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Part of the AFI 100 Years... series, AFI's 100 Years... 100 Movies is a list of critics' opinions of the best 100 movies in American cinema. The list was unveiled by the American Film Institute in 1998. The American Film Institute polled more than 1,500 artists and leaders from the film industry to compile the list. It is the first in the AFI 100 Years... series of cinematic milestones. It was released in video in 2 versions – a 145 minute version, which aired on CBS, and a 460 minute version available only on video. It was hosted by Jodie Foster and a couple of other people. As with other major awards, such as the Academy Awards, the list of those who voted and the final vote tally has not been released to the public.

Films were judged by the following criteria.

1. Feature-length: Narrative format typically over 60 minutes in length.
2. American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. The inclusion of some films on these criteria has been controversial, and the "American" content sometimes minimal; as in Lawrence of Arabia, directed by a Briton and first premiered in London, but considered to qualify as an American film because it was produced by an American citizen, The Third Man, included because its executive producer and two stars were American, and The African Queen was a production of Horizon Pictures, a British studio, but qualified as an American film because the two stars were American and the director was American. Some of the later lists appear to have ignored the criteria altogether.
3. Critical Recognition: Formal commendation in print.
4. Major Award Winner: Recognition from competitive events including awards from organizations in the film community and major film festivals.
5. Popularity Over Time: Including figures for box office adjusted for inflation, television broadcasts and syndication, and home video sales and rentals.
6. Historical Significance: A film's mark on the history of the moving image through technical innovation, visionary narrative devices or other groundbreaking achievements.
7. Cultural Impact: A film's mark on American society in matters of style and substance.

The top ten films selected were:

1. Citizen Kane (1941)
2. Casablanca (1942)
3. The Godfather (1972)
4. Gone with the Wind (1939)
5. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
6. The Wizard of Oz (1939)
7. The Graduate (1967)
8. On the Waterfront (1954)
9. Schindler's List (1993)
10. Singin' in the Rain (1952)

• American Film Institute
• Filmsite.org article
• Montreal Mirror editorial
• SFM Entertainment page on the special; includes video clip