''AFI's 10 Top 10'' honors the ten greatest American films in ten classic film genres. Presented by the
American Film Institute
The American Film Institute (AFI) is an American nonprofit film organization that educates filmmakers and honors the heritage of the motion picture arts in the United States. AFI is supported by private funding and public membership fees.
Lead ...
(AFI), the lists were unveiled on a
television special
A television special (often TV special, or rarely television spectacular) is a standalone television show which may also temporarily interrupt episodic programming normally scheduled for a given time slot. Some specials provide a full range of e ...
broadcast by
CBS on June 17, 2008. In the special, various actors and directors, among them
Clint Eastwood,
Quentin Tarantino
Quentin Jerome Tarantino (; born March 27, 1963) is an American film director, writer, producer, and actor. His films are characterized by stylized violence, extended dialogue, profanity, dark humor, non-linear storylines, cameos, ensembl ...
,
Kirk Douglas,
Harrison Ford,
Martin Scorsese
Martin Charles Scorsese ( , ; born November 17, 1942) is an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor. Scorsese emerged as one of the major figures of the New Hollywood era. He is the recipient of many major accolades, incl ...
,
Steven Spielberg
Steven Allan Spielberg (; born December 18, 1946) is an American director, writer, and producer. A major figure of the New Hollywood era and pioneer of the modern blockbuster, he is the most commercially successful director of all time. Sp ...
,
George Lucas
George Walton Lucas Jr. (born May 14, 1944) is an American filmmaker. Lucas is best known for creating the '' Star Wars'' and '' Indiana Jones'' franchises and founding Lucasfilm, LucasArts, Industrial Light & Magic and THX. He served as c ...
,
Roman Polanski
Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
, and
Jane Fonda
Jane Seymour Fonda (born December 21, 1937) is an American actress, activist, and former fashion model. Recognized as a film icon, Fonda is the recipient of List of awards and nominations received by Jane Fonda, various accolades including two ...
, discussed their admiration for and personal contributions to the films cited.
The entire list of 500 nominated films is available on the American Film Institute website.
To date, this is the final program in AFI's countdown specials.
Animation
AFI defines "
animation
Animation is a method by which still figures are manipulated to appear as moving images. In traditional animation, images are drawn or painted by hand on transparent celluloid sheets to be photographed and exhibited on film. Today, most ani ...
" as a genre where the film's images are primarily created by computer or hand and the characters are voiced by actors. Nine of the films are
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
properties, including two collaborative works with
Pixar.
Courtroom drama
AFI defines "
courtroom drama
A legal drama is a genre of film and television that generally focuses on narratives regarding legal practice and the justice system. The American Film Institute (AFI) defines "courtroom drama" as a genre of film in which a system of justice pla ...
" as a genre of film in which a system of justice plays a critical role in the film's narrative.
Epic
AFI defines "
epic" as a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic interpretation of the past.
Fantasy
AFI defines "
fantasy
Fantasy is a genre of speculative fiction involving magical elements, typically set in a fictional universe and sometimes inspired by mythology and folklore. Its roots are in oral traditions, which then became fantasy literature and d ...
" as a genre in which live-action characters inhabit imagined settings and/or experience situations that transcend the rules of the natural world.
Gangster
AFI defines the "
gangster film" as a genre that centers on organized crime or maverick criminals in a modern setting.
Mystery
AFI defines "
mystery" as a genre that revolves around the solution of a crime.
Romantic comedy
AFI defines "
romantic comedy
Romantic comedy (also known as romcom or rom-com) is a subgenre of comedy and slice of life fiction, focusing on lighthearted, humorous plot lines centered on romantic ideas, such as how true love is able to surmount most obstacles. In a typic ...
" as a genre in which the development of a romance leads to comic situations.
Science fiction
AFI defines "
science fiction
Science fiction (sometimes shortened to Sci-Fi or SF) is a genre of speculative fiction which typically deals with imaginative and futuristic concepts such as advanced science and technology, space exploration, time travel, parallel uni ...
" as a genre that marries a scientific or technological premise with imaginative speculation.
Sports
AFI defines "sports" as a genre of films with protagonists who play athletics or other games of competition.
Western
AFI defines "
western" as a genre of films set in the American West that embodies the spirit, the struggle, and the demise of the new frontier.
AFI Crowns Top 10 Films in 10 Classic Film Genres - ComingSoon.net
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References
External links
AFI's 10 Top 10
Official playlist on YouTube
{{DEFAULTSORT:Afi's 10 Top 10
AFI 100 Years... series
CBS original programming
Centennial anniversaries
Cinema of the United States