My Verdict... on Australia's Verdict!
Well, tonight was the night I had been anticipating for some weeks; the unvieling of the ten most popular movies of all time as voted by the Australian public. ABC TV screened 'My Favourite Film', a wonderful and witty countdown of our much loved treasures, and an assessment towards why we do. Besides the savage anti-cilmax which reduced me to a slunk in my chair, the programme delighted and completely surprised me, made me nod with warm agreement and approval at the choices my fellow nation made with me.
And whilst just a few of my favourites that I would have liked on the list actually made it on, I wholeheartedly encourage that. Australia boasts itself as a multicultural society, so its a matter of pride to see such diversity in the perception of what makes a special, magical and truly immersive movie experience.
So, without further rambling... the list:
10. Fight Club
9. Gone With The Wind
8. The Princess Bride
7. Pulp Fiction
6. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
5. Donnie Darko
4. The Shawshank Redemption
3. Blade Runner
2. Amelie
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Admittedly, there are a lot of real puzzling entries to the list that make it all the more fascinating. Star Wars at #6? Donnie Darko in amongst all the powerhouse spectaculars? Amelie as Australia's second choice for best film ever made? Its so shocking and dumbfounding and absurd yet it all makes perfect sense.
Not that I think the list is accurate or represents anything outside of collective bouts of voting on the whim, but its just so fun to see that classics like Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption aren't lost amongst the sea of concepts and scenarios and stories from other films that may have stronger appeal.
In my opinion (which sadly, as just but one Australian, can't decide the competition), movies like Amelie, The Princess Bride and especially the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (which wouldn't make my Top 100 list) are not Top 10 material.
But that leads me to a dilemma of sorts. Because as hard as I try, I cannot devise a way to place my favourite films into a list of 10. Deciding on a #1 for me could take a lifetime, and knowing how to rank a movie like Jaws against a movie like The Wizard of Oz could leave me pondering whether something so blatently categorical is really necessary. Sure, by terms of polling 100,000 people, the results are not so hard to distinguish. But when left with the aching decision of naming an absolute favourite, we are also left with the feeling that maybe the movies that mean the most to us are of such a design that we can't seperate them and arrange them or force them to relate through a series of descending numbers.
Is it so wild to think that all those films that we hold so close on a personal level are all individual, like us, and that neither film's habitual universe overlaps each other? If so, couldn't they all be #1 simultaneously, in their own right?
That's my envisioning of it, anway.
And as my philosophy of Top 10 lists comes to a close, I would just like to reiterate what a terrific time I had listening to the fairly open ended discussions of the films in question on the 'My Favourite Film' tonight. I would like to congratulate Sigrid Thornton, Richard Roxborough, the always funny Judith Lucy, the always funny Chris Taylor, the rarely funny random cricket guy they had on, and of course, the Aussie Arts icon herself, Margaret Pomeranz, for providing such a easy-going, hilarious and fleshed-out panel of opinions and analysis. Well done.
Number of cheap shots at 'The Lord of the Rings': 1. (wow, I surprised myself)
And whilst just a few of my favourites that I would have liked on the list actually made it on, I wholeheartedly encourage that. Australia boasts itself as a multicultural society, so its a matter of pride to see such diversity in the perception of what makes a special, magical and truly immersive movie experience.
So, without further rambling... the list:
10. Fight Club
9. Gone With The Wind
8. The Princess Bride
7. Pulp Fiction
6. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope
5. Donnie Darko
4. The Shawshank Redemption
3. Blade Runner
2. Amelie
1. The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
Admittedly, there are a lot of real puzzling entries to the list that make it all the more fascinating. Star Wars at #6? Donnie Darko in amongst all the powerhouse spectaculars? Amelie as Australia's second choice for best film ever made? Its so shocking and dumbfounding and absurd yet it all makes perfect sense.
Not that I think the list is accurate or represents anything outside of collective bouts of voting on the whim, but its just so fun to see that classics like Pulp Fiction and The Shawshank Redemption aren't lost amongst the sea of concepts and scenarios and stories from other films that may have stronger appeal.
In my opinion (which sadly, as just but one Australian, can't decide the competition), movies like Amelie, The Princess Bride and especially the The Lord of the Rings Trilogy (which wouldn't make my Top 100 list) are not Top 10 material.
But that leads me to a dilemma of sorts. Because as hard as I try, I cannot devise a way to place my favourite films into a list of 10. Deciding on a #1 for me could take a lifetime, and knowing how to rank a movie like Jaws against a movie like The Wizard of Oz could leave me pondering whether something so blatently categorical is really necessary. Sure, by terms of polling 100,000 people, the results are not so hard to distinguish. But when left with the aching decision of naming an absolute favourite, we are also left with the feeling that maybe the movies that mean the most to us are of such a design that we can't seperate them and arrange them or force them to relate through a series of descending numbers.
Is it so wild to think that all those films that we hold so close on a personal level are all individual, like us, and that neither film's habitual universe overlaps each other? If so, couldn't they all be #1 simultaneously, in their own right?
That's my envisioning of it, anway.
And as my philosophy of Top 10 lists comes to a close, I would just like to reiterate what a terrific time I had listening to the fairly open ended discussions of the films in question on the 'My Favourite Film' tonight. I would like to congratulate Sigrid Thornton, Richard Roxborough, the always funny Judith Lucy, the always funny Chris Taylor, the rarely funny random cricket guy they had on, and of course, the Aussie Arts icon herself, Margaret Pomeranz, for providing such a easy-going, hilarious and fleshed-out panel of opinions and analysis. Well done.
Number of cheap shots at 'The Lord of the Rings': 1. (wow, I surprised myself)
posted by Ryan at 9:53 pm
1 Comments:
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