The Very Sciency Science Behind Film Choices

Synopsis

For millenniums the brightest minds have questioned, wondered, posited and studied. Mathematicians and world-renowned doctors have sacrificed their lives in search of an answer. Galileo, thought by many a simple physicist and astronomer, only stumbled upon the secrets of the universe while attempting to decode the what many have deemed un-crackable. Homer, Turing, Einstein, Curie, Mister Rogers, Shakespeare and even a few others dedicated sweat, blood and tears to unearth and unwrap this particular riddle. Alas, they all failed to discover the one most vital truth:

How do we determine the greatness of a film? 

Okay, so maybe I exaggerated a wee bit, but a lot of people do spend an inordinate amount of time debating movie greatness and history’s “Best Films”. 

Luckily for humanity, our local research team has spent countless minutes and wasted dozens of milliliters of pen and highlighter ink in an effort to succeed where all else had failed. Today, I am proud to announce that we have a reasonably useful outline for you to follow, if you so wish. 

After weeks of listing all the “classic” movies we were desperate (and yet far too disorganized) to watch, my associate and I developed a system to determine a personalized Canon of Films. If you, like us, long to say things such as, “You know, I still maintain that Citizen Cane is hugely overrated,” and “That King Kong remake was just abysmal compared to the original,” then do we have the solution for you! 

Read on to learn how we generated our own list of 15 must-see classic films, and how you can do the same! 

List of Convenient and Not-at-all Confusing Acronyms (LCNCA):

• Base Selection List (BSL) = This is your initial list of films. However you choose to assemble this list, you will want to begin with a wide selection. We suggest a minimum of 100 and a maximum of 200 films for your BSL. 

• Rough Selection List (RSL): This is your second-level list; it may end up being your Final Selection List (see below), but more-than-likely, it will be amended and expanded. For more details, refer to the forthcoming section on ‘The Very Sciency Science’. 

• Final Selection List (FSL): This is your completed list; it enumerates all of the films you and your partner(s) have determined to watch. 

The Very Sciency Science (© 2014)

Now, thanks to my Very Sciency Science, you too may develop your own Canon of Films (sometimes referred to as ‘List of Movies You Should Watch So You Can Impress People at Parties or LMYSWIPP for short’). 

Please keep in mind that these rules have been devised for the use of two people, and should be properly modified to accommodate three or more participants. We recommend no more than five consultants per list.

** WARNING: The following steps are extremely sciency and can be tough to follow. Do your best. **

Step One: Develop Your BSL

Before you can devise your FSL, you will need to determine a starting point. For the purposes of our list, I researched a number of ‘Top 100’ lists across the internet and ultimately landed on the BBC’s ‘Top 100 Films Poll’ (2001), a list generated by Channel 4 viewers. This, we felt, added a human element, whereas a list drawn up solely by critics and filmmakers might not be as approachable. You may base your BSL around genres and sources that pertain to your personal preferences. 

To add a little more diversity, we mixed in movies from Rotten Tomatoes’ ‘Top 100 Movies of All Time’. Due to space constraints (i.e. I ran out of room on my word document), we counted in the top 12 films from the Rotten Tomatoes list, skipping any duplicates. 

Our BSL of 112 titles is below:

Step Two: Determine Your RSL

Now that you have a suitable BSL, you can begin implementing the Very Sciency Science to pare down the number of viewing options. 

You Will Need:

             Two identical copies of your BSL

             Two very secretive participants 

             Two blue pens

             Two red pens

             Two highlighters (we used yellow)

Without discussion, each player will consult his or her list and select a total of 35 films they super duper want to see. Unknown titles may be looked up, but no clear interest OR disinterest should be relayed to the other party. 

Circle your chosen titles using the blue pen provided.

In addition, each participant will be given up to three vetoes for films they unequivocally refuse to accept in their FSL. It is not obligatory to use your vetoes, but if one is used, that person’s discretion must be honored. 

Cross out your vetoed titles using the red pen provided. 

Step Three: Confirm Your RSL

Once this has been done, you will be able to reveal your combined RSL. Go through your BSL film-by-film and see what your associate has chosen or vetoed. 

• Any film that shares overlap (i.e. both parties have selected it) will automatically pass through to your FSL. Highlight your “Must-Have” titles using the highlighter provided. 

• Any film that has been vetoed by one or both consultants is removed from your list. 

• Any film that has been selected by one participant but not the other becomes ‘ineligible’.

Now you can count your highlighted titles, which will show you your RSL. 

Our RSL looked like this:

While our collection of vetoed titles was as follows:

Step Four: Finalize Your FSL

At this point you must make a crucial decision: do you think your RSL is sizable enough? If you do, then your RSL becomes your FSL, and you are finished! If not, then you must mutually agree on how to widen the lineup. 

Having a mere 10 overlapping titles ourselves, we determined to include five additional movies. For the sake of fairness, each player was allowed to select one never-chosen film plus one ‘ineligible’ film.

To round out the list, we asked an impartial third-party contributor to select any one title from the BSL, excepting vetoed films. 

In the end, we created this as our FSL:

We have since decided to begin with ‘Henry V’ simply because I have a copy. Check back for some updates and reviews as the adventure continues. 

We hope you enjoyed our Very Sciency Science. Have fun!