Let the film debate begin! Possible topics:
When is the right time to use a star wipe?
Should an ambitious stage mother let her child audition for Roman Polanski?
What are the artistic merits of shooting a film in 4:3?
What order do I play the Star Wars films in when I show them to my son for the first time?
Is it ok to admit that I can’t stand a lot of the films that win at Cannes?
These are all difficult questions for a cinephile. But there is one that is always the hardest, most difficult question for a film-lover to answer. Harder than all others as much because of it’s simplicity as anything else.
It is this: What is your favourite film?
Or this: What is the best film ever made?
Or worst of all: What is the greatest movie of all time?
They are all the same question on one level. Yet they all mean something different on another. And that distinction hints at why this is the hardest question of all.
This is “which is your favourite child?” if it was asked of a parent with more than a million children, MOST OF WHOM the parent hasn’t even met yet.
There are Fellini films, Kurosawa films, Welles films, Hitchcock films and Chaplin films that I haven’t seen yet that I’m sure are worthy candidates of consideration. There are countries for whom I have never seen a single example of their national cinema. There are films that I won’t admit to not having seen that I know will make many people’s short lists. And there are some supposedly “great” films that wouldn’t make my top 1,000 favourites but whose impact can’t be ignored.
And there are some if not bad, then certainly not great films that are among my absolute favourites to watch time and again. You may scoff at me listing Major League as one of my all time faves, I calmly reply that it was written and directed by the man who gave us The Sting.
Boom! Look at that. A Sting zinger.
Back at the question though, what does greatest even mean?
Does it mean personal favourite? Which is the most subjective thing of all that is hugely impacted by everything from when and where you grew up to what you were doing when you first saw a flick.
Does it mean popular favourite? In which case is box office the measure? So it’s: Avatar, Titanic, Avengers. But should we adjust for inflation? Then it’s Gone With the Wind, Avatar, Star Wars. What about DVD sales? TV viewings? What about quotability and impact on pop culture? In which case it’s somewhere between The Godfather and The Castle.
What about critical darling? Festival favourite? Academic perfection?
What about a film’s importance? Documentaries like Super Size Me and Bowling for Columbine changed corporate policies. The Thin Blue Line saw a man released from prison. Triumph of the Will helped prop up the Nazi recruitment effort… but no one’s calling that the greatest film.
On the other hand, films that opened eyes to the holocaust like Schindler’s List or Shoah are profoundly more important than Star Wars or The Shawshank Redemption, yet it is the latter films that tend to top lists.
The GREATEST Film. Of all time.
That’s the worst question you can ask. Honestly, I’d rather choose a favourite child. I only have two.
In the past I’ve made spreadsheets that ensure my answer to “what’s your favourite film?” contains a hundred titles. For some reason this is the question film critics get asked all the time in awkward social encounters. I don’t know, lawyer I’ve never met before, what’s your favourite piece of legislation?
My answer though, with about a thousand caveats, is Star Wars. Because it’s the reason I fell in love with film.
But is it the greatest film of all time? I’ve got ABSOLUTELY NO IDEA.
But that. THAT. Is why we’re asking you.
So go on.
Tell me.
TELL ME!!!!
This isn’t just an exercise in keeping Giles happy though – we are compiling a list of The 100 Greatest Movies Ever Made. We want it to be awesome, so make awesome decisions! And, speaking of awesome, one lucky voter will win ALL ONE HUNDRED FILMS on Blu-ray or DVD. What are you waiting for? Vote here!
