AFI 100 Years... series
{{Short description|Lists of films for the commemoration of American cinema}}
{{use mdy dates|date=October 2021}}
{{AFI 100 Years... series}}
The AFI's 100 Years... series was a series of annual lists from 1998 to 2008 by the American Film Institute—typically accompanied by CBS television specials—celebrating the century of American cinema.
As a centennial celebration of cinematic milestones, the series intended to inspire discussion and public interest in classical Hollywood cinema. As such, each list only included feature-length American films that were typically released before 2005. AFI defined "American film" as an "English language motion picture with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States;" and "feature-length film" as a "motion picture of narrative format that is typically over 60 minutes in length."{{cite press release|title='AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies,' to Be Broadcast Wednesday, June 14 on the CBS Television Network|url=http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/afis-100-years--100-cheers-americas-most-inspiring-movies-to-be-broadcast-wednesday-june-14-on-the-cbs-television-network-55816522.html|location=Los Angeles|publisher=American Film Institute|agency=PR Newswire|date=June 1, 2006|access-date=November 8, 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170419211804/http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/afis-100-years--100-cheers-americas-most-inspiring-movies-to-be-broadcast-wednesday-june-14-on-the-cbs-television-network-55816522.html|archive-date=April 19, 2017}}{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Stars |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-stars/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
To determine the composition of these lists, the names of a few hundred nominated films were listed on ballots that AFI would distribute to a jury of over 1,000 leaders in the creative industry, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics, and historians.
Lists of the series
- 1998: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies — top "greatest American films of all time"
- 1999: AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars — the 50 greatest American "screen legends" of all time (25 women and 25 men)
- AFI defined an "American screen legend" as "an actor or a team of actors with a significant screen presence in American feature-length films whose screen debut occurred in or before 1950, or whose screen debut occurred after 1950 but whose death has marked a completed body of work."
- 2000: AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs — funniest American films
- While not specific to any genre, this list generally centered on comedies, including such sub-genres as satire, screwball, slapstick, action comedy, black comedy, musical comedy, romantic comedy, and comedy of manners.{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Laughs |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-laughs/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2001: AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills — most 'thrilling' American films
- This list was not specific to any genre, focussing instead on the total "adrenaline-inducing impact" of a film, engaging both the audience's bodies and minds.{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-thrills/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2002: AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions — the "greatest love stories of all time"
- Though not specific to the romance genre, this list concerned films with "a romantic bond between two or more characters, whose actions and/or intentions provide the heart of the film's narrative."{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Passions |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-passions/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2003: AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains — the top American film heroes and villains of all time (50 each)
- A "hero" was defined as "a character(s) who prevails in extreme circumstances and dramatizes a sense of morality, courage and purpose." A "villain" was defined as "a character(s) whose wickedness of mind, selfishness of character and will to power are sometimes masked by beauty and nobility, while others may rage unmasked."{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Heroes & Villains |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-heroes-villians/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2004: AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs — the top American movie songs of all time
- For this list, "song" was defined as "[m]usic and lyrics…that set a tone or mood, define character, advance plot and/or express the film's themes in a manner that elevates" the art of film. Songs can include those "written and/or recorded specifically for the film" as well as those "previously written and/or recorded and selected by the filmmaker to achieve the above goals."{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Songs |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-songs/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2005: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes — top American film quotes of all time
- Selection for this list considered quotes that "circulate through popular culture, become part of the national lexicon and evoke the memory of a treasured film."{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Movie Quotes |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-movie-quotes/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2005: AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores — the 25 greatest American films scores of all time
- The list did not originally air on television; it was presented at the Hollywood Bowl during a special live event produced by the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association.{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-of-film-scores/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2006: AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers — most inspiring American films of all time
- Films in this list "inspire" viewers, encourage people "to make a difference", and leave audiences "with a greater sense of possibility and hope for the future."{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years…100 Cheers |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-100-cheers/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2006: AFI's Greatest Movie Musicals — the 25 greatest American musical films of all time
- The list did not originally air on television; it was presented at the Hollywood Bowl during a special live event produced by the LA Philharmonic Association.{{Cite web|title=AFI's 100 Years of Musicals |url=https://www.afi.com/afis-100-years-of-musicals/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
- 2007: AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies (10th Anniversary Edition) — an updated edition of AFI's "100 Years…100 Movies" list from 1998
- This list removed 23 films from the original list, adding in their place 4 films released from 1996 to 2006 and 19 films made before 1996.
- 2008: AFI's 10 Top 10 — the 10 greatest films in 10 classic American film genres
- The 10 genres were: animation, courtroom drama, epic, fantasy, gangster, mystery, romantic comedy, science fiction, sports, and western.{{Cite web|title=AFI's 10 Top 10|url=https://www.afi.com/afis-10-top-10/|access-date=2021-02-23|website=American Film Institute|language=en}}
See also
References
External links
- [http://www.afi.com/100years/ AFI's 100 Years...]
{{Cinema of the United States}}
Category:American annual television specials
Category:Lists of American television series