAFETY LAST	1923
98	BLOOD SIMPLE	1984
99	SPEED	1994
100	THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD	1938

Interesting facts about AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills include:

The 100 films span from Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST, released in 1923, to 1999's THE MATRIX and THE SIXTH SENSE.
Harrison Ford and Claude Rains are the most celebrated actors, each starring in 4 films in the top 100. Ford's films are BLADE RUNNER, THE FUGITIVE, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and STAR WARS. Rains stars in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, NOTORIOUS and CASABLANCA
Nine Alfred Hitchcock films made the list, including the film ranked #1, PSYCHO, making him the most represented director. Hitchcock's frequent cameos technically make him the most represented actor on the list with eight appearances, including every film except DIAL M FOR MURDER, in which he appears in a photograph on the wall.
Steven Spielberg directed 6 films on the list, 2 of which placed in the top 10, and he wrote and produced POLTERGEIST. Stanley Kubrick directed 5 of America's most heart-pounding movies.
With 22 films, the 1970s claim the most heart-pounding movies in the AFI countdown. The 1960s boast 21 movies on the list, while the 1980s and 1940s each have 14.
Jim Cameron's TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY is the only movie sequel on the AFI list.
Thrills that cross generations include John Huston and his father, actor Walter Huston, appear together in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. Director Alfred Hitchcock and his daughter, actress Pat Hitchcock worked together in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and PSYCHO. Actresses Janet Leigh (PSYCHO, TOUCH OF EVIL, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) and her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis (HALLOWEEN), appear in separate films on the AFI list.
Thrills encompass many genres, including courtroom dramas (12 ANGRY MEN), disasters (TITANIC), epics (LAWRENCE OF ARABIA), horror (PSYCHO), musicals (THE WIZARD OF OZ), noir (DOUBLE INDEMNITY), sci-fi (ALIEN), sports (ROCKY), suspense (NORTH BY NORTHWEST), war (SAVING PRIVATE RYAN) and westerns (HIGH NOON).

The special is the fourth installment of AFI's centennial celebration of American film, following the three critically acclaimed Network specials AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies, AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars and AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs, which sparked discussions of America's film history among millions across the nation. In late 2000, AFI distributed a ballot with 400 nominated films to a jury of 1,800 leaders of the film community. The jurors were asked to consider the following criteria while making their selections:

Feature-Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format, typically more than 60 minutes in length.
American Film: The film must be in the English language with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States.
Thrills: Regardless of genre, the total adrenaline-inducing impact of a film's artistry and craft must create an experience that engages our bodies as well as our minds.
Legacy: Films whose "thrills" have enlivened and enriched America's film heritage while continuing to inspire contemporary artists and audiences.

AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills is being supported by returning sponsors General Motors, Blockbuster, United States Postal Service, PepsiCo, Anheuser-Busch, Merck, Johnson & Johnson, Warner Home Video, Warner Bros. Pictures, Walt Disney, Universal, Dreamworks, Paramount and Miramax. Colgate-Palmolive, Combe Chemical, Canandaigua Wines, Gillette, AOL, Sony Electronics, Sony Pictures and 20th Century Fox Home Video are new sponsors of the program. AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (1998), AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars (1999) and AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs (2000) were each watched by more than 11 million people and won their respective time periods. Multi-Emmy Award winner Gary Smith ("The Tony Awards") is the executive producer and director of AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills for Smith-Hemion Productions. Former AFI Board Chairman Frederick S. Pierce is the executive producer for AFI. Dann Netter ("50 Years of Television"), Fred A. Rappoport ("The Kennedy Center's 25th Anniversary Celebration," "The Country Music Hall of Fame 25th Anniversary") and Bob Gazzale, AFI President & CEO ("AFI Life Achievement Award," "A Tribute to Barbra Streisand"), are the producers, with Gazzale also serving as writer.

AFI's 100 YEARS...100 THRILLS (2001)
List of the 400 nominated movies PDF (64k)
List of the 100 winning movies
Click here to go to the list downloads page