AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills explained

Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills is a list of the top 100 most exciting movies in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute on June 12, 2001, during a CBS special hosted by Harrison Ford.

Nine Alfred Hitchcock films made the list, making him the most represented director.

List of films

	Film	Director	Year
1	Psycho		1960
2	Jaws		1975
3			1973
4	North by Northwest		1959
5			1991
6	Alien		1979
7			1963
8			1971
9	Rosemary's Baby		1968
10	Raiders of the Lost Ark		1981
11			1972
12	King Kong		1933
13	Bonnie and Clyde		1967
14	Rear Window		1954
15	Deliverance		1972
16	Chinatown		1974
17			1962
18	Vertigo		1958
19			1963
20	High Noon		1952
21			1971
22	Taxi Driver		1976
23	Lawrence of Arabia		1962
24	Double Indemnity		1944
25	Titanic		1997
26			1941
27	Star Wars		1977
28	Fatal Attraction		1987
29			1980
30			1978
31	Close Encounters of the Third Kind		1977
32	Strangers on a Train		1951
33			1993
34			1955
35	Jurassic Park		1993
36	Bullitt		1968
37	Casablanca		1942
38	Notorious		1946
39	Die Hard		1988
40			1968
41	Dirty Harry		1971
42			1984
43			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			1957
59	Planet of the Apes		1968
60			1999
61	Cape Fear		1962
62	Spartacus		1960
63	What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?		1962
64	Touch of Evil		1958
65			1967
66			1999
67			1948
68	Halloween		1978
69			1969
70	Dog Day Afternoon		1975
71	Goldfinger		1964
72	Platoon		1986
73	Laura		1944
74	Blade Runner		1982
75			1949
76	Thelma & Louise		1991
77			1991
78	Gaslight		1944
79			1960
80	Rebecca		1940
81			1976
82			1951
83			1925
84	Poltergeist		1982
85	Dracula		1931
86			1945
87			1951
88	12 Angry Men		1957
89			1961
90			1972
91	Braveheart		1995
92	Body Heat		1981
93	Night of the Living Dead		1968
94			1979
95	Full Metal Jacket		1987
96	Blue Velvet		1986
97	Safety Last!		1923
98	Blood Simple		1984
99	Speed		1994
100			1938

Criteria

• Feature-Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format, typically more than 60 minutes long.
• 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.

External links

• American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Thrills (winners)
• List of the 400 nominated thrillers.