Screen cap from Elem Klimov’s 1985 Russian masterpiece “Come and See” which was examined in a stunning 4,600 word essay by Jamie Uhler, which was the longest review of the entire countdown
Screen cap from Peter Bogdonich’s 1971 gem “The Last Picture Show.” My own review of it attracted 79 comments, the most in the countdown.
by Sam Juliano
The latest countdown is complete and everyone involved in this long running venture can breathe easy and take a bow. While I must cope with a behind-the-scenes position that to wind up this poll with some brief happy commentary is trite and flagrantly self-congratulatory, I am ever cognizant of how such a project could occupy one body and soul. So if I sound a bit self-congratulatory so be it. Heaven help all of us for feeling proud of our accomplishment. To be sure, like practically all previous genre countdowns chaired by Yours Truly (Greatest Film Musicals, Greatest Film Comedies, Greatest Film Westerns, Greatest Film Romances) there was initial controversy as to what constitutes a proper voting entry in each respective polling. I may be old-fashioned and free-spirited but I always thought that each voter was intelligent enough to make their own minds up as to which films conform to various genre interpretations. The e mail chain that always precedes the site announcements was and is the place for sparring over such matters, and it was there where the film lovers voiced their own majority opinion on this recent poll. The title Greatest Childhood/Adolescent Films Countdown speaks for itself, and pointedly asserts eligibility from ages 0 to 18. But the main concern of this poll and the others that came before it isn’t the numerical placements nor the issue of a specific film doesn’t work for other voters who are fashioning their own ballots, but rather the reviews of the films and the comment sections under them. A week from now nobody will remember where films ended up numerically, but there is more than a fair chance that the writing and discussion will survive well into the future. That after all is the purpose of this and prior countdowns. The use of “subject” is an excuse to group films together and get people to strut their stuff on the rhetorical front. In Shakespearean lingo “The reviews’s the thing……”
I originally intended to have a little fun and offer up a list of the ten “longest” essays, the ten essays with the most comments, and the ten with the most page views, but I have refined that after I was questioned about the worth of it all. There is no worth whatsoever – the exercise is just to do a little re-visitation. Some of the best reviews in this countdown were not long in the conventional sense -some in fact was rather short- but the longest ones were certainly works of splendid scholarship. There is no greatest review or accomplishment, such a position is the domain of individual taste and judgement. I loved many reviews in this countdown myself, and I have discussed them on e mail chains. In any case I have refined my statistical intentions to brief mentions. The longest review of the countdown was Jamie Uhler’s masterful piece on Klimov’s 1985 Russian work Come and See at around 4,600 words. The runner up was the fabulous appreciation of Ingmar Bergman’s Fanny and Alexander, penned by Dean Treadway, which ran around 3,800 words. The review that attracted the most comments was my own essay on The Last Picture Show with 79, and the runner-up was also my own essay on Anne of Green Gables/Anne of Avonlea with 63. Comment totals are all relative and have much to do with timing, a domino effect and the willingness of the author to mix it up. Kudos to Jon Warner for successfully placing a comment under every single one of the 83 reviews, but to all who found the times to engage. The quality of the writing was consistently excellent, so many of the comments were thoughtful.
The planned project for the late spring of 2016 is still being discussed. It seems it will either be Greatest War Films or Greatest Science-Fiction Films. What is 100% certain is that I am relinquishing control of the project to Allan Fish, Jamie Uhler and Maurizio Roca who will collaborate on setting the ground rules. I have been told they will be substantially different than the ones that were in place for the previous five countdown I chaired. And to be honest I am relieved and intrigued as to how the new countdown will proceed. As always I will work hard to promote it, and will be involved on a daily basis. I will also once again write some of the pieces.
I want to thank everyone for their dedication to the Greatest Childhood/Adolescent Films countdown. To say that is was a true labor of love for all seems like a fair assumption.
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Writers/Founders
Mine was the longest. Suck it! (Is this what I’m supposed to say?)
No, you are supposed to say something along these lines: “Heck, only 4,600 words. I was trying hard to hit 5.000. Shucks.” 🙂
How about, “Damn, I’m long winded”.
That is just as good indeed. 🙂
But in all seriousness, I wasn’t being paid by the word so I wasn’t trying to hit any word counts. Rather, I had a lot of thoughts about COME AND SEE over the years, so 4,600 is merely were I landed coincidentally.
I’ll sit waiting near the mail box for my trophy to arrive though.
Jamie, I know that well. You did have so much to say, and as I’ve mentioned to others this was a spectacular review where not a single word was wasted. Thank you my friend. 🙂
Sam,
I had a great time with the countdown, adding to my ever growing list of films to see. I had hoped for two more of my favorites to make the list, Martin Scorsese’s “Hugo” and Diane Kurys’ first film (and the terribly underrated) “Peppermint Soda”. Many of my other favorites were on the list and I appreciate the work you and the other reviewers went to in order to put this list out for all film lovers.
