On June 12, 2001, the American Film Institute (AFI) selected the Top 100 most thrilling films of the last 100 years.

Criteria for selection were:

  • Feature Length Fiction Film: The film must be in narrative format, and over 60 minutes of length.
  • American Film: The film must be in the English language, with significant creative/production elements from the U.S.A.
  • Thrills:"Regardless of genre, the total adrenaline-inducing impact of a film’s artistry and craft, creating an experience that engages our bodies as well as our minds."
  • Legacy: The film must stand the test of time, with respect to its thrills, and enrich America's film heritage. The film must inspire contemporary artists and audiences.

The following list was chosen by a panel of 1500 people from the movie industry, from a list of 400 nominations:

  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)

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