100 Years...100 Movies

AFI's 10 Top 10
Film Genres

Part 5 (Westerns)




The American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California, in 2008 honored America’s 10 greatest films in 10 classic film genres. The jury was asked to choose up to 10 movies per genre from a comprehensive list.

To compile the final list, AFI distributed a ballot with 500 Nominated Films (50 per genre) to a jury of over 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians.

In previous years, the AFI has also produced other lists of the following:

AFI’s 100 Years…100 Movies (1998) (original)
400 Greatest American Films (nominees) (original)
Read this site's Commentary on AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies (original)

100 Greatest American Movies (10th Anniversary Edition)

AFI asked jurors to consider the following criteria in their selection process:

  • Feature-length: Narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length.

  • American film: English-language film with significant creative and/or production elements from the United States. Additionally, only films released before January 1, 2008 were considered.

  • Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print, television, and digital media.

  • Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from peer groups, critics, guilds and major film festivals.

  • Popularity Over Time: This includes success at the box office, television and cable airings, and DVD/VHS sales and rentals.

  • Historical Significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through visionary narrative devices, technical innovation or other groundbreaking achievements.

  • Cultural Impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

Note: The films that are marked with a yellow star are the films that "The Greatest Films" site has selected as the 100 Greatest Films.



AMERICA's 10 Top 10
Film Genres

Part 5 (Westerns)
Please see this site's extensive section on Western Films

Western Films:

AFI described western films as "a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle and the demise of the new frontier. Brimming with subtext and mythology, westerns offer iconic images of a time gone by and perhaps a time that never was. A man of action with an unspoken code of honor, the western hero faces gun-toting opponents, hostile natives, lawless towns, the harsh forces of nature, and the encroachment of civilization. But the westerner keeps going, drawn to the freedom of the open plains and the promise of a new life."

Nominees: 11 of the 50 movies featured John Wayne; 10 of the 50 movies were directed by John Ford. Seven of these 21 movies featured both John Ford and John Wayne.

Winners: The Searchers (1956) (# 1), High Noon (1952) (# 2), Shane (1953) (# 3), Unforgiven (1992) (# 4), Red River (1948) (# 5), The Wild Bunch (1969) (# 6), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) (# 7), McCabe & Mrs. Miller (1971) (# 8), Stagecoach (1939) (# 9), Cat Ballou (1965) (# 10).

Comments: Cat Ballou (1965) doesn't belong in the top 10 - it's basically a comedy.


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