V for Vendetta- 151st best film of all time...

[Ethros]

So on IMDb's Top 250 page, based on user votes, 2006's V for Vendetta currently appears at No.151.
Now that's higher than the likes of Gone with the Wind, Platoon, The Thing, The Wizard of Oz, Ben-Hur, The Terminator, Rocky, The Sixth Sense, etc


Don't get me wrong I like this movie, in fact as a fan of the graphic novel I loved it when it came out. Hard to believe it was nearly 8 years ago. But basically I'm just pretty surprised how high it features. Is it that good? I never thought it had so many fans. It's not like it blew the box office apart, got super rave reviews, or even now is particularly that well known outside movie & SF/F aficionados.

And if its high ranking were down to block voting by us SF/F-comic book 'nerds', surely movies like say Serenity would also feature, JW fans do like to block vote, yet that doesn't feature at all in the Top 250.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

based on user votes

The key to the whole conundrum is right there. Not a scientific poll.

 

[Mister Fandango]

Relevant Video

 

[Robert Maxwell]

Bet you most of the votes came from fans or members of Anonymous.

 

[DonIago]

There's a reason Wikipedia generally discourages use of IMDB in citations.

...maybe I should give that a few minutes to sink in?

 

[Aragorn]

Chris Rock had a segment when he hosted the Oscars where he asked regular people at the multiplex about the Best Picture nominations and they were clueless, but then he mentions something like White Chicks (or movies to that effect) and they were all over them.

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen = hundreds of millions of dollars at the box office.

District 9 = not so much.

That's just how it is.

Not saying V for Vendetta is Michael Bay, just that different movies have different appeal to different groups of people.

 

[Ethros]

^Yes, but look at the others on the list. Modern Times (1936) at No.40, I doubt many people who like White Chicks voted for that one, or Das Boot.

based on user votes

The key to the whole conundrum is right there. Not a scientific poll.

Well I'm not saying it is, or that I'm being serious that it is the 151st best movie ever. But just that those votes came from somewhere and some people, which with so many I'm surprised about. That IMDb list is a fairly good overview of popular movie classics

 

[Deckerd]

The people who vote on IMDB aren't a random sample of the cinema-going public. They're people who like to put a rating on movies online, which is a tiny fraction of the cinema-going public. Or even the film watching on any platform public.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I think that Robert Maxwell has unraveled this "mystery." It's likely simply that the people who idolize this film tend to be among those who participate in things online.

 

[Aragorn]

A lot of what's user-based online tends to be filled with specific agendas.

I've tried to read user reviews of products before buying them, but they tend to be 10/10 gushing or 1/10 bashing. Same with people who rip or praise movies before they even see them. I've also seen shills for The Asylum on IMDB where the only movies they talk about are made by The Asylum... and they happen to love every single one of them.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

So on IMDb's Top 250 page, based on user votes, 2006's V for Vendetta currently appears at No.151.
Now that's higher than the likes of Gone with the Wind, Platoon, The Thing, The Wizard of Oz, Ben-Hur, The Terminator, Rocky, The Sixth Sense, etc


Don't get me wrong I like this movie, in fact as a fan of the graphic novel I loved it when it came out. Hard to believe it was nearly 8 years ago. But basically I'm just pretty surprised how high it features. Is it that good? I never thought it had so many fans. It's not like it blew the box office apart, got super rave reviews, or even now is particularly that well known outside movie & SF/F aficionados.

And if its high ranking were down to block voting by us SF/F-comic book 'nerds', surely movies like say Serenity would also feature, JW fans do like to block vote, yet that doesn't feature at all in the Top 250.

Considering recent events, especially these recent events, I'm surprised that the ranking of the film isn't higher now, say to about the top 10; it's an articulation of the zeitgeist in way most of the other films most likely aren't for modern audiences now.

I'm sorry, but let's face it; Gone With The Wind is racist garbage that tries to make the slave-owning South look like it was the pinnacle of civilization, Rocky's impact has been lessened by the second, third and fourth sequels, The Wizard Of Oz has been overplayed to death on TV (Gone With The Wind is like that too), and the others mentioned are super-popular films that haven't had their pedigrees lessened by time. V for Vendetta-even if it didn't make a lot of money and it's creator hated it-has a power, force and meaning that (sadly) speaks to the 21st century more than, say 2001 did (we sadly didn't get to space like we should have in 2001 other than a space station; no moon base, no Mars mission by humans, or colonies on asteroids yet; all that we had happen was a series of calamities, scandals and disasters.)

