AFI to reprise its top-100 films list

LOS ANGELES - The 100 best movies of all time aren't what they were 10 years ago.

So says the American Film Institute, which first compiled its "100 Years ... 100 Movies" list in 1998. That's why they are doing it again?- and plan to repeat the process each decade, AFI president and chief executive Jean Picker Firstenberg said Thursday.

"So much has changed in our country," she said. "Let's just hope there's not another 9/11, but clearly that shifted everything in our lives and shifted everything for anyone who chronicles the human condition."

The decade-by-decade ranking allows filmmakers and fans to examine the changes in what American movies say about life and culture, Firstenberg said.

"Will war films have a different prominence 10 years later," she wonders. "Will new voices be more dominant than we might have thought? Will films that were lower on the list rise higher?"

A jury of 1,500 directors, producers, actors, critics and scholars will select the greatest movies of all time from a ballot of 400 nominated films. They are asked to consider each film's critical recognition, historical significance, cultural impact and popularity over time.

"Citizen Kane" topped the first "100 Years ... 100 Movies" list, followed by "Casablanca," "The Godfather," "Gone With the Wind" and "Lawrence of Arabia."

"100 Years ... 100 Movies?- 10th Anniversary Edition" will be unveiled in June with a three-hour TV special on CBS.

Forty-four films from the past 10 years are now eligible for consideration, including "Austin Powers: International Man of Mystery," "Brokeback Mountain," "Moulin Rouge," "Fight Club" and "Crash."