Thanks again for all the work
John, your participation and engagement with the countdown was fantastic and deeply appreciated! The comments you left under the Anne of Green Gables/Anne of Avonlea post were Hall of Fame, and your support and encouragement did wonders to spread the positive energy. I love both HUGO and PEPPERMINT SODA, both of which received votes in the initial tabulation. It is a pity they didn’t quite make it. Thanks again my friend!! Oh how I wish I could have gotten a ballot from you before the project tabulated.
I loved the writing in this countdown; unassailable (especially all the essays you contributed, Sam–really heroic work. I was hoping for my #2 film to get in, A LITTLE ROMANCE, but I still pretty much concurred with the choices I’ve seen, and was fascinated by the ones I haven’t). I think I just missed getting in on the word count game–the FANNY AND ALEXANDER piece came out to about 3600. I dunno–I felt like I was going short on it. At any rate, great job to you all and thanks again, Sam.
Dean, thanks so very much for those inspired words and astonishing support! I do know well you favored A LITTLE ROMANCE, which somehow missed the cut narrowly as I recall. And yes you did have the second longest post, a fact I have confirmed and corrected above. Great work there and thanks again!
Congrats to all who contributed to the countdown, most especially yourself, Sam, for organizing and coordinating it all. You must be knackered, but at least you know the result was the dog’s bollocks.
Thanks for all you did to make this countdown the success that it was John! Yes after such an exhaustive project you have to recoil at least to re-energize. The Caldecott series is due to begin soon, but we have some other projects on Saturdays that others would like to initiate. So we are moving forward actively. Thanks again my friend!
I had a whale of a time following it, and I issue congratulations to Sam and everyone who made contributions to this endeavor. Some truly outstanding reviews- Sam your own work was superb. I am next looking forward to the Caldecott series.
Celeste, thanks a million for all you have done during the countdown! Your comments and support were invaluable. I fondly remember your particular passion during the Anne fo Green Gables post, but generally all over the place!
Congrats on the countdown, wish I could’ve been more active.
I shiver from anticipation at how the new countdowns will go down.
No, I am actually shivering.
I am scared.
I mean, how else would a countdown, with the participation of the community, work if it isn’t the way that it’s always been done. Since the change of chair here I anticipate the worst.
Good day!
Hmmm. I share your befuddlement about how a countdown will go if it ‘isn’t done the way it’s always been done’. Wait. Has it been done the same every time?
Allan’s Decades Countdown: Allan Fish all by himself.
Horror: Me and three others.
Musicals: A Group of about 5 people.
Noir: Maurizio, all by himself.
Animation: Stephen, all by himself.
Apparently Comedies, Westerns, Romance and Childhood are the entire history of the countdown here….
(lol, I think if I or Allan voiced this we’d be called ‘cynical’)
Ah, the joys of not actually reading and rushing to make a response that puts to shame the other and elevates people to higher echelons.
May I direct you to the part of my comment where I point out “with the participation of the community”?
Yeah. I wasn’t talking about the Horror or Decades, obviously. I was explicitly talking about those “with the participation of the community”.
Yeah.
Wait I did a countdown by myself!?!?!…the good old days when I actually had a nice amount of free time.
Jaime, there is no need to be so hard on yourself with regards to your accusation of reading and rushing to makes a response before you knew all the information. Sam, for some reason as he has been privy to these conversations, didn’t provide the tentative framework—that’s still being fleshed out completely—we are thinking for the Sci-Fi Countdown. There WILL be a community aspect of essays be anyone who wants to contribute, but there won’t be a published order given out before it begins. We’re hoping to get back to the days where anticipation and mystery were real stalwarts of the countdown. It was that way back when Allan was doing all the decades countdowns (almost 10 in total) by himself and this place saw its zenith of interest and conversation. This was largely before you time here—so again I don’t hold your hubris against you—but what we’re trying to get to.
We’re going to decide on an order of truly great films than ask the community what films they’d like to write about. If they place and where won’t be told, but if it’s in there we’ll hand out the assignments. There will be other stuff going on too, Saturday ‘almosts’ that we want to highlight, or other sci-fi themed things.
God, sorry about all the typos in that reply. Atrocious. I need a proofreader!
Yes, Maurizio, you did 50 essays!? Insane. I did 25 for my Top 25 Seinfeld episodes and those took me like 6 months, lol. You should pat yourself on the back for that countdown…
Jamie the “zenith” of this site in terms of total comments, total quality comments, page views, controversy and writing was the musical countdown, which which boasted numerous threads of between 100 and 200 comments. The follow-up Comedy countdown was nearly as spectacular, but then we did have a modest drop off for the next three. Allan’s countdowns never achieved what the musicals and comedies did, but arguably his efforts eclipsed the next three in the manner you specify.
