AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies
America's 100 Greatest Movies
AFI's 100 YEARS...100 MOVIES

The 400 Nominees




The American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California in 1998 commemorated the extraordinary first 100 years of American movies by selecting 400 candidate films for voting consideration, in preparation for a "definitive selection of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, as determined by more than 1,500 leaders from the American film community."

See the 100 Greatest American Movies of All Time (original)
See also AFI's 100 Greatest American Films - 10th Anniversary Edition
400 Nominated Films (for the 10th Anniversary Edition)


America's 100 Greatest Movies

The 400 Nominees

(Winners indicated by symbol )


Silent Era: 1912-1929
(22 Films nominated
3 Films in Top 100)
  1. Richard III (1912)
  2. The Birth Of A Nation (1915)
  3. The Cheat (1915)
  4. Intolerance (1916)
  5. The Poor Little Rich Girl (1917)
  6. Within Our Gates (1920)
  7. The Four Horsemen Of The Apocalypse (1921)
  8. The Kid (1921)
  9. Safety Last (1923)
  10. The Thief Of Bagdad (1924)
  11. The Big Parade (1925)
  12. The Gold Rush (1925)
  13. Greed (1925)
  14. The Phantom Of The Opera (1925)
  15. Ben-Hur (1926)
  16. The General (1927)
  17. The Jazz Singer (1927)
  18. Sunrise (1927)
  19. Wings (1927)
  20. The Crowd (1928)
  21. The Wind (1928)
  22. The Broadway Melody (1929)

    1930s: 1930-1939
    (56 Films nominated
    15 Films in Top 100)
  23. All Quiet On The Western Front (1930)
  24. Little Caesar (1930)
  25. Morocco (1930)
  26. Cimarron (1931)
  27. City Lights (1931)
  28. Frankenstein (1931)
  29. The Public Enemy (1931)
  30. Freaks (1932)
  31. Grand Hotel (1932)
  32. I Am a Fugitive From a Chain Gang (1932)
  33. Scarface: The Shame of the Nation (1932)
  34. Trouble in Paradise (1932)
  35. Cavalcade (1933)
  36. Duck Soup (1933)
  37. 42nd Street (1933)
  38. King Kong (1933)
  39. She Done Him Wrong (1933)
  40. Sons of the Desert (1933)
  41. It Happened One Night (1934)
  42. The Scarlet Empress (1934)
  43. The Thin Man (1934)
  44. David Copperfield (1935)
  45. The Little Colonel (1935)
  46. Mutiny on the Bounty (1935)
  47. A Night At The Opera (1935)
  48. Top Hat (1935)
  49. Dodsworth (1936)
  50. Fury (1936)
  51. The Great Ziegfeld (1936)
  52. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town (1936)
  53. Modern Times (1936)
  54. My Man Godfrey (1936)
  55. Swing Time (1936)
  56. The Awful Truth (1937)
  57. Camille (1937)
  58. The Life Of Emile Zola (1937)
  59. Lost Horizon (1937)
  60. Snow White And The Seven Dwarfs (1937)
  61. A Star Is Born (1937)
  62. The Adventures of Robin Hood (1938)
  63. Boys Town (1938)
  64. Bringing Up Baby (1938)
  65. You Can't Take It With You (1938)
  66. Babes In Arms (1939)
  67. Beau Geste (1939)
  68. Destry Rides Again (1939)
  69. Gone With The Wind (1939)
  70. Goodbye Mr. Chips (1939)
  71. Gunga Din (1939)
  72. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)
  73. Ninotchka (1939)
  74. Only Angels Have Wings (1939)
  75. Stagecoach (1939)
  76. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
  77. Wuthering Heights (1939)
  78. Young Mr. Lincoln (1939)

