How AFI Chose Their Top 100
In June of 1998, the American Film Institute (AFI) released their top 100 films of all time. This list of 100 movies was narrowed down from a pool of over 40,000 films. This list was then narrowed further to 400 films, which were put on a ballot.

The 400 movies were then voted on by the blue ribbon panel, made up of 1,500 people. Members of the film industry community made up the panel, including: actors/actresses, directors, producers, screenwriters, cinematographers, editors, production designers, composers, songwriters, animators, digital artists, motion picture executives, home video executives, talent agents, film critics, film press, film scholars, archivists and preservationists.

One AFI national member was selected at random to the panel from each state and Washington D.C. The final members of the panel were Bill and Hillary Clinton and Al and Tipper Gore.

In the spring of 1998, the public was invited to participate in an AFI-sponsored public forum. Ballots were made available, and fans could also go online at the AFI Web site to vote.

The criteria to rate the movies was based on specific qualifications:

• feature-length fiction films
• American films
• critical recognition
• major award winners
• popularity over time
• historical significance
• cultural impact

How We Rated AFI's Top 100
We rated movies in some of the same ways AFI did, but also added a our own personal spin. For example, movies such as A Clockwork Orange and Apocalypse Now have been roundly praised as film classics, but lost favor with us because their plots were cryptic and placed too much emphasis on shock-value.

We tried to look at movies for their historical significance, but sometimes our personal biases shined through. Little quirks occasionally influenced our commentaries. While "He" digs gangster movies, "She" loves Jimmy Stewart.

So enjoy our rants and raves, don't forget to view our own personal top 100 lists and, of course, go watch the movies for yourself so you can formulate your own opinions.