Citizen Kane 'greatest US film'

Orson Welles (centre) made Citizen Kane at the age of 25

Orson Welles' classic 1941 film Citizen Kane has been named the greatest US movie of all time by the American Film Institute (AFI).

The Oscar winner, which also topped the AFI's first list in 1998, beat The Godfather into second place.

Alfred Hitchcock's 1958 thriller Vertigo clambered into the top 10, after coming 61st a decade ago.

Newer films fared less well, with 2001's Lord of the Rings film gracing the list at number 50.

Saving Private Ryan at 71, 1997's Titanic's at 83, and psychological thriller The Sixth Sense in 89th place were the only other recent films to make the Top 100.

Film restorations

Older US movies which failed to appear on the last list but accrued enough votes this time include period classic Spartacus at 81, and Intolerance - a silent picture released in 1916 - which landed at 49.

'GREATEST US MOVIES' 1 Citizen Kane (1941) 2 The Godfather (1972) 3 Casablanca (1942) 4 Raging Bull (1980) 5 Singin' In The Rain (1952) 6 Gone With The Wind (1939) 7 Lawrence of Arabia (1962) 8 Schindler's List (1993) 9 Vertigo (1958) 10 Wizard of Oz (1939 - pictured) Source: American Film Institute

Older films may have done better in the latest chart due to good quality restorations being more readily available on DVD.

Movies which fell out of favour on the new list include Dr Zhivago and Close Encounters of the Third Kind.

The film's director Steven Spielberg amassed the most work in the countdown with five releases.

James Stewart and Robert De Niro lead the tally for actors, also with five films each.

The AFI Top 100 was drawn from 1,500 ballots sent to film-makers, actors, writers and other Hollywood players, who chose from a list of 400 nominated films.

Citizen Kane, which was made by Welles when he was just 25, was heralded as the film "which changed the fabric of cinema" by Bob Gazzale, who produced a US television show based on the list.

"That ideal still holds today of this jewel everybody reaches for," he added.

AFI officials have said they will produce a Top 100 greatest US movies list every decade as a barometer of changing tastes in cinema.