Again, V For Vendetta speaks to today, and has an influence:

The film has been seen by many political groups as an allegory of oppression by government; libertarians and anarchists have used it to promote their beliefs. Activists belonging to the group Anonymous use the same Guy Fawkes mask popularized by the film when they appear in public at numerous high-profile events, emulating one of its key scenes. Lloyd is quoted saying: "The Guy Fawkes mask has now become a common brand and a convenient placard to use in protest against tyranny – and I'm happy with people using it, it seems quite unique, an icon of popular culture being used this way."

Many film critics, political commentators and other members of the media have also noted the film's numerous references to events surrounding the George W. Bush administration in the United States. These include the hoods and sacks worn by the prisoners in Larkhill that have been seen as a reference to the Abu Ghraib torture and prisoner abuse. The Homeland Security Advisory System and rendition are also referenced. One of the forbidden items in Gordon's secret basement is a protest poster with a mixed U.S.–U.K. flag with a swastika and the title "Coalition of the Willing, To Power" which combines the "Coalition of the Willing" with Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of Will to Power.

Political reception & commentary

The filmmakers added topical references relevant to a 2006 audience. According to the Los Angeles Times, "With a wealth of new, real-life parallels to draw from in the areas of government surveillance, torture, fear mongering and media manipulation, not to mention corporate corruption and religious hypocrisy, you can't really blame the filmmakers for having a field day referencing current events." There are also references to an avian flu pandemic, as well as pervasive use of biometric identification and signal-intelligence gathering and analysis by the regime.

Despite the America-specific references, the filmmakers have always referred to the film as adding dialogue to a set of issues much broader than the U.S. administration. When James McTeigue was asked whether or not BTN was based on Fox News Channel, McTeigue replied, "Yes. But not just Fox. Everyone is complicit in this kind of stuff. It could just as well been the Britain's Sky News Channel, also a part of News Corp."

Modern fears of totalitarianism

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm sorry, but let's face it; Gone With The Wind is racist garbage that tries to make the slave-owning South look like it was the pinnacle of civilization

That's a pretty shallow characterization of what Gone with the Wind is about.

It's actually more about a class of people who think it was the pinnacle of civilization, and about how those people deal in various ways with their way of life being—wait for it—gone with the wind. It also serves generally as a critique of white Southern culture, by proceeding to unroll a laundry list of its numerous failings, and all this is just the backdrop for an extended soaper filled with flawed characters.

If the film is ugly, it's because that's what a large swath of America looks like in the mirror. For its historic value alone, as a reflection in fiction of American history up to the time in which it was made, and beyond, without a doubt the film is worthy of eternal preservation in its original form.

But don't let that stop a good revisionist take on what it's actually about.

So, no, I won't be facing what you're saying, there.

 

[Starbreaker]

IMDB skews young and recent. It's a good movie, but I don't think it's ever going to be considered a classic.

 

[Shaka Zulu]

I'm sorry, but let's face it; Gone With The Wind is racist garbage that tries to make the slave-owning South look like it was the pinnacle of civilization

That's a pretty shallow characterization of what Gone with the Wind is about.

It's actually more about a class of people who think it was the pinnacle of civilization, and about how those people deal in various ways with their way of life being—wait for it—gone with the wind. It also serves generally as a critique of white Southern culture, by proceeding to unroll a laundry list of its numerous failings, and all this is just the backdrop for an extended soaper filled with flawed characters.

If the film is ugly, it's because that's what a large swath of America looks like in the mirror. For its historic value alone, as a reflection in fiction of American history up to the time in which it was made, and beyond, without a doubt the film is worthy of eternal preservation in its original form.

But don't let that stop a good revisionist take on what it's actually about.

So, no, I won't be facing what you're saying, there.

