AFI 100 Years...100 Cheers

100 Most Inspiring American Movies

100 YEARS...100 CHEERS

The Winners



The American Film Institute (AFI) in Los Angeles, California conducted its ninth polling, 100 Years...100 Cheers. It was to be a definitive selection of the 100 most 'inspiring' American films of all time, as determined by more than 1,500 film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers), critics and historians. AFI’s 100 Years…100 Cheers revealed America’s 100 greatest inspirational films, as chosen by leaders of the entertainment community, in a three-hour television event, that aired on the CBS Television Network in June 2006.

A ballot was distributed with 300 nominated films to a jury of 1,500 leaders from the creative community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers) critics and historians.


AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers
America's 100
Most Inspiring Films

(Winners, Ranked)

  1. It's a Wonderful Life, 1946
  2. To Kill a Mockingbird, 1962
  3. Schindler's List, 1993
  4. Rocky, 1976
  5. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington, 1939
  6. E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial, 1982
  7. The Grapes of Wrath, 1940
  8. Breaking Away, 1979
  9. Miracle on 34th Street, 1947
  10. Saving Private Ryan, 1998
  11. The Best Years of Our Lives, 1946
  12. Apollo 13, 1995
  13. Hoosiers, 1986
  14. The Bridge on the River Kwai, 1957
  15. The Miracle Worker, 1962
  16. Norma Rae, 1979
  17. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, 1975
  18. The Diary of Anne Frank, 1959
  19. The Right Stuff, 1983
  20. Philadelphia, 1993
  21. In the Heat of the Night, 1967
  22. The Pride of the Yankees, 1942
  23. The Shawshank Redemption, 1994
  24. National Velvet, 1944
  25. Sullivan's Travels, 1941
  26. The Wizard of Oz, 1939
  27. High Noon, 1952
  28. Field of Dreams, 1989
  29. Gandhi, 1982
  30. Lawrence of Arabia, 1962
  31. Glory, 1989
  32. Casablanca, 1942
  33. City Lights, 1931
  34. All the President's Men, 1976
  35. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner, 1967
  36. On the Waterfront, 1954
  37. Forrest Gump, 1994
  38. Pinocchio, 1940
  39. Star Wars, 1977
  40. Mrs. Miniver, 1942
  41. The Sound of Music, 1965
  42. 12 Angry Men, 1957
  43. Gone With the Wind, 1939
  44. Spartacus, 1960
  45. On Golden Pond, 1981
  46. Lilies of the Field, 1963
  47. 2001: a Space Odyssey, 1968
  48. The African Queen, 1951
  49. Meet John Doe, 1941
  50. Seabiscuit, 2003
  1. The Color Purple, 1985
  2. Dead Poet's Society, 1989
  3. Shane, 1953
  4. Rudy, 1993
  5. The Defiant Ones, 1958
  6. Ben-Hur, 1959
  7. Sergeant York, 1941
  8. Close Encounters of the Third Kind, 1977
  9. Dances With Wolves, 1990
  10. The Killing Fields, 1984
  11. Sounder, 1972
  12. Braveheart, 1995
  13. Rain Man, 1988
  14. The Black Stallion, 1979
  15. A Raisin in the Sun, 1961
  16. Silkwood, 1983
  17. The Day the Earth Stood Still, 1951
  18. An Officer and a Gentleman, 1982
  19. The Spirit of St. Louis, 1957
  20. Coal Miner's Daughter, 1980
  21. Cool Hand Luke, 1967
  22. Dark Victory, 1939
  23. Erin Brockovich, 2000
  24. Gunga Din, 1939
  25. The Verdict, 1982
  26. Birdman of Alcatraz, 1962
  27. Driving Miss Daisy, 1989
  28. Thelma & Louise, 1991
  29. The Ten Commandments, 1956
  30. Babe, 1995
  31. Boys Town, 1938
  32. Fiddler on the Roof, 1971
  33. Mr. Deeds Goes to Town, 1936
  34. Serpico, 1973
  35. What's Love Got to Do With It, 1993
  36. Stand and Deliver, 1988
  37. Working Girl, 1988
  38. Yankee Doodle Dandy, 1942
  39. Harold and Maude, 1972
  40. Hotel Rwanda, 2004
  41. The Paper Chase, 1973
  42. Fame, 1980
  43. A Beautiful Mind, 2001
  44. Captains Courageous, 1937
  45. Places in the Heart, 1984
  46. Searching for Bobby Fischer, 1993
  47. Madame Curie, 1943
  48. The Karate Kid, 1984
  49. Ray, 2004
  50. Chariots of Fire, 1981



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