Shawshank Redemption #2 on iMDB -- why? (1 Viewer)

[MartinTeller]

2nd highest rated, and with more votes than ANY other movie except Fellowship of the Ring and The Matrix. I don't get it. Shawshank is a decent movie, even a good movie. But number 2? Did someone rig the voting? It's the only explanation I can think of. More people stopped to vote for Shawshank than Star Wars? I can't believe that.

 

[todd stone]

Shawshank blows away Star Wars. Star Wars *the originals* while a great series to watch, don't really do anythign special on their own as individuals imo. Shawshank had a great cast, great script, great music all around.

 

[Zen Butler]

This will spark some familiar dialog but I don't get it either.

 

[Chris]

I assume it's #2 because a lot of people liked it. This is only a guess.

Chris (Master of the Obvious)

 

[MartinTeller]

Liked it, sure. I liked it, too. But LOVED it? I don't know anyone who would consider it a masterpiece or one of the best of all time, do you?

I'm not trying to start an argument about how good Shawshank is, it just doesn't make sense to me that it would be rated so high, when there are much more popular and much more highly-regarded films out there.

 

[Rob Gillespie]

It's about as close to a perfect film as I can imagine. An intricate, detailed and unfolding story. A1 acting. Superb writing. Excellent photography and score. Always enjoyable no matter how many times it's watched.

It's not often you get that combination.

it never shows up on anyone's top 10 lists

I think I've seen it on just about every top-ten favourite film list I've seen over the past few years.

 

[MartinTeller]

Here is a list of all films that were named in Sight and Sound's poll of top 10 movies. 145 critics and 108 directors, not one of them voted for Shawshank.

Here is the American Film Institute's top 100 American movies of all time. Shawshank? Nowhere to be seen.

What a more populist view? Okay. Here's a handful of top 10 lists. Not even top of all time, just top 10 American films. Not one of them has Shawshank.

 

[Matt Stone]

Here are three threads from the last year or so. Many, many people love this film, regardless of whether it shows up on top ten lists or not. When people vote on IMDB, I'd venture a guess that many people don't vote for films in regards to how they fit on their top ten. I think that most just give a 10 to films that they "love." God knows I gave Shawshank a 10, and it's not even on my top 20.

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ank+Redemption

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ank+Redemption

http://www.hometheaterforum.com/htfo...ank+Redemption

Also, saying that it isn't on many top tens is not too accurate. Check YMDB's top movie page, and Shawshank is ranked 6th, which means it's on many people's top 20 lists.

http://www.ymdb.com/topmovies.asp

 

[Holadem]

It's about as close to a perfect film as I can imagine. An intricate, detailed and unfolding story. A1 acting. Superb writing. Excellent photography and score. Always enjoyable no matter how many times it's watched.

It's not often you get that combination.

Well said.

Martin,

I will tell you that Shawshank has one of the widest appeals I have seen in any movie. I don't know a single person in real life who has seen it and has not loved it AND does not count it among his or her favorites.

I have never read the novella, but there is no doubt in my mind that this is one of those cases where the film transcends the book.

--
H

 

[MartinTeller]

I guess I just hang out with the wrong crowd of people then. I've never met anyone who was especially enthusiastic about it.


FWIW, I just voted on a movie three times and iMDB did nothing to stop me. Maybe my vote will only be counted once... or maybe it's possible to vote over and over again for your favorites.

 

[Chris]

It's hard to say "it's so unpopular" not "top 100" etc.. or the ilk; basically, IMDB's system means that many people -did and do- actively consider the film to be a great film.

Also remember, many "critics" etc. view can run counter to societal perceptions; I don't know of many film critics who would say the Matrix is #34 and so on.

The IMDB list is based upon what end viewers like. I don' know if I'd put Shawshank in my top 10. But it is a great film, and for enjoyment, I'd probably put it in my top 20.

Then again, I'd also put "Office Space" in my top 30, so *shrug*

 

[Walter Kittel]

2nd highest rated, and with more votes than ANY other movie except Fellowship of the Ring and The Matrix. I don't get it. Shawshank is a decent movie, even a good movie. But number 2? Did someone rig the voting? It's the only explanation I can think of. More people stopped to vote for Shawshank than Star Wars? I can't believe that.

