My wife's favorite movie is High Fidelity. She might say otherwise, but when it's on TV she will watch it to the end regardless of the starting point. It's a weird metric to determine quality, as it relies on being broadcast on television. I haven't been able to think of a better way to pick a favorite movie (or FILM if you wanna be a jerk about it). There is a long list of movies I'd like you to know that I like, to imply that my taste is respectable. I love 400 Blows, but I've probably only watched it 3 times. For comparison, I saw Jurassic Park eight times in the theater, but is it a better movie? Can you even compare the two?
I heard a critic use the phrase "the promise of ecstasy", meaning we watch movies to escape into a euphoric place where we take part in what is on screen. "You are watching this again?" Yes, because I know what's going to happen and I am going to love it perhaps even more the second time. This is what makes navigating the endless titles of Netflix so overwhelming. I fear disappointment, so now I'm watching The Nice Guys for the fifteenth time. It's a good movie... a great movie? Not sure yet, but I doubt it.
What are my favorite movies? I don't know, but I can list five that I can watch start to finish, or midway to finish, from five to ninety-five minutes in.
- Fargo
- Alien
- Back to the Future
- Casino
- Die Hard with a Vengeance
There's little commonality between any of these titles other than I have seen them all 30-100 times each. I could also argue that Ocean's Eleven should be on this list, but a) I have a hard time admitting how many times I've seen it, b) seems redundant with the far superior Casino at number 4. So the list is a lie via omission even in the guise of a guilty pleasure. Ok so you've seen these titles the most, but what are the BEST movies? I might say:
- Blowout
- Rosemary's Baby
- Possession
- Full Metal Jacket
- Rushmore
But this list too is a lie. I probably like Lost in Translation more than Full Metal Jacket, though its ridiculous to compare them to each other. "Who is a better band: Metallica or the Beatles?" It doesn't account for context. I saw one movie on an airplane and the other in IMAX. I can't recall a critic even mentioning how they watched the movie. Was it an oscar screener? Did your roommate score a bootleg DVD from that guy in Washington Sq. park? Movies are a gateway to pure escapism. Did you escape or were you tethered to reality (or some form of it) via Twitter, only half paying attention, thereby missing the experience altogether?
A good movie captures the attention of the audience, a great one dissolves the edges of the screen pulling us into full blown escapism. The advent of home theater is great for movie watching, and also terrible. I can't remember a pack of dogs going ballistic when the doorbell rang on screen at the theater. We are struggling to pay attention long enough to appreciate anything, so ranking disparate works of art is at best mindless clickbait.
