AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills

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

class="wikitable sortable" style="font-size:1.00em; line-height:1.5em;" ! # ! Film ! Director ! Year
1	Psycho	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1960
2	Jaws	{{sort\|spielberg\|Steven Spielberg}}	1975
3	{{sort\|exorcist\|The Exorcist}}	{{sort\|friedkin\|William Friedkin}}	1973
4	North by Northwest	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1959
5	{{sort\|silence\|The Silence of the Lambs}}	{{sort\|demme\|Jonathan Demme}}	1991
6	Alien	{{sort\|scott\|Ridley Scott}}	1979
7	{{sort\|birds\|The Birds}}	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1963
8	{{sort\|french\|The French Connection}}	{{sort\|friedkin\|William Friedkin}}	1971
9	Rosemary's Baby	{{sort\|polanski\|Roman Polanski}}	1968
10	Raiders of the Lost Ark	{{sort\|spielberg\|Steven Spielberg}}	1981
11	{{sort\|godfather\|The Godfather}}	{{sort\|coppola\|Francis Ford Coppola}}	1972
12	King Kong	{{sort\|cooper\|Merian C. Cooper}}	1933
13	Bonnie and Clyde	{{sort\|penn\|Arthur Penn}}	1967
14	Rear Window	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1954
15	Deliverance	{{sort\|boorman\|John Boorman}}	1972
16	Chinatown	{{sort\|polanski\|Roman Polanski}}	1974
17	{{sort\|manchurian\|The Manchurian Candidate}}	{{sort\|frankenheimer\|John Frankenheimer}}	1962
18	Vertigo	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1958
19	{{sort\|great\|The Great Escape}}	{{sort\|sturges\|John Sturges}}	1963
20	High Noon	{{sort\|zinnemann\|Fred Zinnemann}}	1952
21	{{sort\|clock\|A Clockwork Orange}}	{{sort\|kubrick\|Stanley Kubrick}}	1971
22	Taxi Driver	{{sort\|scorsese\|Martin Scorsese}}	1976
23	Lawrence of Arabia	{{sort\|lean\|David Lean}}	1962
24	Double Indemnity	{{sort\|wilder\|Billy Wilder}}	1944
25	Titanic	{{sort\|cameron\|James Cameron}}	1997
26	{{sort\|maltese\|The Maltese Falcon}}	{{sort\|huston\|John Huston}}	1941
27	Star Wars	{{sort\|lucas\|George Lucas}}	1977
28	Fatal Attraction	{{sort\|lyne\|Adrian Lyne}}	1987
29	{{sort\|shining\|The Shining}}	{{sort\|kubrick\|Stanley Kubrick}}	1980
30	{{sort\|deer\|The Deer Hunter }}	{{sort\|cimino\|Michael Cimino}}	1978
31	Close Encounters of the Third Kind	{{sort\|spielberg\|Steven Spielberg}}	1977
32	Strangers on a Train	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1951
33	{{sort\|fugitive\|The Fugitive}}	{{sort\|davis\|Andrew Davis}}	1993
34	{{sort\|night\|The Night of the Hunter}}	{{sort\|laughton\|Charles Laughton}}	1955
35	Jurassic Park	{{sort\|spielberg\|Steven Spielberg}}	1993
36	Bullitt	{{sort\|yates\|Peter Yates}}	1968
37	Casablanca	{{sort\|curtiz\|Michael Curtiz}}	1942
38	Notorious	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1946
39	Die Hard	{{sort\|mctiernan\|John McTiernan}}	1988
40	2001: A Space Odyssey	{{sort\|kubrick\|Stanley Kubrick}}	1968
41	Dirty Harry	{{sort\|siegel\|Don Siegel}}	1971
42	{{sort\|terminator\|The Terminator}}	{{sort\|cameron\|James Cameron}}	1984
43	{{sort\|wizard\|The Wizard of Oz}}	{{sort\|fleming\|Victor Fleming}}	1939
44	E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial	{{sort\|spielberg\|Steven Spielberg}}	1982
45	Saving Private Ryan	{{sort\|spielberg\|Steven Spielberg}}	1998
46	Carrie	{{sort\|palma\|Brian De Palma}}	1976
47	Invasion of the Body Snatchers	{{sort\|siegel\|Don Siegel}}	1956
48	Dial M for Murder	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1954
49	Ben-Hur	{{sort\|wyler\|William Wyler}}	1959
50	Marathon Man	{{sort\|schlesinger\|John Schlesinger}}	1976
