[Adam_S]

This thread is for discussing the revote of the AFI 100 years, 100 movies list. Only those who have participated in the current AFI Challenge thread in the Movies forum (or have seen all 100 films and want to participate before we get started) and have finished the 100 movies list have a vote, though we won't prevent anyone else from commenting in this thread.

Those who have finished the 100 movies list:
Adam_S - participating
Brook_K - participating
Chris Richard - not responded
Dome Vongvises - not participating
Evan Case - participating
George Kaplan - participating
Jim_K - participating
Lew Crippen - participating
Mariano - participating
Matthew Louwrens - not participating
Michael Streeter - not participating
Seth Paxton - Participating

This is meant to be fun. It's not a critique of the AFI, nor does it suggest that our opinion is somehow superior or better. It is a poll of how, overall, the HTF cineastes tastes in American film compare to the AFI's tastes.

There are some films the AFI selected that some of us feel are not great, some we feel don't belong, and some we feel were added for arbitrary reasons. If it were up to each of us as individuals some could probably find half or more of the AFI list to be in question, but as an overall poll the majority of the list is an excellent and representative sampling of great american film.

For this reason, we don't need to start a revote from scratch, by retaining 75% of the original list, and then selecting or reselecting 25 films to fill in the list we create a new list informed by the AFI's overall good tastes, as well as our personal preferences and opinions of great film.

There will be several stages to a revote:

1. Select and order the bottom 25 films from the original 100 AFI lists.

2. Select and order 25 American funded, English language, feature length (40 minutes or longer, academy standard) films not on the original 100 from 1896-1996.

3. After these lists are turned in and compiled I'll release two new lists of 25 films recieving the most votes off the list and the 25 receiving the most votes for, respectively.

4. Take the 50 films in step three and have each participant vote for the 25 best. This may be the longest stage because we'll need to allow time if people want to see or revisit the films from the 25 being added on.

5. After this vote is finished and results are compiled, the 25 films with the highest scores will be added back to the remaining 75 films from the original list.

6. Vote on this final set of 100 films to arrive at the HTF revoted list 2.0

If you have questions or comments on the above outlined process, by all means post and let us debate this to see how we will proceed. Also let us know when reasonable deadlines for the above stages would be. I completed stage one and two today--so they do not necessarily take too long. If you're unsure on what films are eligable for stage 2 or just for ideas asking here might be the best place.

Adam

[Adam_S]

I compiled my stage two list from looking at my favorite films not on the list (like George Kaplan, favorite=great for me) films in other lists (AFI, HTF revote, Sight and Sound) I think should be on this list (for instance, The Exorcist), and the films of some directors I love, for instance, the Coens, Sturges, Wilder, Ford, Lubitsch to see if there were any I'd overlooked in my favorite film lists. From that I pulled the 25 best.

Just to doublecheck (because it has a convoluted history) Brazil is eligable by the criteria we outlined, correct? (50% or more American funding)

[george kaplan]

I'm in. Should we post our lists here, or send them to you?

[Adam_S]

For the films being voted off, I think go ahead and send them to me, that way it's more of a closed ballot, I've already finalized my first two lists and won't be changing them.

For the films being voted on, send your list to me, but what does everyone think about posting these lists or posting suggested movies the AFI may have overlooked or not considered? It's possible we could end up with two hundred and fifty different movies in this category if there is no consensus or discussion. But I imagine there will be enough overlap to give us a clear top twenty-five, regardless. Discussion is definitely open on this topic (as well on what films on the AFI list you think shouldn't be on ours).

For now I'm assuming we'll do all the stages with an inversely weighted system, for instance a film voted number 1 gets 100 points and a film voted 100 gets 1 point.

in stages one and two, a film ranked number 1 gets 25 points and a film ranked number 25 gets 1 point. In stage one, these are points against the film and the twenty five films with the highest totals will be voted off the list and into the stage three/four pool. In stage two these are points for a film and the twenty five films with the highest totals will be selected for the stage three/four pool.

In the twenty five voted off the list, order them so that number 1 as the least deserving, number twenty five being your highest ranked of the least deserving.
For me this means Birth of a Nation is #1 (so it gets twenty five points against it) and The Graduate is #25 (one point against it). The Graduate happened to be at number 76 in my ordering of the overall 100 and I took the bottom twenty-five to vote off.

[Mariano]

Thanks for contacting me...of course i'm in !!

I'll be sending you my lists in the next few days and i don't have any problem if you want me to post here the list of the films to be added.

[Lew Crippen]

Adam, I’m in—are we considering the films in the HTF revote list? I’m sure that most of have seen all of them also.

[Jim_K]

I'll give it a go Adam.

Give me a little time to come up with both lists.

[Lew Crippen]

Have you checked with guys like Seth, Brook and Walter who may not have participated in the AFI challenge, but who have likely seen all the films?

I’d be interested in their views as well.

[Adam_S]

Thanks for replying everyone, we'll give it a couple weeks to get together all the lists for the first two stages. Tentatively, I'll post the first two lists on March 1st.

Lew, I don't think we're considering the films from the first HTF revote. We're starting from the AFI list from scratch. Of course everyone is more than welcome to choose them and I wouldn't be surprised to see The General and Sunrise make the cut for our list.

I haven't contacted Seth, Brook or Walter, but since you suggested it, I'll give it a shot, the more the merrier.

Adam