AFI's most thrilling American films of all time
The top 3 according to 92 votes from people: Jaws (1975) · Psycho (1960) · The Exorcist (1973). (Updated Oct 26, 2020.)
The top of AFI's 100 Years...100 Thrills (2001): the American films that most raised the heart rate of the critics, historians and filmmakers who voted.
Top 12
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1
Jaws (1975)
Spielberg's shark and John Williams' two notes.
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2
Psycho (1960)
Number one: Hitchcock and the shower scene.
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3
The Exorcist (1973)
William Friedkin's possession film.
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4
Rosemary's Baby (1968)
Roman Polanski's paranoid pregnancy.
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5
Alien (1979)
Ridley Scott's haunted house in space.
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6
The French Connection (1971)
Popeye Doyle and the car chase under the elevated train.
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7
The Birds (1963)
Hitchcock again: birds attack Bodega Bay.
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8
Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)
Indiana Jones and the rolling boulder.
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9
North by Northwest (1959)
Cary Grant chased by a crop duster.
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10
The Silence of the Lambs (1991)
Clarice Starling and Hannibal Lecter.
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11
Deliverance (1972)
A canoe trip that goes terribly wrong.
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12
Vertigo (1958)
James Stewart's obsession in San Francisco.
How is this ranking ordered? By people's votes: each ▲ adds a point and each ▼ takes one away. Anyone can vote and add what is missing.
Is something missing?
Comments (1)
Psycho at #1, Hitchcock owns this list with three films.