AFI’s 100 YEARS…100 THRILLS

AFI's 100 YEARS...100 THRILLS

the 100 most thrilling american films LEARN MORE

The American Film Institute proudly curates lists to celebrate excellence in the art form. We believe their greatest impact is to inspire personal, passionate discussions about what makes a great film and why and, also, to chart the evolution of the art form. Since its inception, American film has marginalized the diversity of voices that make our nation and its stories strong – and these lists reflect that intolerable truth. AFI acknowledges its responsibility in curating these lists that has reinforced this marginality and looks forward to releasing new lists that will embrace our modern day and drive culture forward.

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1. Psycho (1960)

Cast: Anthony Perkins, Vera Miles, John Gavin

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Joseph Stefano

Editor: George Tomasini

Cinematographer: John L. Russell

Production Company: Shamley Productions, Inc.

2. Jaws (1975)

Cast: Roy Scheider, Robert Shaw, Richard Dreyfuss

Directors: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Richard D. Zanuck, David Brown, William S. Gilmore Jr.

Writer: Peter Benchley, Carl Gottlieb

Editor: Verna Fields

Cinematographer: Bill Butler

Production Company: Universal Pictures , Zanuck/Brown Company

3. The Exorcist (1973)

Cast: Ellen Burstyn, Max von Sydow, Lee J. Cobb

Directors: William Friedkin

Producer: William Peter Blatty, Noel Marshall

Writer: William Peter Blatty

Editor: Bud Smith, Evan Lottman, Norman Gay

Cinematographer: Owen Roizman, Billy Williams

Production Company: Hoya Productions, Inc.

4. North by Northwest (1959)

Cast: Cary Grant, Eva Marie Saint, James Mason

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Ernest Lehman

Editor: George Tomasini

Cinematographer: Robert Burks

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

5. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)

Cast: Jodie Foster, Anthony Hopkins, Scott Glenn

Directors: Jonathan Demme

Producer: Edward Saxon, Kenneth Utt, Ron Bozman, Gary Goetzman

Writer: Ted Tally

Editor: Craig McKay

Cinematographer: Tak Fujimoto

Production Company: Strong Heart Productions

6. Alien (1979)

Cast: Tom Skerritt, Sigourney Weaver, Veronica Cartwright

Directors: Ridley Scott

Producer: Gordon Carroll, David Giler, Walter Hill, Ronald Shusett

Writer: Dan O'Bannon, Ronald Shusett

Editor: Terry Rawlings, Peter Weatherley

Cinematographer: Derek Vanlint

Production Company: Twentieth Century-Fox Film Corp.

7. The Birds (1963)

Cast: Rod Taylor, Tippi Hedren, Jessica Tandy

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Evan Hunter

Editor: George Tomasini

Cinematographer: Robert Burks

Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc.

8. The French Connection (1971)

Cast: Gene Hackman, Fernando Rey, Roy Scheider

Directors: William Friedkin

Producer: G. David Schine, Philip D'Antoni

Writer: Ernest Tidyman

Editor: Jerry Greenberg

Cinematographer: Owen Roizman

Production Company: D'Antoni Productions, Inc.

9. Rosemary's Baby (1968)

Cast: Mia Farrow, John Cassavetes, Ruth Gordon

Directors: Roman Polanski

Producer: William Castle

Writer: Roman Polanski

Editor: Sam O'Steen, Robert Wyman

Cinematographer: William Fraker

Production Company: William Castle Enterprises

10. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)

Cast: Harrison Ford, Karen Allen, Paul Freeman

Directors: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Frank Marshall, George Lucas, Howard Kazanjian

Writer: Lawrence Kasdan, George Lucas, Philip Kaufman

Editor: Michael Kahn

Cinematographer: Douglas Slocombe

Production Company: Lucasfilm, Ltd.

11. The Godfather (1972)

Cast: Marlon Brando, Al Pacino, James Caan

Directors: Francis Ford Coppola

Producer: Robert Evans, Albert S. Ruddy

Writer: Mario Puzo, Francis Ford Coppola

Editor: William Reynolds, Peter Zinner

Cinematographer: Gordon Willis

Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Alfran Productions, Inc.

12. King Kong (1933)

Cast: Fay Wray, Robert Armstrong, Bruce Cabot

Directors: Merian C. Cooper, Ernest B. Schoedsack

Producer: David O. Selznick

Writer: James Creelman , Ruth Rose

Editor: Ted Cheesman

Cinematographer: Eddie Linden, Vernon Walker , J. O. Taylor

Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

13. Bonnie and Clyde (1967)

Cast: Warren Beatty, Faye Dunaway, Michael J. Pollard

Directors: Arthur Penn

Producer: Warren Beatty

Writer: David Newman, Robert Benton

Editor: Dede Allen

Cinematographer: Burnett Guffey

Production Company: Tatira-Hiller Productions

14. Rear Window (1954)

Cast: James Stewart, Grace Kelly, Wendell Corey

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: John Michael Hayes

Editor: George Tomasini

Cinematographer: Robert Burks

Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Patron, Inc.

