Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utcsrgv.UUCP Path: utzoo!utcsrgv!oscar From: oscar@utcsrgv.UUCP (Oscar M. Nierstrasz) Newsgroups: net.movies Subject: Your favourite films Message-ID: <2024@utcsrgv.UUCP> Date: Fri, 19-Aug-83 15:38:45 EDT Article-I.D.: utcsrgv.2024 Posted: Fri Aug 19 15:38:45 1983 Date-Received: Fri, 19-Aug-83 19:31:42 EDT Organization: CSRG, University of Toronto Lines: 66 It is characteristic of human beings that they seek order wherev- er it is to be found and they impose order where there is none to begin with. Lists and lists of lists are by-products of this sometimes obsessive human trait. Categorization is sometimes il- luminating, sometimes merely entertaining and occasionally down- right offensive and ill-inspired. Being a human being I have upon occasion wondered what the 10 or 20 "best" films of all time were, or even the 10 or 20 "best" films that I have seen. Lists like this are in abundance, and are generally a waste of time, though they may be an entertaining way of passing a rainy afternoon. One thing I have noticed in such lists is a certain quality which I shall tentatively identi- fy as boring monotony. After all, who cares if the 20 most pres- tigious (hoo haw!) film critics of North America agree that "Ci- tizen Kane" is, quite simply, the best film ever made? What I as a member of the thrill-seeking public want is to hear that Zoltan Lasztzy of the Rhode Island Gazette thinks that "Citizen Kane" is forgettable and trite, but that Willie Noman's 1973 "Teen Week- end" is the unsung classic of American film; a sociological land- mark; a hot little piece of trash: his *favourite* film. It then occurred to me that the epithet "best" carries with it a stigma that automatically enforces a certain set of standards about what a "good" film is. Although there may be some varia- tion in the application of these standards, and even some dissen- tion about what they are, there is still a clear understanding that certain films are "good" and some are "bad". Apply these standards ruthlessly and you get your 10 "best" films. Very bor- ing. I thought some more about the movies that I liked to see over and over again. My "favourite" film, as it turns out, is "The Third Man" by Sir Carol Reed (1949, with Orson Welles and Joseph Cot- ten). Now, no matter how much I like this film, I would be re- luctant to put it on a "Ten Best List". I can think of several films that are "better". Why is this? I can come up with expla- nations about how films like "The Third Man" appeal to you sub- consciously rather than intellectually, hence the distinction between a "good" film and one that you enjoy seeing. This is not very convincing, however. Does anybody have any thoughts on this? Note that I am *not* asking for lists of everybody's favourite film. This might be entertaining, but surely inappropriate here. What I would like to know is *why* your favourite film is your favourite, and if you agree that it has nothing to do with (your own idea of) the ten "best" films. Oscar Nierstrasz @ utcsrgv (No, it's not raining...)