In 2007, the American Film Institute released an updated list of their top 100 movies of all time. The list is far from perfect—aside from not being updated for more than a decade, the collection lacks any female directors, and M. Night Shyamalan and Spike Lee are the only two directors of color with films featured on the list, for The Sixth Sense (#89) and Do the Right Thing (#96), respectively. However, the AFI Top 100 list is still full of incredible, if not diverse, films—and it’s as good a starting point as any for considering which movies have made the biggest impact on American culture.
Related: 15 Book to Movie Adaptations Streaming on Netflix Now
Film buffs and readers alike may be interested to know that books played a very large role in inspiring many of the movies on the AFI Top 100 List. Forty-five of the movies on the list were based on books, and another eight were based on short stories. In other words, more than half of the films on the list have literary roots.
Below, a full list of all the movies on the AFI Top 100 list that were based on books and short stories.
Note: This list does not include films based on plays, such as A Streetcar Named Desire (1951), or West Side Story (1961).
AFI Top 100 Movies Based on Books
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The Godfather.
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
1. The Godfather (1972) and The Godfather Part II (1974), based on the book by Mario Puzo .
2. Gone with the Wind (1939), based on the book by Margaret Mitchell.
3. Lawrence of Arabia (1962), based on Seven Pillars of Wisdom by T.E. Lawrence.
4. The Graduate (1967), based on the book by Charles Webb.
5. The Wizard of Oz (1939), based on the book by L. Frank Baum.
Related: Celebrating the 120-Year History of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz
6. Schindler’s List (1993), based on Schindler’s Ark by Thomas Keneally.
7. It’s a Wonderful Life (1946), based on The Greatest Gift by Philip Van Doren Stern
8. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957), based on the novel by Pierre Boulle.
9. The African Queen (1951), based on the novel by C.S. Forester.
10. Psycho (1960), based on the novel by Robert Bloch.
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest.
Photo Credit: United Artists
11. One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest (1975), based on the book by Ken Kesey.
12. The Grapes of Wrath (1940), based on the book by John Steinbeck.
13. The Maltese Falcon (1941), based on the book by Dashiell Hammett.
14. Raging Bull (1980), based on the memoir by Jake LaMotta.
15. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962), based on the book by Harper Lee.
Related: Why You Should Re-Read To Kill a Mockingbird
16. Apocalypse Now (1979), loosely based on Heart of Darkness by Joseph Conrad.
17. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948), based on the book by B. Traven.
18. Dr. Strangelove (1964), loosely based on Red Alert by Peter Bryant.
19. Midnight Cowboy (1969), based on the book by James Lily Herlihy.
20. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946), based on the novella Glory for Me by MacKinley Kantor.
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Double Indemnity.
Photo Credit: Paramount Pictures
21. Double Indemnity (1944), based on the novella by James M. Cain.
22. A Clockwork Orange (1971), based on the book by Anthony Burgess.
23. Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937), based on the story by The Grimm Brothers.
24. From Here to Eternity (1953), based on the novel by James Jones.
25. Jaws (1975), based on the book by Peter Benchley.
Related: 15 Movies That Are Better Than the Book
26. The Sound of Music (1965), inspired by the memoir The Story of the Trapp Family Singers by Maria von Trapp.
27. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930), based on the book by Er ich Maria Remarque.
28. M*A*S*H (1970), based on the book by Richard Hooker.
29. Vertigo (1958), based on the book by Pierre Boileau and Thomas Narcejac.
30. The Searchers (1956), based on the book by Alan Le May.
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Spartacus. In 2012, Kirk Douglas discussed the making of this film in his memoir.
Photo Credit: Universal International
31. Spartacus (1950), based on the novel by Howard Fast.
32. The General (1926), based on the memoir The Great Locomotive Chase by William Pittenger.
33. Shane (1953), based on the book by Jack Schaefer.
34. Cabaret (1972), based on The Berlin Stories by Christopher Isherwood.
35. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001), based on the novel by J.R.R. Tolkien.
Related: 12 Engrossing Fantasy Books Like The Lord of the Rings
36. The Silence of the Lambs (1991), based on the book by Thomas Harris.
37. In the Heat of the Night (1967), based on the book by John Ball.
38. Forrest Gump (1994), based on the book by Winston Groom.
39. All the President’s Men (1976), based on the nonfiction book by Carl Bernstein and Bob Woodward.
40. Sophie’s Choice (1982), based on the novel by William Styron.
Related: Why You Need to Re-Read Sophie's Choice
41. The Last Picture Show (1971), based on the novel by Larry McMurty.
42. Blade Runner (1982), based on Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? by Philip K. Dick.
43. Ben-Hur (1959), based on the book by Lew Wallace.
44. Goodfellas (1990), based on the nonfiction book Wiseguys by Nicholas Pileggi.
45. The French Connection (1972), based on the nonfiction book by William Layman.
AFI Top 100 Movies Based on Short Stories
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All About Eve.
Photo Credit: 20th Century Fox
1. All About Eve (1950), based on the 1946 short story The Wisdom of Eve, by Mary Orr.
2. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) based on the short story “The Sentinel” by Arthur C. Clarke. Clarke also worked with Kubrick to write the film’s screenplay and to author a book of the same name.
3. High Noon (1952), based on “The Tin Star” by John W. Cunningham.
4. It Happened One Night (1934) based on the short story "Night Bus" by Samuel Hopkins Adams.
5. Rear Window (1954) based on the short story “It Had to Be Murder” by Cornell Woolrich.
6. The Shawshank Redemption (1994), based on the short story “Rita Hayworth and the Shawshank Redemption” by Stephen King.
7. Sunrise (1927), based on the short story “The Excursion to Tilsit,” by Hermann Sudermann.
8. Bringing Up Baby (1938), based on the short story “Bringing Up Baby” by Hagar Wilde.
Featured still from "It Happened One Night" via Columbia Pictures