15. Deliverance (1972)

Cast: Jon Voight, Burt Reynolds, Ned Beatty

Directors: John Boorman

Producer: John Boorman

Writer: James Dickey

Editor: Tom Priestley

Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond

Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc., Elmer Enterprises, Inc.

16. Chinatown (1974)

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Faye Dunaway, John Huston

Directors: Roman Polanski

Producer: Robert Evans

Writer: Robert Towne

Editor: Sam O'Steen

Cinematographer: John A. Alonzo , Stanley Cortez

Production Company: Long Road Productions, Inc.

17. The Manchurian Candidate (1962)

Cast: Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh

Directors: John Frankenheimer

Producer: George Axelrod, John Frankenheimer, Howard W. Koch

Writer: George Axelrod

Editor: Ferris Webster, Carl Mahakian

Cinematographer: Lionel Lindon

Production Company: M. C. Productions

18. Vertigo (1958)

Cast: James Stewart, Kim Novak, Barbara Bel Geddes

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Alec Coppel, Samuel Taylor

Editor: George Tomasini

Cinematographer: Robert Burks

Production Company: Alfred J. Hitchcock Productions, Inc., Paramount Pictures Corp.

19. The Great Escape (1963)

Cast: Robert Graf, Nigel Stock, Angus Lennie

Directors: John Sturges

Producer: John Sturges

Writer: James Clavell, W. R. Burnett

Editor: Ferris Webster

Cinematographer: Daniel L. Fapp

Production Company: The Mirisch Company, Inc., Alpha Corp.

20. High Noon (1952)

Cast: Gary Cooper, Thomas Mitchell, Lloyd Bridges

Directors: Fred Zinnemann

Writer: Carl Foreman

Editor: Harry Gerstad, Elmo Williams

Cinematographer: Floyd Crosby

Production Company: Stanley Kramer Productions, Inc.

21. A Clockwork Orange (1971)

Cast: Malcolm McDowell, Patrick Magee, Michael Bates

Directors: Stanley Kubrick

Producer: Stanley Kubrick, Max L. Raab, Si Litvinoff

Writer: Stanley Kubrick

Editor: Bill Butler

Production Company: Hawks Films Limited, Polaris Productions, Inc.

22. Taxi Driver (1976)

Cast: Robert DeNiro, Jodie Foster, Albert Brooks

Directors: Martin Scorsese

Producer: Michael Phillips, Julia Phillips

Writer: Paul Schrader

Editor: Tom Rolf, Melvin Shapiro

Cinematographer: Michael Chapman

Production Company: Bill/Phillips Productions, Italo-Judeo

23. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)

Cast: Peter O'Toole, Alec Guinness, Anthony Quinn

Directors: David Lean

Producer: Sam Spiegel, David Lean

Writer: Robert Bolt, Michael Wilson

Editor: Anne V. Coates

Cinematographer: F. A. Young

Production Company: Horizon Pictures (G.B.), Ltd.

24. Double Indemnity (1944)

Cast: Fred MacMurray, Barbara Stanwyck, Edward G. Robinson

Directors: Billy Wilder

Producer: B. G. DeSylva, Joseph Sistrom

Writer: Billy Wilder, Raymond Chandler

Editor: Doane Harrison

Cinematographer: John Seitz

Production Company: Paramount Pictures, Inc.

25. Titanic (1997)

Cast: Leonardo DiCaprio, Kate Winslet, Billy Zane

Directors: James Cameron

Producer: James Cameron, Jon Landau

Writer: James Cameron

Editor: Conrad Buff, James Cameron, Richard A. Harris

Cinematographer: Russell Carpenter

Production Company: Paramount Pictures Corp., Twentieth Century Fox Film Corp., Lightstorm Entertainment

26. The Maltese Falcon (1941)

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Mary Astor, Gladys George

Directors: John Huston

Producer: Hal B. Wallis

Writer: John Huston

Editor: Thomas Richards

Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

27. Star Wars (1977)

Cast: Mark Hamill, Harrison Ford, Carrie Fisher

Directors: George Lucas

Producer: Gary Kurtz, George Lucas

Writer: George Lucas

Editor: Paul Hirsch, Marcia Lucas, Richard Chew, John Jympson

Cinematographer: Gilbert Taylor

Production Company: Lucasfilm, Ltd.

