Comparing The Thin Man with The Princess Bride is not only comparing apples to sparrows, it's weird because neither film is meant to be primarily a comedy.
Um, I don't mean to be picky or anything, but when you add up some of the votes, they total 17. Others total 18. Jefe? It doesn't look like one vote on any of them would change the outcome, but I'm just sayin'...
While the Princess Bride's vehicle may be fantasy/adventure, I most definitely classify it as a comedy. The Thin Man I think maybe is a bit more gray, but it's still comedic, which was good enough for me.
Indiana Jones is adventure. Princess Bride is comedy.
As for the majority rules system not working, I thought the primary purpose of MMM wasn't winning so much as discussing great films and why we think they're great. Lots of peeps obviously have strong opinions, so I think it could work fine. As soon as we're done pointing fingers and calling each other lowbrow twits.
And I'll tell you something Looney, I didn't think Modern Times was very funny. There, I said it. But I'm with you on O Brother so I think we can still be pals.
"Indiana Jones is adventure. Princess Bride is comedy."
PB has plenty of comedic relief, but is not PRIMARILY a comedy, obviously. The action/adventure and romance elements outweigh the comedy. It's listed as an action/adventure/comedy/fantasy/romance in IMDb. Comedy is merely one element out of five.
All genres of film will have varying levels of comedy - it is necessary to mitigate the heavier elements. Comedies are films where the MAIN AIM of the film is to make you laugh, above ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. Is that really true of PB? I don't think so, and I've seen it more than once. It has one or two hilarious parts, and plenty of chuckles, but I never got the feeling that the rest of the film was a mainly a framework for the laughs.
All the Thin Man movies had plenty of comedic relief as well, but they were primarily murder mysteries. Hell, the first one was written by Dashiell Hammett, for crying out loud.
I'm not trying to put down the winner, but it seems to me that the way this particular thing is set up, that's what "winner" means. It is either the person who filled it out according to what he/she felt were the best films and consistently held to the most frequently appearing results, or the person who predicted what the masses would choose altogether. I didn't get that that was the point, but some Mexican who refused to show me his badge says that was in the "rules."
Either way, does that speak to the actual comparative quality of the films? Once again, you're going to have those that feel that popularity automatically equals quality, and those that do not.
Anyway, I didn't see anywhere that there was a prize. How can there be a winner without a prize? I think Jefe should have to send the winner one of those big-ass DVD box sets from TCM. :-)
Now that I think more on it, I hope more people filled theirs out the way I did than the other way. Seeing what everyone REALLY thinks about the movies and seeing where it leads is far more interesting than merely seeing what everyone thought everyone ELSE would pick.
"Seeing what everyone REALLY thinks about the movies and seeing where it leads is far more interesting than merely seeing what everyone thought everyone ELSE would pick."
From the way the brackets looked to me, I think most people made most picks based on their hearts. My guess is people picked with their hearts on the movies they really have an affinity for, and for the match-ups where they had less of an interest, they picked what they figured would be the "favorite."
Yeah, it's not that I don't get everything you're saying about Princess Bride, it's just... still a comedy. A comedy with elements of action, adventure, and romance. IMDB can call it how it sees it, and I can call it how I see it. I see it as primarily serving to make us laugh, and using those other elements as vehicles.
I picked mostly with my heart, but if I was having a tough time with a pick, I went with what I thought was going to be the one you all went with. My bad? Naaah. This is for fun and discussion!
22 comments:
I did not vote for Diner, but I'm surprised so few people did. I know lots of peeps who consider that movie a comedy legend.
I hated Diner.
Comparing The Thin Man with The Princess Bride is not only comparing apples to sparrows, it's weird because neither film is meant to be primarily a comedy.
Um, I don't mean to be picky or anything, but when you add up some of the votes, they total 17. Others total 18. Jefe? It doesn't look like one vote on any of them would change the outcome, but I'm just sayin'...
Criminy, American Graffiti over Modern Times.
Jefe, I'm sorry, the majority rules point system is not fucking working...
Emma, you gotta go back and read yesterday's results posts again. I explained it in one of those posts.
Oops. Missed that. Carry on.
