Micron Document




AFI 100 Years... series
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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.cite-ref-0-1-0[1]

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.cite-ref-0-1-1[1] 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-ref-0-1-2[1]cite-ref-1-2-0[2]

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.cite-ref-0-1-3[1]

Contents


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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."cite-ref-1-2-1[2]

• 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-ref-3[3]

• 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-ref-4[4]

• 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-ref-5[5]

• 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-ref-6[6]

• 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-ref-7[7]

• 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-ref-8[8]

• 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-ref-9[9]

• 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-ref-10[10]

• 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-ref-11[11]

• 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


See also
References

cite-note-0-11. "'AFI's 100 Years ... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies,' to Be Broadcast Wednesday, June 14 on the CBS Television Network" (Press release). Los Angeles: American Film Institute. PR Newswire. June 1, 2006. Archived from the original on April 19, 2017. Retrieved November 8, 2015.
cite-note-1-22. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Stars". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-33. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Laughs". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-44. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-55. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Passions". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-66. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Heroes & Villains". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-77. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Songs". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-88. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Movie Quotes". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-99. "AFI's 100 Years of Film Scores". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-1010. "AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-1111. "AFI's 100 Years of Musicals". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.
cite-note-1212. "AFI's 10 Top 10". American Film Institute. Retrieved February 23, 2021.

External links

• AFI's 100 Years...