# how far down IMDB's top 250 have you seen? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 30, 2004, 1:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877 "2004-06-30T13:39:26Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/21 "2004-06-30T14:54:56Z")
Wow. That is one geeky film list. TWO spaghetti westerns in the top fifty? I blame Tarantino and his legions of fawning fans. ---
**Author:** ![Lsura](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7993a0/32.png) [@Lsura](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lsura)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/22 "2004-06-30T14:55:07Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > 1. I’ve never seen **The Godfather**. I’m the same. I do have a hit on #2, but then I have to skip to #5 before I’ve seen another one. I scanned through the list, and it looks like I’d have a lot more not-seen than seen ones. ---
**Author:** ![Algernon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a183cd/32.png) [@Algernon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Algernon)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 2:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/23 "2004-06-30T14:56:13Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > You know what, though? It’d be a lot easier to figure if they gave the English titles as well as the non-english ones. They have ample room to, after all. I thought the same thing. It was a pain to click on the foreign title to see that “oh, OK – that movie is The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly”. ---
**Author:** ![AbbySthrnAccent](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/eb9ed0/32.png) [@AbbySthrnAccent](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AbbySthrnAccent)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/24 "2004-06-30T15:05:47Z")
From the top… 0. From the first ten 3, 5, and 7-10. From the entire list 55. ---
**Author:** ![JohnM](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/848f3c/32.png) [@JohnM](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnM)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/25 "2004-06-30T15:06:53Z")
I’ve not seen 87 of the current list; the highest ranked that I haven’t seen is _The Good, The Bad, and the Ugly_ at number 21. My holes are pretty spread out; I’ve seen:[ul][li]39 of the top 50[/li][li]34 of the next 50[/li][li]31 of the next 50[/li][li]32 of the next 50[/li]27 of the bottom 50[/ul]The truly sad thing is that I own a couple of the unseen on DVD; time to plug some holes in my movie knowledge. ---
**Author:** ![cmkeller](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cmkeller/32/118_2.png) [@cmkeller](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cmkeller)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 3:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/26 "2004-06-30T15:11:04Z")
I’ve seen only 35 on that entire list. I guess I’m just not that big a film buff. Of the top 10, I only saw the three Lord of the Rings movies and Star Wars. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/27 "2004-06-30T16:06:45Z")
> [@Trunk](#): > > Regardless of whether they were voted on by geeks and weirdos, I’d suspect anyone with more than a passing interest in movies has seen the Godfathers and AT LEAST the first of the LOTR trilogy, if not all 3. I’m not the hugest movie buff ever, but I’d like to think I have more than a passing interest in movies. I work(ed) in a video store and my life dream is to be a director. _The Godfather_ just never really interested me. It’s one of those movies that I’ll get around to eventually, but I have a couple hundred other films I’d like to see first. Then again, I’m a girl, so maybe this doesn’t apply to me. 😉 On the other hand I have seen 13 of the top 20 (plus half of both _Schindler’s List_ and _Pulp Fiction_), so I’d like to think I’m not doing too shabbily. I’m not sure how much I agree with many of the placements, though. _The Fellowship of the Rings_ is one of the dullest movies I’ve ever seen. ---
**Author:** ![JohnBckWLD](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/d6d6ee/32.png) [@JohnBckWLD](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JohnBckWLD)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/28 "2004-06-30T16:13:04Z")
By my count 125/250. Sucks being in the middle. Sorry, Can’t resist the hijack… _133. 8.0 Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983) 69,234_ Bwaaaaaaaah haaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa! That’s why these lists aren’t usually worth the server space they consume ---
**Author:** ![Chunky\_Bum](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/9dc877/32.png) [@Chunky\_Bum](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chunky_Bum)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 4:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/29 "2004-06-30T16:16:12Z")
Mine ends at #6 ---
**Author:** ![Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/9dc877/32.png) [@Nightwatch\_Trailer](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Nightwatch_Trailer)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/30 "2004-06-30T17:16:48Z")
I’ve only seen one of the top five (_Return of the King_), and only 53/250 total. Not too good. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/31 "2004-06-30T17:27:43Z")
Well, if I understood the OP’s “rules” correctly, I stopped reading downward when I came across the first title I hadn’t seen: 1. Glory ---
