CURTAIN RISES TONIGHT ON `100 BEST'; TV SHOW TO ROLL OUT TOP ALL-TIME FILMS.

Byline: Bob Strauss Daily News Film Writer

After a complex voting process, a secrecy campaign rivaled by that of India's nuclear weapons program and a number of snide, hypocritical comments from yours truly, the American Film Institute's ``100 Years . . . 100 Movies'' celebration is finally upon us.

Tonight, KCBS-TV (Channel 2) will devote three prime-time hours to counting down the 100 greatest American features of all time, as chosen by some 1,500 industry professionals, film historians and critics (yes, including me). The president and vice president of the United States also received ballots, though it's reported that they might have neglected to vote.

The top 100 will be ranked according to how many people chose them from a list of 400 nominees that was drawn up by AFI, based on criteria that ranged from major awards and box office significance to cultural impact. Each voter could choose up to 100 titles from the master list; each was permitted a single write-in.

``We wanted to commemorate the century of film,'' said AFI director and CEO Jean Firstenberg. ``To do that, we tried to find a structure that would catch the imagination of the country, and the world.

``I hoped people would look at the list of 400 and say, Wow, how would I choose the movies that touched me, that meant something, that are worth caring about?''

Tonight's show, which will start at 8, will be hosted by Sally Field, Jodie Foster and Richard Gere, and will feature interviews with Woody Allen, Candice Bergen, Cher, Richard Dreyfuss, Clint Eastwood, Charlton Heston, Dustin Hoffman, Julia Roberts, Martin Scorsese, Steven Spielberg and Sylvester Stallone, among many others.

And that's just the start of a celluloid orgy that could continue right on up to the millennium. A special issue of Newsweek devoted to the lucky 100 is scheduled to hit newsstands Wednesday. On June 23, the TNT cable channel will launch a series of 10 hourlong specials that will take more in-depth looks at the films by thematic categories (the shows bear such titles as ``Beyond the Law,'' ``Love Crazy'' and ``The Anti-Heroes''). In September, sister network Turner Classic Movies will run weekend-long festivals comprising many of the winning films.

Most ambitious of all, perhaps, AFI has gotten the copyright owners of the 100 films and retail outlets from Blockbuster on down to agree to reissue - or at least slap a commemorative sticker on - videotapes of the top picture picks. Don't expect these products to trumpet their films' final ranking, though; if you had to market, say, the 98th best movie of all time, you'd probably consider yourself at something of a disadvantage.

Still, it's a great way to promote old product.

Mike Saksa, marketing director for Warner Home Video, noted that the AFI list includes at least 41 titles owned by Warner Bros. Not that he's going to divulge which movies might be on the list. AFI has been fervently trying to keep the 100 films a secret to increase anticipation (not to mention viewership of tonight's TV special).

``But,'' Saksa added, ``you don't exactly have to be a film historian to figure that `Gone With the Wind,' `The Wizard of Oz,' `Casablanca,' `Citizen Kane,' `Goodfellas' and `Unforgiven' made the cut.'' (All these movies, not coincidentally, are owned by Warner, whose video library includes most movies made by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer, Warner Bros. and RKO.)

As for other titles, well, we've got evidence of a handful of them. Expect the following to pop up somewhere on the list:

Charlie Chaplin's late silent era, sentimental masterpiece ``City Lights'' (1931); ``Bringing Up Baby'' (1938); ``The African Queen'' (1951); ``The Searchers'' (1956); ``Bonnie and Clyde'' (1967); ``Platoon'' (1986); and Steven Spielberg's ``Schindler's List'' (1993).

This is more a popularity contest than a rigorous assessment of artistic merit. Top-spot office pools should revolve around the likes of the aforementioned ``Gone With the Wind,'' ``The Wizard of Oz,'' ``Casablanca'' and ``Citizen Kane,'' along with ``Star Wars,'' ``E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial,'' ``It's a Wonderful Life,'' ``Singin' In the Rain'' and ``The Godfather.''

And before you write in complaining about ``Titanic'' not making the top 10 - or being the top 10 - only films released between 1896 and 1996 were eligible.

It is an endeavor that should encompass two of our favorite national pastimes: movies and competition. In fact, as AFI's Firstenberg noted, the idea isn't really to establish an official 100 best American films, but - also in the grand democratic tradition - to get people engaged enough to argue passionately.

``I don't think there's a right list or a wrong list. . . . People are going to be happy, angry, outraged and passionate'' when they see the show tonight, Firstenberg predicted. ``And that's what we're excited about!''

Daily News Staff Writer Glenn Whipp contributed to this story.