The first of the AFI 100 Years... series of cinematic milestones, AFI's 100 Years…100 Movies is a list of the 100 best American movies, as determined by the American Film Institute from a poll of more than 1,500 artists and leaders in the film industry who chose from a list of 400 nominated movies. The 100-best list was unveiled in 1998.

Presentation Broadcast on CBS

A 145-minute presentation of the 100 films aired on CBS on June 16, 1998.

Presentation Broadcast on TNT

A 460-minute version aired as a 10-part series on TNT, narrated by James Woods and hosted by American talents as follows:

Against the Grain episode was hosted by Richard Gere.
Against the Law episode was hosted by Richard Gere.
Family Portraits episode was hosted by Sally Field.
In Search of... episode was hosted by Jodie Foster.
Love Crazy episode was hosted by Sally Field.
War & Peace episode was hosted by Richard Gere.
The Wilder Shores of Love episode was hosted by Sally Field.
The Antiheroes episode was hosted by Jodie Foster.
Out of Control episode was hosted by Richard Gere.
Fantastic Flights episode was hosted by Jodie Foster.

Presentation Broadcast on TNT UK

Another version of the same 460-minute program was produced by Monique De Villiers and John Heyman from A World Production company to British television and market featuring different interviews and each segment being hosted by British talents in the following order:

Michael Caine hosted and narrated episode "Against the Grain"
Ray Winstone hosted and narrated "Beyond the Law"
Emily Watson hosted and narrated "Family Portraits"
Richard Harris hosted and narrated "In Search of..."
Joely Richardson hosted and narrated episode "Love Crazy"
Jeremy Irons hosted and narrated episode "War and Peace"
Liam Neeson hosted and narrated episode "The Wilder Shores of Love"
Judi Dench hosted and narrated episode "The Anti-Heroes"
Jude Law hosted and narrated episode "Out of Control"
Helena Bonham Carter hosted and narrated "Fantastic Flights"

 10th Anniversary Broadcast

An updated version of the list, billed as a 10th Anniversary edition, aired on CBS on June 20, 2007, and was hosted by Morgan Freeman.

Criteria

 Films were judged according to the following criteria.

1: Feature length: Narrative format, at least 40 minutes long.

2: American film: English language, with significant creative and/or financial production elements from the United States. (Certain films, notably The Bridge on the River Kwai, 2001: A Space Odyssey and Lawrence of Arabia, were British-made but funded and distributed by American studios. "The Lord of the Rings" was New Zealand-made with American funding)

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.

(Thanks WikiPedia)