"Jefe, I'm sorry, the majority rules point system is not fucking working..."
Hmm, let's see. Last year, everyone bitched at me when the results didn't go their way. Now you bitch at each other.
Seems like it's working flawlessly to me!
While the Princess Bride's vehicle may be fantasy/adventure, I most definitely classify it as a comedy. The Thin Man I think maybe is a bit more gray, but it's still comedic, which was good enough for me.
I wonder who else voted for Slap Shot?
Indiana Jones is adventure. Princess Bride is comedy.
As for the majority rules system not working, I thought the primary purpose of MMM wasn't winning so much as discussing great films and why we think they're great. Lots of peeps obviously have strong opinions, so I think it could work fine. As soon as we're done pointing fingers and calling each other lowbrow twits.
And I'll tell you something Looney, I didn't think Modern Times was very funny. There, I said it. But I'm with you on O Brother so I think we can still be pals.
"Indiana Jones is adventure. Princess Bride is comedy."
PB has plenty of comedic relief, but is not PRIMARILY a comedy, obviously. The action/adventure and romance elements outweigh the comedy. It's listed as an action/adventure/comedy/fantasy/romance in IMDb. Comedy is merely one element out of five.
All genres of film will have varying levels of comedy - it is necessary to mitigate the heavier elements. Comedies are films where the MAIN AIM of the film is to make you laugh, above ALL OTHER CONSIDERATIONS. Is that really true of PB? I don't think so, and I've seen it more than once. It has one or two hilarious parts, and plenty of chuckles, but I never got the feeling that the rest of the film was a mainly a framework for the laughs.
All the Thin Man movies had plenty of comedic relief as well, but they were primarily murder mysteries. Hell, the first one was written by Dashiell Hammett, for crying out loud.
Brad, O'Tim, Cody & Emma all voted for Slap Shot.
"I thought the primary purpose of MMM wasn't winning so much as discussing great films and why we think they're great."
Hooray for Teacake! She gets the gold star!
"I thought the primary purpose of MMM wasn't winning so much as discussing great films and why we think they're great."
I don't have any argument with that, it's just disappointing to see so many classics go down in the flames of ignorance...
I'm not trying to put down the winner, but it seems to me that the way this particular thing is set up, that's what "winner" means. It is either the person who filled it out according to what he/she felt were the best films and consistently held to the most frequently appearing results, or the person who predicted what the masses would choose altogether. I didn't get that that was the point, but some Mexican who refused to show me his badge says that was in the "rules."
Either way, does that speak to the actual comparative quality of the films? Once again, you're going to have those that feel that popularity automatically equals quality, and those that do not.
Anyway, I didn't see anywhere that there was a prize. How can there be a winner without a prize? I think Jefe should have to send the winner one of those big-ass DVD box sets from TCM. :-)
Now that I think more on it, I hope more people filled theirs out the way I did than the other way. Seeing what everyone REALLY thinks about the movies and seeing where it leads is far more interesting than merely seeing what everyone thought everyone ELSE would pick.
"Seeing what everyone REALLY thinks about the movies and seeing where it leads is far more interesting than merely seeing what everyone thought everyone ELSE would pick."
From the way the brackets looked to me, I think most people made most picks based on their hearts. My guess is people picked with their hearts on the movies they really have an affinity for, and for the match-ups where they had less of an interest, they picked what they figured would be the "favorite."
Am I right?
Yeah, it's not that I don't get everything you're saying about Princess Bride, it's just... still a comedy. A comedy with elements of action, adventure, and romance. IMDB can call it how it sees it, and I can call it how I see it. I see it as primarily serving to make us laugh, and using those other elements as vehicles.
And yes, Jefe, I picked the movies I thought were funniest. And I didn't even look at their numbers.
"I see it as primarily serving to make us laugh, and using those other elements as vehicles."
I see the laughs as axle grease for that vehicle.
"And I didn't even look at their numbers."
I'm not a sports guy, so I don't even know what the numbers are supposed to mean.
I picked mostly with my heart, but if I was having a tough time with a pick, I went with what I thought was going to be the one you all went with. My bad? Naaah. This is for fun and discussion!
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