AFI described epic films as "a genre of large-scale films set in a cinematic interpretation of the past. Their scope defies and demands—either in the mode in which they are presented or their range across time. A bloody sword fight in an ancient coliseum; carnage on an open battlefield; a country on the eve of revolution. With sweeping interpretations of turbulent times, epics depict characters that, whether nobly heroic or shamefully depraved, are living life on the grandest of scales."

(Winners marked with this icon and ranking number)

1. ALL QUIET ON THE WESTERN FRONT, Universal, 1930 (# 7)
2. APOCALYPSE NOW, United Artists, 1979
3. BEN-HUR, MGM, 1926
4. BEN-HUR, MGM, 1959 (# 2)
5. THE BIG PARADE, MGM, 1925
6. THE BIRTH OF A NATION, Epoch, 1915
7. BRAVEHEART, Paramount, 1995
8. THE BRIDGE ON THE RIVER KWAI, Columbia, 1957
9. EL CID, Allied Artists, 1961
10. CLEOPATRA, Twentieth Century Fox, 1963
11. DANCES WITH WOLVES, Orion, 1990
12. DOCTOR ZHIVAGO, MGM, 1965
13. FORREST GUMP, Paramount, 1994
14. THE FOUR HORSEMEN OF THE APOCALYPSE, Metro, 1921
15. GANDHI, Columbia, 1982
16. GIANT, Warner Bros., 1956
17. GLADIATOR, DreamWorks, 2000
18. GLORY, TriStar, 1989
19. THE GODFATHER PART II, Paramount, 1974
20. GONE WITH THE WIND, MGM, 1939 (# 4)
21. THE GREATEST STORY EVER TOLD, United Artists, 1965
22. HOW THE WEST WAS WON, MGM, 1962
23. INTOLERANCE, Triangle, 1916
24. JULIUS CAESAR, MGM, 1953
25. THE KING OF KINGS, Pathé, 1927
26. THE LAST EMPEROR, Columbia, 1987
27. THE LAST OF THE MOHICANS, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1992
28. THE LAST TEMPTATION OF CHRIST, Universal, 1988
29. LAWRENCE OF ARABIA, Columbia, 1962 (# 1)
30. LETTERS FROM IWO JIMA, Warner Bros., 2006
31. THE LONGEST DAY, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1962
32. MALCOLM X, Warner Bros., 1992
33. THE MAN WHO WOULD BE KING, Columbia, 1975
34. MASTER AND COMMANDER: THE FAR SIDE OF THE WORLD, Twentieth Century-Fox, 2003
35. ONCE UPON A TIME IN AMERICA, Warner Bros., 1984
36. THE PASSION OF THE CHRIST, Newmarket, 2004
37. PATTON, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1970
38. QUEEN CHRISTINA, MGM, 1933
39. QUO VADIS?, MGM, 1951
40. REDS, Paramount, 1981 (# 9)
41. THE ROBE, Twentieth Century-Fox, 1953
42. SAMSON AND DELILAH, Paramount, 1949
43. SAVING PRIVATE RYAN, DreamWorks, 1998 (# 8)
44. SCHINDLER'S LIST, Universal, 1993 (# 3)
45. THE SIGN OF THE CROSS, Paramount, 1932
46. SPARTACUS, Universal, 1960 (# 5)
47. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Paramount, 1923
48. THE TEN COMMANDMENTS, Paramount, 1956 (# 10)
49. TITANIC, Paramount, 1997 (# 6)
50. WAR AND PEACE, Paramount, 1956

Nominees: 16 movies were war films; 11 movies were based on Biblical events.

Winners:

1. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)
2. Ben-Hur (1959)
3. Schindler's List (1993)
4. Gone With The Wind (1939)
5. Spartacus (1960)
6. Titanic (1997)
7. All Quiet on the Western Front (1930)
8. Saving Private Ryan (1998)
9. Reds (1981)
10. The Ten Commandments (1956)

Comments: No place for The Birth of a Nation (1915), Giant (1956), or Doctor Zhivago (1965) in the top 10? And why were war films grouped into epic films? -- there should have been an entire genre category for war films (or for Biblical films) instead. The war-related historical drama Schindler's List (1993) fits in a number of categories and probably shouldn't have been so high in the rankings. Gone With the Wind (1939) should have been the # 1 Epic Film. Where was Braveheart (1995) or Gladiator (2000) - two nominees that were perfect epic films! And nominee Queen Christina (1933) is no epic, by any stretch of the imagination -- and All Quiet on the Western Front (1930) isn't an epic on the same scale as other nominated films, such as The Big Parade (1925), The Birth of a Nation (1915), Intolerance (1916), and The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957). Malcolm X (1992) isn't really an epic film either, by definition -- it is more a dramatic biopic and shouldn't have been a nominee.