The 100 best films????

[Nearly Sane]

Interesting but obviously wrong..

https://www.theguardian.com/film/2022/dec/03/the-top-100-films-and-what-they-say-about-our-changing-society

[Aruntraveller]

Quite. Where is "Carry on Cleo"?

More seriously, I would have thought this sort of list is meaningless given the vast number of choices available.

To take issue with a couple of things:

"Singin' in the Rain" is listed but "West Side Story" and "Cabaret" aren't?

And "Moonlight" is a very good film (I watched it recently and was impressed by it), but in no way is it a better film than say "Four billboards outside ebbing Missouri" or any of a few dozen films I can think of that aren't on the list.

[Nearly Sane]

Quite. Where is "Carry on Cleo"?

More seriously, I would have thought this sort of list is meaningless given the vast number of choices available.

To take issue with a couple of things:

"Singin' in the Rain" is listed but "West Side Story" and "Cabaret" aren't?

And "Moonlight" is a very good film (I watched it recently and was impressed by it), but in no way is it a better film than say "Four billboards outside ebbing Missouri" or any of a few dozen films I can think of that aren't on the list.

I love Singin' In The Rain - it may well be my favourite film, at least on days with a Y in them - but yeah it's on the list because it's about film and people can get a bit self relexive about the world.

And I may as well out myself and say if I was picking 1 film it would be The Magnificent Seven, and it's much better than the Seven Samurai - which is a magnificent film.

[SteveH]

And I may as well out myself and say if I was picking 1 film it would be The Magnificent Seven, and it's much better than the Seven Samurai - which is a magnificent film.

For many years, indeed decades, I assumed, on no evidence other that the number 7, that "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers" was a sequel to "The Magnificent Seven", but in fact, M7 is based on the Japanese film "The Seven Samurai", whereas 7BF7B is based on the ancient Roman legend of "The Rape of the Sabine Women" (rape in this context meaning abduction, not that that's much of a moral improvement). Furthermore, 7BF7B is a few years older than M7.

[jeremyp]

2001 would not be on my list. It's overblown tripe IMO.

[Aruntraveller]

I love Singin' In The Rain - it may well be my favourite film, at least on days with a Y in them - but yeah it's on the list because it's about film and people can get a bit self relexive about the world.

And I may as well out myself and say if I was picking 1 film it would be The Magnificent Seven, and it's much better than the Seven Samurai - which is a magnificent film.

I like Singin in the Rain too, but I can't help feeling that the memory of it is reinforced in some people's minds by that M&W sketch. I have seen it several times but I can't recall it in any real detail, save for that one scene. Whereas another Kelly film the slightly earlier "An American in Paris" is altogether more memorable and seemed to me to be pushing the boundaries of what a musical film should be and it was trying to do something different.

"The Magnificent Seven" is etched in my mind as it was the only film my Dad took me to see on my own (Mum didn't want to go). We enjoyed it immensely.

[Harrowby Hall]

I didn't see a single Disney film in the list. The only animated films I saw were two by Hayao Miyazaki the wonderful Spirited Away (strangely three places behind his My Nighbour Totoro). I would have thought that Snowwhite and the Seven Dwarves would have been there. And no mention of of Steven Spielberg ...   (Schindler's List and ET)

I suspect the reason for many omissions may have been the method of sampling. A number of cinema industry and business "insiders" were asked to list their ten favourite films and the list was compiled from their submissions.

[SteveH]

I suspect the reason for many omissions may have been the method of sampling. A number of cinema industry and business "insiders" were asked to list their ten favourite films and the list was compiled from their submissions.

A jolly sight better way of doing it than asking the gen. pub., if you ask me. They were asked to name the hundred most important figures in British history a few years ago. There was hardly anyone from before the 20th Century, and No. 2 was Princess Diana, just behind Churchill. Same with one about books, which put LOTR at No. 1: well, it possibly deserves to get in somewhere well down the list, but not No. 1. The public en masse are deeply stupid.

[Nearly Sane]

A jolly sight better way of doing it than asking the gen. pub., if you ask me. They were asked to name the hundred most important figures in British history a few years ago. There was hardly anyone from before the 20th Century, and No. 2 was Princess Diana, just behind Churchill. Same with one about books, which put LOTR at No. 1: well, it possibly deserves to get in somewhere well down the list, but not No. 1. The public en masse are deeply stupid.

Democracy, it's a bit shit, I 'ates it, it smells of poo and of the wee.

[Nearly Sane]

2001 would not be on my list. It's overblown tripe IMO.

Kubrick made some of the worst films ever.

[Nearly Sane]

I like Singin in the Rain too, but I can't help feeling that the memory of it is reinforced in some people's minds by that M&W sketch. I have seen it several times but I can't recall it in any real detail, save for that one scene. Whereas another Kelly film the slightly earlier "An American in Paris" is altogether more memorable and seemed to me to be pushing the boundaries of what a musical film should be and it was trying to do something different.

"The Magnificent Seven" is etched in my mind as it was the only film my Dad took me to see on my own (Mum didn't want to go). We enjoyed it immensely.

We watch Singin' every Christmas morning. My wife could pretty well quote it, and knows all the dancing. I love it

[SteveH]

Democracy, it's a bit shit, I 'ates it, it smells of poo and of the wee.

In politics, we need democracy, but in lists of "the 100 best..." we need the opinions of experts. If I was asked to name the greatest scientist in history, I wouldn't have a clue.

[SteveH]

We watch Singin' every Christmas morning. My wife could pretty well quote it, and knows all the dancing. I love it

I love the famous song and dance routine parodied by Erica Nernie, but have never seen the whole thing.

[Nearly Sane]

In politics, we need democracy, but in lists of "the 100 best..." we need the opinions of experts. If I was asked to name the greatest scientist in history, I wouldn't have a clue.

It's a frickin popular art form. Experts in film are a bunch of pricks.

[Aruntraveller]

We watch Singin' every Christmas morning. My wife could pretty well quote it, and knows all the dancing. I love it

Ahh!  I can do pretty much the same with Cabaret, although it's not really a Christmas morning type of film.

[Nearly Sane]

Ahh!  I can do pretty much the same with Cabaret, although it's not really a Christmas morning type of film.

Cabaret is for me a Hogmanay film.

[jeremyp]

Kubrick made some of the worst films ever.

I might as well admit I didn't think much of A Clockwork Orange either. I did like the Shining though.

[jeremyp]

In politics, we need democracy, but in lists of "the 100 best..." we need the opinions of experts. If I was asked to name the greatest scientist in history, I wouldn't have a clue.

1. Isaac Newton
2. Albert Einstein
3. Charles Darwin

[Outrider]

How do you get to be an 'expert' in what's a good film/book/song/play? It's entertainment, if it entertains people it's good, if it doesn't it isn't. You can make a (poor) argument that if it entertains more people it's 'better', but you an 'expert's aesthetic judgement is exactly as subjective as anyone else's.

If you like it it's good FOR YOU, there is no absolute 'good' or 'bad' in art. Except Tracey Emin, of course, that's just pretentious shite.

O.

[SteveH]

1. Isaac Newton
2. Albert Einstein
3. Charles Darwin

That strengthens my argument. Everyone's heard of them. but the most famous are not necessarily the best, in any field.