AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills
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Part of the AFI 100 Years… series, AFI's 100 Years…100 Thrills is a list of the top 100 thrilling 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.
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The List
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List notes
- The films span from Safety Last! released in 1923 to The Matrix and The Sixth Sense released in 1999.
- Harrison Ford and Claude Rains are the two most celebrated actors on the list, each starring in four films. Ford starred in Blade Runner, Raiders of the Lost Ark, The Fugitive, and Star Wars, while Rains starred in The Adventures of Robin Hood, Lawrence of Arabia, Notorious and Casablanca.
- Nine films directed by Alfred Hitchcock made the list, including the #1 thriller, Psycho, making him the most represented director. His frequent cameos technically make him the most represented actor with appearances in every film on the list except Dial M for Murder, where he appears in a photograph on the wall.
- Steven Spielberg directed six films on the list, two of which are placed in the top 10. Spielberg also wrote and produced Poltergeist. Stanley Kubrick directed five films on the list.
- The 1970s have the most thrilling films on the list with 22. The 1960s have 21 films, while the 1980s and 1950s each have fourteen.
- Terminator 2: Judgment Day is the only sequel on the list.
- Thrillers that cross generations include John Huston appearing with his father Walter Huston in The Treasure of the Sierra Madre, Alfred Hitchcock working with his daughter Pat Hitchcock on Strangers on a Train and Psycho and Janet Leigh (Psycho, Touch of Evil, The Manchurian Candidate) and her daughter Jamie Lee Curtis (Halloween) appearing in separate films. Kirk Douglas in Spartacus, and son Michael Douglas in Fatal Attraction and The China Syndrome.
- The 100 thrills cover many genres including comedies (Safety Last!) courtroom dramas (12 Angry Men) disasters (Titanic), epics (Lawrence of Arabia), horror (Psycho), musicals (The Wizard of Oz), noir (Double Indemnity), sci-fi (Alien), sports (Rocky), suspense (North by Northwest), war (Saving Private Ryan) and westerns (High Noon).
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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.
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