I completely agree with you on the mystery element for the sci-fi-countdown, and look forward to the specifics, which you do broach here. Sounds good!!
Ah yes only looking at the numbers. Sure, 10 is greater than 7, but 7 diamonds are worth more than 10 pennies.
Well then we are coming down to personal opinion on genres. I am just going by the mania that greeted that particular countdown. Everything just came together for one glorious venture that brought the entire community together. It wasn’t only the number of comments but the quality of the comments and the way so many of the threads exhibited that back and forth we all are always hoping for. That particular countdown came before the FB induced drop offs suffered by all blogs, and it attracted the participation of some of our best writers, all who seemingly were trying to outdo the others in a friendly manner. Speaking for myself I know I never wrote like I did by way of quality and quantity, and I know some others did their best work there.
The only real barometer we have when we asses the success for a project are comments, the quality and back and forth aspects of those comments, the total page views, and the quality of the reviews. we also had more individual commenters on that countdown than on any other. If we are to just discard all of that as basically insignificant then it all comes down to “opinion” or whatever one likes over the other. Musicals are a favorite genre of mine, but so is horror and some of the others. I mean can we rightfully say the barometer of a countdown’s success is whether I or any other single person happens to like the subject? That is a thousand times more arbitrary than hard evidence.
I took a look again at the comments and was amazed that the lowest number for any review in the Top 25 was 22. We has one post with 250, one with 215, one with 133, one with 94, and others with 65, 62, 58, 57, and 44. The comments themselves were mainly directed to the films and the individual’s experience with the films, rather than of the “Job well done” variety. Nothing that Allan did ever came close, nothing that anyone else did either, but this was a one off where everyone focused at the same time. Some of this was luck of course. You have to have some luck for that kind of phenomenon to occur.
The undeniable fact aside from the recorded evidence,is that there was an excitement in the air for that countdown that has never been duplicated before or since. The chemistry just all came together, whether or not the subjects being examined were everyone’s cup of tea. Circumstances now with blogs will probably never allow such a recurrence, but I am always hopeful we can bring back the glory days. 🙂
I don’t know why you keep asserting that Facebook has created a drop off off ‘all blogs’. It’s against most published analytics on the topic, nor are they even different animals—Facebook posting is akin to a personal blog.
Ah thanks for clarifying.
It’s exactly what I feared.
Good Night and Good Luck.
So Jamie are you looking at having a small panel determine the rankings then? That’s what I’m gathering from this conversation.
Jaimie, the change is being instituted for the coming countdown, but nothing has actually been said about future countdowns after that, except that I hope the good Lord looks kindly down on me to be breathing and alive and well to continue. At 61 years old, I know my best years are in the past to say the least. 🙂 No need for concern my friend. All will be well, and I look forward to the change of pace for the coming countdown. I am not at all disappointed with the last five–quite the contrary. Thanks as ever for your support and valued friendship.
Jamie, the musical countdown actually did get around 17 writers, similar to the four that followed it, but your general point is well taken.
I know the Musical countdown had a lot of writers I was talking about the small group of people who voted and decided the order. It’s not dissimilar to what we’re thinking, nor that important to my overall point which was attempt to deflect Jaime’s cynicism over something he didn’t have all the facts about.
That is absolutely correct Jamie. Only six people decided the outcome.
You’ve earned a bit of self-congratulation, Sam – another outstanding series. I’ve become shockingly lazy about commenting, but this series has been a pleasure to read and think about… as always. You and everyone involved in putting it together have done an excellent job, and as always the writers have delivered. The scope and breadth of the writing in these projects is always amazing.
Stephen, your own writing as always was of the very first rank, and your reviews without any question were among the very best of the countdown. I certainly do agree with you on the scope and quality of the presentation, and feel despite a few glitches and a lag in the middle that this was still hugely successful. Many thank yo you my friend!
Yes Congrats again Sam on a job well done. I didn’t realize I commented on all 83 or that anyone would even notice that! Ha. Well every time we commence one of these things, there are things to learn. I saw several new films from this list, and Come and See was probably the mind blower. I will be intrigued as to what Allan/Jamie/Maurizio decide to do next although I believe that no matter what method is chosen, there will always be disagreements, which will be expected.
Thanks so very much Jon! Yes a change of pace is always welcome and I am confident it will come down quite effectively. Your support and relentless energy was part of the heart and soul of this past countdown. It is just incredible to think of all you have done here my friend!!
Sam, thanks a lot for all your hardwork in chairing this and the previous countdowns. I throughly enjoyed all these countdowns, both the voting aspect and reading sooooo many excellent reviews. There have been many new films I discovered in all these countdowns. Now, please enjoy some well deserved rest and get back to watching all the great films that will be releasing in the next few months.
