[MLUG - DISCUSSION] IMDb top picks

[Mike Miller <EMAIL:PROTECTED>]

IMDb keeps a list of the top 250 films based on user ratings:

http://www.imdb.com/chart/top?tt0116282

"The Godfather" has been at the top of that list for some time. 
Strangely, when I look at the details for "The Godfather" and for "The 
Shawshank Redemption" I see that Shawshank scores higher, but it isn't 
ranked higher.  That might be an oversight that will be corrected.

The Godfather:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0068646/ratings

The Shawshank Redemption:
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0111161/ratings

The other thing I want to say about this is that I find the top-rated 
films to be a very pecular collection.  I have no idea why Shawshank hits 
the top 10, never mind #1.  I liked it too, but I *never* would have 
guessed that it would become that wildly popular on IMDb.  It didn't win 
any Oscars.  Could it have something to do with the fact that it came out 
in 1994 at around the time that people were starting to use the web? 
IMDb started in late 1990, so it was there when Shawshank came out. 
"Pulp Fiction," also from 1994, comes in at #5.

Stranger still is the high ranking of "The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" 
(a.k.a., "Il Buono, il brutto, il cattivo"), a so-called spaghetti western 
at #4.  Why is that?  I'm going to guess that it has something to do with 
Quentin Tarantino's fondness for it.  People influenced by Tarantino might 
rent the movie and then give it a high rating.

One to watch:  "No Country for Old Men" was just released in 2007 and it's 
already at #23.  Only 3 movies in the past decade are ranked higher (two 
Lord of the Rings, and Cidade de Deus).

Mike

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