    1940s: 1940-1949
    (61 Films nominated
    12 Films in Top 100)
  79. The Bank Dick (1940)
  80. Fantasia (1940)
  81. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)
  82. His Girl Friday (1940)
  83. The Mark Of Zorro (1940)
  84. The Philadelphia Story (1940)
  85. Pinocchio (1940)
  86. Rebecca (1940)
  87. Citizen Kane (1941)
  88. How Green Was My Valley (1941)
  89. The Lady Eve (1941)
  90. The Little Foxes (1941)
  91. The Maltese Falcon (1941)
  92. Sergeant York (1941)
  93. Sullivan's Travels (1941)
  94. Bambi (1942)
  95. Casablanca (1942)
  96. Cat People (1942)
  97. The Magnificent Ambersons (1942)
  98. Mrs. Miniver (1942)
  99. Now, Voyager (1942)
  100. The Pride Of The Yankees (1942)
  101. Road To Morocco (1942)
  102. To Be Or Not To Be (1942)
  103. Woman Of The Year (1942)
  104. Yankee Doodle Dandy (1942)
  105. Bataan (1943)
  106. Cabin In The Sky (1943)
  107. The Ox-Bow Incident (1943)
  108. Shadow of a Doubt (1943)
  109. Double Indemnity (1944)
  110. Going My Way (1944)
  111. Hail The Conquering Hero (1944)
  112. Laura (1944)
  113. Meet Me In St. Louis (1944)
  114. The Miracle Of Morgan's Creek (1944)
  115. Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo (1944)
  116. To Have and Have Not (1944)
  117. The Lost Weekend (1945)
  118. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)
  119. The Big Sleep (1946)
  120. Gilda (1946)
  121. It's A Wonderful Life (1946)
  122. My Darling Clementine (1946)
  123. Notorious (1946)
  124. The Yearling (1946)
  125. Gentleman's Agreement (1947)
  126. Miracle On 34th Street (1947)
  127. Out Of The Past (1947)
  128. Force Of Evil (1948)
  129. Red River (1948)
  130. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)
  131. Adam's Rib (1949)
  132. All The King's Men (1949)
  133. The Heiress (1949)
  134. Intruder In The Dust (1949)
  135. A Letter To Three Wives (1949)
  136. Sands Of Iwo Jima (1949)
  137. The Third Man (1949)
  138. Twelve O'clock High (1949)
  139. White Heat (1949)

    1950s: 1950-1959
    (61 Films nominated
    20 Films in Top 100)
  140. All About Eve (1950)
  141. Cinderella (1950)
  142. Gun Crazy (1950)
  143. The Gunfighter (1950)
  144. Sunset Boulevard (1950)
  145. Winchester '73 (1950)
  146. The African Queen (1951)
  147. An American In Paris (1951)
  148. The Day The Earth Stood Still (1951)
  149. A Place in the Sun (1951)
  150. Strangers On A Train (1951)
  151. A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)
  152. The Greatest Show On Earth (1952)
  153. High Noon (1952)
  154. The Quiet Man (1952)
  155. Singin' In The Rain (1952)
  156. The Band Wagon (1953)
  157. From Here to Eternity (1953)
  158. Gentlemen Prefer Blondes (1953)
  159. Shane (1953)
  160. Stalag 17 (1953)
  161. The War Of The Worlds (1953)
  162. The Caine Mutiny (1954)
  163. Carmen Jones (1954)
  164. On The Waterfront (1954)
  165. Rear Window (1954)
  166. Salt Of The Earth (1954)
  167. A Star Is Born (1954)
  168. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea (1954)
  169. The Blackboard Jungle (1955)
  170. East Of Eden (1955)
  171. Lady And The Tramp (1955)
  172. Marty (1955)
  173. Mister Roberts (1955)
  174. The Night of the Hunter (1955)
  175. Oklahoma! (1955)
  176. Rebel Without a Cause (1955)
  177. The Seven Year Itch (1955)
  178. Around The World In 80 Days (1956)
  179. Giant (1956)
  180. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)
  181. The Searchers (1956)
  182. The Ten Commandments (1956)
  183. An Affair To Remember (1957)
  184. The Bridge On The River Kwai (1957)
  185. Paths of Glory (1957)
  186. 12 Angry Men (1957)
  187. The Defiant Ones (1958)
  188. Gigi (1958)
  189. Run Silent, Run Deep (1958)
  190. Touch Of Evil (1958)
  191. Vertigo (1958)
  192. Anatomy Of A Murder (1958)
  193. Ben-Hur (1959)
  194. The Diary Of Anne Frank (1959)
  195. Imitation Of Life (1959)
  196. North By Northwest (1959)
  197. On The Beach (1959)
  198. Pillow Talk (1959)
  199. Shadows (1959)
  200. Some Like It Hot (1959)
1960s: 1960-1969
(58 Films nominated
18 Films in Top 100)