51	Raging Bull	{{sort\|scorsese\|Martin Scorsese}}	1980
52	Rocky	{{sort\|avildsen\|John G. Avildsen}}	1976
53	Pulp Fiction	{{sort\|tarantino\|Quentin Tarantino}}	1994
54	Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid	{{sort\|hill\|George Roy Hill}}	1969
55	Wait Until Dark	{{sort\|young\|Terence Young}}	1967
56	Frankenstein	{{sort\|whale\|James Whale}}	1931
57	All the President's Men	{{sort\|pakula\|Alan J. Pakula}}	1976
58	{{sort\|bridge\|The Bridge on the River Kwai}}	{{sort\|lean\|David Lean}}	1957
59	Planet of the Apes	{{sort\|schaffner\|Franklin J. Schaffner}}	1968
60	{{sort\|sixth\|The Sixth Sense}}	{{sort\|shyamalan\|M. Night Shyamalan}}	1999
61	Cape Fear	{{sort\|thompson\|J. Lee Thompson}}	1962
62	Spartacus	{{sort\|kubrick\|Stanley Kubrick}}	1960
63	What Ever Happened to Baby Jane?	{{sort\|aldrich\|Robert Aldrich}}	1962
64	Touch of Evil	{{sort\|welles\|Orson Welles}}	1958
65	{{sort\|dirty\|The Dirty Dozen}}	{{sort\|aldrich\|Robert Aldrich}}	1967
66	{{sort\|matrix\|The Matrix}}	{{sort\|wachowskis\|The Wachowskis}}	1999
67	{{sort\|treasure\|The Treasure of the Sierra Madre}}	{{sort\|huston\|John Huston}}	1948
68	Halloween	{{sort\|carpenter\|John Carpenter}}	1978
69	{{sort\|wild\|The Wild Bunch}}	{{sort\|peckinpah\|Sam Peckinpah}}	1969
70	Dog Day Afternoon	{{sort\|lumet\|Sidney Lumet}}	1975
71	Goldfinger	{{sort\|hamilton\|Guy Hamilton}}	1964
72	Platoon	{{sort\|stone\|Oliver Stone}}	1986
73	Laura	{{sort\|preminger\|Otto Preminger}}	1944
74	Blade Runner	{{sort\|scott\|Ridley Scott}}	1982
75	{{sort\|third\|The Third Man }}	{{sort\|reed\|Carol Reed}}	1949
76	Thelma & Louise	{{sort\|scott\|Ridley Scott}}	1991
77	Terminator 2: Judgment Day	{{sort\|cameron\|James Cameron}}	1991
78	Gaslight	{{sort\|cukor\|George Cukor}}	1944
79	{{sort\|magnificent\|The Magnificent Seven}}	{{sort\|sturges\|John Sturges}}	1960
80	Rebecca	{{sort\|hitchcock\|Alfred Hitchcock}}	1940
81	{{sort\|omen\|The Omen }}	{{sort\|donner\|Richard Donner}}	1976
82	{{sort\|day\|The Day the Earth Stood Still}}	{{sort\|wise\|Robert Wise}}	1951
83	{{sort\|phantom\|The Phantom of the Opera}}	{{sort\|julian\|Rupert Julian}}	1925
84	Poltergeist	{{sort\|hooper\|Tobe Hooper}}	1982
85	Dracula	{{sort\|browning\|Tod Browning}}	1931
86	{{sort\|picture\|The Picture of Dorian Gray }}	{{sort\|lewin\|Albert Lewin}}	1945
87	{{sort\|thing\|The Thing from Another World}}	{{sort\|nyby\|Christian Nyby}}	1951
88	12 Angry Men	{{sort\|lumet\|Sidney Lumet}}	1957
89	{{sort\|guns\|The Guns of Navarone}}	{{sort\|thompson\|J. Lee Thompson}}	1961
90	{{sort\|poseidon\|The Poseidon Adventure}}	{{sort\|neame\|Ronald Neame}}	1972
91	Braveheart	{{sort\|gibson\|Mel Gibson}}	1995
92	Body Heat	{{sort\|kasdan\|Lawrence Kasdan}}	1981
93	Night of the Living Dead	{{sort\|romero\|George A. Romero}}	1968
94	{{sort\|china\|The China Syndrome}}	{{sort\|bridges\|James Bridges}}	1979
95	Full Metal Jacket	{{sort\|kubrick\|Stanley Kubrick}}	1987
96	Blue Velvet	{{sort\|lynch\|David Lynch}}	1986
97	Safety Last!	{{sort\|newmeyer\|Fred C. Newmeyer Sam Taylor}}	1923
98	Blood Simple	{{sort\|coen\|Joel Coen Ethan Coen}}	1984
99	Speed	{{sort\|bont\|Jan de Bont}}	1994
100	{{sort\|adventures\|The Adventures of Robin Hood}}	{{sort\|curtiz\|Michael Curtiz}}	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

[https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-thrills/ American Film Institute's 100 Years, 100 Thrills (winners)]
[https://prdaficalmjediwestussa.blob.core.windows.net/images/2019/08/thrills400.pdf List of the 400 nominated thrillers.]

Category:AFI 100 Years... series

Category:Thriller films