100 YEARS...100 MOVIES (America's 400 Greatest Films Nominated by AFI)

The American Film Institute in Los Angeles, California in 1998 commemorated the extraordinary first 100 years of American movies by selecting 400 candidate films for voting consideration, in preparation for a "definitive selection of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, as determined by more than 1,500 leaders from the American film community." All chosen films were feature-length fictional movies produced between 1912 and 1996 "with the goal of amassing a capsule of the first 100 years of American cinema, across decades and across genres." Write-in votes for unlisted films were also permitted. The 1950s was the most represented decade on the list, with 20 films. And 70 of the films on the list were from 1950 and after. 14 films were made after 1980. More than half of the films (56) were made between 1950 and 1979, thereby ignoring cinema's early years and some of the modern era. Each decade's summary: Silent era: 3 films, 1930s: 15 films, 1940s: 12 films, 1950s: 20 films, 1960s: 18 films, 1970s: 18 films, 1980s: 6 films, and 1990s: 8 films. Also, see these additional listings: America's 100 Greatest Movies (ranked) or America's 100 Greatest Movies (organized by decade). And read this site's Commentary on AFI's 100 Greatest American Movies.