Thanks so much Sachin!! Your writing, support and eternal positive energy are deeply appreciated to say the least, especially since I know you have so much on your plate. Yes I am gearing up for the cinematic onslaught on the way my friend!
A superlative countdown all around. Sam, many thanks for inviting me to join the festivities once again, because I thoroughly enjoyed revisiting the four films I was privileged to write about. As ever, I admire your dedication and your championing of both the writers involved and the films chosen for the countdown.
Thanks so very much for that Brandie. We were once again honored to have you aboard and were blessed to have four more great reviews from your pen!! Your own dedication over the years has been astounding my friend!! 🙂
Whatever change you guys are planning, don’t see how the previous genre countdown could possibly be improved. Still, I’ll be aboard and am intrigued.
I hear ya Frank. We are doing this just to go at it from another angle, not because there was any disappointment with the previous countdowns.
As I told Peter below when all the tangible signs are with you -page views, comments, quality of comments and masterful writing of the reviews- you then on top of all that get unanimous praise from all associated with the site, well then you know something is rotten in the state of Denmark. I’ll leave it at that.
Thanks for your undying support here my friend.
Sam, sorry to hear you had to incur some behind-the-scenes flack over the countdown. You can set aside any self-doubts as the project was a resounding success. To keep things going for that long, to gather so many excellent reviews -yours were incredible- and attract the kind of comment threads you did speak for themselves. You’ve actually had a string of great countdowns.
Thanks so much Peter. What always makes the behind-the-scenes disagreement so frustrating is the manner the argument is posed. When I tell someone the page views totals are superlative, the comment total is terrific and the writing throughout the countdown is extraordinary I always get “Sure, you always use numbers.” What other barometer of measurement do we have as blog owners than the tried and true evidence that virtually every blog chairperson uses to gauge the success of a project or specific post? When someone is gunning for you or what you have accomplished, they readily attempt to dismiss something that can’t be dismissed. All that the adversarial party has is that five reviews were canceled by the expectant writers for various understandable reasons. It happens all the time. What is the big deal? The assignments were filled immediately anyway!! It is what is presented at the site that counts, not the behind-the-scenes preparation!
In addition to rock solid evidence, we then have dozens and dozens of people on the inside and outside who have issued high praise for the countdown.
So I should put aside all the tangible evidence and tell 75 or so people they are wrong, because one person remains highly critical.. Right. Of course.
Hey, Sam, I’m so sorry to her you’ve been having to put up with this shit. As you know, I was likewise not delighted by some of the omissions from the list, but democracies always produce imperfect results and anyone who doesn’t realize this should so some soul-searching to devise a better method.
Talking of devising a better method . . .
I was wondering if it mightn’t be more effective, rather than asking people to produce ordered lists, to solicit lists of the movies that people reckon are worthy of consideration for the particular topic. It’d be easy to collate those lists into a single alphabetical longlist. Participants could then use that list as the basis upon which to compile their 1-100 order order of preference.
That’d avoid the situation whereby movies vanish from consideration simply because people haven’t thought of them. Confronted by a list of (say) 500 movies related to childhood, I’m sure a lot of us would have done some smiting of foreheads amid cries of “Oh, yes, of course.”
That said, I think you did a great job of coordinating such a complex and extensive project, not to mention writing so much of yourself, and your response to any critics should be along the lines of “Poot!”
Typo time:
should so some soul-searching should be should do some soul-searching
not to mention writing so much of yourself should be not to mention writing so much of it yourself
Aside from that, I did just fine.
John many thanks for that very intriguing suggestion!! I will let the small group who will be chairing the science-fiction poll (I will still work for it in all capacities) about it pronto. I do know that the countdown will be instituting the element of secrecy, so that the placement of the films won’t be known until the actual countdown starts unfolding. Your idea here might actually be welcome, but I am not sure yet how firm any of the still firmed up stipulations are or will be. I will keep you abreast. I thank you many times over for your support, kind words and passion. It is deeply appreciated my friend!!!
Congratulations to everyone who worked to make this countdown such an online triumph, especially Sam. I will miss checking everyday for the new post. But I look ahead to the science-fiction countdown.
Congratulations on another great countdown,and my apologies for not being a more active commenter this time around. As always, the countdown elicited a number of superb articles by site regulars, and it was a treat to see the daily entries as it progressed. I look forward to the sci-fi countdown, and understand the rationale behind the changes in the voting/writing. My work and other commitments have cut into my writing time and will likely continue to do so, and much as I would have liked to participate in the sci-fi countdown, it makes perfect sense for whose who can commit the time to handle that one. I know there’ll be some great writing to look forward to.
I’m late to this thread, but I also want to congratulate Sam, Allan, and all the reviewers for pulling off another interesting and successful countdown. I especially like that a lot of films that were new to me and other readers were included to expand our horizons. It’s a big job, but you did it again!