28. Fatal Attraction (1987)

Cast: Michael Douglas, Glenn Close, Anne Archer

Directors: Adrian Lyne

Producer: Stanley R. Jaffe, Sherry Lansing

Writer: James Dearden

Editor: Michael Kahn, Peter E. Berger

Cinematographer: Howard Atherton

Production Company: Jaffe/Lansing Productions

29. The Shining (1980)

Cast: Jack Nicholson, Shelley Duvall, Danny Lloyd

Directors: Stanley Kubrick

Producer: Stanley Kubrick, Jan Harlan

Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Diane Johnson

Editor: Ray Lovejoy

Cinematographer: John Alcott

Production Company: Hawk Films Ltd.

30. The Deer Hunter (1978)

Cast: Robert De Niro, John Cazale, John Savage

Directors: Michael Cimino

Producer: Barry Spikings, Michael Deeley, Michael Cimino, John Peverall

Writer: Michael Cimino, Deric Washburn, Louis Garfinkle, Quinn K. Redeker, Deric Washburn

Editor: Peter Zinner

Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond

Production Company: EMI

31. Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977)

Cast: Richard Dreyfuss, Francois Truffaut, Teri Garr

Directors: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Julia Phillips, Michael Phillips

Writer: Steven Spielberg

Editor: Michael Kahn

Cinematographer: Vilmos Zsigmond, William A. Fraker , Douglas Slocombe

Production Company: Columbia Pictures, EMI

32. Strangers on a Train (1951)

Cast: Farley Granger, Ruth Roman, Robert Walker

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Raymond Chandler, Czenzi Ormonde, Whitfield Cook

Editor: William H. Ziegler

Cinematographer: Robert Burks

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

33. The Fugitive (1993)

Cast: Harrison Ford, Tommy Lee Jones, Sela Ward

Directors: Andrew Davis, Terry J. Leonard, Mike Gray

Producer: Arnold Kopelson, Keith Barish, Roy Huggins

Writer: Jeb Stuart, David Twohy, David Twohy

Editor: Dennis Virkler, David Finfer, Dean Goodhill, Don Brochu, Richard Nord, Dov Hoenig

Cinematographer: Michael Chapman, Gary H. Holt, George Kohut

Production Company: Warner Bros., Inc.

34. The Night of the Hunter (1955)

Cast: Robert Mitchum, Shelley Winters, Lillian Gish

Directors: Charles Laughton

Producer: Paul Gregory

Writer: James Agee, Charles Laughton

Editor: Robert Golden

Cinematographer: Stanley Cortez

Production Company: Paul Gregory Productions

35. Jurassic Park (1993)

Cast: Sam Neill, Laura Dern, Jeff Goldblum

Directors: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Kathleen Kennedy, Gerald R. Molen

Writer: Michael Crichton, David Koepp

Editor: Michael Kahn

Cinematographer: Dean Cundey

Production Company: Amblin Entertainment

36. Bullitt (1968)

Cast: Steve McQueen, Robert Vaughn, Jacqueline Bisset

Directors: Peter Yates

Producer: Philip D'Antoni, Robert E. Relyea

Writer: Alan R. Trustman, Harry Kleiner

Editor: Frank P. Keller, Ralph H. Martin

Cinematographer: William A. Fraker

Production Company: Solar Productions, Inc.

37. Casablanca (1942)

Cast: Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman, Paul Henreid

Directors: Michael Curtiz

Producer: Jack L. Warner, Hal B. Wallis

Writer: Julius J. Epstein, Philip G. Epstein, Howard Koch

Editor: Owen Marks

Cinematographer: Arthur Edeson

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

38. Notorious (1946)

Cast: Cary Grant, Ingrid Bergman, Claude Rains

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Ben Hecht

Editor: Theron Warth

Cinematographer: Ted Tetzlaff

Production Company: RKO Radio Pictures, Inc.

39. Die Hard (1988)

Cast: Bruce Willis, Alan Rickman, Alexander Godunov

Directors: John McTiernan

Producer: Lawrence Gordon, Joel Silver, Charles Gordon

Writer: Jeb Stuart, Steven E. de Souza

Editor: Frank J. Urioste, John F. Link

Cinematographer: Jan de Bont

Production Company: Gordon Company , Silver Pictures

40. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Cast: Keir Dullea, Gary Lockwood, William Sylvester

Directors: Stanley Kubrick

Producer: Stanley Kubrick

Writer: Stanley Kubrick, Arthur C. Clarke

Editor: Ray Lovejoy

Cinematographer: Geoffrey Unsworth

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Inc.

