As noted previously, the polls and rankings on Internet Movie Database (IMDB) are heavily slanted toward the most recent movies. The daily poll consistently pits older movies and actors against lesser but more recent movies and actors and it is distressing to view these polls as an indication of the lack of movie knowledge among today’s younger filmgoers. As for the user generated ratings that determine the best 250 movies of all time, anyone who knows anything about movies will use this list purely for the purposes of a good laugh. As an example, consider that an astonishing 13 movies released in 2007 have earned high enough ratings to make into the IMDB Top 250.
First, some math. Thirteen is an exceptional number of movies from any one year to be named among the 250 best ever made. I mean 1939 is generally considered the finest year ever for movies, yet only three films made that year can be found among the IMDB Top 250. If you think that’s outrageous then consider the fact that only 23 films made during the entire 1970s make the list. That’s less than twice the number for 2007 alone, and the 1970s are considered the last great decade for movies. My own personal choice for the last truly great year for movies, 1980, is only represented four times. Meanwhile, no less than seven movies from 2006 made the list. Now for the real shock: this decade has already produced 32 movies that IMDB visitors consider to be one of the best 250 movies ever made.
Is there anyone out there over thirty who honestly believes that this decade has been the best ever for film? What has this decade produced so far? The worst work of Martin Scorsese’s career. Boring three hour epic trilogies that rely on special effects to distract from the absence of things like character development and a coherent plot. Not one single Bergman, Godard, Kurosawa or Fellini. An endless litany of Tarantino imitators who don’t even come close to possessing Tarantino’s knowledge of film history. Not to mention sequels, remakes, and television-to-film abominations. Anyone with even the slightest knowledge of film history that has been gained by watching Turner Classic Movies on a regular basis can tell you that the film industry has been in an artistic rut for at least a decade. Most films today are barely distinguishable from each other. They all seem to be populated by the same two dozen or so actors and the dialogue being written today is nothing less than shameful. Especially compared to the crackling wit displayed in the 30s and 40s. And whatever happened to the personal visions that made the 70s so exciting? Where are the new Spielbergs, Scorseses and Copollas? Oh that’s right, we do have Sofia Copolla, almost as overrated a director as she was horrendous an actress. The only positive development in this decade has been animation, which is where all the old-fashioned elements of filmmaking can be now be found: story, character development, creative dialogue, unusual casting, etc.
The fact that the first seven years of this decade is farcically overrepresented in the IMDB Top 250 list is not really so much an indication of the state of movies today as it is an indication of the state of television. Except for Turner Classic Movies and some premium channels, today’s younger filmgoers just aren’t being exposed to the great movies of the past. Rather than showing a classic like Touch of Evil, cable channels prefer to show blockbusters like Pirates of the Caribbean or Spiderman back to back for three or four days in a row on a monthly basis at least. For a while there you couldn’t seem to channel surf without coming across the millionth airing of Pirates of the Caribbean. The result is that these voters have no perspective. If all you had to eat was hamburger and you didn’t know steak existed, you’d be comparing Burger King to McDonald’s as the greatest food available. If I were take you to the finest steakhouse in town, however, you’d find that a Whopper or Big Mac really wasn’t as good as you thought. It only makes sense, from that perspective, that anyone would really think The Bourne Ultimatum is a better movie The Sweet Smell of Success.
Here are the 2007 films that made it, however briefly, onto the IMDB Top 250.
21- No Country for Old Men
80- There Will be Blood
105- Ratatouille
116- The Bourne Ultimatum
129- Sweeney Todd
156- American Gangster
171- Grindhouse
172- Juno
182- Taare Zameen Par
189- 3:10 to Yuma
210- Hot Fuzz
247- Atonement
Tropa de Elite Fans of Atonement beware. If history is anything to go by, your favorite movie won’t be on the list by next year.