  1. The Apartment (1960)
  2. Elmer Gantry (1960)
  3. Psycho (1960)
  4. Spartacus (1960)
  5. Breakfast At Tiffany's (1961)
  6. El Cid (1961)
  7. The Hustler (1961)
  8. Judgment At Nuremberg (1961)
  9. One Hundred And One Dalmatians (1961)
  10. A Raisin In The Sun (1961)
  11. Splendor in the Grass (1961)
  12. West Side Story (1961)
  13. Days Of Wine And Roses (1962)
  14. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
  15. The Longest Day (1962)
  16. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)
  17. To Kill A Mockingbird (1962)
  18. What Ever Happened To Baby Jane? (1962)
  19. The Birds (1963)
  20. Cleopatra (1963)
  21. From Russia With Love (1963)
  22. Hud (1963)
  23. It's A Mad Mad Mad Mad World (1963)
  24. The Pink Panther (1963)
  25. Tom Jones (1963)
  26. The Americanization Of Emily (1964)
  27. Dr. Strangelove or: How I ... (1964)
  28. Goldfinger (1964)
  29. Mary Poppins (1964)
  30. My Fair Lady (1964)
  31. Cat Ballou (1965)
  32. Doctor Zhivago (1965)
  33. The Sound of Music (1965)
  34. Fantastic Voyage (1966)
  35. A Man For All Seasons (1966)
  36. Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
  37. Barefoot In The Park (1967)
  38. Bonnie And Clyde (1967)
  39. Cool Hand Luke (1967)
  40. The Graduate (1967)
  41. Guess Who's Coming To Dinner (1967)
  42. In Cold Blood (1967)
  43. In The Heat Of The Night (1967)
  44. The Jungle Book (1967)
  45. The Producers (1967)
  46. Two For The Road (1967)
  47. Bullitt (1968)
  48. Funny Girl (1968)
  49. Night Of The Living Dead (1968)
  50. Oliver! (1968)
  51. Planet Of The Apes (1968)
  52. Rosemary's Baby (1968)
  53. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)
  54. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)
  55. Easy Rider (1969)
  56. Medium Cool (1969)
  57. Midnight Cowboy (1969)
  58. The Wild Bunch (1969)

