Muddyfunkster: A Word to the Unwise

Channel 4, the home of inane and often invalid best of lists, is trollying out another top 100 – this time it’s “The UK’s 100 Most Popular Movies Ever” (Sat 27th/Sun 28th), compiled from films over the last 100 years. So, what’s the definition of Popular? Is it voted for by a significant proportion of the UK? Is it based on the thoughts of industry pundits? Nope, it’s based on viewing figures. Personally, I don’t see how this is going to work. Surely there have been times when, due to external circumstances, a greater of fewer number of people went to the cinema – therefore films released at these times aren’t going to do as well as those released when attendance was high. All sorts of factors hit the “bums on seats” figures, and if you consider what’s happened in the UK over the past 100 years, 2 World Wars and countless other events it seems an odd way of assembling a best of list. Plus, according to the BFI who compiled the list, “Documentaries, short films, and silent films are excluded”. Since the first film with sound was released in September, 1925, then surely it’s only the last 80 years of movies?

That said, is there a better way to compile the list? We couldn’t vote, as there are probably more people alive who watched Spiderman 2 than the overall number of cinema attendees in the 1930’s, and the UK’s Favourite 100 as selected by industry officials, not the UK, was released (here) and shot to pieces almost immediately (in a scene Rambo would have been proud of).

So, in conclusion, there is no way to compile a best of anything. Best of is purely subjective and opinion based. You can no more select the best of ice creams than the best of the 80’s or the Best Garage Beats Ever (volume 3). Channel 4, please stop making these shows (more of shich are here) and go back to more cultured and informative program making – such as Big Brother, or EuroTrash!