Brokeback Mountain, Capote, Crash, The 40-Year-Old Virgin, GoodNight And Good Luck, A History Of Violence, King Kong, Munich, The Squid AndThe Whale and Syrianahave been named as theAmerican Film Institute's (AFI) ten outstanding films of the year.

A number of these features are already figuring prominently in theawards season. Ang Lee's gay Western Brokeback Mountain followed up its Venice Golden Lionsuccess by scooping best feature and director from the Los Angeles Film CriticsAssociation this weekend.

Lee's picture is also in the running for four Independent Spiritawards in March 2006, while Noah Baumbach's caustic family drama The SquidAnd The Whale earned sixnominations. Meanwhile Capote recently won best feature and best director for Bennett Miller atthe Gothams in New York.

The AFI's motion picture jury unveiled its selections after twodays of deliberation and the awards will be handed out at a ceremony on Jan 13in Los Angeles.

"As the institute recognises and celebrates excellence across thecentury, these honourees will be part of the record that documents America'senduring cultural legacy," Jean Picker Firstenberg, AFI's director and chiefexecutive officer, said.

The motion picture jurorsare: producers Laura Ziskin, Robert G Rehme and Tom Pollock, directors JayRoach, Norman Jewison and Martha Coolidge, New Yorker film critic David Denby,The LA Times' Kenneth Turan, Entertainment Weekly's Lisa Schwarzbaum, USC'sAnna Everett and Vivian Sobchack, film author David Thomson, and Stephen Ujlakifrom San Francisco State University.