    1970s: 1970-1979
    (54 Films nominated
    18 Films in Top 100)
  59. Five Easy Pieces (1970)
  60. Little Big Man (1970)
  61. Love Story (1970)
  62. M*A*S*H (1970)
  63. Patton (1970)
  64. Dirty Harry (1970)
  65. A Clockwork Orange (1971)
  66. Fiddler On The Roof (1971)
  67. The French Connection (1971)
  68. The Last Picture Show (1971)
  69. McCabe And Mrs. Miller (1971)
  70. Cabaret (1972)
  71. Deliverance (1972)
  72. The Godfather (1972)
  73. Sounder (1972)
  74. American Graffiti (1973)
  75. Badlands (1973)
  76. The Exorcist (1973)
  77. Last Tango In Paris (1973)
  78. Mean Streets (1973)
  79. The Sting (1973)
  80. The Way We Were (1973)
  81. Blazing Saddles (1974)
  82. Chinatown (1974)
  83. The Conversation (1974)
  84. The Godfather, Part II (1974)
  85. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)
  86. Jaws (1975)
  87. The Man Who Would Be King (1975)
  88. Nashville (1975)
  89. One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (1975)
  90. The Rocky Horror Picture Show (1975)
  91. All The President's Men (1976)
  92. Carrie (1976)
  93. Network (1976)
  94. The Outlaw Josey Wales (1976)
  95. Rocky (1976)
  96. Taxi Driver (1976)
  97. Annie Hall (1977)
  98. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)
  99. The Goodbye Girl (1977)
  100. Saturday Night Fever (1977)
  101. Star Wars (1977)
  102. Coming Home (1978)
  103. Days Of Heaven (1978)
  104. The Deer Hunter (1978)
  105. Grease (1978)
  106. National Lampoon's Animal House (1978)
  107. Alien (1979)
  108. All That Jazz (1979)
  109. Apocalypse Now (1979)
  110. Breaking Away (1979)
  111. Kramer Vs. Kramer (1979)
  112. Manhattan (1979)
    1980s: 1980-1989
    (58 Films nominated
    6 Films in Top 100)
  113. Atlantic City (1980 or 1981)
  114. The Empire Strikes Back (1980)
  115. Melvin And Howard (1980)
  116. Ordinary People (1980)
  117. Raging Bull (1980)
  118. Return Of The Secaucus 7 (1980)
  119. Chariots Of Fire (1981)
  120. On Golden Pond (1981)
  121. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
  122. Reds (1981)
  123. Blade Runner (1982)
  124. E.T. - The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
  125. Fast Times At Ridgemont High (1982)
  126. Gandhi (1982)
  127. Missing (1982)
  128. Sophie's Choice (1982)
  129. Tootsie (1982)
  130. The Big Chill (1983)
  131. Local Hero (1983)
  132. El Norte (1983)
  133. Return Of The Jedi (1983)
  134. The Right Stuff (1983)
  135. Risky Business (1983)
  136. Terms Of Endearment (1983)
  137. Amadeus (1984)
  138. Beverly Hills Cop (1984)
  139. Ghostbusters (1984)
  140. The Killing Fields (1984)
  141. Stranger Than Paradise (1984)
  142. Back To The Future (1985)
  143. Brazil (1985)
  144. The Color Purple (1985)
  145. Out Of Africa (1985)
  146. Witness (1985)
  147. Blue Velvet (1986)
  148. Children Of A Lesser God (1986)
  149. Ferris Bueller's Day Off (1986)
  150. Hannah And Her Sisters (1986)
  151. Platoon (1986)
  152. Broadcast News (1987)
  153. Fatal Attraction (1987)
  154. The Last Emperor (1987)
  155. Lethal Weapon (1987)
  156. Moonstruck (1987)
  157. The Untouchables (1987)
  158. Big (1988)
  159. Dangerous Liaisons (1988)
  160. Die Hard (1988)
  161. The Last Temptation Of Christ (1988)
  162. Rain Man (1988)
  163. Batman (1989)
  164. Born On The Fourth Of July (1989)
  165. Dead Poets Society (1989)
  166. Do The Right Thing (1989)
  167. Driving Miss Daisy (1989)
  168. Field Of Dreams (1989)
  169. Glory (1989)
  170. sex, lies and videotape (1989)
    1990s: 1990-1996
    (30 Films     nominated
    8 Films in Top 100)
  171. Dances With Wolves (1990)
  172. GoodFellas (1990)
  173. Pretty Woman (1990)
  174. Beauty And The Beast (1991)
  175. Rambling Rose (1991)
  176. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
  177. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)
  178. Thelma & Louise (1991)
  179. The Player (1992)
  180. Unforgiven (1992)
  181. The Fugitive (1993)
  182. The Joy Luck Club (1993)
  183. Jurassic Park (1993)
  184. Philadelphia (1993)
  185. Schindler's List (1993)
  186. Sleepless In Seattle (1993)
  187. Forrest Gump (1994)
  188. The Lion King (1994)
  189. Pulp Fiction (1994)
  190. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)
  191. Apollo 13 (1995)
  192. Babe (1995)
  193. Braveheart (1995)
  194. Casino (1995)
  195. Leaving Las Vegas (1995)
  196. Sense And Sensibility (1995)
  197. Toy Story (1995)
  198. The English Patient (1996)
  199. Fargo (1996)
  200. Jerry Maguire (1996)

Facts About the 400 Nominees for the Top 100 Greatest American Movies:

  • All chosen films were feature-length fictional movies produced between 1912 and 1996 "with the goal of amassing a capsule of the first 100 years of American cinema, across decades and across genres." Write-in votes for unlisted films were also permitted.
  • The 1950s was the most represented decade on the list, with 20 films in the top 100.
  • And 70 of the films on the top 100 list were from 1950 and after.
  • 14 films on the top 100 list were made after 1980.
  • More than half of the films (56) in the top 100 list were made between 1950 and 1979 (a three decade period), thereby ignoring cinema's early years and some of the modern era.

Each Decade's Summary: (Nominees and Winners):

See this site's Commentary on AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies.

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