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Rules

Here are some other rules that govern this web site:

  1. All films named on this web site will be rated by each of us.
  2. A film must be rated at least a three by each of us to be included.
  3. If one of us rates the film below a three, it will not be included on our list.
  4. If a film is not included, that means either that we haven’t seen it (yet), or we’ve seen it and it failed to meet our criteria. In other words, our database will contain no negative entries.
  5. Each film included on our list will have a capsule summary in the database (with a maximum of fifty words) to accompany our ratings.

Ratings

As you scan our database, you will see that we gravitate to films with a certain heft and weight, films that “stay with us” and “nourish us” on some level after the credits roll. Here are our ratings categories:

3 = a good movie
4 = a fine film
5 = a work of art.

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Examples

To help you understand these categories, here are a couple of examples from the work of two very well-known artists.

As a vehicle for Audrey Hepburn, the movie SABRINA is filled with delightful moments, but we find the movie itself dated. We each rate it a three. BREAKFAST AT TIFFANY'S will always be a timeless touchstone for a specific place and time. We each rate it a four. But ROMAN HOLIDAY transcends these boundaries. It resonates with mythic qualities familiar from the work of Joseph Campbell -- Princess Ann learns that she “must be what, in fact, she is.” We rate it a five.

Like SABRINA, Steven Spielberg’s SAVING PRIVATE RYAN is filled with wonderful moments that never quite come together. We rate it a three. ET is filled with magic moments hooked by a driving narrative that carries you along and compels belief. We rate it a four. But SCHINDLER’S LIST transcends its intense subject matter and finds itself in the mystery of human motivation. We rate it a five.

Even if you disagree with our examples, we hope we’ve conveyed our framework. It has to do with the relationship between the parts and the whole. In a fine film, the parts are knit together and the whole is seamless. The viewer suspends disbelief. It isn’t “just a movie,” it’s a complete world with internal coherence. So, to summarize:

If we believe the whole is less than the sum of its parts, we rate the film a three.
If we believe the whole is equal to the sum of its parts, we rate the film a four.
If we believe the whole is greater than the sum of its parts, we rate the film a five.

So here goes. We’ll do our best, but, in the end, only you can say if films42.com has a place in your own busy life.

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All Time Favorite Films

Jan's All-Time Favorite:

LAWRENCE OF ARABIA

 

Rich's All-Time Favorite

GODFATHER II

 

We Cudda Been Contendas:

2001

GRAPES OF WRATH

LA STRADA

PERSONA

PHILADELPHIA STORY

REAR WINDOW

RED RIVER

ON THE WATERFRONT

THE WORLD OF APU