Martin - A few days ago you argued for the subjective viewpoint during the consideration of film as art and entertainment. A film ranked that high obviously has a strong emotional resonance with a large number of viewers, due to their subjective viewpoints, which apparently are in opposition to your views of the film.

I mentioned emotional resonance, because that is the primary characteristic I attribute to The Shawshank Redemption due to its hopeful, life affirming message. I believe that characteristic strikes a strong emotional chord with a number of voters. It certainly does with me.

I'm not familiar with IMDB voting, but I believe Matt's explanation fits the scenario. A lot of voters rank the film as a 10, without consideration of a top 10, top 100 list, etc. The #2 ranking is just how the numbers work out. Looking at IMDB, 52808 voters have given the film a 10 rating. Pretty damn impressive.

- Walter.

 

[MartinTeller]

Sigh. I'm really not placing any judgement on it. It has nothing to do with my views on the film. Honestly. This is not a "let's bash Shawshank" thread. I'm just baffled by its high ranking, considering what the general public perception of the movie seems to be.

It's also weird to me that so many people voted on it, which is more suspicious than the rating itself. I'm not saying Star Wars is better than Shawshank (well, I think it is, but that's not the issue), but certainly more people have seen it... ESPECIALLY among internet geeks.

 

[Holadem]

FWIW, I just voted on a movie three times and iMDB did nothing to stop me. Maybe my vote will only be counted once... or maybe it's possible to vote over and over again for your favorites.

Give me one valid reason why Shawshank's ranking should be the only one affected by this, out of all the movies on that list with far more vocal and fanatical supporters and detractors.

You insinuations are taking credence away from your otherwise interesting observations.

--
H

 

[MartinTeller]

Hell, I dunno. That's why I posted this!

Maybe there's some really crazy Shawshank fan out there with a lot of time on his hands.

 

[Walter Kittel]

Martin - If you say you aren't being judgemental, okay. That's simply how I read your remarks. Sorry.

The simplest explanation is that a *lot* of people really like this film. I've briefly mentioned why I believe this is the case and I guess I'll leave it at that. Personally, I would rank it at 9.

- Walter.

 

[Brian_J]

Shawshank is a decent movie, even a good movie.

No, it is flat out a GREAT movie, and I dare say maybe a perfect movie. I cannot think of any faults. Whether it be the casting, the direction, the story telling, whatever. No film pulls at the heart strings with such a fresh blast of humanity as this film.

Brian

 

[Robert Crawford]

Martin,
Why don't you read those HTF threads that were linked if you want to know why so many think highly of that film?




Crawdaddy

 

[Nick_Scott]

The IMDB list is based upon what end viewers like. I don' know if I'd put Shawshank in my top 10. But it is a great film, and for enjoyment, I'd probably put it in my top 20.

True- Plus, you always have to consider the target audience.

Consider a film like Bowling for Columbine. It has extremely high ratings, but was also targeted to an EXTREMELY limited audience.
People outside that group avoided the film altogether, so the raking is skewed.

Shawshank also seemed to have a somewhat limited target audience. Intrestingly, the "Top 1000" voters gave it a much lower average rating.. hmmm

Nick

 

[MartinTeller]

I didn't say I wanted to know why so many think highly of it. My question was more, do people really think so highly of it, or is something funny going on at iMDB?

But, looking at those threads is interesting. There are indeed a lot of "perfect film", "top 3 of all time", etc. But there's a pretty good number of "not perfect, but good", "extremely overrated", "not in my top 100", etc.

Also, there aren't really very many responses to those threads. The longest one is 3 pages, and it seems to be mostly about Pulp Fiction.

If there really is a legion of TSR fans out there, okay, question answered. Like I said, it's the number of voters that surprised me more than how they voted.

Interestingly, out of the iMDB top 20 films that have been released on DVD, TSR is the only one without decent special features. Someone at WB ought to get on the ball!