41. Dirty Harry (1971)

Cast: Clint Eastwood, Harry Guardino, Reni Santoni

Directors: Don Siegel

Producer: Robert Daley, Clint Eastwood, Don Siegel

Writer: Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink, Dean Riesner , Harry Julian Fink, R. M. Fink

Editor: Carl Pingitore

Cinematographer: Bruce Surtees

Production Company: The Malpaso Company

42. The Terminator (1984)

Cast: Arnold Schwarzenegger, Michael Biehn, Linda Hamilton

Directors: James Cameron

Producer: Gale Anne Hurd, John Daly, Derek Gibson

Writer: James Cameron, Gale Anne Hurd

Editor: Mark Goldblatt

Cinematographer: Adam Greenberg, Chuck Colwell

Production Company: Hemdale Productions

43. The Wizard of Oz (1939)

Cast: Judy Garland, Frank Morgan, Ray Bolger

Directors: Victor Fleming, King Vidor

Producer: Mervyn Le Roy

Writer: Noel Langley, Florence Ryerson, Edgar Allan Woolf, Noel Langley

Editor: Blanche Sewell

Cinematographer: Harold Rosson

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

44. E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)

Cast: Dee Wallace, Peter Coyote, Robert MacNaughton

Directors: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Steven Spielberg, Kathleen Kennedy

Writer: Melissa Mathison

Editor: Carol Littleton

Cinematographer: Allen Daviau

Production Company: Universal Pictures , Amblin' Entertainment

45. Saving Private Ryan (1998)

Cast: Tom Hanks, Edward Burns, Tom Sizemore

Directors: Steven Spielberg

Producer: Steven Spielberg, Ian Bryce, Mark Gordon, Gary Levinsohn

Writer: Robert Rodat

Editor: Michael Kahn

Cinematographer: Janusz Kaminski

Production Company: Amblin Entertainment , Mutual Film Company

46. Carrie (1976)

Cast: Sissy Spacek, Amy Irving, William Katt

Directors: Brian DePalma

Producer: Paul Monash

Writer: Lawrence D. Cohen

Editor: Paul Hirsch

Cinematographer: Mario Tosi

Production Company: Redbank Films

47. Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956)

Cast: Kevin McCarthy, Dana Wynter, Larry Gates

Directors: Don Siegel

Producer: Walter Wanger

Writer: Daniel Mainwaring

Editor: Robert S. Eisen

Cinematographer: Ellsworth Fredericks

Production Company: Walter Wanger Pictures, Inc.

48. Dial M for Murder (1954)

Cast: Ray Milland, Grace Kelly, Robert Cummings

Directors: Alfred Hitchcock

Producer: Alfred Hitchcock

Writer: Frederick Knott

Editor: Rudi Fehr

Cinematographer: Robert Burks

Production Company: Warner Bros. Pictures, Inc.

49. Ben-Hur (1959)

Cast: Charlton Heston, Jack Hawkins, Haya Harareet

Directors: William Wyler

Producer: Joseph R. Vogel, Sol C. Siegel, Sam Zimbalist, J. J. Cohn

Writer: Karl Tunberg

Editor: Ralph E. Winters, John D. Dunning, Margaret Booth

Cinematographer: Robert L. Surtees

Production Company: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Corp.

50. Marathon Man (1976)

Cast: Dustin Hoffman, Laurence Olivier, Roy Scheider

Directors: John Schlesinger

Producer: Robert Evans, Sidney Beckerman

Writer: William Goldman

Editor: Jim Clark

Cinematographer: Conrad Hall

51. Raging Bull (1980)

Cast: Robert De Niro, Cathy Moriarty, Joe Pesci

Directors: Martin Scorsese

Producer: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Peter Savage

Writer: Paul Schrader, Mardik Martin

Editor: Thelma Schoonmaker

Cinematographer: Michael Chapman

Production Company: Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc.

52. Rocky (1976)

Cast: Sylvester Stallone, Talia Shire, Burt Young

Directors: John G. Avildsen

Producer: Irwin Winkler, Robert Chartoff, Gene Kirkwood

Writer: Sylvester Stallone

Editor: Richard Halsey, Scott Conrad

Cinematographer: James Crabe

Production Company: Chartoff-Winkler Productions, Inc.

53. Pulp Fiction (1994)

Cast: John Travolta, Samuel L. Jackson, Uma Thurman

Directors: Quentin Tarantino

Producer: Lawrence Bender

Writer: Quentin Tarantino

Editor: Sally Menke

Cinematographer: Andrzej Sekula

Production Company: A Band Apart , Jersey Films

54. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)

Cast: Paul Newman, Robert Redford, Katharine Ross

Directors: George Roy Hill

Producer: John Foreman, Paul Newman, Paul Monash

Writer: William Goldman

Editor: John C. Howard, Richard C. Meyer

Cinematographer: Conrad Hall

Production Company: Campanile Productions, Inc.