**Author:** ![Bill\_H](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/a5b964/32.png) [@Bill\_H](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bill_H)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/32 "2004-06-30T17:33:31Z")
Boy, what a geeky list. I wouldn’t put any of the LOTR movies in the top ten. I mean they were ok, but top ten movies of all time? Looks like LOTR was the #1 vote getter, followed by The Matrix. Definitely not representative of your average movie goer. In the top twenty, I haven’t seen #6 In the top 100, I’ve seen all the ones with English titles. Never even heard of any of the foreign ones except Seven Samurai and Das Boot. I guess that’s the standard for us Americans. ---
**Author:** ![kka](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/54ee81/32.png) [@kka](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kka)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/33 "2004-06-30T17:36:56Z")
Mine ends at # 3, but I hate science fiction/fantasy. ---
**Author:** ![lissener](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/lissener/32/6139_2.png) [@lissener](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lissener)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/34 "2004-06-30T17:37:48Z")
. . . but then, skimming the rest of the way down, there are only three more titles I haven’t seen. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 5:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/35 "2004-06-30T17:51:22Z")
#6, The Seven Samurai. But aside from that and Read Window, I’ve seen the whole Top 20. ---
**Author:** ![Rufus\_Xavier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/eada6e/32.png) [@Rufus\_Xavier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Rufus_Xavier)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/36 "2004-06-30T18:00:32Z")
I’ve seen 38 of the top 40, the only ones I’ve missed are Citizen Kane (I aboslutely refuse to see it anywhere other than in an actual Movie House, so that limits my viewing opportunities) and City of God. After that, my record is spottier…I’ve only seen 42 of the next 60 on the list. ---
**Author:** ![av8rmike](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/edb3f5/32.png) [@av8rmike](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/av8rmike)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/37 "2004-06-30T18:12:37Z")
#2, I’ve never seen _Shawshank_, but it’s on my Netflix queue. I’ve seen 7 of the top 10, but I don’t feel like counting up everything from the whole 250. People who are complaining that the list is “geeky”: Well, you’re right, but if the OP was asking about the [AFI’s Top 100 list](http://www.filmsite.org/afi100filmsA.html), you’d probably find something to complain about there. Matter of fact, when the list first came out, there was probably a thread here where someone was complaining about it. ---
**Author:** ![LibrarySpy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/f9ae1b/32.png) [@LibrarySpy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LibrarySpy)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/38 "2004-06-30T18:15:51Z")
I’ve seen 9 of the top 10 (I haven’t seen Seven Samurai), and at least 94 of the 250. Probably higher, as I watch a lot of foreign films but I watch them with English titles. If **Algernon** hadn’t mentioned Amelie, I’d have left it off the list, and I did leave off The Seventh Seal and Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon and probably others. Plenty of them, I consider crap films, and would never recommend them to a soul. But hey, I’ve seen them. **Rufus Xavier** , while Citizen Kane is visually stunning, it doesn’t really demand a big screen. Why the issue? ---
**Author:** ![Trunk](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/87869e/32.png) [@Trunk](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trunk)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/39 "2004-06-30T18:34:41Z")
If I had to characterize the list briefly, I’d say that it’s filled with crowd-pleasers that don’t outwardly suck to a lot of viewers. For instance, “Raiders of the Lost Ark” was a crowd pleaser, but I don’t think anyone really thinks it sucked. It was just entertainment though – it doesn’t carry the weight that something like “On The Waterfront” (higher on the AFI list) does. But it’s more entertaining. Also with some of these movies, the voting is skewed by a kind of “self-fulfilling thing” – anyone going to see LOTR most likely knew it was in the “fantasy” genre. If you knew that and went, you came out of it loving it. The people who would vote low for that movie, probably didn’t see it. That’s different than a movie like “Titanic” (not on the list) that attracted a big cross-sention of people who really thought it sucked. The AFI list is not constructed like that. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [June 30, 2004, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877/40 "2004-06-30T18:37:54Z")
> [@av8rmike](#): > > People who are complaining that the list is “geeky”: Well, you’re right, but if the OP was asking about the [AFI’s Top 100 list](http://www.filmsite.org/afi100filmsA.html), you’d probably find something to complain about there. Matter of fact, when the list first came out, there was probably a thread here where someone was complaining about it. I’m sure. My percentage on that list is definitely better, though: 51%. 🙂 I spent one summer trying to watch them all. I didn’t come close, but at least I saw them for free instead of paying Blockbuster and being frustrated at how much they didn’t have. (Thanks, local library!). [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-far-down-imdbs-top-250-have-you-seen/252877.md?page=3)