I get pissed off with the way John continually says “subjective” on just about anything we talk about. Sure, the whole thing is subjective, but we love lists, we all have our favourites, and that promotes discussion and that’s what the site is all about – not angry people who can’t type properly! (I don’t mean John!).
It’s this subjectivity on the top lists that we’ve seen recently on the Top Films of all time post and John and Doug talk about in the Audio Edition that is the most interesting thing, forget the movie title itself, it’s the personal story behind it.
Recently I had an idea about music, and I think I might try the same with cinema, I published the Soundtrack to My Life, a collection of songs that really mean something to me and the story behind them. I found it a brilliant thing to do and also discovered that it wasn’t really about the song, I mean Barry Manilow is in there!
So what has this to do with the movies? Well they’re just like the songs. When you’re listening to the Audio Edition this week John’s off on a little story about how he saw a movie, named his cat after a character, etc etc., and it got me thinking. Some of the top lists are not just about great movies, they are about the experience you had around them. The effect of Star Wars is surely heightened because you were at the right age, the time was right and everyone shared the experience. Think Star Wars and you don’t just think the movie, you think of being in the cinema with loads of your friends, trading the toys, talking about the movie, playing with light sabers…Okay…well I do!
When I actually listed my top list I decided to use the movies I’ve voted on IMDB with a 10 score. It missed loads that really mean a lot to me and I would have thought should be up there. The reviews of these movies exclude me, if I were to sit down and think what movies should be in my Top list, I’ll start thinking more of my life. Indiana Jones with my Dad, probably the last time I can remember being in the Cinema with him, we’ve just never been since, but it feels like a big Field of Dreams moment to me now.
So, on that. What movie (or movies) mean a lot to you personally, what movie carries a huge story for you and why? Can you even tell us what the story is? Are there movies that really did affect you, like Batman did for me (I raided a Bus Shelter with a claw hammer at 3am to get a poster!), or Always (see my soundtrack for details)…?
