I discovered the Internet Movie Database ten years ago. In case you've been living in a cave, it's the premier user-driven site for opinions and commentary about movies. And I must say that I agree with the majority of its rankings.
For instance, it rates the two original Godfather movies in the top three of all time. Hear, hear. Every time they are broadcast on AMC or TNT, I have to stop what I'm doing and watch them again.
The site's fans have also had an affinity for a movie that was largely unappreciated by the critics and the public alike. The Shawshank Redemption has been sandwiched between the two Godfather movies for years as the second best ever.
I am very pleased with this, because the fact is that the movie is simply better with each viewing, and the upbeat ending gets me very time. A salute to the astute voters of IMDB.com.
The rest of the Top ten (at presstime) is rounded out by:
- The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly
- Pulp Fiction
- Schindler's List
- One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest
- The Empire Strikes Back
- Casablanca
- The Seven Samurai
Now I have to tell you, that's one pretty terrific list of all-time greatest movies! And it looks a lot better now than it did a couple of years ago.
That's because the IMDB voters have gotten bored of the Rings.
The Lord of the Rings trilogy was released from 2001-2003 and fans of J.R.R. Tolkien's fantasy worlds immediately made all three films Top Ten choices.
This bugged me. What's great about the IMDB is that its most highly rated movies are also, for the most part, watchable by the typical movie fan. Yes, Pulp Fiction is definitely weird. And The Seven Samurai is a Japanese movie with subtitles, but it will hook the average Joe with its crisp story line and outstanding cinematography.
You can jump on board with any of these films and stay with them, and appreciate their excellence along the way.
But unless you know all about Tolkien's various complex characters ahead of time, you will be thoroughly lost in the Rings story. That makes these films a hit-or-miss depending on how much you already know.
So here's to the folks who have come to the same conclusion and set the Rings trilogy down a few notches. They still have quite respectable numbers, but no longer populate the Top Ten. It takes a special, rare, universal appeal for that.