Well, I'm sorry, but I don't care much for the novel or the movie, and I don't think that either go far enough in the criticizing of Southern U.S. culture at the time; both sound like a complete fawning over what happened back then, and in fact is a completely racist document of history that sugarcoats racism and slavery-antebellum foolishness, a downtrodden servant (Butterfly McQueen's character of Prissy) made the way she was due to slavery, a 'hero' (Clark Gable's character of Rhett) who's a dangerous nightrider -this is great filmmaking?

AFAIK, the best document of slavery is 12 Years a Slave and anything else like it, including (but not limited to) Roots It deserves to be forgotten, unlike Birth Of A Nation (and that's the ONLY film like this I could stand-as somebody else said at the movies Amazon page; "This is like making a romantic, nostalgic film about the "grand old days" of Nazi Germany, complete with negative portrayals of the Allied troops that ruined the Aryan "golden age."

Compared to this, V for Vendetta stands out, even with all of the alterations to Alan Moore's story.

 

[CorporalCaptain]

I'm sorry, but let's face it; Gone With The Wind is racist garbage that tries to make the slave-owning South look like it was the pinnacle of civilization

That's a pretty shallow characterization of what Gone with the Wind is about.

It's actually more about a class of people who think it was the pinnacle of civilization, and about how those people deal in various ways with their way of life being—wait for it—gone with the wind. It also serves generally as a critique of white Southern culture, by proceeding to unroll a laundry list of its numerous failings, and all this is just the backdrop for an extended soaper filled with flawed characters.

If the film is ugly, it's because that's what a large swath of America looks like in the mirror. For its historic value alone, as a reflection in fiction of American history up to the time in which it was made, and beyond, without a doubt the film is worthy of eternal preservation in its original form.

But don't let that stop a good revisionist take on what it's actually about.

So, no, I won't be facing what you're saying, there.

Well, I'm sorry, but I don't care much for the novel or the movie, and I don't think that either go far enough in the criticizing of Southern U.S. culture at the time; both sound like a complete fawning over what happened back then, and in fact is a completely racist document of history that sugarcoats racism and slavery-antebellum foolishness, a downtrodden servant (Butterfly McQueen's character of Prissy) made the way she was due to slavery, a 'hero' (Clark Gable's character of Rhett) who's a dangerous nightrider -this is great filmmaking?

AFAIK, the best document of slavery is 12 Years a Slave and anything else like it, including (but not limited to) Roots It deserves to be forgotten, unlike Birth Of A Nation (and that's the ONLY film like this I could stand-as somebody else said at the movies Amazon page; "This is like making a romantic, nostalgic film about the "grand old days" of Nazi Germany, complete with negative portrayals of the Allied troops that ruined the Aryan "golden age."

Compared to this, V for Vendetta stands out, even with all of the alterations to Alan Moore's story.

Saying that you don't think GwtW goes far enough in critiquing the Old South to paint a fair picture of history is a perfectly legitimate position, that I actually concur with. But that's an entirely different position from the charge that it was trying to make the Old South out to be the pinnacle of civilization.

Now, it's true that there is an air of nostalgia and regret that the characters feel at the passing of their civilization, which is pervasive throughout the picture, especially after the defeat of the South in the Civil War. However, we're shown repeatedly how most of them are assholes, I mean we're shown that over and over again, so I really don't think it's fair to say that the film (since we're talking about films, here) intends an unnuanced affirmation of Southern culture. It's really quite highly nuanced.

 

[Captain Craig]

I love the film(saw it 3 times in the theater) and original Moore work. I feel people blow out of proportion the changes made. The underlying structure and message is still in place and that is what is important.

It's grossly unfair to try and just attach GWB as an allegory to the film when it's in broad strokes talking about oppressive government in any form and frankly GWB didn't oppress the masses, as the political leaders do in the story and history has shown some do and still do. Regardless of ones thoughts on the Patriot Act I've never met a tortured soul from that.

The still relevant NSA spying scandals are just as relevant and wire tapping and eavesdropping on citizens was prevalent in the film....all on Obama's watch so it's grossly unfair to try and just tie this to GWB(even if Moore wrote it partly as a fuck you to Reagan/Thatcher). Moore is one part brilliant one part crazy town so one should take his works with a grain of salt anyway.

Looking for just American political ties is also unfair, it's speaking in broad strokes about Absolute Power Corrupting Absolutely. History shows that as a global problem throughout the ages.

It would make my personal top 100 off all time at any rate.