I’ve watched approximately 1/5 of both lists all the way through, and another 5-10% that I’ve started and never bothered finishing.
And 10-20% that I want to see but haven’t.
On the topic of IMDB ratings, I’m eternally entertained by the IMDB user ratings for Titanic, which can be found here. Apparently, 10% of the people who saw it thought that, despite it winning best picture and all, it deserved a rating of ZERO OUT OF TEN STARS!!!
Riiiiiiight.
Anyhow, I also crap out on #6, The Seven Samurai, although I’m definitely interested.
By the way, I was born in 1973, have moderately unsophisticated tastes, and of all the “great” movies that I’ve seen that were released before I was old enough to see them the first time around, the only one that I really enjoyed in proportion to the praise heaped upon it was The Godfather. It’s an absolutely fantastic and gripping movie.
Citizen Kane left me totally cold, and Casablanca struck me as good but not capital-G-great.
And the list isn’t film criticism, nor does it claim to be. It’s precisely the 250 movies which have the highest average ratings as bestowed by readers of the IMDB.
In other words, it’s the movies that people who watch movies and read the internet actually like the most, on average.
On average, IMDB-reading-and-voting moviegoers were more entertained by Return of the King than Casablanca. So?
Because I believe a sizeable chunk of the voters are people who haven’t seen a lot of movies (look at the age profiles of the voters on some of the movies), and therefore aren’t qualified to say that film A is better than film B, C, D, or E, because they haven’t seen B, C, D, or E.
For a lot people who vote on the IMDb films, it isn’t a case that they liked Return of the King better than Casablanca. They loved Return of the King and they haven’t seen Casablanca.
I’m not sure that’s the case. I’ve seen both, and I prefer Return of the King. Casablanca was o.k., but these polls are a matter of personal opinion. Many, many more people, for example voted in the poll for Return of the King than voted for Casablanca.
I’ve seen at least 185 of the 250. There were several that I didn’t count although it’s possible I did see them at some point. I know that I have seen parts of them on TV but no longer remember if I saw all of the movie.
Excuse me. I’ve apparently lost the ability to type. I meant to say “at least 184 of the 250.”
I have seen exactly 175 IMDb movies and 64 AFI movies.
Both lists make me sick to my stomach, but I’ll take any list that has Sunrise: A Song Of Two Humans and La Passion De Jeanne d’Arc any day over a list that includes Tootsie as one of the greatest American films of all time. At least the IMDb has real movie lovers, as opposed to the soulless corporate bastards behind the AFI shoving the same recycled crap down our throats.
The AFI list was chosen by movie lovers. Those who voted on the films included producers, directors, writers, actors, and film critics.
Of the AFI list, I’m missing… 2.
Tootsie, and Dances with Wolves - having seen the Deer Hunter last night.
Geez, that’s a slow movie.
I’ve been to actual weddings that were shorter than the wedding in that movie.
Exactly. I was struggling to pay attention. And it’s not just the length… it’s the pointlessness of the scene.
“Oh, here we see how happy their lives are, as DeNiro looks on from the sidelines.”
“…still more looking happy…”
“Yup, still happy…”
How many movies make you wait an hour before something happens?
I actually enjoyed the everyday, normal, boring slowness of the wedding scene in contrast to the second and third act. But, I seem to be in the minority in my opinion.
Of the top 15 on the IMB list, I’ve not seen any of the LOTR films, nor The Seven Samaurai. Of the 250, I’ve seen 188; most of those missing are foreign and/or films made before 1940.
Not sure what any of this says except that I’ve managed to see a whole bunch of movies.
I have not seen Amélie.
And there’s no way you’re going to get me to see Amélie.
I have my limits, y’know.