PSYCHO Tops AFI’S List Of The 100 Most Thrilling American Films

JAWS, THE EXORCIST, NORTH BY NORTHWEST and THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS Make the Top Cut On AFI’S 100 YEARS…100 THRILLS

LOS ANGELES, JUNE 13, 2001— The American Film Institute (AFI) revealed the 100 most thrilling American films yesterday evening during AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills, a three-hour special television event. PSYCHO, the 1960 Alfred Hitchcock classic starring Janet Leigh and Anthony Perkins, ranked #1. Following PSYCHO in the top 10, in order, were JAWS (#2), THE EXORCIST (#3), NORTH BY NORTHWEST (#4), THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (#5), ALIEN (#6), THE BIRDS (#7), THE FRENCH CONNECTION (#8), ROSEMARY’S BABY (#9) and RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (#10).

Interesting facts about AFI’s 100 Years…100 Thrills include:

• The 100 films span from Harold Lloyd's SAFETY LAST, released in 1923, to 1999's THE MATRIX and THE SIXTH SENSE.
• Harrison Ford and Claude Rains are the most celebrated actors, each starring in 4 films in the top 100. Ford's films are BLADE RUNNER, THE FUGITIVE, RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK and STAR WARS. Rains stars in THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD, LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, NOTORIOUS and CASABLANCA
• Nine Alfred Hitchcock films made the list, including the film ranked #1, PSYCHO, making him the most represented director. Hitchcock’s frequent cameos technically make him the most represented actor on the list with eight appearances, including every film except DIAL M FOR MURDER, in which he appears in a photograph on the wall.
• Steven Spielberg directed 6 films on the list, 2 of which placed in the top 10, and he wrote and produced POLTERGEIST. Stanley Kubrick directed 5 of America's most heart-pounding movies.
• With 22 films, the 1970s claim the most heart-pounding movies in the AFI countdown. The 1960s boast 21 movies on the list, while the 1980s and 1940s each have 14.
• Jim Cameron's TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY is the only movie sequel on the AFI list.
• Thrills that cross generations include John Huston and his father, actor Walter Huston, appear together in THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. Director Alfred Hitchcock and his daughter, actress Pat Hitchcock worked together in STRANGERS ON A TRAIN and PSYCHO. Actresses Janet Leigh (PSYCHO, TOUCH OF EVIL, THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE) and her daughter, Jamie Lee Curtis (HALLOWEEN), appear in separate films on the AFI list.
• Thrills encompass many genres, including 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).

"Creating a movie is the ultimate collaborative effort," stated Jean Picker Firstenberg, AFI’s Director and CEO. "When it all comes together it is, in a word, thrilling. AFI hopes this new list will spark another national dialogue and send a new generation of movie goers to see these heart-pounding movies."

The 100 most thrilling films were selected by a blue-ribbon panel of leaders from the film community, including film artists (directors, screenwriters, actors, editors, cinematographers, visual effects artists, stunt men and women and make-up artists), critics and historians. The nominated films crossed many genres, including Action-Adventure, Silent, Film Noir, Horror, Science Fiction, Suspense, War, and Western.

And the winners are…

1. PSYCHO (1960)
2. JAWS (1975)
3. THE EXORCIST (1973)
4. NORTH BY NORTHWEST (1959)
5. THE SILENCE OF THE LAMBS (1991)
6. ALIEN (1979)
7. THE BIRDS (1963)
8. THE FRENCH CONNECTION (1971)
9. ROSEMARY'S BABY (1968)
10. RAIDERS OF THE LOST ARK (1981)
11. THE GODFATHER (1972)
12. KING KONG (1933)
13. BONNIE AND CLYDE (1967)
14. REAR WINDOW (1954)
15. DELIVERANCE (1972)
16. CHINATOWN (1974)
17. THE MANCHURIAN CANDIDATE (1962)
18. VERTIGO (1958)
19. THE GREAT ESCAPE (1963)
20. HIGH NOON (1952)
21. A CLOCKWORK ORANGE (1971)
22. TAXI DRIVER (1976)
23. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA (1962)
24. DOUBLE INDEMNITY (1944)
25. TITANIC (1997)
26. THE MALTESE FALCON (1941)
27. STAR WARS (1977)
28. FATAL ATTRACTION (1987)
29. THE SHINING (1980)
30. THE DEER HUNTER (1978)
31. CLOSE ENCOUNTERS OF THE THIRD KIND (1977)
32. STRANGERS ON A TRAIN (1951)
33. THE FUGITIVE (1993)
34. THE NIGHT OF THE HUNTER (1955)
35. JURASSIC PARK (1993)
36. BULLITT (1968)
37. CASABLANCA (1942)
38. NOTORIOUS (1946)
39. DIE HARD (1988)
40. 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY (1968)
41. DIRTY HARRY (1971)
42. THE TERMINATOR (1984)
43. THE WIZARD OF OZ (1939)
44. E.T. THE EXTRA-TERRESTRIAL (1982)
45. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN (1998)
46. CARRIE (1976)
47. INVASION OF THE BODY SNATCHERS (1956)
48. DIAL M FOR MURDER (1954)
49. BEN-HUR (1959)
50. MARATHON MAN (1976)
51. RAGING BULL (1980)
52. ROCKY (1976)
53. PULP FICTION (1994)
54. BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID (1969)
55. WAIT UNTIL DARK (1967)
56. FRANKENSTEIN (1931)
57. ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN (1976)
58. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI (1957)
59. PLANET OF THE APES (1968)
60. THE SIXTH SENSE (1999)
61. CAPE FEAR (1962)
62. SPARTACUS (1960)
63. WHAT EVER HAPPENED TO BABY JANE? (1962)
64. TOUCH OF EVIL (1958)
65. THE DIRTY DOZEN (1967)
66. THE MATRIX (1999)
67. THE TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE (1948)
68. HALLOWEEN (1978)
69. THE WILD BUNCH (1969)
70. DOG DAY AFTERNOON (1975)
71. GOLDFINGER (1964)
72. PLATOON (1986)
73. LAURA (1944)
74. BLADE RUNNER (1982)
75. THE THIRD MAN (1949)
76. THELMA & LOUISE (1991)
77. TERMINATOR 2: JUDGMENT DAY (1991)
78. GASLIGHT (1944)
79. THE MAGNIFICENT SEVEN (1960)
80. REBECCA (1940)
81. THE OMEN (1976)
82. THE DAY THE EARTH STOOD STILL (1951)
83. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA (1925)
84. POLTERGEIST (1982)
85. DRACULA (1931)
86. THE PICTURE OF DORIAN GRAY (1945)
87. THE THING FROM ANOTHER WORLD (1951)
88. 12 ANGRY MEN (1957)
89. THE GUNS OF NAVARONE (1961)
90. THE POSEIDON ADVENTURE (1972)
91. BRAVEHEART (1995)
92. BODY HEAT (1981)
93. NIGHT OF THE LIVING DEAD (1968)
94. THE CHINA SYNDROME (1979)
95. FULL METAL JACKET (1987)
96. BLUE VELVET (1986)
97. SAFETY LAST (1923)
98. BLOOD SIMPLE (1984)
99. SPEED (1994)
100. THE ADVENTURES OF ROBIN HOOD (1938)