The American Film Institute has weighed in on the top 10 movies and television shows of 2003 with its best-of list, giving the thumbs-up to everything from Peter Jackson's big-budget spectacular The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King to Sofia Coppola's low-budget restraint of Lost in Translation.

Continuing a tradition created last year, the AFI didn't single out any individual actor or director for kudos, instead honoring the "creative ensemble" between the folks onscreen and the technical types behind the scenes, like the director, producer, screenwriter, composer, cinematographer, editor and production designer. (Best boys and key grips remain underappreciated).

Therefore, Rings director Jackson is as much honored for "the greatest trilogy in American film" as the movie's cast members, including Elijah Wood, Ian McKellen, Liv Tyler, Viggo Mortensen, Sean Astin, Cate Blanchett and Orlando Bloom.

The early support is important because Jackson, whose movie was also chosen Monday as the top film of 2003 by the New York Film Critics Circle, could finally receive the Oscar recognition denied for the past two installments of J.R.R. Tolkien's big-screen adaptation.

Other favorites fishing for Oscar bait ranged from Disney's animated aquatic caper Finding Nemo to 20th Century Fox's high-seas adventure Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World, starring Russell Crowe.

And while Tom Cruise's period epic The Last Samurai was also one of AFI's faves, other less-commercially viable movies were also in the mix, including the quirky biopic of comic-book writer Harvey Pekar, American Splendor: Anthony Hopkins' turn as a troubled African-American professor passing for white in The Human Stain; the sentimental Irish-American family drama In America; and Clint Eastwood's directorial effort Mystic River, which earlier this month was named the Best Film of 2003 by the National Board of Review.

Unlike last year, the majority of honorees have already made their debut at the multiplex with a couple of exceptions: Rings makes its nationwide debut in two days, while the Charlize Theron-starrer Monster, based on the true story of a Florida highway prostitute who killed six semi-truck drivers and was eventually executed on death row, hits theaters December 24.

Meanwhile, two TV movies made the boob-tube honor roll this year: Showtime's Soldier's Girl and HBO's Angels in America. Fast-paced thrillers Alias and 24 made the cut as did the gritty Baltimore-based crime drama The Wire. Rounding out the Programs of the Year category were Everybody Loves Raymond, Arrested Development, Joan of Arcadia, Nip/Tuck and Playmakers.

Another TV show recognized was Bravo's surprise TV hit Queer Eye for the Straight Gay in a catch-all category titled Moments of Significance. Also tacked on to this everything-but-the-kitchen-sink list are the deaths of silver-screen luminaries Georgory Peck and Katharine Hepburn and small-screen star Mr. Rogers; the ethical dilemma faced by embedded reporters in Iraq, who must comply with government guidelines; the continued emergence of digital filmmaking outside the studio system, notable Robert Rodriguez's Once Upon a Time in Mexico and Spy Kids 3-D; and the popularity of reality shows such as Average Joe and Trista and Ryan's Wedding, among others.

Each category is presided over by 13 Industry arbiters, including Leonard Maltin for movies and TV Guide's Matt Roush for the boob tube. And the winners, listed alphabetically, are determined during a two-day deliberation process.

So far, based on the early picks by AFI, the New York critics and the National Board of Review, Rings has a two out of three shot at Oscar glory with the eggheads at the National Board opting instead for Eastwood's weighty thriller Mystic River. The prediction could bode well for the three-part Rings, which has received two Oscar Best Picture noms so far but no wins.

Here's a complete list of the 2003 AFI Awards winners:

FILM

American Splendor
Finding Nemo
The Human Stain
In America
The Last Samurai
The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King
Lost In Translation
Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World
Monster
Mystic River

TELEVISION

Alias
Angels in America
Arrested Development
Everybody Loves Raymond
Joan of Arcadia
Nip/Tuck
Playmakers
Soldier's Girl
24
The Wire