100 Years... 100 Cheers: America's Most Inspiring Movies is a list of the most inspiring films as determined by the American Film Institute. It is part of the AFI 100 Years... series, which has been compiling lists of the greatest films of all time in various categories since 1998. It was unveiled on a three-hour prime time special on CBS television on June 14, 2006.

The films were selected by a jury of over 1,500 people involved in the film industry, who were polled in November 2005.

The list # Movies Director Year 1 It's a Wonderful Life Frank Capra 1946 2 To Kill a Mockingbird Robert Mulligan 1962 3 Schindler's List Steven Spielberg 1993 4 Rocky John G. Avildsen 1976 5 Mr. Smith Goes to Washington Frank Capra 1939 6 E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial Steven Spielberg 1982 7 The Grapes of Wrath John Ford 1940 8 Breaking Away Peter Yates 1979 9 Miracle on 34th Street George Seaton 1947 10 Saving Private Ryan Steven Spielberg 1998 11 The Best Years of Our Lives William Wyler 1946 12 Apollo 13 Ron Howard 1995 13 Hoosiers David Anspaugh 1986 14 The Bridge on the River Kwai David Lean 1957 15 The Miracle Worker Arthur Penn 1962 16 Norma Rae Martin Ritt 1979 17 One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest Miloš Forman 1975 18 The Diary of Anne Frank George Stevens 1959 19 The Right Stuff Philip Kaufman 1983 20 Philadelphia Jonathan Demme 1993 21 In the Heat of the Night Norman Jewison 1967 22 The Pride of the Yankees Sam Wood 1942 23 The Shawshank Redemption Frank Darabont 1994 24 National Velvet Clarence Brown 1944 25 Sullivan's Travels Preston Sturges 1941 26 The Wizard of Oz Victor Fleming 1939 27 High Noon Fred Zinnemann 1952 28 Field of Dreams Phil Alden Robinson 1989 29 Gandhi Richard Attenborough 1982 30 Lawrence of Arabia David Lean 1962 31 Glory Edward Zwick 1989 32 Casablanca Michael Curtiz 1942 33 City Lights Charlie Chaplin 1931 34 All the President's Men Alan J. Pakula 1976 35 Guess Who's Coming to Dinner Stanley Kramer 1967 36 On the Waterfront Elia Kazan 1954 37 Forrest Gump Robert Zemeckis 1994 38 Pinocchio Ben SharpsteenHamilton Luske 1940 39 Star Wars George Lucas 1977 40 Mrs. Miniver William Wyler 1942 41 The Sound of Music Robert Wise 1965 42 12 Angry Men Sidney Lumet 1957 43 Gone with the Wind Victor Fleming 1939 44 Spartacus Stanley Kubrick 1960 45 On Golden Pond Mark Rydell 1981 46 Lilies of the Field Ralph Nelson 1963 47 2001: A Space Odyssey Stanley Kubrick 1968 48 The African Queen John Huston 1951 49 Meet John Doe Frank Capra 1941 50 Seabiscuit Gary Ross 2003 51 The Color Purple Steven Spielberg 1985 52 Dead Poets Society Peter Weir 1989 53 Shane George Stevens 1953 54 Rudy David Anspaugh 1993 55 The Defiant Ones Stanley Kramer 1958 56 Ben-Hur William Wyler 1959 57 Sergeant York Howard Hawks 1941 58 Close Encounters of the Third Kind Steven Spielberg 1977 59 Dances with Wolves Kevin Costner 1990 60 The Killing Fields Roland Joffé 1984 61 Sounder Martin Ritt 1972 62 Braveheart Mel Gibson 1995 63 Rain Man Barry Levinson 1988 64 The Black Stallion Carroll Ballard 1979 65 A Raisin in the Sun Daniel Petrie 1961 66 Silkwood Mike Nichols 1983 67 The Day the Earth Stood Still Robert Wise 1951 68 An Officer and a Gentleman Taylor Hackford 1982 69 The Spirit of St. Louis Billy Wilder 1957 70 Coal Miner's Daughter Michael Apted 1980 71 Cool Hand Luke Stuart Rosenberg 1967 72 Dark Victory Edmund Goulding 1939 73 Erin Brockovich Steven Soderbergh 2000 74 Gunga Din George Stevens 1939 75 The Verdict Sidney Lumet 1982 76 Birdman of Alcatraz John Frankenheimer 1962 77 Driving Miss Daisy Bruce Beresford 1989 78 Thelma & Louise Ridley Scott 1991 79 The Ten Commandments Cecil B. DeMille 1956 80 Babe Chris Noonan 1995 81 Boys Town Norman Taurog 1938 82 Fiddler on the Roof Norman Jewison 1971 83 Mr. Deeds Goes to Town Frank Capra 1936 84 Serpico Sidney Lumet 1973 85 What's Love Got to Do with It Brian Gibson 1993 86 Stand and Deliver Ramón Menéndez 1988 87 Working Girl Mike Nichols 1988 88 Yankee Doodle Dandy Michael Curtiz 1942 89 Harold and Maude Hal Ashby 1971 90 Hotel Rwanda Terry George 2004 91 The Paper Chase James Bridges 1973 92 Fame Alan Parker 1980 93 A Beautiful Mind Ron Howard 2001 94 Captains Courageous Victor Fleming 1937 95 Places in the Heart Robert Benton 1984 96 Searching for Bobby Fischer Steven Zaillian 1993 97 Madame Curie Mervyn LeRoy 1943 98 The Karate Kid John G. Avildsen 1984 99 Ray Taylor Hackford 2004 100 Chariots of Fire Hugh Hudson 1981

Statistics

Director with the most films: Steven Spielberg — 5 films on the list (Schindler’s List; E.T.; Saving Private Ryan; The Color Purple; Close Encounters of the Third Kind). Runner-up: Frank Capra — 4 films (It’s a Wonderful Life; Mr. Smith Goes to Washington; Meet John Doe; Mr. Deeds Goes to Town). Other directors with many films (3 each): William Wyler (The Best Years of Our Lives, Mrs. Miniver, Ben-Hur), Sidney Lumet, George Stevens, Victor Fleming — 3 films each on the list.

References

External links AFI's 100 Years...100 Cheers List of the 100 winning cheers films. List of the 300 nominated films.