To commemorate the first century of American moviemaking, the American Film Institute has embarked on a celebration of America's greatest movies. The centerpiece of this unprecedented celebration is the selection of the 100 greatest American movies of all time, as determined by leaders from across the American film community. Choosing from a list of 400 American movies compiled by AFI historians, this blue-ribbon panel has selected the 100 greatest feature films, judging such factors as critical recognition, major award winners, popularity over time, historical significance and cultural impact. AFI's 100 Years...100 Movies was originally broadcast as a three-hour CBS Primetime Special on June 16, 1998, during which the 100 greatest movies were first revealed. This centennial celebration of American movies is unprecedented in its scope.

The family is our most treasured institution and our most vulnerable one. It is constantly threatened internally by generational fractiousness, externally by dislocating events. When it fails, people — especially young people — recreate it in surrogate forms. When it surmounts its challenges, it warms our hearts. Films include: THE JAZZ SINGER, IT'S A WONDERFUL LIFE, GIANT, THE SOUND OF MUSIC, GUESS WHO'S COMING TO DINNER, THE GODFATHER: PART TWO, AMERICAN GRAFFITI.

It's sweetly sentimental sometimes. But it is also snappy, scrappy, and sappy. Occasionally it's gender-bending; often it is touched by poignancy, not to mention tragedy. How do we love one another? Let us chart the many forms this fever takes. Films include: CITY LIGHTS, IT HAPPENED ONE NIGHT, BRINGING UP BABY, SINGIN' IN THE RAIN, WEST SIDE STORY, THE GRADUATE, TOOTSIE.

Exotic times and places. Unlikely lovers swept up, swept away by the tidal force of grand, desperate, sometimes tragic, sometimes — thank heaven — giddy passions. This is our tribute to the movies that uplift us to the romantic heights, carry us down to its brooding depths, make us feel in our souls love's transformative power. Films include: WUTHERING HEIGHTS, GONE WITH THE WIND, CASABLANCA, A STREETCAR NAMED DESIRE, AN AMERICAN IN PARIS, MY FAIR LADY, MIDNIGHT COWBOY.